Scouting No. 1 Denver (6-2-2, 2-2 NCHC) vs. No. 3 North Dakota (7-2-3, 2-1-1)

Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., at Magness Arena

TV / Radio: Altitude 2 and 104.3 FM

Series: North Dakota leads 144-123-12 (each team won once and tied last season). Denver took three of four points in Grand Forks, N.D., while the Fighting Hawks won an NCHC Frozen Face-off semifinal, 1-0. The teams also met in the 2016 Frozen Four, with North Dakota winning en route to the national title. DU is 6-7-3 vs. North Dakota under Jim Montgomery.

Overview

The Fighting Hawks return to Magness Arena for the first time in two seasons for what should be a dandy of a series between the past two national champions. Some of the names have changed, but these are two proud, well-coached programs with a lengthy history. Both teams have the skill to play it any way you want. It’s tempting to say Denver is relying on a high-powered offense, but the Pioneers have allowed four or fewer goals every weekend, except for Western Michigan’s 13-goal avalanche two weekends ago. North Dakota has been very stingy thus far, particularly on special teams. The Pioneers locked down St. Cloud State last weekend, allowing just three goals to what had been the highest-scoring team in the nation, while the Fighting Hawks put up seven goals in gaining three of four points against Miami. That was North Dakota’s second-highest goal total in a weekend thus far, and it tied for DU’s best defensive showing.

DU update

The Pioneers have not had a weekend of scoring fewer than six goals and they haven’t had a weekend of fewer than eight in the past month. Their 4.2 goals per game are the second most in Division I. Their top offensive players have been great thus far. Henrik Borgstrom leads Division I in goals (11) and points per game (1.89). He has points in all nine games he’s played in and 17 overall. He’s getting goals in bunches, too, with four multi-goal games already. Five other players also have multi-goal games, including defensemen Blake Hillman and Adam Plant (the NCHC’s defenseman of the week). … Troy Terry has scored 15 of his 18 points on his current seven-game points streak. He’s No. 2 in D-I in points. Dylan Gambrell has 16 points, and he’s been a player who typically fares very well vs. North Dakota (seven points in nine games). Jarid Lukosevicius is heating up, too, with goals in three games in a row and seven points in a five-game point streak. Beyond those four, seven other players have multiple goals. … Senior Tanner Jaillet was superlative vs. St. Cloud State, stopping 53 of 56 shots on his goal. He was quick to credit the Pioneers’ team defense after Friday’s victory.  … DU’s power play is hitting on nearly 28 percent of its chances (fourth in D-I). Take away an 0-for-8 showing on Friday at Western Michigan, and the Pioneers have connected on 11 of their past 26 (42.3 percent), and six of those goals have come in the past three games.

North Dakota update

The Grand Forks Herald reported goaltender Cam Johnson (lower body) returned to practice Wednesday, but it’s unclear if the senior will play this weekend or not. Peter Thome is 2-0-2 with a .929 save percentage and 1.92 goals-against average in Johnson’s place, so there hasn’t been a drop-off. Johnson is 5-2-1 with a .925 and 1.63 numbers. … North Dakota has nine players with multiple goals, led by junior forward Nick Jones‘ five and four apiece from freshman Grant Mismash, junior Shane Gersich and freshman Collin Adams. Mismash’s 11 points and defenseman Christian Wolanin‘s 10 top the points list, with Jones (9) and Gersich (8) right behind. … The real story has been the Hawks’ defense – they’ve allowed just 1.75 goals per game (third in D-I) and kill for 95.8 percent of their penalties (second), including their past 11. That’s a good thing because they average nearly 12 minutes per game. Their power play is 20th (21.8 percent), with Wolanin, Jones, Adams and Rhett Gardner each with two tallies. … Chances are are tough to come by against North Dakota, which allows 24 shots on goal per game and outshoots opponents by seven on average. … The Hawks also could get two forwards back from injury – senior Trevor Olson and sophomore Ludvig Hoff, according to the Herald.

How it could go down

Both teams have veteran goaltenders that have won it all. Both have a lot of offensive depth, and both can play lockdown defense. This might come down to which special teams unit is better – DU’s power play or UND’s penalty kill. Both are among the best in the nation at what they do. Denver has had a tougher schedule and is healthy aside from senior defenseman Tariq Hammond, who is not expected to play until after Thanksgiving.

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Copyright First Line Editorial 2017