Three months to the date of a bizarre power outage that postponed the season opener between these two teams, the Bulldogs are finally set to host the Bemidji State Beavers. Both teams are playing well. UMD has won three straight, and Bemidji is 6-2-2 in its last ten games. Records are identical at 11-11-5 overall.
Some news:
UMD senior forward Austin Farley is out for this game with an undisclosed injury. I've been told the hope is to get him healthy for the North Dakota trip. Also out injured are freshman forward Parker Mackay and junior defenseman Dan Molenaar. I don't know the seriousness of either injury at this point, but the bye week is definitely not coming at a bad time.
Junior blue-liner Brenden Kotyk is suspended for this game, but junior Willie Raskob has been deemed sufficiently recovered from an upper body injury and will play.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Kuhlman
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Cameranesi
Johnson - Decowski - Young (Austyn)
Sampair - Spurrell - Exell
Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
McCormack - Corrin
Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery
BSU
O'Connor - Ward - Harms
Gerbrandt - Bauman - Parker
Fitzgerald (Leo) - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Myles)
Marinaccio - Arentz - Heller
Eichstadt - McCormack
Beauvais - Billett
Pedan - Janco
Bitzer - Mimmack
Showing posts with label bemidji state. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bemidji state. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Monday, October 12, 2015
Monday Musings: Late Goal Sinks UMD in Opener
Imagine this: Your teenage child returns home from school one day, and informs you s/he failed a test. You get mad and start asking questions, and the kid tells you everyone else in class either struggled or flat-out-failed, too.
Doesn't make you feel better, does it?
While it's crazy that the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9 teams in the preseason USCHO top ten all lost at least one game over the weekend (No. 8 didn't play), it doesn't help UMD much. In fact, it's an empty fact.
What has been probably UMD's most consistent bugaboo since the start of last season -- the penalty bug -- bit again Saturday. This time, it helped conspire to turn a game around the Bulldogs were dominating everywhere but the scoreboard, and the homestanding Bemidji State Beavers took full advantage, scoring with 22.7 seconds left to win 3-2.
By no means is this loss on defenseman Carson Soucy, justifiably ejected for a contact to the head penalty late in the first period, or is it on forward Kyle Osterberg, who got a major for charging in the second period.
Soucy's penalty came at a time where UMD was leading 12-2 in shots, had by far the better scoring chances, and almost had exclusive ownership of the puck. The top line of Dominic Toninato, Alex Iafallo, and Adam Johnson created chance after chance. Toninato finished with six shots, many of them in that opening period, but the Bulldogs couldn't beat star Bemidji State goalie Michael Bitzer early.
The Beavers put up nine shots on goal during the Soucy major, which came after he hit BSU forward Leo Fitzgerald as he flew through the neutral zone chasing the puck. There was little doubt in my mind it would draw a major and an ejection. Beyond the fact it got Soucy -- a player who is in my opinion the most NHL-ready on the UMD roster -- ejected in the first period, it also gave Bemidji State a chance to seize the momentum in a game it had nothing going in.
From that point on, UMD was outshot 31-18 and never looked the same team. From the Soucy major on, the Bulldogs were outshot at even strength 17-9.
Ouch.
The reasons were multiple. Surely, the Soucy major changed momentum a bit and gave BSU some life that it hadn't previously shown. However, the Beavers also were able to take advantage of a UMD blue line fatigued a bit by the ejection. Down to five defensemen, everyone's ice time increased, and Bemidji's forwards looked fresher than UMD's defense did down the stretch.
(This isn't all on Soucy, because there were 17 other skaters playing in the game, and none of them did enough in the second half of the game to reseize the momentum and get things going back in UMD's favor for more than a shift or two at a time.)
That kind of a thing will be less of a factor later in the season.
It's why it's so important to avoid those types of penalties. UMD was in bad enough position having to kill off two five-minute power plays in the game. The fact it lost Soucy on one of those calls made it even more difficult. He's an all-situation player.
It's somewhat fair to bring up discipline. It was a talking point for Scott Sandelin during the week, as well as before the game Saturday. It was an issue last season, unquestionably. It's been a problem in the past. Even with 22 minutes in penalties after Saturday's loss, it's way too early to cast judgments on this year's team. We just don't know if it's going to be an issue going forward.
But we know it can't be.
A season with this much promise can't -- and I mean it can't -- be sabotaged from within. It's up to the leaders and coaches to figure out a way to address the issue without taking away the aggressiveness that has made UMD such an effective team.
There's a line. Soucy definitely crossed it, and Osterberg probably did.
(After viewing both replays, I'd say it's hard to yell about either call. I absolutely agreed with Soucy, and I'll admit to privately wondering if the NCHC would try to send a preventive message by giving him a one-game suspension early in the season. I don't have anyone I know saying it will and I don't believe that will happen, it's just a thought in my head. I think it'd be a stronger possibility if the hit happened in the third period. And, yes, those things have been considered by leagues before, to the point that the new targeting rule in college football calls for players ejected in the second half of a game to sit the first half of the next one. In this case, I think time served of 42-plus minutes is enough. As for Osterberg, an argument exists that his hit wasn't enough to be a major, but the flip side is that -- again without looking at a replay -- it looked obvious he left his feet to deliver the hit, and that's a huge red flag for the men in striped shirts.)
(Remember to follow @umdhockeygifs on Twitter, an account run by a UMD fan named Ben. Animations that you can pause and rewind were posted of both hits. Also, when you watch those GIFs, remember that every time you watch the replay is one more opportunity than the officials got to watch it before issuing a penalty. Someday, I'll write another blog about the need to have replay review available for major penalties in all games, but that will be a different day where I actually have a beef with a call. That threshold is high because many of the ejections happen after bang-bang plays, but I'm sure it'll happen at some point.)
Yes, this was a tough week for ranked teams. No. 1 Boston College lost to RPI. No. 3 Boston University lost to Union. No. 5 Denver lost to Air Force. No. 6 Minnesota State was swept at home by Omaha. No. 11 Miami lost and tied against Providence.
It was such a bad weekend that the new No. 1 -- North Dakota -- got there by rallying from two goals down to beat mighty Lake Superior State.
Again, it's way too early for judgments. But if the first weekend of the season is any indication, we're in for another wild ride in 2015-16.
UMD fell to seventh in the USCHO poll, and I do not think UMD will stay there long. The Bulldogs have already seen what they're capable of. Now it's a matter of staying out of their own way enough to let it happen.
Minnesota is next, and like UMD, the Gophers are licking their wounds after an upset loss. Minnesota lost 3-0 to Vermont in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers are young, nowhere near the experience level of last year's outfit. Captain Justin Kloos is the only center who isn't a freshman, and Don Lucia opted to start a freshman -- Eric Schierhorn -- in goal for Saturday's game.
Minnesota is dangerous, as usual, up front, and while the depth isn't quite there on defense, the presence of Omaha transfer Nick Seeler helps significantly. Jake Bischoff, Ryan Collins, and Jack Glover finish a pretty solid top four.
And if you don't think the Gophers have forgotten last year, when UMD won the last four out of five meetings, you're crazy. They might not admit it out loud, but they remember, and they'll be ready this weekend.
Hey, maybe we'll actually get both games in this weekend. #obligatoryelectricityjoke
Doesn't make you feel better, does it?
While it's crazy that the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9 teams in the preseason USCHO top ten all lost at least one game over the weekend (No. 8 didn't play), it doesn't help UMD much. In fact, it's an empty fact.
What has been probably UMD's most consistent bugaboo since the start of last season -- the penalty bug -- bit again Saturday. This time, it helped conspire to turn a game around the Bulldogs were dominating everywhere but the scoreboard, and the homestanding Bemidji State Beavers took full advantage, scoring with 22.7 seconds left to win 3-2.
By no means is this loss on defenseman Carson Soucy, justifiably ejected for a contact to the head penalty late in the first period, or is it on forward Kyle Osterberg, who got a major for charging in the second period.
Soucy's penalty came at a time where UMD was leading 12-2 in shots, had by far the better scoring chances, and almost had exclusive ownership of the puck. The top line of Dominic Toninato, Alex Iafallo, and Adam Johnson created chance after chance. Toninato finished with six shots, many of them in that opening period, but the Bulldogs couldn't beat star Bemidji State goalie Michael Bitzer early.
The Beavers put up nine shots on goal during the Soucy major, which came after he hit BSU forward Leo Fitzgerald as he flew through the neutral zone chasing the puck. There was little doubt in my mind it would draw a major and an ejection. Beyond the fact it got Soucy -- a player who is in my opinion the most NHL-ready on the UMD roster -- ejected in the first period, it also gave Bemidji State a chance to seize the momentum in a game it had nothing going in.
From that point on, UMD was outshot 31-18 and never looked the same team. From the Soucy major on, the Bulldogs were outshot at even strength 17-9.
Ouch.
The reasons were multiple. Surely, the Soucy major changed momentum a bit and gave BSU some life that it hadn't previously shown. However, the Beavers also were able to take advantage of a UMD blue line fatigued a bit by the ejection. Down to five defensemen, everyone's ice time increased, and Bemidji's forwards looked fresher than UMD's defense did down the stretch.
(This isn't all on Soucy, because there were 17 other skaters playing in the game, and none of them did enough in the second half of the game to reseize the momentum and get things going back in UMD's favor for more than a shift or two at a time.)
That kind of a thing will be less of a factor later in the season.
It's why it's so important to avoid those types of penalties. UMD was in bad enough position having to kill off two five-minute power plays in the game. The fact it lost Soucy on one of those calls made it even more difficult. He's an all-situation player.
It's somewhat fair to bring up discipline. It was a talking point for Scott Sandelin during the week, as well as before the game Saturday. It was an issue last season, unquestionably. It's been a problem in the past. Even with 22 minutes in penalties after Saturday's loss, it's way too early to cast judgments on this year's team. We just don't know if it's going to be an issue going forward.
But we know it can't be.
A season with this much promise can't -- and I mean it can't -- be sabotaged from within. It's up to the leaders and coaches to figure out a way to address the issue without taking away the aggressiveness that has made UMD such an effective team.
There's a line. Soucy definitely crossed it, and Osterberg probably did.
(After viewing both replays, I'd say it's hard to yell about either call. I absolutely agreed with Soucy, and I'll admit to privately wondering if the NCHC would try to send a preventive message by giving him a one-game suspension early in the season. I don't have anyone I know saying it will and I don't believe that will happen, it's just a thought in my head. I think it'd be a stronger possibility if the hit happened in the third period. And, yes, those things have been considered by leagues before, to the point that the new targeting rule in college football calls for players ejected in the second half of a game to sit the first half of the next one. In this case, I think time served of 42-plus minutes is enough. As for Osterberg, an argument exists that his hit wasn't enough to be a major, but the flip side is that -- again without looking at a replay -- it looked obvious he left his feet to deliver the hit, and that's a huge red flag for the men in striped shirts.)
(Remember to follow @umdhockeygifs on Twitter, an account run by a UMD fan named Ben. Animations that you can pause and rewind were posted of both hits. Also, when you watch those GIFs, remember that every time you watch the replay is one more opportunity than the officials got to watch it before issuing a penalty. Someday, I'll write another blog about the need to have replay review available for major penalties in all games, but that will be a different day where I actually have a beef with a call. That threshold is high because many of the ejections happen after bang-bang plays, but I'm sure it'll happen at some point.)
******
Yes, this was a tough week for ranked teams. No. 1 Boston College lost to RPI. No. 3 Boston University lost to Union. No. 5 Denver lost to Air Force. No. 6 Minnesota State was swept at home by Omaha. No. 11 Miami lost and tied against Providence.
It was such a bad weekend that the new No. 1 -- North Dakota -- got there by rallying from two goals down to beat mighty Lake Superior State.
Again, it's way too early for judgments. But if the first weekend of the season is any indication, we're in for another wild ride in 2015-16.
UMD fell to seventh in the USCHO poll, and I do not think UMD will stay there long. The Bulldogs have already seen what they're capable of. Now it's a matter of staying out of their own way enough to let it happen.
******
Minnesota is next, and like UMD, the Gophers are licking their wounds after an upset loss. Minnesota lost 3-0 to Vermont in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers are young, nowhere near the experience level of last year's outfit. Captain Justin Kloos is the only center who isn't a freshman, and Don Lucia opted to start a freshman -- Eric Schierhorn -- in goal for Saturday's game.
Minnesota is dangerous, as usual, up front, and while the depth isn't quite there on defense, the presence of Omaha transfer Nick Seeler helps significantly. Jake Bischoff, Ryan Collins, and Jack Glover finish a pretty solid top four.
And if you don't think the Gophers have forgotten last year, when UMD won the last four out of five meetings, you're crazy. They might not admit it out loud, but they remember, and they'll be ready this weekend.
Hey, maybe we'll actually get both games in this weekend. #obligatoryelectricityjoke
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Game 1: UMD at Bemidji State
BEMIDJI, Minn. -- By now, you know that UMD's scheduled game against Bemidji State Friday was postponed. That makes what was supposed to be a Saturday return match in Bemidji both teams' season opener.
Beautiful day for a drive to a great facility in Bemidji. This building is wonderful and I'm glad to be back after a couple years without a trip here. Expecting a full house for this game. Broadcast time is 6:30, hope you enjoy.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Johnson - Toninato - Iafallo
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Pionk - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kakisuo - McNeely - Deery
BSU
O'Connor - Bauman - Harms
Marinaccio - Ward - Parker
Dickman - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Leo)
Gerbrandt - Arentz - Heller
Baudry - McCormack
Beauvais - Eichstadt
Pedan - Janco
Bitzer - Mimmack
Beautiful day for a drive to a great facility in Bemidji. This building is wonderful and I'm glad to be back after a couple years without a trip here. Expecting a full house for this game. Broadcast time is 6:30, hope you enjoy.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Johnson - Toninato - Iafallo
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Pionk - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kakisuo - McNeely - Deery
BSU
O'Connor - Bauman - Harms
Marinaccio - Ward - Parker
Dickman - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Leo)
Gerbrandt - Arentz - Heller
Baudry - McCormack
Beauvais - Eichstadt
Pedan - Janco
Bitzer - Mimmack
Friday, October 09, 2015
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs, Beavers Stymied by Power Outage in Duluth
Greetings from where I lay my head: Home.
Usually, we talk about games in a weekly update that publishes Friday night or Saturday morning, subject to change based on my schedule during a particular weekend.
This one's easy. There was no game.
UMD and Bemidji State saw their scheduled season opener Friday night postponed, thanks to a power outage that affected the ice plant -- among other things -- at Amsoil Arena. The outage started around 2pm Friday, when a contractor "bored into an unmarked private underground cable," according to a tweet from Minnesota Power.
The game was said to be in peril around 4pm, when local media became aware of the outage. The announcement of the game's postponement came shortly after 5:30pm.
According to the Duluth News Tribune, the ice could have been in playing shape within 90 minutes of the restoration of power. However, with both teams traveling to Bemidji after the game, a decision was made that the game couldn't be played later than 8pm. Once it could not be guaranteed that power would be restored by 6:30, the game was called off.
In case you're wondering, a DECC employee tweeted to me that power was restored at 7:30. DECC do-everything dude Jeff Stark was asked on Twitter about the prospect of the ice having to be replaced, and he said as long as power was restored before around 11pm, it would probably be fine by Saturday.
(Kudos to Matt Wellens, who actually was at the rink for much of the ordeal. With logistical things to take care of at the radio ranch, it wasn't practical for me to be there when no game was going to be played. I took care of radio business that needed to be done once the game was called, then made my way back here, where we had fully functioning lights. And then we spent $100 at WalMart somehow when we only needed like four things.)
As for the game itself, UMD athletic director Josh Berlo said it would not be made up Sunday, as seemed logical. While I don't know for sure the reason, it's probably due to either travel logistics for Bemidji State or scheduling issues with the teams.
Looking at the teams' schedules, the only mutual off weekend is Dec. 18-19, the week before Christmas. Outside of that, the only option would be to play on a weekday.
This is purely speculative, but I have time to kill. Just keep in mind it's pure speculation.
One option that would seem to have potential is Feb. 9 or 10. UMD is going into a bye week and coming off a home series against Colorado College. Bemidji State is coming off a bye week and plays that weekend at Lake Superior State. The week of Halloween could work, too. UMD is home that weekend, while Bemidji is at Northern Michigan.
Without asking, I would assume UMD has no desire to play this game the week of a conference series. We'll see what can be mutually agreed upon, and will let you know as soon as we do.
So now the teams will play their season opener Saturday at Sanford Center in Bemidji at 7pm. Both teams traveled up Friday evening, so Saturday will be a normal game day.
In non-conference action involving the NCHC, the league had a mixed start. North Dakota opened the IceBreaker in Portland, Maine, with a come-from-behind 5-2 win over Lake Superior State. The Lakers shocked UND with two quick goals in the first for a 2-0 lead, but UND stormed back and took the lead for good in the second. UND plays Maine to finish up the event Saturday.
Western Michigan got a power play goal from Griffen Molino in the third period to beat Ferris State 3-2. The teams play in Big Rapids Saturday. Defending national champion Providence scored four straight goals between the second and third periods to blow open a 3-2 game, and the Friars beat Miami 7-3 in Oxford, scoring those seven goals on just 26 shots. Prized freshman Jack Roslovic tallied in his RedHawks debut.
Omaha got goals from Jake Randolph, Jake Guentzel, and Austin Ortega to lead 3-0 at Minnesota State, but the Black and Red Mavericks had to hold on to beat the Purple Mavericks 3-2. Kirk Thompson made 24 saves for the win.
Veterans Joey Benik, Blake Winiecki, and Judd Peterson scored for St. Cloud State in a 3-0 win over Alaska at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage. Charlie Lindgren only had to make 14 saves for the season-opening shutout. The Huskies play the host Seawolves tomorrow night. Arizona State is the other team in the tournament.
Quentin Shore's second goal of the game came with 6:46 left to get Denver even 4-4 at Air Force, but the Falcons got an overtime goal from Ben Kucera to upset DU 5-4. Danton Heinen and Emil Romig also scored for the Pioneers, who will host Air Force Saturday at Magness Arena. Trevor Moore had three assists Friday.
Also, UMass got a hat trick from Trevor Plevy to beat Colorado College 6-3. I expect CC to go through some serious growing pains, as Mike Haviland overhauled the roster over the offseason with a large recruiting class.
Usually, we talk about games in a weekly update that publishes Friday night or Saturday morning, subject to change based on my schedule during a particular weekend.
This one's easy. There was no game.
UMD and Bemidji State saw their scheduled season opener Friday night postponed, thanks to a power outage that affected the ice plant -- among other things -- at Amsoil Arena. The outage started around 2pm Friday, when a contractor "bored into an unmarked private underground cable," according to a tweet from Minnesota Power.
The game was said to be in peril around 4pm, when local media became aware of the outage. The announcement of the game's postponement came shortly after 5:30pm.
According to the Duluth News Tribune, the ice could have been in playing shape within 90 minutes of the restoration of power. However, with both teams traveling to Bemidji after the game, a decision was made that the game couldn't be played later than 8pm. Once it could not be guaranteed that power would be restored by 6:30, the game was called off.
In case you're wondering, a DECC employee tweeted to me that power was restored at 7:30. DECC do-everything dude Jeff Stark was asked on Twitter about the prospect of the ice having to be replaced, and he said as long as power was restored before around 11pm, it would probably be fine by Saturday.
(Kudos to Matt Wellens, who actually was at the rink for much of the ordeal. With logistical things to take care of at the radio ranch, it wasn't practical for me to be there when no game was going to be played. I took care of radio business that needed to be done once the game was called, then made my way back here, where we had fully functioning lights. And then we spent $100 at WalMart somehow when we only needed like four things.)
As for the game itself, UMD athletic director Josh Berlo said it would not be made up Sunday, as seemed logical. While I don't know for sure the reason, it's probably due to either travel logistics for Bemidji State or scheduling issues with the teams.
Looking at the teams' schedules, the only mutual off weekend is Dec. 18-19, the week before Christmas. Outside of that, the only option would be to play on a weekday.
This is purely speculative, but I have time to kill. Just keep in mind it's pure speculation.
One option that would seem to have potential is Feb. 9 or 10. UMD is going into a bye week and coming off a home series against Colorado College. Bemidji State is coming off a bye week and plays that weekend at Lake Superior State. The week of Halloween could work, too. UMD is home that weekend, while Bemidji is at Northern Michigan.
Without asking, I would assume UMD has no desire to play this game the week of a conference series. We'll see what can be mutually agreed upon, and will let you know as soon as we do.
So now the teams will play their season opener Saturday at Sanford Center in Bemidji at 7pm. Both teams traveled up Friday evening, so Saturday will be a normal game day.
******
In non-conference action involving the NCHC, the league had a mixed start. North Dakota opened the IceBreaker in Portland, Maine, with a come-from-behind 5-2 win over Lake Superior State. The Lakers shocked UND with two quick goals in the first for a 2-0 lead, but UND stormed back and took the lead for good in the second. UND plays Maine to finish up the event Saturday.
Western Michigan got a power play goal from Griffen Molino in the third period to beat Ferris State 3-2. The teams play in Big Rapids Saturday. Defending national champion Providence scored four straight goals between the second and third periods to blow open a 3-2 game, and the Friars beat Miami 7-3 in Oxford, scoring those seven goals on just 26 shots. Prized freshman Jack Roslovic tallied in his RedHawks debut.
Omaha got goals from Jake Randolph, Jake Guentzel, and Austin Ortega to lead 3-0 at Minnesota State, but the Black and Red Mavericks had to hold on to beat the Purple Mavericks 3-2. Kirk Thompson made 24 saves for the win.
Veterans Joey Benik, Blake Winiecki, and Judd Peterson scored for St. Cloud State in a 3-0 win over Alaska at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage. Charlie Lindgren only had to make 14 saves for the season-opening shutout. The Huskies play the host Seawolves tomorrow night. Arizona State is the other team in the tournament.
Quentin Shore's second goal of the game came with 6:46 left to get Denver even 4-4 at Air Force, but the Falcons got an overtime goal from Ben Kucera to upset DU 5-4. Danton Heinen and Emil Romig also scored for the Pioneers, who will host Air Force Saturday at Magness Arena. Trevor Moore had three assists Friday.
Also, UMass got a hat trick from Trevor Plevy to beat Colorado College 6-3. I expect CC to go through some serious growing pains, as Mike Haviland overhauled the roster over the offseason with a large recruiting class.
Thursday, October 08, 2015
Underrated Bemidji State Awaits Bulldogs
When Bemidji State sat in college hockey limbo after its old conference -- College Hockey America -- disbanded, the WCHA stepped up and helped out. Admission to the league could possibly have saved a longtime small-college hockey power. Bemidji State had already established itself in Division III and (now largely defunct) Division II before moving to the Division I ranks in 1999.
Tom Serratore then took over for legendary R.H. "Bob" Peters in 2001. It didn't take long for the Beavers to hit the 20-win mark for the first time in Division I (2003-2004 season). The 2009 team made the Frozen Four for the first time as a Division I program.
Since moving from CHA to the WCHA, BSU has had its struggles, but last year was a promising one for the Beavers. Bemidji State opened with a 5-1 win at (!) North Dakota, and later added convincing wins over UMD and Minnesota State to claim the North Star College Cup.
A later win over the Mavericks clinched home ice in the first round of the league playoffs, but Bemidji lost two straight to Ferris State to end its season. Still, an 10-6-2 record after Christmas (13-7-5 after Thanksgiving) showed the program was heading back in the right direction.
"We had really good success the second half of the year," Serratore said. "It's a tough pill to swallow (losing at home in the playoffs), but there's such a fine line between winning and losing. We lost our second game (to Ferris) in triple overtime.
"It was an interesting year. You take a look at our losses, we went through a stretch in November where we lost six straight. We could have gone 5-1, it was just amazing how well we played. It's hard to put a finger on things."
Serratore admits it will be tough to replace big-minute captain Matt Prapavessis, or defensive cohorts Sam Rendle and Sam Windle. He said he "isn't sure" how he will divide the minutes on the blue line this weekend, as the Beavers play in Duluth Friday, then host the Bulldogs at Sanford Center Saturday night.
The Beavers do have some skill up front. Senior Cory Ward leads the way, and is a prototypical Bemidji State 200-foot player. Brendan Harms is back, as is sophomore Kyle Bauman, who really came on late last season. And BSU has the Fitzgerald triplets, best known for the "Baby Geniuses" movie back in the day. Well, now they're pretty good at hockey. Gerry's probably the most explosive of the three, but all three can play an all-zone game and there's certainly a chemistry that exists when they're on the ice together.
In goal, Michael Bitzer is back. All he did as a freshman was post a .929 save percentage and wrestle the job away from Andrew Walsh, who graduated.
Other UMD blogs of note:
Great Expectations (season preview)
Monday Musings (wrap-up of Sunday exhibition win)
The second-half run wasn't enough to land the Beavers in the preseason national rankings, but surely it caught the attention of UMD coach Scott Sandelin. A couple times this week, Sandelin has talked about UMD teams of the past not having enough respect for Bemidji State. Going back to last season, however, Sandelin says this isn't the same BSU program. Before the loss in St. Paul last January, he praised Bemidji for bringing in more and more skill and being a different team -- though still difficult -- to play against.
He doubled down on that this week.
"I don't know that some of the games we've played them that we've respected them enough," Sandelin said. "And that's a bad omen, because if that happens you don't deserve to win.
"Tom's teams have always worked hard, have always been tenacious. Now they've developed through their recruiting more and more skill. I think they're playing a little bit different game with that skill, which is fun to play against. They still have the work ethic, they play well defensively, and they've always seemed to get good goalies."
Now, the challenge for the No. 2/3 Bulldogs is to ignore the preseason hype. Top three in the preseason national polls, consensus pick to win the NCHC, and all the preseason individual honors that have come in are nice. They aren't going to win UMD any games.
21 letterwinners are back for UMD this season. The fewest number of games played by a veteran? 12, by sophomore defenseman Nick McCormack. Blake Young played in 17 games last year. Both would have played more were it not for injuries. Every other returning player has at least 30 games under his belt in these colors. So it's not just about having a bunch of bodies back. They're experienced and battle-tested.
I asked Sandelin if this is the deepest forward group he's had at UMD. I preface this by saying I'm not a fan of doing the "This is just like the 2011 team" bit. No two journeys are the same, no two teams are the same. I don't think it matters that Welinski's path back to UMD can be compared to Mike Montgomery and/or Justin Fontaine before the 2010-11 season. I'm also not trying to compare Cal Decowski to guys like Brett Hammond or Jake Hendrickson.
Sandelin agrees, saying "I felt very comfortable last year with our depth up front. I'm really happy and excited about the other freshman forwards we have in place (Parker Mackay and Billy Exell). Those kids have done a good job and they're going to add some much-needed depth to our team.
"I think some guys understand their roles better, which will hopefully make them better players. I think (this is similar to) the 2005 year, where I thought we had good depth, but this is a little deeper. We've got really good balance and some very good players. I feel the same way in goal and on the back end."
And say what you want about conference realignment (in all honesty, there's been good and bad to it from my perspective), but this weekend is a good thing for college hockey in northern Minnesota. I'm not of the mind that these games mean nothing because points aren't on the line. Actually, I tend to think they might be worth more because of that.
Look at last season for evidence. Why did the NCHC get six teams in the NCAA Tournament? Because the eight teams combined to go 53-25-4 in non-conference play. Colorado College (4-5) was the only team under .500 out of league. North Dakota, Denver, Miami, UMD, Omaha, and St. Cloud State -- the six teams that went dancing -- combined to go 42-17-4. That strong non-conference record meant everyone gained huge points in strength of schedule just by playing league opponents.
Not only that, but people are excited. It's Homecoming at UMD, and we should have a good crowd Friday night. Saturday, Sanford Center will be rocking in Bemidji. Serratore notes that with the nice weather forecast, there's going to be tailgating and some fun happening outside the building, and it'll be packed inside once the game starts.
It's good for the fans, good for the players, and good for the game. Like it or not, Bemidji's fans just aren't going to get amped up for a weekend set against Lake Superior State like they will to play UMD. The fact UMD is so highly-ranked only adds to it.
Tom Serratore then took over for legendary R.H. "Bob" Peters in 2001. It didn't take long for the Beavers to hit the 20-win mark for the first time in Division I (2003-2004 season). The 2009 team made the Frozen Four for the first time as a Division I program.
Since moving from CHA to the WCHA, BSU has had its struggles, but last year was a promising one for the Beavers. Bemidji State opened with a 5-1 win at (!) North Dakota, and later added convincing wins over UMD and Minnesota State to claim the North Star College Cup.
A later win over the Mavericks clinched home ice in the first round of the league playoffs, but Bemidji lost two straight to Ferris State to end its season. Still, an 10-6-2 record after Christmas (13-7-5 after Thanksgiving) showed the program was heading back in the right direction.
"We had really good success the second half of the year," Serratore said. "It's a tough pill to swallow (losing at home in the playoffs), but there's such a fine line between winning and losing. We lost our second game (to Ferris) in triple overtime.
"It was an interesting year. You take a look at our losses, we went through a stretch in November where we lost six straight. We could have gone 5-1, it was just amazing how well we played. It's hard to put a finger on things."
Serratore admits it will be tough to replace big-minute captain Matt Prapavessis, or defensive cohorts Sam Rendle and Sam Windle. He said he "isn't sure" how he will divide the minutes on the blue line this weekend, as the Beavers play in Duluth Friday, then host the Bulldogs at Sanford Center Saturday night.
The Beavers do have some skill up front. Senior Cory Ward leads the way, and is a prototypical Bemidji State 200-foot player. Brendan Harms is back, as is sophomore Kyle Bauman, who really came on late last season. And BSU has the Fitzgerald triplets, best known for the "Baby Geniuses" movie back in the day. Well, now they're pretty good at hockey. Gerry's probably the most explosive of the three, but all three can play an all-zone game and there's certainly a chemistry that exists when they're on the ice together.
In goal, Michael Bitzer is back. All he did as a freshman was post a .929 save percentage and wrestle the job away from Andrew Walsh, who graduated.
******
Other UMD blogs of note:
Great Expectations (season preview)
Monday Musings (wrap-up of Sunday exhibition win)
******
The second-half run wasn't enough to land the Beavers in the preseason national rankings, but surely it caught the attention of UMD coach Scott Sandelin. A couple times this week, Sandelin has talked about UMD teams of the past not having enough respect for Bemidji State. Going back to last season, however, Sandelin says this isn't the same BSU program. Before the loss in St. Paul last January, he praised Bemidji for bringing in more and more skill and being a different team -- though still difficult -- to play against.
He doubled down on that this week.
"I don't know that some of the games we've played them that we've respected them enough," Sandelin said. "And that's a bad omen, because if that happens you don't deserve to win.
"Tom's teams have always worked hard, have always been tenacious. Now they've developed through their recruiting more and more skill. I think they're playing a little bit different game with that skill, which is fun to play against. They still have the work ethic, they play well defensively, and they've always seemed to get good goalies."
Now, the challenge for the No. 2/3 Bulldogs is to ignore the preseason hype. Top three in the preseason national polls, consensus pick to win the NCHC, and all the preseason individual honors that have come in are nice. They aren't going to win UMD any games.
21 letterwinners are back for UMD this season. The fewest number of games played by a veteran? 12, by sophomore defenseman Nick McCormack. Blake Young played in 17 games last year. Both would have played more were it not for injuries. Every other returning player has at least 30 games under his belt in these colors. So it's not just about having a bunch of bodies back. They're experienced and battle-tested.
I asked Sandelin if this is the deepest forward group he's had at UMD. I preface this by saying I'm not a fan of doing the "This is just like the 2011 team" bit. No two journeys are the same, no two teams are the same. I don't think it matters that Welinski's path back to UMD can be compared to Mike Montgomery and/or Justin Fontaine before the 2010-11 season. I'm also not trying to compare Cal Decowski to guys like Brett Hammond or Jake Hendrickson.
Sandelin agrees, saying "I felt very comfortable last year with our depth up front. I'm really happy and excited about the other freshman forwards we have in place (Parker Mackay and Billy Exell). Those kids have done a good job and they're going to add some much-needed depth to our team.
"I think some guys understand their roles better, which will hopefully make them better players. I think (this is similar to) the 2005 year, where I thought we had good depth, but this is a little deeper. We've got really good balance and some very good players. I feel the same way in goal and on the back end."
And say what you want about conference realignment (in all honesty, there's been good and bad to it from my perspective), but this weekend is a good thing for college hockey in northern Minnesota. I'm not of the mind that these games mean nothing because points aren't on the line. Actually, I tend to think they might be worth more because of that.
Look at last season for evidence. Why did the NCHC get six teams in the NCAA Tournament? Because the eight teams combined to go 53-25-4 in non-conference play. Colorado College (4-5) was the only team under .500 out of league. North Dakota, Denver, Miami, UMD, Omaha, and St. Cloud State -- the six teams that went dancing -- combined to go 42-17-4. That strong non-conference record meant everyone gained huge points in strength of schedule just by playing league opponents.
Not only that, but people are excited. It's Homecoming at UMD, and we should have a good crowd Friday night. Saturday, Sanford Center will be rocking in Bemidji. Serratore notes that with the nice weather forecast, there's going to be tailgating and some fun happening outside the building, and it'll be packed inside once the game starts.
It's good for the fans, good for the players, and good for the game. Like it or not, Bemidji's fans just aren't going to get amped up for a weekend set against Lake Superior State like they will to play UMD. The fact UMD is so highly-ranked only adds to it.
Monday, October 05, 2015
Monday Musings: Bulldogs Explode in Second for Exhibition Win
Those in attendance Sunday night saw a UMD team that steadily improved as the game wore on, and ended up wearing down an overmatched Lakehead University group that was playing its third game in three days.
The 6-1 final was largely indicative of how the game was played, as UMD overwhelmed Lakehead from about the ten minute mark of the first period to its conclusion. The Thunderwolves used a first period power play goal to take the lead into intermission, but two significant Bulldog flurries late in the period really showed what was to come.
Power play goals by Tony Cameranesi and Nick McCormack -- Cameranesi scored on a five-on-three -- came 45 seconds apart and gave UMD the lead for good early in the second. Lakehead pulled effective starting goalie Jeff Bosch (24 saves on 26 shots) about halfway through the second, and UMD teed off on backup Justin McDonald, a former Midget teammate of UMD sophomore Blake Young. Austyn Young, Bill Exell, Alex Iafallo, and Blake Young scored goals 3:22 apart just after McDonald came into the game. That blew the game open, and UMD never looked back from there.
Shots ended up 50-11, with freshman goalie Nick Deery stopping four in the third after sophomore Kasimir Kaskisuo and senior Matt McNeely each stopped three in their respective 20 minutes of work.
I hate to be "that guy," but I learned very little from Sunday's game.
Worse yet, I'm not sure what I expected to learn.
Sometimes, there's a line to get a look at, or a newfangled defensive pairing. But even though the top line and top defensive pairing both feature freshmen, I had a pretty good idea what to expect from Adam Johnson and Neal Pionk. Wasn't disappointed by either of them.
This isn't a bad thing. It's a product of the team returning 21 letterwinners from a team that damn near made the Frozen Four.
The power play generated chances and moved the puck well. As frustrating as it can be when guys aren't shooting, reality is that possession is such an important part of a power play. Win the faceoff, establish possession in the offensive zone, and then it's all about generating opportunities by finding the spots on the ice where you can outnumber the opponent and execute your plan. Shooting for the sake of shooting isn't a good idea. It's a recipe for losing possession and chasing the puck down in your own zone.
The penalty kill got victimized by a goofy bounce for the Lakehead goal. Otherwise they were solid in limited work. Lakehead only got two shot attempts off during three power plays. I'm thinking the coaches will take that.
The freshmen all looked good. Johnson got extended playing time on the top line with Dominic Toninato and Iafallo, and Pionk played with Welinski, as expected. The "fifth line" came on in the second half of the game, eventually taking the spot of the top line on the bench, and Exell, Parker Mackay, and Blake Young had a good night, chipping in a couple goals.
Had a few people at the rink and on Twitter ask why UMD decided against an experimental three-on-three. While I understand why some did it (Denver tried it after a 4-0 win over Calgary last night), ultimately UMD's call was to let the game dictate if there was overtime, and further if there would be a three-on-three period.
Why? What we were told is the decision was made because of the feeling that playing overtime -- even a fake, experimental overtime -- was not right after a regulation win of any kind. UMD has done experimental shootouts since that concept was introduced, but they came after convincing victories and made little sense in context.
Win a game 6-1, and now it's time of overtime? Nah, no need for that.
Bemidji is next. As I mentioned on the air, UMD owes the Beavers one. Last January at the North Star College Cup, Bemidji State put a pretty thorough 4-0 whipping on UMD. It was the low point of the season for the Bulldogs, one that spurred a bit of a turnaround starting the next afternoon against Minnesota in the consolation game.
That means nothing now, but it was a really impressive performance by the Beavers that afternoon, and I have to imagine UMD hasn't forgotten about it, especially with the aforementioned 21 players back from that team. Bemidji should be improved in the WCHA yet again, and this is a sneaky good matchup on the "Week 1" docket in college hockey. The atmosphere at both games -- especially Saturday's game in Bemidji -- should be very good. I expect the hockey will be, too.
By the way, this will be a regular Monday feature on the blog, recapping the weekend series and occasionally exploring other NCHC notes of interest. Hopefully you'll check back regularly.
The 6-1 final was largely indicative of how the game was played, as UMD overwhelmed Lakehead from about the ten minute mark of the first period to its conclusion. The Thunderwolves used a first period power play goal to take the lead into intermission, but two significant Bulldog flurries late in the period really showed what was to come.
Power play goals by Tony Cameranesi and Nick McCormack -- Cameranesi scored on a five-on-three -- came 45 seconds apart and gave UMD the lead for good early in the second. Lakehead pulled effective starting goalie Jeff Bosch (24 saves on 26 shots) about halfway through the second, and UMD teed off on backup Justin McDonald, a former Midget teammate of UMD sophomore Blake Young. Austyn Young, Bill Exell, Alex Iafallo, and Blake Young scored goals 3:22 apart just after McDonald came into the game. That blew the game open, and UMD never looked back from there.
Shots ended up 50-11, with freshman goalie Nick Deery stopping four in the third after sophomore Kasimir Kaskisuo and senior Matt McNeely each stopped three in their respective 20 minutes of work.
******
I hate to be "that guy," but I learned very little from Sunday's game.
Worse yet, I'm not sure what I expected to learn.
Sometimes, there's a line to get a look at, or a newfangled defensive pairing. But even though the top line and top defensive pairing both feature freshmen, I had a pretty good idea what to expect from Adam Johnson and Neal Pionk. Wasn't disappointed by either of them.
This isn't a bad thing. It's a product of the team returning 21 letterwinners from a team that damn near made the Frozen Four.
The power play generated chances and moved the puck well. As frustrating as it can be when guys aren't shooting, reality is that possession is such an important part of a power play. Win the faceoff, establish possession in the offensive zone, and then it's all about generating opportunities by finding the spots on the ice where you can outnumber the opponent and execute your plan. Shooting for the sake of shooting isn't a good idea. It's a recipe for losing possession and chasing the puck down in your own zone.
The penalty kill got victimized by a goofy bounce for the Lakehead goal. Otherwise they were solid in limited work. Lakehead only got two shot attempts off during three power plays. I'm thinking the coaches will take that.
The freshmen all looked good. Johnson got extended playing time on the top line with Dominic Toninato and Iafallo, and Pionk played with Welinski, as expected. The "fifth line" came on in the second half of the game, eventually taking the spot of the top line on the bench, and Exell, Parker Mackay, and Blake Young had a good night, chipping in a couple goals.
******
Had a few people at the rink and on Twitter ask why UMD decided against an experimental three-on-three. While I understand why some did it (Denver tried it after a 4-0 win over Calgary last night), ultimately UMD's call was to let the game dictate if there was overtime, and further if there would be a three-on-three period.
Why? What we were told is the decision was made because of the feeling that playing overtime -- even a fake, experimental overtime -- was not right after a regulation win of any kind. UMD has done experimental shootouts since that concept was introduced, but they came after convincing victories and made little sense in context.
Win a game 6-1, and now it's time of overtime? Nah, no need for that.
******
Bemidji is next. As I mentioned on the air, UMD owes the Beavers one. Last January at the North Star College Cup, Bemidji State put a pretty thorough 4-0 whipping on UMD. It was the low point of the season for the Bulldogs, one that spurred a bit of a turnaround starting the next afternoon against Minnesota in the consolation game.
That means nothing now, but it was a really impressive performance by the Beavers that afternoon, and I have to imagine UMD hasn't forgotten about it, especially with the aforementioned 21 players back from that team. Bemidji should be improved in the WCHA yet again, and this is a sneaky good matchup on the "Week 1" docket in college hockey. The atmosphere at both games -- especially Saturday's game in Bemidji -- should be very good. I expect the hockey will be, too.
By the way, this will be a regular Monday feature on the blog, recapping the weekend series and occasionally exploring other NCHC notes of interest. Hopefully you'll check back regularly.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs Turn in Clunker at North Star College Cup; Questions From Twitter
ST. PAUL -- You guys probably know me well enough by now.
I'm not much of a sugarcoater.
(Yes, I know that's not a word. The squiggly red line under it is plenty of evidence of that.)
So I'm not going to sugarcoat what we saw Friday afternoon/evening at XCel Energy Center. It wasn't very good. In fact, it was about as putrid a performance as we've seen all season. Probably not even close, to be frank.
Bemidji State took it to UMD for the better part of 60 minutes in a 4-0 win here that sends the Beavers to Saturday's championship game. UMD will play Minnesota, a 4-2 loser to Minnesota State, for third place at 4pm Saturday. It's the fourth meeting this season between the longtime rivals, and they've come at four different venues (Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena, Mariucci Arena, Amsoil Arena, and now XCel Energy Center).
Things didn't start great for UMD, and they got much worse. Bemidji had four shots on goal before UMD even got close to one, but the Bulldogs generated some pressure after the first media timeout, which came just past the five-minute mark of the period.
UMD took a couple of penalties in a row, and Bemidji burned the Bulldogs on the second one, as Matt Prapavessis pinched from the center point to the high slot and put a screened shot by UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo for a 1-0 lead. I would question the screen, as it appeared obvious there was a BSU player screening Kaskisuo while his skates were in the blue paint. By NCAA rule, that should be a no goal.
(The relevant part of the Rule 73.1 goes like this: "The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within the goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by these actions, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to defend the goal either visually or physically, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed."
There is no question that if you watch this animation of the goal, Markus Gerbrandt's skate or skates are in the crease when the puck comes through. It's also clear Gerbrandt is doing his job, providing a screen and making it hard for Kaskisuo to see the shot. Letter of the law, this is supposed to be a "no goal" call, and I've seen it reviewed to that "letter of the law" standard on multiple occasions in my years on this job.)
Luckily, any controversy was averted by the rest of the game (note some sarcasm there). It wasn't good for the Bulldogs.
The Beavers made it 2-0 halfway through the second when the Fitzgerald triplets struck. Well, two of them, as Gerry fed Leo for a shot from the slot. It was an example of UMD's not-very-good puck management and defensive coverage in this game. BSU took control of the puck in the defensive zone and UMD just didn't get back well enough.
Bemidji State tacked on two more goals in the third off UMD turnovers to get to the 4-0 final score. It hastened the inevitable, because even at 2-0 after two, I remarked to someone in the press box that it felt like 8-0. UMD just didn't have anything going.
UMD had scoring chances, but the Bulldogs missed the net on 15 of 55 shot attempts in the game, and didn't do enough to make freshman goalie Michael Bitzer's life difficult. In 23 games, I'm not sure I've seen the kind of poor execution and battle level in the offensive zone that plagued UMD Friday. And it was a near-constant from start to finish. Races and puck battles were lost all over the rink, and those types of things will kill a team when it's on the power play.
It did that on this day, for sure.
UMD's power play struggled through a five-minute chance in the first period when Gerbrandt leveled Kyle Osterberg and was whistled for a charging major. Five shots on goal in five minutes isn't terrible, but UMD lacked the prime scoring area shots ... then and throughout the game.
Credit to Bemidji State. They were ready to play. The Beavers have more speed -- not just with the Fitzgerald kids, who are going to be a hoot to watch get better, because man you can see there's talent there -- than they've had in the past, but they still bring the proverbial lunch buckets to the game. Even with improved talent, it's the work ethic that will win them hockey games, just like Friday.
This isn't necessarily on Kaskisuo. Coach Scott Sandelin told me before the game that Kaskisuo's .865 save percentage over his previous five starts was a combo platter. Kaskisuo's play -- in a sense -- reflected that of the guys in front of him. Uneven, yes, but probably not solely responsible for the poor stat line in those starts.
Well, now it's .862 over six starts. And Friday was more of the same. I'd expect Sandelin to start Matt McNeely on Saturday against Minnesota, but I honestly thought McNeely might get the call Friday. So now you know what I know.
For UMD, getting beat is fine. It happens. The Western Michigan series was a dogfight from start to finish, and UMD didn't back down. Even when the Bulldogs weren't playing their best, they were battling. They won races, fought through checks, and found ways to make plays to the net.
None of those things really happened Friday. It was Bemidji State winning puck battles, winning races, and getting to the UMD net. More than anything, that's almost assuredly what concerned the coaching staff as it watched the events unfold.
What's the answer?
Honestly, it isn't that easy. Without Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune tweeting that there was a players-only meeting after the game, I could have predicted that outcome.
I'm not a big "blame the coaches" guy. At least, I'm not anymore. And especially in hockey. Coaches can't do anything for the players, outside of try their damndest to prepare them for what lies ahead. They can't execute the plan for the players, as badly as they might want to sometimes. This isn't football, where coaches are constantly making decisions from the sideline that can change the course of a game.
When you have a game like this one -- an absolute throw-the-tape-in-the-garbage clunker -- it's probably time for the players to take a look at what they're doing.
It's hard to believe that only two Fridays ago, UMD was largely carrying the play against then-No. 1 North Dakota. But as hard as it is to fathom UMD falling this far in just two weeks, it's only been two weeks. And there is a lot of hockey left to be played.
UMD has 13 games left, starting Saturday against the Gophers. It only took four to get to this point, and there's no reason the Bulldogs can't get back where they were just as quickly.
But it starts in that room, hence the players-only meeting. They have to figure out where they went wrong and get back to what was going so well.
Because of the early start, I had decided on the drive down Friday that I would take questions after the game from fans via Twitter. Never did I think the game would go the way it did, but I figured I'd do it anyway.
The only stipulation was I would not accept questions or comments that went after individual players. This isn't the NHL. No one played well Friday, and no individual deserves to be called out in a public forum.
So here are a few questions from actual Twitter followers @bruceciskie. Thanks to all who submitted on the fly Friday for asking good questions and not letting frustration get to them.
@biddco: "why do we have this slump around this time of year? Teams figure us and we don’t adjust?"
It's a common thought that we have this kind of slump every year. Here's what the numbers say. They're 0-3-1 in the last four, and we hope it doesn't get worse than that. But it's a slump, for sure.
UMD had a four-game slide in February of last year, but the losses came to very good St. Cloud State and North Dakota teams. UMD responded by winning three straight. There was no big slump outside of that, really.
The 2012-13 team was up and down all year, so I'm not sure a winless streak that hit nine games (eight in February) really was all that meaningful towards this argument.
2011-12's team, a very good one, went 1-3-1 over a five-game stretch that included a 5-0 loss to Michigan Tech and a loss to Alaska-Anchorage. UMD responded by going unbeaten in its next five games on its way to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2010-11 team had a pretty famous 8-2 loss to St. Cloud State as the big negative in a six-game run where it went 1-3-2. That season ended well.
So there have been three pronounced slumps in the last five years. I'm not sure that makes or breaks that question, but I think it's just part of the normal ebb and flow of a season. It's not fun, for sure, but I don't see it as being anything more than that, unless it keeps going.
Tony Schmaltz asks "Was this by far, the sloppiest game of the season?"
I don't think there's a question. The only game where UMD was close to being this poor offensively was the Friday game at home against Denver in October. And no disrespect to Bemidji State, but Denver's blue line is elite. The Pioneers make a lot of teams look virtually inept offensively.
UMD wasn't hard on pucks, didn't make good decisions (the multiple turnovers during a five-on-three should provide plenty of evidence of this), and just didn't have enough battle level to win this game. Those things haven't all been the case in any other game to this point, in my opinion.
Craig Berry asks "Were they looking past Bemidji to UofM or Mankato?"
Geez, I'd hope not. You'd have to ask the players to be sure. I'd imagine that wasn't the case.
Oh, and it's "Minnesota State," Craig.
Corey Lange: "what's it gonna take to bring back the teams intensity and drive?"
Jon Fischer: "how can the bulldogs get back to how they were playing before the break."
Would hope it doesn't take much. It was just there a week ago.
See, I could argue a lot of things about UMD's games against Western Michigan. But I can't argue that the Bulldogs lacked intensity or drive last weekend. They didn't execute well enough, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.
I didn't like the effort level on Friday, but that's quite the rarity with this group, even going back to previous seasons.
As for Jon's question, which was somewhat similar to Corey's, I'd argue the Bulldogs are very similar to the Wild. They aren't built on a star player with a bunch of followers. For UMD to win, it takes a 20-man effort. Everyone has to "pull on the same chain." Sandelin coined "sticktoitness" when we were chatting on Friday. When UMD is going good, it sticks to the game plan and plays the way Sandelin wants the team to play.
When it goes off the rails, like Friday, those things don't happen.
It isn't as simple as flipping a switch, but UMD can get it back as quickly as it seems to have lost it.
Paul Clusiau: "Here's a question. Why are we turning over the puck so much lately?"
It's a combination.
There have been times this season where forwards have been caught up the rink before the puck is out of the defensive zone. It's almost as if they're hoping the puck gets out, and they're thinking a few seconds ahead of where the play is at. If everyone executes and does their job, this isn't a huge deal.
But teams are putting more and more pressure on the defense, which means forwards need to help out and give the blue-liners options to get the puck out of trouble. Flying up the rink isn't providing that option.
The lack of options will make the blue-liners look sloppy. To get the train back on the tracks, UMD must first get back to the 200-foot game it was playing so effectively before Christmas.
Finally, Al Onken asks, "Game #2 at Grand Forks took a lot more out of this team than anyone thought at the time, I think. Agree/Disagree?"
I don't know that I do.
What I do think is that UND exposed UMD's defensive zone issues that I just discussed. Now it's time for the Bulldogs to adjust.
It doesn't matter if you win a game 1-0 or 8-5, but the 1-0 game will be much easier to watch if the guys are taking care of their goalie and their own end of the rink first.
There have been times this season where UMD's defensive breakdowns have been caused not by a lack of defensive acumen, but instead by players thinking too much about the offensive side of things. There have been quite a few odd-man rushes lately, and many of them have been caused by players being caught too far up the rink because they're trying to make things happen offensively.
More than anything on Saturday, I want to see UMD take care of its own zone, whether it's McNeely or Kaskisuo in net. If that happens, I'll be happy regardless of the end result, because I know that other things will take care of themselves.
They have to be good defensively first.
As mentioned, No. 1 Minnesota State beat Minnesota 4-2 in the other NSCC semifinal. Bryce Gervais scored twice for the Mavericks. Hopefully the Gophers have forgotten about that home-and-home sweep in November. Ah, who are we kidding? The third-place game should be very salty Saturday afternoon.
In the NCHC, North Dakota got a short-handed goal from Michael Parks in the third period to beat Colorado College 2-1. Zane McIntyre made 30 saves as CC actually led in shots 31-27. Just when CC was looking like an easy out for the NCHC regular-season champion, the Tigers are playing much better hockey. That could mean no easy outs for any home team in the league tournament.
Denver went into Oxford and beat Miami 3-1. With the score tied at one in the second, DU killed off a five-minute major on Ty Loney, who was ejected for a check from behind. Then Trevor Moore scored twice in the third, including an empty-netter with ten seconds left. Tanner Jaillet got the win in goal with 27 saves.
St. Cloud State blasted Western Michigan 7-0, sending the red-hot Broncos to just a second loss in 11 games. Western had been 7-1-2 over ten games, an impressive run that came against some strong competition. But WMU had nothing for the Huskies Friday night. David Morley scored twice, while Joey Benik had four assists for SCSU while Charlie Lindgren pitched a 23-save shutout.
I'm not much of a sugarcoater.
(Yes, I know that's not a word. The squiggly red line under it is plenty of evidence of that.)
So I'm not going to sugarcoat what we saw Friday afternoon/evening at XCel Energy Center. It wasn't very good. In fact, it was about as putrid a performance as we've seen all season. Probably not even close, to be frank.
Bemidji State took it to UMD for the better part of 60 minutes in a 4-0 win here that sends the Beavers to Saturday's championship game. UMD will play Minnesota, a 4-2 loser to Minnesota State, for third place at 4pm Saturday. It's the fourth meeting this season between the longtime rivals, and they've come at four different venues (Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena, Mariucci Arena, Amsoil Arena, and now XCel Energy Center).
Things didn't start great for UMD, and they got much worse. Bemidji had four shots on goal before UMD even got close to one, but the Bulldogs generated some pressure after the first media timeout, which came just past the five-minute mark of the period.
UMD took a couple of penalties in a row, and Bemidji burned the Bulldogs on the second one, as Matt Prapavessis pinched from the center point to the high slot and put a screened shot by UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo for a 1-0 lead. I would question the screen, as it appeared obvious there was a BSU player screening Kaskisuo while his skates were in the blue paint. By NCAA rule, that should be a no goal.
(The relevant part of the Rule 73.1 goes like this: "The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within the goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by these actions, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to defend the goal either visually or physically, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed."
There is no question that if you watch this animation of the goal, Markus Gerbrandt's skate or skates are in the crease when the puck comes through. It's also clear Gerbrandt is doing his job, providing a screen and making it hard for Kaskisuo to see the shot. Letter of the law, this is supposed to be a "no goal" call, and I've seen it reviewed to that "letter of the law" standard on multiple occasions in my years on this job.)
Luckily, any controversy was averted by the rest of the game (note some sarcasm there). It wasn't good for the Bulldogs.
The Beavers made it 2-0 halfway through the second when the Fitzgerald triplets struck. Well, two of them, as Gerry fed Leo for a shot from the slot. It was an example of UMD's not-very-good puck management and defensive coverage in this game. BSU took control of the puck in the defensive zone and UMD just didn't get back well enough.
Bemidji State tacked on two more goals in the third off UMD turnovers to get to the 4-0 final score. It hastened the inevitable, because even at 2-0 after two, I remarked to someone in the press box that it felt like 8-0. UMD just didn't have anything going.
UMD had scoring chances, but the Bulldogs missed the net on 15 of 55 shot attempts in the game, and didn't do enough to make freshman goalie Michael Bitzer's life difficult. In 23 games, I'm not sure I've seen the kind of poor execution and battle level in the offensive zone that plagued UMD Friday. And it was a near-constant from start to finish. Races and puck battles were lost all over the rink, and those types of things will kill a team when it's on the power play.
It did that on this day, for sure.
UMD's power play struggled through a five-minute chance in the first period when Gerbrandt leveled Kyle Osterberg and was whistled for a charging major. Five shots on goal in five minutes isn't terrible, but UMD lacked the prime scoring area shots ... then and throughout the game.
Credit to Bemidji State. They were ready to play. The Beavers have more speed -- not just with the Fitzgerald kids, who are going to be a hoot to watch get better, because man you can see there's talent there -- than they've had in the past, but they still bring the proverbial lunch buckets to the game. Even with improved talent, it's the work ethic that will win them hockey games, just like Friday.
This isn't necessarily on Kaskisuo. Coach Scott Sandelin told me before the game that Kaskisuo's .865 save percentage over his previous five starts was a combo platter. Kaskisuo's play -- in a sense -- reflected that of the guys in front of him. Uneven, yes, but probably not solely responsible for the poor stat line in those starts.
Well, now it's .862 over six starts. And Friday was more of the same. I'd expect Sandelin to start Matt McNeely on Saturday against Minnesota, but I honestly thought McNeely might get the call Friday. So now you know what I know.
For UMD, getting beat is fine. It happens. The Western Michigan series was a dogfight from start to finish, and UMD didn't back down. Even when the Bulldogs weren't playing their best, they were battling. They won races, fought through checks, and found ways to make plays to the net.
None of those things really happened Friday. It was Bemidji State winning puck battles, winning races, and getting to the UMD net. More than anything, that's almost assuredly what concerned the coaching staff as it watched the events unfold.
******
What's the answer?
Honestly, it isn't that easy. Without Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune tweeting that there was a players-only meeting after the game, I could have predicted that outcome.
I'm not a big "blame the coaches" guy. At least, I'm not anymore. And especially in hockey. Coaches can't do anything for the players, outside of try their damndest to prepare them for what lies ahead. They can't execute the plan for the players, as badly as they might want to sometimes. This isn't football, where coaches are constantly making decisions from the sideline that can change the course of a game.
When you have a game like this one -- an absolute throw-the-tape-in-the-garbage clunker -- it's probably time for the players to take a look at what they're doing.
It's hard to believe that only two Fridays ago, UMD was largely carrying the play against then-No. 1 North Dakota. But as hard as it is to fathom UMD falling this far in just two weeks, it's only been two weeks. And there is a lot of hockey left to be played.
UMD has 13 games left, starting Saturday against the Gophers. It only took four to get to this point, and there's no reason the Bulldogs can't get back where they were just as quickly.
But it starts in that room, hence the players-only meeting. They have to figure out where they went wrong and get back to what was going so well.
******
Because of the early start, I had decided on the drive down Friday that I would take questions after the game from fans via Twitter. Never did I think the game would go the way it did, but I figured I'd do it anyway.
The only stipulation was I would not accept questions or comments that went after individual players. This isn't the NHL. No one played well Friday, and no individual deserves to be called out in a public forum.
So here are a few questions from actual Twitter followers @bruceciskie. Thanks to all who submitted on the fly Friday for asking good questions and not letting frustration get to them.
@biddco: "why do we have this slump around this time of year? Teams figure us and we don’t adjust?"
It's a common thought that we have this kind of slump every year. Here's what the numbers say. They're 0-3-1 in the last four, and we hope it doesn't get worse than that. But it's a slump, for sure.
UMD had a four-game slide in February of last year, but the losses came to very good St. Cloud State and North Dakota teams. UMD responded by winning three straight. There was no big slump outside of that, really.
The 2012-13 team was up and down all year, so I'm not sure a winless streak that hit nine games (eight in February) really was all that meaningful towards this argument.
2011-12's team, a very good one, went 1-3-1 over a five-game stretch that included a 5-0 loss to Michigan Tech and a loss to Alaska-Anchorage. UMD responded by going unbeaten in its next five games on its way to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2010-11 team had a pretty famous 8-2 loss to St. Cloud State as the big negative in a six-game run where it went 1-3-2. That season ended well.
So there have been three pronounced slumps in the last five years. I'm not sure that makes or breaks that question, but I think it's just part of the normal ebb and flow of a season. It's not fun, for sure, but I don't see it as being anything more than that, unless it keeps going.
Tony Schmaltz asks "Was this by far, the sloppiest game of the season?"
I don't think there's a question. The only game where UMD was close to being this poor offensively was the Friday game at home against Denver in October. And no disrespect to Bemidji State, but Denver's blue line is elite. The Pioneers make a lot of teams look virtually inept offensively.
UMD wasn't hard on pucks, didn't make good decisions (the multiple turnovers during a five-on-three should provide plenty of evidence of this), and just didn't have enough battle level to win this game. Those things haven't all been the case in any other game to this point, in my opinion.
Craig Berry asks "Were they looking past Bemidji to UofM or Mankato?"
Geez, I'd hope not. You'd have to ask the players to be sure. I'd imagine that wasn't the case.
Oh, and it's "Minnesota State," Craig.
Corey Lange: "what's it gonna take to bring back the teams intensity and drive?"
Jon Fischer: "how can the bulldogs get back to how they were playing before the break."
Would hope it doesn't take much. It was just there a week ago.
See, I could argue a lot of things about UMD's games against Western Michigan. But I can't argue that the Bulldogs lacked intensity or drive last weekend. They didn't execute well enough, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.
I didn't like the effort level on Friday, but that's quite the rarity with this group, even going back to previous seasons.
As for Jon's question, which was somewhat similar to Corey's, I'd argue the Bulldogs are very similar to the Wild. They aren't built on a star player with a bunch of followers. For UMD to win, it takes a 20-man effort. Everyone has to "pull on the same chain." Sandelin coined "sticktoitness" when we were chatting on Friday. When UMD is going good, it sticks to the game plan and plays the way Sandelin wants the team to play.
When it goes off the rails, like Friday, those things don't happen.
It isn't as simple as flipping a switch, but UMD can get it back as quickly as it seems to have lost it.
Paul Clusiau: "Here's a question. Why are we turning over the puck so much lately?"
It's a combination.
There have been times this season where forwards have been caught up the rink before the puck is out of the defensive zone. It's almost as if they're hoping the puck gets out, and they're thinking a few seconds ahead of where the play is at. If everyone executes and does their job, this isn't a huge deal.
But teams are putting more and more pressure on the defense, which means forwards need to help out and give the blue-liners options to get the puck out of trouble. Flying up the rink isn't providing that option.
The lack of options will make the blue-liners look sloppy. To get the train back on the tracks, UMD must first get back to the 200-foot game it was playing so effectively before Christmas.
Finally, Al Onken asks, "Game #2 at Grand Forks took a lot more out of this team than anyone thought at the time, I think. Agree/Disagree?"
I don't know that I do.
What I do think is that UND exposed UMD's defensive zone issues that I just discussed. Now it's time for the Bulldogs to adjust.
It doesn't matter if you win a game 1-0 or 8-5, but the 1-0 game will be much easier to watch if the guys are taking care of their goalie and their own end of the rink first.
There have been times this season where UMD's defensive breakdowns have been caused not by a lack of defensive acumen, but instead by players thinking too much about the offensive side of things. There have been quite a few odd-man rushes lately, and many of them have been caused by players being caught too far up the rink because they're trying to make things happen offensively.
More than anything on Saturday, I want to see UMD take care of its own zone, whether it's McNeely or Kaskisuo in net. If that happens, I'll be happy regardless of the end result, because I know that other things will take care of themselves.
They have to be good defensively first.
******
As mentioned, No. 1 Minnesota State beat Minnesota 4-2 in the other NSCC semifinal. Bryce Gervais scored twice for the Mavericks. Hopefully the Gophers have forgotten about that home-and-home sweep in November. Ah, who are we kidding? The third-place game should be very salty Saturday afternoon.
In the NCHC, North Dakota got a short-handed goal from Michael Parks in the third period to beat Colorado College 2-1. Zane McIntyre made 30 saves as CC actually led in shots 31-27. Just when CC was looking like an easy out for the NCHC regular-season champion, the Tigers are playing much better hockey. That could mean no easy outs for any home team in the league tournament.
Denver went into Oxford and beat Miami 3-1. With the score tied at one in the second, DU killed off a five-minute major on Ty Loney, who was ejected for a check from behind. Then Trevor Moore scored twice in the third, including an empty-netter with ten seconds left. Tanner Jaillet got the win in goal with 27 saves.
St. Cloud State blasted Western Michigan 7-0, sending the red-hot Broncos to just a second loss in 11 games. Western had been 7-1-2 over ten games, an impressive run that came against some strong competition. But WMU had nothing for the Huskies Friday night. David Morley scored twice, while Joey Benik had four assists for SCSU while Charlie Lindgren pitched a 23-save shutout.
Game 23: UMD vs Bemidji State (North Star College Cup)
ST. PAUL -- The second annual North Star College Cup features a first-time participant.
Bemidji State wasn't here last year, just like UMD won't be here next year.
Coach Tom Serratore says he's excited, and he hopes his team's fans are, too. No matter how excited Beaver Nation is, don't expect a huge crowd for this first game. It's a 4pm local time start on a Friday, tickets are single-session both days, and traffic around here is supposedly going to be the epitome of awfulness all weekend.
We'll see how that affects turnout.
Anyway, check out my game preview. Also, UMD had one male and one female nominated for the awesome Hockey Humanitarian Award. And Red Rock Radio signed on for two more years of UMD football and men's hockey coverage.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Sampair - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kaskisuo - McNeely - Fons
BSU
Gerbrandt - Arentz - Parker
Fitzgerald (Leo) - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Myles)
O'Connor - Ward - Harms
Marinaccio - Bauman - Brewer
Rendle - Windle
Beauvais - Prapavessis
Pedan - McCormack
Bitzer - Walsh - Mimmack
Bemidji State wasn't here last year, just like UMD won't be here next year.
Coach Tom Serratore says he's excited, and he hopes his team's fans are, too. No matter how excited Beaver Nation is, don't expect a huge crowd for this first game. It's a 4pm local time start on a Friday, tickets are single-session both days, and traffic around here is supposedly going to be the epitome of awfulness all weekend.
We'll see how that affects turnout.
Anyway, check out my game preview. Also, UMD had one male and one female nominated for the awesome Hockey Humanitarian Award. And Red Rock Radio signed on for two more years of UMD football and men's hockey coverage.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Sampair - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kaskisuo - McNeely - Fons
BSU
Gerbrandt - Arentz - Parker
Fitzgerald (Leo) - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Myles)
O'Connor - Ward - Harms
Marinaccio - Bauman - Brewer
Rendle - Windle
Beauvais - Prapavessis
Pedan - McCormack
Bitzer - Walsh - Mimmack
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Bulldogs Venture Out of NCHC to Battle 'Baby Geniuses,' Bemidji State, at North Star College Cup
For UMD, it's time to put last weekend's disappointment in the rear-view mirror.
One point against Western Michigan? Sucks, but it's time to move on.
A new challenge awaits, as the Bulldogs head to XCel Energy Center for a Friday date with Bemidji State in the North Star College Cup.
Head coach Scott Sandelin has been quick this week to point out that this isn't the Bemidji State that Bulldog fans are used to seeing. Virtually gone are the days where it seemed a good hockey play for the Beavers was "chip the puck off the glass and hope someone beats an opponent to it."
That said, you're dead wrong if you don't think Tom Serratore's team will work hard in every game it plays. It's just that the Beavers aren't as big as Western Michigan, last week's difficult opponent. That doesn't mean anything will come easier for UMD. It means this game will be different, no matter how many similarities exist in the teams' styles.
"They don't have the size that Western does," Sandelin said this week. "They're a different team this year. They've got a little more skill, trying to play a different game themselves. But they've always been good defensively. They always work hard. They compete extremely hard."
"They're probably one of the hardest working teams in the nation," senior forward Justin Crandall said. "It's a team you want to get off to a good start against."
"Overall, I like our team," Serratore said. "I think we have a lot of good pieces in place."
Bemidji has plenty of youth. Of course, the way Serratore and his staff recruits, "younger players" are still 20. The Beavers had a seven-game losing streak in October and November, a frustrating run but one where Serratore was still not completely displeased.
"They kept their nose to the grindstone," he said, "and their work ethic never wavered. We were outshooting teams. I think over the course of the streak, five of the seven games we had more scoring chances. That's the picture you want to paint for your guys.
"We got out of it pretty good and had a little success."
However, Serratore says his team "took a step back" last weekend against Lake Superior State. In 1-0 and 4-2 losses, he said "our urgency was never there."
He said shot numbers on Friday (44 for his team) were inflated. Oh, and he wasn't happy with the net-front traffic.
"It's what I told our guys before the second game. 'I don't want you around the cage,'" Serratore said. "'I want you in front of the cage.' There's a difference. I thought we were just around the cage. This day and age, you have to manufacture offense any way you can."
Bemidji State has always been good at this, and I would expect it to be better on Friday. They'll get their noses dirty and make UMD outwork them to stop them from getting second or third chances on the Bulldog net.
They'll also reunite their triplet line.
Yes, BSU has a triplet line.
Not just any ol' triplets.
Myles, Leo, and Gerry Fitzgerald are freshmen for Bemidji State. They're not the biggest guys, but they lit up the BCHL last year and they have played well for Serratore so far. They got a little bit of buzz when they committed because of their background. The three appeared in the 1999blockbuster hit movie "Baby Geniuses" with such luminaries as Dom Delouise and Kathleen Turner.
Gerry has played in every game, while Myles has missed two and Leo seven. They've combined for eight goals (Myles has four), 16 assists (Gerry has eight), and 24 points (Gerry leads the trio with 11). Myles missed last weekend, but all three should be in the lineup Friday. It's a play-by-play guy'sdream nightmare.
"They're fun players," Serratore said. "They're clever out there. They skate. They compete. We're fortunate to have them. I think their body of work over the course of four years is going to be pretty exciting."
(At least Serratore said the plan is to keep them on the same line, as they were before Myles was injured. Or was it Gerry who was injured? Or Leo? Great, I'm already mixing them up and it's not even gametime yet.)
It's a similar game plan that we expect UMD to employ. Sandelin has made it clear this week that he wasn't happy with the missed scoring opportunities his team had against Western Michigan. The Broncos don't give the opponent much, and when the door was open last week, UMD didn't take full advantage nearly as often as necessary.
"We left some chances out there," Sandelin said.
The fact UMD led for exactly 0:00 out of the 125:00 played last weekend is a clear part of why the Bulldogs only got one point. I've seen UMD sweep series that they never led in (overtime goals to win games that were either tied or saw the opponent ahead the entire time prior), but that wasn't the ideal opponent for testing that kind of strategy.
This isn't, either. UMD has to get out to a lead, no matter what the pace of play is. That can't be an excuse. The Bulldogs have to bear down in the offensive zone, get pucks and bodies to the net, and bang away for second chance opportunities. Michael Bitzer and Andrew Walsh have been solid in goal for Bemidji, but neither has dazzled. Throw in seven empty-net goals allowed late in games, and BSU's team save percentage is a pedestrian .894. UMD needs to drive the net and pounce on pucks. Play with pace and wear down Bemidji State.
At the other end of the rink, UMD has to manage the puck better. There have been too many own-zone turnovers in the last few games, and there's no question those turnovers and defensive play that isn't as good as it was overall are big reasons why freshman goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo has a .865 save percentage in his last five starts. It's absolutely not all on him, and that number won't improve without a better team effort in front of the goalie.
As the season goes on, it will be harder to score, not easier. The teams that best do the little things will be the successful teams.
One interesting nugget in the tournament format this year is this: Last year's UMD-Minnesota shootout for the NSCC championship will not be repeated.
Tournament organizers have decided to go with NCAA Tournament overtime rules for the championship game of this event. That allows for 20-minute overtimes as we keep playing until someone puts the puck in the net.
Sandelin said he didn't know about it until this week. Neither did the rest of us.
"Last year's game, how could you not want to keep playing?," Sandelin said. "The kids want to decide it the right way, I think. It's good."
Asked if he's concerned about continuous overtime in a midseason tournament, Sandelin quipped, "If it goes too long we'll just give them two days off (during the week)."
"That's awesome," Crandall said. "I think I'm one of the advocates for doing that all year. You only play two games on a weekend.
"I think we were all pretty unsatisfied, including the fans, last year, having a great hockey game ending in a shootout. Hopefully it doesn't get there, but if it does, that will be a little bit better for everybody."
One point against Western Michigan? Sucks, but it's time to move on.
A new challenge awaits, as the Bulldogs head to XCel Energy Center for a Friday date with Bemidji State in the North Star College Cup.
Head coach Scott Sandelin has been quick this week to point out that this isn't the Bemidji State that Bulldog fans are used to seeing. Virtually gone are the days where it seemed a good hockey play for the Beavers was "chip the puck off the glass and hope someone beats an opponent to it."
That said, you're dead wrong if you don't think Tom Serratore's team will work hard in every game it plays. It's just that the Beavers aren't as big as Western Michigan, last week's difficult opponent. That doesn't mean anything will come easier for UMD. It means this game will be different, no matter how many similarities exist in the teams' styles.
"They don't have the size that Western does," Sandelin said this week. "They're a different team this year. They've got a little more skill, trying to play a different game themselves. But they've always been good defensively. They always work hard. They compete extremely hard."
"They're probably one of the hardest working teams in the nation," senior forward Justin Crandall said. "It's a team you want to get off to a good start against."
"Overall, I like our team," Serratore said. "I think we have a lot of good pieces in place."
Bemidji has plenty of youth. Of course, the way Serratore and his staff recruits, "younger players" are still 20. The Beavers had a seven-game losing streak in October and November, a frustrating run but one where Serratore was still not completely displeased.
"They kept their nose to the grindstone," he said, "and their work ethic never wavered. We were outshooting teams. I think over the course of the streak, five of the seven games we had more scoring chances. That's the picture you want to paint for your guys.
"We got out of it pretty good and had a little success."
However, Serratore says his team "took a step back" last weekend against Lake Superior State. In 1-0 and 4-2 losses, he said "our urgency was never there."
He said shot numbers on Friday (44 for his team) were inflated. Oh, and he wasn't happy with the net-front traffic.
"It's what I told our guys before the second game. 'I don't want you around the cage,'" Serratore said. "'I want you in front of the cage.' There's a difference. I thought we were just around the cage. This day and age, you have to manufacture offense any way you can."
Bemidji State has always been good at this, and I would expect it to be better on Friday. They'll get their noses dirty and make UMD outwork them to stop them from getting second or third chances on the Bulldog net.
They'll also reunite their triplet line.
Yes, BSU has a triplet line.
Not just any ol' triplets.
Myles, Leo, and Gerry Fitzgerald are freshmen for Bemidji State. They're not the biggest guys, but they lit up the BCHL last year and they have played well for Serratore so far. They got a little bit of buzz when they committed because of their background. The three appeared in the 1999
Gerry has played in every game, while Myles has missed two and Leo seven. They've combined for eight goals (Myles has four), 16 assists (Gerry has eight), and 24 points (Gerry leads the trio with 11). Myles missed last weekend, but all three should be in the lineup Friday. It's a play-by-play guy's
"They're fun players," Serratore said. "They're clever out there. They skate. They compete. We're fortunate to have them. I think their body of work over the course of four years is going to be pretty exciting."
(At least Serratore said the plan is to keep them on the same line, as they were before Myles was injured. Or was it Gerry who was injured? Or Leo? Great, I'm already mixing them up and it's not even gametime yet.)
It's a similar game plan that we expect UMD to employ. Sandelin has made it clear this week that he wasn't happy with the missed scoring opportunities his team had against Western Michigan. The Broncos don't give the opponent much, and when the door was open last week, UMD didn't take full advantage nearly as often as necessary.
"We left some chances out there," Sandelin said.
The fact UMD led for exactly 0:00 out of the 125:00 played last weekend is a clear part of why the Bulldogs only got one point. I've seen UMD sweep series that they never led in (overtime goals to win games that were either tied or saw the opponent ahead the entire time prior), but that wasn't the ideal opponent for testing that kind of strategy.
This isn't, either. UMD has to get out to a lead, no matter what the pace of play is. That can't be an excuse. The Bulldogs have to bear down in the offensive zone, get pucks and bodies to the net, and bang away for second chance opportunities. Michael Bitzer and Andrew Walsh have been solid in goal for Bemidji, but neither has dazzled. Throw in seven empty-net goals allowed late in games, and BSU's team save percentage is a pedestrian .894. UMD needs to drive the net and pounce on pucks. Play with pace and wear down Bemidji State.
At the other end of the rink, UMD has to manage the puck better. There have been too many own-zone turnovers in the last few games, and there's no question those turnovers and defensive play that isn't as good as it was overall are big reasons why freshman goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo has a .865 save percentage in his last five starts. It's absolutely not all on him, and that number won't improve without a better team effort in front of the goalie.
As the season goes on, it will be harder to score, not easier. The teams that best do the little things will be the successful teams.
******
One interesting nugget in the tournament format this year is this: Last year's UMD-Minnesota shootout for the NSCC championship will not be repeated.
Tournament organizers have decided to go with NCAA Tournament overtime rules for the championship game of this event. That allows for 20-minute overtimes as we keep playing until someone puts the puck in the net.
Sandelin said he didn't know about it until this week. Neither did the rest of us.
"Last year's game, how could you not want to keep playing?," Sandelin said. "The kids want to decide it the right way, I think. It's good."
Asked if he's concerned about continuous overtime in a midseason tournament, Sandelin quipped, "If it goes too long we'll just give them two days off (during the week)."
"That's awesome," Crandall said. "I think I'm one of the advocates for doing that all year. You only play two games on a weekend.
"I think we were all pretty unsatisfied, including the fans, last year, having a great hockey game ending in a shootout. Hopefully it doesn't get there, but if it does, that will be a little bit better for everybody."
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
2013-14 WCHA Predictions
We'll go league-by-league through the western half of our realigned college hockey nation, starting with the league UMD (and many others) left.
The WCHA might not be as strong as it once was, but it houses at least one legitimate top-15 team, and a couple others that would like to stake a claim.
10. Alabama Huntsville Chargers
Mike Corbett takes over as the Chargers' head coach, and obviously there are high hopes that the move to the WCHA will provide the program with much-needed stability. However, that stability might take some time to show itself on the ice. UAH definitely benefits from no longer living such a nomadic existence, but the Chargers aren't ready to contend in a Division I league just yet. There are some building blocks here, with guys like forward Jeff Vanderlugt back, and UAH is young, so the future certainly is better.
9. Lake Superior State Lakers
It could be a struggle out in Sault Ste. Marie this season. The Lakers lose a lot of high-end guys from a so-so 2012-13 squad, most notably leading scorer Domenic Monardo and runner-up Nick McParland. Their depth was hit by the early departure of power forward Kellan Lain. Senior goalies Kevin Murdock and Kevin Kapalka return, and they might have to carry the team early while it finds some offense.
8. Northern Michigan Wildcats
The Wildcats have to shake off some losses, especially the early departure of goalie Jared Coreau, who could have been a real leader on this team had he not turned pro. Junior forward Reed Seckel can score (13 last year), but who sets him up with Matt Thurber gone? And who plays goal with Coreau and his 38 games gone to the pros? Lots of questions for Walt Kyle to answer as his team starts up in a new league.
7. Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves
New administration and a new coach for UAA, as Matt Thomas takes over for the fired Dave Shyiak. If Thomas can get the culture changed, this could turn around quickly. There is talent, especially with sophomore Blake Tatchell, junior Scott Allen, and senior Matt Bailey up front. Thomas needs to straighten out his blue line and find consistent goaltending. Community support wouldn't hurt, either.
6. Alaska Nanooks
UAF snuck over .500 last year, and wasn't really written out of NCAA contention until late in the season. However, leading scorer Andy Taranto departs. Sophomore goalie John Keeney played 27 games last year and should carry the load again in '13-14. Senior forward Cody Kunyk could be in for a big season.
5. Ferris State Bulldogs
Last year in Florida was my first chance to see Ferris State in person, but these Bulldogs have always impressed me from afar. The chances for veteran coach Bob Daniels' team in the new WCHA depend the development of some young forwards. Seniors Garrett Thompson and Cory Kane return, but they need help from guys like Kenny Babinski and Dakota Klecha to add scoring balance. CJ Motte returns in goal after a strong sophomore season.
4. Bemidji State Beavers
Always a well-coached group, Tom Serratore and the Beavers might benefit greatly from the sport's realignment. BSU just didn't have the talent to consistently compete with the likes of North Dakota, Minnesota, and others (their odd hex on UNO notwithstanding). The Beavers, however, do have the talent and work ethic to make noise in this league. And with junior Andrew Walsh, they have the goalie.
3. Bowling Green Falcons
People in this part of the land might not have noticed, but man has Chris Bergeron done a nice job with this program. The record (39-73-14) is underwhelming, but the Falcons look ready to make some strides. Juniors Ryan Carpenter and Dajon Mingo lead the offense, and the Falcons have experience all over the ice. The one exception is goal, where Andrew Hammond is gone.
2. Michigan Tech Huskies
Mel Pearson should have his best this this season. The Huskies have high-end forwards like Blake Pietila, Alex Petan, Tanner Kero, and David Johnstone all back. The early departure of Jujhar Khaira should only be a small dent in the group. Defense and goaltending lacked last season, but the hope is improved depth between the pipes and further development from defensemen like Riley Sweeney and Justin Fillion should help matters.
1. Minnesota State Mavericks
Even if I wanted to, I'm not sure I could make an argument against MSU being the prohibitive favorite in the WCHA. Mike Hastings got this team to the NCAAs last year, and they're only going to be better. JP Lafontaine, Matt Leitner, Zach Lehrke, Max Gaede, and Bryce Gervais are among the top forwards, and the Mavs sport a strong group of defensemen led by Zach Palmquist. Not only is MSU legit in this league, but the Mavericks should be in most preseason top tens. Justifiably so, too.
The WCHA might not be as strong as it once was, but it houses at least one legitimate top-15 team, and a couple others that would like to stake a claim.
10. Alabama Huntsville Chargers
Mike Corbett takes over as the Chargers' head coach, and obviously there are high hopes that the move to the WCHA will provide the program with much-needed stability. However, that stability might take some time to show itself on the ice. UAH definitely benefits from no longer living such a nomadic existence, but the Chargers aren't ready to contend in a Division I league just yet. There are some building blocks here, with guys like forward Jeff Vanderlugt back, and UAH is young, so the future certainly is better.
9. Lake Superior State Lakers
It could be a struggle out in Sault Ste. Marie this season. The Lakers lose a lot of high-end guys from a so-so 2012-13 squad, most notably leading scorer Domenic Monardo and runner-up Nick McParland. Their depth was hit by the early departure of power forward Kellan Lain. Senior goalies Kevin Murdock and Kevin Kapalka return, and they might have to carry the team early while it finds some offense.
8. Northern Michigan Wildcats
The Wildcats have to shake off some losses, especially the early departure of goalie Jared Coreau, who could have been a real leader on this team had he not turned pro. Junior forward Reed Seckel can score (13 last year), but who sets him up with Matt Thurber gone? And who plays goal with Coreau and his 38 games gone to the pros? Lots of questions for Walt Kyle to answer as his team starts up in a new league.
7. Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves
New administration and a new coach for UAA, as Matt Thomas takes over for the fired Dave Shyiak. If Thomas can get the culture changed, this could turn around quickly. There is talent, especially with sophomore Blake Tatchell, junior Scott Allen, and senior Matt Bailey up front. Thomas needs to straighten out his blue line and find consistent goaltending. Community support wouldn't hurt, either.
6. Alaska Nanooks
UAF snuck over .500 last year, and wasn't really written out of NCAA contention until late in the season. However, leading scorer Andy Taranto departs. Sophomore goalie John Keeney played 27 games last year and should carry the load again in '13-14. Senior forward Cody Kunyk could be in for a big season.
5. Ferris State Bulldogs
Last year in Florida was my first chance to see Ferris State in person, but these Bulldogs have always impressed me from afar. The chances for veteran coach Bob Daniels' team in the new WCHA depend the development of some young forwards. Seniors Garrett Thompson and Cory Kane return, but they need help from guys like Kenny Babinski and Dakota Klecha to add scoring balance. CJ Motte returns in goal after a strong sophomore season.
4. Bemidji State Beavers
Always a well-coached group, Tom Serratore and the Beavers might benefit greatly from the sport's realignment. BSU just didn't have the talent to consistently compete with the likes of North Dakota, Minnesota, and others (their odd hex on UNO notwithstanding). The Beavers, however, do have the talent and work ethic to make noise in this league. And with junior Andrew Walsh, they have the goalie.
3. Bowling Green Falcons
People in this part of the land might not have noticed, but man has Chris Bergeron done a nice job with this program. The record (39-73-14) is underwhelming, but the Falcons look ready to make some strides. Juniors Ryan Carpenter and Dajon Mingo lead the offense, and the Falcons have experience all over the ice. The one exception is goal, where Andrew Hammond is gone.
2. Michigan Tech Huskies
Mel Pearson should have his best this this season. The Huskies have high-end forwards like Blake Pietila, Alex Petan, Tanner Kero, and David Johnstone all back. The early departure of Jujhar Khaira should only be a small dent in the group. Defense and goaltending lacked last season, but the hope is improved depth between the pipes and further development from defensemen like Riley Sweeney and Justin Fillion should help matters.
1. Minnesota State Mavericks
Even if I wanted to, I'm not sure I could make an argument against MSU being the prohibitive favorite in the WCHA. Mike Hastings got this team to the NCAAs last year, and they're only going to be better. JP Lafontaine, Matt Leitner, Zach Lehrke, Max Gaede, and Bryce Gervais are among the top forwards, and the Mavs sport a strong group of defensemen led by Zach Palmquist. Not only is MSU legit in this league, but the Mavericks should be in most preseason top tens. Justifiably so, too.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Game 30: UMD at Bemidji State
BEMIDJI, Minn. -- A suddenly banged-up UMD team is here for another crack at snapping a losing streak that has reached six.
As already chronicled, sophomore forward Caleb Herbert is not here due to an injury, and another top-six forward is out for this game, as sophomore Justin Crandall will sit out.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause
Young - Tardy - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Bergman - Corrin
McNeely - Fons
BSU
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
George - McLeod - Kinne
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Gerbrandt - Cain - Brewer
Areshenko - Wacker
Prapavessis - McCormack
Rendle - Windle
Walsh - Dugas - Mimmack
As already chronicled, sophomore forward Caleb Herbert is not here due to an injury, and another top-six forward is out for this game, as sophomore Justin Crandall will sit out.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause
Young - Tardy - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Bergman - Corrin
McNeely - Fons
BSU
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
George - McLeod - Kinne
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Gerbrandt - Cain - Brewer
Areshenko - Wacker
Prapavessis - McCormack
Rendle - Windle
Walsh - Dugas - Mimmack
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Special Teams Sink UMD
BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Sometimes, this column is used to brag. Sometimes, it's therapy.
Lately, it's more about therapy, unfortunately.
Make it six losses in a row for UMD, as the season continues to fade away. Bemidji State snapped a 12-game winless streak here Friday with a 4-2 win.
In what has become almost routine fashion, a lot went right for UMD. The Bulldogs started strong, controlled most of the game's five-on-five play, and got some superb play from their fourth line of Cal Decowski, Dan DeLisle, and Adam Krause.
But the ten combined power plays in the game told the night's story. BSU -- 16 percent on the power play coming in -- went four for six in its chances, while UMD was scoreless in four opportunities. That 4-0 difference in special teams would probably be too much for even the best team to overcome. Certainly, a UMD team that is scuffling badly isn't going to overcome it.
This is even true on a night like this, where the visitors had a 34-17 edge in even-strength shots on goal.
BSU goalie Andrew Walsh was big when he had to be, especially five-on-five, where the Bulldogs applied loads of pressure, had some quality shots, and got bodies to the net as effectively as they have in weeks. On both UMD goals, the Bulldogs had good net drive, and on the second one, Dan DeLisle wasn't leaving the front of the net without a whistle or a red light being turned on. It worked, as Decowski eventually scored to give UMD a 2-1 lead.
The power play, however, was a different story. UMD couldn't generate enough traffic, and certainly couldn't get the puck there. Bemidji put a lot of pressure on the Bulldogs, and as we've discussed, aggressive penalty kills have been an issue for UMD this season. There have been isolated instances of UMD moving the puck quickly and effectively enough to get chances against that style of kill, but it's never been sustained through a game or weekend series.
Reality is that it's the same old story for this team. It's one that will struggle to score goals consistently. When you're that kind of team, everything else has to click.
Friday, the penalty kill didn't click. Bemidji State created three of the four goals with rock-solid puck movement, both up high and down by the net. UMD didn't have an answer, and couldn't get bodies in the passing or shooting lanes. Freshman goalie Alex Fons was beaten three times on plays where he simply couldn't get left to right -- or vice versa -- quickly enough to do anything about the shot fired.
In Fons' first start, he acquitted himself just fine. I'm not a goaltending aficionado, but it looked like he struggled to move laterally at times, which gave BSU scoring chances that didn't appear very dangerous at first.
On a positive note, I thought he got more comfortable handling dump-ins behind the net the more he did it. Seemed he was more and more confident with it, too. That's a good sign. Goalies these days have to be effective -- at the minimum, it seems -- with going behind the net and stopping dumps on the endboards, then at least leaving them there for the defensemen to start the breakout. Obviously, you'll occasionally see a goalie who starts the breakout for his team, but that's a level not everyone can get to, or needs to.
I'd be surprised if UMD didn't come back with Matt McNeely Saturday. He's had a chance to watch a couple games from the bench, which isn't a terrible thing for a young goalie. McNeely started 11 straight and 13 of 15, which is quite the workload for a freshman. He showed signs throughout that he's more than capable of being a No. 1 goalie at this level, but like the rest of the team, he's struggled to put that consistency together.
More importantly than anything that happens with the goaltending, UMD needs to fix that penalty kill. Once looking like one of the better kills in the league, it's fallen off a cliff the last two games, giving up seven goals in 12 chances. With the power play also struggling, it's going to be really difficult for UMD to end this skid and start trying to generate some positivity for the playoffs.
Elsewhere in the WCHA, Minnesota State kept the train rolling, thanks to a 4-2 win over Michigan Tech that featured four different goal-scorers for the Mavericks. And, yes, one of them was Eriah Hayes. Again.
In Madison, three Minnesota power play goals lifted the Gophers past Wisconsin 3-2. Minnesota went three-for-four on the power play in the game.
Also, Omaha shut out Alaska Anchorage 3-0 up north. The Mavericks only permitted ten shots on goal, which has to mark one the easiest shutouts Dayn Belfour's ever had.
Lately, it's more about therapy, unfortunately.
Make it six losses in a row for UMD, as the season continues to fade away. Bemidji State snapped a 12-game winless streak here Friday with a 4-2 win.
In what has become almost routine fashion, a lot went right for UMD. The Bulldogs started strong, controlled most of the game's five-on-five play, and got some superb play from their fourth line of Cal Decowski, Dan DeLisle, and Adam Krause.
But the ten combined power plays in the game told the night's story. BSU -- 16 percent on the power play coming in -- went four for six in its chances, while UMD was scoreless in four opportunities. That 4-0 difference in special teams would probably be too much for even the best team to overcome. Certainly, a UMD team that is scuffling badly isn't going to overcome it.
This is even true on a night like this, where the visitors had a 34-17 edge in even-strength shots on goal.
BSU goalie Andrew Walsh was big when he had to be, especially five-on-five, where the Bulldogs applied loads of pressure, had some quality shots, and got bodies to the net as effectively as they have in weeks. On both UMD goals, the Bulldogs had good net drive, and on the second one, Dan DeLisle wasn't leaving the front of the net without a whistle or a red light being turned on. It worked, as Decowski eventually scored to give UMD a 2-1 lead.
The power play, however, was a different story. UMD couldn't generate enough traffic, and certainly couldn't get the puck there. Bemidji put a lot of pressure on the Bulldogs, and as we've discussed, aggressive penalty kills have been an issue for UMD this season. There have been isolated instances of UMD moving the puck quickly and effectively enough to get chances against that style of kill, but it's never been sustained through a game or weekend series.
Reality is that it's the same old story for this team. It's one that will struggle to score goals consistently. When you're that kind of team, everything else has to click.
Friday, the penalty kill didn't click. Bemidji State created three of the four goals with rock-solid puck movement, both up high and down by the net. UMD didn't have an answer, and couldn't get bodies in the passing or shooting lanes. Freshman goalie Alex Fons was beaten three times on plays where he simply couldn't get left to right -- or vice versa -- quickly enough to do anything about the shot fired.
******
In Fons' first start, he acquitted himself just fine. I'm not a goaltending aficionado, but it looked like he struggled to move laterally at times, which gave BSU scoring chances that didn't appear very dangerous at first.
On a positive note, I thought he got more comfortable handling dump-ins behind the net the more he did it. Seemed he was more and more confident with it, too. That's a good sign. Goalies these days have to be effective -- at the minimum, it seems -- with going behind the net and stopping dumps on the endboards, then at least leaving them there for the defensemen to start the breakout. Obviously, you'll occasionally see a goalie who starts the breakout for his team, but that's a level not everyone can get to, or needs to.
I'd be surprised if UMD didn't come back with Matt McNeely Saturday. He's had a chance to watch a couple games from the bench, which isn't a terrible thing for a young goalie. McNeely started 11 straight and 13 of 15, which is quite the workload for a freshman. He showed signs throughout that he's more than capable of being a No. 1 goalie at this level, but like the rest of the team, he's struggled to put that consistency together.
More importantly than anything that happens with the goaltending, UMD needs to fix that penalty kill. Once looking like one of the better kills in the league, it's fallen off a cliff the last two games, giving up seven goals in 12 chances. With the power play also struggling, it's going to be really difficult for UMD to end this skid and start trying to generate some positivity for the playoffs.
******
Elsewhere in the WCHA, Minnesota State kept the train rolling, thanks to a 4-2 win over Michigan Tech that featured four different goal-scorers for the Mavericks. And, yes, one of them was Eriah Hayes. Again.
In Madison, three Minnesota power play goals lifted the Gophers past Wisconsin 3-2. Minnesota went three-for-four on the power play in the game.
Also, Omaha shut out Alaska Anchorage 3-0 up north. The Mavericks only permitted ten shots on goal, which has to mark one the easiest shutouts Dayn Belfour's ever had.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Game 29: UMD at Bemidji State
BEMIDJI, Minn. -- It's been quite a while (since October of 2010) between visits to Sanford Center, and it was quite easy to forget how neat this little place is. No building is perfect, but there isn't much to pick away about with this arena.
For the first time since the 2005-2006 season, UMD is going to employ three starting goaltenders in a season, as Alex Fons gets his first collegiate start to open this Friday-Saturday series.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
Crandall - Tardy - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause
Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Johnson - Bergman
Fons - McNeely
BSU
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
George - McLeod - Kinne
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Gerbrandt - Cain - Brewer
Areshenko - Wacker
Prapavessis - McCormack
Rendle - Windle
Walsh - Dugas - Mimmack
For the first time since the 2005-2006 season, UMD is going to employ three starting goaltenders in a season, as Alex Fons gets his first collegiate start to open this Friday-Saturday series.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
Crandall - Tardy - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause
Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Johnson - Bergman
Fons - McNeely
BSU
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
George - McLeod - Kinne
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Gerbrandt - Cain - Brewer
Areshenko - Wacker
Prapavessis - McCormack
Rendle - Windle
Walsh - Dugas - Mimmack
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Bulldogs Searching for Elusive Confidence, Consistency
There's no question that UMD's men's hockey team is lacking consistency. Has been all season. It also appears to be lacking confidence, especially as of late.
Perhaps those things are hidden somewhere along Highway 2 between Duluth and Bemidji, where UMD is playing this weekend.
"It's always frustrating for guys when they're not scoring," sophomore forward Justin Crandall said this week. "I think when you miss a few maybe you start tightening on the stick a little bit.
"You can't lose your confidence, especially this time of year."
In the midst of its longest losing streak in five years, UMD is at Bemidji State, a team that hasn't won since a 5-1 triumph over Denver on Dec. 15. Over a 12-game winless streak, BSU has been shut out three times and held under three goals ten times.
The Beavers beat UMD 2-1 in Duluth Dec. 8, and even in non-wins -- like last weekend's games at Wisconsin -- the team has worked hard. It's a hallmark of Tom Serratore's teams in Bemidji. They don't get outworked.
Unfortunately, UMD has been outworked a goodly amount as of late, and the Bulldogs have paid for it. The answers are right there, though.
"Guys have to be willing to get in those gritty areas and work," Crandall said. "I guess it's easy to talk about, so we've got to prove it this weekend. Score some greasy, dirty goals this weekend."
Crandall is right. There is no use continuing to talk about it. The Bulldogs know what they have to do.
Practice appeared spirited on Tuesday. The group also looked like it was loose, which is a good sign considering the spot it's in right now.
"We had a really good meeting (Monday)," Crandall told me. "There's two ways to go, obviously, up and down. It's not acceptable what's been going on, but try to stay positive and work through it. This week, we're focused on working harder and getting stronger in front of our net and their net."
The sweep by Minnesota State was different than the one by Denver. MSU just beat the Bulldogs up in front of both nets. UMD let too many bodies get in front of its goaltenders -- whether it was Matt McNeely Friday or Aaron Crandall Saturday -- and there wasn't nearly enough net-front traffic at the other end.
Justin Crandall talked about "turnaways," instances of forwards going to the front of the net and turning away without staying to battle for position and pucks in front of opposing goalies. Head coach Scott Sandelin brought up the concept on Saturday with me, and while it appeared to get better on Saturday, the defensive breakdowns may have gotten worse. MSU had too many odd-man situations and too much quality traffic in front of Aaron Crandall for anything good to come out of it. I didn't think Crandall was particularly sharp, but it's also hard to totally blame him for any of the goals (at least the ones that counted).
(It's been a tough thing to watch at times. UMD's goaltending has simply not been good enough a lot of nights. When the team loses by three or more goals, it's easy to pass off a tough night for the goalie because nothing else good happened. However, a team save percentage of .887 compared to .924 for opponents is a huge part of the problem right now. It isn't fair to blame the goalies, but when the team is struggling to score, the goalie sometimes has to steal one, and depending on your definition of "stealing one," the last one to do it in a UMD uniform was either Kenny Reiter or Alex Stalock.)
Stephon Williams is a good goalie, and Bemidji has a pair in Mathieu Dugas and Andrew Walsh that have both given UMD troubles in the past. However, UMD did -- in my estimation -- an inadequate job getting pressure on Williams. This was especially true during the first 35-40 minutes of Saturday's game, when both Lee Davidson and I thought Williams was fighting the puck a bit and could have been had, so to speak.
If UMD is to dig out of this thing -- and there's still plenty of time to make good things happen -- Sandelin and his staff needs a full buy-in from everyone on the ice, from the goalie out. The Bulldogs have to play with pace, play disciplined while also not avoiding contact, put pressure on opponents, get pucks and bodies to the net with a high battle level, and get quality goaltending.
All of these things have happened this season, but as is clear with the team's record being five games under .500, they haven't happened often enough. Eight games remain to figure those things out.
Sophomore forward Caleb Herbert (undisclosed) is not playing this weekend. That leaves the lines looking like this, at least in practice:
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
Crandall - Tardy - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause
Sounds like McNeely and Alex Fons will be the goalies on the trip, but we don't know who starts Friday.
Perhaps those things are hidden somewhere along Highway 2 between Duluth and Bemidji, where UMD is playing this weekend.
"It's always frustrating for guys when they're not scoring," sophomore forward Justin Crandall said this week. "I think when you miss a few maybe you start tightening on the stick a little bit.
"You can't lose your confidence, especially this time of year."
In the midst of its longest losing streak in five years, UMD is at Bemidji State, a team that hasn't won since a 5-1 triumph over Denver on Dec. 15. Over a 12-game winless streak, BSU has been shut out three times and held under three goals ten times.
The Beavers beat UMD 2-1 in Duluth Dec. 8, and even in non-wins -- like last weekend's games at Wisconsin -- the team has worked hard. It's a hallmark of Tom Serratore's teams in Bemidji. They don't get outworked.
Unfortunately, UMD has been outworked a goodly amount as of late, and the Bulldogs have paid for it. The answers are right there, though.
"Guys have to be willing to get in those gritty areas and work," Crandall said. "I guess it's easy to talk about, so we've got to prove it this weekend. Score some greasy, dirty goals this weekend."
Crandall is right. There is no use continuing to talk about it. The Bulldogs know what they have to do.
Practice appeared spirited on Tuesday. The group also looked like it was loose, which is a good sign considering the spot it's in right now.
"We had a really good meeting (Monday)," Crandall told me. "There's two ways to go, obviously, up and down. It's not acceptable what's been going on, but try to stay positive and work through it. This week, we're focused on working harder and getting stronger in front of our net and their net."
The sweep by Minnesota State was different than the one by Denver. MSU just beat the Bulldogs up in front of both nets. UMD let too many bodies get in front of its goaltenders -- whether it was Matt McNeely Friday or Aaron Crandall Saturday -- and there wasn't nearly enough net-front traffic at the other end.
Justin Crandall talked about "turnaways," instances of forwards going to the front of the net and turning away without staying to battle for position and pucks in front of opposing goalies. Head coach Scott Sandelin brought up the concept on Saturday with me, and while it appeared to get better on Saturday, the defensive breakdowns may have gotten worse. MSU had too many odd-man situations and too much quality traffic in front of Aaron Crandall for anything good to come out of it. I didn't think Crandall was particularly sharp, but it's also hard to totally blame him for any of the goals (at least the ones that counted).
(It's been a tough thing to watch at times. UMD's goaltending has simply not been good enough a lot of nights. When the team loses by three or more goals, it's easy to pass off a tough night for the goalie because nothing else good happened. However, a team save percentage of .887 compared to .924 for opponents is a huge part of the problem right now. It isn't fair to blame the goalies, but when the team is struggling to score, the goalie sometimes has to steal one, and depending on your definition of "stealing one," the last one to do it in a UMD uniform was either Kenny Reiter or Alex Stalock.)
Stephon Williams is a good goalie, and Bemidji has a pair in Mathieu Dugas and Andrew Walsh that have both given UMD troubles in the past. However, UMD did -- in my estimation -- an inadequate job getting pressure on Williams. This was especially true during the first 35-40 minutes of Saturday's game, when both Lee Davidson and I thought Williams was fighting the puck a bit and could have been had, so to speak.
If UMD is to dig out of this thing -- and there's still plenty of time to make good things happen -- Sandelin and his staff needs a full buy-in from everyone on the ice, from the goalie out. The Bulldogs have to play with pace, play disciplined while also not avoiding contact, put pressure on opponents, get pucks and bodies to the net with a high battle level, and get quality goaltending.
All of these things have happened this season, but as is clear with the team's record being five games under .500, they haven't happened often enough. Eight games remain to figure those things out.
******
Sophomore forward Caleb Herbert (undisclosed) is not playing this weekend. That leaves the lines looking like this, at least in practice:
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
Crandall - Tardy - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause
Sounds like McNeely and Alex Fons will be the goalies on the trip, but we don't know who starts Friday.
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Game 16: Bemidji State at UMD
Let's try this again.
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Farley - Crandall (Justin) - Herbert
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Krause - Tardy
Olson - Welinski
Bergman - Johnson
Smith - Casto
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
BSU
Kinne - McLeod - George
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
Gerbrandt - Cain - Robbins
Areshenko - Wacker
Carlson - Prapavessis
Rendle - Windle
Walsh - Dugas
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Farley - Crandall (Justin) - Herbert
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Krause - Tardy
Olson - Welinski
Bergman - Johnson
Smith - Casto
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
BSU
Kinne - McLeod - George
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
Gerbrandt - Cain - Robbins
Areshenko - Wacker
Carlson - Prapavessis
Rendle - Windle
Walsh - Dugas
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Rides Seniors to Hard-Fought Win
At various points this season, two of UMD's main lines have been productive. Tony Cameranesi and Mike Seidel have done plenty of damage this season, and the line of Justin Crandall, Caleb Herbert, and Austin Farley had a pretty good weekend in Houghton.
Friday night at Amsoil Arena, the seniors got in on the scoring act. Center Jake Hendrickson scored twice, and Keegan Flaherty had the game-icing empty-net goal in a 4-2 win over Bemidji State.
Hendrickson's first goal opened the scoring, on a weird play where he almost scored off his glove, then bounced the puck in off the skate of BSU goalie Mathieu Dugas. His second goal was a very impressive net drive where he went forehand-to-backhand and got the puck by Dugas. It gave UMD a 2-1 lead in the third, and it would stand as the game's last lead change.
Joe Basaraba scored 1:21 later for a 3-1 lead, and Flaherty clinched the win in the final minute.
In head coach Scott Sandelin's 500th game behind the UMD bench, the Bulldogs picked up their 100th win since the start of the 2008-2009 season.
The Bulldogs moved into sole possession of eighth place with a win, climbed a game closer to .500, and hopefully got some good vibes going for their older guys.
This wasn't an easy win at all. Bemidji State plays a tough, tight game, and it makes scoring chances and shots hard to come by. The Bulldogs didn't play particularly well at times, but were tough defensively and found a way to win the game, something that was a real struggle in late October and most of November.
UMD's top players weren't all at their best. It looked like BSU did a very good job negating UMD's speed, and the Bulldogs didn't work hard enough to regain the advantage.
Enter Hendrickson. He's seen plenty of this grind-it-out hockey, and it doesn't phase him. He won faceoffs, drove the net, played physical, played an extremely intelligent game in all zones, and picked up his second career two-goal game (had two in the NCAA regional game against Maine in March).
Same goes for Flaherty and Danberg. They haven't scored much -- at all in Cody's case -- this season, but they were consistently effective Friday because of their work ethic and smarts.
Saturday is a chance to get others on board. It'll take a faster start, crisper passing, and players willing to work hard to make plays around the Bemidji net. The Bulldogs took nearly 55 shots in Friday's game, but 20 of them were blocked before Dugas had to do anything about them. A bunch of others missed the net. For UMD to succeed, the Bulldogs have to bear down in front of the BSU net and make more of the opportunities to make Dugas' life difficult.
I doubt any major changes will be made to the lineup. Matt McNeely gave up an ugly goal on a rebound, but he was pretty solid, and likely merits a second straight start in the series finale.
These are key points for UMD. It's important to keep climbing the ladder, building confidence, and racking up points.
Hermantown junior defenseman Neal Pionk announced via Twitter Friday that he has committed to UMD. Pionk is averaging two points per game this season over the Hawks' first three games, including a goal in Friday's win over Hopkins.
As a sophomore, Pionk -- listed at 5-11 -- contributed seven goals and 13 points to the Hermantown varsity. He will be more of a factor in the offense this season as he gets more power play time than a year ago.
I wouldn't expect to see Pionk in a UMD uniform before the 2015-16 season, though depending on his development arc, that might change.
I know there are diverse attitudes toward the recruiting of local players, but I've generally seen the presence of them on the UMD team as a good thing, both for the program and for local hockey. I don't care where the Bulldogs' players are from, as long as they are good and can help UMD win.
In other action Friday, we saw some fun officiating foibles in Madison, where Wisconsin got a third period power-play goal from Tyler Barnes in a 1-1 tie against Michigan Tech. The goal was set up by a holding call on Tech's Jujhar Khaira that could have merited more than a minor penalty. As you can see in these stills, Khaira appears to pull a Wisconsin player down by the facemask. From behind. Video might show this to not be so bad, but looking at the stills, and knowing the way the NCAA has been trying to hammer into officials to crack down on facemasking in hockey, I don't know how this isn't a major and a game DQ, as it was for Derik Johnson in Omaha a month or so ago. I know it won't get reviewed for supplemental discipline because the WCHA doesn't operate that way, but it should get a look, and the officials on the ice should get a phone call regarding this glaring miss.
In Colorado Springs, Minnesota got a third period goal from Tom Serratore to beat Colorado College 4-2. The Gophers led 2-0 before the Tigers got two late goals in the second period. Sam Warning scored a pair for the Gophers, who picked up a key road win.
Denver and North Dakota played to a 2-2 tie in Grand Forks. DU had a fast start to lead 1-0, outshooting UND 5-1 at one point. The No-Names came back, and ended up leading in shots 33-20 for the game, including 5-0 in overtime. Sophomore Juho Olkinuora made 31 saves for DU.
Omaha needed only 27 shots to rack up six goals and beat St. Cloud State 6-5 in a wild game in St. Cloud. Reigning National Player of the Month Ryan Walters continued to be on fire with four points in the game, while Matt White racked up three points for the Mavericks. St. Cloud State tried to rally from 3-1, 4-2, and 6-3 deficits, but never equalized. David Morley had a hat trick for the Huskies, including two in the third after Walters scored to make it 6-3.
Minnesota State charged back after giving up the first goal in a 3-1 home win over Alaska Anchorage. Matt Bailey tallied for the Seawolves in the first two minutes, but took a penalty later in the shift, allowing the Mavericks to score a power play goal to tie it up. Eriah Hayes, Jonny McInnis, and Brett Knowles had the goals in support of red-hot goalie Stephon Williams, who made 20 saves.
Friday night at Amsoil Arena, the seniors got in on the scoring act. Center Jake Hendrickson scored twice, and Keegan Flaherty had the game-icing empty-net goal in a 4-2 win over Bemidji State.
Hendrickson's first goal opened the scoring, on a weird play where he almost scored off his glove, then bounced the puck in off the skate of BSU goalie Mathieu Dugas. His second goal was a very impressive net drive where he went forehand-to-backhand and got the puck by Dugas. It gave UMD a 2-1 lead in the third, and it would stand as the game's last lead change.
Joe Basaraba scored 1:21 later for a 3-1 lead, and Flaherty clinched the win in the final minute.
In head coach Scott Sandelin's 500th game behind the UMD bench, the Bulldogs picked up their 100th win since the start of the 2008-2009 season.
The Bulldogs moved into sole possession of eighth place with a win, climbed a game closer to .500, and hopefully got some good vibes going for their older guys.
This wasn't an easy win at all. Bemidji State plays a tough, tight game, and it makes scoring chances and shots hard to come by. The Bulldogs didn't play particularly well at times, but were tough defensively and found a way to win the game, something that was a real struggle in late October and most of November.
UMD's top players weren't all at their best. It looked like BSU did a very good job negating UMD's speed, and the Bulldogs didn't work hard enough to regain the advantage.
Enter Hendrickson. He's seen plenty of this grind-it-out hockey, and it doesn't phase him. He won faceoffs, drove the net, played physical, played an extremely intelligent game in all zones, and picked up his second career two-goal game (had two in the NCAA regional game against Maine in March).
Same goes for Flaherty and Danberg. They haven't scored much -- at all in Cody's case -- this season, but they were consistently effective Friday because of their work ethic and smarts.
Saturday is a chance to get others on board. It'll take a faster start, crisper passing, and players willing to work hard to make plays around the Bemidji net. The Bulldogs took nearly 55 shots in Friday's game, but 20 of them were blocked before Dugas had to do anything about them. A bunch of others missed the net. For UMD to succeed, the Bulldogs have to bear down in front of the BSU net and make more of the opportunities to make Dugas' life difficult.
I doubt any major changes will be made to the lineup. Matt McNeely gave up an ugly goal on a rebound, but he was pretty solid, and likely merits a second straight start in the series finale.
These are key points for UMD. It's important to keep climbing the ladder, building confidence, and racking up points.
******
Hermantown junior defenseman Neal Pionk announced via Twitter Friday that he has committed to UMD. Pionk is averaging two points per game this season over the Hawks' first three games, including a goal in Friday's win over Hopkins.
As a sophomore, Pionk -- listed at 5-11 -- contributed seven goals and 13 points to the Hermantown varsity. He will be more of a factor in the offense this season as he gets more power play time than a year ago.
I wouldn't expect to see Pionk in a UMD uniform before the 2015-16 season, though depending on his development arc, that might change.
I know there are diverse attitudes toward the recruiting of local players, but I've generally seen the presence of them on the UMD team as a good thing, both for the program and for local hockey. I don't care where the Bulldogs' players are from, as long as they are good and can help UMD win.
******
In other action Friday, we saw some fun officiating foibles in Madison, where Wisconsin got a third period power-play goal from Tyler Barnes in a 1-1 tie against Michigan Tech. The goal was set up by a holding call on Tech's Jujhar Khaira that could have merited more than a minor penalty. As you can see in these stills, Khaira appears to pull a Wisconsin player down by the facemask. From behind. Video might show this to not be so bad, but looking at the stills, and knowing the way the NCAA has been trying to hammer into officials to crack down on facemasking in hockey, I don't know how this isn't a major and a game DQ, as it was for Derik Johnson in Omaha a month or so ago. I know it won't get reviewed for supplemental discipline because the WCHA doesn't operate that way, but it should get a look, and the officials on the ice should get a phone call regarding this glaring miss.
In Colorado Springs, Minnesota got a third period goal from Tom Serratore to beat Colorado College 4-2. The Gophers led 2-0 before the Tigers got two late goals in the second period. Sam Warning scored a pair for the Gophers, who picked up a key road win.
Denver and North Dakota played to a 2-2 tie in Grand Forks. DU had a fast start to lead 1-0, outshooting UND 5-1 at one point. The No-Names came back, and ended up leading in shots 33-20 for the game, including 5-0 in overtime. Sophomore Juho Olkinuora made 31 saves for DU.
Omaha needed only 27 shots to rack up six goals and beat St. Cloud State 6-5 in a wild game in St. Cloud. Reigning National Player of the Month Ryan Walters continued to be on fire with four points in the game, while Matt White racked up three points for the Mavericks. St. Cloud State tried to rally from 3-1, 4-2, and 6-3 deficits, but never equalized. David Morley had a hat trick for the Huskies, including two in the third after Walters scored to make it 6-3.
Minnesota State charged back after giving up the first goal in a 3-1 home win over Alaska Anchorage. Matt Bailey tallied for the Seawolves in the first two minutes, but took a penalty later in the shift, allowing the Mavericks to score a power play goal to tie it up. Eriah Hayes, Jonny McInnis, and Brett Knowles had the goals in support of red-hot goalie Stephon Williams, who made 20 saves.
Friday, December 07, 2012
Game 15: Bemidji State at UMD
The final home series of 2012 kicks off here tonight, as UMD takes on Bemidji State. The Bulldogs have played well as of late, outside of that infamous Saturday night hiccup against St. Cloud State.
Bemidji played two good games with Michigan Tech a couple weekends ago, but got zero points, then the Beavers took three from UAA before losing both games in Mankato last weekend.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Farley - Crandall (Justin) - Herbert
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Krause - Tardy
Olson - Welinski
Bergman - Johnson
Smith - Casto
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons
BSU
Kinne - McLeod - George
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
Cain - Brewer - Robbins
Areshenko - Wacker
Carlson - Prapavessis
Rendle - Windle
Dugas - Walsh
Bemidji played two good games with Michigan Tech a couple weekends ago, but got zero points, then the Beavers took three from UAA before losing both games in Mankato last weekend.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Farley - Crandall (Justin) - Herbert
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Krause - Tardy
Olson - Welinski
Bergman - Johnson
Smith - Casto
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons
BSU
Kinne - McLeod - George
Illo - Ward - Mattson
Orban - Jubinville - Boehm
Cain - Brewer - Robbins
Areshenko - Wacker
Carlson - Prapavessis
Rendle - Windle
Dugas - Walsh
Opportunity Ahead for UMD as Christmas Approaches
There are four games left in the 2012 calendar year for UMD. Those four games could tell the tale of the Bulldogs' chances in the second half of the college hockey season.
Heading into Friday's game with Bemidji State at Amsoil Arena, UMD sits at 4-7-3 overall, 2-5-3 in the WCHA. Those seven points are good for an eighth-place tie, and leave the Bulldogs three points behind a home-ice position in the WCHA playoffs.
Yeah, 18 league games remain for UMD, but there can be no more coughing up points if there is going to be a chance at home ice in the playoffs.
No more blowing leads late in games. No more no-shows for home games when a series sweep is attainable.
(You think the Saturday loss to St. Cloud State stings? As recently as Thursday, in an appearance on KQ, UMD coach Scott Sandelin quipped "We played against St. Cloud State that Saturday?" He's still bitter about that game, and that should tell you something regarding how bad it was.)
With Bemidji State in town, and a trip to Alaska-Anchorage to follow, there is no avoiding the need to get points before the holiday break.
The going theory is that 28-30 points will get you home ice in the WCHA playoffs most every season. The math here is obvious.
This weekend will mark the 11th and 12th league games on the UMD schedule. Next week will be Nos. 13 and 14, and UMD will be at the halfway mark.
Half of 30 is 15. UMD is at seven. Two sweeps is tough to ask for, but I have said I think UMD can get six points out of these next two weekends. Doing that should leave the team feeling pretty good about itself going into the second half of the season.
And it'll be a home-heavy second half.
UMD will play eight of 14 league games at home in the second half, including series against Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Nebraska Omaha, and Denver. They'll all be difficult, but if UMD can become a strong home team -- as it's been for a few years now -- there's no reason to think UMD can't get 10 of 16 points, if not more.
On the road, UMD matches up with Minnesota, Bemidji State, and Colorado College. Get six of 12 points, add the 10 from the home games, and the seven UMD already has, and you have 23.
Want to get to 28? That means the Bulldogs need only five points out of the next two weekends, a number that should absolutely be attainable.
This isn't mindless optimism. It's optimism, but hardly mindless, and it's backed by pretty simple math.
Bemidji State is traditionally a tough team to play against. This isn't the same team without outstanding defenseman Brad Hunt, who graduated last year after tormenting UMD and others for four years. Coach Tom Serratore acknowledges that it's been hard to replace Hunt, as he knew it would be, but he doesn't feel his team has played as strong defensively as he expected it to.
Goalies Andrew Walsh and Mathieu Dugas have faced a lot of pucks so far, and while the goals against average isn't impressive, the veteran coach feels both have played well.
Senior Jordan George is the top forward, but I really like what I've seen from freshman Cory Ward. He's stepped in, won some draws, and has been a factor in all zones. He provides strength in the middle, which is an area BSU isn't particularly deep in.
The Beavers will struggle with UMD's power play, led by freshman Tony Cameranesi and senior Mike Seidel, who has points in nine straight games. Freshman Austin Farley really seemed to ignite the second line with sophomores Justin Crandall and Caleb Herbert last week, which made UMD a much more dangerous team at even strength. That will create tougher matchups for opponents if it continues to evolve.
UMD needs to be smart with the puck, especially through the neutral zone. The Beavers won't apply a suffocating forecheck, but if an opponent isn't smart with the puck in the offensive zone, said opponent won't get a lot of scoring chances.
It's an area the Bulldogs have improved in, but need to get better. If they don't, this goal of accumulating points in the final two weekends before the break won't get accomplished, and optimism will be harder to come by.
Heading into Friday's game with Bemidji State at Amsoil Arena, UMD sits at 4-7-3 overall, 2-5-3 in the WCHA. Those seven points are good for an eighth-place tie, and leave the Bulldogs three points behind a home-ice position in the WCHA playoffs.
Yeah, 18 league games remain for UMD, but there can be no more coughing up points if there is going to be a chance at home ice in the playoffs.
No more blowing leads late in games. No more no-shows for home games when a series sweep is attainable.
(You think the Saturday loss to St. Cloud State stings? As recently as Thursday, in an appearance on KQ, UMD coach Scott Sandelin quipped "We played against St. Cloud State that Saturday?" He's still bitter about that game, and that should tell you something regarding how bad it was.)
With Bemidji State in town, and a trip to Alaska-Anchorage to follow, there is no avoiding the need to get points before the holiday break.
The going theory is that 28-30 points will get you home ice in the WCHA playoffs most every season. The math here is obvious.
This weekend will mark the 11th and 12th league games on the UMD schedule. Next week will be Nos. 13 and 14, and UMD will be at the halfway mark.
Half of 30 is 15. UMD is at seven. Two sweeps is tough to ask for, but I have said I think UMD can get six points out of these next two weekends. Doing that should leave the team feeling pretty good about itself going into the second half of the season.
And it'll be a home-heavy second half.
UMD will play eight of 14 league games at home in the second half, including series against Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Nebraska Omaha, and Denver. They'll all be difficult, but if UMD can become a strong home team -- as it's been for a few years now -- there's no reason to think UMD can't get 10 of 16 points, if not more.
On the road, UMD matches up with Minnesota, Bemidji State, and Colorado College. Get six of 12 points, add the 10 from the home games, and the seven UMD already has, and you have 23.
Want to get to 28? That means the Bulldogs need only five points out of the next two weekends, a number that should absolutely be attainable.
This isn't mindless optimism. It's optimism, but hardly mindless, and it's backed by pretty simple math.
Bemidji State is traditionally a tough team to play against. This isn't the same team without outstanding defenseman Brad Hunt, who graduated last year after tormenting UMD and others for four years. Coach Tom Serratore acknowledges that it's been hard to replace Hunt, as he knew it would be, but he doesn't feel his team has played as strong defensively as he expected it to.
Goalies Andrew Walsh and Mathieu Dugas have faced a lot of pucks so far, and while the goals against average isn't impressive, the veteran coach feels both have played well.
Senior Jordan George is the top forward, but I really like what I've seen from freshman Cory Ward. He's stepped in, won some draws, and has been a factor in all zones. He provides strength in the middle, which is an area BSU isn't particularly deep in.
The Beavers will struggle with UMD's power play, led by freshman Tony Cameranesi and senior Mike Seidel, who has points in nine straight games. Freshman Austin Farley really seemed to ignite the second line with sophomores Justin Crandall and Caleb Herbert last week, which made UMD a much more dangerous team at even strength. That will create tougher matchups for opponents if it continues to evolve.
UMD needs to be smart with the puck, especially through the neutral zone. The Beavers won't apply a suffocating forecheck, but if an opponent isn't smart with the puck in the offensive zone, said opponent won't get a lot of scoring chances.
It's an area the Bulldogs have improved in, but need to get better. If they don't, this goal of accumulating points in the final two weekends before the break won't get accomplished, and optimism will be harder to come by.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
WCHA Preseason Media Poll: Nerd Factor
It's time to crunch a few numbers from this year's media poll.
The full poll results are here.
My votes are here.
We had 25 votes this year. Minnesota got all but one first-place vote, and Alaska-Anchorage got all but one last-place vote.
North Dakota was first on one ballot, then second on 19 others. UND was no lower than fourth, and a clear No. 2 in the poll.
Opinions really started to become more diverse from the No. 3 spot all the way down to UAA, really.
Denver finished third, getting five second-place votes, along with 14 third-place votes. Five voters picked Denver fourth, and one had the Pioneers fifth.
Wisconsin is a great example of the diverse opinions found among our 25 voters this year. The Badgers picked up five third-place votes, six for fourth place, eight fifth-place votes, two for sixth, one for ninth place, and three votes for tenth place.
UMD finished fifth, but opinions were almost as across-the-board about the Bulldogs, who finished second but lost a big chunk of scoring and the main goaltender. UMD was picked fourth on two ballots, fifth and sixth by seven voters each, seventh place by five voters, then eighth by three and ninth place by one voter.
St. Cloud State was right behind UMD in the poll, but a look at the Huskies' votes shows a trend more like Wisconsin's, only not as many voters are high on SCSU. St. Cloud got one second place vote, and a single third place vote. SCSU also got six fourth-place votes, two fifths, and three sixths. The Huskies also were picked seventh on five ballots, eighth on three, ninth by three voters, and 11th on one ballot.
Colorado College came in seventh, despite getting a third-place vote. CC was picked out of the top six on 16 of 25 ballots, including a couple of tenth-place votes.
Many think Minnesota State could be this year's Michigan Tech. The Mavericks don't impress the voters, however. MSU was tabbed for a top six spot by just one of 25 voters. Nine picked MSU to finish 11th.
As for last year's Michigan Tech -- you know, Michigan Tech -- only seven of 25 voters think MTU will be good enough to get home ice; two of the seven pick the Huskies higher than sixth. Six voters picked MTU seventh, and five more tabbed the Huskies ninth.
More than half -- 13, to be exact -- of our voters picked Bemidji State 11th. The Beavers got the only last-place vote that didn't go to UAA, while the Seawolves were 11th on that ballot.
The full poll results are here.
My votes are here.
We had 25 votes this year. Minnesota got all but one first-place vote, and Alaska-Anchorage got all but one last-place vote.
North Dakota was first on one ballot, then second on 19 others. UND was no lower than fourth, and a clear No. 2 in the poll.
Opinions really started to become more diverse from the No. 3 spot all the way down to UAA, really.
Denver finished third, getting five second-place votes, along with 14 third-place votes. Five voters picked Denver fourth, and one had the Pioneers fifth.
Wisconsin is a great example of the diverse opinions found among our 25 voters this year. The Badgers picked up five third-place votes, six for fourth place, eight fifth-place votes, two for sixth, one for ninth place, and three votes for tenth place.
UMD finished fifth, but opinions were almost as across-the-board about the Bulldogs, who finished second but lost a big chunk of scoring and the main goaltender. UMD was picked fourth on two ballots, fifth and sixth by seven voters each, seventh place by five voters, then eighth by three and ninth place by one voter.
St. Cloud State was right behind UMD in the poll, but a look at the Huskies' votes shows a trend more like Wisconsin's, only not as many voters are high on SCSU. St. Cloud got one second place vote, and a single third place vote. SCSU also got six fourth-place votes, two fifths, and three sixths. The Huskies also were picked seventh on five ballots, eighth on three, ninth by three voters, and 11th on one ballot.
Colorado College came in seventh, despite getting a third-place vote. CC was picked out of the top six on 16 of 25 ballots, including a couple of tenth-place votes.
Many think Minnesota State could be this year's Michigan Tech. The Mavericks don't impress the voters, however. MSU was tabbed for a top six spot by just one of 25 voters. Nine picked MSU to finish 11th.
As for last year's Michigan Tech -- you know, Michigan Tech -- only seven of 25 voters think MTU will be good enough to get home ice; two of the seven pick the Huskies higher than sixth. Six voters picked MTU seventh, and five more tabbed the Huskies ninth.
More than half -- 13, to be exact -- of our voters picked Bemidji State 11th. The Beavers got the only last-place vote that didn't go to UAA, while the Seawolves were 11th on that ballot.
WCHA Preseason Media Poll
Here is the release sent to WCHA media and the league office regarding this year's preseason media poll, conducted through 94X -- the home of UMD hockey -- for a third straight year.
My votes can be found here.
A year after surprising many by winning the WCHA's MacNaughton Cup Championship, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are a nearly-unanimous pick of WCHA media to win the league. The annual 94X WCHA Preseason Media Poll, released Wednesday, shows the Gophers easily outdistancing the rest of the league.
A panel of 25 members of the WCHA media voted on a predicted order of finish, along with a handful of individual honors.
Minnesota received a whopping 24 of 25 first-place votes. Defending WCHA playoff champion North Dakota had the other first-place vote and finished a distant second. Denver came in third, followed by Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth. St. Cloud State claimed the final "home-ice" position in the preseason balloting.
Minnesota junior forward Nick Bjugstad was a runaway choice for the Preseason Player of the Year. He also anchors the media's second annual Preseason All-WCHA Team, where he is joined at forward by Wisconsin junior Mark Zengerle and St. Cloud State senior Ben Hanowski. The defensemen on the team are Denver's Joey LaLeggia and Nick Jensen of St. Cloud State. Sam Brittain of Denver and Josh Thorimbert of Colorado College tied for the goaltending nod.
For the second straight year, the media chose North Dakota's Rocco Grimaldi as Preseason Rookie of the Year. Grimaldi took a redshirt after an injury-ravaged season, and he is again eligible for rookie honors.
Teams were scored under a standard system of 12 points for a first-place vote, 11 for second, and so on. The number listed with each team is the number of points that team averaged per vote.
94X WCHA PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Minnesota (24 first place votes) … 11.92 poll average
2. North Dakota (1) … 10.76
3. Denver … 9.92
4. Wisconsin … 7.8
5. Minnesota Duluth … 6.88
6. St. Cloud State … 6.84
7. Colorado College … 6.08
8. Nebraska Omaha … 5.48
9. Michigan Tech … 5.2
10. Minnesota State … 3.6
11. Bemidji State … 2.48
12. Alaska Anchorage … 1.04
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Bjugstad, forward, Minnesota (16 votes)
Others receiving more than one vote: Erik Haula, forward, Minnesota (4); Mark Zengerle, forward, Wisconsin (3)
PRESEASON ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Rocco Grimaldi, forward, North Dakota (8 1/2 votes)
Others receiving more than one vote: Nic Kerdiles, forward, Wisconsin (5); Jordan Schmaltz, defenseman, North Dakota (2 1/2); Brady Skjei, defenseman, Minnesota (2); Andy Welinski, defenseman, Minnesota Duluth (2)
PRESEASON ALL-WCHA TEAM
Forwards
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota (20 votes); Mark Zengerle, Wisconsin (17); Ben Hanowski, St. Cloud State (8)
Others receiving more than one vote: Danny Kristo, North Dakota (7); Erik Haula, Minnesota (6); Rylan Schwartz, Colorado College (5); Corban Knight, North Dakota (3)
Defensemen
Joey LaLeggia, Denver (20 votes); Nick Jensen, St. Cloud State (9)
Others receiving more than one vote: Nate Schmidt, Minnesota (7); Wade Bergman, Minnesota Duluth (3)
Goalie
Sam Brittain, Denver and Josh Thorimbert, Colorado College (7 1/2 votes each)
Others receiving more than one vote: Juho Olkinuora, Denver (3), Joel Rumpel, Wisconsin (2)
The following media members took part in the 94X Preseason Media Poll.
David Ahlers, KKAR Radio/University of Nebraska-Omaha; Stephen Anderson, Daily Mining Gazette; Andy Baggot, Wisconsin State Journal; Tyler Buckentine, USCHO.com; Mike Chambers, Denver Post; Bruce Ciskie, KZIO Radio/Bulldog Radio Network; Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey; Shane Frederick, Mankato Free Press; John Gilbert, WCHA.com; Kurt Haider, KENI Radio; Mick Hatten, St. Cloud Times; Dirk Hembroff, WKMJ Radio; Jack Hittinger, Bemidji Pioneer; Ken Landau, 103.9 FM The Eagle Radio; Don Lyons, Leighton Broadcasting/St. Cloud; Todd Milewski, USCHO.com; Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine; Jess Myers, 1500ESPN.com; Joe Paisley, Colorado Springs/Colorado College; Kevin Pates, Duluth News Tribune; Chris Peters, United States of Hockey; Brian Posick, WIBA Radio/Badger Radio Network; Chad Purcell, Omaha World Herald; Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald; Jay Stickney, 102.3 ESPN Radio.
94X is the broadcast home of UMD Bulldog men's hockey. The full 37-game schedule, plus playoffs, can be heard on KZIO-FM, which is 94.1 in the Twin Ports, and 104.3 FM in the surrounding area. All games will also be broadcast on KBAJ 105.5 in the Grand Rapids area, and KAOD 106.7 FM in Babbitt, and on the internet at www.94xrocks.com.
My votes can be found here.
A year after surprising many by winning the WCHA's MacNaughton Cup Championship, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are a nearly-unanimous pick of WCHA media to win the league. The annual 94X WCHA Preseason Media Poll, released Wednesday, shows the Gophers easily outdistancing the rest of the league.
A panel of 25 members of the WCHA media voted on a predicted order of finish, along with a handful of individual honors.
Minnesota received a whopping 24 of 25 first-place votes. Defending WCHA playoff champion North Dakota had the other first-place vote and finished a distant second. Denver came in third, followed by Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth. St. Cloud State claimed the final "home-ice" position in the preseason balloting.
Minnesota junior forward Nick Bjugstad was a runaway choice for the Preseason Player of the Year. He also anchors the media's second annual Preseason All-WCHA Team, where he is joined at forward by Wisconsin junior Mark Zengerle and St. Cloud State senior Ben Hanowski. The defensemen on the team are Denver's Joey LaLeggia and Nick Jensen of St. Cloud State. Sam Brittain of Denver and Josh Thorimbert of Colorado College tied for the goaltending nod.
For the second straight year, the media chose North Dakota's Rocco Grimaldi as Preseason Rookie of the Year. Grimaldi took a redshirt after an injury-ravaged season, and he is again eligible for rookie honors.
Teams were scored under a standard system of 12 points for a first-place vote, 11 for second, and so on. The number listed with each team is the number of points that team averaged per vote.
94X WCHA PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Minnesota (24 first place votes) … 11.92 poll average
2. North Dakota (1) … 10.76
3. Denver … 9.92
4. Wisconsin … 7.8
5. Minnesota Duluth … 6.88
6. St. Cloud State … 6.84
7. Colorado College … 6.08
8. Nebraska Omaha … 5.48
9. Michigan Tech … 5.2
10. Minnesota State … 3.6
11. Bemidji State … 2.48
12. Alaska Anchorage … 1.04
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Bjugstad, forward, Minnesota (16 votes)
Others receiving more than one vote: Erik Haula, forward, Minnesota (4); Mark Zengerle, forward, Wisconsin (3)
PRESEASON ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Rocco Grimaldi, forward, North Dakota (8 1/2 votes)
Others receiving more than one vote: Nic Kerdiles, forward, Wisconsin (5); Jordan Schmaltz, defenseman, North Dakota (2 1/2); Brady Skjei, defenseman, Minnesota (2); Andy Welinski, defenseman, Minnesota Duluth (2)
PRESEASON ALL-WCHA TEAM
Forwards
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota (20 votes); Mark Zengerle, Wisconsin (17); Ben Hanowski, St. Cloud State (8)
Others receiving more than one vote: Danny Kristo, North Dakota (7); Erik Haula, Minnesota (6); Rylan Schwartz, Colorado College (5); Corban Knight, North Dakota (3)
Defensemen
Joey LaLeggia, Denver (20 votes); Nick Jensen, St. Cloud State (9)
Others receiving more than one vote: Nate Schmidt, Minnesota (7); Wade Bergman, Minnesota Duluth (3)
Goalie
Sam Brittain, Denver and Josh Thorimbert, Colorado College (7 1/2 votes each)
Others receiving more than one vote: Juho Olkinuora, Denver (3), Joel Rumpel, Wisconsin (2)
The following media members took part in the 94X Preseason Media Poll.
David Ahlers, KKAR Radio/University of Nebraska-Omaha; Stephen Anderson, Daily Mining Gazette; Andy Baggot, Wisconsin State Journal; Tyler Buckentine, USCHO.com; Mike Chambers, Denver Post; Bruce Ciskie, KZIO Radio/Bulldog Radio Network; Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey; Shane Frederick, Mankato Free Press; John Gilbert, WCHA.com; Kurt Haider, KENI Radio; Mick Hatten, St. Cloud Times; Dirk Hembroff, WKMJ Radio; Jack Hittinger, Bemidji Pioneer; Ken Landau, 103.9 FM The Eagle Radio; Don Lyons, Leighton Broadcasting/St. Cloud; Todd Milewski, USCHO.com; Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine; Jess Myers, 1500ESPN.com; Joe Paisley, Colorado Springs/Colorado College; Kevin Pates, Duluth News Tribune; Chris Peters, United States of Hockey; Brian Posick, WIBA Radio/Badger Radio Network; Chad Purcell, Omaha World Herald; Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald; Jay Stickney, 102.3 ESPN Radio.
94X is the broadcast home of UMD Bulldog men's hockey. The full 37-game schedule, plus playoffs, can be heard on KZIO-FM, which is 94.1 in the Twin Ports, and 104.3 FM in the surrounding area. All games will also be broadcast on KBAJ 105.5 in the Grand Rapids area, and KAOD 106.7 FM in Babbitt, and on the internet at www.94xrocks.com.
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