UMD Men’s Hockey Get Set to Battle Top-Ranked Rivals North Dakota

Puck drop Thursday night at Baxter Arena is set for 7:35 p.m.

OMAHA, Neb. – Tuesday night, the UMD men’s hockey team picked up the win over Miami to stay undefeated in the pod. After the game, head coach Scott Sandelin said he’s happy that his team picked up the points, but he still wants to see improvement to avoid their latest slow start to a game against the RedHawks.

“I think we’re slowly doing that. I’d like it quicker, but it’s kind of what you go through every season. There’s some good. There’s some not so good. That usually comes if you play more, guys get in better shape and get into more game situations. Hopefully that will continue for us as we move forward in the pod,” Sandelin said.

Next up for the Bulldogs is a showdown against rivals North Dakota, who are ranked #1 in the country. UMD split their only series last season with the Fighting Hawks and expect a big fight Thursday night.

“Obviously, we still have a lot of areas that we can clean up and we had some good areas. I think for us, it’s kind of right now focusing on what we can do. Obviously, it’s a big opponent, big rivalry. But at the end of the day, we just got to focus on what we can control and that’s playing our own game,” senior forward Nick Swaney said.

Puck drop at Baxter Arena is set for 7:35 p.m.