Though the team lost its top prospect to the professional ranks, an impressive[citation needed] recruiting class and the return of most of last season's players had many[who?]

The following week would be an early test for UND as they played host to another prospective championship contender in Quinnipiac.

Suddenly, coach Berry had a quandary on his hands as Hellsten's performance was bad enough to end their attempted goaltending rotation but DeRidder was only marginally better.

The inconsistency in goal caused the team to slowly slide down the polls until falling off entirely by Thanksgiving.

The Hawks were able to score, averaging over 3 goals per game, but the offense was concentrated with three players: Jackson Blake, Riese Gaber and Chris Jandric.

Their offense gave the Hawks two separate 1-goal leads but they were unable to hold onto either and the two teams finished the first 60 minutes tied at 2-all.

DeRidder stopped 6 shots in the first 5 minutes but he was unable to prevent the 6th and Zach Okabe's marker ended the Hawks' season.