Spring Break
Fighting Sioux hope to buck the trend
The men's hockey team will travel to Duluth to take on the Bulldogs.
Scott Stone
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Sports
After a bumpy 0-3 start, the common theme for the No. 20 UND Fighting Sioux men's hockey team has been series splits.
UND dropped their first two games and since then have split with Minnesota State, Wisconsin, Colorado College and last weekend against Alaska Anchorage leaving their record at a sub par 4-6 overall but are still right in the middle of the pack in the WCHA with a 4-4 conference record.
So, needless to say, the Fighting Sioux would love to get two wins out of this weekend's match up with the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in Duluth this Friday and Saturday.
Coming off a big 3-1 Saturday night win against UAA on Saturday that saw freshmen goaltender Brad Eidsness steal the show stopping 23 of 24 shots, UND will look to harness that momentum against the Bulldogs.
UMD is 4-4-3 on the year and coming into this weekend's showdown the Sioux at a lowly 1-4-2 in the division dropping three out of four points to Wisconsin last weekend in Duluth.
Leading the Bulldogs into this weekend will be leading scorer, sophomore forward Justin Fontaine. Fontaine leads UMD with 13 points (6g, 7a) through 11 Bulldog contests. In between the pipes for the Bulldogs is junior goaltender Alex Stalock.
Stalock has been a staple for the UMD defense over the last few years starting in 47 consecutive games in net for the Bulldogs which is the longest active streak in the WCHA.
The UMD netminder has been stellar in-goal up to this point on the season bringing a 2.58 goals against average and a .90 save percentage into this weekend's action.
On the other side of the bench, the Sioux are led in scoring by a familiar face in senior captain Ryan Duncan. The captain has 9 points (4g, 5a) in 10 games this year and those four goals are also matched by up and coming freshman Brett Hextall.
UND has been nicked up on the blue line this year with senior assistant captain Joe Finley missing the last eight games. Coupled with Finley's injury and the inexperience at defense, senior Brad Miller has stepped in and provided the Sioux with some extra defensive support.
UND dropped their first two games and since then have split with Minnesota State, Wisconsin, Colorado College and last weekend against Alaska Anchorage leaving their record at a sub par 4-6 overall but are still right in the middle of the pack in the WCHA with a 4-4 conference record.
So, needless to say, the Fighting Sioux would love to get two wins out of this weekend's match up with the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in Duluth this Friday and Saturday.
Coming off a big 3-1 Saturday night win against UAA on Saturday that saw freshmen goaltender Brad Eidsness steal the show stopping 23 of 24 shots, UND will look to harness that momentum against the Bulldogs.
UMD is 4-4-3 on the year and coming into this weekend's showdown the Sioux at a lowly 1-4-2 in the division dropping three out of four points to Wisconsin last weekend in Duluth.
Leading the Bulldogs into this weekend will be leading scorer, sophomore forward Justin Fontaine. Fontaine leads UMD with 13 points (6g, 7a) through 11 Bulldog contests. In between the pipes for the Bulldogs is junior goaltender Alex Stalock.
Stalock has been a staple for the UMD defense over the last few years starting in 47 consecutive games in net for the Bulldogs which is the longest active streak in the WCHA.
The UMD netminder has been stellar in-goal up to this point on the season bringing a 2.58 goals against average and a .90 save percentage into this weekend's action.
On the other side of the bench, the Sioux are led in scoring by a familiar face in senior captain Ryan Duncan. The captain has 9 points (4g, 5a) in 10 games this year and those four goals are also matched by up and coming freshman Brett Hextall.
UND has been nicked up on the blue line this year with senior assistant captain Joe Finley missing the last eight games. Coupled with Finley's injury and the inexperience at defense, senior Brad Miller has stepped in and provided the Sioux with some extra defensive support.
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