# 2015–16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey season

The 2015–16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team was the 75th season of play for the program and 3rd in the NCHC conference. The Fighting Hawks were led by first-year head coach Brad Berry, replacing Dave Hakstol who became head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. His assistant coaches were Dane Jackson, Matt Shaw, and Karl Goehring. The Fighting Hawks played their home games in Ralph Engelstad Arena and competed in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

## Season

UND finished the regular season with a 28–5–3 record, winning the NCHC regular season title. Seeded first in the NCHC Tournament, the Fighting Hawks swept the first-round series with Colorado College, before losing to Minnesota–Duluth in the semifinals. UND entered the NCAA Tournament as the 3rd overall seed, and top seed in the Midwest Regional. In the first round, they defeated Northeastern, and topped Big Ten champion Michigan in the regional final. At the Frozen Four in Tampa, UND defeated conference foe and West Regional champion Denver on a Nick Schmaltz goal with 56 seconds remaining in regulation. The Fighting Hawks faced Quinnipiac in the final, and easily won 5–1 to claim the school's 8th national championship and first since 2000.

## Roster

As of December 5, 2015

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 3 | 7:00 pm | Manitoba* | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Exhibition) | Johnson | W 8–3 | 10,590 | — |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| October 9 | 3:30 pm | vs. Lake Superior State* | #4 | Cross Insurance Arena • Portland, Maine (IceBreaker) | Johnson | W 5–2 | 5,007 | 1–0–0 |
| October 10 | 7:00 pm | vs. Maine* | #4 | Cross Insurance Arena • Portland, Maine (IceBreaker) | Johnson | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 5,187 | 1–0–1 |
| October 16 | 7:30 pm | at Bemidji State* | #1 | Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota | Hrynkiw | T 4–4 $^{OT}$ | 4,373 | 1–0–2 |
| October 17 | 7:00 pm | Bemidji State* | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Hrynkiw | W 5–2 | 11,888 | 2–0–2 |
| October 23 | 6:00 pm | at Vermont* | #1 | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | Hrynkiw | W 2–0 | 4,003 | 3–0–2 |
| October 24 | 6:00 pm | at Vermont* | #1 | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | Hrynkiw | W 5–2 | 4,007 | 4–0–2 |
| October 30 | 8:30 pm | at Colorado College | #1 | Colorado Springs World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | Hrynkiw | W 5–2 | 6,043 | 5–0–2 (1–0–0) |
| October 31 | 8:00 pm | at Colorado College | #1 | Colorado Springs World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | Hrynkiw | W 2–0 | 4,032 | 6–0–2 (2–0–0) |
| November 6 | 7:30 pm | Wisconsin* | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Hrynkiw | L 1–3 | 11,788 | 6–1–2 (2–0–0) |
| November 7 | 7:00 pm | Wisconsin* | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Hrynkiw | W 3–1 | 11,826 | 7–1–2 (2–0–0) |
| November 13 | 7:30 pm | #17 Miami (OH) | #3 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Hrynkiw | W 6–2 | 11,662 | 8–1–2 (3–0–0) |
| November 14 | 7:00 pm | #17 Miami (OH) | #3 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Hrynkiw | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 11,892 | 9–1–2 (4–0–0) |
| November 20 | 7:30 pm | at #7 St. Cloud State | #4 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota | Hrynkiw | W 4–3 | 5,050 | 10–1–2 (5–0–0) |
| November 21 | 7:00 pm | at #7 St. Cloud State | #4 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota | Hrynkiw | L 1–6 | 5,487 | 10–2–2 (5–1–0) |
| November 27 | 6:00 pm | at Michigan State* | #5 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | Johnson | W 3–1 | 4,836 | 11–2–2 (5–1–0) |
| November 29 | 2:00 pm | at Michigan State* | #5 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | Johnson | W 4–1 | 3,618 | 12–2–2 (5–1–0) |
| December 4 | 7:30 pm | #9 Denver | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 5–1 | 11,768 | 13–2–2 (6–1–0) |
| December 5 | 7:00 pm | #9 Denver | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 4–0 | 11,842 | 14–2–2 (7–1–0) |
| December 11 | 7:00 pm | at #17 Minnesota–Duluth | #4 | Amsoil Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | Johnson | W 3–0 | 6,836 | 15–2–2 (8–1–0) |
| December 12 | 7:00 pm | at #17 Minnesota–Duluth | #4 | Amsoil Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | Johnson | W 3–0 | 6,975 | 16–2–2 (9–1–0) |
| January 1 | 7:30 pm | Alabama–Huntsville* | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 1–0 | 11,334 | 17–2–2 (9–1–0) |
| January 2 | 7:00 pm | Alabama–Huntsville* | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 4–1 | 11,094 | 18–2–2 (9–1–0) |
| January 9 | 7:00 pm | US Under-18 Team* | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Exhibition) | Johnson | W 4–1 | 10,950 | 18–2–2 (9–1–0) |
| January 15 | 7:30 pm | #9 Omaha | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 11,885 | 18–3–2 (9–2–0) |
| January 16 | 7:00 pm | #9 Omaha | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 5–1 | 11,888 | 19–3–2 (10–2–0) |
| January 22 | 7:30 pm | Colorado College | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Hrynkiw | W 5–5 $^{SO,1–0}$ | 11,823 | 19–3–3 (10–2–1) |
| January 23 | 7:00 pm | Colorado College | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 5–1 | 11,908 | 20–3–3 (11–2–1) |
| January 29 | 6:00 pm | at Western Michigan | #2 | Lawson Ice Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | Johnson | W 2–0 | 3,342 | 21–3–3 (12–2–1) |
| January 30 | 7:00 pm | at Western Michigan | #2 | Lawson Ice Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | Johnson | W 2–1 | 3,609 | 22–3–3 (13–2–1) |
| February 12 | 9:00 pm | at #13 Denver | #2 | Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado | Johnson | L 4–6 | 6,064 | 22–4–3 (13–3–1) |
| February 13 | 7:00 pm | at #13 Denver | #2 | Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado | Johnson | L 1–4 | 6,170 | 22–5–3 (13–4–1) |
| February 19 | 7:30 pm | Minnesota–Duluth | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 11,890 | 23–5–3 (14–4–1) |
| February 20 | 7:00 pm | Minnesota–Duluth | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 2–1 | 11,912 | 24–5–3 (15–4–1) |
| February 26 | 7:00 pm | at #13 Omaha | #4 | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | Johnson | W 4–2 | 7,898 | 25–5–3 (16–4–1) |
| February 27 | 7:00 pm | at #13 Omaha | #4 | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | Johnson | W 4–1 | 7,898 | 26–5–3 (17–4–1) |
| March 4 | 8:00 pm | Western Michigan | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Johnson | W 8–1 | 11,848 | 27–5–3 (18–4–1) |
| March 5 | 7:00 pm | Western Michigan | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Hrynkiw | W 5–4 | 11,903 | 28–5–3 (19–4–1) |
| NCHC Tournament |||||||||
| March 11 | 7:30 pm | Colorado College* | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (NCHC First round) | Johnson | W 7–1 | 10,813 | 29–5–3 (19–4–1) |
| March 12 | 7:00 pm | Colorado College* | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (NCHC First round) | Johnson | W 5–1 | 10,864 | 30–5–3 (19–4–1) |
| March 18 | 4:00 pm | vs. #16 Minnesota–Duluth* | #1 | Target Center • Minneapolis, Minnesota (NCHC Semifinal) | Johnson | L 2–4 | 10,926 | 30–6–3 (19–4–1) |
| March 19 | 3:30 pm | vs. #6 Denver* | #1 | Target Center • Minneapolis, Minnesota (NCHC Third Place) | Johnson | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 11,643 | 30–6–4 (19–4–1) |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 25 | 1:00 pm | vs. #9 Northeastern* | #3 | U.S. Bank Arena • Cincinnati, Ohio (Midwest Regional semifinal) | Johnson | W 6–2 | 5,332 | 31–6–4 (19–4–1) |
| March 26 | 5:00 pm | vs. #5 Michigan* | #3 | U.S. Bank Arena • Cincinnati, Ohio (Midwest Regional Final) | Johnson | W 5–2 | 5,172 | 32–6–4 (19–4–1) |
| April 7 | 7:30 pm | vs. #7 Denver* | #3 | Amalie Arena • Tampa, Florida (Frozen Four Semifinal) | Johnson | W 4–2 | 18,037 | 33–6–4 (19–4–1) |
| April 9 | 7:00 pm | vs. #1 Quinnipiac* | #3 | Amalie Arena • Tampa, Florida (Frozen Four Final) | Johnson | W 5–1 | 19,358 | 34–6–4 (19–4–1) |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time. Source: |||||||||

### Standings

2015–16 National Collegiate Hockey Conference standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | SOW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #1 North Dakota† | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 59 | 89 | 49 | 44 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 162 | 81 |
| #4 St. Cloud State* | 24 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 104 | 53 | 41 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 175 | 90 |
| #6 Denver | 24 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 74 | 52 | 41 | 25 | 10 | 6 | 134 | 96 |
| #16 Minnesota–Duluth | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 64 | 44 | 40 | 19 | 16 | 5 | 107 | 82 |
| Miami | 24 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 54 | 65 | 36 | 15 | 18 | 3 | 86 | 97 |
| Omaha | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 60 | 83 | 36 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 103 | 107 |
| Western Michigan | 24 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 56 | 103 | 36 | 8 | 25 | 3 | 80 | 142 |
| Colorado College | 24 | 4 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 47 | 99 | 36 | 6 | 29 | 1 | 71 | 145 |
| Champions: St. Cloud State † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 13, 2016 ||||||||||||||||

## Statistics

As of April 9, 2016

### Skaters

| Player | Pos | Yr | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Brock Boeser | F | Fr | 42 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Drake Caggiula | F | Sr | 39 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 60 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Nick Schmaltz | F | So | 37 | 11 | 35 | 46 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Troy Stecher | D | Jr | 43 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Austin Poganski | F | So | 44 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Tucker Poolman | D | So | 40 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bryn Chyzyk | F | Sr | 42 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Luke Johnson | F | Jr | 43 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Paul LaDue | D | Jr | 41 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhett Gardner | F | Fr | 41 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 52 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Johnny Simonson | F | So | 43 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Keaton Thompson | D | Jr | 43 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Wolanin | D | Fr | 32 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Coltyn Sanderson | F | Sr | 35 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Shane Gersich | F | Fr | 37 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gage Ausmus | D | Jr | 42 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Wilkie | F | Fr | 32 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Janatuinen | F | Fr | 35 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hayden Shaw | D | Fr | 32 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Trevor Olson | F | So | 36 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Gornall | F | Fr | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colten St. Clair | F | Sr | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Hrynkiw | G | Jr | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Johnson | G | So | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | | | 44 | 162 | 265 | 427 | 485 | 31 | 9 | 34 |

### Goaltenders

| Player | Yr | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SV | SV% | SO |
| Cam Johnson | So | 34 | 1918 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 53 | 1.66 | 759 | 0.935 | 5 |
| Matt Hrynkiw | Jr | 14 | 734 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 2.13 | 262 | 0.910 | 2 |

## 2016 championship game
### MW1 North Dakota vs. E1 Quinnipiac

Scoring summary :
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | UND | Shane Gersich (9) | Ausmus and Boeser | 11:56 | 1–0 UND |
| 1st | UND | Brock Boeser (27) – GW SH | unassisted | 14:16 | 2–0 UND |
| 1st | QUI | Tim Clifton (19) – PP | C. Clifton and St. Denis | 18:53 | 2–1 UND |
| 2nd | None | None | None | None | None |
| 3rd | UND | Drake Caggiula (24) | Schmaltz and Boeser | 41:21 | 3–1 UND |
| 3rd | UND | Drake Caggiula (25) | Boeser and LaDue | 43:41 | 4–1 UND |
| 3rd | UND | Austin Poganski (10) | Gardner and Ausmus | 50:41 | 5–1 UND |
| Penalty summary ||||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | UND | Bryn Chyzyk | Slashing | 09:57 | 2:00 |
| 1st | QUI | Travis St. Denis | Slashing | 09:57 | 2:00 |
| 1st | UND | Paul LaDue | Tripping | 13:19 | 2:00 |
| 1st | UND | Drake Caggiula | Cross-Checking | 18:41 | 2:00 |
| 1st | UND | Troy Stecher | Cross-Checking | 18:50 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | UND | Drake Caggiula | High-Sticking | 22:13 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | UND | Christian Wolanin | Roughing | 25:02 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | QUI | Sam Anas | Roughing | 25:02 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | QUI | Tommy Schutt | Hooking | 30:45 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | QUI | Derek Smith | Cross-Checking | 46:36 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | UND | Joel Janatuinen | Roughing | 57:34 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | QUI | Connor Clifton | Roughing | 57:34 | 2:00 |
Shots by period :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
| Quinnipiac | 13 | 9 | 11 | 33 |
| North Dakota | 16 | 9 | 11 | 36 |
Goaltenders :
| Team | Name | Saves | Goals against | Time on ice |
| QUI | Michael Garteig | 31 | 5 | 60:00 |
| UND | Cam Johnson | 32 | 1 | 60:00 |