Monday Musings: UMD Wins Final North Star College Cup

Lots of important notes out of UMD's North Star College Cup championship Saturday night in St. Paul.

For starters, UMD does indeed claim the beautiful wooden trophy in the event's final season. It's the second of the five trophies -- joining the blue ox trophy won in Bemidji Dec. 17 -- the Bulldogs want to get their hands on this season (NCHC regular season and playoff championships and the NCAA title are the others).

UMD's 2-1 win over St. Cloud State improved the Bulldogs to 4-1 this year against the Huskies. UMD is also now 9-3-3 when the adversary scores first, 10-1-2 away from Duluth, 5-2-3 when trailing after the first period, 4-3-4 when behind after two periods, 7-4 in one-goal games, and 13-5 in games decided by one or two goals.

Kyle Osterberg's overtime goal also lifted the Bulldogs to a season-high fifth straight win.

Guess that three-game winless run out of the holiday break is forgotten about now, eh?

Osterberg got the initial chance on his scoring play, with a long shot off the rush that SCSU goalie Jeff Smith was able to steer aside, but the puck remained in play and Osterberg got to it first. He whipped a perfect pass out to the opposite point, where sophomore Neal Pionk didn't waste much time getting it back to the net. Osterberg had gone around the back of the goal and camped out at the left post, perfect position for the rebound.

(This is courtesy of @UMDhockeygifs, and we couldn't be more grateful.)



It wasn't always pretty. UMD struggled in the first period, and SCSU had more than a few shifts where it controlled the puck in the Bulldogs' end of the ice for a long time. But the Bulldogs blocked 18 shots (four by Jared Thomas, whose goal-scoring struggles are old news, but he was in front of the line Saturday, willing to risk injury to get in the way of shots; and Jimmy Schuldt isn't exactly Ryan Suter when it comes to shooting the puck), and in both games of this tournament, UMD did a great job keeping the adversary away from goalie Hunter Miska.

That isn't to say Miska didn't play well, or that he didn't earn MVP honors for the weekend. 66 saves on 69 shots will do that for someone. But his weekend could have been a lot more difficult than it was had UMD not been so dedicated to blocking shots and keeping the opponent on the perimeter.

It's hard to get a feel for the intensity of a game when you're way up in the press box like we were this weekend, but it didn't seem as if the pace was that of the Minnesota game Friday. This would normally benefit St. Cloud State, and the Huskies did a good job through 38 minutes. But UMD started to get going late in the second period, and really made life difficult for Smith in the third. Alex Iafallo jammed one home 42 seconds into the third to tie the score, and that top line with Iafallo, Dominic Toninato, and Adam Johnson started grinding down the Huskies in the third.

From there, UMD really controlled the overtime, with Smith denying Johnson on a partial breakaway early before UMD finally broke through for the winning goal.

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Our friend Matt Wellens wrote a quality column in Monday's Duluth News Tribune, hopefully putting the end of this tournament to bed. Here's a snippet.

College hockey fans in Minnesota should feel disappointed and betrayed because the North Star College Cup is dead. The State of Hockey no longer has its own tournament to celebrate the college game, as they do in Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational) or Boston (Beanpot).
And you — the fans — are wrongfully being blamed for this tournament's demise.
Now, I know the attendance numbers weren't great, especially when you compare them to what the NHL's Minnesota Wild draw at Xcel Energy Center (19,008 average so far this year) or the records that the Minnesota State High School Hockey League boys state hockey tournament sets every year (22,224 last year for a Friday evening session featuring two Class AA semifinals) in St. Paul.
This year's North Star College Cup was the lowest in four years, drawing a two-day total of only 23,265. The first tournament drew 28,906 in 2014 — and those are just the announced attendance figures. The truth is, there were a lot fewer butts in the seats.
But what do you expect out of a tournament that's just four years old? It needs time to grow, especially since four of the five participants don't get to take part every year. Only the host Golden Gophers participated in all four tournaments.

I would echo much of what Matt wrote. And I never meant to come across as blaming the fans, so please tell me y'all didn't take my writings last week that way.

There's plenty of blame to go around here. As I said on Twitter Saturday, I'm very disappointed that no effort was made to play this tournament a different weekend.

SCSU's Bob Motzko suggested Christmas, but I like Scott Sandelin's Thanksgiving idea the more I think about it. High school hockey really hasn't started yet, and there aren't a lot of youth hockey events played that weekend because it's so early in the season. You have a lot less competition for people, even when you factor in Thanksgiving holiday travel.

I know college hockey interest tends to be a bit lower in the early part of the season, but if we're trying to build a special event, it might involve thinking outside the box.

Further, keep in mind that Minnesota made this event part of its season ticket packages. There's some grumbling that it would have left over 11,000 tickets to sell by the other schools, but it simply isn't realistic to place this tournament on season ticket packages, especially for UMD and Bemidji State. You're looking at four hours of drive time to get from Bemidji to XCel Energy Center, two and a half from Duluth. There's a good chance you love college hockey if you're reading this, and that's appreciated, but the 4,500 season ticket holders UMD has are not going to be happy if they're plunking down an extra $60 for season tickets so they can pay to attend the North Star College Cup if they have no intention of going.

Hopefully this is the last of me on this topic. For now.

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UMD returns home and to NCHC play Friday and Saturday against Omaha. The Mavericks are off a sweep at the hands of Denver. Omaha kicked away a 2-0 lead in a 5-3 loss Friday, and the Mavericks were out of it early Saturday as DU won 5-0. UNO is still fifth in the league, very much alive for home ice and the NCAA Tournament, and you can expect a desperate visitor on Friday night.

UMD wasn't at its sharpest in its four-game homestand out of holiday break, but this has been an improved home team the last couple years and I would expect that to continue down the stretch.

Omaha's power play is still at 25 percent on the season, so the Bulldogs have to do a better job of avoiding penalties this weekend than it did in Omaha, where the Mavericks scored six power-play goals (and none at even strength).

Game 26: UMD vs St. Cloud State (North Star College Cup Championship)

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Here at the X, we have a fifth meeting this season between UMD and St. Cloud State.

Might there be a good reason here as to why the North Star College Cup never got off the ground level?

I already wrote about this, but give it some thought. What is the incentive for a UMD or St. Cloud State fan to drive any notable length of time to watch this game? The teams already played twice in St. Cloud and twice in Duluth.

And, again, you can give me the Beanpot argument, but that doesn't work. The Beanpot has been around long enough to build a tradition. It wasn't drawing sellout crowds at the NHL arena in Boston when it first started.

Also, parking and traffic around the arena is a mess. Winter Carnival is underway in St. Paul, which means a long parade to close roads and more events into the evening. There's a gigantic cheerleading competition at RiverCentre, and a weekend cat show there also added to the traffic mess.

Anyway, it sucks this tournament is done after this year. Maybe someone tries something different in the future. We'll see.

As for this game, familiar opponents, no question. Just played two weeks ago in Duluth, and it was a good series. Expect UMD to try to attack the SCSU net, which is a lot easier said than done given the ability of the Huskies' defensemen.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Osterberg - Thomas - Anderson
Tufte - Peterson - Kuhlman
Miller - Spurrell - Exell

Soucy - Raskob
Pionk - Kotyk
Wolff - Molenaar

Miska - Deery - Shepard

SCSU
Eyssimont - Winiecki - Newell
Jackson - Peterson - Papa
Poehling (Jack) - Poehling (Ryan) - Poehling (Nick)
Tedesco - Benson - Wahlin

Ahcan - Borgen
Schuldt - Cholowski
Widman - Lizotte

Smith - Driscoll - Zevnik

Monday Musings: Bulldogs Blow Lead, Win in Overtime

Everything came up roses in the early going for UMD Saturday against St. Cloud State. The Bulldogs weren't overwhelmingly good, but instead pounced on opportunities and took a 3-0 lead on the Huskies when Dan Molenaar scored early in the second period.

But oh how things change when the team playing from ahead gives up a bad goal and becomes undisciplined. Blake Winiecki got SCSU on the board with a bad-angle shot that caught UMD goalie Hunter Miska off-guard. It was a rare miscue for Miska, who has been so solid this season, but it didn't look like he had any idea there was a puck coming his way.

Shortly after that, UMD began a parade to the penalty box. Jared Thomas took a double-minor (two for goalie interference, two for roughing), and St. Cloud State got a power play goal to make it 3-2. Thomas' penalty was just the first, however. Dominic Toninato got a slashing minor, and then Brenden Kotyk was ejected for a hit from behind 31 seconds later, giving the Huskies a long five-on-three and relegating UMD to five defensemen for the rest of the night.

Jimmy Schuldt unleashed a rocket of a one-timer from the high slot to tie the game during the five-on-three, but true to its season-long form, the UMD kill rallied back and killed off the rest of Kotyk's major to keep the game tied.

UMD came up empty on a five-minute power play of its own in the third, but largely controlled five-on-five play. Couldn't get one home, so it wasn't until Molenaar set up Kyle Osterberg's tip for the winning goal that UMD emerged victorious.

Good game, nice crowd, lively building (something we haven't seen enough of this season), and a good way to close out the homestand. UMD has been a much improved home team as of late, and it was uncharacteristic to see the Bulldogs go winless over three at Amsoil Arena (with just four regulation goals scored).

It wasn't a virtuoso, not at all. But heading into the weekend, I was looking for improvement. Friday against SCSU was better than Saturday against Colorado College. UMD took another positive step on Saturday, and not just because it won. Saturday was a more complete effort by the Bulldogs, one that can be built on as North Dakota looms.

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It's not all duckies and bunnies. There's no panic over the fact UMD has taken major penalties in three of the four games since holiday break ended. Of the three, only one of them -- Willie Raskob's contact to the head major that drew a one-game suspension from the NCHC -- was a truly regrettable hit. Avery Peterson had no intent, but probably deserved an ejection for his hit in the Friday CC game.

The call on Kotyk looked good to me until I watched the replay. By no means is this a rip of the officials involved. They don't get to look at the replays, which appear to show Winiecki was already falling down and Kotyk barely made any contact. Live action, it looked -- and I said this -- like Kotyk followed through on a push to the back, and I can't be mad at the call that was made based on that.

What I can be mad at is the NCAA Rules Committee still refusing to allow video review of potential major penalties in the regular season. Officials were allowed to look at video of such plays during postseason games last year, something that was well-received by everyone involved.

"When there’s so much on the line come playoff time for these schools, I think everyone enjoys the fact that the right call is going to be made a very high percentage of the time," NCHC Director of Officiating Don Adam told me in September.

I continue to hold out hope the committee will see the light. On Will Borgen's interference major in the third period, the officials spent the entire media timeout discussing the hit (a high and late hit on UMD's Neal Pionk) and still hadn't reached a verdict when we came back from break. Allow them to review that video, and there's no doubt in my mind the delay isn't as long.

(By the way, the replay I saw, it looked like Borgen got Pionk square in the head. Since I was pretty vehement about the fact Raskob deserved a suspension for his hit, I would be negligent of my duty if I didn't say Borgen deserves and should get a game for his hit. We'll see if the NCHC takes action.)

Anyway, I really don't think there's any reason for panic. There's an element of bad luck involved here. That said, I am a bit concerned about the poorly-timed run of penalties in the second period of a game UMD led 3-0. The Bulldogs took six penalties in the game, all in the second period. All six infractions occurred in a span of 5:06. Is it worth panicking over a game where the adversary had four power plays? No. But UMD has to do a better job avoiding runs like that.

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Next up is the return trip up Highway 2, as North Dakota gets the rematch it's probably had circled since UMD finished a home sweep Oct. 29.

(I'm not sure anyone will admit it in Grand Forks, but let's not be dumb. This matters to them, and it should.)

Those two UMD wins in Duluth moved the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the national rankings for the first time. They held that spot -- outside of one week -- until the CC games in Duluth Jan. 6-7 knocked them from the perch.

Since playing UMD, North Dakota has gotten healthier -- Brock Boeser is back from wrist surgery in December, an injury that had impacted him for some time before he got cut open -- and the Fighting Hawks appear poised to make a run. There was a hiccup Friday against Miami, as the RedHawks scored five in the third period to win 6-3, but UND is 4-1 since its holiday break ended, and included in that was a two-game sweep in Omaha where it put up 16 goals.

I do think North Dakota can be vulnerable in the back, a spot it was quite strong last year, but the biggest key for UMD is avoiding matchup nightmares with the UND top lines while playing on the road. Boeser and star freshman Tyson Jost are separated at the moment, so we'll see which line Brad Berry wants dealing with Carson Soucy, and which one has to deal with Pionk. Neither are a picnic to play against.

Game 22: St. Cloud State at UMD

After a frustrating Friday, UMD tried again in the rematch against SCSU.

Quick blog, truncated prep time because of the UMD women's game (a 5-3 win over Minnesota to sweep the Gophers!). But as you can see, a few changes for UMD. Jade Miller draws back in, Avery Peterson moves back to the middle, and a couple line jumbles you can see below.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Soucy - Raskob
Pionk - Kotyk
Wolff - Molenaar

Miska - Deery - Shepard

SCSU
Jackson - Winiecki - Newell
Poehling (Nick) - Peterson  - Poehling (Jack)
Eyssimont - Poehling (Ryan) - Benson
Papa - Storm - Wahlin

Ahcan - Borgen
Schuldt - Cholowski
Widman - Nevalainen

Smith - Driscoll

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Better Effort for UMD, Same Result in Series Opening Loss to St. Cloud

Apologies for the late blog. Had a difficult conversation for breakfast in order to assure you an ELITE blog as a means of making up for my tardiness.

We talked during the week about UMD's lack of intensity and/or emotion in last week's series against Colorado College. If it was going to be an issue Friday, St. Cloud State shocked the Bulldogs into the game early when sophomore defenseman Will Borgen decked UMD sophomore Adam Johnson near the SCSU blue line. It was a clean hit all the way, but Johnson seemed jarred initially by it. He stayed in the game.

Unquestionably, UMD's intensity was better, and the Bulldogs played late in the game with a sense of urgency that was somewhat lacking last weekend as well. If you take the long view, these are good things, but they didn't lead to a better result, as UMD fell 2-1 for the second straight game. It's UMD's fourth one-goal loss out of five losses this season. More on that in a bit.

World Juniors gold medalist Jack Ahcan scored both goals for the Huskies, who started the second half of the season 1-3 and were swept at Miami last weekend. Freshman goalie Jeff Smith made 41 saves and made many of them look easy. Maybe they were, and UMD absolutely needs to do a better job of getting to the net. The Bulldogs scored eight goals in St. Cloud that weren't empty-net tallies. Of those, the Bulldogs got half of them by going to the net and either creating traffic or finding rebounds. UMD's only goal Friday -- the first of Riley Tufte's Bulldog career -- came from doing the same darn thing.

Smith kept himself in good position and made himself big by playing at the top of his crease. UMD did a number of good things in this game, but did not do nearly well enough making the goalie move laterally or make him sag deeper into the crease. For much of the night, UMD shot like a team that doesn't have a lot of confidence, putting pucks right in Smith's midsection.

Part of this is SCSU's defensive corps, which will be elite if its key pieces -- Ahcan, Borgen, Jimmy Schuldt, and Dennis Cholowski -- stay together (Schuldt should be a big-time free agent target for NHL teams once the season ends, Borgen is drafted by Buffalo, and Cholowski is a first-round pick by Detroit). Any team that wants to get to the dirty areas against these guys will have a hell of a challenge. They're good positionally, skate well, and are good with the puck. UMD is a forecheck team, and that forecheck struggled to get going on Friday.

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One guy SCSU couldn't stop on Friday was Tufte. In his 17th college game, Tufte finally got his first goal. It won't be his last.

I've been a staunch defender of Tufte's from the start. Yes, you could argue he should have played a year in Fargo. He decided junior hockey wasn't for him, and I can't be mad at that. He showed up in Duluth ready to work and eager to learn.

I don't care that the scoreline shows 1-1-2 in 17 games, which no one should be impressed by. As head coach Scott Sandelin says, they look beyond production when evaluating the players, and when you look beyond Tufte's production, you see development. Look no further than how Tufte played Friday versus how Tufte played the first time the Bulldogs met St. Cloud.

The Friday game in St. Cloud was probably the worst game Tufte's had. He struggled on the wall, losing races and battles, and was guilty of a couple garish turnovers. He rebounded and played better in the Saturday game, and he's been progressing steadily ever since.

This time around, Tufte was winning those wall battles, getting to the net, and creating havoc. That's how he scored, and he had a couple near-goals before that happened. There's no doubt Tufte's earning more ice time, probably earning more power play time (the power play really struggled on Friday), and he's getting better day by day.

Ultimately, that's all you can ask of a player. Improve every day. Tufte is, and he's showed these last three games that he will be an X-factor for UMD in the second half. He has been bumped to the top six, and I'd expect him to stay there.

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After the game, Sandelin hinted at potential line changes. There were a couple centers -- Johnson and Jared Thomas -- who had difficult moments. While Johnson stayed in the game after the Borgen hit, it seemed to jar him a bit. Johnson needs to use his speed to be at his most effective, and he wasn't always doing that on Friday. I'd argue Johnson has every tool in the toolbox, outside of a little more size, to be an effective pro. He has speed, good puck skills, and he has an uncanny ability to make plays while at full speed, something you can't teach and something the pro coaches love in a skill player.

But Johnson has to be more consistent. He needs to want the puck on his stick and he needs to get his feet going when he has it. I'm not sure moving him back to wing is the answer, because I do like him playing in the middle where he can be more of a factor, but when he isn't going at his peak he struggles as a center.

Thomas hasn't scored since October 2015, a span of too many games to count. He's had some really good moments in there. As an example, I liked his game last Friday against Colorado College. He was good on draws, moved the puck well, was fine defensively, and was probably UMD's most consistent physical forward in that game.

Against St. Cloud State, he had a couple garish turnovers in the defensive zone that nearly led to Huskies goals, and he wasn't strong on a power play that was largely ineffective in five chances (four, really, since the officials saw fit to wipe out a UMD power play with a terrible goalie interference call on Neal Pionk).

Thomas had been UMD's most consistent faceoff man in the first part of the season. Over the first 14 games, he was only under 50 percent on draws three times. In the seven games since, it's happened five times. He's 39-for-84 in the circle since the first break, which came after the Omaha series ended Nov. 19.

Scoring goals can only get you so far as a player. I'd argue Thomas has been fairly effective this season, even though it's clear his confidence has been shaken a bit by this scoring slump. He's found goalposts and missed the net on golden opportunities this season, and I can't help but feel for someone who has shown themselves perfectly capable but appears to be absolutely snakebit in front of the net. But if he isn't going to score, he has to do other important things -- i.e. win faceoffs, get to the net, be effective defensively -- well. Hopefully he can get back to that and cement his spot in this lineup as a result.

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The sky is not falling. UMD has lost five of 21 games this season. Four of them (FOUR!) have been by one goal. Games only get tighter in the second half of the season, so the Bulldogs have to be more effective around the net to be successful.

After a "hot" start in one-goal games, UMD is now 4-4 in those situations this season. Yes, there have been some other games where UMD got empty-net goals to widen the final margin, but we've talked about this before. A great record in one-goal games indicates some fortune. UMD had it early, not so much as of late.

The power play has to get going. UMD has 17 power play goals on 158 power play shots, a 10.5 shooting percentage that is only one point higher than its overall shooting percentage of 9.5 this season. To contrast, UMD's opponents have a shooting percentage of 13.8 on the power play, 9.1 overall.

The power play had been okay, even when not scoring. The game-by-game stats I keep show that it was generating opportunities, and outside of consistently scoring goals the power play was passing the eye test. It was not effective on Friday.

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Elsewhere in the NCHC, Miami put up five third period goals to beat North Dakota 6-3 in Grand Forks. Anthony Louis, Carson Meyer, Karch Bachman, Ryan Siroky, and Louie Belpedio struck for the RedHawks, with Bachman's goal giving Miami a 4-3 lead and chasing UND starting goalie Cam Johnson. Matej Tomek took over and allowed two more goals on five shots. Ryan Larkin made 30 saves in goal for Miami, which has quietly won five in a row.

Fredrik Tiffels scored the winning goal on a five-minute Western Michigan power play, and the Broncos went on to take down No. 1 Denver 3-0 in Kalamazoo. Ben Blacker got the shutout for WMU, while Chris Dienes and Sheldon Dries tallied empty-net goals.

In Colorado Springs, Tyler Vesel scored twice, Jake Randolph had two assists, and Omaha beat Colorado College 5-2. Vesel scored his power play goals after Brandon Makara gave CC a 1-0 lead in the first period. After tough weekend at home against North Dakota where the Fighting Hawks scored 16 goals, UNO got a sound night from goalie Kris Oldham, who made 26 saves.

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Before I go, a shoutout to the UMD women's hockey team, which beat Minnesota 3-2 Friday at Amsoil Arena. The Bulldogs got a third-period goal by Katherine McGovern to provide the winning margin, as each team struck twice in the third period. UMD got goals from Kateřina Mrázová in the first period and Lara Stalder -- who had assists on the other Bulldog goals -- in the second. Kelly Pannek and Sarah Potomak had the Minnesota goals, both on third-period power plays as the Gophers went two-for-two on the power play. Minnesota has scored six power play goals on 12 chances against UMD over three games, accounting for six of the nine goals the Gophers have over those three meetings.

Maddie Rooney, who has been a rock in goal for UMD, made 15 of her 28 saves in the third period. UMD led in shots 35-30, and picked up its first win over Minnesota in exactly five years (last one was Jan. 13, 2012). The teams play again at 3pm Saturday.

Game 21: St. Cloud State at UMD

Should be a fun series this weekend between two teams that can't be thrilled with last week's events. UMD, of course, settled for two out of six points against Colorado College at home, while St. Cloud State got zero of six at Miami. In that set, SCSU led 2-1 late Friday before a controversial major penalty allowed the RedHawks to score a late equalizer and overtime winner.

UMD will play without senior defenseman Willie Raskob, suspended for a head contact incident on CC's Mason Bergh Saturday. It's a warranted punishment that we've discussed enough. Freshman Jarod Hilderman draws in for the series opener, his first game since Oct. 15 against Notre Dame.

UMD coach Scott Sandelin Wednesday lamented a lack of emotion and intensity in the previous weekend. You can bet that his players will be prepared to change that this weekend. Huge opportunity to bank some points this weekend before a tough set at North Dakota and then a stretch of two out of three weeks where UMD won't be playing in conference.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Soucy - Molenaar
Pionk - Kotyk
Wolff - Hilderman

Miska - Deery - Shepard

SCSU
Wahlin - Peterson - Papa
Jackson - Winiecki - Newell
Eyssimont - Poehling (Ryan) - Benson
Poehling (Jack) - Storm - Poehling (Nick)

Ahcan - Borgen
Schuldt - Cholowski
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Smith - Driscoll

Bulldogs, St. Cloud State Both Seek Redemption After Tough Weekends

Undoubtedly, last weekend was not what UMD was looking for.

"I don't want to sit here and talk about everything we did wrong," head coach Scott Sandelin said this week. "I want to give CC credit."

Sandelin did that, noting their left wing lock, played to near perfection, caused UMD all sorts of problems.

"We just never got going."

As I wrote on Monday, any complaining or bellyaching about how UMD played or how the officials officiated or how the ice was or anything else had to be predicated by giving the Tigers credit. Feeling good about themselves after a Florida College Classic championship, Colorado College waltzed into Amsoil Arena and played the way it wanted to play. The Bulldogs struggled throughout both games, never seemed emotionally into what was going on, and got the result that level of play would warrant.

But let's be fair to UMD. It was one bad weekend after a long series of good to great weekends. Even the great teams have them. North Dakota got swept at Denver and later lost and tied at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff before going on to win the NCAA title.

If we believe this UMD team has a chance to be a great team, the occasional hiccup is still inevitable. And if the group tackles adversity week to week the way it has tackled adversity during games, there is zero reason to be concerned.

Some examples:

Oct. 7 at UMass-Lowell: Trailed 4-1 midway through the second, rallied to earn 4-4 tie
Oct. 28 vs North Dakota: 3-0 lead became 3-2 in final minute of second, scored only goals of third in 5-2 win
Nov. 4-5 at St. Cloud State: Trailed 3-1 both nights, won both games 5-3
Nov. 12 vs Western Michigan: After late goal gave WMU a 4-3 win Friday, UMD won 2-0 Saturday
Dec. 10 at Denver: After 4-3 loss Friday, UMD won 3-1 Saturday
Dec. 17 at Bemidji State: Gave up goal :44 in, trailed into second period, won 2-1 and didn't allow a shot in back-to-back BSU power plays over final 3:37 of regulation

Sandelin wants to see some emotion this weekend, which he said was lacking last week.

"It was just kind of dead. Very flat. Maybe a combination of not playing enough over 30 or 40 days. We gotta find a way to get back to it. We had a good, very simple talk Monday about getting back to what we need to do, focusing more on the things we need to get better at.

"Hopefully our guys learned the lesson," he said. "Our league is tough. Certainly, we didn't play well enough either night to win two games, but we had opportunities. We have to be better this weekend for sure."

Senior forward Kyle Osterberg noted classes at UMD resumed this week, and that return to "routine" might be a little bit of a boost for most guys. After all, athletes are creatures of habit.

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St. Cloud State, meanwhile, also had a disappointing start to 2017. The Huskies went into break with a 2-1-1 mark over their last four games, including a win and tie at Western Michigan. They've come out of break 1-3, swept by Miami last weekend and having split games at the Desert Hockey Classic the weekend prior.

"It's been good and bad," SCSU coach Bob Motzko said this week. "It's just like our team. We're in every game, it's tight. We don't score like we did a year ago. We don't have an All-American goalie like last year (Charlie Lindgren), but they've given us a chance in every game. I like our hockey team, I like it a lot.

"We're just not there yet, but we're coming."

Sophomore Mikey Eyssimont leads with ten goals, followed by Duluth Marshall graduate Judd Peterson with nine. Freshman Jack Ahcan, a World Junior gold medalist along with Motzko (head coach), video coordinator Matt Chapman, and of course UMD freshman Joey Anderson, has 13 points in 16 games.

The goalies, Jeff Smith and Zach Driscoll, have basically split time, each playing in 12 games and being separated by just 30 minutes played. Smith has a 2.98 goals against and .891 save percentage, Driscoll a 3.13 and .889. Smith started both games at Miami with Driscoll ill, but Motzko said he was back in practice this week and we don't know which goalie will get the nod in the series opener.

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Motzko, by the way, had nothing but praise for UMD's Anderson, who played top-line minutes and was used in many key situations in the World Juniors.

"There was one moment, he's in the hall, and I put my arm around him and said 'Except for Duluth, I love you'. He's a special kid and hockey player. One of my favorites. Last year on that (Under 18) team, (Clayton) Keller and (Kiefer) Bellows got all the accolades for what they did, but I got the feeling Joey was the straw that stirred that drink.

"I found myself using him in the big games the most, because I could trust him. I hate to say it, but you guys got a special one up there."

Motzko was grateful for the chance to work with this team, one he said he knew during evaluation camp in the summer in Michigan had a chance to be special.

Sandelin told reporters Wednesday UMD will "do something" Friday to honor the members of the World Junior team that are part of the Bulldogs and Huskies.

Also, it's Hall of Fame weekend, with the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame inductions set for Saturday. All six inductees -- former men's hockey star and Hobey Baker winner Junior Lessard, Tim Battaglia (baseball and football), Barry Fermanich (baseball and basketball), Lindsey Dietz (basketball), Dave Hicks (skiing and golf), and Angie Jones (softball) -- will be honored on the ice after the first period of Saturday's game. For the radio folk, Lessard will be with us after the second period Friday, and Battaglia after the second period Saturday.

Monday Musings: Lethargic, Lackluster Bulldogs Get What They Have Coming in Saturday Loss

A long, long time ago, UMD coach Scott Sandelin responded to a blowout loss by saying something along these lines (I'm paraphrasing, but the general point is accurate):

"They got what they deserved, and we got what we deserved."

Whenever those were spoken, it was indeed after a blowout loss by UMD. But they are often true when a game is played, no matter the final margin. They were true again on Saturday, when Colorado College got what it deserved, and UMD got what it deserved.

The final result was a 2-1 Tiger win, and while there are a lot of things I want to discuss in this here blog entry, the first thing that has to be done -- because it's 1) true, and 2) the right thing to do -- is to give credit where it's due.

Colorado College played very well defensively. The Tigers blocked 29 shots on the weekend (20 Friday), disrupted UMD's passing lanes, and got strong goaltending from freshman Alex Leclerc (.939 save percentage in six starts before the weekend, .958 save percentage in two games against UMD).

CC got timely goals from Mason Bergh (Saturday) and Sam Rothstein (short-handed on Friday) to shift momentum, and a five-on-three goal from Teemu Kivihalme Saturday provided the game's final margin. That stung for UMD because it came after a long five-on-three kill had started very well for the home team.

Sometimes, it's not necessarily about how many goals a team scores, but more when those goals happen. Rothstein's goal sparked one of the worst stretches of hockey UMD has played all season, and Bergh's Saturday marker seemed to take some life out of the UMD bench, as it was CC's first real scoring chance of the night.

Leclerc didn't really make any mind-blowing, "How did he do that?" saves. But he was a rock when his team needed him. The numbers over eight games tell you that he's playing well, and his team is defending well in front of him.

******

What happened? Well, it wasn't just the Tigers playing well. UMD wasn't sharp. Passes weren't crisp, guys weren't catching the accurate ones. Movements weren't those of a confident, sure-of-themselves group. Everything just looked a little off. And when you're even five percent off in the NCHC, you're probably not going to win. It was a good, hard reminder of the required level of play each night in this difficult league.

In another reminder of how not-sharp UMD was this past weekend, the Bulldogs took their first two major penalties of the 2016-17 season in the series. Avery Peterson was ejected for a check from behind Friday, and Willie Raskob got a game misconduct -- and likely a one-game suspension from the NCHC to be announced early this week -- for contact to the head on Saturday.

(A segment of UMD fans bristle when I argue a Bulldog should be suspended. If a CC player had delivered that hit to a UMD player, there'd be Bulldog fans advocating that player be removed from the league. So please understand we are trying to operate with a modicum of fairness, even though you all know we want UMD to win. I thought Raskob's hit was over the line and unnecessary, and it certainly warrants a suspension. He's not a dirty player. He made a mistake. It happens, but the fact he's not a dirty player doesn't excuse him from the rules.)

Heard a lot of fans complaining about the long break between games. One person even told me the break was a week longer than it was, because it felt like it was that long. Before the weekend series even started, I had two players privately tell me how tough it has been to get back in the groove after the holiday break, largely because the team had just finished up a two-week break before the Denver series.

None of these things were meant to be excuses. I mean, the player conversations I had came days before the CC series even began on Friday. They didn't know how it was going to play out, even if the words became a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Heck, I had conversations with people before the holiday break about how different it would be coming out of that one versus preparing for Denver. First off, that was a No. 1 vs No. 2 series and there was plenty of hype. Also, keep in mind the players were in a normal routine of school and practice during the week.

The other team is on break, too, however, so the logic can only take you so far. The Bulldogs needed to play better than they did, and surely they'll be reminded of that throughout the week as St. Cloud State approaches on Friday.

******

I've tried to exercise more and more patience with the officials. I've defended them in arguments with people, to the point where I'm sure some longtime followers wonder if there's something wrong with me. 😁

When I wrote about the re-emphasis of "standard of play" by the NCAA in September, it came with the obvious caution that not all officials are going to call the game the same way. That said, the hope was players and coaches would adjust and we'd see a quick improvement in the way the game was going to be played.

Apparently, that standard of play expired at the end of 2016.

And if you don't believe me, ask Matt Wellens, who saw the same game I did (I think):

This weekend — tonight especially — the rules emphasis appeared nonexistent, as if we were transported back to the 2015-16 season.
Holding along the boards? No call.
Chipping players or impeding them as they came into the offensive zone? No call.
Hooking? Some got called, but too many “red flag” moments when the stick got parallel with the skater and made contact went uncalled.
It made this series tough to watch, and the fans who had come to expect one thing got frustrated they were back to getting what they were told was now dead.

I'm all for letting the kids play. We don't need to see 20 power plays in a game. However, when there are constant restraining fouls being let go (both ways, yes, but it went more one direction than the other), it makes the game almost impossible. This was the most-like-2004ish hockey game I've seen since, well, 2004. That, friends, isn't a good thing.

The signature moment came while UMD was killing off Raskob's major on Saturday. Dominic Toninato decided to drive into the offensive zone, basically by himself, while UMD changed behind him. He was impeded trying to drive the net, lost the puck, and then took an illegal check while not in possession of the puck near the end boards.

I know players have been known to embellish contact while killing a penalty in hopes of getting a call to nullify the power play, but the second hit was interference and probably roughing as well. Nothing was called. Very frustrating for everyone in attendance, to say the least.

The NCHC has been better than this (I actually think, in whole, the league has done a great job enforcing standard of play while not taking too much away from the games), and I'm fully confident it will be again. But Saturday was difficult to watch, and might not have been with a little more love given to the standard of play emphasis.

(Long-view, UMD needed to do a better job fighting through some of the stickwork and body restraint that was going on. Goes back to the Bulldogs just not being totally in tune with the details of the game, something they've been quite good at most of the season.)

******

Moving on now, thankfully. UMD won't be No. 1 entering this weekend against St. Cloud State. Games are 7pm Friday and Saturday at Amsoil Arena.

The Huskies will be pretty much as ticked off as the Bulldogs entering the weekend. St. Cloud State lost a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 overtime loss to Miami on Friday, then never led in a 4-1 loss on Saturday.

The turning point of Friday was when SCSU forward Jacob Benson was given a five-minute major for contact to the head and a game misconduct when he backed into a Miami player in the neutral zone. The contact appeared to be with the RedHawk player's head, but it was a weird play that was similar to some big hits by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall over the years. I know a lot of SCSU fans were irritated with the call, but honestly looking at the replay I don't have a huge issue with it. Good chance it wasn't a correct call, but remember the officials don't get multi-angle replay views before deciding on a major penalty call. And I can't argue the idea that hit looked really bad live action.

(Potential major penalties can be reviewed, but only in the postseason.)

St. Cloud's goaltending has been a bit suspect this year, as the Huskies have struggled to replace departed star Charlie Lindgren. Sophomore Mikey Eyssimont has ten goals, Duluth native Judd Peterson nine, and World Juniors gold medalist Jack Ahcan has 13 points in 16 games. SCSU's depth isn't what it was last year, but this is still a dangerous team that has a solid power play and just doesn't take a lot of penalties.

Looking forward to a good series. UMD wasn't at its best last weekend, but there's no reason to be worried unless it happens again right away. With this group, I'm betting strong that it won't.

Game 38: UMD vs St. Cloud State (NCHC Championship)

MINNEAPOLIS -- Back at Target Center. Thanks to Aaron Sickman and the incredible Wild PR staff for the accommodations. Always fun to get to a Wild game, and wish I could do it more often.

Now, on to the business at hand. The Bulldogs have work to do in order to secure an NCAA Tournament bid.

Thoughts on Friday's win
Saturday NCAA scenarios

For UMD, the momentum appears to have been built pretty effectively, and it all started in St. Cloud with that stunning sweep of the Huskies. UMD allowed just two goals all weekend in St. Cloud, and the Bulldogs have held a team averaging 4.31 goals per game to six in four games, including one each in the last three get-togethers.

This time of year, defense is the name of the game, and the best defense is mashing on the opponent with puck possession. It's something UMD has done quite well at times this year, including in Friday's win over North Dakota. The old adage is "They can't score if they don't have the puck," and while it certainly qualifies as "no duh," it also applies in spades come playoff time.

Want to hold the likes of Kossila, Eyssimont, Benik, Peterson, Morley, and friends off the board? Make them defend. Cycle the hell out of the puck and make them chase. UMD is at its best when it's using its depth to wear down opponents, but this is one opponent that has the depth to play with the Bulldogs. Not everyone does, but UMD has to play an effective game against a strong Huskies squad.

I'd say it's an advantage to get SCSU off the big sheet, but look at these numbers:

At home, St. Cloud State went 13-5, outscoring opponents 70-37 (3.9 goals per game to 2.1).
Away from home (road and neutral site games), SCSU is 17-3-1, outscoring adversaries 98-47 (4.7 goals per game to 2.35).

So, yeah. Arguments existed in the past that St. Cloud was a big-sheet team that didn't play nearly as well on "standard" surfaces. Those arguments are old and lazy. Don't buy into them. This is a dangerous opponent and it won't be easy to win this game.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

SCSU
Eyssimont - Kossila - Russell
Benik - Morley - Murray
Jackson - Winiecki - Newell
Storm - Peterson - Benson

Schuldt - Prow
Widman - Borgen
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Lindgren - Reijola - Zevnik 

(Matt Wellens reports the SCSU lines could change. If I hear anything, I'll update on Twitter.)

UMD May Need Win in NCHC Final

ST. PAUL -- Made the trip over to the Capital City for the Wild and Carolina Hurricanes in a matinee. First off, it's weird to see anything but the Wild logo at center ice in this building, but the Big Ten is front and center ahead of the title game Saturday night between Minnesota and Michigan.

More on that in a second.

Of course, we're back at Target Center for the NCHC final later, as UMD does battle with St. Cloud State for a fifth time this season. The Bulldogs lead the season series 2-1-1 after sweeping the Huskies on the road at the end of February. That's largely an insignificant note at this moment, because the stakes are both extremely high and very simple for UMD Saturday night.

With other results from Friday's conference tournament games, UMD's path to the NCAA Tournament -- or to elimination from said tournament -- is quite simple. The Bulldogs qualify automatically as NCHC playoff champion with a victory. #JustWinBaby, and they're in.

Now, with that win, the final seed for UMD would still be up in the air. Remember, this tournament is done by the book. The teams that get in are ranked 1-16 and seeded in appropriate bands. In other words, 1-4 are No. 1 regional seeds, 5-8 No. 2 seeds, and so on. I would expect a win to jump UMD into a No. 3 regional seed, probably 11th overall. I've seen scenarios where UMD jumps to tenth overall, but 11th is more likely with an NCHC title. That would be a No. 3 regional seed and a likely ticket to either Albany or Worcester, depending on who ends up getting the third No. 1 seed (way up in the air right now).

Also in play there is the glut of Hockey East teams likely in the tournament (five for sure, and six if Northeastern squeezes in). That could mean a possible all-Hockey East first round matchup somewhere, as it may prove too cumbersome to make the moves necessary to get around it.

(The committee has the ability to create a "conference" matchup in the first round if one can't be avoided.)

If UMD loses, it could get messy for the Bulldogs.

A UMD loss combined with a loss by either Northeastern to UMass-Lowell in Hockey East or Minnesota to Michigan in the Big Ten would not hurt UMD's chance of getting in. If UMD were to lose and Northeastern AND Minnesota won, the Bulldogs would slide out of the field.

So in short, root for UMass-Lowell and Michigan if you must, but most importantly, let's hope UMD takes care of business on the other side of the Mississippi River.

#JustWinBaby

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Big Second Period Lifts UMD to Seventh Straight Win

MINNEAPOLIS -- When North Dakota took a 1-0 lead just 49 seconds into Friday's NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal at Target Center, it set off quite the celebration for most of the 10,000-plus in attendance, the vast majority of whom were North Dakota supporters.

The Fighting Hawks, 4-0 against UMD on the season coming in, had the lead through a period and their adversary looked a tad tentative. UMD settled in defensively after the Nick Schmaltz goal, but never really found any footing in the offensive zone. UND blocked seven Bulldog shots and Cam Johnson managed seven saves on as many shots in the first.

But the second period -- statistically unkind to the Bulldogs all season -- was good to UMD on this day. The Bulldogs put up a three-spot in the second and went on to a 4-2 win over North Dakota, advancing to their first NCHC title game. UMD faces second-seeded St. Cloud State, a 4-2 winner over Denver, in the championship Saturday at 7:30.

As has been the case throughout what is now a seven-game winning streak, UMD's big guns were, well, big. Dominic Toninato scored the first and last goals, Alex Iafallo and Adam Johnson each had two points, and Willie Raskob picked up two assists.

Toninato's first goal came on a "How did he do that?" shot, top shelf from basically the extended goal line to the left of UND's goalie Cam Johnson. Raskob forced a turnover to hold the puck in the zone at the left point to set up Toninato's chance. Iafallo gave UMD the lead less than four minutes later off a great sequence of passes, Adam Johnson to Raskob to Iafallo at the goalcrease.

The UMD power play wasn't a big hit on Friday, going scoreless in four chances, including a 1:18 five on three in the second period shortly after the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead. UMD had four shots in the two-man advantage, then hit a pipe after UND got a guy back on the ice.

Both teams traded quality offensive zone time, but UMD turned a good shift into a third goal at the 12:24 mark, when Austin Farley tipped a Willie Corrin shot and tucked it behind the crossbar. North Dakota grinded out a very good shift of its own a little while later, with Troy Stecher cutting the UMD lead to one with five minutes remaining in the period.

Defensively, UMD played a very strong third period, holding UND to 18 shot attempts (eight blocked) and five shots on goal. Kasimir Kaskisuo was up to the task, stopping all five and 22 of 24 on the afternoon/evening. Toninato got the UMD insurance goal with 5:58 left when he blasted home a shot from the slot after an errant centering pass became available and no one picked him up.

For UMD, it was a form of justice. After losing four times in four meetings and scoring only two goals on 139 shots on Cam Johnson, UMD made its 26 shots count on Friday, netting four goals and finally cracking one of the nation's best goaltenders. UMD played well enough to win probably three of the five meetings, but will settle for this very significant victory.

Some notes from the season-long Excel spreadsheet:

--> For the first time this season, UMD has been outshot at even strength in consecutive games (12-8 by Miami, 22-21 by UND). The Bulldogs are now 4-3 this year when outshot at even strength, including wins in three straight games where it's happened.

--> Tony Cameranesi (1-7-8) has points in a season-high seven straight games.

--> Going back to Jan. 30, Alex Iafallo is 5-8-13 in the last 13 games.

--> Would anyone be surprised if I said Karson Kuhlman was the only UMD player with at least one shot on goal in every game so far (four on Friday)?

--> Defenseman Willie Corrin is 1-3-4 in the last four games.

--> Friday the first two-point game in the career of freshman forward Adam Johnson. Won't be the last.

******

What does it mean? Well, I waited to file this until all of Friday's game were over. And the results didn't go enough in UMD's favor.

Because of Northeastern's win over Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals Friday night, the Bulldogs should bank on winning the NCHC title to punch their ticket. If Northeastern and Minnesota win their respective conference titles, there will be no at-large bid available for the Bulldogs to grab should they not beat St. Cloud State.

If Michigan beats the Gophers or UMass-Lowell beats Northeastern, UMD is in, I believe, regardless of its result against St. Cloud State. But the Big Ten final starts at 7pm, so unless the Hockey East game (6pm start) goes UMD's way, we'll be deep into the SCSU game before we know anything meaningful.

#JustWinBaby

Monday Musings: Sweep Puts UMD in Better Position

Not sure you could have scripted a better weekend for UMD hockey. Both the men and women swept their road series, with the men likely staying alive for an NCAA at-large bid while the women kept their season alive in the WCHA playoffs.

(Great weekend for UMD junior Lara Stalder -- a goal and two assists Friday and one and one Saturday including the overtime game-winning goal -- and for senior goalie Kayla Black, who stopped 79 of 81 Bemidji State shots. The reward? No. 1 seed Wisconsin in a semifinal on Saturday afternoon. UMD needs to win Saturday and again Sunday to get the automatic bid. No at-large shot for the Bulldogs this year.)

The men needed wins. It wasn't just about the NCAA Tournament. We've beaten the horse beyond recognition this season. UMD was playing good hockey for the most part, but couldn't catch a break, and the Bulldogs were running out of time to turn things around.

Two wins in St. Cloud might not mean things are turned around, but it's as good a sign as anything we've seen since the Minnesota series in October, if we've seen those signs at all.

It's not about the PairWise, instead about what's between the ears.

Assistant coach Jason Herter bluntly said last week that he's "run out of speeches" for the team. So the timing of this is certainly good.

How did it happen? Well, I'm glad you asked.

******

On Friday night, UMD started its top line -- Dominic Toninato centering Alex Iafallo and Adam Johnson -- and St. Cloud State opted to go with its second line, centered by David Morley. 39 seconds later, UMD led 1-0 on a rebound goal by Johnson.

For much of the remainder of the weekend, Toninato's line was matched against Kalle Kossila's top line of SCSU. I thought Toninato's group did a fantastic job when given that opportunity. And they played a lot of minutes, part of the reason for the matchup.

(Dom got destroyed in the faceoff circle this past weekend, but the line still did a good job defensively. Also, Toninato's line was probably the best on the team at pushing the puck out of the defensive zone. Despite big minutes against top SCSU players, they were rarely hemmed in for an extended period of time, and they were much more efficient than others on the weekend when given chances to clear pucks, even it meant taking an icing.)

That's not the only way UMD won. Far from it.

No matter who was on the ice, the Bulldogs played a smart, competitive, committed defensive game on Saturday, after admittedly being a bit too loose in Friday's win and getting bailed out by goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo (career high 49 saves Friday). UMD kept SCSU's prime scoring chances to a minimum on Saturday, keeping Kaskisuo clean for the most part and allowing him to see the puck.

(The Huskies' power play goal was an exception to this rule, but it was about the only exception.)

And it's hard to lose when you never trail (0:00 in 120:00 against St. Cloud State) and are rarely tied (29:00 of 120:00). That leaves UMD with a lead for 91 of 120 minutes in a weekend series, and that's okay.

(It's actually better than that.)

Karson Kuhlman had a huge weekend with three goals -- including the eventual winner Saturday on a great tip -- and an assist. The UMD defense was outstanding, especially Andy Welinski and Neal Pionk, who played big minutes against all of SCSU's top guys and acquitted themselves very well.

Defense is a five-man bit, but every blue-liner in the lineup made a big play at some point on the weekend, and when you have that and not many mistakes at the other end, you're not going to lose a lot of hockey games.

******

One weekend remains in the regular season, as UMD battles Miami this weekend in Duluth. The teams are tied at 31 points, but UMD holds the tiebreaker edge. That means UMD needs to just split the series somehow to get home ice. And it's more than likely the Bulldogs will play Miami again the following weekend, unless the UMD-Miami series ends in a sweep and Omaha sweeps Denver (unlikely, I'd say).

UMD took four points at Miami in January, tying 1-1 (losing in three-on-three) before winning 5-2. The Bulldogs only tallied once all weekend, however, against red-hot RedHawks goalie Jay Williams, who won twice over the weekend against Colorado College to continue his strong play as of late. Williams has allowed two or fewer goals in ten of his last 14 starts, including back-to-back shutouts of the Tigers over the weekend.

It's just another goaltending code for UMD to crack in a league full of very good goalies.

(Think about it: Half the NCHC's goalies are up for the Mike Richter Award, and none of them are Williams, who has started 12 straight games since Ryan McKay got the start in the Saturday game against UMD and faltered.)

It'll be an interesting weekend for sure, largely because it's another in a series of better-win games for UMD that sets up an absolute must-win the following weekend, likely against the same team and quite possibly in the same building.

If UMD can win twice this weekend and get by whoever (Miami or UNO) in the first round of the NCHC playoffs the following weekend, it might not need to win the NCHC title to make the NCAAs. That's what this SCSU series may very well have provided UMD: Margin for error.

That and some much needed confidence. I know it's a tacky word to some, but seeing rewards for hard work means something when you've seen as few this year as UMD has. Now, we get to see if there is any carry-over to another huge weekend.

Game 32: UMD at St. Cloud State

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Tremendous opportunity in front of UMD. Not only can the Bulldogs pick up their fourth NCHC sweep of the season, but UMD can present itself with a (very small) bit of margin for error over the rest of the season.

Beat St. Cloud State to sweep the series, and UMD possibly won't need to win the league tournament to be in at-large position. Also, the Bulldogs will -- no matter what -- enter the season's final weekend in a home-ice position in the NCHC.

All that stands in their way tonight? The third-ranked team in the country, on Senior Night with a large senior class and all their families in attendance as part of an expected standing-room only crowd, probably pissed off to have lost at home Friday night.

No big deal, right?

A UMD win would give it four straight wins at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, believed to be the longest UMD win streak in St. Cloud since SCSU went Division I.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Exell

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely

SCSU
Eyssimont - Kossila - Russell
Benik - Morley - Newell
Murray - Peterson - Tedesco
Jackson - Winiecki - Benson

Schuldt - Prow
Widman - Borgen
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Lindgren - Reijola - Zevnik

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Jumps St. Cloud State Early, Rides Kaskisuo to Upset Win

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- A college hockey game is 60 minutes in length.

It is the rarest of things when something bad happens to a team that leads for 59:21 of the possible 60:00. And not even some of the rotten luck UMD has dealt with this season was going to change that Friday night.

Adam Johnson scored a greasy goal 39 seconds into the game, and UMD led the rest of the way in winning 4-1 here over No. 3 St. Cloud State. The win might not make a big dent in UMD's PairWise deficit, and it won't put the Bulldogs in the NCHC title race or anything like that, but what it does is give this team some confidence that it has been desperately seeking for a while.

UMD got rewarded for good hard work early in the game, overcoming an SCSU power play when Jimmy Murray took an interference penalty in the neutral zone. On the delayed penalty, Tony Cameranesi set up Brenden Kotyk to make it 2-0. Then Karson Kuhlman went through St. Cloud's defense like a knife through hot butter and beat goalie Charlie Lindgren to make it a 3-0 game through one period.

Justifiably, most of the over 4,800 in attendance were in shock at this point. UMD hadn't scored three goals in a road period since Nov. 20, and you have to go back to last year's Northeast Regional semifinal against Minnesota to find the last time UMD scored three goals in a first period.

An a'ight road period, I'd say.

I'm not going to say UMD cruised from there. St. Cloud State threw the kitchen sink at UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo, and the sophomore didn't even flinch. The Huskies peppered the UMD net throughout the night, but only a wicked shot by freshman Mikey Eyssimont got behind Kaskisuo. That goal made 3-1 in the second period, but Kaskisuo permitted the adversary to get no closer on this night.

The last time UMD played St. Cloud State, I felt Kaskisuo conceded a couple "Man, I bet he'd like to have that one back" goals. And while I don't think I've been critical of Kaskisuo, it was clear that he wasn't stealing points for UMD. He was solid, but hadn't been able to pull off a spectacular performance when his team needed him to.

Until Friday. Any need for redemption on his part -- which in my opinion was minimal -- is erased after his performance. He was outstanding, and you can safely say Kaskisuo stole these three points. The team in front of him wasn't bad, which probably helped the goalie's cause. But St. Cloud State likely out-chanced UMD in the game and it could be argued the home side deserved a better fate.

UMD is familiar. It's happened a lot this season, and even if one were to look at this game as a case of outright thievery, I doubt an apology or gift basket will be coming St. Cloud State's way.

A few things stood out.

Alex Iafallo (3-5-8 his last eight games, two assists Friday) was great. He's really stepped to the forefront, looking more like the player I know he can be here. His speed is game-changing and he's really been moving lately.

Kuhlman (three point night) was fantastic in all phases. Officially, he was credited with three blocked shots, but he's a disruptive player without the puck who played confidently with it Friday. Well, outside of the two-on-zero where he tried to pass to Cameranesi and there ended up not being any shots taken by either player in the sequence. We'll just forget that play happened.

Kotyk used his body effectively to win a couple puck battles, blocked two shots, and scored that second goal off Cameranesi's dish to the slot.

And did I mention Kaskisuo made 49 saves, a new career high for him (beating the old mark by 13)? Yeah, he was pretty good.

(It's believed to be the first 50-shot game by a UMD opponent since Omaha put up 53 Jan. 11, 2014, a game UMD won 3-1 behind 52 saves from Aaron Crandall.)

Every SCSU player had at least one shot except Ben Storm and David Morley. Eyssimont had 11. But UMD did what it could to maintain Kaskisuo's ability to see pucks while the Huskies tried their damndest to screen him and tip shots.

It was a fun, cleanly played game, and a much, much-needed Bulldog win.

Game 31: UMD at St. Cloud State

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The Bulldogs know what needs to be done, and they're running out of time to do it.

UMD has just two weekends left in the regular season, and while the nerds say UMD is still in the at-large race (barely), the Bulldogs just need to start winning some games.

I've seen a lot of comparisons made to past Bulldog teams that didn't meet expectations. That's all well and good, guys, but this season is different than any other.

If you've watched this team for any length of time, you can't possibly argue that the effort isn't there, or that players aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. Absent of perfection that no one is able to bring to the table, UMD has not been foiled by a lack of effort. As I said on Twitter after last Saturday's North Dakota game, the Bulldogs have been good to very good in probably 24-26 of 30 games this season.

(The four games I know weren't nearly good enough were the two against Bemidji State, along with Friday home games against Denver and St. Cloud State.)

A team that has shown that kind of consistency in its effort certainly deserves a better fate than this team has seen to this point. Call that whining or whatever you want, I don't care. I'll stand by it as the truth.

And I still believe this can get turned around. I'll believe it until we're completely out of games to play.

For UMD, senior Austin Farley is back. Senior Austyn Young (upper body) is out.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Exell

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely

SCSU
Eyssimont - Kossila - Russell
Benik - Morley - Newell
Storm - Peterson - Murray
Jackson - Winiecki - Benson

Schuldt - Prow
Widman - Borgen
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Lindgren - Reijola - Zevnik

Monday Musings: Much Better Performance, Marginally Better Result as UMD Draws With St. Cloud State

There was no question in my mind that UMD would bring a much improved effort in Saturday's rematch against St. Cloud State. And I wasn't disappointed.

But despite outshooting a very good SCSU team 39-21, the Bulldogs were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie after Dominic Toninato's one-man rush paid off for UMD in the first period, but Charlie Lindgren shut every other Bulldog chance down.

At the other end, Kasimir Kaskisuo made a couple very nice saves, but SCSU tied it on a tip-in by Joey Benik in the second, and Patrick Russell got his team an extra NCHC standings point with a shot that went off Kaskisuo's glove and into the net during three-on-three overtime.

(I'm not going to rip Kaskisuo, who has a .923 save percentage and a goals against safely under 2.00 (1.87). If it weren't for him, this team isn't 8-8-5. Hell, it seems wrong to criticize him at all, but Matt Wellens was on-point after Saturday's game (read it here) with sentiments very similar to those we expressed on the air during Friday's loss. I don't need to pile on. Kas has higher expectations of himself than most of us would probably think is reasonable, and there's no doubt he's having a good year and will only get better as he gains experience and more knowledge of how the game is played at this level.)

In reality, goalies are as human as everyone else on the ice, and if you're expecting UMD to win that game 1-0 against a really good opponent after Toninato's tremendously tremendous (©Eddie Olczyk) individual effort, it's probably not fair. Simply put, a team with this much returning talent -- along with the improving young guys -- has to score more than two goals in a weekend and not put that kind of pressure on its goalie to be perfect in order to have a shot at the win.

In UMD's last nine home games, it is 2-5-2 while being outscored 22-19. If you remove the two wins (both over Western Michigan), that margin is 20-6. Six goals in seven games on home ice. That's not exactly optimal.

After Scott Sandelin said his team took "three or four too many" penalties on Friday, the Bulldogs took two on Saturday and killed both SCSU power plays. The Huskies were held to three shots in those man advantage opportunities, which is a good sign for the UMD kill. The Bulldogs did a good job defensively, blocking 21 of 51 SCSU shot attempts (Blake Young had five and Carson Soucy four).

Every UMD skater except Sammy Spurrell had at least one shot on goal (Karson Kuhlman led with seven). Overall, it was a much better effort.

Now, it's time to fix the results.

UMD is 1-1-2 since break. Sandelin has said it's "go time" for his team. And while the PairWise still shows UMD at 17th and very much within striking distance for an NCAA bid, the path is going to get more and more difficult the longer the Bulldogs struggle to score goals.

******

None of this is meant to be a downer on a good effort. UMD controlled the puck and the flow of the game for a large amount of 65 minutes against what I think is the best team we've faced this season.

(No disrespect at all to North Dakota and UMass-Lowell, both of which are very good teams. But SCSU is the most explosive team I've seen. The Huskies have four lines that are more than solid, and that defensive corps is -- while young -- almost as deep as North Dakota's. So SCSU is deeper at forward, comparable on defense, and Lindgren is far from a slouch in goal. The Huskies are for real, everyone. I see them as a very legit national title contender.)

But scoring will be an ongoing topic until it's remedied. If anything else, look at a weekend where Kaskisuo gave up two possibly regrettable goals in regulation time (out of the four he conceded), and imagine where UMD would have come out if it could score three goals a game, a number Sandelin has often mentioned.

There are a lot of notable scoring droughts involving the Bulldogs. By no means do these notes mean I don't think the individuals are playing well. It's not meant as a callout of them, but instead the glut of guys with long dry spells goes to show the problem at hand.

Austyn Young and Austin Farley haven't scored since Dec. 5 (six games). Adam Johnson is goalless since the same date (five games played). Kyle Osterberg went 12 games without a goal before suffering an upper-body injury Friday that kept him from playing Saturday. Andy Welinski has no goals since Oct. 30 (15 games). Jared Thomas was a healthy scratch Saturday and hasn't scored since Oct. 17 (17 games). Alex Iafallo has one empty-net goal and Karson Kuhlman no goals since Dec. 4 (seven games).

Team-wide, only Farley (ten), Toninato (eight), and Tony Cameranesi (seven) have more than a half-dozen goals. Only Farley (20), Cameranesi (19), and Andy Welinski (11) have more than ten points.

Again, a number of these guys are playing good hockey. Welinski and Neal Pionk have strung together some high-quality performances since being reunited on the blue line. I like how Osterberg had been playing since break and hopefully he won't be gone long. Johnson looked great last weekend after sitting out the Saturday game at Miami. Kuhlman, as I already mentioned, really stepped up Saturday and generated great chances, and even when his offensive game isn't great, Kuhlman's effort level and play without the puck is usually exemplary.

The offense is likely to keep sputtering, however, as long as the power play struggles. The Bulldogs haven't scored on the man advantage since Dec. 5, a run of 22 power plays in a row without a goal. Over that time, UMD has gone from 22 percent on the season down to 16.7 now.

The Bulldogs need to solve their power play woes in order to make a run in the second half. It's hard to assess the personnel changes UMD made ahead of Saturday's game with only one power play. While that didn't score or generate a shot on goal, the puck movement was good, and UMD did a better job getting into the offensive zone than it did Friday. But it's hard to get much out of one two-minute power play. Friday was bad, but the goalless run is somewhat deceiving. They had some very good looks against North Dakota, and I thought they did okay against Miami.

It's similar to the team's play five on five. Just need to find a way to bury more pucks, but I fully acknowledge it's much easier said than done.

******

A rematch with Denver awaits the Bulldogs this weekend. The Pioneers took four of six points in Duluth Nov. 13-14, including a 3-0 Friday win that likely still stands as UMD's shoddiest 60-minute performance of the season.

The Pioneers are unbeaten at 3-0-3 since break, including a sweep at Omaha Jan. 8-9 and a win and tie over this last weekend at home against Western Michigan. Goalie Tanner Jaillet has started all six games since break, allowing 11 goals in six games and posting a .939 save percentage.

Denver defenseman Will Butcher is maturing into a top-flight player at his position in college hockey. He scored twice in the Jan. 8 3-0 win over Omaha and continues to play big minutes on the DU blue line. With sophomore Danton Heinen struggling a bit to score goals, freshman Dylan Gambrell has picked up some of the slack and leads the Pioneers with 21 points. Matt Marcinew leads in goals with seven.

DU's power play is two tenths of a percentage point better than UMD (16.9 to 16.7), while the UMD kill is better than DU's by a slightly larger margin (84.4 to 83.8).

These are similar teams in structure and style, and this should be an enjoyable weekend in a football-mad city (Denver hosts the AFC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon). Clearly, with how hard it is to score five-on-five, it'll come down to who can score on special teams. In the Nov. 13 win in Duluth, Denver scored two power play goals for a 2-0 lead in a game where not much was going on otherwise.

Game 21: St. Cloud State at UMD

Some news on he UMD side. Forward Kyle Osterberg (upper body) is out for the time being. Don't know the timetable, but it might not be just this game that he misses (we hope that's all it is, but as you'll hear in our pregame chat with Scott Sandelin, it seems like a longer-term absence). Also, sophomore Jared Thomas (no goals and just four points in 17 games) a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Molenaar

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

SCSU
Eyssimont - Kossila - Russell
Benik - Morley - Newell
Jackson - Peterson - Murray
Storm - Winiecki - Benson

Schuldt - Prow
Widman - Borgen
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Lindgren - Reijola

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Discipline, Battle Level Betray Bulldogs in Home Loss

It seems like the words "home loss" have become all too common. Since opening 2-0 at Amsoil Arena, UMD is a pedestrian 2-5-1 on home ice.

Oh, and those two wins were Dec. 4-5 against Western Michigan. Outside of that, 0-5-1 and outscored 19-5, shut out three times.

Ouch.

The latest setback came Friday night, 3-1 to No. 5 St. Cloud State. Before we get to the nuts and bolts of things, let's give credit where it's due. Too often, we -- and I mean all of us as fans of particular sports teams -- are too quick to tear down those who we feel may have failed (hi, Blair Walsh!). Oftentimes in doing so, we forget to give credit to those who come through in the clutch and do what it takes to win.

St. Cloud State was not perfect on Friday night, but head coach Bob Motzko has to be thrilled with his team's commitment to a 200-foot game in the series opener. UMD was hounded all over the ice by adversarial players, and SCSU used active sticks and good body position to win races, win battles, and break up UMD passes and chances for the Bulldogs to get the puck down low.

But let's go back to Wednesday. At his weekly press conference, UMD head coach Scott Sandelin was asked what it would take to beat St. Cloud State.

"Stay out of the penalty box, number one," he said. "A key to us winning two games in their building last year was us staying out of the box and not giving them opportunities."

In case we weren't listening, he repeated this mantra to me -- almost verbatim -- before the game. Kraig Karakas said he ran into Sandelin Monday night and basically heard the same speech.

I'm guessing he told the players a time or two, as well.

And while discipline didn't reach the levels of embarrassment Friday night, key breakdowns on UMD's part proved very costly.

At 8:33 of the second period, UMD lost a puck battle on the offensive zone (more on that coming) and Kyle Osterberg -- who later left the game with an upper-body injury and is likely out Saturday -- took a tripping penalty. Seven seconds later, Ethan Prow to Joey Benik to Kalle Kossila, and Kossila buried the puck for a 2-1 St. Cloud State lead.

Eight minutes later, UMD captain Andy Welinski took a needless and very much out of character interference penalty (he isn't afraid to play physical, but you don't see that kind of penalty from him often). It didn't lead to a goal, but it did lead to a great rush chance for Dominic Toninato. As he was burying a short-handed goal, referee Timm Walsh was calling freshman Neal Pionk for interference probably 40 to 50 feet behind Toninato in the neutral zone. Goal nullified, game stays 2-1, and UMD goes down two men. It was a killer.

(There was much debate about the call. I did not see the replay provided on the arena video board, as it came after play had resumed and I had to call a five-on-three power play. That took precedence over trying to watch TV. What I saw live action was Pionk trying to hook a St. Cloud player, and it appeared to me he was doing it to slingshot past the guy into the offensive rush. Could you argue it's not a penalty within the context of this game? I saw worse let go. But it's against the rules.

I had to give up watching to follow the puck. So while it could be argued the whistle was maybe a little late, it's hard to argue that Pionk didn't do anything to merit a penalty, given what I saw and how I remember it playing out. It actually looked quite silly, to be honest, on Pionk's part, because it was so insignificant to what was going on 40 feet or whatever it was in front of him.

I'm not fully adamant about this, by the way. I know a few people in the press box disagreed with the call, and I know the UMD staff didn't like it. I'm willing to be shown the error of my ways. It's hard when you don't get to look at the replay. Then I have to react to things the way the officials do on the ice. What the hell fun is that? :D)

Blake Winiecki got one for the Huskies about halfway through the third that took a lot of air out of a building that didn't have very much of it. It was a short-side shot that beat Kasimir Kaskisuo. To be perfectly blunt, it's a shot Kas has to stop 100 times out of 100. It didn't cost UMD the game, but it was not a good goal.

UMD never seriously threatened with Kaskisuo pulled in the final minutes. In fact, SCSU probably had the better of those scoring chances. Cal Decowski, who scored UMD's goal, made a great hustle play to prevent an empty net goal, and UMD blocked a couple shots at the yawning cage.

******

Discipline was an issue Friday night. I wrote in the series preview that I don't think it's been a huge problem this season, and I still don't. UMD has had more power plays than its opponents this season, and the gap actually ended up growing on Friday.

But look at UMD's losses. There's a bit of a weird trend that's developed. In those eight games the Bulldogs have lost, UMD has averaged 15 penalty minutes per. In eight wins, UMD has averaged 6.75.

I'm not smart enough to understand how such a disparity can happen, and it's still admittedly a bit of a small sample. But it's clear that the Bulldogs are capable of playing clean, disciplined hockey. It's also clear UMD doesn't do it consistently.

Then again, do the Bulldogs do anything consistently well at this point? Even a defense that looked to be in lockdown mode last weekend sprung a myriad of leaks on Friday, leading to SCSU's first goal and some other good chances. The power play, which has shown signs of life, did little to nothing on Friday against a penalty kill ranked near the bottom nationally and under 75 percent on the season. The power play was consistently out worked and outhustled, and the theme of lost races and lost battles carried over into five on five play.

"There's still lots of season left" is starting to wear thin for many of you. I understand that and agree to an extent. I saw lots of signs last weekend that things can turn around, but Friday night felt like a step in the wrong direction. I hope I'm overreacting, and it wouldn't be the first time.

******

Elsewhere in the NCHC, Austin Ortega scored in overtime to lift Omaha past No. 1 North Dakota 4-3 in Grand Forks, ending the Fighting Hawks' eight-game winning streak. UNO coach Dean Blais pulled a Dean Blais, starting freshman goalie Alex Blankenburg in his college debut. He allowed three goals on 29 shots. Jake Guentzel factored in all four UNO goals, with one goal and three assists.

In Denver, the Pioneers ran their unbeaten streak to five with a 5-3 win over Western Michigan. Quentin Shore scored twice for the Pioneers. Sheldon Dries had two for the Broncos in a losing effort.

Game 20: St. Cloud State at UMD

Away we go on a Friday night. Only UMD Friday home game this month, and the first of just seven remaining home games for the Bulldogs. At Denver and Northern Michigan the next two weekends, and at North Dakota and St. Cloud the two after Valentine's Day.

The mission is clear: Just win, baby.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Molenaar - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

SCSU
Eyssimont - Kossila - Russell
Benik - Morley - Newell
Jackson - Peterson - Murray
Storm - Winiecki - Benson

Schuldt - Prow
Widman - Borgen
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Lindgren - Reijola

Bulldogs Face Big Test With Goal of Building Momentum

St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko didn't have to look far to find what he thinks is a similar team to this year's UMD Bulldogs.

"I think UMD is very similar to where we were a year ago," Motzko said, referring to an SCSU team that was 6-9-1 at Christmas break and sat at 10-13-1 after a loss to Western Michigan on Jan. 24. From there, the Huskies ripped off a 9-5 run to end the season and make the NCAA Tournament. Included in that was a win in Duluth over UMD Feb. 14 (the Huskies' only win in four games against the Bulldogs last season), followed by a pair of sweeps of eventual Frozen Four qualifier Omaha (one of those came in Omaha in the NCHC quarterfinals).

Once in the tournament last year, Duluth native Judd Peterson scored in overtime as St. Cloud State beat Michigan Tech in the first round before falling to North Dakota in the West Regional final.

"Last year, we were an afterthought," Motzko added. "The second half of the season, things came together.

"I think this is a critical weekend. They (UMD) were picked first, and they're not out of the hunt. Depth-wise, throughout their lineup, they're as strong as any team in the country. We're quietly watching them get back on top where everyone expected them to be."

At 8-7-4, there's no doubt UMD is close. The Bulldogs have shown signs of brilliance throughout the season. A four-game winning streak saw UMD score 24 goals and pick up four blowout wins. But it was followed by back-to-back shutout losses to Cam Johnson and North Dakota, which served to take some air out of the building right before break.

Last week's four-point journey to Ohio (1-1 tie Friday, 5-2 win Saturday) might have represented UMD's best defensive performance this season. While the five-goal effort Saturday may have piqued some folks' interest, I was most intrigued by the play of the blue line. Not only were UMD's defensemen jumping into the play and doing a very good job getting pucks through lanes down low or to the net, but UMD held Miami to 40 shots in two games, including just 15 on Saturday (and six total in the second and third periods).

"I think the guys got rewarded for continuing to play the right way and sticking with it," assistant coach Brett Larson said. "They didn't get individual or selfish. They kept playing a team game, and they were rewarded."

"In the third period (Saturday), they (Miami) had the puck a little more, and we didn't give them a lot," head coach Scott Sandelin said. "The better you are defensively, if you score a goal or two, you have a chance to win a game. Our job is to make sure we limit their chances and where those chances are coming from. We still need to take care of the puck more."

We know UMD has capable goaltending with Kasimir Kaskisuo (.923 save percentage, 1.85 goals against). Throw in this kind of defensive play, and UMD might be able to get on a run.

"We have to stick with it," freshman defenseman Neal Pionk said this week. "We've had a few bumps in the road, but for the most part, I think we're playing pretty well. We just have to bear down around the net and those bounces will come our way."

This weekend, the Bulldogs do indeed have to deal with St. Cloud State. The Huskies are 17-5, yes, but are off a 5-2 loss to Colorado College on Saturday. Peterson, a former Hilltopper, has 19 points in 19 games. Another former Minnesota high school star, Joey Benik, is two points away from 100 for his career. St. Cloud's scoring chart is topped by four seniors -- Kalle Kossila, David Morley, Jimmy Murray, and Ethan Prow, possibly the most underappreciated defenseman in the country.

Motzko on Prow: "We've watched him mature into one of the real high-end defensmen at our level. Great character."

Oh, and while I get Prow is a more offensive-minded defenseman, he has played 18 games and has yet to take a penalty. This isn't a guy playing eight to ten minutes a night and avoiding the penalty box. It's a 30-minute-per-game defenseman doing it. I'm impressed, and you should be, too.

(If you're a St. Cloud State fan reading this, I apologize in advance if this turns out to be a jinx.)

This is a fantastic matchup of two similar teams. Yes, the numbers show St. Cloud is way ahead of UMD in record, league points, PairWise, and offense. But the teams play a similar style, and it's one UMD typically plays pretty well against.

"They're playing really well," Larson said. "Two very skilled, fast teams, that like to play a speed game with a lot of tempo. They can make plays. They get good goaltending. Their power play is hot, so discipline will be a big key. I like the matchup."

"They've got a 29 percent power play," Sandelin added. "They're built around their power play. They've got a ton of skill. They're a puck possession team, we're a puck possession team. It's managing the puck and not giving them easy chances. You have to respect some of their guys and play tight on them."

UMD's discipline -- outside of defenseman Willie Raskob's ten-minute misconduct in Friday's tie at Miami -- has been fine lately. The Bulldogs posted double-digit penalty minutes in five of their first seven games. UMD has kept that number to the single digits in eight of 12 games since, and only once since the opener Oct. 10 has UMD taken more than 20 penalty minutes in a game.

(UMD is mid-pack nationally in penalty minutes taken per game at 11.3.)

******

Former Grand Rapids star Avery Peterson -- Minnesota Mr. Hockey in 2014 -- is skating with UMD. The Omaha transfer won't be eligible until next January, but he can practice with the team now that the semester break has ended. Peterson is enrolled at UMD for the spring semester.

Asked about Peterson, Sandelin said he fills a need in the program.

"We lost a kid through a decommitment that would be in our program down the road," Sandelin said, citing the recent decommitment of Eden Prairie forward Michael Graham, who will go to Notre Dame instead. Graham would presumably have been a part of UMD's freshman class next season.

"He's (Peterson) a big body who can shoot the puck," Sandelin added. "He's played college hockey. He had success in our league. We're looking for good things. It's a huge need for us. Unfortunately, he has to wait a year to play."

Peterson is seeking a hardship waiver from the NCAA that would allow him to gain an extra year of eligibility, basically getting his sophomore season back. If that is granted, Peterson has two and a half years at UMD. Otherwise, the Wild draft pick will be able to play a year and a half for the Bulldogs.

Sandelin said he didn't know how long it would take to hear back on that application, which is being handled by UMD's compliance office.