This weekend the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks entertains the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks in a pivotal conference matchup.  This will be the first series between the two teams this season.

Series History

All-time, UND leads the series against the UNO 9-6-1 (.594). In Grand Forks, ND, UND leads the series 4-3-1 (.563). In Omaha, NE, UND leads the series 5-3-0 (.625). Last 10, UND leads 6-3-1 (.650)

Tale of the Tape

#9 University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks vs.  #1 University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Date: Jan. 15-16, 2016
Time: Friday 7:37 p.m. CT, Saturday 7:07 p.m. CT
Location: Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634) Grand Forks, N.D.
Radio: Home of Economy UND Sports Radio Network
Webcast: NCHC.tv
TV: Midco Sports Network
National TV: FOX College Sports Central (Saturday)

Fighting Hawks

UND Offense: 11^th, 3.41 GPG
UND Defense: 2^nd, 1.59 G/GM
UND Scoring Margin: 7^th, 1.82
UND Power Play: 28^th, (15/84, 17.9%)
UND Penalty Kill: 19^th, (72/85, 84.7%)
UND Penalty Minutes: 14^th, (12.4 PIM/G)
Corsi: 57.3
UND SOS: 26^th
UND USCHO Ranking: 1^st
UND Pairwise Ranking: 2^nd
UND Record during January: 2-0-0
UND Home Record: 8-1-1 (.850)
UND Away Record: 9-1-2 (.833)
Neutral Ice: 1-0-1 (.750)
UND Last 10 Games: 9-1-0 (.900)

Mavericks

UNO Offense: 13^th, 3.30 G/GM
UNO Defense: 17^th, 2.35 G/GM
UNO Scoring Margin: 11^th, .95
UNO Power Play: 27^th, (14/78, 17.9%)
UNO Penalty Kill: 7^th, (70/80, 87.5%)
UNO Penalty Minutes: 44^th, (9.3 PIM/G)
Corsi: 49.4
UNO SOS: 11^th
UNO USCHO Ranking: 9^th
UNO Pairwise Ranking: 7^th
UNO Record during January: 0-2-2 (.000)
UNO Home Record: 8-2-0 (.800)
UNO Away Record: 6-3-1 (.650)
UNO Last 10 Games: 7-3-0 (.700)

UND forward Brock Boeser (Tyler Ingham, UND Athletics)

North Dakota Fighting Hawks: Forwards: Drake Caggiula (14g-15a—29pts), Nick Schmaltz (3g-23a—27pts), Brock Boeser (13g-8a—21pts), Bryn Chyzyk (8g-3a—11pts), Austin Poganski (5g-5a—10pts), Johnny Simonson (2g-7a—9pts), Luke Johnson (4g-5a—9pts). Defense: Troy Stecher (3g-12a—15pts), Tucker Poolman (3g-11a—14pts), Christian Wolanin (3g-6a—9pts), Keaton Thompson (1g-7a—8pts), Paul LaDue (2g-6a—8pts), Goaltenders: Cam Johnson (9-0-1, 1.07 GAA, .957 save percentage), Matt Hrynkiw (9-2-1, 2.11 GAA, .911 save percentage). (UND Stats)

Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks: Forwards: Jake Guentzel (10g-17a—27pts), Austin Ortega (16g-8a—24pts), Justin Parizek (6g-15a—21pts), Jake Randolph (8g-9a—17pts), Fredrik Olofsson (6g-7a—13pts). Defense: Brian Cooper 3g-6a—9pts), Luc Snuggerud (2g-6a—8pts), Ian Brady (1g-5a—6pts). Evan Weninger (10-2-0, 1.99 GAA, 942 save percentage), Kirk Thompson (4-3-1, 2.75 GAA, .889 save percentage). (UNO Stats)

Series prediction

I wrote in another column, this weekend, the safe bet is a series split. Historically, there’s been only one series sweep between the two teams, UND swept UNO (2-1 W, 5-2 W) on Feb. 8-9, 2013, in Omaha, Nebraska. Last season, UND took four-of-six points against the Mavericks in Grand Forks, ND. Every other series between the two teams has been a split. Finally, no team has won more than three games in a row.