#13/11 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. #1 NORTH DAKOTA
Dec. 12, 2020
Baxter Arena
Dec. 10: 4:05 pm CT
Dec. 16: 7:35 pm CT
All-time Series: UND leads 74-45-15 (.616)
Web: nchc.tv
RADIO
PxP: Tim Hennessy
Radio: AM 790 FM 94.1 Fargo and Home of Economy Radio Network
Web: FightingHawks.com
ON TAP
North Dakota faces St. Cloud State Saturday afternoon in the NCHC pod at Baxter Arena. The top-ranked Fighting Hawks are coming off a tie with third-ranked Minnesota Duluth while SCSU fell to Western Michigan, 2-1, Wednesday.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
All UND men’s hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network. Longtime broadcaster Tim Hennessy, in his 42nd season as the voice of UND men’s hockey, calls the action while Steve Olson will provide color analysis when the season resumes regular series play.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the action live by following @UNDmhockey and @UNDInsider on Twitter. Fans can also read the action via live chat at GrandForksHerald.com with beat writer Brad Schlossman.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES
UND held a 2-1-1 edge in the series last year, sweeping the Huskies at the Ralph in November then tying and losing the final game in February. All four games were tightly-contested with a tie, two one-goal games and a two-goal game.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BULLDOGS
North Dakota has a 74-45-15 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.
PAIR OF FRESHMEN D OFF WITH TEAM USA
Jake Sanderson was named to the preliminary roster for the US National Junior Team last Monday. Tyler Kleven was also recently added to that 29-man squad in the hopes of making the 25 that will travel to Edmonton, Alberta for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Tournament, Dec. 25-Jan. 2.
NCHCPOD HONORS
Shane Pinto (Forward of the Week) and Ethan Frisch (Defenseman of the Week) picked up the first weekly honors for North Dakota after their play helped UND to a 3-0-0 start in the pod. Pinto tallied a team-best five points with a pair of goals and three assists while Frisch had three points (G, 2A) and led the team with a +5 rating and 5 blocks. It was the second weekly award for Pinto in his career after being named the Rookie of the Week on Feb 3 last season while it marked the first for Frisch.
POLL POSITION
Five NCHC teams are ranked in this week’s USCHO.com poll once again. UND sits atop the poll with Minnesota Duluth third, Denver ninth, St. Cloud State 13th and Omaha 18th.
DECEMBERS TO REMEMBER
In the Brad Berry era, the Fighting Hawks have recorded an impressive 16-4-2 record in the month of December. Only ONE of those wins is against an unranked team, the season-opening victory over Miami (2-0) this season.
SPREADING IT OUT
North Dakota’s 18 goals have come from 12 different players. Riese Gaber and Shane Pinto each scored Thursday against UMD to tie for the team lead with three goals.
POWER PLAY PROWESS
North Dakota’s power play has been humming along in the early portion of the season. Heading into Saturday, UND’s power play is operating at an NCAA-best 36.4 percent (8/22).
UND has a power play goal in all five games this season and has scored on six of its last 13 chances over the last three games.
HE’S A WINNER
Jordan Kawaguchi paced the NCAA in game-winning points last season with 13. Already this year, he’s been in on all three game-winning goals with a pair of helpers and an OT game-winning goal.
QUICK DRAW
North Dakota’s centermen have been great in the faceoff dot, currently second in the NCAA in faceoff win percentage (.609). Shane Pinto’s .687 win percentage leads the country among players that have taken at least a dozen draws.
PINTO PERFECTION
Shane Pinto won all 18 faceoff draws in Friday’s prior meeting with Denver (Friday). The all-time leader in faceoff win percentage at UND, Pinto now is an impressive NCAA-best 79/115 (.687) in the dot this season (among those with at least 12 draws).
PINTO POINTS
Shane Pinto leads North Dakota with eight points in the early going. He is already nearly halfway to his assist total from last season (12 last year, 5 in 2020-21).
SCHEEL STANDARD
Scheel’s career 2.06 goals against average currently ranks at the top of UND’s record books for lowest GAA in a career. He sits well in front of leaders Cam Johnson and Zane McIntyre (2.10). His save percentage (.908) is just outside the top five in the UND record books.
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