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Mar. 22—GRAND FORKS — It's official, UND is headed to Sioux Falls for the NCAA men's hockey regional.
The Fighting Hawks will take on Hockey East tournament champion Merrimack at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN2) in Denny Sanford Premier Center.
Providence will play Quinnipiac at 4 p.m. in the other regional semifinal.
The regional championship is scheduled for Saturday. The time is yet to be determined.
Jason Ross and Kevin Weekes will call the Sioux Falls Regional on ESPN.
"Regardless of the opponent, (it's) excitement," UND associate head coach Matt Smaby said. "We've been not just waiting for this time, but working for this time all year. There's always a little bit of uncertainty as to who you're playing and how that's going to shake out.
"On our side, we're really excited for the opportunity. Merrimack has been playing great. We knew there was going to be a challenge some way, somehow, regardless of who we were playing. It's nice to be able to narrow the focus now."
The Fighting Hawks (27-9-1) are the region's No. 1 seed and the NCAA tournament's No. 2 overall seed.
Merrimack (21-15-2), the region's No. 4 seed, reached the NCAA tournament by going on a run in the Hockey East playoffs. The Warriors beat Hockey East's regular-season champion, Providence, in the quarterfinals. Then, they beat UMass 2-0 and UConn 2-1 this weekend in T.D. Garden.
Merrimack goaltender Max Lundgren stopped 49 of 50 in Saturday night's final against UConn and was named the tournament MVP.
Lundgren stopped 107 of 110 shots (.973 save percentage) in the Hockey East quarterfinals, semifinals and championship. He has played every minute in net this season for Merrimack, posting a .920 save percentage.
"Oftentimes, when you see a goalie playing well, there's usually a team in front of him that's not giving up a ton," Smaby said. "Those two things run together. I think, for us, we've always been at our best focusing on what we can control. That will be extremely important for our group heading into the game Thursday."
Merrimack is led offensively by a dynamic group of forwards — Hockey East rookie of the year finalists Parker Lalonde (37 points) and Justin Gill (35), Calgary Flames draft pick Trevor Hoskin (35) and sophomores Caelan Fitzpatrick (29) and Nick Pierre (25), who played high school hockey at Hill-Murray in the Twin Cities.
Merrimack's power play is converting at 30% since mid-December.
"We know we're going to get tested defensively," Smaby said. "We've been preparing for that all year. You've seen our games, throughout the course of the season, things have really started to tighten up. Now, it becomes real. The goalie has been playing great. Their team has been playing really well, so we've got to find a way to be great at what we want to do."
UND and Merrimack have only played two games in program history — an October 2009 series in Ralph Engelstad Arena. UND won 5-2 and 3-2.
The matchup will pit two players against their former teams.
UND forward Tyler Young transferred from Merrimack to UND this summer. Young spent three seasons at Merrimack.
Merrimack forward Michael Emerson spent a semester at UND in the fall of 2023. He left school to return to junior hockey, then committed to Merrimack. Emerson played six games for the Fighting Hawks.
"We've always been at our best focusing on ourselves and not worrying so much about what's coming at us," Smaby said. "That way, you're able to control the things you can control, which I think will be important in those big moments."
This will be UND's first driving trip to a regional since 2021, when the Fighting Hawks played in the Fargo Regional. That year, attendance was restricted due to the pandemic.
UND's last two regional games were in Maryland Heights, Mo., and Albany, N.Y., in 2024 and 2022. The Fighting Hawks lost both of those games by a goal.
"I think being close to home is nice, knowing our fans travel well throughout the course of the year and knowing that we're going to have a lot of green in the stands," Smaby said. "I think that's always a boost for us. We've been great on the road all year long. This is a road game. But we know whenever and wherever we're going, we're going to have the backing of our fans, which is a really exciting thing."
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The Fighting Hawks will take on Hockey East tournament champion Merrimack at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN2) in Denny Sanford Premier Center.
Providence will play Quinnipiac at 4 p.m. in the other regional semifinal.
The regional championship is scheduled for Saturday. The time is yet to be determined.
Jason Ross and Kevin Weekes will call the Sioux Falls Regional on ESPN.
"Regardless of the opponent, (it's) excitement," UND associate head coach Matt Smaby said. "We've been not just waiting for this time, but working for this time all year. There's always a little bit of uncertainty as to who you're playing and how that's going to shake out.
"On our side, we're really excited for the opportunity. Merrimack has been playing great. We knew there was going to be a challenge some way, somehow, regardless of who we were playing. It's nice to be able to narrow the focus now."
The Fighting Hawks (27-9-1) are the region's No. 1 seed and the NCAA tournament's No. 2 overall seed.
Merrimack (21-15-2), the region's No. 4 seed, reached the NCAA tournament by going on a run in the Hockey East playoffs. The Warriors beat Hockey East's regular-season champion, Providence, in the quarterfinals. Then, they beat UMass 2-0 and UConn 2-1 this weekend in T.D. Garden.
Merrimack goaltender Max Lundgren stopped 49 of 50 in Saturday night's final against UConn and was named the tournament MVP.
Lundgren stopped 107 of 110 shots (.973 save percentage) in the Hockey East quarterfinals, semifinals and championship. He has played every minute in net this season for Merrimack, posting a .920 save percentage.
"Oftentimes, when you see a goalie playing well, there's usually a team in front of him that's not giving up a ton," Smaby said. "Those two things run together. I think, for us, we've always been at our best focusing on what we can control. That will be extremely important for our group heading into the game Thursday."
Merrimack is led offensively by a dynamic group of forwards — Hockey East rookie of the year finalists Parker Lalonde (37 points) and Justin Gill (35), Calgary Flames draft pick Trevor Hoskin (35) and sophomores Caelan Fitzpatrick (29) and Nick Pierre (25), who played high school hockey at Hill-Murray in the Twin Cities.
Merrimack's power play is converting at 30% since mid-December.
"We know we're going to get tested defensively," Smaby said. "We've been preparing for that all year. You've seen our games, throughout the course of the season, things have really started to tighten up. Now, it becomes real. The goalie has been playing great. Their team has been playing really well, so we've got to find a way to be great at what we want to do."
UND and Merrimack have only played two games in program history — an October 2009 series in Ralph Engelstad Arena. UND won 5-2 and 3-2.
The matchup will pit two players against their former teams.
UND forward Tyler Young transferred from Merrimack to UND this summer. Young spent three seasons at Merrimack.
Merrimack forward Michael Emerson spent a semester at UND in the fall of 2023. He left school to return to junior hockey, then committed to Merrimack. Emerson played six games for the Fighting Hawks.
"We've always been at our best focusing on ourselves and not worrying so much about what's coming at us," Smaby said. "That way, you're able to control the things you can control, which I think will be important in those big moments."
This will be UND's first driving trip to a regional since 2021, when the Fighting Hawks played in the Fargo Regional. That year, attendance was restricted due to the pandemic.
UND's last two regional games were in Maryland Heights, Mo., and Albany, N.Y., in 2024 and 2022. The Fighting Hawks lost both of those games by a goal.
"I think being close to home is nice, knowing our fans travel well throughout the course of the year and knowing that we're going to have a lot of green in the stands," Smaby said. "I think that's always a boost for us. We've been great on the road all year long. This is a road game. But we know whenever and wherever we're going, we're going to have the backing of our fans, which is a really exciting thing."
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