5 things to know about UND's first-round opponent Merrimack
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 25—SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — UND has only played two games against Merrimack College in program history.
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Those games occurred in October 2009 in Ralph Engelstad Arena. UND swept a two-game series.
The teams will meet against at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN2) in Sioux Falls' Denny Sanford Premier Center in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Here are five things to know about the Warriors.
Merrimack won the Hockey East tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but the Warriors have been hot for much longer than just the last few weeks.
Since Dec. 11, nobody in college hockey has won more games than Merrimack.
The Warriors have won 16 since then. Western Michigan and Sacred Heart also have won 16 since Dec. 11. UND, Providence, Cornell and Michigan Tech have won 15 since then.
In the last two months, only Denver (12) has won more games than Merrimack (11).
Merrimack enters the NCAA tournament on a seven-game unbeaten streak. The Warriors haven't lost since Feb. 21 at Maine.
Merrimack goaltender Max Lundgren was the MVP of the Hockey East tournament, stopping 49 of 50 shots against UConn in the championship game.
The 6-foot-5 netminder from Ängelholm, Sweden, has been drawing NHL attention all season, though.
He's regarded as one of the top undrafted free-agent goaltenders in college hockey.
This season, he's played every minute in net for Merrimack, posting a .920 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average, while stopping a school record 1,109 shots.
The only other goalie in the nation who has played every minute for his team this season is Western Michigan's Hampton Slukynsky.
Merrimack has four NHL draft picks on its roster — defenseman Philip Nordberg, forward Justin Gill, forward Trevor Hoskin and forward Michael Emerson.
Nordberg is the highest-drafted player in Merrimack history. He went in the second round, No. 64 overall, to the Ottawa Senators in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Gill is a fifth-round pick of the New York Islanders. He played professionally last season, suiting up for Bridgeport in the American Hockey League (35 games) and Worcester in the ECHL (23).
Hoskin is a fourth-round pick of the Calgary Flames who came to Merrimack in the transfer portal from Niagara. Emerson is a sixth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes who transferred from North Dakota.
Merrimack is one of the most prolific shot-blocking teams in the country.
The Warriors have blocked 609 shots this season. Only Robert Morris (678) has blocked more shots.
Boston College transfer and defenseman Seamus Powell leads the way with 70.
Merrimack blocked 29 in the Hockey East championship game against UConn.
Merrimack's top two lines are prolific offensively.
The Warriors have five players who have scored 13 goals. All five — Justin Gill (16), Parker Lalonde (13), Trevor Hoskin (13), Caelan Fitzpatrick (13) and Nick Pierre (13) — play on the top two lines. The other top-six forward is Caden Cranston (seven goals, 22 points).
Only two other teams in the country have five players who have scored 13 goals — Western Michigan and St. Thomas.
Fitzpatrick has been particularly hot as of late.
He had six points in the first 18 games of this season. The sophomore has 23 points in the last 19 games.