UND Hockey is heading into dangerous and desperate waters sitting at 19th in the Pairwise rankings.
While they are not mathematically out of Pairwise contention, the most realistic chance they have of making the NCAA tournament is to win the National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament. A task they have only accomplished once in 2021 since the tournament’s creation in 2014.
The race for the fourth seed is heating up as Denver University, UND, and Colorado College are all within one or two points of each other.
The fourth seed is the last seed to get a home-ice advantage in the NCHC quarterfinals. The Fighting Hawks’ last four games have split with Denver and Colorado College going 2-2. Following a tough 4-0 loss in game one at Denver, the Fighting Hawks entered desperation mode.
“Usually, we come back with a big effort from everybody,” Head Coach Brad Berry told the Grand Forks Herald. “But we need it. This is the time of year right now, especially in crunch time, that we need to win tomorrow.”
UND did just that defeating Denver 3-1, grabbing three crucial points.
The Fighting Hawks also became just the second team this season to win against Denver and the first since Arizona State swept them in November.
“It shows we’re a really good team,” UND alternate captain Jake Schmaltz told the Grand Forks Herald. “It should give us a lot of confidence going into the end of the year. It’s exciting that we’re kind of building. We’re taking a step. Tonight was a huge night for us.”
The Fighting Hawks are 10-7-1 in the NCHC with 31 points and just one point above Denver in the fourth spot. With just six games left, every game matters.
“We’ve got nothing left to lose here,” UND captain Louis Jamernik V told the Grand Forks Herald. “We just have to put it all on the line. I know we have a great group of guys in there. Everybody cares about each other. We’re working hard. It’s just playing a full 60 [minutes] consistently.”
UND will face Minnesota Duluth at home, Western Michigan on the road, and Omaha at home for their last three NCHC series.
Denver is 10-7-1 in NCHC play and has 30 points. Denver will go on the road to play Miami Ohio who are 0-18 in NCHC play this season. Then, Denver will play St. Cloud State at home and finish the season with a home and away series against Colorado College.
Colorado College is 10-9-1 in NCHC play and has 29 points. It has played two more games than Denver and UND. The Tigers have two series left at St. Cloud State and a home and away series against Denver.
Western Michigan holds the first spot (15-2-1 NCHC) with 45 points, and Arizona State is in second (12-7-1 NCHC) with 40 points.
Omaha sits in third after getting swept by Western Michigan (12-7-1 NCHC) with 38 points.
If the NCHC tournament started today, UND would be hosting Denver for a three-game series at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
UND will face seventh-place Minnesota Duluth at Ralph Engelstad Arena this weekend looking to earn six crucial points in the NCHC standings.
“We’ve got to get back to what we are as a team,” Berry told the Grand Forks Herald.
Elijah Andrews is the Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at elijah.andrews@und.edu.
