GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- If one takes a quick glance at the current NCHC standings today, one-fourth of the way through the league schedule, all looks favorable for our favorite team, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

UND sits alone in first place in the current standings with 13 points based on four regulation wins worth three points each, one overtime loss worth one point and one regulation loss, worth zero points.

That's two points clear of second-place Denver, but that's where the deception creeps into the picture. The Pioneers (3 regulation wins, 1 overtime win) have played just four league games for 11 points earned, so it has two games in hand to potentially move past UND and into first place.

So this weekend, it is entirely possible that Denver will move into first place. The Pioneers play two games at Arizona State. At least 3 points won by the Pioneers in that series will move Denver into sole possession of first place.

North Dakota has an important weekend coming as well, but for different reasons. The Hawks play a single, exhibition game at the fabulous Ralph Engelstad Arena Friday night against the U.S. Under-18 team.

That will give UND the chance to rest up a growing list of injured players for another week before swinging into the 18 league games remaining on its schedule.

Speaking of schedules, mark down the dates of Jan. 16-17. Those are the dates Denver comes to Grand Forks, the only games between the traditional league powers during the regular season.

Certainly much can happen to the Pioneers and Hawks between that key series to tilt the standings.

But that series could play a big role as to which of those two teams wins the league title, right? A sweep by either team would be huge.

Or does another league team go on a hot run and snatch the title away from the current frontrunners?

As the cold weather will soon move into the Red River Valley with the winter months looming, at least we have a hot college hockey race to warm us.

I see a bunch of quality players sprinkled through all of the league teams, so the race to the top certainly carries unpredictability.

It certainly is possible for Denver to accumulate at least three points at Arizona State this weekend and move past North Dakota and into first place in the NCHC.

But it could also be a winning weekend for the Hawks if their injured players recover with this chance to rest and return to the lineup to ignite a strong stretch run for the Hawks.

We'll wait and see, speculate and wonder.

And that's how we, as fans, can play our own game in our minds, trying to figure it all out!

Fun, isn't it?

Virg Foss covered UND hockey for the Grand Forks Herald for 35 seasons prior to his retirement in 2005. He is now in his 21st season of writing about hockey exclusively for UND Athletic Communications. He can be reached at virgfoss@yahoo.com.