in his first season as UND coach in 1968–69 and a second in 1971–72. During his tenure as UND coach Bjorkman compiled a record of 149–186–11. Gasparini era John "Gino" Gasparini was hired in 1978, Gasparini played for UND from 1964 to 1967 before a short stint in the International Hockey League then returning to UND under Bjorkman as an assistant coach. Gasparini's impact was immediate and UND finished the regular season winning the MacNaughton Cup and advancing to the 1979 NCAA Tournament. North Dakota picked up a 4–2 victory of Dartmouth in the semi-final round but fell in the national championship game to Minnesota 3–4. North Dakota finished the season with a record of 30–11–1, the program's first 30-win season, as well as Gasparini being named WCHA Coach of the Year. The 30 wins of the 1978–79 season was eclipsed the following season when North Dakota picked up 31 wins and the programs third National Championship with a 5–2 win over Northern Michigan. North Dakota returned to the NCAA Tournament in 1984. North Dakota swept Rensselaer two games to none in the quarter final round but fell 1–2 in overtime to Minnesota-Duluth The 1986–87 season UND swept through the WCHA winning the MacNaughton Cup and WCHA Final Five Tournament. UND advanced to the 1987 NCAA Tournament sweeping St. Lawrence in two games by a combined score of 9–4 and advancing to the Championship with a 5–2 win over Harvard. North Dakota won their fifth NCAA Division I National Championship when UND defeated Michigan State Spartans in front of a Spartan crowd in Detroit, Michigan on March 28, 1987. The team would make the NCAA Tournament one more time with Gasparini behind the bench in 1990 but fell in the regional round of the expanded NCAA Tournament when the team lost to Boston University two games to one in the best of three series. Blais era After four quiet years, Dean Blais took over as head coach of North Dakota after John "Gino" Gasparini in 1994. In his third season as head coach, Blais led UND to the program's eighth MacNaughton Cup for WCHA regular season champions and fifth Broadmoor Trophy for WCHA playoff champions. UND advanced to the Frozen Four after a 6–2 victory over Cornell in the quarterfinal round. UND then advanced to the National Championship with a 6–2 win over Colorado College. Under Blais, UND won 6–4