Monday Musings: Bulldogs Rally Again, But Michigan Tech Scores Late to Split Series

Well, the Drama Dogs did it again.

Down 2-0 after one period Saturday, then 3-1 after two, UMD found a way back in Houghton against Michigan Tech. From the time Dominic Toninato scored to make it a 3-2 game until Mike Neville's game-winning goal with 18.4 seconds left for Tech, the Bulldogs outshot the home side 13-4. The forecheck was cranked up, the forwards were flying, and UMD looked like a team poised to steal another game.

Toninato's 13th goal of the season got UMD started, and Austyn Young followed up a Willie Raskob point shot for his third of the year to tie the game.

(Toninato had three goals on the weekend, while Austin Farley chipped in two. Both guys have a nose for the net and can be counted on to make plays when things might not be going all that well around them.)

The way the game started, there's no question UMD was fortunate to be even at that point.

Michigan Tech was putting heat on the Bulldogs early, and it paid off on a Tyler Heinonen goal at 3:33 of the first. Less than 90 seconds later, a bizarre play in the crease led to an Alex Gillies goal that made it 2-0. That goal ended Kasimir Kaskisuo's 15th straight start very early. On came Matt McNeely for his first action since Oct. 17.

While Kaskisuo has been great this season, Saturday wasn't a good start for him. Both goals were preventable, both on his part and on the guys in front of him, and I think Scott Sandelin's decision to pull the goalie was twofold. He wasn't playing well, and UMD was in for a long 55 minutes if it didn't improve some things in its own zone.

The Bulldogs still had problems away from the puck, including lax clearing attempts that helped lead to Tech's goal that made it 3-1 in the second period. But nothing was as glaring as the mistake that led to Neville's winning goal, where UMD just lost coverage and let him get down the right wing and cut toward the net unchecked.

It was something Sandelin eluded to a bit in our pregame conversation.

"We got away from some things, especially in the third period (Friday)," he said. "Part of that comes from not moving your feet and not engaging."

Sandelin went on to explain that it can be difficult to defend well on a consistent basis when a team has the puck a lot at the other end of the rink.

He's a prophet, because he unknowingly laid out the blueprint for Michigan Tech to win the game. The Bulldogs had the puck almost constantly after Young's goal, and when Tech got it, UMD was not sharp in its own zone. This time, the Bulldogs paid for it with a loss.

******

It's break time. This team is 12-6. Don't dwell on how Saturday's game ended. It sucked, but it's not like UMD lost to a crap team. Michigan Tech is legitimately good, and this is a huge win for the Huskies. A series split was probably justified, as each team took turns being the better team on the ice. They were fun games to watch and it would be great if the two teams met again in 2015.

12-6 is solid. UMD has played ten different teams this season. All but one (Colorado College) was ranked when the Bulldogs played them. Only one other (Notre Dame) isn't ranked as of last week.

There are warts, and we'll discuss some of them during the time off, but UMD is unquestionably a national contender.

Health becomes a huge key now. Counting the exhibition games at Lakehead the weekend after New Year's Day, UMD plays 20 games in ten weekends before the NCHC playoffs start March 13. Looking way ahead in the future, the Bulldogs won't have a weekend off until either 1) the season ends, or 2) the week before the Frozen Four, whichever comes first (and I know which one of these I want to come first). UMD simply doesn't have the luxury to rest for a week here or there and get guys healthy. Now, either the team stays healthy, or the depth gets a big-time test, like it did in November.

The penalty kill took a good step last weekend -- going six-for-six after a bit of a mini-slump. That and the power play need to gain consistency as the season wears on. Kaskisuo is the bell cow in net, undoubtedly, so he must show progress and be ready for a grind after Christmas.

(By the way, read this piece from College Hockey News' Ryan Lambert, talking about how often college teams should be playing their No. 1 goalies. Ice time should not be an issue for Kas going forward. Just need to do a better job in front of him.)

Just don't let Saturday cloud your judgment. The Bulldogs are in position to make serious noise come March and (hopefully) April.

******

This will be the last post for at least a few days. At some point before the Jan. 9 return to NCHC play, I'll post my midseason All-NCHC team and have some other thoughts on the halfway mark of the season.

I'll be in Thunder Bay for the exhibition games, but I don't know that there will be a ton of posts about those. And I'm off for some time in between now and then.

If you don't visit the blog again before 2015, thanks for supporting the blog, our broadcasts, and the UMD hockey program. Have a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season.

Game 18: UMD at Michigan Tech

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- In the runup to Friday's series opener, I asked UMD coach Scott Sandelin what he thought the keys were to breaking down Michigan Tech goalie Jamie Phillips, who entered the game with a .943 save percentage.

"You gotta get traffic," he said. "You gotta get shots. You have to get him moving a little bit east and west.

"You have to get around him, and we have to work hard to do that."

Mission largely accomplished. UMD attempted 38 shots in the first period and 74 for the game. There were people at the net a lot, with Phillips flailing more than a few times to try to draw a penalty that never came.

(There was some contact with Phillips, but he did a good job selling what came at him.)

This game should be intense. Tech has lost three straight at home, and Mel Pearson will have his team ready for battle. UMD jumped on Tech pretty early Friday, but the Huskies eventually got off the mat and competed pretty darn hard. That's the team I expect to see the Bulldogs have to deal with from the outset in this one.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Young (Austyn)
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Crandall

Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Molenaar

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Fons

MTU
Vallis - Pietila - Sturos
Petan - Kero (Tanner) - Gould
Heinonen - Neville - Hietala
Eick - Steman - Gillies

Watson - Sweeney
Hanna - Roy
Auk - Hyland

Phillips - Kero (Devin) - Messina

(Programming note: I'll be back with the normal Monday blog to recap the weekend's events. Then we'll go silent for most of the next two weeks. The team is off until Jan. 2, and I'm taking a bunch of time off in that span as well.)

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Toninato's Bookend Goals Lead UMD to Quality Road Win

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Here's how good a season Michigan Tech has been having to this point.

Before Friday night, Tech had faced a two-goal deficit for 9:16. In 14 games. So they played 840 minutes and only trailed by two goals for a hair over nine of them. That's about 1.1 percent of the time.

On Friday, UMD took a 2-0 lead in the second period, then added an insurance goal after Tech got on the board in the third. In a 3-1 win for No. 9 UMD over No. 4 Michigan Tech here, the Bulldogs led by two goals for 27:28, or nearly half the game, and nearly three times as much as Tech had trailed by two goals all season long before this game.

The Bulldogs came out firing on Friday. UMD took 38 shots in the first period alone, getting a lot of good chances and doing a good job making Tech goalie Jamie Phillips work to see pucks and make saves. And he made saves. Lots of them. Phillips stymied UMD until a power play late in the first period. After Andy Welinski's center point shot was deflected high, it bounced back toward the front of the net. Austin Farley deftly poked it out toward the slot, where Dominic Toninato had what was basically a tap-in for a 1-0 UMD lead.

The Bulldogs added to the lead with a four-on-four goal in the second period, when Farley jammed in a rebound off a Tony Cameranesi sharp-angle shot. That was the first two-goal lead of the night for UMD. And as I mentioned, getting up by two against this team is quite an accomplishment.

After Dylan Steman tipped in a Cliff Watson point shot to halve the lead, Toninato struck again. This time, it was a breakaway that was brilliantly set up by linemates Adam Krause and Alex Iafallo.

This served as a fitting conclusion to the game's scoring, given how fantastic this line was for almost the entire affair. They combined for seven shots on goal, 17 total attempts*, and plenty of offensive zone time.

Cameranesi's line was also good. He, Farley, and Karson Kuhlman had 13 shots on goal, 17 attempts*, and their share of puck possession in the offensive zone.

(* - Unofficial, because I'm counting off the shot chart and I'm old so I can't sees as good as I used to.)

Both lines were fantastic defensively. They used their sticks to break up passes and rushes, and all six players blocked shots and stopped Tech from making plays down low. Farley's effort was especially notable a couple different times, breaking up potential chances before Kasimir Kaskisuo had to do anything. Kaskisuo was rock-solid with 25 saves and some superb rebound control, but he never had to make a "wow" save because the guys in front of him were so good.

Tech coach Mel Pearson was highly complimentary of UMD going into the week. He was almost equally complimentary after Friday's game, when appearing on Tech's radio postgame show.

UMD was the better team Friday. Pearson knows it. He's going to make some adjustments, and it'll be up to UMD to bring it again Saturday as it goes for the sweep.

******

The ending to Friday's game was somewhat bizarre. Not because of anything that happened on the ice.

Instead, it was something that didn't happen.

Pearson chose not to pull Phillips late in the game.

Tech had puck possession in the offensive zone a few times, sustained it for a while at one point, but Phillips stayed put. Pearson told Tech VOX Dirk Hembroff after the game he just didn't feel the timing was right, even though it looked like an obvious move.

It's not a crime or anything like that. But with how aggressive coaches are about pulling goalies (see: Blais, Dean), it's weird to see someone choosing NOT to. Looking back, Pearson may have telegraphed his decision in the final three minutes by passing on taking his timeout a couple times.

He has his reasons. I doubt it would have had a great impact on the final outcome. But it was weird at the time.

******

A quick personal note.

This series is the final in a two-year arrangement UMD and Tech had for non-conference games. I do not know if the teams have any plans to continue playing, but I do not believe they do at this time. Obviously, things like that can change.

No one wants me trying to set the non-conference schedule. I'd litter it with driving trips when we do play on the road, because it's easier than flying, and it means we have a better chance of getting some of our fans to make trips and be able to attend games.

And this place has always been special for me. In October 2005, I fell into the UMD play-by-play gig, taking over for the great Kerry Rodd.

(By the way, it isn't lost on me that I followed someone as good as Kerry, and yet have been lucky enough to do this for almost ten seasons now. Usually, the guy who replaces someone that good ends up on his keyster within a year or two because everyone hates him. I'm lucky in that the people who hated me kept their mouths shut.)

The first games I had a chance to call were here. I can look back now, find the box score, and tell you UMD won 6-3 on Friday behind two Mike Curry goals. The teams tied 2-2 on Saturday, and I was off and running, so to speak.

(I was petrified. I've never been that nervous, outside of maybe my wedding day, and that isn't even a guarantee. I had literally no clue what I was doing or what I had gotten myself into. I remember Matt McKnight's first goal Friday. I don't think I had a clue who scored it at the time. Called a few high school hockey games, but this was a pace, an intensity that I wasn't at all prepared for. And it took me a couple years to figure out how best to prepare for games.)

Ever since then, I've thoroughly enjoyed calling games here, because it reminds me of that first weekend. Also because it's an awesome building with great history, great character, and about the nicest people you could ever ask to meet and/or work with.

If Saturday is the end of that run for the time being, so be it. I'll follow this team wherever it goes and enjoy the hell out of doing it. But I'll miss this place if I don't get a chance to come back.

******

Elsewhere in the NCHC, St. Cloud State outshot Omaha 49-27 Friday night. But Ryan Massa was in goal for UNO, and SCSU's Jonny Brodzinski was ejected in the second third period on a questionable contact to the head call.

There will be a new No. 1 in the polls. Or at least I'd assume so. Denver took down North Dakota 4-1 in Denver. The Pioneers got another goal from Joey LaLeggia -- in other words, another day at the office for him -- as well as a goal and an apple from Quentin Shore and two assists from Gabe Levin. Oh, and UND's Mark MacMillan was ejected from the game on a possibly questionable checking from behind call.

(The Brodzinski penalty was a lot more questionable than the one on MacMillan, but that isn't going to make North Dakota fans feel any better.)

(Rant: Listen, I think we've all seen enough. Officials simply have to be given the power to review potential major penalties. It's gotten to the point of ridiculousness. Put a clock on the amount of time officials can view the video, make the screen go black after that time has expired, and put the onus on the officials to trust what they saw in live action if there isn't anything compelling on replay. /rant)

(Speaking of that, can we put a time limit on all reviews? The officials took so long to review UMD's first goal that I started to think they were going to overturn it no matter what. I saw the replay three times and I have no idea what they looked at for so long. There's another problem. Whenever a review is initiated, it should be made clear to everyone what the review was initiated to look at, and it should be made clear what was seen. There's almost no communication from downstairs to the press box or the crowd in general. That's unacceptable. Like the NHL system or not, their Situation Room blog is fantastic for almost real-time updates on the reason for and result of all video reviews that are conducted. The first college hockey league to adopt a similar system will be looked at as pioneers of the sport.)

(Ahem, focus ...)

In Kalamazoo, Frederik Tiffels scored twice, including the winning goal at 1:58 of overtime, as Western Michigan beat Colorado College 3-2. CC tied the game with three seconds left on a power-play goal by Cody Bradley, but Tiffels' overtime goal sent the Tigers to an 0-8 record in league play.

Game 17: UMD at Michigan Tech

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- For UMD's first visit here in over two years (Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2012), you could have asked for better weather.

Well, some more sunshine would be nice (maybe Saturday, I guess), but I'm not about to complain about mild temperatures, no snow threat, and no bone-chilling wind.

Weather won't be an issue, but the opponent might be.

Michigan Tech is 12-2, stout defensively with great goaltending, and deep and experienced up front. Mel Pearson's Huskies are no slouch at all.

Tech has conceded just 21 goals in 14 games so far, and that includes two games against a pretty strong Minnesota State team where the Mavericks swept but only scored five goals. Make no mistake: Tech is a tough team to break down in its own zone.

However, it hasn't faced a team as speedy or deep as UMD. The Bulldogs will present challenges with their forecheck and pressure that Tech simply hasn't faced, outside of -- arguably -- Minnesota State.

(I'd argue that Minnesota State, Miami, and Minnesota are the three best teams UMD has faced to this point. Please don't ask me to put them in any kind of meaningful order, because I don't know that I can. But they're all very good.)

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Young (Austyn)
Sampair - Thomas - Crandall

Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Molenaar
McCormack - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely

MTU
Petan - Pietila - Sturos
Johnstone - Kero - Gould
Heinonen - Hietila - L'Esperance
Eirck - Steman - Gillies

Hanna - Roy
Watson - Sweeney
Leibinger - Hyland

Phillips - Wintjes - Kero

Bulldogs Tangle With Longtime Rival Michigan Tech in Meaningful Non-Conference Series

Every game counts.

Part of the beauty of the NCAA PairWise system is that every game will matter in some way, shape, or form. Some end up meaning a bit more than most.

This could be one of those weekends.

The way No. 9 (polls, that is; No. 2 PairWise) UMD and No. 4 (No. 5 PWR) Michigan Tech are playing, this weekend's series in Houghton could go a long way to deciding placement in the final and all-important PairWise when it comes out in March.

It's something that hasn't escaped UMD coach Scott Sandelin.

"I think we all know how important every game is," he said this week. "Obviously, they are having a great year. I think it's going to have a playoff-type intensity. You look at how we've played each other over the years, it should be a great series. I think both teams know how important it is to try to win some games before break."

Tech coach Mel Pearson is looking forward to the weekend.

"I just enjoy the way Scott and his team play," Pearson said. "They play the game the right way. They skate, they have skill. They play hard, they're physical, but they play within the rules, and I like that. These are the games your players want to play in. They want to be pushed."

For Sandelin, he's still a bit hot under the collar when talking about his team's 3-2 overtime win over NCHC cellar-dweller Colorado College, a game that saw the Bulldogs fall behind 2-0 before a second period awakening. When asked about the return of senior captain Adam Krause last week, Sandelin noted something he said to me Saturday.

"He was the only guy in the first period on Friday who was playing, compared to the other 19."

Certainly, the team was sparked by a play Krause made in the first period, when he drove hard toward the net with puck possession and ended up crashing into the goal after he lost an edge. It was the hardest offensive play UMD made in the first period. Once Karson Kuhlman set up UMD's first goal in the second period, the Bulldogs were off and running.

"It's been great playing with Tony (Cameranesi) and (Austin) Farley," Kuhlman said this week. "We've been getting a lot of chances, and luckily we've been putting the puck away when it counts. That's led to goals by other lines. It's a great motivation boost for us."

Kuhlman keys a penalty kill that has slipped under 80 percent for the first time this season. Expect to see more of Krause on the kill if the penalties pile up in Houghton. That's not a given, given the way things have been going for UMD. The Bulldogs, once the nation's most-penalized team by a lot, have seen their penalty minutes decrease precipitously. UMD has dropped to tenth at 15.9 minutes per game, good for fourth in the NCHC. Fewer penalty minutes? Fewer power plays to defend.

Unfortunately for UMD, the kill has sprung a couple of leaks. Sandelin said Saturday that a UMD defensive mistake led to CC's Friday power play goal, a back-door tap-in by Sam Rothstein. Sandelin noted UMD had done a great job in the first 1:45 of that kill, but two players went toward the puck carrier, leaving Rothstein wide-open. The Tigers scored off a net-mouth scramble on the man advantage Saturday.

The Bulldogs have still taken a few silly penalties recently, but not nearly as many as they have been. The issues they've had on the kill appear to be correctable. Remember, these are Division I athletes UMD is facing, too. They're going to make a play once in a while. UMD just needs to be a little more consistent on the kill. This isn't far off.

Tech has a ton of veterans. Pearson's forward group is as deep as he's had it. Blake Pietila, David Johnstone, Tanner Kero, and Alex Petan should be familiar names, as should Malcolm Gould. They're all back and they're all contributing. The blue-line might not have a bona-fide star, but guys like Shane Hanna, Cliff Watson, and Riley Sweeney are all solid defensively while contributing at the other end of the rink.

Oh, and there's goalie Jamie Phillips. His save percentage? A solid .943. It's not an accident. He's played over 800 minutes, all but 2:31 of Michigan Tech's games. UMD has a heck of a task trying to get enough pucks by him to win games.

No matter what happens, remember these results. For both teams, this weekend could mean a higher or lower seed, or it could mean the difference between making or missing the NCAAs*. Intensity should be as high as it's ever been between these two longtime WCHA rivals.

(* - Don't believe me? The 2009-10 Bulldogs missed out on the NCAA Tournament by a margin so slim that UMD would have made it if any one of about three losses it suffered during the season were flipped to a win.)

Game 2: Michigan Tech at UMD

Well, Saturday was pretty nice. Got some Christmas shopping done before getting some Halloween decorations done at home.

Yes. Christmas.

Ugh.

Anyway, off and running for Game 2. UMD edged Michigan Tech 2-1 Friday despite a 41-16 stranglehold in shots on goal. This should be interesting.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Iafallo - Toninato - Herbert
Sampair - Spurrell - Krause
Osterberg - Tardy - Crandall (Justin)

Corrin - Welinski
Johnson - Molenaar
Soucy - McManus

McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons

MTU
Baltus - Kero - Petan
Furne - Johnstone (Jacob) - Gould
Eick - Rix - Heinonen
Vallis - Neville - Hietala

Stebner - Hyland
Leibinger - Sweeney
Watson - Hanna

Phillips - Copley

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Finds Good Point to Jump Off From

For those new to the blog, this is a piece I try to file every Saturday during hockey season, schedule permitting. Now that I'm coaching, it might be tougher to follow that plan. We'll try.

Friday was the season opener. Coaches will talk about starting points.

And UMD's coaches have to be happy with the starting point their players provided at Amsoil Arena.

UMD won the faceoff battle, dominated in shots, shut down a potent Michigan Tech power play, and got a bad-angle goal from Justin Crandall late to get a 2-1 victory.

The Bulldogs probably deserved a better fate than sweating out a one-goal win, but Tech goalie Pheonix Copley was stellar, making 39 saves while getting peppered regularly throughout the proceedings.

Copley stoned a number of UMD players close in, including Crandall, Austin Farley, and Alex Iafallo. He stopped a pair of three-on-one rushes in the second, though the one Iafallo got a shot on was executed much more crisply than the other, which featured a tough-angle shot by Dominic Toninato.

It was a physical game that featured a couple interesting calls on what looked to potentially be clean hits (that happens in October), plenty of special teams hockey, five on threes that came up empty, and a lot of things coaches can pick apart when they watch the videotape. There were also a couple scrums that led to penalties.

UMD's five on threes featured some quality puck movement, but you can tell it was the opening game, as not everything was crisp. Tech's long five on three was all sorts of ugly, as UMD did a great job getting into lanes and clearing pucks when opportunity existed to do so.

The Bulldogs got bottled up a couple times early in the game, as they struggled a bit to control MTU's top line of Tanner Kero, Alex Petan, and Blake Pietila. The hitch was that the pressure didn't lead to many shots on goal. Instead, Tech had only six in the first period and 16 for the game.

I would expect the Huskies to be a much stronger team Saturday. They need to get more pucks to the net. 41 shot attempts when the opponent has 41 shots on goal (70 attempts) isn't going to cut it. The Huskies have to establish more offensive zone puck possession and do a better job getting into the dirty areas and putting pressure on UMD's relatively inexperienced defense.

For the Bulldogs, Andy Welinski had a great game, I thought. He was active in the defensive zone, he stepped up and used his body, and he moved the puck well. Freshman Carson Soucy also stood out on the blue line, as did his defensive partner, Luke McManus. He's been cursed by injuries during his UMD career, but McManus may have played his best game on Friday. He was rewarded with the primary assist on Crandall's winner.

Speaking of that, Bulldog fans have to like the fact that the fourth line was as good as it was Friday. Crandall, Max Tardy, and Kyle Osterberg were creating offense, and the more they can do that, the more dangerous this forward group is. I'd argue 12 forwards had pretty good games Friday, and the staff has some tough decisions to make if they are to get Friday's scratches -- Sammy Spurrell and Austyn Young up front, Dan Molenaar and Willie Corrin in the back -- into the lineup Saturday.

Matt McNeely did fine in goal. Most notably, he kept his concentration despite not seeing a lot of pucks for long stretches of the game. That can be a huge challenge for goalies sometimes.

Saturday should be a quality game, but UMD got off to a good start Friday. Following up before league play starts would be a huge step.

******

Elsewhere in the NCHC, Miami won at Ohio State 6-2, ruining the debuts of former UMD assistants Steve Rohlik (head coach) and Brett Larson (assistant) on the tOSU bench. Sean Kuraly had three assists as the RedHawks got goals from six different players and outshot the Buckeyes 38-28.

Notre Dame beat Western Michigan 4-0 behind a shutout from goalie Steven Summerhays. WMU could struggle to score this season, so this might be more a trend than a mirage.

North Dakota scored the last four goals in a 5-3 win over Vermont in Grand Forks. Mark McMillian got the game-winner in the third period. Clarke Saunders allowed three goals in 17 shots before getting the hook, and Zane Gothberg shut out UVM the rest of the way for the win.

St. Cloud State held off Bemidji State 3-2 in St. Cloud. Nic Dowd scored the short-handed winner late in the second period. BSU tried to rally, but only had one shot on goal in the third period. Joey Benik had the other two SCSU goals.

Denver found a way to hold off Merrimack 1-0 in Denver. Daniel Doremus' power play goal in the first held up as the winner. DU outshot Merrimack 30-25, as Sam Brittain pitched the shutout for the Pioneers.

In the shocker of the night, Bentley won at Omaha 6-4. The -- hold on, let me look it up -- Falcons took a 2-0 lead early and never trailed in the game. Bentley led 5-2 before UNO rallied to close within one, but an empty-netter with 20 seconds left sealed the deal. UNO led in shots 38-25, but Ryan Massa only made 19 saves in a losing effort.

Same matchups Saturday, except Miami and Ohio State move their series to the RedHawks' home rink in Oxford, and Notre Dame and Western Michigan will play in front of the Lunatics in Kalamazoo.

Game 1: Michigan Tech at UMD

And so it begins.

Reset the records and embrace the future. Off and running on a night where it would be entirely too warm for hockey if Lake Superior didn't have other ideas on the temperature.

An old friend is here in Michigan Tech. It's the team UMD has played more than any other, and it's one no one seems opposed to keeping on the schedule if at all possible.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Iafallo - Toninato - Herbert
Sampair - Decowski - Krause
Osterberg - Tardy - Crandall (Justin)

Smith - Welinski
Johnson - Raskob
Soucy - McManus

McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons

MTU
Pietila (there's only one!!!) - Kero - Petan
Baltus - Rix - Eick
Vallis - Neville - Johnstone (David)
Furne - Johnstone (Jacob) - Gould

Stebner - Hyland
Leibinger - Sweeney
Watson - Hanna

Copley - Phillips

Bulldogs Kick Off Season Full of Promise

There were pieces in place.

Just not enough of them.

A lack of depth up front led to a lack of even-strength scoring, and it was that offensive drought that went a long way toward dooming UMD to its first losing season in a while.

How long? UMD's last losing season before 2012-13 ended on March 15, 2008. Freshman defenseman Willie Raskob turned 13 the day before.

"Our standard is a lot higher," senior co-captain Joe Basaraba said. "We expect to win. Last season was tough. Looking at this season, I think the future's bright."

Now, the Bulldogs have regrouped and reloaded for the first season of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Optimism is abound that this group can resume its winning ways.

"It's been a fun group," head coach Scott Sandelin, about to start his 14th year at the helm, said. "We've got some good skill and good depth. The freshmen are very exciting."

UMD fans should be excited to see the further development of sophomore forwards Tony Cameranesi and Austin Farley, along with defenseman Andy Welinski. All three of them played huge minutes last season as freshmen, showed themselves more than capable of playing at this level, and return ready to become even bigger parts of this year's team.

They're joined by another strong crop of freshmen, led by the hometown hero, Dominic Toninato. The former Duluth East star tore up the United States Hockey League last season in Fargo, along with Force linemate and fellow UMD freshman Alex Iafallo. The two are joined -- for the start of the season, at least -- by junior Caleb Herbert, who returns to wing after spending nearly all of last season at center.

"The opportunity to keep Dominic and Alex together," Sandelin points out, "two guys that played on the same line and had their chemistry in Fargo, it's like having returning guys, even though they're freshmen.

"And it gives us the luxury to try Caleb at wing. I think he's really enjoying it. There's a ton of skill."

(Remember, Herbert played wing as a freshman and had a great season. He started slowly as a center last year and ended with a relatively unspectacular 25 goals.

UMD's improved depth at forward is undeniable. Cameranesi sat out the exhibition with a minor injury, which put Max Tardy in the middle of Farley and Basaraba. They produced two goals, Toninato scored twice, and freshman Kyle Osterberg was an ignitor on the third line with three points. Osterberg is drawing plenty of preseason praise from 14th-year head coach Sandelin.

"He's a very competitive player," Sandelin said. "He plays kind of a rat role. If people remember Luke Stauffacher, how Luke played, he was an agitator but had the skill to score goals. I think he (Kyle) is very similar to that. He's not going to back down. He's gonna get involved in the corners and all over the rink."

Yes, it was an exhibition against a Canadian college team that didn't stand much of a chance against UMD's skill level. But UMD has players across its lines who can do things, as opposed to last year's squad that was missing that key forward depth.

That improved forward depth should help in another area: The penalty kill. UMD has scored just two short-handed goals over the last two full seasons. The kill wasn't bad statistically last year, but it didn't create much offense.

This year, players like Cameranesi, Farley, Herbert, and others are going to help on the kill. The improved skill level on the PK could give UMD an offensive dimension there it hasn't had since Mike Connolly was roaming the ice at Amsoil Arena.

"We do have the skill to do that if we need a goal late," co-captain Adam Krause said. "Maybe make those power play 'D' a little lazy and flying a guy up (the rink)."

Defensively, Welinski will play on the top pair, but it's unknown who will join him after Drew Olson graduated. Willie Corrin, Derik Johnson, Luke McManus, and Tim Smith all return, and Raskob is joined in the group of newcomers by Wild draft pick Carson Soucy and former Eden Prairie state champion Dan Molenaar.

There are a lot of questions on the blue line, but there is also offensive ability that was missing last year outside of Welinski and the graduated Wade Bergman. Raskob and Soucy both showed a lot of willingness to pinch in the offensive zone during the exhibition. Don't be shocked if we see some growing pains while everyone finds their role in this group.

UMD returns all three goalies, and Matt McNeely, Aaron Crandall, and Alex Fons all started games last year. I think McNeely will get a chance to win the No. 1 job at some point, but I also don't think anyone is going to be in a rush to make that happen. Aaron Crandall has plenty of experience, and there's no reason he can't split duties -- or come close to a split -- while things play out.

"Last year, we were waiting for someone to take it and run with it," Sandelin said. "They need to understand that someone needs to want that and step up and try to grab it. I think it creates some good competition, but the sooner the better (on a No. 1 emerging)."

Sandelin believes that he needs the goaltending to "steal some games" on occasion while a young team grows in front of the net.

Michigan Tech is in town this weekend. It's funny, because even if you go back to Basaraba's freshman and seasons, this program was something seriously awful (4-30-4 that year). Not the case now. The Huskies are a legitimate contender in the new WCHA, one that might look weakened on paper but still has a few very good programs calling it home (Minnesota State was in the NCAAs last year and is a top ten team in the preseason this year, and Ferris State played for the national title in 2012). Settle in, because this will be a fun way to start the season.

"I think it's going to be really similar to what we see week in and week out in our league," Sandelin said. "They play very aggressive. They go hard to the net. They have some big bodies. It's going to be one of those grind it out kind of series. Not a lot of room on the rink."

Next week, the NCHC grind begins. And it'll be a heck of a grind. Just look at the preseason poll. UMD is picked sixth, and no matter what you think of that placement, Colorado College and Omaha are behind us. Neither is going to be an easy out for anyone. It might not have the glitz of the B1G, but the NCHC is a contender for the meaningless label of "toughest league in college hockey."

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.

Game 22: Michigan Tech at UMD

This is going to be quick. Lots going on, so no time to chat.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
Crandall - Herbert - Krause
Sampair - Hendrickson - Basaraba
Danberg - Tardy - Flaherty

Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Bergman - Johnson

McNeely - Fons

MTU
Johnstone (David) - Khaira - Petan
Furne - Holmberg - Hietala
Pietila (Blake) - Kero - Gould
Eick - Rix - Pietila (Chad)

Stebner - Nielsen
Sova - Hyland
Seigo - Sweeney

Copley - Genoe

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs Get the Goaltending to Win Close Game

For UMD, the season's first 20 games featured some solid goaltending, some not-as-good goaltending, and never a performance that was good enough to completely hold a team off the scoreboard.

Until now.

Freshman Matt McNeely was outstanding when called upon Friday, making 28 saves in a 1-0 win over Michigan Tech. The win keeps UMD very much in the thick of the WCHA's jumbled home ice race. After Friday's games, the Bulldogs sit a point behind sixth-place Minnesota State.

UMD controlled chunks of Friday's game, and when Michigan Tech had offensive zone possession, the Bulldogs took to blocking shots. The game's official stat sheet credited UMD with 20 blocked shots, though that number even seemed a tad low.

Freshman defenseman Andy Welinski returned earlier than expected from an upper body injury. While there were a few in the press box who thought Welinski would only play an occasional five-on-five shift, the plan was clear early. Welinski didn't appear to have any restrictions, and he played probably in the neighborhood of 26-28 minutes.

(It was probably a good thing Welinski wasn't being saved for special teams, as each team only had three power plays.)

Max Tardy got his first point of the season, thanks to a nice setup for Joe Basaraba on the game's only goal. Tardy found Basaraba streaking down the slot, and the big junior found a way to fish the puck underneath Tech goalie Pheonix Copley, who made 41 saves and looked at times like he was bigger than the goal he was protecting.

McNeely had his moments late in the game, making a succession of saves when Tech pulled Copley in the final 90 seconds.

There was a lot of neutral-zone play in this game, there was some sloppy play, and there was some tight defensive coverage, despite the high number of shots. UMD had its moments where there were too many turnovers and bad decisions with the puck, but players made better decisions than in Florida, where McNeely was hung out to dry way too much for anyone's liking.

As the drive for a top six spot continues, the next step for these Bulldogs is winning at home on a Saturday. The last league series -- in Anchorage -- ended up with UMD sweeping the Seawolves after a tightly-contested Saturday game. However, UMD is 0-3-1 on Saturdays at home, including relatively unacceptable performances against St. Cloud State and Bemidji State.

Turn that around this weekend, and things might again start to look in the right direction for UMD.

******

Controversy in Minneapolis Friday, as Minnesota got two late power-play goals to beat Alaska-Anchorage 4-3.

In the final five minutes, UAA's Tyler Currier was ejected for hitting Minnesota captain Zach Budish from behind. The ensuing power play gave the Gophers the chance to score two pivotal goals and win.

Currier's hit was one of those where the target -- Budish -- turned at the last second, long after Currier had committed himself to the check. The turn came so late that Currier didn't hit Budish clean in the numbers. Instead, the principal point of contact appeared to be more on the side than the back.

By the letter of the law, with the officials not given the benefit of video review on these calls, it's absolutely defensible. The NCAA Rules Committee has placed an emphasis on hits from behind that come along the boards, long mandating major penalties and ejections for offending players.

Of course, we all know better. Especially in the WCHA, major penalties have required a different threshold not outlined in the rulebook. Instead, there seems to be a premium placed on the need for a player to be injured.

Knowing this, Budish did what he's supposed to do. He sold the hit long enough to get the call.

Then he didn't miss a shift, as he was out to start the power play.

Just watch, everyone. There's been enough of this going on to create support for making players who draw these major penalties sit for at least a chunk of the power play that results from the call. Doesn't seem fair, but it's out there.

******

Wisconsin won again, beating Minnesota State in overtime 4-3 on a goal by captain John Ramage. MSU goalie Stephon Williams had to leave the game in the third period to serve a five-minute major penalty for face-masking. After the penalty expired, but before there was a stoppage in play so MSU could re-insert Williams, the Badgers scored on backup Phil Cook. Bizarre.

Colorado College got by North Dakota in overtime, 4-3. The Tigers were swept in Omaha last weekend, but pulled off a really big win in Grand Forks, keeping their hopes alive to make a run.

Also, Denver got a Zac Larraza hat trick to beat Omaha 7-4. DU goalie Juho Olkinuora made 42 saves to help the Pioneers win a game in which they were badly outplayed for a good chunk by the league-leading Mavericks.

Game 21: Michigan Tech at UMD

For UMD, it's the start of a key stretch of games. If the Bulldogs are to make any kind of a run, it has to begin here.

This Michigan Tech team isn't quite the same as the one UMD took three points from Nov. 30-Dec. 1 in Houghton. The Huskies have confident goaltending with Pheonix Copley, and the mission starts with trying to get in his kitchen and shake the confidence that comes with 70 saves over back-to-back shutouts.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Herbert - Cameranesi - Seidel
Crandall (Justin) - Hendrickson - Basaraba
Sampair - Young - Krause
DeLisle - Tardy - Flaherty

Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
McManus - Johnson

McNeely - Fons

MTU
Furne - Khaira - Petan
Pietila (Blake) - Johnstone (Jacob) - Hietala
Johnstone (David) - Kero - Gould
Eick - Rix - Pietila (Chad)

Stebner - Nielsen
Brown - Hyland
Seigo - Sweeney

Copley - Genoe

UMD's Home Ice Quest Starts With Michigan Tech

The season is far from over, but the UMD men's hockey team is in an interesting position.

Though only two points back of a home-ice spot in the WCHA playoffs, the Bulldogs have a sub-.500 RPI, and barring a serious run in the second half, are not likely to be in position to attain an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, thanks in large part to a 2-4 non-conference record.

Hurting the UMD cause more is the fact that the team has yet to go more than three games without a loss at any point over 20 games. To get in position for an NCAA bid, UMD needs to start stringing together strong play on a more consistent basis.

"At the end of the year, we want to play our best hockey going into the playoffs," coach Scott Sandelin said this week.

Judging by the first 20 games, UMD's best hockey is still to come. Let's hope it doesn't come too late.

Searching for consistency and balance, Sandelin has tweaked UMD's forward lines. The plan for Friday's series opener against Michigan Tech is to have Tony Cameranesi center Caleb Herbert and Mike Seidel, while Jake Hendrickson centers Justin Crandall and Joe Basaraba. Austyn Young's line with Charlie Sampair and Adam Krause is now the third line, meaning they will justifiably get more minutes after playing quite well over a four-game stretch together. The fourth line Friday has Max Tardy centering Dan DeLisle and Keegan Flaherty.

"Hopefully we can get three or all four lines to contribute," Sandelin said.

Young has been particularly impressive recently, earning time on UMD's second line and power play units during the Florida trip because of ejections and ineffective play on the part of others.

"It's a tough position (center) to play at this level," Sandelin notes. "There's a lot of responsibility. I think he's learning the defensive part of it. It's a work in progress."

If UMD is going to get on a run, it has to start this weekend, at least in part because the Bulldogs need to start getting better at home. UMD has ten home games and six on the road over the rest of the regular season, but the home record so far is a very pedestrian 3-4-1, including 0-3-1 on Saturdays.

"Maybe it's just a focus, a mindset, but we've been pretty good on the road the last four or five years," Sandelin said. "We have to take advantage of playing at home and make this a difficult place to play. Overall, we need to be better, period."

Michigan Tech won the Great Lakes Invitational two weeks ago, posting 4-0 wins over Michigan and Western Michigan to take the crown for the first time since 1982. Freshman Pheonix Copley made 70 saves over the two nights, picking up his second and third career wins. Sandelin said goaltending is a big difference in the Huskies' play from when UMD was in Houghton a month and a half ago. Tech coach Mel Pearson agrees, saying he doesn't think his team is playing better, outside of the goaltending being much improved at the GLI.

I thought Tech's defense gave Western fits in that championship game, keeping people from getting to Copley and disrupting his rhythm and vision. UMD needs to win those position battles this weekend and continue to get pucks to the net. Copley looked a bit shaky with his angles when we saw him in November, but he didn't have those problems at the GLI.

Perhaps a little traffic in his face will change the way he plays the game.

For UMD's sake, the need to win exists, so it'll be really interesting to see how the team comes out in this series. No longer are splits acceptable. Wins are a must.

******

Violations of team rules have caused the one-game suspensions of senior forward Cody Danberg, freshman forward Austin Farley, and senior defenseman Wade Bergman. They will all sit Friday's game.

Also, freshman defenseman Andy Welinski is injured (upper body). Word is that the plan is to have him sit this weekend and play next weekend at Colorado College, but he has looked good in practice this week.

Junior goalie Aaron Crandall (lower) is day to day. I'm not sure his availability for Friday. Expect freshman Matt McNeely to start either way, even if Crandall is deemed good to go.

There are no other significant injuries or maladies to report. As far as I'm aware, everyone else is good to go for Friday.

Wisconsin's Ryan Little Earns First WCHA Supplemental Discipline of Season

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Greetings from Anchorage, where it's shockingly mild, and we finally started to get daylight around 9:15am local time.

(Enjoy it while it lasts, Ciskie. It'll be dark by 4:00.)

Anyway, more content on the UMD-UAA series is coming before Friday's series opener at Sullivan Arena. For now, I wanted to discuss some news that broke while we were traveling Wednesday.

Not so long ago, I was lamenting the fact that we have yet to see any supplemental discipline in the WCHA this season, despite numerous opportunities to send a message and make sure kids are held accountable for dangerous and illegal play.

On Friday, there was an egregiously dirty play by Michigan Tech freshman Jujhar Khaira in Madison, as he went vintage Sting on the bit with a Scorpion Death Drop on Wisconsin defenseman Jake McCabe, complete with a facemask grab to start the whole thing off. Officials assessed a two-minute minor for holding, and Khaira was inexplicably allowed to play in Saturday's series finale.

Obviously, what happened late in overtime could have happened to anyone, but it's hard to imagine it's a coincidence that one of Wisconsin's seniors -- alternate captain Ryan Little -- happened to throw an equally dirty hit on Khaira.


Little was suspended one game by the WCHA, as announced by the league Wednesday afternoon.

Listen, I'm not going to sit here and rip the WCHA for inconsistent enforcement of hockey rules that govern basic competitive decency. The fact Khaira didn't get a game DQ for his actions is a joke, and the league needs to be willing to step in a spot like there where the officials somehow bungle the call.

(You know, like Saturday, when there was no penalty assessed to Little.)

However, one miss does NOT justify two misses. In this particular incident, Little launches himself into a player (Khaira) who doesn't have the puck, and during the sequence you see on this short video, Khaira doesn't ever have possession. Little appears to launch toward Khaira's head, which makes it even worse.

This should have been a major and a game disqualification, but instead was nothing. That's not excusable, but supplemental discipline exists -- in part -- to help governing bodies penalize plays like this that are missed by game officials.

It's inherently wrong to suggest that no player should be eligible for a suspension unless a penalty is called on the play in question, and it's also wrong to suggest that leagues suspend officials for missing these calls.

In the WCHA, officials work part-time. There is no need to publicly scrutinize these guys any more than what we already do (I'll raise my hand on this one). As we saw with the Randy Schmidt debacle in Denver a few years ago, the WCHA doesn't like to publicly announce anything regarding game officials, and typically won't unless it's a major deal.

In this case, the league has screwed up more than the officials did. The league missed a chance to send a message to Khaira, a hell of a talent who plays the game on edge and already is developing a reputation as the kind of player who will cross the line once in a while. That edge will get him places when you look at his size and skill set, but if he doesn't tone it down, we'll be wondering about potential WCHA supplemental discipline again, because he'll cross the line again.

Thursday, however, it's Little who pays a price for crossing the line. It's a justified suspension, and hopefully that sends a message to players, too.

Game 14: UMD at Michigan Tech

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- On an uncharacteristically mild Saturday in Houghton, the UMD men will try this four-point thing again.

Three previous series-opening wins, followed by three losses, the last two (Notre Dame and St. Cloud State) by a combined 9-2.

To continue to improve, the Bulldogs need to show they can close out a series. Another opportunity looms in this game, after a 7-3 win on Friday. 

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Farley - Crandall (Justin) - Herbert
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Krause - Tardy

Olson - Welinski
Bergman - Johnson
McManus - Casto

Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely

MTU
Pietila (Blake) - Khaira - Petan
Furne - Kero - Gordic
Johnstone (David) - Johnstone (Jacob) - Gould
Holmberg - Rix - Hietila

Stebner - Nielsen
Seigo - Sweeney
Hyland - Fillion

Genoe - Copley - Phillips

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Gets Much Needed Touchdown, Win

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Earlier in the week, I crabbed about how UMD has seen a pretty notable decline in its even-strength scoring this season.

All season, I've used various opportunities to crab about how UMD hadn't scored a short-handed goal since an early December game here last season.

Apparently, someone is tired of my whining.

UMD rode a season-high four even-strength goals and its first short-handed goal in 363 days to a 7-3 win over Michigan Tech Friday.

Two of the four even-strength goals came from freshman Austin Farley in the first five minutes of the game, both coming before MTU recorded its first shot of the game. Farley was moved onto a line with sophomores Justin Crandall and Caleb Herbert this week, and the three connected with goals on their first two shifts.

Not bad.

Tech started to get the legs a bit, and a Herbert interference penalty at 8:55 of the first was the initial power play chance for either team.

13 seconds into it, sophomore Adam Krause scored his first career goal, a beauty of a short-handed snipe to the top corner, glove-side on goalie Kevin Genoe after an end-to-end rush.

OK, that's not how it happened. But it looks that way in the box score, which says "SH Adam Krause/1," with no one credited with assists.

Instead, what happened was Drew Olson threw the puck down the rink. Genoe came out to play it ahead of Krause, but fanned on a pass and watched helplessly as Krause grabbed the puck in front of the net. Genoe threw his stick, which did nothing but cause the officials to assess an interference penalty that nullified the power play.

Oh, and Tech coach Mel Pearson pulled Genoe from the game after the goal. So it was a really bad moment for the senior.

44 seconds later, Mike Seidel whipped a twisted wrister past freshman Pheonix Copley for a 4-0 lead.

Game over?

Oh, no.

Tanner Kero scored for MTU before the first ended, then Blake Hietala got a fluky one for the Huskies in the second, a period in which UMD was generally rotten but still escaped with a two-goal lead.

Then David Johnstone scored on his own rebound at 4:21 of the third, which sent UMD fans into full-on grip mode.

A Keegan Flaherty tripping call at 8:07 sent Tech to the power play, but it also led to the game's final turning point.

UMD gave up a quick scoring chance, but began to regain a work ethic on the kill. Justin Crandall drew a slashing call on Tech's Milos Gordic, and that nullified the power play. After a short four-on-four period, the Bulldogs struck on the power play.

It was a weird sequence, though.

A Wade Bergman right point shot stunned Farley, causing the youngster to leave the ice. Herbert took his spot. The puck was on the left side of UMD's power play formation when Seidel fed across the rink to Herbert at the right post. Herbert's tap-in goal made it 5-3, and the man of the 14-goal freshman season finally had his first of 2012-13.

Joe Basaraba added a power play goal less than two minutes later for a 6-3 lead, and Crandall ended the scoring at 14:15 to make it 7-3.

UMD outshot Tech 35-30, and scored goals on the power play, five-on-five, four-on-four, and short-handed. Outside of a mundane second period that was generally ugly for the visitors despite the lead, UMD played pretty well in this game and certainly deserved the two points.

Now comes the next challenge. Given a chance to take four points in a WCHA series last week, the Bulldogs fell flat badly on Saturday.

Can't do that again. This one has to be finished, and doing so could do wonders for the confidence of a team that continues to grow.

******

When faced with the ugliness of last Saturday's loss, UMD coach Scott Sandelin declined to make any drastic lineup changes.

The group generally recognized as UMD's top six forwards stayed the same, and the only moves that were made were Farley to Crandall's line, Herbert to right wing on that line, and Basaraba to the Tony Cameranesi line.

Fans expecting more moves were probably disappointed, but it's obvious that Sandelin pushed some correct buttons.

Now UMD has to get its other two lines going a little bit more consistently, assuming the top six require no further tweaks.

A team hitting the way UMD is on the power play shouldn't struggle that much to score even strength, in all honesty.

Also helping UMD's cause Friday was a solid faceoff effort. It was ugly early, with MTU winning 18 of 26 draws in the first, and 27 of the first 41. From there, though, UMD won 19 of the game's last 25, going 33-32 on draws for the game.

It's a start.

******

In other WCHA action, one-time Minnesota recruit Ryan Walters set up fellow Minnesotan Josh Archibald for the only goal of the third period as Omaha beat the Gophers 3-2 at Mariucci, moving Dean Blais to 3-0 at Mariucci as UNO's coach. The Mavericks also got goals from Dominic Zombo and Jaycob Megna in support of goalie John Faulkner, who made 19 saves for the win.

Sophomore Stephon Williams stays hot for Minnesota State, making 20 saves as the Mavericks doughnutted Bemidji State 3-0 in Mankato. First-year coach Mike Hastings has MSU over .500 overall and 4-5 in league play. Dylan Margonari, Zach Lehrke, and Bryce Gervais had the goals for MSU, which has won three straight.

Colorado College shook off a tough non-conference weekend over Thanksgiving by beating North Dakota 5-2 at home. Scott Winkler (two goals, two assists) and Alexander Krushelnyski (one goal, three assists) each had a four-point night, and their line -- with Charlie Taft (three assists) was a combined plus-eleven. The Tigers won despite being outshot 47-26. 

Michael Mersch and Joey LaLeggia traded third-period goals in Denver, as the Pioneers tied 1-1 with Wisconsin. The Badgers still have only one win, but were 1:16 from another before LaLeggia's goal with DU's net empty. UW actually outshot Denver 33-31, but goalies Joel Rumpel and Juho Olkinuora were very good.

Big comeback win for St. Cloud State Friday, as the Huskies rallied from 3-0 down to beat Alaska Anchorage 4-3 in overtime. Jonny Brodzinski scored in the second period to make it 3-1, then Jimmy Murray got one early in the third to cut the lead to 3-2. The Huskies tied it with 2:36 left on a David Morley power play goal, and then Murray's second of the night won it for SCSU in overtime. The Huskies outshot the Seawolves 24-18, including 18-7 after the first period, where UAA did all of its damage against Ryan Faragher. The Huskies were sleepwalking into the second, but there was a momentum turn somewhere in there. It was hard to discern on the video feed exactly where it was, but SCSU was carrying play by the time I shut it off to go to sleep late in the second period. Hell of a comeback win for the Huskies, getting what could prove to be a huge two points.

Game 13: UMD at Michigan Tech

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- It's not exactly a snowglobe this time around.

I don't think Houghton has much more snow -- if more at all -- than Duluth does. A nice, uneventful drive here.

The game shouldn't be that way. Both teams have reason to be desperate for their own reasons. UMD needs points, while Michigan Tech is 1-3 in WCHA play at home so far. The Huskies are also entering a stretch of five games in nine days that includes a trip to Marquette Tuesday (Northern Michigan) and Madison for a Friday-Saturday series against Wisconsin next week.

Nice job, schedule maker.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Farley - Crandall (Justin) - Herbert
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Young - Krause

Olson - Welinski
Bergman - Johnson
Corrin - Casto

McNeely - Crandall (Aaron)

MTU
Furne - Kero - Pietila (Chad)
Pietila (Blake) - Khaira - Petan
Johnstone (David) - Johnstone (Jacob) - Gordic
Eick - Rix - Hietala

Seigo - Sweeney
Stebner - Nielsen
Hyland - Davis

Genoe - Copley - Phillips

Bulldogs Seek Snow Belt Slump-Buster

With 12 games played, we are one-third of the way through this UMD season.

No longer can "It's early" be used as an excuse when things go poorly. Instead, it's time to seek solutions and get things going the right way.

I already told you what I think the primary problems are. The biggest issue I'm seeing is how one bad thing spills into another, creating a cavalcade of bad stuff that the Bulldogs are having trouble avoiding.

The good news is that fixing one or two of those problems could solve virtually all of them.

The bad news is they aren't easy problems to fix.

The first of three crucial WCHA series starts Friday in Houghton for the Bulldogs, who have struggled historically against Michigan Tech, but have won the last five games in Houghton, dating back to the 2010 Winter Carnival. In that weekend set, UMD scored three straight goals, including a Mike Connolly shortie in the third period, to win 3-2 after trailing 2-0.

The atmosphere isn't quite what it was at the end of the Jamie Russell era in Houghton, as Mel Pearson has quickly rejuvenated the Tech fanbase. If you've never been to Houghton, you'd understand that -- outside of outdoor activities like skiing and snowmobiling -- there isn't a lot of competition for Tech hockey. It's just a matter of the team playing well enough to be relevant, and people will go to the games.

What are they seeing on the ice? Emerging young players like Alex Petan (freshman), Jujhar Khaira (freshman), and Blake Pietila (sophomore), and David Johnstone (sophomore) are carrying the offense, while Pearson struggles a bit to get his upperclassmen contributing at the level he wants.

(Look out this weekend, however. Junior Ryan Furne has three goals and seven points in six games against UMD.)

Tech's defense and goaltending are currently owned by uppers, however. Senior captain Carl Nielsen and assistant captain Steven Seigo are the top defensemen, while juniors Brad Stebner and Daniel Sova are big bodies who compete. None of Tech's big defensemen are all-zones types, but they are tough to beat in their own zone, and they play a very simple game when necessary. Look to see lots of chips of pucks this weekend from Tech's blue-liners.

In goal, senior Kevin Genoe has emerged as the starter, according to Pearson. He has a .913 save percentage in five games, with a 3-1 record. Genoe's career numbers are ghastly, but he played with confidence against Bemidji State, and as we understand, confidence matters a lot for a goalie.

I said these next six games are crucial for UMD, and I mean that. The Bulldogs have four points through eight league games, a very low number for what's been a competitive program lately. If UMD is going to get this thing turned around in time to make a run, the Bulldogs need to get 8-10 points out of these six games. It's doable, but there's no way anyone can think it's going to be easy.

If you're hoping that sophomore Caleb Herbert can finally get in the goal column this weekend, you might be in luck. Herbert scored twice in four games against Tech last season, and we can only hope that he finds the back of the net somehow this weekend. I still have the feeling that goals might come in bunches once Herbert gets one, but the odds of that happening admittedly become more remote the longer he goes without a goal.

Keys for this weekend, besides the stuff I have already talked about? I think UMD goes -- to an extent -- as its senior line goes. Jake Hendrickson, Keegan Flaherty, and captain Cody Danberg were very good against North Dakota, and so was the team. They were good on Friday against St. Cloud State, and UMD won. On Saturday, I thought they were mediocre at best, and everyone else responded in tow, unfortunately.

Coach Scott Sandelin told Kevin Pates that he didn't think anyone played well on Saturday, which probably isn't going to make him happy if it occurs again.

"I actually don't think we came out that bad (Saturday)," junior goalie Aaron Crandall said, "but we never really rebounded from the second goal," which Crandall noted came off a turnover.

I didn't think UMD was doing anything special before Ben Hanowski's power play goal in the first period on Saturday, but the quick second goal by Nic Dowd absolutely took some life out of the UMD bench. Can't argue that. It's still not acceptable in my view, but Crandall might very well be on to something.

I expect the seniors to play well on Friday, and if everyone responds like they did against North Dakota, there's no reason UMD won't win the game, unless Genoe does a head stand and steals the points for the Huskies.

However, if the team comes out flat or goes flat as soon as something happens, it could be trouble.

It isn't early in the season, but there's still plenty of time. UMD just has to shake out of this slump. America's Snowglobe awaits, and while it isn't the easiest place to get four points, that doesn't mean it can't or won't happen.

Or that it doesn't need to.

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.