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Into Thin Air : College Hockey News

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November 30, 2023


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North Dakota Using Advanced Tech to Ready Itself for Showdown in Denver

by Avash Kalra/Senior Writer (@AvashKalra)

 (photo: Russ Hons)

(photo: Russ Hons)

Grand Forks, North Dakota, officially sits at 837 feet above sea level — notably, 4,443 feet lower in elevation than Denver, where the Fighting Hawks travel this weekend to take on the Pioneers in a highly-anticipated NCHC showdown.

Last year, Denver swept UND in the teams’ pair of games at Magness Arena. It was a forgettable weekend for North Dakota, with leading scorer Jackson Blake saying repeatedly during his press conference this week that he doesn’t remember much about the ordeal.

Of course, things were different back then — especially for a UND team that struggled with its goaltending last season and fixed that problem immediately by bringing in Miami transfer Ludvig Persson in the offseason. Persson has been stellar for the 11-2-1 Fighting Hawks, leading the league in wins (11), goals-against average (1.85), save percentage (.924) and shutouts (3). The senior from Sweden recorded his third shutout of the season in last Saturday’s win over Bemidji State (and even recorded an assist in the game), and as a result, UND rolls into the Mile High City with the nation’s longest win streak (7).

In addition to Persson’s arrival to head coach Brad Berry’s roster, another notable offseason development in Grand Forks was a renovation of UND’s training facilities, which were already considered to be among the most impressive in North American hockey (at all levels). This includes a 1,400 square foot High Altitude training room, one of the largest such facilities on Earth.

Much is said about playing in the ‘thin air’ of Denver, and the storyline came to the forefront earlier this year during the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat. “Thin air” is of course a bit of a misnomer. The partial pressure of oxygen is lower at altitude, and so the air can better be described as less dense. The potential result for an athlete? It’s harder for red blood cells to deliver oxygen to, for instance, muscle, and so athletes may tire faster. They’ll breathe harder.

High altitude training rooms, like the one in Grand Forks, can simulate conditions at various altitudes by using advanced technology to adjust oxygen levels,…

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