UND looks to gain ground in Denver

GRAND FORKS — UND is heading West.

The Fighting Hawks will fly to Denver on Thursday to take on the Pioneers in a crucial series this weekend.

UND sits at fourth place in the NCHC standings with 28 points. Denver is right behind them with 27. Tied for third place is Omaha and Arizona State. However, Omaha has played two more games than North Dakota, Denver, and Western Michigan, which sits alone in first place.

Getting points this weekend could be the difference between hosting vs. being on the road in the first round of the NCHC playoffs for UND and DU.

According to the College Hockey News Pairwise Probability Matrix (20,000 Monte Carlo simulations of the remaining games prior to Selection Day), Denver has a 98% chance of making the NCAA tournament.

UND has a 5% chance.

This will once again be an all-or-nothing series for the Fighting Hawks.

“It's do or die for us,” UND senior forward Carter Wilkie said. For the rest of the season, if you want to keep playing after the NCHC tournament or get an auto bid to the NCAA tournament, we have to start winning. Not only one game on weekends, we’ve got to start sweeping them.”

Road warriors

North Dakota has played well on the road this year. In fact, better than at home.

In conference play, UND is 6-1-1 at an opposing team's barn. At home, it is 3-5.

When asked about why road series have gone well, UND head coach Brad Berry responded: “Just simplifying our game. Having a good mentality and playing some greasy road hockey.”

Denver is a high-scoring team. It has the best offense in the country, averaging 4.04 goals per game. The powerplay has been clicking for the Pioneers too, who are ranked No. 1 in the nation, running at 31.96%.

“Eliminating time and space, that's a huge deal,” Berry said when commenting on stopping Denver. “They've got really good depth with their group in five-on-five play. It's a big situation of making sure that we cover ice, take a lot of time and space away, make it hard on them, and try to get the puck back to play in the offensive zone.”

Another level

Junior forward Dylan James has been phenomenal for the Fighting Hawks since the start of the second half.The 6-foot-185 lb winger from Calgary, Alberta, leads UND in goals with 10. 

James also has 11 points in his last 10 games.

"Dylan James has had outstanding games,” Berry said. “This is the time of year when we need those games from everyone. Hockey's not perfect, but at the end of the day, it's about striving for near perfection by just doing the constant things we talk about each and every day, both individually and collectively as a team."

Injury report

UND forward Jayden Perron will be inactive this weekend. He left last Friday night after sustaining a lower-body injury.

Game notes

• Friday marks the 313th meeting between North Dakota and Denver, with UND holding a 159-137-16 series advantage.

• Last weekend, Livanavage became one of the few players at North Dakota to surpass the 50-point milestone in his career.

• Senior forward Cameron Berg has quickly returned to form after missing almost half the season due to injury, leading the team with an average of 1.00 points per game.

ND Ice prediction

Friday: Denver 5-3 win

Saturday: UND 5-4 win