Surging Hawks, Tigers back for rematch of pivotal December series as playoff race heats up

By Joe Paisley

The December National Collegiate Hockey Conference series between Colorado College and North Dakota could be viewed as the turning point for both programs’ seasons as they jockey for playoff position entering this weekend’s rematch.

The Tigers pulled off a historic road sweep, the school’s first at Ralph Engelstad Arena and the first since Thanksgiving 1993 in Grand Forks, to reinvigorate the team, winners of nine of their last 12 games (8-2 league), that pushed them into fourth place in the NCHC and the NCAA Tournament hunt.

It cemented a growing team confidence, further solidified by a subsequent road win at Minnesota when the second half of the season began. In short, this year’s CC team is a good one and they garnered the results to prove it to themselves and others.

“That weekend definitely added something to us,” said sophomore Gleb Veremyev. “Coming out of there with two wins gave us the belief that we can win those hard games and win against anyone.”

“Every win you get reconfirms and allows you to believe in it a little more,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “The way we played Saturday (against North Dakota) showed that (confidence) was growing. College hockey is so good, winning one game somewhere happens all the time. Your ability to stack wins is really about belief, confidence and good play.”

Which sets the stage for a highly anticipated league series between two teams playing good hockey when the second-ranked Fighting Hawks take on the No. 15 Tigers (16-9-1) this weekend at Ed Robson Arena.

That December series result, hard as it was to swallow for the team and its fans, proved beneficial for North Dakota (20-6-2), judging from subsequent results, with an 8-1-1 record since to vault into first place in the league.

“That was a good punch in the face. That’s something we needed,” defenseman Bennett Zmolek said during UND’s weekly media conference.

“We learned a lot as far as ourselves and a lot about what (CC) brings to the table as well,” said coach Brad Berry who recorded his 200^th win at UND earlier this month. “They are a patient team. They try to capitalize on miscues or errors. Puck management (will) be a key. You have to force them into bad situations.”

The series pits strength against strength with a fast-skating Hawks offense looking to punch holes though CC’s frustrating defensive structure, which has it as the top-ranked defensive team in NCHC play (2.44 goals per game) with just 12 allowed in the last seven games.

A major reason behind CC’s surge is the foundation of that team defense — sophomore goalie Kaidan Mbereko, who became the NCHC’s lone semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award on Wednesday. The Aspen native stopped 54 of 58 shots (.931 saves percentage) against UND in December and is now 16-9-1 (2.52 goals against, .912 saves) overall and even better in NCHC play (2.25 goals, .924 saves).

He has more offensive support this season thanks to sophomore center Noah Laba’s breakout season (24 points, 15 goals, 7 game-winners) and linemate Veremyev (18, nine goals), who ended an eight-game scoreless streak in a home series split against second-place St. Cloud State two weeks ago.

Overtime bodes well for CC. Laba has four of the team’s five OT game winners with Veremyev collecting the fifth at UND in December. UND has gone 21-straight games without a loss in regulation (Nov. 3 at Boston University) but own a 3-5 record when playing the extra period.

To get there, the Tigers will need their secondary scorers to produce timely goals. That group is led by senior captain Logan Will (17, 11 assists), sophomore Ryan Beck (15, team-high 12 assists) and 12 points each from junior Stanley Cooley (eight assists) and freshman Evan Werner (eight assists).

The CC defenseman corps is producing as well, led by freshman Max Burkholder (11, three power-play goals) and seniors Nicklas Andrews (11, eight assists) and Jack Millar (10, seven assists). Freshman forward Bret Link is the 10th Tiger in double figures with 11 points (eight assists).

The Fighting Hawks are paced by Jackson Blake with team-highs in Points (39), goals (17) and assists (22) as part of a 10-game points. UND also has 29 points each from Cameron Berg (15 goals) and Owen McLaughlin (20 assists) and a solid goaltender in Miami transfer Ludvig Persson (17-6-2, 2.38 goals, .907 saves), especially behind an improved defensive corps paced by Alaska transfer Garrett Pyke (22, 19 assists).

Ice chips

UND owns a 173-86-12 all-time series lead against CC with 173 victories the most against any one program in North Dakota history.  … UND is 61-60-4 all-time in Colorado Springs. … The Tigers are one victory away from matching their best season win total since going 17-20-4 during the 2018-19 season. Those 16 wins are the best after 26 games since the 2007-08 season (started 18-7-1). … CC’s five OT wins are the most since the 1979-80 season (six).