UND Hockey: This, That, and Other Things

Friday, the University of North Dakota Hockey team defends its 2016 NCAA championship. Entering this weekend’s West Regional, UND will not be the favorites, they enter as a three seed. The University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and the Boston University Terriers will be heavily favored.

Last time UND played in Scheels Arena, they had huge home ice advantage and played what I would consider a home game. I don’t think BU or UMD is going to be fazed by all the green in the stands.

Trevor Olson Steps Up

If the Fighting Hawks are going to be successful, they will need to get timely goal scoring from their role players. Recently, junior forward Trevor Olson has taken a big step in elevating his game. Over the last six games, Olson has scored four goals and seven points. He’s also scored the game-winning goal in three of those six games. No one should be surprised by this.

“He played in the USHL, he played on a line with Jake Guentzel and he put the puck in the net on that line so he has that in his game, that offensive ability,” UND head coach Berry said. “He’s grown his game tremendously from his freshman year to his junior year right now and he’s earned every bit of it. Not only on the ice, he’s improved and done a great job but off the ice. The guys love him in the locker room, he’s a leader of our team. He says the right things and you need those guys this time of year to step up and that’s what drives the bus. The guys in the locker room at this time of year and he’s one of those guys that’s driving the bus.”

“Obviously, it’s nice to have him scoring goals this year and, as of late, you know, he’s a skilled player and he’s always had that touch and it’s great to see him finally finding the back of the net in games, UND senior captain Gage Ausmus said. “He’s been a huge part of our team recently here and he will be here going forward.”

Tucker Poolman is Questionable

Last weekend, junior defenseman Tucker Poolman was injured in the first period of Saturday’s Frozen Faceoff championship game. After the game, coach Berry said that Poolman would be ready to play on Friday.

“He skated today and he looked pretty good,” Berry said. “We’re going to make an evaluation. Obviously, it’s an afternoon game tomorrow so it’s a tight turnaround. We’ll see where he’s at tonight and tomorrow and make a decision there. He’s a warrior. He battles hard. We’ll find out where he’s at. He’s been getting better every day this week.”

Yeah, coach speak. I guess we will find out on Friday morning. I think we can list him as questionable. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play this weekend.

Terriers Not Fazed by Scheels Arena

During his opening remarks at Thursday’s press conference Boston University head coach David Quinn touched on the Scheel Arena environment. Make no mistake about it, the Terriers aren’t all that concerned about playing in a hostile environment. In fact, it sounds like the Terriers relish it and are going embrace it. I agree with coach Quinn, if you’re going to be the best, you have to win against the best teams in college hockey. No matter where the games are played.

“I’ve heard what went on last time this regional was here, Quinn said. “I don’t think you need to talk to too many people to anticipate what’s going to happen with the atmosphere and the excitement. Maybe seven or eight people will be in the building will be cheering for us – maybe not, maybe 20 – but we certainly understand the passion for North Dakota hockey throughout the state. They are kind of like the Patriots of North Dakota. They’ve got a strong following, a passionate following. But, we’ve been fortunate, we’ve played in a lot of hostile environments this year. When we show up to a building, it’s usually sold out and the crowd hates us with a lot of passion and it’s usually the game that everybody’s circled on the schedule before the season starts.

“Very similar to what North Dakota goes through, game in and game out. We’ve played at Michigan, at Denver and at Boston College this year where the places were sold out and the atmosphere was hostile. Our guys enjoyed it. Maine and Vermont are a couple other places that come to mind. We’ve played in environments like this. Our guys are battle-tested from that regard. They were excited. The minute the pairings were announced, I kind of glanced just to see what the reaction was and there were a lot of smiles and a lot of excitement. Really, if you’re a student-athlete and you’re looking at the landscape of regionals, this is a game that everybody would want to play in. You want to play North Dakota in Fargo in this environment. Listen, if you’re going to win championships, you’ve got to face great teams and beat great teams and we’re certainly going to face a great team tomorrow.”