SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The National Collegiate Hockey Conference Playoffs sliced the postseason field in half last weekend, leaving four teams checking into Saint Paul for the 2024 Frozen Faceoff.
 
Stepping onto the ice at Xcel Energy Center this weekend are Penrose Cup winner North Dakota, second-seeded Denver, third-place St. Cloud State, and first-time Frozen Faceoff qualifier Omaha.
 
The Fighting Hawks square off with the Mavericks in the first NCHC semifinal at 4:07 p.m. CT, with the Pioneers and Huskies clashing at 7:37 p.m. The winners square off in Saturday’s final at 7:38 p.m. All contests this weekend are televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
Here's a deeper look at each team comprising the Frozen Faceoff field.
 
No. 1 seed North Dakota Fighting Hawks
2023-24 Record: 26-10-2
NCAA PairWise: 3rd
National Polls: No. 4
NCHC Playoffs: Swept Miami, 2-0
 
After missing the NCAA Tournament a year ago, the Fighting Hawks rode a new-look defense and a deep attack to a conference-best 15-8-1 record and 49 points in NCHC play to capture their four Penrose Cup in five years. UND ranked in the national top-10 in both scoring offense (eighth) and defense (10th), with its attack paced by NCHC Player of the Year sophomore forward Jackson Blake’s NCHC-record 37 points in conference play and conference-leading 57 points (21 goals, 36 assists) overall.
 
The Fighting Hawks have scored four goals or more in 20 of their 38 contests. Six UND skaters with 10 or more goals (Blake; 21, Cameron Berg; 20, Riese Gaber; 18, Owen McLaughlin; 13; Jayden Perron; 11 and Hunter Johannes; 10).
 
Defensively, UND replaced every blueliner and goaltender from its roster a year ago and saw a stunning improvement from 29th in scoring defense to 10th this season. Freshman defenseman Jake Livanavage helped anchor North Dakota’s D core with 28 points and 51 blocked shots to earn NCHC All-Rookie Team recognition. In net, senior Ludvig Persson earned Second-Team All-NCHC honors after recording a 21-10-2 record with a 2.47 GAA, .906 SV% and five shutouts in 33 starts after transferring from Miami.
 
After dropping an overtime tilt on Jan. 12 to Omaha, North Dakota went 10-2-1 in its next 13 games to clinch its league-leading sixth NCHC regular-season crown in 11 years. After outscoring Miami 12-2 in a playoff series sweep, UND is two wins shy of its second Frozen Faceoff Championship.
 
Tale of the Tape (NCHC Rank; NCAA Rank)
Goals Per Game: 3.8 (2nd; 8th)
Goals Allowed Per Game: 2.5 (t-1st; t-10th)
Shots Per Game: 30.7 (4th; 22nd)
Shots Allowed Per Game: 26.2 (2nd; 11th)
Power Play: 25.8% (1st; t-8th)
Penalty Kill: 82.4% (2nd; 19th)
 
From the North Dakota Locker Room:
 
“I firmly believe the team started getting on the same page in July, when it was all voluntary workouts and the coaches aren’t involved. When they got a chance to be around each other, they started melding together. Once we got to be on the ice with them, they’d already hit the ground running. They started to know what North Dakota hockey was about and that was a huge deal for us.”
 
-North Dakota Head Coach Brad Berry
 
“To win a national championship or a regional, you have to win two games on a weekend, and that’s what is in front of us here. It comes down to the consistency and details of our habits. We want to start on time and be ready to go. If you don’t win that Friday game, you aren’t going to make it to Saturday and everything you worked for all season is gone. We have a lot of stakes to play for this weekend and we’re excited to get going on Friday.”
 
-North Dakota senior captain Riese Gaber
 
No. 2 seed Denver Pioneers
2023-24 Record: 26-9-3
NCAA PairWise: 4th
National Polls: No. 3
NCHC Playoffs: Swept Minnesota Duluth, 2-0
 
After claiming the previous two Penrose Cups, the Pioneers return to the Frozen Faceoff as the NCHC Tournament’s No. 2 seed thanks to an explosive offense that leads the country with 4.9 goals per game. DU boasts a league-high four All-NCHC selections in first-teamers Jack Devine (27-27-54) and Zeev Buium (9-35-44), along with Second-Team picks Massimo Rizzo (10-34-44) and Shai Buium (7-24-31), though Rizzo is doubtful for the Frozen Faceoff due to injury. Zeev Buium, the unanimous NCHC Rookie of the Year, and Miko Matikka (16-11-27) also landed on the NCHC All-Rookie Team.
 
Up front, Devine’s 27 goals top all NCHC skaters and rank third nationally. The Pioneers have scored at least four goals in 29 of their 40 games with a balanced attack that features 10 players with 10 or more goals and 13 players with at least 23 points.
 
On the blue line, the Buium brothers Zeev and Shai form a 1-2 scoring punch for DU, with Zeev’s 44 points topping all NCAA defensemen. DU’s fast-paced style does yield opportunities at the other end as its 2.9 goals against per game are in the middle of the pack both in the conference (fifth) and nationally (t-33rd). Matt Davis has seen the lion’s share of the action in net, sporting a 17-5-3 record along with a 2.67 goals against average and .907 save percentage in 25 appearances.
 
Since suffering a sweep against North Dakota in Grand Forks on Jan. 26-27, Denver is 9-2-1 and heads to St. Paul in search of its third Frozen Faceoff title and first since 2018.
 
Tale of the Tape (NCHC Rank; NCAA Rank)
Goals Per Game: 4.9 (1st; 1st)
Goals Allowed Per Game: 2.9 (t-5th; t-33rd)
Shots Per Game: 31.8 (2nd; 16th)
Shots Allowed Per Game: 27.7 (4th; 15th)
Power Play: 23.1% (4th; 15th)
Penalty Kill: 77.3% (8th; 49th)
 
From the Denver Locker Room:
 
“There’s been an increased urgency to blocking shots, manage pucks and clear the net front while taking fewer penalties. That’s a total team effort. We can share as much as we want as coaches, but it’s up to the players to do that. Our leadership group has done a great job and the guys have seen the results of it. It hasn’t hindered our ability to score goals, we actually get to play on offense even more the better we defend. There’s a huge level of commitment from the guys to be selfless in how they play.”
 
-Denver Head Coach David Carle
 
“It’s a lot harder to score goals at this time of the year. Good defense leads to good offense. We want to wear you down and work hard defensively. Some of the results we weren’t happy with early on. Going into the playoffs, we’ve focused on the last few months on bearing down defensively. We’ve got a lot of young guys who are learning as they go and now they know what it takes to win in the playoffs when the margin is so small.”
 
-Denver senior captain McKade Webster
 
No. 3 seed St. Cloud State Huskies
2023-24 Record: 17-15-5
NCAA PairWise: 16th
National Polls: No. 17
NCHC Playoffs: Defeated Western Michigan in 3 games, 2-1
 
The reigning Frozen Faceoff champions, St. Cloud State came out of the gates red hot in NCHC play, going an unbeaten 7-0-1 in its first eight league contests and closing 2023 with an 11-5-2 overall record. Results were much harder to come by in the season’s second half, as the Huskies closed the regular season 4-9-3 to drop to third in the final league standings. SCSU found its stride in the NCHC Playoffs last weekend, outlasting Western Michigan in three games and claiming a 5-1 victory in the winner-take-all tilt on Sunday.
 
SCSU’s scoring offense (3.2 goals per game, t-14th nationally) is supported by the nation’s 12th-best power play (23.6%). Senior Veeti Miettinen tops all Huskies with 20 goals and 35 points while Kyler Kupka (14-17-31) and Zach Okabe (10-13-23) have also netted double-digit goals. SCSU has netted four or more goals on 13 occasions, including in both playoff victories over WMU last week.
 
The Huskies’ blue line is anchored by First-Team All-NCHC performer Dylan Anhorn (6-26-32), who returned from a season-ending injury a year ago to rank second among all NCHC defensemen in scoring. SCSU has yielded two goals or fewer in 19 of its 37 contests, going 16-1-2 when it does so. Dominic Basse has started 25 times in goal and is 12-10-2 with a 2.75 goals-against average, three shutouts and an .896 save percentage. However, seeing more time in the crease lately, including in SCSU’s playoff series against Western Michigan last weekend, is NCHC All-Rookie selection Isak Posch, who sports a 5-5-2 mark, 2.79 GAA and .904 save percentage.
 
St. Cloud State aims to become the Frozen Faceoff’s first repeat winner this weekend.
 
Tale of the Tape (NCHC Rank; NCAA Rank)
Goals Per Game: 3.2 (4th; t-16th)
Goals Allowed Per Game: 2.9 (t-5th; t-33rd)
Shots Per Game: 30.9 (3rd; t-19th)
Shots Allowed Per Game: 27.6 (3rd; 14th)
Power Play: 23.6% (3rd; 12th)
Penalty Kill: 78.8% (5th; 38th)
 
From the St. Cloud State Locker Room:
 
“Our record isn’t where we want it to be, but you look at some of the results, we had five losses in 3-on-3 overtime along with multiple ties. This team has fought it out every night and when you develop that resilience from these situations, you build a thick skin. That history of fighting it out every night puts you in that same mentality down the stretch. Every game feels do or die, and now it really is. It doesn’t feel that much different because we’ve been forced to play with that mindset all year.”
 
-St. Cloud State Head Coach Brett Larson
 
“Every great team is gonna have some dips over the year where you have to show your character. You can’t stop working hard and stop doing the things that bring success. We’re a high-character group, and made sure we responded the right way and brought our best against Western Michigan. Facing a desperate Western Michigan team last Sunday and prevailing gives us the confidence that we can close out big games like that.”
 
-St. Cloud State fifth-year captain Dylan Anhorn
 
No. 5 seed Omaha Mavericks
2023-24 Record: 22-11-4
NCAA PairWise: 11th
National Polls: No. 11
NCHC Playoffs: Defeated Colorado College in 3 games, 2-1
 
The Mavericks saw a 3-0 lead turn into a 4-3 overtime loss to begin the NCHC Playoffs at Colorado College last Friday, and promptly rallied by holding the Tigers to two total goals the next two nights to make their first Frozen Faceoff appearance in program history.
 
UNO is comfortable playing close contests this year, going 16-2 in one-goal games and playing 22 contests decided by one goal or ending in a tie. Since suffering a 6-1 loss to Western Michigan on Feb. 9, the Mavericks are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games to make their first conference tournament semifinal appearance since the 2001 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament.
 
Offensively, Omaha has relied on scoring by committee as five players have recorded at least 21 points, led by NCHC All-Rookie pick Tanner Ludtke (11-17-28). Jack Randl’s 13 goals lead the Mavericks, who have netted four goals or more 12 times this year.
 
Omaha’s defense keys its success, as it has allowed two goals or fewer on 20 occasions with a 15-1-4 mark when it does so. Griffin Ludtke (4-20-24), older brother of Tanner, paces the blue line attack with 24 points. In goal, Simon Latkoczy is enjoying a standout sophomore campaign, going 18-10-3 with a 2.62 goals against average, two shutouts and a .913 save percentage to earn Honorable Mention all-conference honors. He ended the NCHC Playoffs in a groove, stopping 70 of 72 shots to help Omaha outlast Colorado College in search of its first Frozen Faceoff crown.
 
Tale of the Tape (NCHC Rank; NCAA Rank)
Goals Per Game: 2.9 (6th; t-31st)
Goals Allowed Per Game: 2.8 (4th; t-25th)
Shots Per Game: 27.9 (7th; 47th)
Shots Allowed Per Game: 30.6 (6th; 42nd)
Power Play: 17.8% (6th; 44th)
Penalty Kill: 77.8% (6th; t-44th)
 
From the Omaha Locker Room:
 
“Before the North Dakota series, I could really feel the belief in the room. When you keep a narrow focus and don’t look too far ahead, it’s a positive thing. We’ve done a good job of staying present and it’s paid off for us down the stretch.”
 
-Omaha Head Coach Mike Gabinet
 
“It’s a testament to how tight the league is with the top seven teams in the conference all within fighting distance of each other. My freshman year, we lost about nine one-goal games, and we may have learned a bit from that. I think we’re more disciplined now and playing smarter hockey to not get sucked into special teams battles. It also shows this group’s mentality that there’s no quit and we’re comfortable in these situations.”
 
-Omaha graduate student captain Nolan Sullivan