Big Non-Conference Series This Weekend

One team is second in their conference, just a point back from first, while the other is in 6th, having just lost and tied to the 7th place team, and having played two more games than the 7th place team. Yet that 6th place team (North Dakota) is higher in the Pairwise than the 2nd place team (Cornell). UND currently sits in a tie for 12th in the PWR, while Cornell is tied for 17th, just out of the NCAA tournament field. That’s why this series is so huge. If one team sweeps, they immediately get boosted by the other team’s performance. In Cornell’s case, they would benefit from North Dakota’s tie against #1 Miami, and potential wins against Denver next weekend. In North Dakota’s case they benefit from beating a potential conference champion.

The biggest mismatch this weekend is penalty wise. The Sioux are the 4th most penalized team in the country at 19 PIMS per game, and Cornell’s power play is the 5th best in the country at over 24%. However, they have had just 74 power plays, by far the lowest in the top 25.

Although the defensive numbers are relatively the same – Cornell allows about .1 less goals per game than UND – the goaltending numbers are another story. Ben Scrivens leads ECAC Hockey with a .928 save percentage, while Brad Eidsness has just a .906 save percentage, 43rd in the country. North Dakota has gotten great play defensively from Jake Marto, Andrew MacWilliam, and Corey Feinhage, who has done a great job stepping up in All-Aemerican Chay Genoway’s absence.

Offensively however, UND has struggled. Their leading goal scorer is Jason Gregoire with 12, and their leading point getter is Evan Trupp with 20, although just 5 of them are goals.

Cornell’s leading scorer is Blake Gallagher with 12, and has 5 double digit point scorers. Former first round pick Riley Nash has been a bit of a disappointment this year with just 5 goals and 14 points. Colin Greening is having a great season for the Big Red, with 7 goals and 20 points, as well as being a great defensive forward. Greening, as a big kid with great two way skills, has a bright NHL future in front of him.

I honestly have no idea how this series will end up, but to be safe (ok a wuss) I’m going with the split.