No. 6 NoDak Prepares for Another Top-10 Showdown: No. 9 Cornell

NORTH DAKOTA SITS AT 3-2 ON THE SEASON HEADING INTO ANOTHER RANKED SHOWDOWN.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) –The seats in the Ralph Engelstad Arena were full and the fans were loud this past weekend as UND played to a split with then third-ranked Boston University. Those same seats are going to be empty over the next few weekends as UND, currently ranked number six in the most recent USCHO poll, hits the road for their final non-conference series.

North Dakota is 3-2 on the season so far with all of their games against ranked opponents and that does not change this weekend as NoDak heads to Ithaca, New York to take on number nine Cornell.

“Got to play against them several times last year,” said senior goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter who spent last season with Arizona State. “We know they’re going to come out hard. They’re obviously a well-disciplined team. They play really hard. And obviously, they do a really good job in their conference and making it out. So I think it’s a great test for our guys. And obviously, this is a team that we could see later down the stretch. And I think what’s most important is just sticking to our game plan, sticking to our identity, doing the things that we do well. And that’s what’s going to help us have success this weekend.”

The talk within this program is consistent each year. Continue to get better and gain ground in the pairwise rankings, looking ahead to the national tournament. After having three of their first five games inside the Ralph, North Dakota now prepares for surprisingly their longest road trip of the year. Four games…the weekend series with the Big Red and then the start of the NCHC slate on the road in Duluth.

“When you talk about Providence, how we played at home, when you talk about BU, the two games we played at home, that’s what we want to see on the road,” said head coach Brad Berry who owns an 0-2 record vs. Cornell as head coach at North Dakota. “At the end of the day, you the Ralph is a great environment and we’ve had a lot of success here, but at the end of the day, we want to have that success on the road by having the the identity and the mentality how we play here, but take it on the road.”

The top-10 showdown in New York will have a 6 P.M. puck drop on both Friday and Saturday night with streaming available on ESPN+.

UND looking for their first sweep of the young season so far.