Denver at #1/2 North Dakota
Feb. 12-13, 2021
Ralph Engelstad Arena
7:37 PM CT Friday
6:07 PM CT Saturday
All-time Series: UND leads, 151-130-16 (.535)
 
TV
Midco SportsNet
PxP: Alex Heinert
Analyst: Jake Brandt
Web: nchc.tv
 
RADIO
96.1 FM (Flagship) & Home of Economy Radio Network
PxP: Tim Hennessy
Analyst: Steve Olson
Web: FightingHawks.com 
 
ON TAP
North Dakota starts a stretch where it will play five of its final six games at home, then also be at home for the entire NCHC Tournament, announced Monday. UND entertains Denver this Friday and Saturday before closing the regular season with four straight against Omaha.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
This weekend's games will both be telecast live on Midco Sports Network, the primary TV home of North Dakota hockey. Alex Heinert does the play-by-play, with former UND goalie Jake Brandt handling the color analysis.  The series will also be available via streaming at NCHC.tv.
 
All UND men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network, as well as through the iHeart Radio 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 by following @UNDmhockey and @UNDInsider on Twitter. Fans can also read the action via live chat at GrandForksHerald.com with beat writer Brad Schlossman.
 
NCHC'S NEW HOME FOR THE TOURNAMENT
Ralph Engelstad Arena will serve as the host venue for the entire NCHC postseason tournament this year, announced Feb. 8. The tournament will be shifted to a single-elimination championship with all eight teams competing for the league's autobid into the NCAA Tournament. The quarterfinals begin Mar. 12-13 with the semifinals on Mar. 15 and the title game on Mar. 16. There will not be a third-place game this season.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST DENVER
North Dakota is 151-130-16 all-time against the Pioneers and is 2-2-0 this season against DU. The series has been tightly contested in recent years as UND holds a slim 5-4-1 edge in the last 10 games and 11-10-6 in the last six seasons under Coach Brad Berry.
 
POLL POSITION
Four NCHC teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally in the newest polls released Monday. North Dakota moved back to the top spot in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and sits second in the USCHO.com poll. Minnesota Duluth (4th), St Cloud State (6/7th) and Omaha (10th) are also in the national picture. Denver, which was ranked in UND's previous four meetings this season, comes into the weekend in the receiving votes column.
 
ON A TEAR...
Shane Pinto registered his fourth straight game with multiple points after two goals Saturday at Omaha. He now has nine multi-point games on the season, which is tied for the NCAA lead.
 
STAT STREAKS
Multiple UND players are carrying consecutive point streaks into Friday's opener with Denver:
Pinto       4 cons. multi-pt. games
Gaber      4 game point streak
Mismash 4 game point streak
Weatherby 2 game goal streak
 
MOORE PRODUCTION
Cooper Moore was the NCHC Defenseman of the Week after the Omaha series (Jan. 29-30). He followed up scoring his first goal in the  opener against Colorado College with a goal and an assist in the series opener at Omaha Friday to give him three points in his last four games. He had just one point in his previous nine games prior to this stretch.
 
SWEET SIXTEEN
Senior Jordan Kawaguchi leads the NCHC in assists with 16 after his recent stretch that has seen him log five assists in his last five games.
 
PINTO, SCHEEL GRAB JANUARY ACCOLADES
Sophomore Shane Pinto and junior Adam Scheel were named the NCHC's Player and Goalie of the Mont, respectively, for January. Pinto tied for the conference lead in goals (6) and points (10) in the month and ended the month with four consecutive multi-point games to give him an NCAA-leading nine on the season.  Scheel tied for the national lead in wins for the month with six. He posted a 6-2-0 record with league-leading totals of 1.84 GAA, .929 save percentage and a pair of shutouts.
 
51 PINTO
Shane Pinto eclipsed the 50-point plateau in the last series at Omaha and now has 51 career points in 51 games played.
 
HOW WE GOT HERE
This series got pushed back a week due to a pause on the CC team according to COVID-19 protocol.  Since the altered schedule was announced with the second half slate of games, UND has yet to play a series that hasn't shifted in some way.
 
SUNDAY SIX
In an unusual season, North Dakota has wound up playing a bulk of its games on Sundays this season. The Fighting Hawks have played six Sunday games this season, going 5-1-0. UND's last series at Omaha featured just the second Friday game for UND this season (2-0-0). 
 
ADAM GOOD STAT
Adam Scheel has been rock solid in his career and has made a habit of giving his team a chance to win with just two goals. In his career, Scheel has now either shutout an opponent or only allowed one goal in nearly half of his appearances (31 of 69 appearances).
 
JUDD AND HIS BUDS
Judd Caulfield scored his first goal of the season in the Jan. 24 win over Colorado College. He became the 18th different UND player to light the lamp this season.
 
KAWAHOBEY
Jordan Kawaguchi has tallied seven points in his last five games to give him 21 on the season. He sits second on the team in points after his two assists in Saturday's game at Omaha.
 
POWER PLAY PROFICIENCY
North Dakota's power play has operated at a 22.8 percent (18/79) efficiency so far this season, second-best in the NCHC. UND has a power-play goal in 15 of 18 games this season.
 
SENDEN EVERYBODY UP
Junior Mark Senden piled up a career-high four assists in the 5-1 win at Denver Jan. 18. He became the first UND player to notch four assists since Jacob Bernard-Docker did so in the 8-1 win last year over Canisius (Oct. 12, 2019). Prior to that, no UND player had done it in eight seasons.
 
QUICK DRAW
North Dakota's centermen have been great in the faceoff dot, currently leading the NCAA in faceoff win percentage (.565). Shane Pinto's .628 win percentage is fourth in the country and his 251 draws won are the tied for the most in NCAA D1.
 
 **For the complete game notes package, click here (PDF) **