Monday Musings: Bulldogs Earn Much-Needed Win

There was good and bad for UMD in Saturday's 3-1 win over Northern Michigan in Marquette. Obviously, with the end result being a win that snapped a five-game winless streak, and no one obviously getting shelved by an injury, the good outweighs the bad.

We'll start there and save the negative for later.

UMD ground out a win against an opponent that wants to slow the pace of the game. Saturday's game was played at NMU's pace, with not many scoring chances either way. This has been an issue for past UMD teams, but the Bulldogs stuck with their tight defense and didn't give NMU much of anything. The Wildcats' only goal came off a UMD mistake, as Adam Johnson tried to weave through the neutral zone and coughed up the puck. Dominik Shine got it back over the UMD blue line and fed Darren Nowick to cut UMD's lead to 3-1.

Not only did that close the scoring, but the Wildcats didn't seriously threaten after that goal, either. By no means was it pretty, but it was an effective defensive performance by a team that really needed one.

Going into Friday, head coach Scott Sandelin really wanted to see his team play tighter defensively. While there were spurts of it in the series opener, NMU scored four goals, and three of them came off questionable defense (including a transition goal that UMD allowed not even 30 seconds after taking the lead in the third period).

The effort in the UMD zone was much more consistent and effective on Saturday, and the Bulldogs were rewarded for it with a victory.

Offensively, it wasn't pretty. In fact, I'm not sure what the final 40 minutes consisted of, because there weren't a lot of hockey-type things happening. But the Bulldogs jumped on NMU freshman goalie Matthias Israelsson, making his fourth appearance of the season, for two goals on three shots in less than four minutes. Matthias Dahlstrom took over from there, but the damage was done when Tony Cameranesi and Parker Mackay scored for a 2-0 lead. Dominic Toninato jammed in a rebound late in the first to make it 3-0.

The Bulldogs didn't do a whole lot offensively the rest of the night, but they also didn't have to. They weren't threatened.

It was a win, a win where Mackay continued his ascent by scoring again and contributing a very nice game. A win where senior captain Andy Welinski chipped in another point for a three-point weekend. A win where Kasimir Kaskisuo made 19 saves and was solid in net. A win where Alex Iafallo picked up his first assist of the calendar year. A win.

******

Good thing it was a win, because it takes the stain off the last 40 minutes, which was honestly some of the worst hockey I've seen all season. That's not all on UMD. The Wildcats didn't appear to have much urgency, even late in the game down by two goals. It wouldn't be fair to say NMU was content to lose the game 3-1, but it did look like that at times. Like I said, UMD went against a team that likes to slow the game down and limit scoring chances, and the Bulldogs didn't have to worry about chasing the game like they did Friday, because they scored first Saturday and never looked back.

It also makes the power play's performance less painful.

But that one still stings.

The power play was scoreless in seven tries. It generated just three shots on goal, marking the same number of shots on goal UMD got short-handed. The Bulldogs are now scoreless in their last 36 power plays going back to Dec. 11. Of those 36 power plays, UMD has been held without a shot on goal in 17 of them, including eight of 11 over the weekend against Northern Michigan.

There's been some bad luck -- goalposts, missed nets, "How did he do that?" saves, etc. -- thrown in to ruin effective man advantage efforts by UMD. Not all 36 power plays have been garbage, far from it, actually. But they've all had the same net result: No goals.

On Saturday, the power play looked like a group that didn't think it had a chance to score. Movements and passes were deliberate. Players appeared indecisive, unsure of themselves. And from my seat, our power play just looked way too easy to defend.

The system hasn't changed. We've seen it work. This was a power play hitting at over 20 percent before the slump started. But it works when passes are crisp and decisions are quick. That didn't appear the case on Saturday, and I don't know how that gets fixed.

I do know that is has to be better. We've beaten this subject to death, and yet it will inevitably come up again this week. I'm not going to call for personnel changes, largely because they just made personnel changes and constantly switching up personnel won't solve the issue.

(In fairness, special teams are far from a disaster. The penalty kill continues to shine, and it is probably equal parts Kaskisuo and the killers doing a good job. That's good to see. They're not overly relying on Kaskisuo to save the bacon, and instead doing things like preventing clean zone entries and blocking shots to make his life easier at times.)

******

Next up is a three-game homestand that will play out over five days. It starts with Colorado College in town Friday and Saturday. The Tigers are a .500 team since an 0-13 start to the season, and clearly CC is playing better hockey. I watched back the Tigers' games at St. Cloud State Jan. 8-9, and CC earned that split.

The Tigers have also swept Miami since UMD played in Colorado Springs Nov. 20-21 (5-0 and 6-0 wins). CC rallied from 4-0 down to eventually steal a point at North Dakota two weekends ago, and this past week the Tigers beat Omaha 5-1 Friday before losing 6-1 on Saturday. In the Saturday loss, CC was held to just 12 shots on goal.

It's also Hockey Day weekend, so we invite you to make a day of it on Saturday. Outdoor high school games at Bayfront Park start at 10am, and there's plenty of time after the second high school game to grab dinner and join us inside Amsoil Arena for the second game against the Tigers.

The homestand concludes with Bemidji State next Tuesday, Feb. 9. That's a makeup from the power outage-spoiled home opener that was scheduled for Oct. 9.

Game 25: UMD at Northern Michigan

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Let's forget the pleasantries.

You're sick of reading it. I'm sick of writing it and talking about it. The coaches are sick of talking about it and living it. The players are surely sick of it.

And I don't know how it gets fixed, outside of UMD has to play better, starting in its own zone. I'd say three of Northern Michigan's four goals Friday were the result of shoddy work in the defensive zone, and the fourth was a transition play that was defended very poorly.

Like I said in the blog after the game, scream at the goalie all you want, but playing that way in the D-zone is going to get any goalie beaten, no matter how well he is or isn't playing.

Last Saturday, Matt McNeely got the net against Denver in a move I theorized wasn't so much about the goalie but about the guys in front of him. I'd surmise the change wasn't made for this game for the same reason. UMD has to figure out its own zone and play better. It's capable. UMD was very tight defensively in taking four points from Miami just three short weeks ago. I thought the Bulldogs played pretty well defensively against an obviously dangerous St. Cloud State team the following weekend. It's there. It's been done before. And even if it means offense needs to be sacrificed, UMD has to get back to that form in its own end of the rink.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Mackay
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Thomas - Decowski - Johnson
Exell - Spurrell - Young (Austyn)

Welinski - Corrin
Soucy - Kotyk
McCormack - Pionk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

NMU
Adair - Nowick - Shine
Hanson - Sooth - Siemer
Payne - Diamantoni - Pierce
Starzynski - Paskaruk - Black

Klimek - Kaib
Maschmeyer - Urban
Vermuelen - Trenz

Israelsson - Tolvanen - Dahlstrom

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Power Play Shoots More Blanks as Winless Streak Hits Five

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Maybe it was just hope, but I really thought UMD had hit rock bottom last weekend in Denver. Friday's effort was strong, but Saturday was just not good enough as Denver held on late to win 2-1.

"I thought we didn't play confidently," head coach Scott Sandelin said of his team's performance in that game. "Our game, we need to get our feet moving, and we really didn't have that. They kind of had the jump."

But UMD didn't hit rock bottom. I know this because Friday's 4-3 loss to Northern Michigan here was another step down the ladder toward rock bottom. Maybe this is it. I won't try to guess.

It was another game for UMD that simply wasn't good enough.

The Bulldogs wanted to play tighter defensively, but NMU scored twice -- including Robbie Payne's winner on a power play late -- off scramble plays in front of the net where bodies got to the front and UMD couldn't close out.

(This isn't meant as a rip on the goaltender, but without the benefit of replays, I'd say it could be argued that Kasimir Kaskisuo allowed a couple regrettable goals along the way. None of this should excuse more shoddy defensive zone play.)

Defensive zone play was a culprit on Friday, goaltending played a role, but the UMD power play might have been the most to blame. Scoreless in four chances, shotless in three of them, and somehow UMD missed a wide open net on the power play for the second time in three games.

I don't get it.

Most galling, the teams were playing four-on-four in the final minute and UMD had Kaskisuo pulled. NMU took a penalty with 29 seconds left, giving UMD a four-on-three power play that became a five-on-three with the empty net. The Bulldogs got two shots off in that 29-second sequence. One was wide, and one was blocked. Nothing on net.

It was a terrible setup by UMD. At a time in the game where urgency should just be a given (I mean, they're down a goal with less than a half minute to play), the Bulldogs showed none. Andy Welinski and Neal Pionk went back and forth up high, and at no point did the puck get picked up by a forward until half the 29 seconds had bled off the clock. It was a situation that screamed for someone to take the bull by the horns and make something happen, but that's not how it played out.

With how the power play has struggled, I guess it was fitting to see the game finish up that way.

******

Not sure what else to write. Nothing about this game was good. The crowd was small and quiet. The goal horn is loud and annoying, and I swear the damn thing is right by where I sit. The officiating was hideous. I didn't think UMD played all that particularly well. UMD lost.

The guys are frustrated. The coaches are frustrated. I'm frustrated. You're frustrated.

What can I say to make you guys feel any better?

Well, I asked on Twitter. Lots of "what's going on?" type questions. "What's it going to take to turn the season around?" That stuff.

Honestly, and this isn't an excuse, I think the whole season to this point is starting to catch up with UMD. Not only are we talking about kids, but we're talking about human beings. How many times can they dominate a game and get kicked in the face in the end before it starts to affect their confidence?

Now, as Sandelin noted regarding Saturday's loss in Denver, the Bulldogs are starting to look like a team that just isn't sure of itself. Everyone around it can deny, but UMD is morphing into a team that's waiting for something bad to happen because that's all it's seen as of late.

As long as there's season left, there's time to turn this around. I firmly believe that. But I'm also not a moron. There isn't a lot of time. UMD has kicked away some real opportunities to win games and build a resume, and now I don't know what needs to happen to fix what's wrong.

I screamed about the importance of scoring three goals. And then we gave up four.

I talked about scoring five on five. We did that three times Friday. So did the adversary.

Basically, it looks like I'm wrong a lot.

We'll be back Saturday night to try again. For now, I'm going to drown my sorrows in SmartWater while I watch women's curling on TV and something on Netflix.

Game 24: UMD at Northern Michigan

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- I can think of no better time to start turning this season around. At 8-10-5, UMD is completely off the national radar, an also-ran in the bloated national polls (one-third of the nation's teams are ranked by USCHO, just think about that, then ponder the fact that national polls rank 25 of nearly 340 Division I basketball teams!), and trailing in the PairWise.

This weekend, the Bulldogs do battle non-conference with Northern Michigan, a WCHA team that has been hovering around .500 much of the season and is sitting at exactly .500 right now (9-9-6).

It might be an unfamiliar venue (UMD hasn't played in Marquette since 2010), but it's a familiar feel. The Berry Events Center is an Olympic ice sheet -- 200 feet by 100.

The Olympic sheet -- or "big sheet," as most call it -- has been very good to UMD over the last two seasons. "Good" might be an understatement.

Since the start of the 2014-15 season, UMD is 6-0 in Olympic surfaces, outscoring the adversaries 23-4. Included in that is a 3-0 mark this year, with a 14-1 aggregate.

That average of four goals per game sure is enticing. UMD just can't seem to shake the scoring doldrums this year. I don't know the power play/even-strength breakdown from 2014-15, but last season UMD scored on 8.9 percent of its shots overall. This year, the Bulldogs have 59 goals on 884 shots (7.0 percent). If UMD was scoring on 8.0 percent of its shots this season, the Bulldogs would have 20 more goals.

Think about that. A team that has lost three games by one goal and three more by two (one of those was a one-goal game until a late empty-netter) with 20 more total goals scored, nearly one per game. If UMD merely matched its opponents' shooing percentage of 8.4, the Bulldogs would have 13 more goals, more than enough to still make a difference.

It's scary.

That's how low the margin for error is in this sport, and UMD is consistently -- for whatever reason -- coming up on the wrong side of it.

As head coach Scott Sandelin noted this week, there's still time to get this fixed. But he also correctly stated that "we're running out of time." Sounds contradictory, but both statements are very true.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Kotyk
Corrin - Molenaar

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

NMU
Adair - Nowick - Shine
Hanson - Sooth - Siemer
Payne - Diamantoni - Purpur
Black - Starzynski - Pierce

Klimek - Kaib
Maschmeyer - Urban
Frantti - Trenz

Tolvanen - Israelsson - Dahlstrom

Monday Musings: Strong Offensive Push Continues as UMD Sweeps Northern Michigan

For UMD, a slight downtick in defensive play and a struggling penalty kill have heightened the need for more offense.

With the power play generally not contributing, that means the Bulldogs are pressed to score more goals in other situations.

Check.

UMD picked up five even-strength goals and a short-handed marker in a 6-3 win over Northern Michigan Saturday night in Duluth. The power play struck out on Saturday, and the penalty kill had a Meat Loaf night (two out of three wasn't bad, as after a sloppy coverage on the first goal, the killers did good work and scored a shorty in the process).

When the Bulldogs produce at even-strength like they did Saturday, when they outshot NMU 32-12 during the portion of the game where both teams had an equal number of players on the ice, this team is going to be hellaciously tough to beat.

UMD yearned a quicker start on Saturday after Northern Michigan got on the board early Friday and the Bulldogs looked like they were skating in mud for a good chunk of the opening stanza.

Check.

Alex Iafallo got the Bulldogs on the board not four minutes in on Saturday, and Charlie Sampair followed just short of the seven-minute mark with his first goal of the season. It was a deserved result for Sampair, who played better this weekend than he had all year to this point, and certainly earned the two points and increased ice time he got.

When NMU cut that two-goal lead in half, the Captain answered. Adam Krause ripped a wrist shot top shelf late in the first to make it a 3-1 lead.

When NMU cut that two-goal lead in half, the Bulldogs' most consistent line -- Tony Cameranesi, Austin Farley, and Karson Kuhlman -- responded, with the former two setting up Kuhlman's wraparound goal that made it 4-2.

When NMU got a power play late in the second period, senior captain Krause and assistant captain Justin Crandall conspired on a short-handed tally that put the game out of reach.

The Bulldogs ended up with a half-dozen goals on the night, nine on the weekend, and they outshot the visitors 85-35 in the 120 minutes.

Hell, someone might want to order more pink sticks.

******

UMD got a bit leaky in the second period, and Northern Michigan's Jake Baker made a great read to recognize that Kuhlman -- who didn't have a stick -- wasn't paying attention to him as he crashed into the slot and scored off a perfect Reed Seckel centering pass. Baker was Kuhlman's guy on the play, but he was watching the puck in the right corner and didn't see Baker making his way toward the front of the net.

The Bulldogs do have to find a way to cut down on the defensive lapses. They seem to most commonly happen after long stretches of offensive-zone possession. It's like the guys forget they have to defend their end of the ice when it isn't attacked for a while.

It's human nature. You see a long period of puck possession, and you want to jump in the play. Everyone wants to jump in the play. A little overaggression, and suddenly it's a two-on-one the other way.

You can't assume puck battles or races will be won. Players have to work hard to win them. UMD just can't afford to have all these defensive mistakes, especially when it should be working with momentum on its side.

******

Dominic Toninato (or Tom Doninato, right, DU broadcasters?) sat out Saturday's game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. From the sounds of it, UMD doesn't expect it to be a long-term problem for Toninato.

But all was well, because freshman Jared Thomas stepped up big-time. The former Hermantown Hawk won ten of 13 faceoffs, scored a third-period goal and added an assist. Thomas' three-point weekend (he also scored the game-winning goal Friday) was his first multi-point binge on a weekend since his two-goal game in Mankato back on Oct. 18.

He stepped in for UMD's No. 1 center and played a strong game. They say freshmen aren't freshmen anymore once we get into the second half of the season. In Thomas' case, he showed a lot of maturity and poise in his game with Saturday's performance.

With Scott Sandelin possessing no desire to break up Cameranesi's line or Cal Decowski's line, Thomas likely goes back to the fourth line against St. Cloud this weekend. However, everyone knows that there's a button that can be pushed if Toninato has a rough game while Thomas continues to produce in his more limited role.

That is a good thing as we head down the stretch. Strength down the middle is a nice problem to have as February hits and March approaches.

******

Already blogged about the crazy finish that's coming for the NCHC.

Case in point: Miami's out to a 4-0 lead on Western Michigan with 12 minutes in their game at the Hockey City Classic Saturday in Chicago. Game's over, right?

Nope.

Western storms back with goals 37 seconds apart to cut the lead in half, then gets one with an extra attacker on in the final minute. The RedHawks did a good job in the final seven minutes of keeping pucks from getting to the net, however, and Miami survived 4-3 to jump ahead of UMD and Denver and take third place in the NCHC.

No lead is safe. No game is over.

(Unless you're St. Cloud State and you're pantsing Colorado College 7-0 in the second period. That's probably safe.)

Speaking of St. Cloud State, here come the Huskies. Since being swept at Denver, SCSU has won three of four and scored 272* goals.

(* - possible exaggeration)

In all seriousness, take the seven out of that number, and 22 goals in four games is pretty solid. Juniors Jonny Brodzinski (17 goals) and Joey Benik (24 points) are leading the way offensively. But Bob Motzko has skill on all four lines. Oh, and Charlie Lindgren carries a .922 save percentage in NCHC play.

I don't care that UMD swept at St. Cloud in November. This is going to be another in a long line of great series where a split appears ever-so-likely.

Game 28: Northern Michigan at UMD

The final non-conference game of the season for both teams, and despite 92 shot attempts, a 46-17 edge in shots on goal, and a win on Friday, there are things for UMD to work on.

Like starting the game.

Scott Sandelin didn't like his team's start Friday, and you can bet they'll be reminded of that prior to this one. They have to get going much quicker, because you can bet Northern Michigan will play hard and show plenty of pride in this one.

UMD wore down the Wildcats on Friday, and there's no reason that can't happen again. However, the Bulldogs have to come out with the feet moving in order to remove any doubt in the third period.

With any luck, that happens. I like sweeps and stick salutes. Time to see one of each, please.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
McCormack - Corrin

McNeely - Kaskisuo

NMU
Payne - Sooth - Diamantoni
Hanson - Nowick - Rose
Seckel - Vandercook - Salminen
Purpur - Kesti - Manno

Baker - Kaib
Maschmeyer - Urban
Klimek - Trenz

Doan - Dun

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs Grind Out Another Win, Thanks to Tremendous Fourth Line

For UMD, depth has been a strength.

Friday night at Amsoil Arena, the Bulldogs showed that depth once again. The fourth line of Jared Thomas, Charlie Sampair, and Austyn Young was crucial throughout the night. Fittingly, it was Thomas scoring at Amsoil Arena for the first time as a Bulldog as UMD got two in the third to beat Northern Michigan 3-1.

UMD started slowly, which was about the only thing it did wrong in this game. Northern Michigan's DJ Vandercook -- which I'm 76.43 percent sure is a made-up name -- scored at 2:52 of the first off a UMD turnover. Vandercook was a late addition to the lineup when Mitch Jones was scratched (we don't know if he was healthy or if he got hurt or sick) after the warmup.

The Bulldogs just weren't quick out of the gate. They struggled with the puck, made some bad decisions, and really didn't have their feet moving.

No fear. That changed.

The Thomas line got things going with a quality shift. UMD built some positive momentum off a power play that came up empty. Eventually, a low-shot first period turned into UMD taking 36 total shots in the first and getting 12 on goal (NMU blocked 13 shots in the first alone).

UMD got on the board short of the midway point of the second, towards the end of a Wildcat power play. Junior defenseman Willie Corrin stole a puck in the defensive zone and led the short-handed charge. Instead of just dumping it in, Corrin fired a laser from just short of the blue line that beat NMU goalie Michael Doan clean from about a foot or 18 inches off the ice.

I've seen pucks take goofy bounces past goalies from the neutral or defensive zones. I've never seen a goalie beaten clean from that distance.

Oh, and that unassisted short-handed goal? Corrin's first career goal. Dan Molenaar made sure to save the puck for the International Falls native.

The Thomas line kept doing work. Sampair was making things happen with his speed. Young was using his speed and smarts to make plays, including a sweet move around Corrin when the two nearly ran into each other during an interchange along the left-wing boards.

All four lines were able to hem NMU in at times, using speed to get around the rink and disrupt the Wildcats on the breakout. That "fourth line" was particularly impressive, and Scott Sandelin recognized it, making sure they got more ice time than the typical "fourth line" would in a tight game.

In the third, it was all UMD. The Bulldogs took 32 more shots and got 21 of them on net. Thomas scored off a great feed by Derik Johnson from behind the NMU net to make it 2-1, and one of Tony Cameranesi's nine shots on goal found the net late in a power play to ice the game.

Yes, nine.

Everyone contributed. Justin Crandall and Kasimir Kaskisuo were the only UMD players who were in the game but didn't register a shot in the official statistics.

Kaskisuo is the goalie, in case you forgot. He was sharp, too, shaking off the early goal to make 16 saves, including a couple of the impressive variety when the game was still tight.

Of course, only three of those saves came in the third period, as UMD outshot NMU 21-3. UMD had 32 attempts to 10 in the third, 92-39 in the game.

It was a dominant effort keyed by a strong forecheck, contributions from everyone, good work on faceoffs, and solid discipline (just one penalty for two minutes). Give Doan credit, because he stood in there and took a ton of pucks. He made a few great saves among his 43, but he couldn't keep enough pucks out of the net to secure an upset win for his team.

UMD got its 16th win Friday, matching its 2013-14 season total with at least 11 games (nine regular season and two guaranteed playoff games) remaining. Oh, and Friday was UMD's sixth win at home (6-4-1). We won five games at home last year (5-10-3).

Moving forward.

Despite the strong performance, a couple lineup tweaks wouldn't shock me. We might see Blake Young play Saturday, and we'll see if Willie Raskob and/or Nick McCormack get back in on the blue line. Wouldn't pass out if Matt McNeely got the start in goal, though Kaskisuo was so seldom tested Friday that it could be argued the No. 1 goalie could use some more work on Saturday.

Basically, I don't know. Watch Twitter for updates when I do. Talk Saturday with the lineups. Game's at 7. Bring your money if you're going. Pink stick auction going on, as we try to raise a few bucks for the Essentia Health Foundation. I know it's probably geared a bit toward hockey players, but I have possession of a few sticks I don't ever envision allowing my son to use, since they're signed and all. They're cool sticks, and they'd make a good keepsake for fans of all shapes, sizes, and ages.

******

Not much else going on this weekend. On Friday, Danton Heinen had a goal and two assists as Denver won 3-0 at Colorado College. DU's Tanner Jaillet got his first collegiate shutout, one week after being pulled from Saturday's relief appearance against UMD. Denver is one point back of UMD for third place in the NCHC.

However, Miami can hop both teams if it beats Western Michigan Saturday afternoon. It's the only other game being played for points in the NCHC this weekend, and it's being played at Soldier Field in Chicago as part of the Hockey City Classic (Michigan and Michigan State also play at the event).

No matter what, the last four weekends will be nuts. This I promise you.

Game 27: Northern Michigan at UMD

UMD is home this weekend and next, its only four-game homestand all season. The Bulldogs have played just twice at Amsoil Arena since a Dec. 5-6 sweep of Colorado College, having lost and tied against Western Michigan in mid-January.

The Bulldogs host Northern Michigan of the WCHA this weekend in a battle that pits members of the two of the nation's three strongest leagues -- based on non-conference records -- head to head in a key series.

Northern might not have NCAA at-large hopes (29th in the Pairwise), but the Wildcats still want to position themselves well for the NCAA Tournament, and they'll be determined to put in a good performance without No. 1 goalie Mathias Dahlstrom, who did not make the trip this weekend because of an injury.

Lines?

Lines.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Kotyk
Corrin - Molenaar

Kaskisuo - McNeely

NMU
Payne - Sooth - Diamantoni
Hanson - Nowick - Siemer
Seckel - Jones - Salminen
Purpur - Kesti - Manno

Baker - Kaib
Maschmeyer - Urban
Klimek - Trenz

Doan - Dun

Mindset Key for UMD as Northern Michigan Invades

Late season non-conference series can be all over the place. They're not always easy to schedule, since league schedules are usually loaded up.

While the other seven NCHC teams are playing either one or zero games this weekend, UMD is set to complete its non-conference schedule with two games against Northern Michigan of the WCHA.

It's not surprising that UMD would find a way to get games in on a conference bye week late in the season. In fact, you have to go back to 2011 to find the last time UMD took a full weekend off after Christmas break.

"I think guys would rather play than take a week off," head coach Scott Sandelin said this week, referencing the fact that UMD's opponent next weekend -- St. Cloud State -- is one of three NCHC teams not playing at all this weekend.

(Omaha and North Dakota are the others. Denver, Colorado College, Miami, and Western Michigan each play one game.)

So UMD forges on with its 20-games-in-ten-weekends second-half schedule. So far, so good. There was a scare in the second period Saturday when sophomore forward Alex Iafallo went down with an apparent (-ly obvious) right leg problem. Luckily, our awesome trainer got him back on the ice to score a goal later that period. He was practicing Wednesday and didn't appear to have any serious limitations. I'd imagine he plays, unless the decision has been made to rest him as a precaution.

Even better is that defensemen Dan Molenaar and Nick McCormack were both practicing this week. So UMD had its (now) full compliment of 13 forwards and eight defensemen on the ice at the same time for the first time in the second half of the season. Molenaar was felled by mono out of break, while McCormack had missed time with an undisclosed injury.

Don't expect much change to the forward lines. All four of them played well in Denver, helping UMD establish a strong forecheck while also doing a pretty good job defensively. I'd expect all 13 forwards to play this weekend, with Sandelin working Charlie Sampair in one night. Not sure what the plan will be with the defensemen. Molenaar made the trip to Denver and looks much healthier than when he first got back on the ice. If either "extra" is cleared, one would think they play one game.

Beyond the chance to get everyone on the ice, it's going to be a key non-conference series. Northern Michigan has been streaky. The Wildcats started 7-1-1, endured some injuries and went through a rough patch (1-5-4 in their next ten games), and are now unbeaten in three.

"We went through a stretch there where we struggled," coach Walt Kyle said this week. "We feel like we're coming out of that right now. I feel like we're getting close to getting our game back in order."

NMU swept Alaska-Anchorage last weekend in Marquette, but it was a costly sweep. Sophomore goalie Mathias Dahlstrom went down on Friday after a collision with a UAA player. He will not be available against UMD.

The Wildcats will get back to league play next weekend, very much in the thick of things for home ice advantage. Kyle says the WCHA is obviously strong at the top, but he notes that isn't all.

"I think there's strength right through it. There's not much difference between a Bemidji State and a Bowling Green. There's a lot of good teams in our league. I think it's real good top to bottom."

Kyle notes that the league is now comprised of a lot of Division II schools that are prideful about playing Division I hockey. I hate the term "like-minded," which was popularized during realignment a few years ago, and Kyle didn't use it here, but it does work. These schools are as like-minded as it gets when it comes to running their athletic programs.

On the ice, Dahlstrom's absence creates trouble for Northern Michigan. He's been a big key to the team up to this point, with a .924 save percentage in 21 games. NMU's save percentage drops to .908 when Dahlstrom isn't manning the pipes.

The Bulldogs were beaten two Fridays ago by Bemidji State at the North Star College Cup. Sandelin said he doesn't think his team had the right mindset going into that game, which ended up 4-0.

"Our focus needs to be building off what we did the last two or three games," Sandelin said. "Continue to do that and get better. If we go into it with any other mindset than we need to play hard and do the things we need to do, we won't have success.

"I think our guys understand. Certainly what we went through a couple weeks ago. We didn't go into it with the right mindset and you saw what happened."

The first ten minutes will tell us a lot. Hopefully the Bulldogs come out with intensity and don't need to be "shocked" into the game, whether that comes from NMU scoring or just pinning the Bulldogs in their own zone for a spell, or from someone getting knocked into the middle of next week.

******

Sandelin talked extensively about special teams at his Wednesday press conference. He said freshman goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo was his team's best penalty killer on Saturday, as UMD killed off two Denver power plays in the third period after DU had closed within 3-2.

He also lauded his killers for their effort on a five-minute penalty kill in the third period of Friday's loss. The kill kept the margin at one goal and gave UMD a chance to tie late.

"I thought Kas played outstanding (Saturday)," Sandelin said. "Made two or three key saves. They were huge kills at the time."

The power play didn't score, but UMD got two goals in the first ten seconds after man advantages expired last weekend.

"I think there's good things," Sandelin said, "but we're not putting the puck in the back of the net. We're going to try to measure power play success based on some tangible things that give you success on the power play and not if you score. The ultimate goal is to score, but we have to do a lot of things well."

Sandelin said they've devised four or five categories to measure success by. He didn't get into specifics, but I'd imagine faceoffs, shot attempts, and shots on goal are on the list, along with some sort of measurement of zone entries, puck retrievals, and puck battles. Those latter things go toward puck possession, something UMD has struggled with.

Over last weekend, if UMD won the faceoff to start a power play, things generally went okay until Denver got possession and cleared. Zone entries were a bugaboo all weekend. Once DU got it out, UMD struggled to get it back in cleanly.

It's something to watch. I've seen improvement by UMD on the power play, but not in all areas and not all the time. I liked Saturday's power play chances, but they didn't score. If they keep doing more good things than bad, that will come around.