UND head coach Brad Berry is optimistic about the second half of the season

WEST FARGO --- The Fighting Hawks did not finish the first half of the season as they would have liked.

Gleb Veremyev sent UND back to the dressing room winless on the weekend after scoring in overtime, propelling the Tigers past the No. 1 ranked Hawks 3-2.

It was the first time Colorado College had swept UND in Grand Forks since 1993. 

North Dakota struggled to find production from its top lines as CC held both of UND's top lines scoreless on the weekend.

"Our top two lines didn't factor in on even strength goals this weekend," Brad Berry said following the 3-2 loss. 

Although dropping both games left a sour taste in the mouths of the players and coaching staff, it came at a good time. UND will have twenty days to rest and reload before an exhibition matchup against the U.S. Under 18 Program.

North Dakota finished the first half of the year 12-5-1, exceeding the expectations of many.

"I think we are right where we thought we would be," Berry said. "We got a really good team here, and we got a lot of guys that care and a lot of guys that have trust in each other. We're running into a tough time right now, which a lot of teams go through: How are you going to react? Are you mentally tough? Do you have grit? Do you have resiliency in your game? I know our guys do."

UND faced off against many highly-ranked teams over the first half of the season, winning critical games at home and on the road against high-caliber programs such as the University of Minnesota, Boston University, and the University of Denver. 

"I thought our guys did a great job of getting out of the blocks real quick," Berry said. "Playing against some tough competition and going on the road and winning games as well."

The Fighting Hawks had multiple players miss games due to illness or injury over the last few weeks, and the holiday break will serve as a recovery time for those players. 

"The break comes at a great time for us," Berry mentioned during a weekly press conference. "Get guys healed up that are dinged up, guys get some energy in the tank. Taking a mental reset break here, too, as far as getting energized for a long run in the second half of the season."

UND will be looking to continue its offensive prowess into the second half of the season. The Hawks's top two lines have done an excellent job of scoring plenty of goals.

"Going into the stretch of December, the strength of our team was our depth of four-line scoring," Berry said.

Special teams played a huge role in UND's success in the first half. After starting the year off slow, the powerplay has started to click and is currently running at 19.7 percent. 

The penalty kill has been another positive for North Dakota, and UND's penalty kill is hovering around 86 percent. UND is averaging just under seven penalty minutes per game.

"We're one of the lower teams in the country for taking penalties," Berry said. "I think that's a big reason why our PK has been good, not allowing the other team to get opportunities."

With the first half of the season closed up, UND will look to build consistency within their lineup and prepare them for the remainder of the season. 

"We're gonna look at a number of things," Berry said when asked about the line combinations for the second half.  "We've done a good job of leaving lines together and giving (players) an opportunity to bounce back after a loss.

 North Dakota's schedule won't get any easier. Following its exhibition game on the 30th, UND with face off against their last nonconference opponent Alaska Fairbanks before heading into conference play for the remainder of the season.