GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Elite athletes have more than high skills in common. They have good memories as well.

So it was not surprising this week that with a series coming up at Colorado College on the weekend, memory banks were stirring a bit inside the minds of UND Fighting Hawks' hockey players.

It was just over two months ago that the Colorado College Tigers, a young team on the upswing in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, came into Grand Forks and pulled off a rarity, beating UND in both games at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Okay, it took overtime both nights for the Tigers to snatch the wins, but rare is the team that beats the Hawks twice on a weekend at The Ralph.

But with North Dakota holding a grip on first place in the NCHC with eight games remaining in its league schedule, suddenly this rematch with the Tigers takes on added importance.

Even at the weekly press conference at UND this week, defenseman Bennett Zmolek mentioned that the Hawks have a little chip on their shoulders after what the Tigers did to them in Grand Forks.

So it will be interesting to see how UND sets up its play against the Tigers in Colorado Springs. CC made it difficult for UND to mount offense in the December series by clogging the neutral zone, making it hard for UND to carry an organized offense into the attack zone at a fast clip.

That, coupled with outstanding play from prized sophomore goalie Kaidan Mbereko made life difficult for UND's potent offense in that December clash. He stopped 54 of UND's 58 shots that weekend.He is one of 10 goalies nationally in the running for the Mike Richter Award as best goalie in men's collegiate ice hockey.

For UND to win a couple of games this weekend and stretch its lead in the NCHC back to seven points over second-place St. Cloud State, solving CC's trapping game and Mbereko himself will be keys to watch.

One encouraging sign for UND is that coming off a timely weekend break from the schedule, it is closer to having its full roster available for this stretch run and upcoming playoffs. It appears veteran forward Carson Albrecht will be back this weekend, providing the coaching staff with some lineup options and roster depth.

There's a chance that Hunter Johannes, a big forward with a big shot, is edging closer to being recovered enough from injury to rejoin the lineup soon, perhaps next week. Johannes has been out since being injured in a Jan. 19 game at St. Cloud State. At 6-foot-3, 217 pounds, the Lindenwood transfer adds size, strength and scoring when he's in the lineup.

One of UND's strong suits as a team this season has been its depth of the lineup. It has a good share of highly-skilled scorers who can break open a game but also a healthy dose of soldiers who fight the battle against the elite players on the other team with their smothering defensive play. 

All that factor into why UND is ranked No. 2 nationally in the all-important Pairwise Rankings which ultimately decide the field for the 16-team NCAA tournament. With its record to date (20-6-2) and the only team in the country without a regulation loss in conference play, the Hawks are a virtual lock to be one of those 16 teams.

But all that is down the road, a month and change away.

This team feels that this weekend, it has a score to settle with the Tigers in order take a big step in closing in on its fourth NCHC regular-season championship in the last five years.

And as has been the strength of this team, it is one step at a time. Win a game, win a series, win a league title and then go in search of a bigger game ahead.

So while the Tigers have a very steep hill to climb to win a league title this season, it is a program on the way up, as North Dakota learned the painful way a couple of months back.

All that adds a bit more intrigue to this weekend series than you would normally find in a 1 vs. 4 matchup late in the conference season.

Whether you find ways to watch these games or listen to them on radio, tune in somehow and stay on the ride with these Fighting Hawks. They are fun to watch.


Virg Foss is in his 54th season of writing about UND hockey. He was the beat writer for UND hockey for the Grand Forks Herald for 35 years prior to his retirement in 2005. He is currently in his 19th season of writing about Fighting Hawks' hockey for UND athletic communications.