GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- As this is my 56th season of reporting on UND hockey, first for the Grand Forks Herald, and since 2005-06 for UND Media Relations, I've come to realize several things you can count on with this program.

First of all, the team will finish the season with a winning record, and more seasons than not, will contend for league and national honors.

Not since 2001-02 (16-19-2) has UND posted a losing overall record. It has since strung together 23 winning seasons, highlighted by the school's eighth NCAA title in 2015-16.

So us fans have grown accustomed to winning hockey in Grand Forks. The 11,000-plus fans who pack Ralph Engelstad Arena on game nights attest to the appetite the fans have for Fighting Hawks hockey.

This season rolled into REA with more unknowns and uncertainty than normal. A new coaching staff headed by former UND player Dane Jackson's elevation from an assistant coach to head man brought aboard a new staff to the program.

Factor in a roster a bit of an unknown, with the addition of 10 freshmen ad 6 transfers from other NCAA programs, there was an air of uncertainty going into this season.

But here we are, four games into the NCHC schedule, and who is sitting alone first place in league play? Yup, the Fighting Hawks with three wins (9 points) and one overtime loss (1 point). Denver (2-0, 6 points) looms as a threat to overtake UND, with two games in hand.

This is an interesting team to watch, one that plays an aggressive style. It is one that seems to find success through contributions from everyone, rather than riding to the top on the coattails of a player or two.

We're seeing good depth in the roster making itself known, backstopped by freshman goalie Jan Špunar and grad student goalie Gibson Homer. Both had strong games in the road sweep at Omaha last weekend, so the depth at that position showed its head as well.

The NCHC seems wide open this season. So far, Denver and Minnesota Duluth have shown strength, along with UND, but it is far too early to bet the farm on any of them coming home with the championship trophy.

The Fighting Hawks play Denver just twice this season, both games in Grand Forks, so that mid-January series will be one to watch with likely much at stake.

But it has been a solid start for UND, already rising to the top 10 in the national polls and gaining more recognition as one of the nation's elite programs. Eight NCAA titles won by UND over the years and 22 Frozen Four appearances have stamped this program as one of the country's best.

Now, as league play heats up and newcomer Arizona State arrives in town this weekend, the plot thickens around the league and country as we gather a larger sample size of where the powers truly lie.

I do like the looks of this team that Dane Jackson and crew put together. I also believe this team will grow stronger as we move along, as the youngsters and transfers and holdovers blend their strengths into one force.

I came to Grand Forks from Wisconsin in 1969, lured here primarily for the opportunity to cover Fighting Sioux hockey for the Grand Forks Herald. 

It has been a joy to follow this program, that I know.

I feel blessed.

Virg Foss has covered UND hockey since 1969, first for the Grand Forks Herald, and since 2005, for UND Athletic Communications. He can be contacted at virgfoss@yahoo.com.