North Dakota Hockey Prepares for Another Top-20 Opponent

UND HITS THE ROAD TO TAKE ON NO. 20 MINNESOTA STATE, MANKATO

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) –From ranked number six in the USCHO poll prior to their first game, to getting the number five ranking afterwards, North Dakota hockey looks to build on their 5-2 win over 13th-ranked Providence last Saturday.

The schedule does not get any easier for UND. Next up is another top-20 team: Minnesota State, Mankato.

The Mavericks are 2-2 on the season thus far with two splits: one against a Michigan Wolverines team ranked in the top-10 in their first weekend, and Merrimack College this past weekend.

With Saturday’s home win over top-15 ranked Providence in the books, UND is ready to continue that momentum for their first weekend series on the road this weekend.

“We definitely had a sour taste in our mouth after the [exhibition game versus] Augustana,” said defenseman Bennett Zmolek, who played his first two collegiate seasons for the Mavericks. “We had a hard week of practice. It was big to get that win and then just right back to it getting ready for [Minnesota State] because they’re a big, heavy and hard team to play against, so we got to be ready right away.”

Head coach Brad Berry emphasized a sentiment he said ahead of the Providence game.

“When I was here a week ago, I talked about kind of shift-by-shift, period-by-period, which will take care of the game and that’s what you have to have,” said Berry. “Going into it this weekend here, now we’re playing two games. There’s nothing more important than Friday night. And Saturday doesn’t matter right now. Friday is the night that you have to have the shift-by-shift mentality to carry over to gain momentum.”

This weekend’s series becomes even more important when you see the next few opponents for North Dakota. A home series vs. No. 3 Boston University and then back on the road vs. top-10 ranked Cornell. But the mindset in this program is strictly focusing on the next game at hand.

“It’s a business trip,” said Berry. “That’s got to be the first and foremost thing in our minds. It’s not a situation where we’re going to Mankato for anything else other than business. In order to have success, you have to have that mentality and making sure that the new guys in our group know that.

Junior forward Owen McLaughlin shared, “I think something in our culture that’s really strong is it’s kind of a faceless opponent for us. We prepare the same each week. It does not matter who we are playing. That goes a long way in terms of being ready to play each weekend.”

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Friday marks the 69th all-time meeting between North Dakota and Minnesota State, with UND holding a 40-19-and 9 advantage in the series.

These two of course former WCHA foes and a season ago split their weekend series at the Ralph…UND winning Friday night and Mankato taking Saturday in a shootout win.

Game one of this weekend has a 7:07 P.M. puck drop. Game two will be Saturday at 6:07 P.M.