To be fair, while the Pairwise is a mediocre system for determining at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament, it is not a very good system at all to rank teams.
That being said, to say that one would rather play North Dakota than say, Brown or Princeton, is simply false bravado...a sign of nervousness.
The ECAC was absolutely dominant in the NCAA Tournament in 2013, and Union carried the conference flag last season (can't say much for how Colgate and Quinnipiac performed last season). I believe there will be at least 1 ECAC team in the Frozen Four, and I wouldn't be shocked if 2 made it. The ECAC has proven themselves as one of the top leagues, but the NCHC went 13-6-2 against the ECAC this season. How far will that take them in the NCAA Tournament...well, that's the nice thing about this time of year, we'll find out.
I've followed North Dakota hockey for almost 30 years, and I'm trying to remember another opening round game where I was this unsure of how my team would perform. To say the least, it has been awhile. The way I see it, North Dakota has the ability to beat anyone in the tournament, but could also lose to anyone in the tournament. As with any NCAA Tournament over the past 10 years or so, the winner will need to play very well for 4 games, and get a bit of puck luck. That could be the case for either North Dakota or Quinnipiac, and I wouldn't be surprised if either of these teams wins it all (or loses Saturday).
As for tonight's game, I think the teams are fairly even. QU probably has a bit more high end punch offensively, North Dakota is a little deeper, the Sioux slightly outmatch the Bobcats along the blue line, and I think UND has a slight edge in net. Both teams have experience at this stage, and both coaches are solid. I think this will be a 1-goal game that could go either way, and I wouldn't be overly surprised if this went beyond 60 minutes. Overall, I think North Dakota has an ever-so-slight edge, especially if Anas is unable to play (or is unable to perform up to his normal abilities). Throw in that the game is in North Dakota (albeit Fargo, but a decided edge in terms of crowd support), and I think the Sioux edge out the Bobcats. First team to three wins, so I'll take North Dakota 3-2.
Either way, I don't think anyone is overlooking the ECAC schools anymore, but if they do, they will get blown out of the water. Of course, the same should be said for the NCHC as well.