#1 North Dakota (23-3-4, 14-2-3-2 NCHC) at St. Cloud State (11-12-6, 8-9-2-1)
Feb. 22, 2020
St. Cloud, Minn. 
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (6,000) 
Saturday: 6:07 pm CT
Series: UND leads 74-44-15(.613)
This year 
UND: W 4-2, W, 2-1 (ot), T, 3-3

SATURDAY TV
FOX Sports North/Fox College Sports
Web: nchc.tv

RADIO
PxP: Tim Hennessy
Analyst: Steve Olson
Radio: 96.1 FM (Flagship) & Home of Economy Radio Network
Web: FightingHawks.com and iheart app  

LAST NIGHT
Top-ranked North Dakota tied St. Cloud State, 3-3, while the Huskies picked up the extra NCHC point with a shootout win Friday. UND, coupled with a UMD loss, moved within three points of securing at least a share of a Penrose Cup and an NCHC regular season title. 

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game can be seen on FOX Sports North and FOX College Sports nationally. Both games will be streamed live on nchc.tv.

All UND men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Aio app. The flagship station for the network is 96.1 FM (The Fox). Longtime broadcaster Tim Hennessy, in his 41st season as the voice of UND men's hockey, calls the action while Steve Olson provides color analysis.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the action live by following @UNDmhockey and @UNDInsider on Twitter. Fans can also read the action via live chat at GrandForksHerald.com with beat writer Brad Schlossman.

SERIES HISTORY
North Dakota owns a 74-44-15 lead in the all-time series with the Huskies. UND swept SCSU earlier in the year with 4-2 and 2-1 (ot) wins in Grand Forks on Nov. 22-23. North Dakota is paying its first visit to St. Cloud since Dec. 2017.

OK, HERE'S THE SITUATION
With Minnesota Duluth losing Friday and UND garnering one point with its tie, North Dakota moved closer to securing the Penrose Cup. A UMD loss (0 points) and a UND win (3 points)-- both in regulation or overtime-- will clinch the FIghting Hawks at least a share of the Penrose Cup with a 12-point lead in the standings and 12 points remaining (four games). 

ONE TIME
Junior Peter Thome gave up his first-ever shootout goal last night. He had stopped all six chances coming into Friday's game. 

PINTO POINT STREAK
Shane Pinto's second-period power-play goal helped him extend his point streak to nine consecutive games. In that stretch, the freshman has six goals and five assists. 

WESTIN MI-SHORTY
Westin Michaud picked up his second career short-handed goal in Friday's 3-3 tie. His other short-handed tally came against North Dakota last season in his junior season with Colorado College. 

MI-CHAUD-HANDED TALLY
Westin Michaud's short-handed goal Friday was North Dakota's second SHG of the season and first since Cole Smith turned the trick Nov. 16 at Denver in a 4-1 win. Michaud now has 43 career goals (14 at UND) and this was his second short-handed. 

MAJOR LEAGUE
UND picked up its fifth major penalty of the season but its penalty kill unit has been up to the task. North Dakota has killed off all five major penalties this season, allowing just 16 shots in those 25 minutes. 
vs Miami        2 shots
at Denver     2 shots
at Denver    7 shots
vs Omaha    1 shot
at SCSU        4 shots

ZACH ATTACK
Senior Zach Yon returned to the lineup Friday following an injury and played in his 100th career game. Yon was playing in his first game since Jan. 4 (vs. UAH), missing 10 consecutive games. 

SECOND TIME AROUND
North Dakota has won 13 of 14 games in the second game of a two-game series this season. UND has won 12 straight games in the second game of a series.
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THAT WOULD BE TERRIFIC, MMMKAY?
North Dakota is now nine points up on second-place Minnesota Duluth with five games to play. If UND can build a 12-point lead after this weekend's games, it will clinch its third Penrose Cup. All-time Penrose Cup (NCHC regular season champ) winners below
2019    St. Cloud State
2018    St. Cloud State
2017    Denver
2016    North Dakota
2015    North Dakota
2014    St. Cloud State

JUST WENT AHEAD AND FIXED THE GLITCH
Last season, UND's power play operated at a .124 percentage in NCHC play with 11 goals in 89 man advantage opportunities. This year, North Dakota already has 22 PPGs on 74 chances in league play for a .297 percentage, topping the conference. Overall, North Dakota's power play has gone from 52nd in the NCAA last year to 16th so far this year.  

A JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS MATT
Junior Matt Kiersted returned from a two-game hiatus (injury) to continue his point streak with an assist on UND's game-winning goal last Friday then added a first-period goal Saturday in the sweep of Denver. Kiersted now has points in his last seven consecutive games after his assist in the Friday tie at SCSU, piling up 12 points in this stretch. 

ALRIGHT, PETER! OOOO-OOOOO!
Peter Thome has played in nine games this season. With his next game played, he'll officially qualify for UND single-season records. Currently, his 1.45 GAA and .934 save percentage both of which would be second on the UND lists for single-season bests. 

I HAVE A MEETING WITH THE BOBS LATER
Thome is chasing Bob Peters' single-season goals against average record of a paltry 1.27 GAA set way back in 1956-57. Overall, he'd look to become just the seventh UND goalie to etch a sub-2.00 GAA. 

PC LOAD LETTER??
Jordan Kawaguchi trails only Providence College's Jack Dugan in total points this season in the NCAA. Dugan has 49 points with 40 assists, 17 of those on secondary assists. Kawaguchi's 30 assists feature an NCAA-leading 23 primary assists on passes leading directly to goals. 

NCHC WELL REPRESENTED IN THE POLL
Four NCHC teams are ranked in this week's USCHO.com poll. UND paces the poll nearly unanimously (one vote shy) with Minnesota Duluth at four and Denver sitting in seventh and Western Michigan re-entering the poll at 19th.  

SEVEN STARTS STAT
In Peter Thome's seven starts this season, he is a perfect 6-0-1 with a sparkling 1.55 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. The junior netminder has squandered just six even-strength goals in his seven starts this year. Overall, Thome is 6-0-2 with a 1.45 GAA and a .934 save percentage.