Preview: UND is back at home, where it has been strong for the last 12 months

Nov. 6—GRAND FORKS — UND will play at home for the first time in three weeks when it takes on Western Michigan at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday in Ralph Engelstad Arena.Perhaps that's just what UND needs.Since Thanksgiving last season, UND is 14-2-1 in The Ralph."It's a huge advantage for us to play in this rink," UND coach Dane Jackson said. "Our fans are so good. It gives us some energy. Obviously, they were great down in Austin as well. Whenever we got down, the fans were behind us."But it's a little different in Grand Forks, where more than 11,000 fans will be in The Ralph. UND is 3-0 at home this season. It also won two exhibition games at home."It will be nice to play in front of the fans here," UND defenseman Brasen Boser said. "Hopefully we have some good juice going into Friday and can put on a show for the fans."Western Michigan did not travel to Ralph Engelstad Arena last season.The Broncos last came to Grand Forks in January 2025. They swept UND 3-2 in overtime and 5-1. That's the last time UND has been swept in The Ralph.That season ended with Western Michigan winning the NCAA national championship and UND making a head coaching change after missing the NCAA tournament.Only two players remain on UND's roster from that team — Mac Swanson and E.J. Emery."Being on the road the last couple weeks, it's a different game," Swanson said. "You try to play your same game, but it's a little different than being at The Ralph. Our fans. . . hopefully we show them a good effort."Jackson said he wants to see a strong start from the No. 10-ranked Fighting Hawks.UND has allowed the first goal in its last three games. It has led for just 3 minutes and 11 seconds in those contests and lost all of them."It will be important for us to try to continue to have shift after shift, where we don't have any lulls and try not to get behind," Jackson said. "It would be nice to get a lead and play with the lead here this weekend."UND — none knownWestern Michigan — none knownJoona Väisänen suffered a season-ending knee injury just seven games into last season. He's back and has not missed a beat.The junior from Espoo, Finland, leads the country in points per game by a defenseman at 1.71. He has five goals and 12 points in seven games to open this season.Väisänen, one of theHerald's preseason Hobey Baker Award candidates,has factored in on five of Western Michigan's seven power-play goals.Ollie Josephson does so many little things well for UND that he doesn't always need to score to be effective.He's winning 60% of his faceoffs, one of the best marks in the NCHC. According to advanced analytics, Josephson ranks first on the roster as the "unluckiest" player. He's been on the ice for six UND goals, which is 2.43 fewer than he's earned.Usually, this signals points are coming.This weekend figures to be one of the biggest challenges of the season for UND. Not only are the Fighting Hawks facing one of the best teams in the nation, but the series also comes at a time when UND is trying to find its game and the Broncos are a veteran group that's already found theirs.UND made some strides last weekend, even if it didn't show up in the win-loss column. If the Fighting Hawks keep making progress, rewards will come.Friday: UND 4, Western Michigan 3Saturday: Western Michigan 4, UND 2TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD). Alex Heinert play-by-play, Jim Scanlan analyst, Taylor Budge and Monique Lamoureux-Morando at the desk.Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM). Tim Hennessy play-by-play, Steve Olson analyst.Stream: NCHC TV.GFH:A beer, an elbow and a live TV show go viralGFH:Analytics show where UND's defensive issues standGFH:Q&A with freshman Cooper SimpsonGFH:UND looks to build defensive game against nation's best offenseThe Athletic:Matt Kiersted making the most of his time with the Minnesota Wild