Feb. 12-13, 2010 • 7:07 pm CT • National Hockey Center (5,371) • St. Cloud, Minn.
RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • TV: Charter
WEBCAST: B2LiveTV.com

THIS WEEK: North Dakota, ranked No. 11 nationally, returns from a week off for a key WCHA series at No. 4 St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday at the National Hockey Center.

UND enters the week in sixth place in the WCHA standings with 19 points, six points behind fifth-place Wisconsin and Colorado College. SCSU is tied with Minnesota Duluth atop the league standings with 29 points.

MEDIA INFORMATION: All Fighting Sioux men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on 96.1 FM (The Fox) and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Hockey Network. Veteran broadcaster Tim Hennessy is in his 30th season as the voice of the Fighting Sioux.

FREE live audio is available at FightingSioux.com.

This weekend's games will be televised live on Charter cable in the local St. Cloud viewing area only.

Video webcast of this weekend's games can be purchased at B2LiveTV.com.

FREE live stats are available at www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics.

TICKET INFORMATION: For ticket information, contact the St. Cloud State athletics ticket office at 1-877-SCSUTIX or 320-308-2137.

ABOUT SCSU: The Huskies, 10-1-1 since Jan. 1, moved into a tie for first place in the WCHA last week following a win and a tie against Alaska Anchorage. Ben Hanowski scored with one-tenth of a second remaining in the third period to salvage a 4-4 tie on Friday night and freshman G Mike Lee posted the Huskies' first shutout of the season in a 6-0 win on Saturday. Lee finished with 33 saves ... Senior F Ryan Lasch and junior F Garrett Roe each have 19 points during SCSU's 12-game run since Jan. 1. SCSU has outscored its opponents 52-28 during this stretch and the Huskies have posted a .283 rate on the power-play over these 12 games. ... Lasch enjoyed a six-point weekend against UAA and moved into third place on the Huskies' all-time scoring list ... Roe brings a 12-game point streak into the series, four games away from the school record set by Marc Gagnon in 1993-94 ... Head coach Bob Motzko enters the weekend with 99 career wins at St. Cloud State.

SCSU COACHING STAFF: Bob Motzko (SCSU ‘87) is in his fifth year at St. Cloud State and is 99-68-23 (.582) and has twice been named WCHA Coach of the Year (2006, 2007).

Motzo is assisted by Eric Rud (Colorado College ‘97), Mike Gibbons (Bemidji State ‘81) and Mike Ayers (New Hampshire ‘04).

THE ALL-TIME SERIES: The Sioux are 51-28-10 (.629) all-time against SCSU, including a 20-15-5 (.563) edge in St. Cloud.

The two teams have split each of their last two series, including a Nov. 13-14 set in Grand Forks earlier this year.

Senior F Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and senior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) each have eight career points against the Huskies to lead all active Sioux.

With five points in five career games against SCSU, sophomore F Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks) is the only Sioux averaging a point per game or better against the Huskies.

POLL POSITION: UND is ranked 11th in both the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports poll and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls released on Monday.

UND was ninth fourth in the most recent Inside College Hockey Power Rankings and is tied for 11th with Vermont in the PairWise Rankings. Please refer to page three for complete national poll information.

UND'S LAST ACTION: UND last played Jan. 29-30, when the Sioux suffered a home sweep at the hands of Denver, losing 2-0 and 4-2.

DU goalie Marc Cheverie made 33 saves in Friday's shutout, while Joe Colborne and Tyler Ruegsegger each scored in the opening 3:18 to provide the only offense needed. The Sioux power-play went a season-worst 0-for-9.

Sioux senior F Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) scored a pair of goals to stake UND to a 2-0 lead on Saturday, but the Pioneers rallied with three goals in the second period and one in the third to wrap up the sweep.

Sophomore F Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) assisted on both VandeVelde goals.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: UND has four weeks remaining on its regular season schedule, and the next three opponents are all currently ranked in the top nine of the USCHO/CBS College Sports poll.

UND, which opened the second half against unranked Niagara, No. 20 Notre Dame, No. 9 Cornell, and No. 3 Denver (Jan. 29-30), will face No. 4 St. Cloud State (Feb. 12-13), No. 7 Minnesota Duluth (Feb. 19-20) and No. 9 Colorado College (Feb. 26-27). The Sioux will then close out the regular season against unranked Michigan Tech.

UND closed out the first half of the regular season against No. 11 Wisconsin (Dec. 11-12), punctuating an eight-game stretch for the Sioux in which seven of those games came against opponents ranked in the top 12 nationally.

UND began the stretch at No. 3 Denver (Nov. 20-21), returned home to host unranked Ohio State (Nov. 27) and top-ranked Miami (Nov. 28), hit the road to face No. 12 Minnesota Duluth, then returned home to host No. 11 Wisconsin.

THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST: The Sioux enter the week as the stingiest defensive team in the WCHA, allowing just 2.21 goals per game, a figure that ranks fourth nationally.

Only Miami (1.67), Cornell (2.09) and Bemidji State (2.15) are allowing fewer goals per game than the Sioux.

POWER OUTAGE: UND has gone six consecutive games without a power-play goal and has been held scoreless in 32 straight chances.

UND's 0-for-9 effort on Jan. 29 against Denver was the team's worst since going 0-for-10 on Oct. 18, 2003 against Boston College.

The Sioux are 1-8-1 when failing to score on the power-play.

POWER-PLAY HEXED?: Sophomore F Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) has missed the past eight games due to injury. During that time, the Sioux power-play has gone 2-for-40 (5.0 percent).

Prior to Hextall's injury, UND was clicking at 24.1 percent with the man advantage and ranked second in the WCHA and seventh nationally.

Despite the eight-game absence, Hextall remains tied for the team lead with five power-play goals. He had been tied for the team leadi with eight goals overall at the time of his injury.

KILL OR BE KILLED: At the other end of the special teams spectrum, the Sioux killed seven of eight DU power-plays two weeks ago and rank second in the WCHA and 10th in the NCAA in penalty killing (86.2 percent).

The Sioux had killed 19 consecutive opponent power-plays before DU's Drew Shore scored at 13:37 of the second period of Saturday's game.

FINE AND VANDY: Senior F Chris Vandevelde (Moorhead, Minn.), the leading scorer among active Sioux, enters the weekend with 97 career points and is on the verge of becoming the 78th member of UND's "Century Club."

The last Sioux player to join UND's "Century Club" was VandeVelde's former teammate Ryan Duncan, who reached the 100-point milestone in 2007-08.

In 27 games this season, VandeVelde ranks second on the team with 21 points (9g, 12a).

SUPER MARIO: Sophomore F Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks) was appointed an assistant captain prior to the Jan. 30 game against Denver.

With senior captain Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) out since Nov. 14 due to injury, senior forwards Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) and Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba) had been the only Sioux wearing letters.

In 28 games this season, Lamoureux has three goals and five assists for a career-high eight points.

SWEEP SNIPPETS: Denver's sweep of UND marked the first time the Sioux had been swept at home since Dec. 15-16, 2006, when Michigan Tech accomplished the rare feat.

UND had played in 25 consecutive regular season series at home without being swept.

Also, UND's 2-0 loss in the series opener was the first time the Sioux had been blanked at home since a 1-0 loss to Harvard on Dec. 29, 2005.

SHOOTING BLANKS: Several key Fighting Sioux enter this weekend's series mired in personal goal-scoring slumps:

The slumps by Marto, Lamoureux and Toews represent the longest droughts of their careers.

SUPER SOPH: Sophomore F Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) assisted on both Sioux goals Jan. 30 against Denver to take over sole possession of UND's scoring lead with 23 points, including a team-leading and career-high 13 goals.

NON-CONFERENCE CALL: The Sioux finished their non-conference schedule with a 5-1-2 record, with the lone loss coming Jan. 22 at No. 9 Cornell.

UND's five non-conference wins included a season-opening sweep of Merrimack and victories over Ohio State, Niagara and Cornell.

FAMOUS DAVE: UND head coach Dave Hakstol enters the week with 143 career wins behind the Sioux bench, just six behind Rube Bjorman (1968-78) for third in school history.

Only John "Gino" Gasparini (392 wins, 1978-94) and Dean Blais (262, 1994-04) won more games at UND than Hakstol, the 2008-09 WCHA Coach of the Year.

Hakstol owns a career record of 143-79-24 (.630) and is a five-time finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year.

Hakstol is 13-6-5 all-time against St. Cloud State.

IRON MEN: Senior Fs Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) each played in their 150th and 151st career games Jan. 29-30 against Denver, tops among active Sioux.

WIsconsin's Ben Street (155 gp) is the only WCHA player who has appeared in more career games than Zajac and VandeVelde.

ROAD WARRIOR: In two road appearances this season, both starts, freshman G Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) has stopped 30 of 31 shots (.968 SV%) and boasts a tidy 0.51 goals against average.

However, after allowing two goals on 11 shots in one period on Jan. 29 against Denver, Dell is now 0-2-1 with a 3.69 goals against average and an .815 save percentage in three home appearances (two starts).

Overall, Dell is 1-3-1 with a 1.81 goals against average and an .897 save percentage.

NO AVERAGE JOE: Freshman D Joe Gleason (Edina, Minn.) leads the team with a +9 plus/minus rating and has been a plus or even in 24 of the 28 games in which he has played.

Gleason's +9 ranks second among all WCHA rookie defensemen behind only Wisconsin's John Ramge (+14).

A KNIGHT'S TALE: Freshman F Corban Knight (High River, Alberta) returned to the lineup Jan. 29-30 against Denver after missing four games with an undisclosed injury.

He had four shots on goal and was held off the scoresheet against the Pioneers.

In 22 games this season, Knight has three goals and an even plus/minus rating.

EVAN ALMIGHTY: With an assist Jan. 23 at Cornell, junior F Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) set a new career high with his 21st point of the season, surpassing the 20 he scored as a sophomore last season.

EIDS WIDE SHUT: When Cornell scored its lone goal with 10 seconds remaining in the third period on Jan. 23, it marked the fifth time in his career that sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) has lost a shutout bid with less than nine minutes left in regulation. It was the second time he has lost a shutout bid in the game's final two minutes:

Date Opponent Time Rem. Final
1/07/08 at Colorado College 1:27 3-1
1/10/09 Minnesota 7:50 6-1
2/20/09 at Alaska Anchorage 8:43 ot 2-1
1/03/10 vs. Niagara 8:56 3-1
1/23/10 at Cornell 0:10 3-1

In 26 appearances this season (24 starts), Eidsness is 12-7-4 with a 2.26 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

Earlier this season, Eidsness had a starting streak of 38 games come to an end, the third-longest in UND history:
Eidsness ranks fourth all-time at UND in career goals against average (2.46) and fifth in save percentage (.906).

Eidsness has been pulled from a game just once (Nov. 14 vs. SCSU) in 66 career games.

TRUE BLOOD: In his first 44 career games, sophomore D Ben Blood (Plymouth, Minn.) had yet to score a goal and had accounted for just three assists. However, in the five games that followed, Blood tallied three goals and an assist for four points.

It took Blood 45 games to score his first collegiate goal (Nov. 28 vs. Miami). He then scored his second career goal the very next game (Dec. 4 at UMD).

BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT: Sophomore F Jason Gregoire's (Winnipeg, Manitoba) goal 39 seconds into UND's season opener was the second-fastest UND goal on record to open a season (UND's box score records are incomplete prior to the 1966-67 season).
The fastest Sioux goal to open a season is six seconds, scored by Lee Davidson on Oct. 13, 1989 against Alabama-Huntsville. That goal is also the fastest Sioux goal to open any period.

FAB FROSH: The Sioux roster includes 10 freshmen in 2009-10, UND's largest freshman class since 2005-06, when 13 rookies donned the Kelly Green and White.

That 2005-06 class included the likes of 2007 Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan and current NHLers Jonathan Toews (Chicago), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis) and Brian Lee (Ottawa).

In fact, 11 members of that 13-player 2005-06 freshman class, eight of whom graduated as seniors last season, are currently playing professional hockey.

GENOWAY, CICHY HONORED: A pair of Sioux were recognized when InsideCollegeHockey.com announced its 2009-10 preseason All-America and all-rookie teams.

Senior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) was named to the INCH preseason All-America third team. Last season, Genoway was named a second-team All-American and the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year after collecting a career-high 32 points. He was also named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American and a WCHA Scholar-Athlete.

Freshman F Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) was named to INCH's preseason All-Rookie team. A seventh-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Cichy led the Indiana Ice to a United States Hockey League championship and was named the league's playoff MVP with 25 points (including a USHL-record 16 assists) in 16 games. He totalled 76 points in 56 regular season games.

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA: So much for the notion that hockey is a "regional" sport.

UND junior F Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) is the first New Brunswick native to ever play for the Sioux while sophomore F Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) is the first Californian to suit up for the Sioux.
Freshman Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) is just the second native of Connecticut to ever play for the Sioux and the first since Frank Morgan way back in 1951-52.

Below is a geographical breakdown of the entire 2009-10 Sioux roster:

• Minnesota (6): Ben Blood (Plymouth), Corey Fienhage (Apple Valley), Joe Gleason (Edina), Ryan Hill (Hermantown), Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie), Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead)
• Alberta (6): Aaron Dell (Airdrie), Brad Eidsness (Chestermere), Matt Frattin (Edmonton), Corban Knight (High River), Andrew MacWilliam (Calgary), Carter Rowney (Sexsmith)
• Manitoba (5): Brent Davidson (Morden), Chay Genoway (Morden), Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg), David Toews (Winnipeg), Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg)
• North Dakota (2): Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks), Jake Marto (Grand Forks)
• Alaska (1): Evan Trupp (Anchorage)
• California (1): Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach)
• Colorado (1): Tate Maris (Denver)
• Connecticut (1): Mike Cichy (New Hartford)
• Nebraska (1): Brett Bruneteau (Omaha)
• New Brunswick (1): Brad Malone (Miramichi)
• Wisconsin (1): Derrick LaPoint (Eau Claire)

FEELING A DRAFT: UND 2009-10 roster includes 16 players who have been drafted by National Hockey League teams. The group includes goalie Brad Eidsness (Buffalo), defensemen Andrew MacWilliam (Toronto), Derrick LaPoint (Florida), Corey Fienhage (Buffalo), Joe Gleason (Chicago) and Ben Blood (Ottawa) and forwards Danny Kristo (Montreal), Mike Cichy (Montreal), Corban Knight (Florida), Brett Bruneteau (Washington), Jason Gregoire (New York Islanders), David Toews (New York Islanders), Brad Malone (Colorado), Brett Hextall (Phoenix) , Matt Frattin (Toronto) and Chris VandeVelde (Edmonton).

A total of 24 Sioux have been drafted during the tenure of sixth-year head coach Dave Hakstol, including first-rounders Jonathan Toews (Chicago, 2006), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis, 2005), Brian Lee (Ottawa, 2005) and Joe Finley (Washington, 2005).

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Fourteen former Sioux have seen action in the NHL this season: Jason Blake (Toronto), Brandon Bochenski (Tampa Bay), Taylor Chorney (Edmonton), Mike Commodore (Columbus), Matt Greene (Los Angeles), David Hale (Tampa Bay), Ryan Johnson (Vancouver), Brian Lee (Ottawa), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis), Zach Parise (New Jersey), Matt Smaby (Tampa Bay), Drew Stafford (Buffalo), Jonathan Toews (Chicago) and Travis Zajac (New Jersey).

Seventeen former Fighting Sioux played in the NHL last season, the most of any team in the WCHA and UND's most since sending 21 in 1993-94.

Additionally, four former Sioux can be found in the NHL coaching ranks, including Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett, Tampa Bay assistant coach Rick Wilson, Buffalo assistant coach James Patrick and Phoenix video coach Steve Peters.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: UND's 2009-10 roster features five players who have had family members previously play for the Fighting Sioux: defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) and forwards Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks), Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), David Toews (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba).

Genoway, Toews and Zajac each have older brothers who once played at UND, Lamoureux's father and brother played for the Sioux and Hextall has a great uncle who played for the Sioux.

Genoway's brother, Colby, was a forward at UND from 2002-05 and scored 81 points in 115 career games. He most recently played for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Hextall's great uncle, Dennis, was a forward at UND from 1964-66 and scored 101 career points in 63 career games. Hextall's hockey bloodlines extend to his father (Ron), grandfather (Bryan Jr.) and great grandfather (Bryan Sr.), each of whom enjoyed lengthy NHL careers. His father, Ron, is currently the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.

Lamoureux's brother, Jean-Philippe, was a goalie at UND from 2004-08 and is the school's all-time co-leader in goals against average (2.14). His father, Pierre, was a goalie for the Sioux from 1979-82 and was a member of UND's 1982 NCAA championship team. Another brother, Pierre-Paul, is in his first year as UND's student-assistant coach while twin sisters Jocelyne and Monique are sophomore forwards on the Fighting Sioux women's hockey team. Both are currently pursuing rosters spots on the U.S. Olympic team.

Toews' brother, Jonathan, was a forward at UND from 2005-07, scoring 85 points in 76 career games and earning All-America honors in 2007. He is now the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Zajac's brother, Travis, scored 96 points in 91 games from 2004-06 and currently plays for the New Jersey Devils.

Citius, Altius, Fortius: Former UND standouts Zach Parise and Jonathan Toews have been selected to represent their countries at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Parise, the leading scorer for the New Jersey Devils, will play for the United States and has been named an assistant captain.

Toews, now the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, will play for Canada.

FOREVER SIOUX: Every member of UND's coaching staff and support staff is a graduate of the University of North Dakota.

Head coach Dave Hakstol (1989-92), associate head coach Cary Eades (1978-82), assistant coach Dane Jackson (1988-92) and volunteer assistant Scott Koberinski (1985-89) each played for the Fighting Sioux.

Additionally, hockey operations manager Pat Swanson (2002), athletic trainer and strength coach Mark Poolman (1992), team physician Dr. Greg Greek and media relations director Jayson Hajdu (2000) are also UND graduates.