33 National Titles Enter, One Leaves: Blue Blood Showdown at the Frozen Four

GRAND FORKS (KVRR) – The messages started coming in almost immediately after the celebration. Former players, many of whom helped build the tradition of North Dakota hockey, reached out to head coach Dane Jackson with congratulations — and a little motivation.

“Always really nice to hear from former players, guys,” Jackson said. “Quite a few players have reached out. And excited about us going back to the Frozen Four and taking that next step. You know, it’s always quickly followed with, ‘You better get it done now that you’re going there.’”

That opportunity arrives Thursday, April 9, when North Dakota takes the ice in Las Vegas for the NCAA Frozen Four.

UND opens the national semifinals against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first game of the day. The other semifinal features top-seeded Michigan taking on Denver.

And when you look across the bracket, the history is impossible to ignore.

Between the four programs, the Frozen Four field boasts a combined 33 national championships: Denver leads the way with 10, Michigan follows with 9, North Dakota has 8, and Wisconsin owns 6. Simply put, the sport’s most decorated programs are all sharing the same stage.

Freshman forward Jack Kernan says the moment — and the competition — is exactly what college hockey is all about.

“Yeah, I think it’s awesome,” Kernan said. “They’ve had the most national championships, a lot of Frozen Fours, so it’s teams that know how to play in these games and know what they’re doing there, so it’ll be a lot of fun. I’m assuming there should be a lot of tight games, which will be interesting, but I think it’s really cool that the Blue Bloods are back in the big dance.”

North Dakota has leaned on depth all season long, and it showed in the regional round in Sioux Falls. The third line of Cody Croal, Kernan and Tyler Young made a major impact, combining for six total points in two games — including five of UND’s eight goals in the regional.

But according to Jackson, depth is only part of what has made this group special.

“I don’t know a ton about all the ins and outs of the other teams,” Jackson said, “but I guess I’ll maybe talk about what separates this team from maybe some of the other ones that I’ve coached in the past here. Depth is a good one, but I’d say also just kind of a real commitment to put the team first and really not worry about some of your ice times.

“You have some good players that are playing less and don’t get to play in some certain situations, but guys have just focused on what they can do and what role they can bring and do a good job with that. Team-first mentality has been really evident with this group and that’s been so nice to coach.”

Now, with a national title game berth on the line, North Dakota will try to take one more step in a tournament filled with the sport’s biggest names — and the biggest expectations.

North Dakota and Wisconsin drop the puck April 9 at 2 p.m. local time, 4 p.m. Central, inside T-Mobile Arena.

Stay tuned throughout the week as KVRR Sports will have continued coverage of UND leading up to the Frozen Four — and from Las Vegas as the tournament unfolds