North Dakota

Fayetteville Regional Preview: North Dakota State

Published

9 months ago

May 27, 2025

Fayetteville Regional Preview: North Dakota State

The Arkansas Razorbacks (43-13) are set to host the Fayetteville Regional as the No. 3 national seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The first squad the Diamond Hogs will face is the North Dakota State Bison (20-32), who are the 4-seed in the Fayetteville Regional.

The Bison defeated Oral Roberts 4-2 last Saturday in the “if necessary” game to claim the Summit League Tournament championship as a two-seed after falling to the Golden Eagles 3-1 earlier in the day to force the winner-take-all matchup. This is the third time the Bison have appeared in an NCAA Tournament as a Division I member, the other two in 2014 and 2021.

NDSU has a mostly straight shot, but lengthy, trek to Fayetteville while the other two squads in the Fayetteville Regional, 2-seeded Kansas and 3-seeded Creighton, are within a four and six-hour trip.

Arkansas head Coach Dave Van Horn mentioned Monday that he was not surprised when the pairings were announced.

“That’s pretty much who I thought was coming,” Van Horn said. “Obviously Nebraska winning yesterday, there was a possibility of them coming in as a 3. I did feel like Kansas would come in being three hours up the road as a 2. They’ve had a great season. You know I felt like it was going to be either North Dakota State or Little Rock coming in as the 4. So pretty much what I thought.”

Their record in the big picture essentially tells the story of how the season has gone that includes a brutal start, dropping 13 of their first 14 games, but the experienced Bison got some things clicking in their conference tournament and have won four of their last five contests.

“They’ve been sneaky good over the last few years to be honest with you,” Van Horn said. “You’re kind of going ‘Wow,’ because they’re playing inside. They’re practicing inside and doing it a lot most of the year.

“They have an older team. I was informed that they have … and I know they had them but they have like 10 seniors on their team. A lot of times that’s what it takes when you are a mid-major to be really successful at all levels is to have those older kids.”

NDSU is led by fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes. The heart and soul of the roster includes junior southpaw Nolan Johnson, who was named Summit League Pitcher of the Year as well as sophomore infielder Jake Schaffner, the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Year. Johnson was also named the Summit League Championship’s Most Valuable Player.

Along with Johnson and Schaffner, lefty pitcher Danny Lachenmayer was also tabbed first-team all-conference, while outfielder Dante Smith and right-handed pitcher Logan Knight were named to the second team. Third baseman Davis Hamilton and outfielder Sam Canton were listed on the Honorable Mention squad.

The Bison played two games this spring against Fayetteville Regional counterpart Creighton, taking the first matchup on April 8 over the Blue Jays 3-2 and Creighton took the second one a couple of weeks later 5-2.

It is assumed the Hogs will trot regular Friday starter Zach Root to the mound against Johnson and the Bison, but the Hogs will wait to say for sure.

“Yeah, we pretty much know who we’re going to pitch but we’re not going to announce it yet,” Van Horn said.

Arkansas and North Dakota State will play the first game of the Fayetteville Regional on Friday at 2 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.

Below is a comparison of the Arkansas and North Dakota State’s metrics and stats, as well as a look the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Bison.

1. SS Jake Schaffner – Sophomore, 6’2″, 175 pounds

2025 stats: .384/.443/.489, 52 GP, 219 AB, 84 H, 48 R, 9 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 18 BB, 24 K, 18 SB

2. DH Dante Smith – Freshman, 5’11”, 175 pounds

2025 stats: .303/.388/389, 41 GP, 152 AB, 46 H, 28 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 41 K, 18 BB, 11 SB

3. 3B Davis Hamilton – Junior, 6’2″, 200 pounds

2025 stats: .314/.404/.469, 51 GP, 194 AB, 61 H, 36 R, 12 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 25 BB, 33 K, 12 SB

4. CF Sam Canton – Senior, 5’10”, 185 pounds

2025 stats: .268/.369/.396, 41 GP, 149 AB, 40 H, 17 R, 7 2B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 19 BB, 33 K, 4 SB

5. LF Colten Becker – Senior, 5’10”, 190 pounds

2025 stats: .286/.404/.438, 50 GP, 185 AB, 53 H, 18 R, 9 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 30 BB, 61 K, 5 SB

6. C Noah Gordon – Sophomore, 5’10”, 190 pounds

2025 stats: .219/.299/.367, 38 GP, 128 AB, 28 H, 16 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB, 33 K

7. RF Blake Timmons – Redshirt Freshman, 5’10”, 175 pounds

2025 stats: .221/.303/.412, 21 GP, 68 AB, 15 H, 11 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB, 21 K

8. 1B Alex Urlaub – Senior, 6’1″, 190 pounds

2025 stats: .250/.352/.372, 48 GP, 164 AB, 41 H, 19 R, 8 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 15 BB, 57 K

9. 2B Luis Garcia – Senior, 6’0″, 180 pounds

2025 stats: .135/.273/.162, 26 GP, 74 AB, 10 H, 8 R, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 10 BB, 25 K, 1 SB

LHP Nolan Johnson – Redshirt Junior, 6’1″, 185 pounds

2025 stats: 15 APP, 15 GS, 4-5 W/L, 82.2 IP, 77 H, 40 R, 38 ER, 21 BB, 77 K, .241 BAA, 4.14 ERA

RHP Logan Knight – Senior, 6’6″, 215 pounds

2025 stats: 14 APP, 14 GS, 4-6 W/L, 77 IP, 85 H, 48 R, 40 ER, 27 BB, 65 K, .278 BAA, 4.68 ERA

LHP Danny Lachenmayer – Freshman, 6’3″, 195 pounds

2025 stats: 22 APP, 2-3 W/L, 34.2 IP, 21 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 17 B, 53 K, .179 BAA, 2.60 ERA

RHP Reese Lightenberg – Redshirt Senior, 6’5″, 205 pounds

2025 stats: 18 APP, 1-1 W/L, 24.2 IP, 26 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 11 BB, 10 K, .280 BAA, 5.47 ERA

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North Dakota

$2 million anonymous donor to Grand Forks Children’s Museum is revealed

Published

2 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks Children’s Museum has revealed the anonymous donor of the $2 million in matching funds that prompted others to step forward and bring the fundraising campaign closer to its goal of $35 million.

“It is with deep gratitude that the Grand Forks Children’s Museum now shares the name behind that bold vision,” said Katie Mayer, executive director of the museum, in naming Pam Laffen of Grand Forks as the anonymous donor.

With this gift and other major contributions, the fundraising campaign “stands at just $1.75 million remaining, bringing the finish line clearly into view,” Mayer said.

The museum “reflects Pam’s passion for learning and her belief in creating meaningful opportunities for children which have guided her life’s work and are deeply reflected in this gift,” she said.

Laffen said, “I am honored to be part of a community that supports a project dedicated to encouraging growth in education and service for future generations.”

Recognizing the impact of Laffen’s gift, Mayer said, “Pam and her late husband, Lonnie, shared a deep appreciation for this community. Being raised in a rural area in North Dakota taught them to be actively engaged in their immediate and surrounding communities across the state.”

Members of the Grand Forks Children’s Museum Staff and Fundraising Team are (back row, from left) Alyssa Donacki, Diane Martinson, Ashley Stroble, Katie Mayer, Pam Laffen, Betsey Aasen and Kim Woods and (in front) Maura Tanabe (left) and Sally Miskavige.

Contributed / Grand Forks Children’s Museum

At the start of the “Unlocking Tomorrow, Together Challenge,” the $2 million would be released, or “unlocked,” with the receipt of each of eight $250,000 donations. The challenge actually resulted in “securing nearly 10 leadership-level commitments and accelerating the campaign even further,” Mayer said.

A leadership gift of $250,000 from the Pancratz Family Foundation, based with the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation, has helped to “unlock one of the final keys in the challenge,” according to an announcement from the museum. The gift has added “meaningful momentum at a pivotal time in the campaign.”

The foundation’s commitment to the museum “reflects a strong belief in expanding opportunity for children and families, and helped carry the challenge to completion.”

The final keys to the $2 million matching grant were “propelled by an extraordinary wave of generosity from families and businesses across our community,” Mayer said.

A vertical climber, to be named for Pam Laffen, is designed to physically and symbolically connect the land and sky levels of the museum, Mayer said. It will span two stories and include a slide. Designed to face 42nd Street, it will be visible from the road, serving as a signature feature of the building.

The climber will reflect the guiding phrase “In land, we root. Through sky, we rise. Together, we grow.”

“The words echo both the spirit of the community and the belief that learning, curiosity, exploration and opportunity are built step-by-step, grounded in place and lifted by possibility,” Mayer said.

Pamela Knudson is a features and arts/entertainment writer for the Grand Forks Herald.

She has worked for the Herald since 2011 and has covered a wide variety of topics, including the latest performances in the region and health topics.

Pamela can be reached at pknudson@gfherald.com or (701) 780-1107.

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North Dakota

Broncos won’t repeat as NCHC hockey champs, lose to N. Dakota: ‘We broke down’

Published

14 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Broncos won’t repeat as NCHC hockey champs, lose to N. Dakota: ‘We broke down’

Kalamazoo — There’ll be a new champion in the NCHC.

Will Zellers scored the game-winning goal in the third period as No. 3 North Dakota downed No. 4 Western Michigan, 5-3, Friday night at Lawson Arena. The Broncos never led and trailed all of the third period, though a late push nearly tied the game with the net empty.

“Overall in the game, I thought it was a pretty tightly contested effort. I thought they just scored too easy,” Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “You know, for us, we had a couple breakdowns, and they’re so talented, so good, they took advantage when we broke down.”

The teams finish the regular season Saturday night. Western Michigan came into Friday’s game tied with Denver in standings points and five points behind North Dakota, needing that many to get a share of the Penrose Cup it won last season en route to an NCAA championship, too.

As far as regular season results go, the Broncos will play for second seed in the NCHC Tournament, needing to outpace Denver, which plays Arizona State this weekend.

Western Michigan (23-9-1, 15-7-1 NCHC) goaltender Hampton Slukynsky made 16 saves on 20 shots in the loss while North Dakota’s Jan Spunar stopped 22 of 25 shots. It was a battle of two of the NCHC’s top netminders, and each made key stops in a tight-checking, physical game.

Zellers put North Dakota (25-7-1, 17-5-1) up 4-2 4:42 into the third period off an assist from Detroit Red Wings draft choice Dylan James.

“He kind of made a play out of nothing there,” said North Dakota coach Dane Jackson, who is in his first season as head coach after being on the coaching staff since 2006. “And that was a really nice kind of moment where you go OK, we got a little got a little leeway here, and we can just kind of play a little bit more free.”

North Dakota took a 3-2 lead into the third period with goals from defenseman Sam Laurila alongside forwards Ollie Josephson and Josh Zakreski. Defenseman Zach Bookman and forward Liam Valente scored for Western Michigan.

One too many times in the second frame, Western Michigan’s blue line let a North Dakota forward in all alone to face Slukynsky, who stopped a couple of rushes in the opening minutes of the period.

With four minutes until the intermission, the Broncos finally got burned. On a feed from linemate Anthony Menghini, Lakreski cut to the glove side of a sprawling Slukynsky and beat him with the backhand. The goal gave North Dakota the 3-2 lead, after a seeing-eye shot from Bookman along the right wall had tied it up two apiece 8:10 into the period.

“I actually thought the second period was our best period,” Ferschweiler said. “… We started to take over. We got the goal, tied 2-2, and are kind of just humming along. Four minutes left, we just hand them a goal. Blown coverage. That was inexcusable, honestly, with some of our better players on the ice.”

The opening period played out as a back and forth track meet through the neutral zone as each side settled in. Laurila put North Dakota up 1-0 with his first career goal. After Slukynsky denied him on a trio of tries earlier in the shift, he fired a shot to beat the Western Michigan netminder 4:40 into the game.

It took just a minute and 34 seconds after Laurila’s opener for Western Michigan’s top line to get it right back. A blue-collar shift from captain Owen Michaels fed linemate Will Whitelaw along the left boards, and he sprung Valente for a breakaway goal that evened up the score.

“I thought we gave it to them too easy a couple times tonight,” Whitelaw said. “And I think when you’re playing a team like that, obviously they’re gonna put it in your net. But I think it’ll be a big lesson for our group going forward.”

For the better part of the first period, the Lawson Lunatics peppered North Dakota defenseman Jake Livanavage with jeers, but he got his own licks in with 7:48 left in the first period as he fed Josephson right at the net for the 2-1 goal. That score held through the first period.

With 2:02 remaining and Slukynsky pulled, forward Zaccharya Wisdom pulled Western Michigan within one. He nearly had the equalizer with 40 seconds on the clock on a backdoor try, but he mistimed the shot. Mac Swanson scored an empty-netter with 20.7 seconds on the clock to clinch the win, and with it the Penrose Cup, presented to North Dakota in the locker room and then paraded around the ice.

“It’s the hardest regular season championship to win, in my opinion,” North Dakota forward Ben Strinden said. “So it’s awesome. Obviously, it’s not our end goal, but we’re going to enjoy it for sure.”

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood

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