No. 2 NoDak Prepares for Last Place RedHawks

UND HITS THE ROAD FOR A BATTLE WITH MIAMI (OH).

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR)–The Ralph Engelstad played host to a marquee, Top-5 matchup last weekend with No. 5 North Dakota hosting No. 4 Denver. UND completed the sweep over the Pioneers and rose in the USCHO.com poll to No. 2 and sole possession of first place in the NCHC by 4 points over second place St. Cloud State.

UND held Denver to just four total goals on the weekend after the Pioneers came in averaging over 5 goals per game. Ludvig Persson spoke about the complete team effort to get all 6 points on the weekend.

“I think we played unreal both games defensively and offensively,” said Persson. “We [were] blocking shots [and] following our game plan. So, a lot of credit to the team for that.”

Next up UND will prepare for the team sitting in last place in the NCHC standings, the Miami (OH) RedHawks. Though the RedHawks are in last place, the team understands every game in the NCHC is a battle.

“Denver [and] Miami (OH)… what league are they playing in,” said UND head coach Brad Berry. “They are playing in the NCHC. Anybody can beat anybody in the NCHC each and every weekend and that’s not a coach cliché coming out here. We are seeing that first and foremost. Our league is so competitive. Miami is a very good team as well and we got to make sure that we know that…if you’re not ready to play, anybody can beat anybody and I know our guys are up for the challenge.”

The weekend series with the RedHawks will mean a little extra for North Dakota Goalie Ludvig Persson. He spent the last three seasons with Miami (OH) before transferring to UND. This will be his first trip back to Oxford, Ohio since transferring.

“[It will be] fun,” said Persson. “A lot of good memories from there. [I am] really happy I’m here now, but it’ll be fun. I don’t even know what it looks like on the other side to be on the road there, but a lot of fun. The rink is nice and I’m excited.”

The battle of North Dakota and Miami (OH) will have a 6:05 P.M. puck drop on both Friday and Saturday night. UND will look to continue its very impressive streak of 19-straight games without suffering a regulation loss.