GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- And so it comes down to this, doesn't it, for UND hockey fans who have faithfully followed the Fighting Hawks since the season officially opened with a win at Ralph Engelstad Arena over Providence back on Oct. 12.

And now, nearly five months later, it all comes down to what UND does at home in its final regular-season games against Omaha as the battle to finish in the first division of the league race and thereby earn playoff games at home the following weekend comes down to this weekend.

While there will be no league championship banner to hang from the REA rafters as Penrose Cup champions this year in the NCHC, much depends on how the Hawks fare this weekend. It therefore marks this as one of the most important weekends of the season.

Two wins for UND over Omaha is the cleanest way to look at how UND can potentially climb as high as third place in the final league standings and thereby earn the right to host the No. 6 finisher next weekend as the league playoffs swing into gear. Two wins would, at a minimum, guarantee another weekend of hockey at home for UND in the NCHC Quarterfinals. 

There are other ways involving third-place Omaha along with the Denver Pioneers, who are tied for fourth at present with UND and face a home-and-home series with main rival Colorado College to close out their league schedule. 

How that series plays out could help decide UND's path in the playoffs as well.

But the simple approach is for UND to beat Omaha twice and hope that CC can nab at least one point from the Pioneers and thereby claim third place and home games for the playoffs. 

I like the simplicity of that. Accomplishing it might be another matter, but we'll leave that for the players to fight out on the ice this weekend.

I have a good feeling on how this weekend may go based on last Saturday's dramatic overtime win on then road over league champion Western Michigan.

UND flashed some late dramatics in that game to show it is capable and willing to battle to the finish this season. No one will claim this is the most talented team in school history, but it has shown the willingness and talent to battle anyone.

Last Saturday, freshman forward Sacha Boisvert, with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, scored with just 36 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime. High drama indeed, thanks to a huge goal by one of the league's best rookies.

Then in overtime, it was sophomore defenseman Jake Livanavage who added more drama to the game, scoring the winning goal with just ONE second left on the UND power play. 

Those two goals by two very talented youngsters should give a big emotional lift to this team heading into this Omaha series, and beyond. The ability to battle hard to the end and succeed that can take a team a long way as the season winds down.

So the fact that UND pulled off the improbable against the league champion on the road should be a confidence-builder this weekend and beyond.

The fact that Jayden Perron and Dane Montgomery return to the lineup from injuries this weekend is another big boost to UND's chances down the stretch.

So no, no Penrose Cup for UND this season, but there is still much to play for.  And we now see a team that showed us last weekend that it can rise to the challenge at hand.

Virg Foss writes a weekly column on hockey for UND during the college hockey season. He was the beat writer for the Grand Forks Herald for UND from 1969 until his retirement from the newspaper in 2005. He can be contacted at virgfoss@yahoo.com.