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Mar. 6—GRAND FORKS — The
Penrose Cup
has already started making its rounds in town.
UND first-year head coach Dane Jackson has heard plenty from supporters as well.
"Lots of people giving congratulations," Jackson said. "Some people are saying, 'Nice job, now focus on the next one.' That's kind of our mindset. It was great to win, a ton of pride in that. I think guys had fun with it. Now, we're saying, 'Let's get refocused and ready for the next.'"
It's playoff season in Grand Forks.
UND will host Omaha in a best-of-three National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal series in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Game 1 is set for 7:07 p.m. Friday.
"The time we won the playoff title was in our rink, so hopefully we can keep that mojo going," Jackson said. "The main thing we're trying to focus on is playing our good, hard game. If we do that, we've got a great chance. We have good depth. We have good players at all positions. Guys are really buying in and trying to play the right way. If you add up those good parts, and stick to our process of competing hard for 60 minutes, we have a good chance to beat anybody."
This is the fourth consecutive year that UND and Omaha have met in the NCHC playoffs, the third time it has occurred in a quarterfinal series.
In 2023 and 2025, UND traveled to Omaha's Baxter Arena and knocked out the slightly favored Mavericks. The 2023 series went to three games. Last year, UND won in two games, rallying from down two goals in the third period on Saturday.
In 2024, Omaha beat UND in an NCHC semifinal game in St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center.
"They've had a great season," Omaha coach Mike Gabinet said. "They won the Penrose. They've been doing a lot of great things there.
"It's fun for a new opponent here and a chance to play them again. They've improved, we've improved. Looking forward to a really good competition here this weekend."
UND swept Omaha 4-0 in the regular season.
The Fighting Hawks beat the Mavericks 7-2 and 4-1 in Omaha in November. They beat them 4-1 and 3-1 in Grand Forks in December. But the games were competitive. Omaha outshot UND by nine in the four games combined.
"I think the scores a couple times have been lopsided, but I always felt they were close games and they were just kind of some junk goals at the end," Jackson said. "I felt like they were still all close, hard games."
The good news for UND? It won't have to travel for the NCHC tournament. The entire tournament will be played at the site of the higher seed this season, and UND is the top seed.
The Fighting Hawks have been nearly unbeatable in NCHC playoff games in The Ralph.
They're 17-1 and have won 16 in a row dating back to Game 2 of the 2015 NCHC quarterfinals against Colorado College. Their lone NCHC playoff title came in 2021, when the tournament was moved to The Ralph due to the coronavirus pandemic.
UND has not experienced the same success away from The Ralph in NCHC playoffs, going 7-13-1.
"It's going to be exciting," UND freshman forward Josh Zakreski said. "The Ralph is really going to be coming strong. They're going to bring their support. It's going to be fun. I'm definitely excited to get the playoffs underway."
UND OMA
25-8-1 Rec 12-22
3 NPI 41
3.9 (3rd) Off 2.7 (42nd)
2.3 (8th) Def 3.5 (52nd)
26.9 (8th) PP 21.8 (21st)
83.0 (15th) PK 76.6 (50th)
53.8 (5th) FO 47.0 (54th)
.902 (24th) SP .892 (45th)
Note: National rank in parentheses. Categories are record, NPI, offense (goals per game), defense (goals against per game), power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, faceoff percentage and team save percentage.
UND — None known
Omaha — None known
Nobody's been hotter lately for the Mavericks than freshman forward Jérémy Loranger. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick has eight points in the last seven games and has done most of his damage on the power play. Six of those eight points have come on the man advantage. He was named the NCHC's Rookie of the Month for February.
"He had some areas of growth early in the season," Gabinet said. "But when you stick with it and you're coachable and you take personal responsibility, you get better. We're seeing that. I'm a big fan of how he plays. He'll be a big part of our team down the stretch here."
You knew this one was coming, right? Nobody's been a thorn in the side of the Omaha Mavericks and goaltender Simon Latkoczy like Dylan James. He scored three times on Latkoczy in the 2022 Clark Cup Finals. He's done it six times at the college level and he's scored nine goals against Omaha, nearly 20% of his career total. James gets one last crack at Omaha and Latkoczy this weekend.
Things are tightening up at the end of the season. UND has gone to overtime in four of its last eight games. With the playoffs arriving, it's hard to see that changing.
Friday: UND 3, Omaha 2
Saturday: UND 4, Omaha 3, OT
TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD). Alex Heinert play-by-play, Jim Scanlan analyst, Taylor Budge and Erik Fabian at the desk.
Stream: NCHChockey.com/tv.
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM). Tim Hennessy play-by-play, Mike LaMoine analyst.
GFH:
Will college hockey send a team back to the Spengler Cup?
GFH:
After Ben Strinden's gesture, a Hallock is inspired to give back
GFH:
Will UND be in Sioux Falls for the regional?
GFH:
Simon Latkoczy has stolen playoff games before, can he do it again?
GFH:
NCHC announces major award finalists
GFH:
Cole Smith traded to Vegas Golden Knights
GFH:
UND plans green-out for all home playoff games
GFH:
Matt Greene moves behind the bench in Los Angeles
Scoring
21 Ben Strinden (NSH), sr, f, 15-18—33
29 Ellis Rickwood, sr, f, 8-24—32
17 Cole Reschny (CGY), fr, f, 5-26—31
26 Dylan James (DET), sr, f, 17-10—27
9 Will Zellers (BOS), fr, f, 17-10—27
25 Abram Wiebe (CGY), jr, d, 5-21—26
4 Jake Livanavage, jr, d, 5-20—25
7 Mac Swanson (PIT), so, f, 8-16—24
18 Keaton Verhoeff (2026), fr, d, 6-14—20
15 Jack Kernan, fr, f, 8-7—15
8 Ollie Josephson (SEA), fr, f, 5-10—15
19 Cody Croal, so, f, 7-4—11
27 Anthony Menghini, jr, f, 5-6—11
20 Cade Littler (CGY), so, f, 4-7—11
13 Sam Laurila (NYI), fr, d, 1-9—10
14 Tyler Young, sr, f, 4-5—9
6 E.J. Emery (NYR), so, d, 3-6—9
22 David Klee (SJS), fr, f, 3-3—6
24 Josh Zakreski, fr, f, 3-2—5
16 Andrew Strathmann (CBJ), so, d, 1-4—5
2 Bennett Zmolek, sr, d, 1-2—3
3 Jayden Jubenvill, so, d, 0-2—2
28 Dalton Andrew, so, f, 0-0—0
11 Ian Engel, fr, d, 0-0—0
35 Jan Špunar, fr, g, 0-0—0
31 Gibson Homer, sr, g, 0-0—0
1 Zach Sandy, sr, g, dnp
Goaltending
35 Jan Špunar, fr, 16-3-1, 1.93, .917
31 Gibson Homer, sr, 9-5, 2.71, .889
1 Zach Sandy, fr, dnp
Scoring
23 Maxime Pellerin, so, f, 8-12—20
38 Trevor Wong, so, f, 5-14—19
12 Luke Woodworth, fr, f, 4-15—19
86 Jérémy Loranger (CBJ), fr, f, 7-11—18
7 Griffin Ludtke, sr, d, 0-17—17
72 Marcus Nguyen, fr, f, 11-5—16
71 Brett Hyland (WSH), so, f, 8-8—16
11 Samuel Huo, sr, f, 6-9—15
24 Marc Lajoie, so, d, 6-7—13
19 Sean Tschigerl (ANA), so, f, 5-8—13
21 Tyler Rollwagen, sr, f, 7-5—12
22 Aidan de La Gorgendiere, jr, d, 3-9—12
10 Jacob Guévin, sr, d, 3-6—9
44 Spencer Sova, fr, d, 2-7—9
18 Myles Hilman, so, f, 5-3—8
13 Jacob Slipec, sr, f, 4-3—7
25 Cam Mitchell, sr, f, 2-4—6
8 Marcus Broberg, so, d, 1-5—6
9 Cameron Briere, fr, f, 2-3—5
27 Joel Plante, fr, f, 1-1—2
6 Ryan McCleary (PIT), so, d, 1-0—1
26 Chase LaPinta, so, f, 0-1—1
5 Joe Gramer, so, d, 0-1—1*
73 Dawson Cowan, fr, g, 0-1—1
3 Hunter McInnes, fr, d, 0-0—0
30 Simon Latkoczy, sr, g, 0-0—0
1 Will Craig, jr, g, dnp
Goaltending
30 Simon Latkoczy, sr, 8-14, 3.20, .899
73 Dawson Cowan, fr, 4-8, 3.21, .901
1 Will Craig, jr, dnp
*Gramer left the team for Seattle (WHL)
Continue reading...
Penrose Cup
has already started making its rounds in town.
UND first-year head coach Dane Jackson has heard plenty from supporters as well.
"Lots of people giving congratulations," Jackson said. "Some people are saying, 'Nice job, now focus on the next one.' That's kind of our mindset. It was great to win, a ton of pride in that. I think guys had fun with it. Now, we're saying, 'Let's get refocused and ready for the next.'"
It's playoff season in Grand Forks.
UND will host Omaha in a best-of-three National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal series in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Game 1 is set for 7:07 p.m. Friday.
"The time we won the playoff title was in our rink, so hopefully we can keep that mojo going," Jackson said. "The main thing we're trying to focus on is playing our good, hard game. If we do that, we've got a great chance. We have good depth. We have good players at all positions. Guys are really buying in and trying to play the right way. If you add up those good parts, and stick to our process of competing hard for 60 minutes, we have a good chance to beat anybody."
This is the fourth consecutive year that UND and Omaha have met in the NCHC playoffs, the third time it has occurred in a quarterfinal series.
In 2023 and 2025, UND traveled to Omaha's Baxter Arena and knocked out the slightly favored Mavericks. The 2023 series went to three games. Last year, UND won in two games, rallying from down two goals in the third period on Saturday.
In 2024, Omaha beat UND in an NCHC semifinal game in St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center.
"They've had a great season," Omaha coach Mike Gabinet said. "They won the Penrose. They've been doing a lot of great things there.
"It's fun for a new opponent here and a chance to play them again. They've improved, we've improved. Looking forward to a really good competition here this weekend."
UND swept Omaha 4-0 in the regular season.
The Fighting Hawks beat the Mavericks 7-2 and 4-1 in Omaha in November. They beat them 4-1 and 3-1 in Grand Forks in December. But the games were competitive. Omaha outshot UND by nine in the four games combined.
"I think the scores a couple times have been lopsided, but I always felt they were close games and they were just kind of some junk goals at the end," Jackson said. "I felt like they were still all close, hard games."
The good news for UND? It won't have to travel for the NCHC tournament. The entire tournament will be played at the site of the higher seed this season, and UND is the top seed.
The Fighting Hawks have been nearly unbeatable in NCHC playoff games in The Ralph.
They're 17-1 and have won 16 in a row dating back to Game 2 of the 2015 NCHC quarterfinals against Colorado College. Their lone NCHC playoff title came in 2021, when the tournament was moved to The Ralph due to the coronavirus pandemic.
UND has not experienced the same success away from The Ralph in NCHC playoffs, going 7-13-1.
"It's going to be exciting," UND freshman forward Josh Zakreski said. "The Ralph is really going to be coming strong. They're going to bring their support. It's going to be fun. I'm definitely excited to get the playoffs underway."
UND OMA
25-8-1 Rec 12-22
3 NPI 41
3.9 (3rd) Off 2.7 (42nd)
2.3 (8th) Def 3.5 (52nd)
26.9 (8th) PP 21.8 (21st)
83.0 (15th) PK 76.6 (50th)
53.8 (5th) FO 47.0 (54th)
.902 (24th) SP .892 (45th)
Note: National rank in parentheses. Categories are record, NPI, offense (goals per game), defense (goals against per game), power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, faceoff percentage and team save percentage.
UND — None known
Omaha — None known
Nobody's been hotter lately for the Mavericks than freshman forward Jérémy Loranger. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick has eight points in the last seven games and has done most of his damage on the power play. Six of those eight points have come on the man advantage. He was named the NCHC's Rookie of the Month for February.
"He had some areas of growth early in the season," Gabinet said. "But when you stick with it and you're coachable and you take personal responsibility, you get better. We're seeing that. I'm a big fan of how he plays. He'll be a big part of our team down the stretch here."
You knew this one was coming, right? Nobody's been a thorn in the side of the Omaha Mavericks and goaltender Simon Latkoczy like Dylan James. He scored three times on Latkoczy in the 2022 Clark Cup Finals. He's done it six times at the college level and he's scored nine goals against Omaha, nearly 20% of his career total. James gets one last crack at Omaha and Latkoczy this weekend.
Things are tightening up at the end of the season. UND has gone to overtime in four of its last eight games. With the playoffs arriving, it's hard to see that changing.
Friday: UND 3, Omaha 2
Saturday: UND 4, Omaha 3, OT
TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD). Alex Heinert play-by-play, Jim Scanlan analyst, Taylor Budge and Erik Fabian at the desk.
Stream: NCHChockey.com/tv.
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM). Tim Hennessy play-by-play, Mike LaMoine analyst.
GFH:
Will college hockey send a team back to the Spengler Cup?
GFH:
After Ben Strinden's gesture, a Hallock is inspired to give back
GFH:
Will UND be in Sioux Falls for the regional?
GFH:
Simon Latkoczy has stolen playoff games before, can he do it again?
GFH:
NCHC announces major award finalists
GFH:
Cole Smith traded to Vegas Golden Knights
GFH:
UND plans green-out for all home playoff games
GFH:
Matt Greene moves behind the bench in Los Angeles
Scoring
21 Ben Strinden (NSH), sr, f, 15-18—33
29 Ellis Rickwood, sr, f, 8-24—32
17 Cole Reschny (CGY), fr, f, 5-26—31
26 Dylan James (DET), sr, f, 17-10—27
9 Will Zellers (BOS), fr, f, 17-10—27
25 Abram Wiebe (CGY), jr, d, 5-21—26
4 Jake Livanavage, jr, d, 5-20—25
7 Mac Swanson (PIT), so, f, 8-16—24
18 Keaton Verhoeff (2026), fr, d, 6-14—20
15 Jack Kernan, fr, f, 8-7—15
8 Ollie Josephson (SEA), fr, f, 5-10—15
19 Cody Croal, so, f, 7-4—11
27 Anthony Menghini, jr, f, 5-6—11
20 Cade Littler (CGY), so, f, 4-7—11
13 Sam Laurila (NYI), fr, d, 1-9—10
14 Tyler Young, sr, f, 4-5—9
6 E.J. Emery (NYR), so, d, 3-6—9
22 David Klee (SJS), fr, f, 3-3—6
24 Josh Zakreski, fr, f, 3-2—5
16 Andrew Strathmann (CBJ), so, d, 1-4—5
2 Bennett Zmolek, sr, d, 1-2—3
3 Jayden Jubenvill, so, d, 0-2—2
28 Dalton Andrew, so, f, 0-0—0
11 Ian Engel, fr, d, 0-0—0
35 Jan Špunar, fr, g, 0-0—0
31 Gibson Homer, sr, g, 0-0—0
1 Zach Sandy, sr, g, dnp
Goaltending
35 Jan Špunar, fr, 16-3-1, 1.93, .917
31 Gibson Homer, sr, 9-5, 2.71, .889
1 Zach Sandy, fr, dnp
Scoring
23 Maxime Pellerin, so, f, 8-12—20
38 Trevor Wong, so, f, 5-14—19
12 Luke Woodworth, fr, f, 4-15—19
86 Jérémy Loranger (CBJ), fr, f, 7-11—18
7 Griffin Ludtke, sr, d, 0-17—17
72 Marcus Nguyen, fr, f, 11-5—16
71 Brett Hyland (WSH), so, f, 8-8—16
11 Samuel Huo, sr, f, 6-9—15
24 Marc Lajoie, so, d, 6-7—13
19 Sean Tschigerl (ANA), so, f, 5-8—13
21 Tyler Rollwagen, sr, f, 7-5—12
22 Aidan de La Gorgendiere, jr, d, 3-9—12
10 Jacob Guévin, sr, d, 3-6—9
44 Spencer Sova, fr, d, 2-7—9
18 Myles Hilman, so, f, 5-3—8
13 Jacob Slipec, sr, f, 4-3—7
25 Cam Mitchell, sr, f, 2-4—6
8 Marcus Broberg, so, d, 1-5—6
9 Cameron Briere, fr, f, 2-3—5
27 Joel Plante, fr, f, 1-1—2
6 Ryan McCleary (PIT), so, d, 1-0—1
26 Chase LaPinta, so, f, 0-1—1
5 Joe Gramer, so, d, 0-1—1*
73 Dawson Cowan, fr, g, 0-1—1
3 Hunter McInnes, fr, d, 0-0—0
30 Simon Latkoczy, sr, g, 0-0—0
1 Will Craig, jr, g, dnp
Goaltending
30 Simon Latkoczy, sr, 8-14, 3.20, .899
73 Dawson Cowan, fr, 4-8, 3.21, .901
1 Will Craig, jr, dnp
*Gramer left the team for Seattle (WHL)
Continue reading...
