GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- I would guess that few if any of the most die-hard North Dakota fans out there had predictions in public that the Fighting Hawks would be league and national title contenders at this point of the season.
Not only does UND have a rebuilt coaching staff headed by
Dane Jackson, but there are 10 freshmen on this roster, most of them playing leading roles.
You can then throw in six more players who are transfers from other colleges, so this roster was a bit of an unknown going into this season.
So it's a bit of a miracle that under Jackson and his staff, this team is sitting with a No. 2 national ranking and in first place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference roughly halfway through the season.
With fellow NCHC members Denver, Duluth and Western Michigan all ranked in the top 10 nationally, whether UND can rise to the challenge of the difficult schedule ahead remains to be seen.
No question a big part of the early success has been the outstanding play of freshman goalie Jan Špunar.
He has won all 10 of his starts with a sensational 1.5 goals per game average and .936 save percentage. Those numbers rank among the best in the nation.
And if you watch his style of play, he brings a calmness to a very hectic position that works so well for him. Even under heavy attack, his style of play allows him to always maintain control.
UND is blessed with two very good goalies with Arizona State graduate transfer
Gibson Homer often splitting playing time with Špunar so far this season.
Whether UND stays with that formula or rewards the unbeaten Špunar with more starts as the season plays out is something to keep an eye on.
UND, winners of eight straight, swings back into league action this weekend at Colorado College before returning home to face Denver, just a point behind the Hawks in the league standings.
That series, the only time those teams play in the regular season, could well swing the league race in favor of one team or the other. A sweep by either team would be huge.
UND should be close to a full roster for the upcoming stretch run as players return to campus after playing in the World Juniors Championships in the Twin Cities or for a collegiate all-star team in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland.
From what we've seen of past college players who played in those tournaments, they return to college as even better players, having competing against the best players in the world in their age bracket. That's something else to watch closely as the college games resume.
All in all, there's just a lot to like with what is going on with UND hockey right now.
Fun, isn't it?
Virg Foss covered UND hockey for the Grand Forks Herald from 1969 until his retirement in 2005. Since then, he has written on UND hockey every season for UND Athletic Communications.
