GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- OK, hockey fans, the second season is upon us.

It is very nice on paper that North Dakota won another Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champion...again.

It is telling that the Fighting Hawks are ranked No. 3 nationally heading into the first round of the NCHC playoffs this weekend, attesting to an outstanding season for the Hawks under first-year head coach Dane Jackson and his staff.

But the playoffs mean a second chance to continue with the season for some, as Nebraska Omaha is doing this weekend after finishing in eighth place in the NCHC.

As a reward, the Mavericks will open a best-of-three series beginning Friday night at UND, with the winner moving on to the semifinals the next week.

For UND, by virtue of its national ranking, it is assured of being in the NCAA playoffs when the 16-team tournament field is announced later this month upon completion of conference tournaments.

For Omaha, losing two this weekend in Grand Forks will end its season.

The Mavericks have not matched up well with UND this season. They have lost all four meetings by a combined score of 18-5. In three of the four games, the Mavericks scored but a single goal. In the other, they scored just two.

But that is a bit deceiving. In a 4-1 UND win on Nov. 4 in Omaha, UND goalie Gibson Homer was outstanding, stopping 34 of 35 shots he faced while UND managed just 24 shots. There again, UND's depth prevailed as four different goal scorers carried the Hawks over the top, along with Homer's great night.

Omaha comes in with its season on the line. Win here, or the offseason beckons.

UND has its sights set on lofty goals. With the higher seed playing at home all the way through the league playoffs, the Hawks could be playing in friendly Ralph Engelstad Arena three weekends in a row.

By keeping on winning, the Fighting Hawks would likely end up in nearby Sioux Falls, S.D. for the NCAA Regional tournament.

But first things first. Omaha is the target at hand this weekend, and the underdog Mavericks will battle hard to play another weekend, at least.

I'll end with this -- may the best team win.

Virg Foss writes a weekly column for UND during the hockey season. He covered UND hockey for the Grand Forks Herald beginning in 1969 until his retirement in 2005. Since then, he has written about the Fighting Hawks for UND Athletic Communications.