Monday Musings: UMD Rallies Late, Sweeps Miami, Advances to NCHC Frozen Faceoff

UMD started strong in Saturday's Game 2 against Miami, and appeared poised to blow the RedHawks out of the building in the first period. Shots were 10-0 about halfway through the first, 16-4 for the period, but UMD only led 1-0 on an early Brenden Kotyk goal.

We've seen this script play out a few times through the season. UMD couldn't find another goal, and Miami was very much in the game heading into the second period.

Freshman Nick Wolff's first collegiate goal gave UMD a 2-0 lead in the second, but the inability to find another goal during the first-period surge came back to haunt the home team. Miami got a power play goal to cut the lead in half. Then early in the third, the RedHawks scored goals 1:52 apart for a 3-2 lead that seemed to stun those in attendance.

But like it has all season, the Bulldogs found a way back. Jared Thomas scored for the second time in three games, a sharp-angle shot that seemed to trickle in off the pad of Miami goalie Chase Munroe to tie the game 3-3 with 6:35 to play. Barely two minutes later, Alex Iafallo put a world-class inside-out move on Miami defenseman Grant Hutton before wiring a wrist shot by Munroe for the eventual game-winning goal. Captain Dominic Toninato added a late empty-netter to seal the deal in a 5-3 win that sends UMD back to Target Center for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.

(Iafallo, by the way, takes his second nine-game point streak of the season into the NCHC Frozen Faceoff this coming weekend. He's over 40 points on the season now, and when UMD needed them most, both he and Toninato were stellar this past weekend. If that continues, this team will be very hard for anyone to handle.)

You don't get to 23-6-7 and the second spot in the national rankings (PairWise at least) without figuring a way around a few bumps along the way. Nothing is smooth, not even for what almost appears to be a juggernaut in Denver. UMD has overcome slow starts, big deficits, and now an injury to top defenseman Carson Soucy to keep winning.

Soucy, by the way, got cornered by Matt Wellens during Saturday's game.

Ran into UMD Sr D Carson Soucy at Amsoil. He said he expects to be back “soon.” His season is far from over. #umdmhky

— Matt Wellens (@mattwellens) March 12, 2017

Good news, for sure. UMD used Adam Johnson on defense Friday, and even though Scott Sandelin wouldn't rule out that look in the future, he was playing forward by the third period and played it the whole game Saturday. His line with Kyle Osterberg and Parker Mackay combined for three assists and a plus-five in the game. Jarod Hilderman played on defense, but appeared to be a bit limited in terms of minutes and situations.

Basically playing five defensemen and spotting Hilderman is something UMD can manage at this point, maybe on a game-by-game basis depending on the opponent. I thought Hilderman was quite good in the Saturday game at Western Michigan, so maybe he plays in Friday's semifinal against the Broncos and we'll see what happens on Saturday? Early speculation, as we have the whole week to look at that.

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Perhaps one of the reasons for Johnson being shifted back up front: The play of Wolff. As I said on the air Saturday, one of the joys of seeing every game UMD plays is you can see the young guys make incremental progress each weekend.

And Wolff is absolutely progressing. He's earning more ice time, which makes it tough to justify trying to assimilate Johnson to what's a new position for him at this level.

If you hadn't watched much of UMD in February, you might have missed the jump Wolff has taken in terms of his level of play. He scored his first goal on Saturday as part of a three-point night, but Wolff was also active with team-high six shots on goal and had a plus-four rating. For a guy who's been pretty steadily improving in the defensive zone, Saturday's game was an offensive breakout.

Wolff has shown his physical side more than a few times this season, and for a freshman, he's done a really good job making big hits without taking penalties for being too aggressive. That he hasn't taken a major this season -- while being unafraid to play a physical game -- is saying something, especially when you consider current UMD defensemen Soucy, Willie Raskob, and Neal Pionk all took at least one major penalty as a freshman.

Speaking of Raskob and Pionk, Wolff's emergence also takes more pressure off them, and it indirectly takes some heat off Soucy, who doesn't have to feel the need to rush back in the lineup before he's ready to do so.

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Western Michigan is next up for the Bulldogs, Friday at 4pm in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals. The Broncos needed overtime of a third game to take down Omaha 2-1 on a Michael Rebry game-winning goal.

(The NCHC has set a precedent of letting the top seed express its preference for which semifinal it plays in, and commissioner Josh Fenton said Monday Denver wanted to play in the late game. There's certainly something to be said for keeping the players' routines, and most DU Friday games started at 7:30pm local time. But there's a benefit to being in the early game, because wonky game times are fairly commonplace in the NCAAs, and it's a chance to get the body clocks tuned for the odd 4pm game start that isn't so odd in the national tournament.)

Freshman Ben Blacker was outstanding all weekend for Western, allowing just five goals on 98 shots, including one on 37 in Sunday's series-deciding game.

The teams split four games in the regular season, with Western Michigan winning the Friday games (4-3 in Duluth, then 7-4 in Kalamazoo) before the Bulldogs rallied to take Saturday affairs (2-0 and 6-3).

UMD struggled against Western Michigan's top players, most notably Colt Conrad, Sheldon Dries, and Griffen Molino, and especially in Kalamazoo. This time around, UMD will be the designated home team and able to exercise some control over matchups. Barring injuries or a Soucy return, I would anticipate the same lineup Friday against Western as we saw Saturday against Miami.

In terms of PairWise, UMD remains second, and if you use the predictor tool of your choice for the upcoming weekend, you'll probably find any final seeding between 1-3 is realistic. Lots of different ways to get UMD to any of those spots, not really any ways to get UMD to any spot below the third overall seed.

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A final note of thanks and congratulations to the UMD women's hockey team on a great season. It came to end Saturday with a 1-0 loss to Minnesota in the NCAA quarterfinals. For five seniors -- forwards Ashleigh Brykaliuk, Demi Crossman, Katie McGovern, and Lara Stalder, along with defenseman Sidney Morin -- and junior Maria Lindh (graduating), it was the final game in a UMD jersey.

They laid everything on the line and have nothing to hang their heads about from a superb effort that fell just a goal short.

Brykaliuk and Stalder, per assistant coach Laura Bellamy, deserve kudos as well for facing the media after the game. NCAA-mandated press conferences are a killer to watch when the losing team participates after having their heart ripped out, no matter the sport. Bellamy noted that Brykaliuk and Stalder were given the option to skip out and let other players take the questions of assembled media. Instead, they composed themselves as best they could and did what great leaders do.

Coaches talk all the time about culture. When you have a new staff take over, it's about building a culture the way they want to build it. A big reason Maura Crowell's second season ended in the NCAA Tournament is the culture created in the room, starting with the graduating class. Brykaliuk and Morin were great captains, and all the seniors were fantastic leaders. Thanks to the work they've done, UMD is quickly on the verge of a changed culture, one that expects greatness. For the young players, it was their first taste of big-time, high-level hockey. They'll come back in the fall craving more, and that's exactly what Crowell and her staff want. It's what's worked for so many great programs -- men's and women's, all sports -- over the years.

It's also how Minnesota has remained as good as it's been for so long. Lee Stecklein didn't arrive at Minnesota with national championship rings. She learned how to win from players who won, and now she's passing those lessons down as she wraps up her Minnesota career seeking an unprecedented fourth national title. Someday, that will be how it works at UMD, and it started -- at least in this go-round -- with players like Brykaliuk, Morin, and Stalder. We salute them on their way out, and wish them nothing but the best going forward.

Game 36: Miami at UMD (NCHC Playoffs Game 2)

First, a quick salute to the UMD women, who fell 1-0 to Minnesota in the NCAA quarterfinals. Absolute pleasure to work with this group of players and coaches, and I hope the departing seniors leave with their heads held high. Unquestionably, this program is in better shape than when you arrived on campus, and all of us who support Bulldog athletics are in your debt for your role in that.

Now, on to matters at hand, as the UMD men try to get back to Target Center and the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. It took overtime on Friday, but Dominic Toninato's first career overtime winner gave UMD a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

No Ryan Larkin in this game. The Miami freshman goalie was injured after UMD's Jared Thomas was checked into him in the second period. Chase Munroe, who played his junior hockey for the Minnesota Wilderness of the NAHL, will start in his place. Friday was Munroe's first game action since Dec. 10, and this game will be his first start since that date.

UMD will move Adam Johnson back to forward, and freshman Jarod Hilderman plays on defense. Sammy Spurrell is scratched. Not sure I'd label it a failed experiment, but UMD definitely was a better defensive team with the six that played last Saturday against Western Michigan than it was with the six that played Friday night. Let's see how it goes in this game before jumping to conclusions about the lineup going forward.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Anderson
Osterberg - Johnson - Mackay
Tufte - Peterson - Kuhlman
Young - Thomas - Exell

Pionk - Kotyk
Raskob - Hilderman
Wolff - Molenaar

Miska - Shepard - Deery

Miami
Lemirande - Johnson - Knierim
Bachman - Greenberg - Siroky
LaValle - Sherwood - Green
Louis - Melnick - Meyer

Switzer - Hutton
Dornbrock - Sullivan
Brandt - Frederic

Munroe - Masters

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Resilient Bulldogs Battle Way to Overtime Win Over Miami

Just watched Grand Rapids pull off another epic upset, this time of AA No. 1 seed Eden Prairie 3-2, setting up an all-northern final against Moorhead Saturday night. This state tournament has been nothing short of incredible, such a treat to watch. Hats off to #218Hockey.

Strange bit of hockey played at Amsoil Arena Friday night. The opener of this best-of-three series had a little bit of everything. Weird goals, bad turnovers leading to goals, goofy bounces, plenty of shots ringing iron, and in the end, UMD did what it's done most of the 2016-17 season: It found a way to win.

Dominic Toninato scored his first career overtime winner off a rebound after Alex Iafallo's wraparound attempt was stopped, and UMD beat Miami 5-4 to take a 1-0 series lead. The Bulldogs can close it out at 7:30 Saturday night.

That Toninato scored was absolutely fitting. He hit the crossbar on a shorthanded breakaway, had another possible break stopped when Miami goalie Chase Munroe left his crease and barely beat him to a loose puck, and was generally a beast throughout this game. As we keep saying, Toninato is seemingly cursed in so many situations, but the fact he's constantly in position to score goals tells you something about how he's playing. Players aren't snakebit in these situations unless they're in a spot to score to start with, and no one seems to be in the right place on the ice more often than Dominic Toninato.

His linemates, Iafallo and Anderson, both had good nights. Iafallo had a goal before assisting on Toninato's winner, and he ran his point streak to eight in a row (4-8-12). Anderson was active and had four shots on the night. The line combined for 15 shots (Iafallo had six) and two goals.

After a bit of a struggle for a few weeks, freshman Riley Tufte had his best game in a while, scoring twice off great work in front of the net and finishing with five shots. Tufte scored his first collegiate goal Jan. 13, touching off a six-game run where he had five goals, seven points, and 21 shots on goal. But Tufte had gone goalless for eight games since Jan. 27, and in seven games since Jan. 28, he had just 15 shots on goal. Tufte broke back out Friday, though. He was a beast in the offensive zone and flat-out earned those two goals and a couple other good scoring chances.

Through two periods, UMD had just 14 shots and Miami 12 in a somewhat sleepy affair. UMD had 39 shot attempts (14 blocked) through two periods, then nearly doubled that number in the third, attempting 32 shots (12 off target, 18 on goal). After letting in a bit of a weird goal from Ryan Siroky that gave Miami a 4-3 lead, freshman Hunter Miska was strong, making two big saves in overtime before Toninato's winner.

UMD took 16 shots and got nine on goal in just over seven minutes of overtime hockey, giving the Bulldogs 48 shot attempts over the game's final 27 minutes and change.

There were some foibles in defensive coverage over the first two periods, but UMD really was able to do a better job later in the game. It really looked like Miami started to wear down, as UMD kept generating puck possession and getting waves of bodies to the net.

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UMD made a move in its Friday lineup, shifting sophomore forward Adam Johnson to the blue line in place of the injured Carson Soucy (lower body). We don't know how long Soucy will be out, so I can't tell you if his Bulldog career is over. Certainly, the hope is that Soucy -- whose value to this team is unquestioned -- can return, but that's up to people a lot smarter than I am, and I don't know the prognosis. Asked on Twitter if he could be deemed week to week, I said that's probably accurate. He was ruled out for this weekend, but beyond that I have no idea.

Coach Scott Sandelin cited a couple reasons for the move. For starters, he's hoping Johnson's skating and puck skill can give UMD another dimension on the blue line. Honestly, I thought he looked a bit tentative Friday, but that's to be expected. Outside of some shifts at the ends of power plays, he hasn't played the position since high school.

Also, Soucy and freshman Nick Wolff are the only left-handed blue liners who were playing regular minutes. Johnson gives them another left-shot defenseman, and unless the tape shows him looking a lot worse than I thought he did, one has to assume he'll return to the blue line Saturday (he took shifts at forward late in regulation and in overtime).

UMD has some depth back there, even with Nick McCormack still unavailable (lower body). Jarod Hilderman hasn't played much, but he seems to have gotten better every game, and I thought last Saturday at Western Michigan was his best game yet. He doesn't give UMD a left-shot option, but he could be a possibility for playing time if Sandelin wants to keep Johnson up front.

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Couple more notes on the game:

Miami lost goalie Ryan Larkin to an apparent lower-body injury in the second period. UMD's Jared Thomas was taken off his feet and slid into Larkin. It didn't appear to be much contact, but it appeared to be awkward, and Larkin had to be helped off the ice. Freshman Chase Munroe, who played junior hockey for the Minnesota Wilderness, took over in goal and made 29 saves in his first action since Dec. 10.

UMD's power play goal streak was snapped at eight games. UMD had gone 11-for-39 over that stretch before coming up empty in four chances Friday. The power play looked somewhat stagnant, with a lot of work on the perimeter, but there were also a couple chances missed on plays that were there. Most notably, Anderson was handcuffed near the left post on a great lateral feed by Iafallo.

Miska had no chance on the first three Miami goals, the second of which came on a flubbed shot that went right to Carson Meyer in scoring position. He probably wants Siroky's back, but of more concern are the breakdowns that led to the other three RedHawk markers. UMD needs a more consistent and composed performance in its own zone going forward, with or without Carson Soucy.

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Please don't forget about the UMD women, who play Minnesota in an NCAA quarterfinal Saturday afternoon at 2:30. Join us and make a doubleheader of the day. It should be a fantastic game.

Elsewhere in the NCHC, Omaha got a Justin Parizek goal to win 2-1 in overtime at Western Michigan. Outside of that, NCHC series openers went to home teams. Denver beat Colorado College 4-1 on a three-point night from Troy Terry, and North Dakota got by St. Cloud State 5-2.

In the PairWise, Denver and UMD remain one-two, with Western Michigan down to fifth, UND now in 11th, Omaha 19th, and St. Cloud State 20th. North Dakota probably still needs a series win over SCSU to keep its season alive, and obviously St. Cloud and Omaha need to get to Target Center, minimum. A UNO win Saturday, for example, gets the Mavs into range for an at-large bid, depending on other results.

Game 35: Miami at UMD (NCHC Playoffs Game 1)

The second season begins with a first-round home series for UMD. The second-seeded Bulldogs face Miami in the first round for the second straight year, and hope for the same result as last year, when the Bulldogs managed a two-game sweep.

No Carson Soucy on the blue line, and perhaps signaling an absence longer than one week, sophomore forward Adam Johnson has been shifted to the blue line. Johnson is not a newbie at the position, having played it extensively in high school at Hibbing/Chisholm, but this will be his first twirl on a Division I blue line, discounting his spot on UMD's power play, which usually comes on a point. He'll work with sophomore Neal Pionk, who is second team All-NCHC for good reason. His steadiness and experience will help Johnson, but if Johnson is comfortable on the blue line, that pairing becomes one of the more dynamic in the country, especially from a skating standpoint.

Up front, Jade Miller is the only scratch. Sammy Spurrell is back on the fourth line, playing for just the second time since Feb. 4.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Anderson
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Tufte - Peterson - Kuhlman
Young - Spurrell - Exell

Johnson - Pionk
Raskob - Kotyk
Wolff - Molenaar

Miska - Shepard - Deery

Miami
Lemirande - Johnson - Alger
Bachman - Greenberg - Siroky
LaValle - Sherwood - Green
Louis - Melnick - Meyer

Switzer - Hutton
Brandt - Frederic
Dornbrock - Sullivan

Larkin - Munroe - Masters

Playoffs Begin For UMD With Familiar Opponent

Last year, UMD hosted Miami for the regular season finale. After taking a sweep at the hands of a desperate Bulldog team, the RedHawks took a charter plane back home, only to hop on a bus and make the long journey to Duluth four days later for a playoff series.

This year, Miami was just in Duluth two weeks ago. Now, we get to find out what lessons the Bulldogs learned from that Thursday-Friday series.

"I thought against them, especially the Friday game, we didn't manage the puck very well," UMD coach Scott Sandelin said this week of a 4-3 win and 3-3 tie (three-on-three loss) Feb. 23-24. "Just going back, when we got up, we couldn't find a way to score the third goal. Got to be tighter (defensively). They're a hard team to defend. They move laterally a lot. We've got to defend a lot better."

"This is a new time, so whatever you saw two weeks ago will be thrown out the window," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. "When you play this time of year, everything will be a little more intense, more magnified."

It's playoff hockey now.

"You have to compete, make sure you're winning your battles," Blasi said before his team made the trek to Duluth. "This is a team (UMD) that's going to work hard, their second effort's really good. You have to pay attention to details."

His team did a good job in those areas two weeks ago. Not so much last week. After a 5-2 loss to North Dakota Saturday in which his team was outshot 27-11 in front of a sellout crowd on Senior Night, Blasi simply said the RedHawks "weren't good enough."

"North Dakota took it to us right from the beginning," he noted.

These are certainly familiar adversaries at this point. This weekend will mark their ninth, tenth, and maybe eleventh meetings in the last 14 months and change. If they don't know each other well by now, they never will.

UMD got four points in that sole regular season meeting two weeks ago, but the prevailing thought was the Bulldogs left two points on the table. Now, to be fully realistic, no one was beating out Denver for the league title, but UMD didn't do a good enough job over six games against the seventh- and eighth-place teams (the Bulldogs went 2-1-3 against Miami and Colorado College) to stay alive in the race for the Penrose Cup.

What has to change? For starters, the Bulldogs need to bear down when they have a chance to put a team away.

Look at Saturday against Western Michigan. The Broncos aren't going to quit on any game at this point, but UMD was up 2-0 late in the first and on a power play. Score, and it's a 3-0 game after one with all three goals coming in the final five minutes. The game might not be over, but it's as close as it can be at the end of the first period. Instead, UMD takes a late penalty, a Western power play starts in the second period, and the Broncos score on a great shot by Matheson Iacopelli to get back in the game.

Later, in a 2-2 game, UMD gets a crazy goal off a scramble in front of the Western Michigan net with four seconds left in the second. Then Avery Peterson and Joey Anderson in the first seven minutes of the third to turn 3-2 into 5-2, and for the most part, the game is over at that point.

That next goal can make a big difference. In both games against Miami two weeks ago, the Bulldogs failed to get that next goal, whether it be for a one- or two-goal lead. The RedHawks made UMD pay both nights, in the Thursday game making UMD get that late power-play goal from Peterson to secure the win, then Friday getting two points with a late tally in regulation and a three-on-three goal.

Miami scored two goals off rushes in the Thursday game, then three off shots from up high Friday, plays where defenders didn't do a good job tracking guys or blocking shots before Hunter Miska had to deal with them. That's another area Sandelin wants his team to clean up, and plenty of time in practice was devoted to it this week.

Miami won't lay down. Blasi is one of the top coaches in the country, and he knows his young team has shown significant progress over the course of the season. With captain Louie Belpedio out (knee injury suffered Feb. 18 against Denver), the RedHawks are thinner on defense, but that was the case in the earlier visit. UMD needs to contain guys like Anthony Louis and Kiefer Sherwood better than they did two weeks ago. Do that, be better about consistently attacking the RedHawks blue line, and take care of the defensive zone, and the Bulldogs will be well on their way to Target Center next weekend.

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Sandelin and the staff were pleased as punch with Saturday's game. No, it wasn't a perfect performance, but they really liked how the players responded to some real adversity.

As if losing 7-4 Friday wasn't bad enough, senior defenseman Carson Soucy was lost to a lower-body injury late in the third period. He didn't play Saturday and will not play this weekend. In addition, UMD lost forward Kyle Osterberg to an upper-body injury in the first period (he didn't return but is good to go this weekend), and it was already missing freshman Riley Tufte (virus, good to go this weekend).

Instead, a number of other guys stepped to the forefront. Jared Thomas scored his first goal since October 2015. Jarod Hilderman was solid in his third game since Oct. 15. Willie Raskob and Neal Pionk were dynamic at times. Brenden Kotyk, I thought, had a really good game. Avery Peterson was strong. Joey Anderson scored two goals (just his second and third in the last 15 games).

We don't how long Soucy will be absent, but what was witnessed on Saturday was a huge positive sign. Once again, this veteran team responded well to roadblocks being thrown out in front of them.

"The win to me was a huge one for a number of reasons," Sandelin said. "It was one of those times where you find out a little bit about your team. I thought our guys pulled together and played a strong game. It shows our depth, our resiliency, and the character of our team."

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In addition to the NCHC awards that came out Wednesday (if you didn't read, Alex Iafallo first team All-NCHC, Neal Pionk and Hunter Miska second team), Miska Thursday morning was named a semi-finalist for the Mike Richter Award, given to the top goalie in Division I. Miska is 20-5-4 with a 2.14 goals against and .921 save percentage entering the playoffs.

The rest of the group of ten is: Michael Bitzer, Bemidji State; Parker Gahagen, Army; Kyle Hayton, St. Lawrence; Tanner Jaillet, Denver; Merrick Madsen, Harvard; Jake Oettinger, Boston University; Cal Petersen, Notre Dame; Shane Starrett, Air Force; Charles Williams, Canisius.

Five finalists will be named March 23, with the winner announced at the Frozen Four April 7.

Monday Musings: Split With Western Michigan Sets UMD Up For Postseason

Much better, more composed performance from UMD in Saturday's 6-3 win over Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. That they did it without big-minute defenseman Carson Soucy is a gigantic bonus, in my view.

There wasn't a long list of players who played well in Friday's game. UMD was guilty of missed coverages and not doing enough to get to the net front and disrupt WMU goalie Ben Blacker. Saturday's tone was set in the first period, when the Bulldogs were getting outshot in the early going but not letting anyone get second chances in Hunter Miska's kitchen. Then, the first Western Michigan penalty of the game ended up in the back of the Broncos' net when a shooting mentality and net drive led to Jared Thomas' first goal in 70 games, going back to Oct. 17, 2015.

A couple minutes later, Western captain Sheldon Dries took an undisciplined penalty and ended up in the box for six seconds. Why six seconds? Because Adam Johnson walked the blue line, found a lane, and scored off a Joey Anderson tip (yes, we know Johnson got official credit, but both he and Anderson said after the game it was tipped). It was a perfect example of a player up high finding a way to get a puck through to give UMD a scoring chance.

This time of year, you have to score that way.

You also have to, at this time of the season, deal with pushback from the team that trails. Down 2-0, Western Michigan didn't lay down. The Broncos leveled by the midway point of the second, and kept pushing to take the lead before UMD got a break late in the period. Blacker came out to play a dump-in and turned it over to Karson Kuhlman on the right wing. Kuhlman whipped the puck toward the net as Blacker hustled back to the crease. He stopped Kuhlman's shot, but Adam Johnson poked it by him as he kept sliding back out of the crease, and the puck crossed the line before the mass of bodies took the net off.

UMD seized the momentum, getting an Avery Peterson goal early in the third before Anderson made a great individual effort off the wall and ripped a shot by Blacker to chase him from the game.

The win is UMD's 21st of the season and it keeps the Bulldogs safely in the second spot of the PairWise rankings. UMD finishes NCHC play in second place after Denver swept Omaha over the weekend.

(Like I said last week, UMD didn't lose this conference title. Denver won it, going on a tear here down the stretch and looking every bit the national championship contender we believe them to be.)

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UMD had to shake some adversity. Soucy was injured late in Friday's loss when he got tangled with Western forward Griffen Molino. Nothing malicious in any way, but Soucy fell awkwardly after Molino collided low trying to get in front of a shot. He hobbled off the ice and didn't return, and didn't dress Saturday. As for prognosis and the like, we should know more in the early part of the week. Keep the fingers crossed for good news.

Without him, UMD went with freshman Jarod Hilderman and mixed up pairings. We saw a lot of Neal Pionk with Willie Raskob, and they were very good. It was one of Raskob's best games in a while, and Pionk was his usual self. If Soucy is gone for any length of time, these are the two I expect the Bulldogs to ride. Both are capable of handling big minutes and can be dynamic players moving the puck. Pionk's shot is a game-changer.

Dan Molenaar and Brenden Kotyk also saw a lot of minutes Saturday and did quite well. Kotyk had an assist and blocked shots like normal. Molenaar played in his 33rd straight game -- a great accomplishment for a guy who had been so snakebit by injury and illness in his UMD career -- and continued his stretch of very consistent work on the blue line.

UMD also played without forward Riley Tufte (illness), who was sick on and off during the day and ruled out after the team got the rink pregame Saturday. Tufte told me at the airport Sunday he was already feeling better, so hopefully he's a full go this week for Miami. Same for forward Kyle Osterberg, who left late in the first with an upper-body injury after a check to the head. He did not return, but hopefully recovers in time to go this week.

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Next up for UMD is the only weekend of playoffs that can't end its season. The Bulldogs will host Miami in a first-round NCHC playoff series starting Friday at 7. Same Miami team that gave UMD fits two weeks ago, but one swept last week at home by North Dakota.

The RedHawks need to win the league tournament to move on, and UMD wants to build off what it accomplished in a strong effort on Saturday.

Also, the UMD women and WCHA Tournament MVP Maddie Rooney host Minnesota Saturday afternoon. We'll have all the hockey this weekend on the radio, and preview stuff coming on the blog so watch for that.

Monday Musings: Denver Sweep Likely Sends Penrose Cup to Pioneers

Listen, I'm all about optimism. I'm not the guy who likes to throw buckets of cold water on things and such.

No, really, I'm not. Quit laughing.

But it seems a safe bet right now to say UMD will not be claiming its first Penrose Cup NCHC championship.

If that's how it ends up this weekend, the Denver Pioneers won it. UMD didn't lose it.

The Bulldogs won and tied over the weekend against Miami to run their unbeaten streak to 11, the longest since the school-record 17-game run in 2011-12. Yes, Miami got a late Gordie Green goal to tie Friday's game, then Green scored in three-on-three overtime for the extra standings point. Yes, it stinks to have missed out on a chance for a sweep.

But that's not what cost UMD the league title. No, what cost UMD the league title was Denver having won nine straight games since a Jan. 20 loss to St. Cloud State. What cost UMD the league title is Denver's 12-2 record (10-2 NCHC) since the new year. UMD is a mere 8-2-4 (6-2-4).

The Pioneers are playing great hockey. They kept winning when UMD needed just a little bit of help. Tip the cap to DU, don't scoff at the Bulldogs. And hopefully the two meet in the postseason, because it'll be epic.

As for Friday's game, the Bulldogs were not sharp in their own zone and still avoided a loss. That's probably a good thing, but it won't help if UMD can't use the lessons to get better.

Freshman goalie Hunter Miska wasn't his sharpest, but two of Miami's goals came on long shots with traffic, something UMD has typically done a good job of avoiding this season. If Miska can see it, there's a really good chance he stops it. And the Bulldogs can be better defending up high, preventing those pucks from getting through in the first place. Look for that to be a point of emphasis this week as Western Michigan looms.

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Current NCHC standings:
Denver 53 points
UMD 49
Western Michigan 39
Omaha 29
North Dakota 29
St. Cloud State 28
Miami 23
Colorado College 14

If my math and tiebreaker understanding are correct, Denver, UMD, and Western Michigan will be the top three, and WMU is locked into third. UMD is probably 85-90 percent to finish second.

After that, it's a jumbled mess. Miami can leapfrog teams with a home sweep of UND, and St. Cloud State gets Colorado College at home while Omaha hosts Denver. It's too early to tell for sure, but if North Dakota gets a point from Miami and UMD finishes second, it'll be guaranteed to face Miami in the first round.

UMD heads to Kalamazoo to finish the regular season against resurgent Western Michigan. The Broncos are still scoring, still getting great work out of the power play, but now Andy Murray has been able to settle on a starting goalie in freshman Ben Blacker. He's right behind Miska with a .925 save percentage (Miska is .926). These teams are pretty evenly matched, especially when playing at even strength. If UMD's power play can stay hot (goals in six straight games, 8-for-26 in that stretch), the Bulldogs stand a great chance of leaving Kalamazoo with points.

Game 32: Miami at UMD

Senior Night should be a good one. UMD comes in unbeaten in ten straight, and needing a win to keep the heat on Denver as it opens its series with St. Cloud State at 9 Central, meaning the Bulldog game will be in the third period before DU and SCSU even face off.

We'll see if UMD can clean up some rush coverage that burned it for a couple Miami goals Thursday night. Also, we'll find out if the RedHawks can bring it like they did on Thursday, consistency has been a problem for this very young team (20 freshmen and sophomores).

Meet the new lines, same as the old lines. For both teams. No changes.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Anderson
Osterberg - Johnson - Mackay
Tufte - Peterson - Kuhlman
Young - Thomas - Exell

Soucy - Raskob
Pionk - Kotyk
Wolff - Molenaar

Miska - Deery - Shepard

Miami
Lemirande - Johnson - Siroky
Bachman - Greenberg - Knierim
LaValle - Sherwood - Green
Louis - Melnick - Meyer

Brandt - Hutton
Dornbrock - Sullivan
Switzer - Frederic

Larkin - Munroe - Masters

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts on a Friday: Power Play Comes Through as UMD Wins Late

The rare Thursday night game worked out for UMD, as the Bulldogs got a late power play goal from Avery Peterson for a 4-3 victory over Miami.

The win runs UMD's unbeaten streak to ten games (8-0-2), the Bulldogs' longest since a school-record 17-game streak in the 2011-12 season. It was also UMD's 20th win of the season, marking the school's 18th 20-win season all-time. Scott Sandelin and Mike Sertich each led the way for eight of them.

It furthers the argument that UMD is a mortal lock for the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season, something that has only happened one other time (1983-85) in school history.

Ahead of Senior Night Friday, a few thoughts first on the series opener, and a quick look at the NCHC weekend ahead.

For starters, UMD lost 2-0 and 3-2 leads in this game, but recovered thanks to a key penalty kill in the final seven minutes, followed by Peterson's gigantic goal. Riley Tufte took an outlet pass from Neal Pionk and skated up the left wing. He got into the offensive zone and occupied two defenders before leaving the puck in the left circle for Peterson, who wired a shot by Miami goalie Ryan Larkin for his third game-winning goal out of six scored this season (14 games).

Pionk added a power-play goal earlier in the third off a great setup by Adam Johnson, who scored in the first period by banking a shot off the back of Larkin from behind the goal line. It's at least the third time Johnson has scored a goal in a similar situation this season.

Senior captain Dominic Toninato also scored for UMD, running his point streak to five games (4-3-7). In 21 NCHC games, Toninato has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists), second on team to Alex Iafallo (10-16-26 in league play).

The UMD power play has now scored in five straight games (7-for-23, 30.4 percent) after going 5-for-34 (14.7 percent) over eight games in January. Overall, the Bulldogs are scoring on 20 percent of man advantage opportunities after that number dipped to 17 percent and change in January.

The kill was solid again, only allowing a goal during a five-on-three Miami chance in the second period, where Grant Hutton's blast got by Hunter Miska with traffic in front. There were some key penalty kills, including late in the first period after Johnson had given UMD a 1-0 lead (no Miami shots), and two in the third (one shot on each) with the game still very much in doubt.

Ten power plays combined, but there was much more five on five flow for big stretches of the game, especially in the first and second periods. Miami's two even strength goals came off rushes, and UMD's coverage was especially poor on the third goal, as RedHawks forward Carson Meyer was left alone skating down the slot and deposited a loose puck by Miska.

******

Unfortunately, one of the stories of the game was officiating for a second straight game. The UMD bench was visibly frustrated with a couple calls that weren't made on Miami, most notably a potential boarding call involving a hit on Toninato during a UMD power play. That drew frustration because of a pretty soft boarding call on UMD's Brenden Kotyk that gave Miami the five-on-three it scored on in the second period.

There were also pretty blatant misses on a slash to Kyle Osterberg and a trip/interference play involving Willie Raskob in the third period.

On the bright side, 1) UMD won the game; and 2) the missed calls and obvious frustration woke up the crowd, even when some strong play by UMD earlier in the game really couldn't do that.

The situation was pretty similar to Saturday in Colorado Springs, where calls made against UMD were all legit, but similar plays by the adversary didn't lead to penalties the other way.

It's, frankly, frustrating to watch. I like a lot of the folks responsible for what we see every week. The NCHC does very good work with its officials. It's great to see Derek Shepherd, always a strong presence on the ice, still very much involved in the evaluation of the on-ice officials during and after games. Mike Schmidt, who works as a supervisor, cares an unbelievable amount about the product and is a great listener. Don Adam runs the show, so to speak, for the conference and also cares a great deal about what happens on the ice.

The league is fully committed to giving the officials as many tools as possible to improve, along with constant feedback from qualified supervisors.

But what we've seen these last two games isn't good enough for me. Maybe the influx of penalty minutes in the second half has changed UMD's rep a little bit, but the Bulldogs struggled to get calls in the first half of the year, when they weren't at all a big-PIM team. So I'm not sure I buy the idea that UMD's penalty minutes have ticked up in the second half and now officials are looking for its players to do something wrong.

Whatever the issue is, it's happened in two straight games now, and I don't remember the last time I thought UMD had some legit gripes about the officials for two straight games. They'll happen here and there, and everyone has calls they don't agree with. But it's amazing how many times slow-motion replay backs up what the official thought he saw live action.

Hopefully, it's just some bad luck for UMD and not the start of a trend. I still believe in what this conference stands for and all the work put into its officiating.

******

Thursday's win lifted UMD back into the top spot of the PairWise and the NCHC standings, the latter by one point over Denver. With only one game left this weekend compared to Denver's two, UMD still needs help to claim a Penrose Cup championship. Denver hosts St. Cloud State this weekend. A UMD win Friday and Denver split or worse against SCSU would guarantee the Bulldogs will carry the league lead into the final weekend of the regular season.

Elsewhere, Omaha visits North Dakota, with both teams trying desperately to stay alive for home ice. Also, Western Michigan tries to seal home ice with two games at Colorado College.

Finally, the UMD women beat St. Cloud State 5-0 Thursday in Game 1 of their best-of-three series. Lara Stalder -- hours after being named a top ten finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award -- scored twice and added an assist, while fellow senior Demi Crossman scored two goals. Game 2 is Friday at 3pm. UMD advances to the WCHA Final Faceoff and virtually seals an NCAA bid with a win.

Game 31: Miami at UMD

Yes, it's a Thursday. Yes, there's hockey.

I mean, the schedule's only been out for six months ... 😈

Should be a fun series. Big contrast in styles between Colorado College and Miami. The RedHawks are more like UMD, only probably a little heavier style, but still more of a pace game. It isn't going to be easy, as Miami tends to play with good intensity and likes to be physical. But the pace should be more to UMD's favor, no question.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Anderson
Osterberg - Johnson - Mackay
Tufte - Peterson - Kuhlman
Young - Thomas - Exell

Soucy - Raskob
Pionk - Kotyk
Wolff - Molenaar

Miska - Deery - Shepard

Miami
Lemirande - Johnson - Siroky
Bachman - Greenberg - Knierim
LaValle - Sherwood - Green
Louis - Melnick - Meyer

Brandt - Hutton
Dornbrock - Sullivan
Switzer - Frederic

Larkin - Munroe - Masters

Bulldogs Celebrate Impactful Senior Class, Face Improving Miami Team in Final Home Series

UMD's seven-man senior class isn't about to complain about this not actually being their Amsoil Arena swan song.

That said, the traditional Senior Night celebration Friday will be an emotional one.

Forwards Alex Iafallo, Kyle Osterberg, and captain Dominic Toninato, along with defensemen Brenden Kotyk, Dan Molenaar, Willie Raskob, and Carson Soucy have combined to play in 856 games for UMD. They bring 156 goals (led by Toninato's 47) and 385 career points (Iafallo has 102) into this weekend's series against Miami, but that doesn't even begin to tell the story of their impact on the program.

"For us as coaches," longtime head coach Scott Sandelin said this week, "the fun part is watching those guys grow and mature. They're all leaders for us. They play big time roles for us. They've been very successful. They set examples on and off the rink by working hard and being good teammates. They've helped continue the culture we've tried to have here."

All seven have been big parts of this season, which will be the third straight for them that ends in the NCAA Tournament. This year's seniors are the first for UMD since 1984-85 to lead the team to three straight national tournament bids.

The group is led by a local captain, Toninato, who might not be producing big offensive numbers but is having one of his best years for UMD. He's second (to Karson Kuhlman) in blocked shots among UMD forwards. He's vastly improved in the faceoff circle at .503 for the season (he credits teammate Jared Thomas for helping him with his technique). And as conference play has heated up, so has his production. Eight of his nine goals and 16 of his 19 points have come in 20 NCHC games.

That he's the captain of his hometown college team makes it all the better for him.

"I honestly couldn't ask for anything better right now," he said last week. "We have some more goals that we want to accomplish, but as of right now I couldn't ask for a better year."

UMD's senior class has shepherded the program through the transition from the 2011-12 senior class led by Hobey Baker winner Jack Connolly. That class finished with a four-year record of 95-40-19 (.679 winning percentage). This group is at 75-53-18 (.575), but one of Sandelin's long-term goals was to see this program become an every-year tournament contender. UMD will make its third straight NCAA tourney for the first time in 32 years, so I'd say they've done a lot to help accomplish the proverbial mission.

******

As expected, Sandelin was asked about the Saturday tie against Colorado College during his Wednesday media session. As expected, he took up for his team a bit, but was able to avoid any direct criticism of the officials.

I wrote a bit about this on Monday. Anyone who listened Saturday knows what I think of what happened on the ice. But at the same time, UMD took penalties that were out of character for this group. Dustups behind the play, unnecessary contact penalties, stuff like that ... stuff UMD has largely avoided all season.

"The curse was the first period," Sandelin said. "Maybe we thought things would be easy, but we couldn't get the third (goal). I think some frustration set in, and those things built over the game.

"We had a couple calls that, for me, were going on the whole game. But I can specifically look at three or four penalties on our team that were very unnecessary. We had a good discussion this week. I think our guys learned a lesson."

The Bulldogs are now second in the NCHC at 13-plus penalty minutes per game. Only Western Michigan has more. But a deeper dive shows UMD has only faced 141 power plays this season, 22 fewer than Western Michigan and fourth-most in the NCHC (Miami, Colorado College, and Omaha have also had more penalty kill attempts than UMD).

(In conference play only, UMD leads with 14.9 penalty minutes per game -- Western is at 13.3 -- but its 96 penalty kills faced is eight fewer than Western Michigan. The point? The uptick in penalty minutes is due to an uptick in major penalties, which usually come complete with a game misconduct that counts for ten minutes toward a team's total.)

The Bulldogs need to play with more discipline, yes, but they're not out of control or anything extreme like that.

******

Miami visits this weekend for the teams' only scheduled meeting this season. Coach Rico Blasi talked in September about getting his team to do things "the right way" on a more consistent basis and restoring the strong culture his program had for years prior.

"When you don't do things the right way for an entire season, karma is a you know what," he said at NCHC Media Day. "For me, it's about going back to your culture and doing things the right way. If you play the game the right way, you'll get the bounces."

Blasi probably picked a good time to talk about big-picture things like restoring the Miami culture. His team is insanely young this year, with 14 freshmen and six sophomores. One of the three seniors, Anthony Louis, is one of the nation's more underrated players. He leads the RedHawks with 13 goals and 33 points, has developed into a player who Blasi can rely on in all situations, and he is one of just three active NCHC players -- Iafallo and Omaha's Austin Ortega are the others -- with 100-plus career points.

Also formidable is sophomore power forward Kiefer Sherwood, who has 11 goals and 30 points and is over a point per game in NCHC play. Sherwood continues to grow into his six-foot frame, but he's tough to defend when going to the net and he's not afraid of the tough areas. He's a good player, as is sophomore Josh Melnick, who's a little smaller and a lot shiftier. Like Toninato for UMD, Melnick has stepped up his production in conference play, with eight of his nine goals coming against NCHC rivals.

In goal, Miami has used freshman Ryan Larkin for all but two games in goal. He carries a 2.68 goals against and .913 save percentage. Like the team, which was swept at home by Denver last weekend, he has experienced some ups and downs. After playing very well in St. Cloud -- despite the Huskies sweeping the series -- he gave up nine goals (one empty-netter) on 69 shots against Denver.

6:30 pregames both Thursday and Friday on 92.1 The Fan. UMD has already clinched home ice, but these six points are vital for the Bulldogs to stay alive in the NCHC title race. Also be a #GOHUSKIESWOOOOO type of weekend for UMD, as fans should be rooting for St. Cloud State at Denver, no matter how weird it might be to do that.

Monday Musings: Colorado College Rallies for Tie, UMD Penalty Kill Saves Standings Point

Lots of frustration on the UMD side of the Broadmoor World Arena Saturday night. The Bulldogs couldn't have asked for a better start, getting two goals inside of the first two minutes and holding a 2-0 lead after one. Dominic Toninato tipped in a Neal Pionk wrist shot for a power-play goal 58 seconds in, then Alex Iafallo raced by the Colorado College power play for a breakaway shortie 49 seconds later.

For most of the first period, outside of Colorado College's three power plays, the Bulldogs controlled the puck, were content to let the Tigers chase, and had their way with things.

(More on this in a second. I'll be circling back.)

Things went quickly south, however, as the penalties racked up. Despite UMD's strong depth of killers, players started to tire from all the chasing, which led to more penalties. In all, UMD took a season-high 35 penalty minutes, and Colorado College had ten power plays on the night, including 4:52 of time during three-on-three overtime that UMD was somehow able to kill.

After that incredible PK work, Iafallo was able to score in the first round of a sudden-death shootout to rescue an extra point in the NCHC standings for the Bulldogs, who are now two points behind Denver for first place.

Unfortunately, the penalties were the big story for UMD. We've seen some small discipline breakdowns over the course of the season, and a good chunk of that is basic human nature. It's going to happen every now and then. But what happened Saturday was the worst we've seen this year. It was a team-wide calamity that never let up, even in the latter stages of the game and in overtime.

Could an argument be framed that the officials applied a different standard after the first period? Yes. Even watching the game back, there are more than a couple instances of UMD players being held, hooked, or interfered with that weren't called. On the Tigers' tying goal, the turnover that led to the rush started with blatant interference on UMD's Parker Mackay that was not called (though similar contact was called against UMD earlier). So I get this can be really difficult for fans to stomach, and I'm sure the players and coaches were livid on the bench and probably after the game, too. And anyone who listened to the game knows I was displeased, too.

But this stuff happens in hockey, UMD knows this (it's happened already this season, multiple times), and the Bulldogs failed to make any adjustments to how the officials started calling the game in the second period. The penalty trouble continued until CC pulled within one in the final seconds of the middle frame.

Carson Soucy took four penalties for 19 minutes, including a major for contact to the head in overtime that we'll discuss, Willie Raskob three for six minutes, Riley Tufte and Avery Peterson each two for four minutes.

And they were all penalties. This is undeniable. By the letter of the law, each call was correct. Again, can you argue the home team should have had more than it did? Yes. But UMD can't control how the adversary plays or how the officials officiate. It didn't do a good enough job controlling what it could control in this game.

Three of the four biggest offenders are older players who simply have to know better. One is a captain. This simply can't happen, no matter how frustrating the circumstances might be.

Talking to a couple guys on the trip home Sunday, I'm not concerned long-term. This will go down as a lesson learned, and the Bulldogs will move on. 

******

Soucy's major for a check to the head of Colorado College forward Tanner Ockey came in the final seconds of overtime. It carried over to three-on-three overtime, which meant CC had a four-on-three power play for 4:52. At that point, getting the full allotment of three points was out the window, and frankly the thought of getting two points wasn't exactly top of mind.

(By the way, I expect the NCHC to suspend Soucy for the hit, forcing him to miss Thursday's opener against Miami. It was pretty flagrant head contact, and it came late enough in the game that precedent would suggest he'll have to sit a game for it. Plus, it was similar enough to Soucy's hit on Bemidji State's Leo Fitzgerald -- or Myles, or Gerry, honestly I can't remember which one -- that justifiably drew a one-game suspension last season.)

(UPDATE: Sounds like no suspension for Soucy, certainly good news for UMD.)

But somehow, UMD survived that long power play for the Tigers. CC had three shots on goal, two of them from distance by defensemen. UMD blocked five shots and one other attempt missed the net. Particularly exemplary over the long kill were senior forward Kyle Osterberg and junior Karson Kuhlman. Iafallo and Toninato get marks as well, though some of their better work came during the myriad of CC power plays in regulation time.

Assistant coach Jason Herter does a lot of the penalty kill work, and it was great this past weekend. The Bulldogs killed two majors and allowed just six shots on goal combined. Somehow with three guys out on an Olympic surface, CC still got more shots blocked than it got on goal.

With everything that went wrong on Saturday, UMD should consider itself fortunate to have gotten one point out of that game, much less two. The penalty kill saved the bacon. It's a shame so many fans have forgotten how good they were amid panic over the lost point and how it might affect the Bulldogs' Penrose Cup chances.

******

The penalty trouble wrecked what was probably the best 20 minutes UMD's started a game with all season. All four lines were in on the action, generating gobs of puck possession and quality scoring chances. What was a 2-0 game could have been, by any rights, 3-0 or 4-0 after one, the Bulldogs were that good.

It adds to the frustration over how the game evolved in the second period. UMD was dominating the game at even strength, and it didn't matter which line was on the ice. But the team took four penalties in the second, all of them completely unnecessary. Eventually, the Tigers -- as much as their power play struggled -- were going to cash in. It was just a matter of time.

But Scott Sandelin preached a puck possession game plan, and the players executed it to perfection for 20 minutes. Then the wheels started coming off.

******

UMD dropped to second in the Pairwise behind Denver, thanks to Denver's gigantic edge in RPI rating after the weekend games. DU is .6033, UMD .6032, and that one-onethousandth of a point is the difference between the No. 1 and No. 2 overall teams in the ranking. If it flips back to UMD's favor, the Bulldogs will regain the top spot in the Pairwise. That's how close those two teams are right now.

If you use the College Hockey News page, you can project future results. If you put UMD down for a loss in each remaining game, it drops the Bulldogs all the way to fourth, still a No. 1 regional seed. Let that one process for a second.

Speaking of CHN, they also have what's called a "probability matrix" that lists the chance of a team getting in the tournament and also the best percentage chances at various seeds in the tournament. A few notes:

• UMD is 100 percent in the tournament
• UMD has an 83 percent chance of being the No. 1 or No. 2 overall seed
• The chances of UMD not being a No. 1 regional seed are less than one percent
• The 20,000 simulations generated for the matrix do not find any where UMD is seeded below eighth.
• Denver is also 100 percent in, and No. 5 overall Western Michigan is at 99.5. Murky beyond that for the NCHC. North Dakota is at 37 percent, St. Cloud State 35, Omaha only at 12 percent.

Miami is in town for games Thursday and Friday this week. The short week is necessitated by Amsoil Arena being booked for high school hockey sectional games Saturday (7AA during the day, 7A at night). The RedHawks were swept by Denver this past weekend by matching 5-2 scores. Both games were tied 2-2 before DU erupted for the last three goals of the game. On the season, Miami is seventh in the conference, 1-7-1 in its last nine games. Anthony Louis is still putting up points (33 in 30 games this year), Kiefer Sherwood is having a solid season, and freshman goalie Ryan Larkin has put up a .914 save percentage in conference play.

Not only do we have to watch and see if Soucy is punished by the conference, but senior defenseman Brenden Kotyk missed Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. It's hard to imagine -- no matter how badly UMD might want to win a conference championship -- any chances will be taken with the big man on a short week, especially considering the short week means they'll have an extra day to get ready for the trip to Kalamazoo next week.

UMD will announce the winner of its annual Fan Favorite voting Thursday, and Friday is Senior Night.

Monday Musings: Bulldogs Extend Season With Sixth Straight Win

We talked Saturday about the importance of the first goal in Game 2 against Miami. Usually, it's something we gloss over, because it's always important but we don't want anyone to think the first goal means the game is over.

36 seconds into the game, Miami was handed a great chance to pick up that first goal. It could have meant life for a team stunned after allowing three third-period goals to fall 5-4 on Friday. Karson Kuhlman, who is among other things one of UMD's best penalty killers, took a penalty himself for kneeing.

But instead of the RedHawks striking first, it was UMD getting a short-handed goal to liven up the building and send Miami reeling. Kyle Osterberg won a puck battle on the left-wing boards and was off to the races, beating goalie Jay Williams five-hole for a 1-0 lead only 91 seconds into the game.

Miami never really got its footing back, as UMD used two more special teams goals to build a lead and win 3-1 to advance in the NCHC playoffs for the first time. The Bulldogs head to Target Center, and we'll talk more about that coming up.

Saturday was definitely one of those weird games you see over the course of a 36-game season. UMD got the early lead and then really did a good job defensively, keeping Miami at bay and keeping the RedHawks from sustaining pressure in the offensive zone. Once Osterberg scored and Welinski added to the lead, it was more about protecting the UMD net than it was about attacking the Miami goal.

In fact, after averaging 27.8 even-strength shots on goal through 35 games, UMD posted all of eight on Saturday.

Eight. In 60 minutes of hockey.

UMD had 19 total shots, eight on the power play and three short-handed. The Bulldogs, frankly, didn't need to risk giving up possessions by throwing pucks toward Williams like mad men. They had a 2-0 lead through one, and it became 3-0 on Tony Cameranesi's shortie in the second period. That was plenty good enough.

It led to one of the stranger games of the season, with Miami unable to penetrate UMD's defense and goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo, and UMD unwilling to take unnecessary chances offensively that could let Miami get some life back in its game.

In a season where the power play struggled mightily at times, the Bulldogs started the playoffs hot. Facing the No. 2 penalty kill in college hockey, UMD scored three power play goals in 11 chances on the weekend (27 percent) against a kill that was clicking at over 92 percent entering the weekend. UMD is the only team to hit Miami for more than one power play goal in a game (two on Friday), and that number could have been three. Adam Johnson's third-period goal Friday that cut Miami's lead to 4-3 came with Miami forward Kevin Morris standing at the door of his team's penalty box. His minor penalty had just expired, the door was opened, but he didn't even get to step out of the box until after Johnson wired a shot by Williams. It's an even-strength goal officially, but you get my point.

Kaskisuo looked a little off Friday, especially in the first 40 minutes. He made a massive stop on an Anthony Louis short-handed break right before that Johnson goal, and he was back to his sharp self in limited duty on Saturday. Miami didn't throw much at him, and didn't score until UMD got a bit greedy and got burned on a late two-on-one rush. Kaskisuo did make a great save on a three-on-two in the first period, but his read to come out hard and challenge defenseman Matthew Caito was probably better than the actual save was. He saw that the other two players were covered and charged after the player who wasn't.

******

The NCHC Frozen Faceoff is next for UMD. The Bulldogs face top-seeded North Dakota Friday at 4pm (Denver vs St. Cloud State at 7:30). The league has North Dakota in the early game as a means of "protecting the top seed," as commissioner Josh Fenton noted in a statement Monday morning.

“After considering many factors, including the student-athletes, the fans and television, the conference has decided to place an emphasis on bracket integrity with the announcement of game times for Friday’s semifinals. Being the top seed in this year’s tournament, North Dakota expressed their desire to play in the first semifinal on March 18. Our membership has indicated it is important to protect the top seed, which was earned throughout the regular season. I expect our membership to have further discussion on this topic in the future.“

I believe in protecting the top seed, so for competitive reasons, this schedule makes a ton of sense. Unfortunately for the league, it will hurt the conference at the box office, especially on Friday. The teams playing early Friday will have about three hours more of rest heading into their Saturday games. Especially for the team that loses Friday, this is an advantage with the third-place game scheduled for 3:30pm.

I do think the league has to talk about this arrangement. CBS can't be at all pleased about the biggest draw in the tournament playing in the early game. And while I appreciate the fact the NCHC isn't being run by television interests, having UND in the early game is also going to do some damage to ticket sales. Let's hope it isn't significant damage.

As for the game, well, UMD is 0-4 against North Dakota this season, with two goals scored on 139 total shots against UND goalie Cam Johnson. If the Bulldogs can't break that hex, nothing else will matter.

But even if UMD gets a few by Johnson, it will have to again deal with that dangerous CBS line (Brock Boeser appears to be elevating his game, by the way) and the improved balance across UND's lines. The Bulldogs did a great job defensively at The Ralph, and it will need more of that Friday.

For those wondering about PairWise, UMD is 13th, and you can see in this graph what the probable final rankings are for UMD depending on this weekend's results. Long answer: There are ways UMD can make the NCAA Tournament without winning a game this weekend. One win makes it likely that UMD will qualify, but it is far from guaranteed. Two wins could be enough to lift the Bulldogs off the fourth seed line and into one of the top 12 positions.

Short answer: #JustWinBaby.

Game 36: Miami at UMD (NCHC Playoffs Game 2)

Normally, it's arguable the first goal in a game carries a bit of significance. Obviously, there are instances where it doesn't matter at all, but more often than not it sets a tone and has an impact on how the game flows from there.

Consider this: UMD is 15-4-2 when scoring first this season. Only once, Feb. 5 here against Colorado College, has UMD overcome giving up the first goal in a game to win (5-3 that night).

Obviously, this stat is wrought with problems. Like Friday, when UMD fell behind 4-2 through 40 minutes in a game where it actually scored first.

But on this night, as we approach 24 hours since Miami went from a 1-0 series lead the the precipice of doom in 20 hockey minutes, the first goal could mean everything.

If UMD can get off to a good start in this game, there's a chance the Bulldogs bury the game early and make their way to Target Center for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Friday. If Miami hangs around, a prideful group that includes some talented and hard-working seniors (personally, I'm a big fan of Sean Kuraly and can't wait to see what he does in pro hockey, and I've always liked defenseman Matthew Caito's game) could very easily bring us back here for a deciding game Sunday night.

(Also impressive for the RedHawks on Friday were Anthony Louis and Jack Roslovic. The latter didn't get on the scoresheet, but I felt it was the best he has played against UMD this season.)

For both teams, Friday night was a microcosm of the season to this point. Miami started slow, got hot in the second period, and couldn't get anything going in the third. UMD started well, had a poor second period (too many turnovers, missed coverages, and a glaring missed clear on the PK that led to Louie Belpedio's goal that made it 4-2), and came on like gangbusters in the third, especially after Kasimir Kaskisuo stoned Anthony Louis on a short-handed breakaway to jumpstart the rush that led to Adam Johnson's goal. That cut the lead to one and the rally was on from there.

So far, UMD hasn't run out of time after a slow start to the season. The Bulldogs didn't run out of time Friday. Is this the night Miami's time runs out?

(If not, we'll see ya Sunday night.)

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Young (Austyn)

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

Miami
Lemirande - Siroky - Schmit
Morris - Greenberg - LaValle
Sherwood - Kuraly - Roslovic
Louis - Melnick - Gacek

Caito - Joyaux
Hutton - Richart
Dornbrock - Belpedio

Williams - McCarthy

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Scores Three in Third to Rally and Win in Game 1

Through the final six games of the regular season, UMD became a strong and resolute defensive team with one of the better goalies around in Kasimir Kaskisuo.

Friday night, that resolve was tested. Kaskisuo had his first off-ish night in a long time, and UMD found itself down two goals to Miami after 40 minutes. The Bulldogs made some mistakes in their own zone and paid for them, and Kaskisuo gave up a couple of goals that were uncharacteristic of the way he played in the second half.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a 1-0 series lead for the visitors.

Kaskisuo may have struggled through 40 minutes, but he made an absolutely massive stop on Anthony Louis' short-handed breakaway in the third period. UMD went right back up the rink and Adam Johnson made a great move to set up a top-shelf shot that made it a 4-3 Miami lead. That two-goal swing would prove significant, as UMD got a tying power-play goal from Neal Pionk and then a four-on-four goal from Carson Soucy not 90 seconds later to win 5-4.

So in a game where the goalie was possibly not at his very best, he still manages to make arguably the biggest play of the night. We'll take it.

UMD started strong, outshooting Miami 6-0 before the RedHawks made Kaskisuo do anything. One of those was a great tip by Austyn Young on a high-slot shot by Cal Decowski to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Miami leveled before the first period ended on a sharp-angle shot by Zach LaValle that Kaskisuo probably didn't feel great about letting in.

The RedHawks led 2-1 when Andy Welinski snapped a shot home from the offensive blue line on a UMD power play. It didn't stay 2-2 for long, as Louis got free for a breakaway on some bad coverage by UMD. It was probably the worst "shift after a goal" UMD's had in months, and Miami led 3-2. Louie Belpedio buried a long power play shot to make it 4-2 after two, and there were grumbles in the press box about UMD pulling Kaskisuo for Matt McNeely.

I'll ask head coach Scott Sandelin about his thought process Saturday pregame, but I can tell you what I think it is.

That was a weird game. While some of the goals were uncharacteristic of Kaskisuo, so were the mistakes that helped lead to them. UMD was just a bit too sloppy, and needed to regain some detail in its game. If anything in that third period, those details were refined, UMD played much more like it did in the first period, and things turned around, at least partially as a result of that.

It might not have been a good optic to have some of those pucks go in, but there's no question the 4-2 deficit was a team problem, and Sandelin was clearly smart to stick with the man who got them where they are.

(He's been effusive in his praise for the sophomore, who had a .959 save percentage in his previous six starts before Friday. Kaskisuo has come up huge for UMD this season. In the ten games since a 4-3 loss at Northern Michigan Jan. 29, which was the last time Kaskisuo allowed four in a game, UMD had given up just 15 goals. The fact UMD was "only" 7-3 in those games was hardly anything negative toward Kaskisuo.)

This comeback, though, is one of those moments. All the negative things that have happened this season, and guys kept sticking with the process. Sounds corny, but their rewards have been coming in recent games, and Friday was a prime example. Four of the five UMD goals were long-ish shots, with Johnson's being the shortest of the four (Welinski and Pionk scored from the blue line, and Soucy from the high slot). This wasn't hard work and traffic to the net, necessarily. These were absolute snipes on plays where UMD's players didn't have a ton of room to shoot but still made something happen.

There are things to clean up. UMD can't have the number of turnovers it had Friday. It has to have better goaltending. It can't give up three power play chances in one period to a group like this.

A few factoids:

It's UMD's first win when allowing four goals in a game since Feb. 28, 2014, at Miami (5-4 win).
It's UMD's first win when trailing by two after two periods since Nov. 21, 2014 at Omaha (trailed 2-0, won 3-2).
It's UMD's first home win when trailing by two after two periods since Oct. 18, 2008, vs. Western Michigan (trailed 3-1, won 6-5 in OT). That one was so long ago that Jeff Blashill, former head man at Western and now head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, wasn't even hired at WMU yet. And Andy Murray was but a twinkle in someone's eye there.

Oh, and it is the first time Miami has allowed more than one power play goal in a game this season.

(UMD got two, and Johnson's goal came with the Miami door open but Kevin Morris still standing in the box. He wasn't on the ice, even if the official stats insist he was.)

UMD stays at 13th in the PairWise, and I tend to believe even another sweep won't help the Bulldogs move up much. It'll take at least two more wins (one more this weekend and one next week at Target Center) for UMD to feel really good about its NCAA chances.

But the fact that this team still has realistic NCAA chances is by itself significant.

Saturday will be interesting. Playoff games are always emotional, but now the RedHawks, with a slew of seniors, will be fighting to play another day. Buy some tickets and come watch this one in person, or join us on the network starting at 6:30. It'll be fun. At least we hope it is.

(By the way, all four home teams won Friday. St. Cloud State needed overtime to beat Western Michigan 4-3 on a Patrick Newell winner, Denver nearly blew a 3-0 lead before beating Omaha 5-2, and North Dakota blasted Colorado College 7-1.)

Game 35: Miami at UMD (NCHC Playoffs Game 1)

Two teams that appear well-suited for playoff hockey are set to hook up in a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal series here that will end the season of the losing team.

At 13th in the PairWise, UMD stands to fall into the 20s if swept in this series, and likely into the 15-18 range if Miami wins the series in three games. That will be enough to end the Bulldogs' season, unless they end up 15th and the only team outside the top 16 to get a bid is the Atlantic Hockey playoff champion (unlikely, given the current climate).

Miami is already in the 20s in the PairWise, far outside at-large range, and even a two-game sweep here and single win at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff next week would likely not be enough for the RedHawks. Certainly, MU knows it has to win this series to have any chance of extending its season.

Outside of that, not much at stake here. Expecting an emotionally charged weekend, whether it goes two games or three, and expecting games to be tight and down to the wire. If you're showing up here expecting to see a 5-0 UMD win like last Friday, I feel you are sorely mistaken.

UMD just hasn't shown the ability to blow teams out on a consistent basis, especially a team like Miami that is generally very tough to do that to.

Not saying UMD can't win or won't win, but I highly doubt this will be easy.

No lineup changes for UMD from the weekend. Miami makes a couple tweaks, putting Ryan Siroky back in the middle of what is listed here as the top line but is more like the fourth line. Andrew Schmit is out (he played for Michael Mooney on Saturday, with Mooney back on wing in the series opener). On the blue line, senior Matthew Caito is back after being out two weekends. Colin Sullivan is scratched to make room in the lineup.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Young (Austyn)

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

Miami
Lemirande - Siroky - Mooney
Morris - Greenberg - LaValle
Sherwood - Kuraly - Roslovic
Louis - Melnick - Gacek

Caito - Joyaux
Hutton - Richart
Dornbrock - Belpedio

Williams - McCarthy

Monday Musings: Seniors, Kaskisuo Secure Sweep

Fitting, I must say, that UMD's Senior Night ceremony led to some unheralded seniors making huge contributions in the Bulldogs' latest key victory.

Pregame, head coach Scott Sandelin lauded his eight-man class, saying "Some have been great contributors. Some maybe don't feel like they have been but they have. Every guy's a valuable member."

Even better: This wasn't their last home game. UMD's win Friday guaranteed one more series on home ice, which we'll talk about in a smidge.

In UMD's 3-1 win Saturday, senior defenseman Willie Corrin opened the scoring with his first goal of the season in the first period, and classmate Charlie Sampair gave UMD the lead for good early in the third.

Corrin has been more confident in the offensive zone as of late, and on his goal, he drove down the left boards with the puck and cut to the front, where his initial shot was stopped by Miami goalie Jay Williams before he put the rebound home. 

Miami was able to assert itself defensively more on Saturday than Friday. The RedHawks did a very good job cutting down on scoring chances, holding UMD to just 21 shots on the night and pestering the Bulldogs throughout the night.

I thought captain Sean Kuraly led the way for Miami from the start. He was strong in all three zones, and was a beast on the penalty kill for Miami as UMD was held to one shot in two scoreless power plays in the first period. Freshman Jack Roslovic was very good as well, after being hard to find for a chunk of Friday's affair.

Miami tied the game in the second period, as Kiefer Sherwood was set up at the doorstep by Kuraly and Roslovic. That goal came in the final two minutes of the second period, but it wasn't tied for long.

Less than two and a half minutes into the third, Tony Cameranesi stole a puck near the blue line and got a shot on Williams, who made the initial save but kicked the rebound into the left circle, where Sampair was able to drive it home for a 2-1 lead. Sampair is close to his 100th career game (96 after Saturday), and it'd be great to get him there. He struggled to get in the lineup as a freshman, and suffered a season-ending injury as he was really gaining traction in his sophomore season. 100 might not be a ton of games for a four-year guy, but for Sampair, I believe it's a meaningful accomplishment.

Sophomore goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo made that lead stand up, making a great save on Kuraly late when Miami went with six skaters. He made 20 saves on the night and 40 on 41 shots in the series, securing the NCHC goaltending title with a 1.69 goals against, edging out North Dakota's Cam Johnson, who finished with a 1.80 goals against in league play after allowing three goals on four shots in the first 12 minutes of UND's eventual 5-4 win over Western Michigan Saturday.

Kaskisuo is up to a .926 save percentage on the season, including .932 in 23 NCHC games. He is currently two-thousandths of a percentage point ahead of Alex Stalock (.924 in 2008-09) for the best save percentage in a single season in program history.

(His .917 from last year ranks third, behind Stalock and Josh Johnson, who was a .922 goalie as a senior in 2006-07).

I'm checking with UMD on this, but the Bulldogs' team save percentage of .922 is likely a single-season record as well (.920 in 2008-2009 is the highest I can find).

By the way, Kaskisuo's last six starts: 4-2 record, 1.16 goals against, .959 save percentage.

Seems that's pretty good.

******

The mission last week was to get home ice. That's accomplished, but there is a lot more work to be done.

The math wizards at College Hockey News say UMD is better than a 50/50 shot to make the national tournament, but I guarantee you that chance reduces to near zero if UMD doesn't win this weekend.

It's Miami again, and this time it's a best of three to move on to Target Center and the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. If UMD wins the series in two straight, I believe the Bulldogs would need only one win at Target Center to secure an NCAA bid, but that depends on who else advances in the tournament.

(The home teams in this weekends' playoff series are 14-0-2 against the visiting teams, including UMD's 3-0-1 mark against Miami. Normally, I'd be inclined to pick some upsets this weekend, but I don't know where I would start on that venture.)

The Bulldogs have gotten hot here, but the hole they were in was pretty deep. To keep playing beyond this weekend, UMD must stay hot.

Game 34: Miami at UMD

Before this series finale, UMD will honor its eight-member senior class. All eight are dressed for the game, and we know for sure seven of them will play.

Forwards Tony Cameranesi, Cal Decowski, Austin Farley, Charlie Sampair, and Austyn Young are joined by defensemen Willie Corrin and Andy Welinski, and goalie Matt McNeely. McNeely is dressed as the backup, the other seven are in the lineup.

No changes from Friday for UMD. One possible change for Miami, which I'll explain.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Young (Austyn)

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

Miami
Lemirande - Mooney - Schmit
Morris - Greenberg - LaValle
Sherwood - Kuraly - Roslovic
Louis - Melnick - Gacek

Hutton - Richart
Belpedio - Joyaux
Dornbrock - Sullivan

Williams - McCarthy

(For Miami, senior forward Andrew Schmit is in the lineup, but freshman Ryan Siroky, whom Schmit replaces, will take the warmup. If Siroky plays, someone will draw out of the lineup. I'll update on Twitter pregame.)

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs Blitz Miami, Clinch Home Ice for NCHC First Round

Remember the movie "Major League," when Jake Taylor distracts the Oakland hitter and induces a pop-up, allowing Rick Vaughn to complete his first major-league win after Roger Dorn tanked a grounder that would have been the last out? Lou Brown turns to his bench coach and utters nine words that are completely appropriate for the moment.



It certainly is coming together for UMD. And in a season where things went south a couple different times, the Bulldogs have definitely picked a good time to find that extra one percent.

Five different UMD players found the back of the net Friday night, and UMD blew by Miami 5-0 at Amsoil Arena to clinch home ice for a first round series in the NCHC playoffs next weekend. Against Miami.

Possibly more impressive than outscoring foes 11-2 in a three-game winning streak, UMD has continued to play the game from its own zone out. There were a couple times Friday where the Bulldogs tried to get fancy on breakouts, and got hemmed in their own zone as a result, but UMD kept working, and Kasimir Kaskisuo made some massive stops among his 20 on the night. Kaskisuo also picked up an assist on Karson Kuhlman's third-period goal, the first point of the season for the sophomore goalie, and the third of his career.

Possibly even more impressive is how UMD shook off another controversial call that went the way of the adversary. Willie Raskob appeared to have scored a great power play goal to stake his team to a 3-0 lead in the second period. Officials ruled that Austin Farley interfered with the goalie with his stick. While there may have been contact, it didn't appear to be enough to overturn the call on the ice, but alas it was. Instead of pouting about it, the Bulldogs went back to work in the offensive zone, drew a penalty a couple minutes later, and had legitimately taken a 3-0 lead on Neal Pionk's power play goal in the final minute of the second period.

By no means am I saying this team was immature at any point, but it was really good to see the quick and positive response. I'd say the same thing about the events of two Fridays ago in Grand Forks. At no point did I think it was adversely affecting UMD's game the next night, and it would have been really easy to get down after losing on an overtime penalty shot like that.

Now, these negative events -- UMD hit two crossbars, a goalpost, had what should probably have been a good goal disallowed, and watched Miami goalie Jay Williams rob Jared Thomas blind on a great first-period chance -- get blown off. It's just another positive step.

Bad shifts get blown off, too. UMD had a couple of them, one early in the second period not long after Brenden Kotyk gave his team a 2-0 lead with his second goal in three games. The Bulldogs tried to get a bit cute on a breakout and got pinned for a while. After an icing, UMD won a faceoff and worked it up the rink the right way.

In the second and third periods, Miami attempted 18 shots, nine in each stanza. In the third, the RedHawks were the ones constantly hemmed in their own zone, unable to generate enough possession or complete enough passes to create offensive chances or even get the puck to the red line for a dump-in and change.

After the halfway mark of the period, Miami coach Enrico Blasi chose to change goalies at a stoppage, putting freshman Evan McCarthy in for the senior Williams, who allowed three goals on 22 shots faced but honestly had a better night than the stats show. He made a great save on Thomas in the first, and another off a Kuhlman deflection in the third period. It's easy to see why he's been the goalie of choice in the second half, with a .929 save percentage since Jan. 1 before Friday's game. McCarthy made just three saves on five shots, beaten by Kuhlman on a great shot and Kyle Osterberg on a net drive from the right corner.

Blasi appeared pretty upset with what he was seeing late in the third period, and whether we're reading too much into his body language and facial expressions on the bench or not, you can bet Miami will be better in the rematch on Saturday. UMD was never really in a perilous position in the conference standings, but Miami was hovering in the sixth- and seventh-place spots for a while. Since the break, the RedHawks have gone from battling Western Michigan and Colorado College for standings position to getting back in the mix for home ice in the first round. They got back in the mix for a reason, and it's in part because Blasi is a hell of a coach who knows what buttons to push to get the most out of his team. Miami has seen some tough losses this season, including one in North Dakota where it almost stole a game (sound familiar?), so we know the RedHawks can play with anyone.

Blasi talked with me this week about how it was getting more consistency out of his largely young group. The skill is there, no doubt. Freshmen Jack Roslovic and Josh Melnick are going to be very good players, and senior captain Sean Kuraly has developed into a pro-style forward who I think is capable of making it at the next level. They'll all be better in the Saturday game.

To add to it, Saturday's game is far from meaningless for both teams. Miami dropped to 22nd in the PairWise rankings with the Friday loss, but it could get back into the teens by splitting the series, while also dropping UMD farther from the at-large bubble line. The teams meet again next week regardless, but UMD really needs this one to finish off a sweep. The St. Cloud sweep did, I believe, give this team some margin for error, but this isn't the time to test that theory.

Also, I'm probably preaching to the choir, but arrive early if you have tickets for Saturday so you can catch the pregame Senior Night ceremony.

One more thing: I'll be on Beyond The Pond on KFAN FM 100.3 and its statewide network (92.1 The Fan in Duluth) with Brandon Mileski and Nate Miller at 10:40.

Game 33: Miami at UMD

Back home for the first time since Feb. 9, UMD has an opportunity this weekend to not only secure home ice in the NCHC playoffs (first priority), but to put itself in better position to make the NCAA Tournament. The fact that this is still a conversation after UMD lost three games to mid-pack WCHA teams is amazing, but the Bulldogs "jumped ten spots" in the PWR after last weekend's sweep of St. Cloud State.

Now, the Bulldogs need to capitalize. I like what I saw the last two weekends, and it seems like it did indeed carry over in practice this week. Now it needs to carry into the games against a similarly desperate opponent that will pack it in and play a strong defensive game.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Young (Austyn)

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

Miami
Lemirande - Siroky - Mooney
Morris - Greenberg - LaValle
Sherwood - Kuraly - Roslovic
Louis - Melnick - Gacek

Hutton - Richart
Belpedio - Joyaux
Dornbrock - Sullivan

Williams - McCarthy