Dec. 11-12, 2009 • 7:37/7:07 pm CT • Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634) • Grand Forks, N.D.
RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • TV: FSSN, FCS Central, NHL Network (Friday only)
WEBCAST: FightingSioux.com • LIVE STATS: FightingSioux.com

THIS WEEK: In the final WCHA action of 2009, the third-ranked Fighting Sioux host No. 11 Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

UND enters the week in sixth place in the WCHA standings but trails third-place Wisconsin, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State by just two points. The Sioux are three points behind second-place Colorado College.

The Sioux enter the series boasting a WCHA-low 1.98 goals against average while the Badgers average a league-best 4.12 goals for per game.

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 returns for his 30th season as the voice of the Fighting Sioux.

Both games will be televised live on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network and on Fox College Sports Central. Pat Sweeney calls the action with Jim Scanlan providing color analysis. Friday's game will also be broadcast on the NHL Network.

A live video webcast of each game can be purchased at www.fightingsioux.com, where FREE audio and FREE live stats are also available.

TICKET INFORMATION: An extremely limited amount of tickets remained available for both games as of Tuesday afternoon. Tickets can be purchased at the UND Box Office at the Ralph Engelstad Arena, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

GAME PROMOTIONS: The first 10,000 fans through the door on Friday night will receive a free cardboard goalie mask courtesy of Dakota Textbook Co.

ABOUT WISCONSIN: The 11th-ranked Badgers own the top offensive team in the WCHA, averaging 4.12 goals per game ... UW and UND are allowing a league-low 2.00 goals per game ... The Badgers have scored four or more goals in nine of their last 12 games ... UW is coming off of a home sweep of Michigan Tech, winning 8-2 and 6-0 ... Senior F Blake Geoffrion tied a school record with three power-play goals on Friday. Geoffrion is tied for the league lead in goals (12) and WCHA goals (10) ... Junior D Brendan Smith leads the WCHA in scoring with 24 points and has been named the league's defensive player of the week three times already this season. He is currently riding a seven-game point streak ... Twenty different Badgers have scored goals this season, the most in the nation.

UW COACHING STAFF: Head coach Mike Eaves (UW ‘78) is in his seventh year at UW and is 153-116-35. He is assisted by Mark Osiecki (UW ‘94) and Kevin Patrick (Notre Dame ‘92).

SERIES HISTORY: UND trails the all-time series with the Badgers 60-83-10 (.425), including a 30-35-7 (.465) mark in Grand Forks. UW is the only WCHA team to own a winning record over the Sioux in Grand Forks.

The two teams split both of their regular season series last year. UND clinched the MacNaughton Cup with a 2-1 win in Madison on March 6 in the penultimate game of the regular season. The Badgers defeated the Sioux 4-1 in the WCHA Final Five third-place game to take the overall season series 3-2-0.

Senior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) is UND's leading scorer against Wisconsin with six points in 12 career matchups.

POLL POSITION: For the second straight week, UND is ranked No. 3 in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com/CBS College Sports polls. Wisconsin is ranked No. 11 in both polls.

UND and UW are also ranked third and 11th, respectively, in this week's Inside College Hockey Power Rankings. Please refer to page three for complete national poll information.

UND'S LAST ACTION: UND is coming off of a road split at No. 12 Minnesota Duluth last weekend, winning 4-2 on Friday and falling 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.

Sophomore F Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) scored twice in Friday's win. Senior F Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and sophomore D Ben Blood (Plymouth, Minn.) also scored, while sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) kicked out 29 shots.

UND held a 2-0 lead entering the third period on Saturday before UMD rallied to tie the game with 33 seconds left in regulation. The Bulldogs scored 12 seconds into overtime for the win. Junior F Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) and sophomore F Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) accounted for the Sioux scoring and Eidsness made 25 saves.

HOME SWEET HOME: UND enters this weekend's series having lost just once in its last 20 home games, going 15-1-4 (.850) during that stretch. The lone loss was a 3-2 setback to St. Cloud State on Nov. 14.

UND is 29-5-6 record (.800) at Ralph Engelstad Arena since the beginning of January 2008.

The Sioux have sold out 23 consecutive WCHA games at the Ralph and 39 of their last 49 home games overall.

GETTING ALL DEFENSIVE: The Sioux boast a team goals against average of 1.98, the lowest mark in the WCHA.

A big reason for UND's defensive success has been the play of the penalty killers. The Sioux penalty kill leads the WCHA and ranks seventh nationally at 88.2 percent.

GOOD LUCK CHARM: When senior F Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba) scored his fourth goal of the season in last Friday's 4-2 win at Minnesota Duluth, the Sioux improved to 16-1-2 all-time when Zajac scores a goal.

In 16 games, this season Zajac has four goals and six assists and leads the Sioux with a +9 plus/minus rating.

JASON LIVES: Since enduring a brief three-game skid without a point in mid-November, sophomore F Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) now finds himself in the midst of a five-game point streak, which matches his career long.

Gregoire has accounted for three goals and four assists during his five-game streak, including a two-goal outing last Friday at UMD, and has taken over the team goal-scoring lead with eight.

HEX MARKS THE SPOT: Gregoire's frequent linemate, sophomroe F Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), has also seen a boost in his production as of late.

Hextall went through a stretch in October and November during which he notched just one assist in nine games. However, Hextall has now reached the scoresheet in four straight games, one shy of his career long, accounting for two goals and two assists during that time.

THE COUNT OF HOCKEY KRISTO: Freshman F Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) enters the week atop the WCHA rookie scoring race with 14 points, which is also tied with junior F Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) for the team lead.

Kristo has seven points (4g, 3a) in his last five games and is now tied for the team lead with four power-play goals.

Kristo, who plays the point on the power-play, has scored 12 of his 14 points on the power-play to lead all WCHA freshman. He ranks fourth among all WCHA players in power-play points.

BALANCING ACT: Nineteen of the 20 Sioux skaters who have seen game action this season have scored at least one point. Only junior F Brent Davidson (Morden, Manitoba), who has played in two games, has yet to his the scoresheet.

UND already boasts eight players with at least 10 points, the most of any WCHA team: Danny Kristo (14), Evan Trupp (14), Chris VandeVelde (13), Jason Gregoire (12), David Toews (12), Brad Malone (12), Chay Genoway (10) and Darcy Zajac (10).

FINE AND VANDY: Senior F Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) was held without a point Friday at Minnesota Duluth, giving him consecutive games without a point for the first time all season.

VandeVelde, who did not play on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury, ranks third on the team with 13 points (4g, 9a) in 15 games. He is 11 points from becoming the 78th player in UND history to score 100 career points.

An ‘A' for the ‘d': UND's freshman D, Joe Gleason (Edina, Minn.) and Andrew MacWilliam (Calgary, Alberta), rank second and third, respectively, among all WCHA rookie defensemen in plus/minus.

Gleason owns a +8 rating while MacWilliam boasts a +7. Only Wisconsin's John Ramage, with a +12, ranks higher among rookie rearguards.

EIDS WIDE SHUT: Sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) has started six straight games and leads the WCHA in minutes played with 882:49.

In 15 games this season, Eidsness is 8-4-2 with a 1.97 goals against average and .919 save percentage. He is on pace to set personal bests in the latter two categories.

Eidsness ranks fourth all-time at UND in career goals against average (2.40) and fifth in save percentage (.909).

Earlier this season, Eidsness had a streak of consecutive starts end at 38, the third-longest in Sioux history (right).

CLIMBING THE COACHING LADDER: UND head coach Dave Hakstol enters this weekend with 139 career victories, fourth most in UND history and 10 shy of Rube Bjorkman (1968-78) for third all-time.

Only John "Gino" Gasparini (392 wins from 1978-94), Dean Blais (262 wins from 1994-04) and Bjorkman (149) won more games at UND than Hakstol.

TRUE BLOOD: After notching just one assist in 31 games last season as a freshman, sophomore D Ben Blood (Plymouth, Minn.) has already tallied five points (2g, 3a) in 16 games this season.

It took Blood 45 games to score his first collegiate goal (Nov. 28 vs. Miami), 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.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: UND welcomes back 15 letterwinners from last year's team that captured the MacNaughton Cup and advanced to the NCAA tournament.

Highlighting the returnees are reigning WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and AHCA All-America defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) and All-WCHA third-team goaltender Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta).

Senior F Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.), who scored a career-high 35 points last season, is the team's top returning scorer and is one of nine returning players who notched at least 10 points in 2009-10.

FAB FROSH: The Sioux roster also includes 10 freshmen in 2009-10, UND's largest incoming 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.

Said INCH: "Genoway is college hockey's version of Illinois quarterback Juice Williams-it seems like he's been at North Dakota forever. Fighting Sioux fans wouldn't mind a few extra years of his production. The reigning WCHA Defensive Player of the Year is also a dangerous threat on offense; he's scored 80 points in three seasons, including a career-high 32 points last season."

Genoway, this year's team captain, enters the season with 80 career points and is aiming to become just the 11th defenseman in school history to reach the 100-point plateau for his career.

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.

FEELING A DRAFT: UND enters the 2009-10 season with a roster that includes 15 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), Michael Cichy (Montreal), Corban Knight (Florida), Brett Bruneteau (Washington), Jason Gregoire (New York Islanders), David Toews (New York Islanders), Brad Malone (Colorado), Brett Hextall (Phoenix) 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: Twelve former Sioux have seen action in the NHL this season: Jason Blake (Toronto), 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), 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.

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 Sawnson (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.

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 Michael 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 (5): Aaron Dell (Airdrie), Brad Eidsness (Chestermere), 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)

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.