TAMPA, Fla. — North Dakota and Denver, tied for second with seven NCAA hockey championships — two behind Michigan — will meet for a chance to one-up the other Thursday in the Frozen Four semifinals at Amalie Arena.

The winner gets a shot at an eighth national title, in addition to winning the annual series, which is tied 2-2-1. Denver is unbeaten (2-0-1) in the past three games of a 275-game rivalry that dates to 1950.

“Awesome stage for the rubber match,” Pioneers captain Grant Arnold of Centennial said after an hour-long practice at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s arena. “This is just going to be another North Dakota-Denver game with a lot of intensity and a lot of fire behind both benches, and it’s going to be highlighted on the North Dakota-Denver timeline.

“This is a Frozen Four game. There’s more at stake, no question about it. But it’s going to be an awesome game. I think it’s great a rivalry, and it embodies a lot what college hockey is about.”

Denver is 18-2-4 in 2016 after taking a 7-7-2 record into the Christmas break. The Pioneers swept then-No. 2 North Dakota by 6-4 and 4-1 scores in January, and the teams tied 1-1 at the National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament consolation game March 19 in Minneapolis.

The last game meant virtually nothing, which was why Arnold and a handful of others didn’t play. Thursday’s game means everything.

“It’s a good feeling around the locker room. A good vibe,” said DU junior defenseman Will Butcher, the Avalanche draftee who didn’t play March 19. “Everybody is enjoying where they’re at and ready to do something special. And we like the opponent. It’s always fun when you’re playing a team you know, because you know what to expect — especially at a big venue like this. They’re probably thinking the same thing. It should be a great game.”

Third-year DU coach Jim Montgomery is coaching in his first Frozen Four. But he played in two national championship games for Maine in the 1990s, losing in 1991 and winning it all in 1993 as a senior.

“I talked to the guys about it before we went to regionals, about my sophomore year, and how I choked — how I let the event be bigger than the moment,” Montgomery said. “The process we have now, started for me back then. It helped me individually, and I never choked again. Channelling your emotions and mental thoughts toward what makes you a good individual player to help the team win will enable us to have success.”

The team getting the most from its top line figures to win the game. DU is led by The Pacific Rim line — the team’s top three scorers in sophomore Danton Heinen (Langley, British Columbia), freshman Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Wash.) and junior Trevor Moore (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). They have combined for 139 points.

North Dakota’s CBS Line — senior Drake Caggiula, freshman Brock Boeser and sophomore Nick Schmaltz — has combined for 144 points and also make up the team’s top three scorers.

UND is the higher seed and will have the last change. Coach Brad Berry plans on putting a checking line against the Pacific Rim.

“I’ve already kind of publicly tried to challenge Coach Berry to let’s go head to head, CBS against Pacific Rim Line.He wants to go with his defensive line against them,” Montgomery said. “Maybe he’ll bite halfway through the game.”

Said Berry: “We know what they’re going to do. They know what we’re going to do. But the biggest thing is we gotta be aware when (the Pacific Rim Line) is on the ice and what they’re doing.”

Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers

DENVER PIONEERS VS. NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS



When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday

TV/Radio: ESPN2; 102.3 FM

Spotlight on Gage Ausmus:

The North Dakota team captain from East Grand Forks, Minn., originally was headed to Denver in 2013, but de-committed and signed with North Dakota after George Gwozdecky was fired as the Pioneers’ coach. “One of my great memories of Denver and the University of North Dakota is (in 2009),” Ausmus said Wednesday. “Denver is in town, and I don’t think Coach Gwozdecky liked one of the calls, and he stepped out on the ice and walked out there and got the fans pretty riled up. And that’s just one of the many examples in our series, why it’s a great rivalry.”

PIOS VS. HAWKS NOTEBOOK

Pioneers:

Leading scorer Danton Heinen is second nationally in points (28) since Feb.1, trailing only Michigan’s Kyle Connor (29), who is expected to win the Hobey Baker Award on Friday. … Sophomore goalie Tanner Jaillet is 14-1-3 since Jan. 1, with a 1.99 goals-against average and .929 saves percentage. … DU is coming off 7-2 and 6-3 West Regional victories over Boston University and Ferris State. … In six years as a head coach, including three at DU, Jim Montgomery has led his team to the national semifinals three times. He won two Clark Cup championships in the United States Hockey League before joining Denver in 2013.

Fighting Hawks:

They advanced to their third consecutive Frozen Four and eighth in the past 12 years but they haven’t won the national title since 1999-2000. UND lost in the semifinals to Minnesota and Boston University the past two years. UND’s 21 Frozen Four victories are second behind Michigan (25) … UND’s 32 victories are third most in program history, behind the 1982 team (35-12) and 1987 (40-8). … First-year coach Brad Berry replaced Dave Hakstol, now the coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. … Goalie Cam Johnson is second in the NCAA with a 1.67 goals-against average and tied for sixth with a school-record .934 save percentage.