Notes: Final week in the NCHC pod begins with another top 10 duel (UND Athletics)

#4 North Dakota vs. #9 St. Cloud State
Baxter Arena
Dec. 16: 7:35 pm CT
All-time Series: UND leads 74-46-15 (.604)

RADIO
PxP: Tim Hennessy
Radio: 790 AM Fargo & Home of Economy Radio  Network
Web: FightingHawks.com

ON TAP
No. 4 North Dakota gets a quick rematch with ninth-ranked St. Cloud State Wednesday in the NCHC pod. The Huskies were able to grab a 5-3 win over UND just four days prior. Since, UND beat Western Michigan, 6-3, on Sunday while SCSU fell to Omaha, 2-0, also on Sunday.

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, as well as through the iHeart Radio app.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.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES
No. 13/11 St. Cloud State scored just 51 seconds into the game and later scored three unanswered in the second and third periods en route to a 5-3 win, Dec. 12. UND, already down a pair of defensemen to the World Juniors, lost two more skaters due to injury. UND’s power play unit was held in check for the first time this season, going scoreless in five chances.

SERIES HISTORY WITH ST. CLOUD STATE
North Dakota has 74 all-time wins over the Huskies and has won over 60 percent of their matchups in their 135-game history.

PAIR OF FRESHMEN D OFF WITH TEAM USA
Jake Sanderson and Tyler Kleven were both named to the 25-man roster for the US National Junior Team that will travel to Edmonton, Alberta for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Tournament, Dec. 25-Jan. 2.

NCHCPOD HONORS, WEEK TWO
UND took its second consecutive NCHC Defenseman of the Week award as senior Matt Kiersted’s five-point week took top billing. He was joined by co-Rookie of the Week Riese Gaber, who collected three goals and an assist on the week to share the honor with Denver’s Owen Savoie.

NCHCPOD HONORS, WEEK ONE
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 again anked in this week’s USCHO.com poll with four in the top 10. Minnesota Duluth moved to third with UND at fourth and Denver at eight and St. Cloud State cracking the Top 10 at nine.  Omaha moved up a spot to 17th in the poll.

SPREADING IT OUT
North Dakota’s 27 goals have come from 14 different players.  Riese Gaber scored a pair of goals in the 6-3 win over Western Michigan to give him a team-high five.

JORDAN JAMMING ALONG
Jordan Kawaguchi has a point in all seven games in the NCHC pod, the only player to be able to make that claim. He has been in on all three game-winners for North Dakota as well, setting up the winners against Miami (Dec. 2) and both Western Michigan wins (Dec. 6, Dec. 13) while scoring the overtime clincher vs. Denver (Dec. 4).
BUDY, BUDY, BUDY, BUDY, ROCKIN’ EVERYWHERE, ROCKIN’ EVERYWHERE
Brendan Budy notched his first career goal in the Saturday game against St. Cloud State. Budy played six games at the University of Denver in 2018-19 without a point, but roofed his first goal on a nice pass from Jasper Weatherby to tie the score, 2-2, in the second period Saturday. He scored again Sunday to make him one of eight UND players with multiple goals on the season.

POWER PLAY PLUGGED BACK IN
North Dakota’s power play had been humming along in the early portion of the season. Heading into Saturday’s game against SCSU, UND’s power play had operated at an NCAA-best 36.4 percent (8/22).

Saturday, SCSU was able to keep UND off the board with the man advantage, keeping the Fighting Hawks to 0-for-5 for the game, the first this season without a PPG. UND rallied with a power-play goal in the Sunday win to come into Wednesday’s rematch again sporting the top efficiency in the league at 29.0%.

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 FOUR game-winning goals with three assists and an OT game-winning goal.

QUICK DRAW
North Dakota’s centermen have been great in the faceoff dot, currently third in the NCAA in faceoff win percentage (.599). Shane Pinto’s .661 win percentage is among the leaders in the country and his 113 draws won ranks second behind Wisconsin’s Owen Lindmark (117), who has played three more games. Jasper Weatherby is close behind at .619, third-best in the NCHC.

CENTURY KAWAGUCHI
Jordan Kawaguchi sits on 99 career points and is poised to become North Dakota’s 86th member of the 100-point club. Drake Caggiula (127 points from 2012-16) was the last member enshrined in this club at UND. Here are the active career leaders in points at North Dakota:

Player                      Pts           G             A
1. J. Kawaguchi       99            32            67
2. Matt Kiersted      62            19            43
3. Grant Mismash   59            25            34
4. Collin Adams       48            20            28
5. Bernard-Docker   45            13            32
6. Shane Pinto         38            19            19