Resurgent North Dakota aims to end Frozen Four drought with April trip to St. Paul

North Dakota won its eighth NCAA men’s hockey championship in 2016, beating Quinnipiac in Tampa, Fla., to cap a 34-6-4 season. Since then, the Fighting Hawks haven’t been able to add to their total of 22 NCAA Frozen Four berths, suffering NCAA tournament losses in one overtime (Notre Dame), two overtimes (Boston University) and five overtimes (Minnesota Duluth).

Throw in three years of no NCAA bids and a 2020 season that ended early because of COVID-19, and the stretch of no Frozen Four appearances in seven years is lengthy by North Dakota’s lofty standards.

That might change when college hockey’s premier event visits St. Paul in April.

As the season hits its homestretch, North Dakota sits atop the NCHC standings and sports a 20-6-2 record. The Fighting Hawks have won four consecutive and six of seven, and they’re on a 16-4-1 stretch in which they haven’t lost in regulation. They’re also No. 3 in the PairWise Ratings, so they’re in the mix to be a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA tournament.

Last weekend, North Dakota swept Miami (Ohio) on the road. Saturday’s 4-1 win gave coach Brad Berry his 200th career victory, and when players presented him with the game puck for the milestone, he had other things in mind.

“I told them: ‘I’ll hand this puck in right now. I’ll trade it for championships and banners,’” he said.

North Dakota’s resurgence from a 18-15-6 campaign and no NCAA berth last season to a title contender this year can be traced to Berry’s decision to heavily mine the transfer portal last spring to help replace 13 outgoing players. Of the Fighting Hawks’ 14 newcomers, seven are transfers.

That includes forward Cameron Berg, formerly of Nebraska Omaha, who is tied for second on the team with 29 points; and defenseman Garrett Pyke, formerly of Alaska, whose 19 assists are third. Throw in blue-liners Logan Britt (Sacred Heart), Keaton Pehrson (Michigan) and Bennett Zmolek (Minnesota State Mankato), and the Fighting Hawks are flush with experience.

The most impactful transfer of all, though, is goalie Ludvig Persson, who spent the past three seasons as the starter at Miami. The Swede is 17-6-2 with a 2.38 goals-against average, .907 save percentage and three shutouts. Persson is ecstatic with his choice of transfer destination, and not just because his GAA is down 1.29 from last season’s 3.67 total with the RedHawks.

“We’re building something special,” he said. “… I came here to win games, and it’s been a lot of winning so far.”

Justen Close put together a big weekend for the Gophers, making 40 saves in a 2-1 overtime win at Wisconsin on Friday and following up with 22 saves in a 1-1 tie on Saturday. The Gophers had two goals overturned in the finale, and that likely cost Close his 16th win of the season. On Tuesday, he was named the Big Ten’s First Star of the Week.

Hockey East sent only two teams to the NCAA men’s tournament last year, but that should change in a big way in March. The conference has three of the top four teams in the PairWise — No. 1 Boston College, No. 2 Boston University and No. 4 Maine — plus No. 10 Providence and No. 13 Massachusetts that are in line for NCAA berths. If Hockey East lands five teams in the NCAA tournament, there could be a rare first-round intraconference matchup.

There is no name in college hockey better than Northeastern’s Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, and on Monday night the senior forward sent the Huskies into the Beanpot tournament final by scoring 33 seconds into overtime to beat Harvard 3-2. Northeastern will play Boston U., which edge Boston College 4-3, next Monday in the final of the all-Boston affair.

We’re less than seven weeks away from Selection Sunday in men’s hockey, when the 16-team NCAA men’s tournament field will be revealed on March 24. The men’s Frozen Four will be April 11-13 at Xcel Energy Center. Here’s a projection of the field in the four regionals:

Providence, R.I.

1. Boston College vs. 4. RIT

2. Michigan State vs. 3. Providence

Maryland Heights, Mo.

1. Boston University vs. 4. Cornell

2. Wisconsin vs. 3. Western Michigan

Sioux Falls, S.D.

1. North Dakota vs. 4. Minnesota State

2. Denver vs. 3. Gophers

Springfield, Mass.

1. Maine vs. 4. Massachusetts

2. Quinnipiac vs. 3. Michigan