2025-26 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[SJHovey]

2 hours ago, tnt said:

Other than what happens in postseason, this weekends games against #12 Connecticut are the only games they will be playing with teams within the bubble, so they can’t afford to lose to anyone.  Unlike the NCHC and Big Ten, the only team that could really move the needle for them is Providence, so they may need to practically run the table, and I don’t know if that gets them inside top 10.

The CHN customizer puts them at #8 if they run the table in the regular season games.

[ND_Texan]

6 minutes ago, SJHovey said:

The CHN customizer puts them at #8 if they run the table in the regular season games.

Those odds are about the same as me hooking up with Sydney Sweeney.

[tnt]

6 minutes ago, SJHovey said:

The CHN customizer puts them at #8 if they run the table in the regular season games.

So they would supplant Denver at 8?  Doesn’t Denver have something to say about that?

[nodakgirl93]

7 minutes ago, SJHovey said:

The CHN customizer puts them at #8 if they run the table in the regular season games.

The other games played by other teams should have an affect though. BC recently lost to Vermont too.

[burd]

27 minutes ago, tnt said:

So they would supplant Denver at 8?  Doesn’t Denver have something to say about that?

You think east coast bias is something only humans have?

[skateshattrick]

28 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

Those odds are about the same as me hooking up with Sydney Sweeney.

No offense, but your odds are 0%. 

[SJHovey]

I think the way the customizer works is that it assumes the outcomes of all of the other unplayed games (where I don't put in the exact outcome) and makes those assumptions based upon KRACH or maybe a monte carlo simulation of some sort.  That's not to say that if BC ran the table they would absolutely be #8.  It's just that #8 is the most likely spot if they run the table in the regular season.

I've personally played around with it during the second half of this season and at least on a week to week basis, it's pretty good about predicting where a team will end up depending upon that weekend's games.

[SJHovey]

The other thing to remember is that there is a bonus that comes with beating any team with a 51 or higher in the NPI.  Every single one of BC's final six games are against teams at or higher than 51, so I disagree with the idea that their remaining games won't really "move the needle" much.  Also, three of them are on the road.

Do I expect BC to run the table?  No.  But I think they'll win enough of them that combined with any wins in the HE playoffs, will be enough to jump them to the #9-11 spot as I hypothesized.

[cberkas]

6 hours ago, SJHovey said:

The CHN customizer puts them at #8 if they run the table in the regular season games.

It gives a false placement since you'd still need to do all the other teams too. I think when going into the playoffs they will be around a 4 seed or the lowest 3 seed. 

[nascar99]

 

[brianvf]

Latest USCHO Bracketology:

https://www.uscho.com/2026/02/18/bracketology-an-attendance-swap-that-is-a-must

Loveland Region

1 Michigan State (1)
2 Denver
3 Dartmouth
4 Bentley

Worcester Region

1 Western Michigan (4)
2 Penn State
3 Connecticut
4 Boston College

Albany Region

1 Michigan (2)
2 Providence
3 Cornell
4 St. Thomas

Sioux Falls Region

1 North Dakota (3)
2 Quinnipiac
3 Minnesota Duluth
4 Wisconsin

[cberkas]

BC could be in Worcester and still their fans won't show up

[Dustin]

10 hours ago, brianvf said:

Loveland Region

1 Michigan State (1)
2 Denver
3 Dartmouth
4 Bentley

I've been working on my own bracketology over the last few weeks and I've been wondering if the committee would send the the #1 overall seed to a regional with a participating host.  Seems a little unfair.

[nascar99]

11 hours ago, cberkas said:

BC could be in Worcester and still their fans won't show up

Do they just not have a huge traveling hockey fanbase? What's the issue there?

[cberkas]

14 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

Do they just not have a huge traveling hockey fanbase? What's the issue there?

Bucci and others always show these long lines for the Battle of Common Ave. The BU/BC games and any games at the Garden are all they show up to. 
 

For how close 2 of the regionals are for 3 conferences most of the time (around 3 hours driving) they don’t show up. 
 

BC from what I could find when I looked it up (feid of 16) has hosted 1 regional and BU has hosted 3 or 4. BC only likes to host the Frozen Four. 
 

Added: it’s funny that USCHO podcast talking about the regionals said that they put UND in Albany with the best traveling fan base. Still no one showed up 🤣 maybe don’t put it in Albany 

[stoneySIOUX]

2 hours ago, Dustin said:

I've been working on my own bracketology over the last few weeks and I've been wondering if the committee would send the the #1 overall seed to a regional with a participating host.  Seems a little unfair.

They'll want to protect the overall No. 1 seed. Either Bentley in Loveland or St. Thomas in Albany. Both are flights anyway. 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

We want Holy Cross to NOT win AHA's tournament as that makes things stickier with them hosting in Wooster.

[atxsioux]

2 hours ago, cberkas said:

Bucci and others always show these long lines for the Battle of Common Ave. The BU/BC games and any games at the Garden are all they show up to. 
 

For how close 2 of the regionals are for 3 conferences most of the time (around 3 hours driving) they don’t show up. 
 

BC from what I could find when I looked it up (feid of 16) has hosted 1 regional and BU has hosted 3 or 4. BC only likes to host the Frozen Four. 
 

Added: it’s funny that USCHO podcast talking about the regionals said that they put UND in Albany with the best traveling fan base. Still no one showed up 🤣 maybe don’t put it in Albany 

Albany is such a chore to even get to. If you're flying from Forks / Fargo pretty sure its a 3 leg flight (so 10 hours worth of flights)

[The Sicatoka]

Back when you could go FAR to DTW it was two legs.

[TwamleyShuffle]

I don’t see many easy wins in the bracket besides maybe one or two. Basically, if you are going to win a Natty you need to beat good teams. It’s nice to play a team that isn’t as good as you, but outside the 1 vs 16 game, there really isn’t an easy W. Second round gets even tougher

[brianvf]

Thinking longterm with Zmolek:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/inside-unds-effort-to-keep-bennett-zmolek-healthy-for-the-biggest-games

Quote

Now, he's only practicing sporadically. Some weeks, he doesn't practice at all.

Zmolek has missed two of the last four seasons due to hip surgeries and he's fighting another lower-body injury — one that UND coach Dane Jackson says is painful to play through and has indicated is unlikely to go away any time soon.

Quote

"He can play," Jackson said. "He wants to play. So it's a balance of saying, 'Hey, what's right for Bennett to make sure he's healthy down the stretch?' Obviously, he's a captain and a leader for us, and a really good defenseman, so we'd love him in there. But we're just trying to be prudent about how we manage his health."

Zmolek said he hasn't given much thought yet to whether his hockey career will extend beyond this season. He's more focused on a team that's 23-7 and ranked No. 3 nationally.