North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Early history

Varsity ice hockey at the University of North Dakota began in 1946 with John Jamieson as the first coach. The 1946–47 season was the first winning season in UND history with a record of 7 wins, 6 losses, and 0 ties. UND joined Michigan Tech, Colorado College, University of Denver, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and University of Minnesota as founding members of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL) in 1951. In the program's first season in league play UND finished with a record of 13–11–1. After two seasons the MCHL became the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (WIHL) and later in 1959 became the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Artificial ice was installed in UND's Winter Sports Building, commonly known as "The Barn", in 1953.

Bob May became the 5th coach in UND history for the 1957–58 season and led the team to the 1957–58 WIHL Regular season Championship. UND also received a bid to the 1958 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey tournament. The team advanced to the championship game with a 9–1 win over Harvard in the semi-final round. UND fell in their first championship and post season tournament appearance to University of Denver 2–6. Following the 1957–58 season the WIHL broke up, after Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, and Minnesota left the conference following a dispute over recruiting practices. Despite not violating the WIHL or the NCAA's rules of the period, the four exiting schools accused Denver, North Dakota and Colorado College of breaking a gentlemen's agreement by recruiting overage Canadians.

Thorndycraft era

Without a conference UND competed as an independent Division I team for the 1958–59 season. Barry Thorndycraft took over for May as head coach and continued the winning tradition established in the previous season. UND again reached the NCAA tournament for the second straight season and again advanced to the championship with a 4–3 overtime win over St. Lawrence. UND beat former WIHL member Michigan State with another 4–3 overtime victory to win the university's first ice hockey national championship. UND ended with a record of 20–10–1 on the season. 1959 marked the official founding of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and after three seasons in the WCHA UND returned to the national stage for the 1963 NCAA tournament held in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts at the McHugh Forum. North Dakota blew away the hometown Boston College Eagles 8–2 and won the school's second ice hockey championship with a 6–5 win over rival Denver. The team finished with a record of 22–7–3 and coach Thorndycraft was named WCHA Coach of the Year for 1962–63.

Peters, Selman, Bjorkman years

Thorndycraft left the program in 1964 and under new coach R.H. "Bob" Peters, UND won the MacNaughton Cup for the WCHA regular season championship in 1964–65. The team advanced to the 1965 NCAA tournament but lost 3–4 in the semi-final round to Boston College. Bill Selman became coach in 1966 and led the team to their third MacNaughton Cup in history and a spot in the 1967 NCAA tournament. UND's run ended with a loss to Cornell 0–1 but Selman received the 1966–67 WCHA Coach of the Year award. The following season UND received an at-large bid to the 1968 NCAA tournament. North Dakota beat Cornell 4–1 in a rematch of the 1967 semi-final game. UND advanced to the National Championship game for the first time since winning it 5 seasons earlier in 1963. UND again found themselves in the National Championship game matched up with conference rival Denver, North Dakota would fall to the Pioneers 0–4. Rube Bjorkman became the 9th coach in program history after previously serving as head coach at the University of New Hampshire. Over the 10 seasons as coach UND finished with two winning seasons, one in his first season as UND coach in 1968–69 and a second in 1971–72. During his tenure as UND coach Bjorkman compiled a record of 149–186–11.

Gasparini era

John "Gino" Gasparini was hired in 1978, Gasparini played for UND from 1964 to 1967 before a short stint in the International Hockey League then returning to UND under Bjorkman as an assistant coach. Gasparini's impact was immediate and UND finished the regular season winning the MacNaughton Cup and advancing to the 1979 NCAA tournament. North Dakota picked up a 4–2 victory of Dartmouth in the semi-final round but fell in the national championship game to Minnesota 3–4. North Dakota finished the season with a record of 30–11–1, the program's first 30-win season, as well as Gasparini being named WCHA Coach of the Year. The 30 wins of the 1978–79 season was eclipsed the following season when North Dakota picked up 31 wins and the programs third National Championship with a 5–2 win over Northern Michigan. North Dakota returned to the NCAA tournament in 1984. North Dakota swept Rensselaer two games to none in the quarter-final round but fell 1–2 in overtime to Minnesota-Duluth

The 1986–87 season UND swept through the WCHA winning the MacNaughton Cup and WCHA Final Five Tournament. UND advanced to the 1987 NCAA tournament sweeping St. Lawrence in two games by a combined score of 9–4 and advancing to the Championship with a 5–2 win over Harvard. North Dakota won their fifth NCAA Division I National Championship when UND defeated Michigan State Spartans in front of a Spartan crowd in Detroit, Michigan on March 28, 1987. The team would make the NCAA tournament one more time with Gasparini behind the bench in 1990 but fell in the regional round of the expanded NCAA tournament when the team lost to Boston University two games to one in the best of three series.

Blais era

After four quiet years, Dean Blais took over as head coach of North Dakota after John "Gino" Gasparini in 1994. In his third season as head coach, Blais led UND to the program's eighth MacNaughton Cup for WCHA regular season champions and fifth Broadmoor Trophy for WCHA playoff champions. UND advanced to the Frozen Four after a 6–2 victory over Cornell in the quarterfinal round. UND then advanced to the National Championship with a 6–2 win over Colorado College. Under Blais, UND won 6–4 over Boston University to win the school's Six National Championship. That same season Blais was named recipient of the Spencer Penrose Award for Division I College Coach of the Year.

North Dakota returned to the NCAA tournament in 1998 and 1999 but were plagued with early-round exits. In the 1999–2000 season, after again winning the WCHA Tournament, UND advanced through the 2000 NCAA tournament to the Championship against Boston College, looking for its first NCAA title since 1949. BC had a 2–1 lead entering the third period, but UND responded with three goals, with two by Lee Goren. Goren tied the game, assisted on Jason Ulmer's game-winning goal, and then scored into an empty Eagles net in the last minute of play to secure the game. It marked North Dakota's seventh national title overall and second since 1997, and was also the third time in three years that BC came up short in the Frozen Four. Boston College got its revenge over UND the following season when the two teams again faced each other in the National Championship. BC won its first national title since 1949 by defeating North Dakota, 3–2, in overtime on a goal scored by sophomore forward Krys Kolanos just 4:43 into OT.

In 2001, the team moved into the new $100 million, 11,500-seat Ralph Engelstad Arena, replacing the aging 6,000-seat Old Ralph Engelstad Arena that served as the home for UND hockey since 1972. After missing the NCAA post-season tournament in 2002, UND returned in 2003. North Dakota fell to Ferris State 2–5 in the opening round of the West Regionals. And in the 2004 NCAA tournament, UND shut out Holy Cross 3–0 before getting shut out 0–1 in the West Regional Final to Denver.

Hakstol era

On July 9, 2004, Dave Hakstol was announced as the 15th coach in program history, replacing Dean Blais who left UND when he was named associate coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Blais served as UND head coach for 10 seasons and placed first among active coaches with a record of 262–115–13 and a .733 winning percentage. With Hakstol behind the bench, UND continued their winning tradition that was prevalent under Blais. UND won 4–3 in overtime vs. Maine on October 8, 2004, to give Hakstol his first win as head coach. UND received an at-large bid to the 2005 NCAA tournament and found themselves in the Championship against long-time rival University of Denver. DU freshman goaltender Peter Mannino backstopped an offensive attack that included a 2-goal game by DU forward Paul Stastny to hand UND a 1–4 loss.

North Dakota made and advanced in the next three NCAA tournaments but came up with third-place finishes in the Frozen Four, losing to Boston College three seasons in a row. In 2006 losing 5–6 to the Eagles, in 2007 falling 4–6, and in 2008 losing 1–6. Despite the third consecutive loss to BC in the Frozen Four, the seasons ended on high notes in 2006–07 when sophomore forward Ryan Duncan became the second UND player to win the Hobey Baker Award and the first in 20 seasons after Tony Hrkac in 1986–87. The 2007–08 season was only the second time in UND Hockey history that North Dakota had two finalists for the Hobey Baker Award when junior forward T. J. Oshie and senior goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux; the other time in 2004 when Zach Parise, Brandon Bochenski were nominated.

In March 2009 UND won a WCHA-leading 14th league championship with a 2–1 win at Wisconsin. The team advanced to the 2009 NCAA tournament but fell in the Northeast Region semifinal to New Hampshire, 5–6 in overtime, after UNH's Thomas Fortney scored with :00.1 remaining in regulation to force OT and UNH's Josh LaBlanc scored 45 seconds into overtime. UND capped off the 2009–10 regular season and won the 2010 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey tournament to receive an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA tournament. UND fell in the Northeast Regional semifinals to Yale 2–3 after The Bulldogs scored 3 goals in a span of 4:57 during the second period and Yale goaltender Ryan Rondeau stopped 34 UND shots.

In March 2011 UND captured its WCHA-leading 15th league championship with an 11–2 win at Michigan Tech. The team advanced as the #1 seed into the 2011 WCHA tournament by beating #12 seed Michigan Tech (8–0, 3–1). UND advanced to the 2011 WCHA Final Five to play Colorado College in the WCHA semi-final and won with a late 3rd period goal by Matt Frattin to advance them to the WCHA Championship. UND then faced rival Denver for the Broadmoor Trophy. Denver took to the early lead 1–0 at 5:06 of the first period, UND rallied at 2:32 of the second period and struck again at 8:18 of the second period. Denver tied it up at 17:47 of the third period to force the game into overtime. Frattin scored the game winner at 5:11 of the second overtime to claim North Dakota's 2nd as many seasons and 9th Broadmoor Trophy overall for UND. The team advanced to the 2011 NCAA tournament Midwest Regional in Green Bay, Wisconsin. At the Midwest Regional, UND faced off first against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where they shut out the Engineers, 6–0, advancing to play WCHA rival Denver for the second straight weekend. UND defeated the Pioneers of Denver 6–1 in the Midwest Regional Final to advance to their fifth Frozen Four in 8 seasons under Dave Hakstol. In the NCAA Frozen Four, UND saw their highly anticipated season come to an end with a 0–2 shutout to the Michigan Wolverines.

In March 2012, UND captured its 10th Broadmoor Trophy with a 4–0 victory over rival Denver. With this victory, UND made history by being the first team in WCHA history to capture the Broadmoor three straight years (2010, 2011, 2012); this is the second time UND has won the tournament from a play in game and also holds a 13-game unbeaten streak in the WCHA tournament and an 8-game WCHA Final Five unbeaten streak. UND lost to rival Minnesota in the NCAA tournament.

Hakstol left the team in May 2015 to take the head coaching job with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, becoming the first college coach to jump to an NHL head coaching position since Herb Brooks was hired by the Minnesota North Stars in 1987.

National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC)

On July 14, 2011, College Hockey Inc. announced the formation of a new hockey league, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which would begin play in the 2013–14 season. The league's six charter members were North Dakota, Colorado College, Denver, Miami (OH), Minnesota–Duluth, and Nebraska-Omaha. All were WCHA members except for CCHA member Miami. Two months after the announcement of the new league, the NCHC added a sixth WCHA member, St. Cloud State, and another CCHA member, Western Michigan. The NCHC has had no membership changes since starting play. The new league was made after the Big Ten Conference decided to sponsor hockey. This change caused widespread backlash due to the break-up of old rivalries that included Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Berry Era (2015–present)

After Dave Hakstol obtained the head coaching job in Philadelphia, Brad Berry received a promotion to Head Coach on May 18, 2015. In his first year, he managed a decisive 34–6–4 record, building a line known as the CBS line (Caggiula, Boeser, Schmaltz).

In 2016, North Dakota once again won the NCHC Regular season Championship, but were defeated in the NCHC Tournament. UND finished the regular season as the #3 ranked team in the country and qualified for the NCAA tournament. For the third consecutive season, UND advanced to the 2016 Frozen Four, defeating Northeastern, and Michigan to get there. Following a dramatic 4–2 win over Denver, North Dakota had reached the Championship where they defeated Quinnipiac 5–1. This was their first championship since 2000, and their eighth overall. Only Michigan and Denver have more championships with nine.

2017 was an up and down year that resulted in the program's 15th consecutive postseason berth. North Dakota lost in double overtime against Boston University in the NCAA tournament, after having a goal disallowed in the first overtime due to an offsides review.

In 2018, inconsistency again plagued the North Dakota hockey team. Plenty of streaks ending, most notably the run of postseason NCAA national tournament appearances. North Dakota's streak of 20 wins in a season came to an end. It resulted in missing the postseason for the first time since the 2001–2002 season.

2019 was another inconsistent year for North Dakota. It resulted in the team finishing 5th in the 8th place NCHC standings. This snapped a streak dating back to the 2002–03 season in which North Dakota hosted and ultimately advanced in their conference tournament. Their season ended with a sweep to the hands of Denver in the first round of the NCHC playoffs.

2020 was a return to national prominence for UND. The team accomplished many feats that few North Dakota teams did before. The team won a series at rivals Denver for the first time in years by virtue of a win and a tie and swept both games against Minnesota at 3M arena at Mariucci for only the 2nd time in the previous 40-year history of games in Minneapolis. The team achieved a #1 ranking in both national polls and was PairWise #1 during the regular season for the first time since 2017. The team went on to win the Penrose Cup as regular season champions in the NCHC.

2020 Post-season Cancellation Due to COVID-19

In March 2020, before College hockey playoffs began, the NCAA cancelled the remainder of all college sports 2020 spring season. The team was due to host Colorado College for a first round series for the start of the postseason, however, the NCHC tournament was canceled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Very soon after, the NCAA tournament was canceled leaving the season over for North Dakota. North Dakota set a home record at 18–1, the best in UND hockey history with a win percentage of .947. UND finished the year ranked #1 in the Pairwise with a record of 26–5–4.

2021-Present

In 2021, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was determined to play only league games in the NCHC. The first ten games of league play would start in a "pod" in Omaha at Baxter Arena in a three-week period to maximize opportunity to play all games in a controlled situation. North Dakota finished the pod in first in the NCHC and continued to roll into the rest of the regular season and captured their second straight Penrose Cup as regular season champions of the NCHC. The postseason tournament, instead of being played in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center due to restrictions from COVID-19, was selected to be played at UND's Ralph Engelstad Arena. North Dakota won the NCHC postseason tournament for the first time in their history making them the first NCHC team to win both the regular season and postseason titles in the same year. UND's promising season ended in heartbreaking fashion in the NCAA regional final round with a loss to rival Minnesota-Duluth in 5 overtimes, making it the longest game in NCAA postseason history.

2022 brought continued success in the regular season for North Dakota. They captured the Penrose Cup for a third consecutive season. They entered the postseason playing host to Colorado College in the first round of the NCHC playoffs and swept the Tigers. A loss at the Frozen Faceoff to Western Michigan ended their NCHC tournament. They would be selected to play in the NCAA tournament but lose in the first round to Notre Dame ending their season.

2023 was a disappointment to the high expectations coming into the season. Inconsistencies in their play in the early part of the year plagued their season despite playing better towards the end of the year. The team would finish tied for 5th in the NCHC standings, and ultimately bowed out in the semifinals of the NCHC tournament. The team would not be selected for participation in the NCAA tournament, which is the 3rd time in 8 years under Brad Berry they have not qualified.