North Dakota at St. Cloud State Preview

Who: #4 North Dakota(The Fighting Hawks!) at #7 St. Cloud State

Where: Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, Minnesota

When: 7:37pm CST Friday night, 7:07pm Saturday night

Television: Friday: Fox Sports North Plus/Fox College Sports, Saturday: Comcast Channel 999, Charter 823/426; NCHC.tv($)

St. Cloud State and North Dakota is always a hard-fought pair of games, especially in St. Cloud. The two teams have split in St. Cloud each of the past 13 series played there.

It's still early in the season, but this weekend's series takes on an extra bit of meaning because the two teams are tied for an early lead in the NCHC conference standings with a 4-0-0 record. This will also be the only regular season meeting between the two. It's not a surprise to see North Dakota in this situation, but St. Cloud State was picked to finish in the bottom half of the league, but has played surprisingly good hockey to start the season. They've looked like the top two team in the NCHC so far this year and this series could have a big impact on the league's championship race at the end of the season.

I'll be in St. Cloud for both games this weekend. Check back here after each game for full coverage and follow @ChrisDilks on Twitter for live updates.