Game 17: UMD at Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS -- It's pretty simple. Minnesota is 7-0-1 when they score first. UMD is 6-0-1 when they score first.

When Minnesota doesn't score first, they're 1-7. The Bulldogs are 6-2-1 when allowing the first goal.

That said, it's a cliche to note that the first goal matters here on Friday. It does. As Don Lucia says, so does the second.

Either way, it's Gopher Week. We don't like them. Last year, we got four points in this place, and hopefully the same thing will happen here this weekend. From there, it's off to a well-deserved break.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Connolly (Mike) - Connolly (Jack) - Fontaine
Schmidt - Oleksuk - Brown
DeLisle - Flaherty - Seidel
Grun - Hendrickson - Basaraba

Montgomery - Palm
Olsen - Faulk
Olson - Lamb

Reiter - Crandall

UMTC
Hoeffel - Haula - Barriball
Cepis - Condon - Bjugstad
Gardiner - Matson - Hansen
Serratore - Larson - Sacchetti

Fairchild - Helgeson
Ness - Alt
Wehrs - Holl

Kangas - Patterson - Kremer

Hot Stove Heats Up in Florida

The winter meetings are closing down in Florida, as baseball's biggest free agent (Cliff Lee) still doesn't have a contract for 2011, and the best position player on the market (Carl Crawford) is heading to Boston to join the best offseason trade target (Adrian Gonzalez ... a better get than Prince Fielder from Boston's perspective because he was easier to sign long-term).

As usual, the Twins and Brewers didn't do anything terribly huge or terribly terrible, preferring the conservative route rather than the glitz and glamor of the big-time players. Milwaukee traded top prospect and apparent meathead Brett Lawrie to Toronto for starting pitcher Shawn Marcum, who could end up starting the Brewers' third game next season (assuming manager Ron Roenicke goes with Yovani Gallardo on Opening Day and Randy Wolf to follow). A good, sensible deal that gives the Brewers a good starting pitcher in exchange for a guy with exactly zero games played in the majors.

The Twins, meanwhile, decided to shake up their infield, dealing shortstop J.J. Hardy and utility guy Brendan Harris to Baltimore for a couple pitchers none of their fans have heard of. Hardy had a decent year at the dish when he was healthy, but he's streaky offensively and has shown the inability to stay healthy. With Tsuyoshi Nishioka on his way from Japan to play shortstop, the Twins could afford to jettison the more expensive and less reliable (also noticeably slower, from what it sounds like) Hardy.

Even without a guarantee of major-league talent in return, the Twins made a smart move that clears room in their infield for Nishioka, a solid hitter who has been raved as a defensive middle infielder.

If you're a Brewers or Twins fan, you're probably happy, because your team is better now than it was on Monday, especially Milwaukee. As they continue the search for quality pitching, we're reminded of the formula San Francisco used to win their championship, while the Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, Cubs, and Dodgers spent a ton of cash to combine for one playoff appearance.

It's not about the size of your payroll. It's about your ability to acquire quality pitching, play strong defense, and get just enough hitting to make the first two things relevant.

Justin Faulk Named to Preliminary Team USA World Junior Roster

It's not a surprise. In fact, it will be a bigger surprise if he doesn't make the final roster.

But it's still newsworthy.

UMD freshman defenseman Justin Faulk was named to the preliminary roster for the United States in the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championships in Buffalo.

Here is the information from UMD:

Justin Faulk, who has racked up more goals than any other rookie defenseman in the country this season, will soon get the chance to strut his stuff on a different stage as the University of Minnesota Duluth product has made the 29-man preliminary roster for the U.S. National Junior Team, which was announced today.

Faulk, a 5-11, 200-pound native of South St. Paul, Minn. , will take part in the team's pre-tournament camp beginning on Dec. 17 in Troy, N.Y. The camp includes three exhibition games against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Dec. 19), the Czech Republic (Dec. 21) and Norway (Dec. 23). The final 22-man U.S. roster that will compete at the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship will be announced Dec. 22 or 23 prior to Team USA’s final exhibition game against Norway.

In 16 games this season with the No. 2-ranked and Western Collegiate Hockey Association-leading Bulldogs, Faulk has collected five goals and seven assists for 12 points (a figure surpassed by only one other NCAA freshman blueliner) and is a team-high plus-13 on the year. Four of his five goals have come on the power play, including one which put UMD in the lead for good in last Saturday's 2-1 win over the University of Denver.

Faulk will be looking to become the 12th Bulldog to skate for the U.S. National Junior Team and the first since defenseman Matt Niskanen, now a member of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars, did so in 2006.

Did SaveGopherFootball.com Harm Gopher Football?

This just in: People in Minnesota don't necessarily like Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi.

Some have taken their dislike too far, however.

The folks behind the website SaveGopherFootball.com might have a well-meaning plan. After all, they have been consistent in their stance that Maturi -- the same guy who headed a search that led to Tim Brewster -- shouldn't be allowed to search for Brewster's successor.

That's fine. There's nothing wrong with taking a stand and speaking out. Gopher football has stunk for so many years that the alumni and fans should take a stand.

However, actions that interfere in Maturi's ability to do his job ... well, that's just wrong.

Former All-Big Ten punter Adam Kelly went so far as to contact officials at other universities to warn them that Maturi might contact their coach without asking permission.

"That's unethical and reprehensible behavior," university President Robert Bruininks said. "To interfere in the process that way, I think it's indefensible."

Kelly, though, said Maturi was the unethical one, citing his hush-hush contact with San Diego State coach Brady Hoke before the Aztecs' season had ended. In addition to e-mails, he said he called Temple's athletic director, Bill Bradshaw, to point out a newspaper column critical of Maturi.

"He said, 'We already read the story, and it was his opinion that hundreds of other AD's around the country had read it and were shaking their heads," Kelly said. "Was it [the call] unethical? It's more unethical to contact a coach before his season's done."

Bruininks said he was surprised by the negativity from outside the program, calling it the work of "a relatively small and active group that I think is offbase.

"I don't think they've done the university any service, and I think they've done a disservice to themselves."

Kelly is right about Maturi being unethical in not asking permission to interview coaches. That's just a courtesy and has been part of virtually every school's protocol for many years.

But two wrongs don't make a right, and Kelly's wrong might have actually hindered his alma mater's ability to hire the kind of coach he wanted them to.

How ironic. In trying to help, his group may have harmed.

Gophers Hire Jerry Kill; Fans Would Have 'Killed' For Someone More Exciting

Here's the problem when it comes to hiring coaches.

There is no "tried and true" formula.

You can try to hire a guy with loads of experience who may have gotten a raw deal from his previous employer, and it turns into a guy like Tubby Smith. Unwanted in Kentucky, Smith's been great for Minnesota, and he isn't under this never-ending pressure to win national championships. He's making good money and likely enjoying himself while he does it.

Of course, going this route when making a hire might lead you to Rick Neuheisel. Jettisoned in Washington after a rather odd-looking "scandal," Neuheisel was hired by UCLA three years ago to take over his alma mater's floundering football program.

Well, they made the EagleBank Bowl last year (only because Army lost their last game and didn't qualify). Overall, Neuheisel is 15-22, 8-19 in Pac-10 play, and there are a lot of people calling for his head, especially considering that UCLA had a prime opportunity to gain relevance in Los Angeles because of USC's failings the last two years.

(Tyrone Willingham also qualifies here, thanks to the "work" he did at Washington after everyone accused Notre Dame of being racist when they fired him.)

You can hit home runs with guys like Dan Mullen, hired by Mississippi State despite never being a head coach in his life. He's got the Bulldogs playing in a Jan. 1 bowl game in just his second year on the job.

Of course, you can also strike out embarrassingly with the likes of Tim Brewster, hired by Minnesota despite never being a head coach in his life. He got the Gophers to a pair of Insight Bowls, but failed to impress at any point, especially points where he was required to actually coach and not just talk about coaching.

It's not an exact science. So when Minnesota fired Brewster and went about their search for a new coach, athletic director Joel Maturi had an important decision to make.

If he made a mistake, it was in his philosophy, not his execution.

As I wrote back when Brewster got fired, Minnesota needs a significant change to their football culture. Even before Brewster took the job, mediocrity had set in, and it became accepted. Glen Mason was a good coach, but he was never going to get Minnesota further than, say, the Sun Bowl. The Sun Bowl is a nice game that's well-run, but El Paso doesn't resonate among fans and alumni like Pasadena does. It's just a fact of life.

There are many programs that won't ever achieve anything better than the middle-tier bowls -- Peach, Sun, Gator, Holiday, and the like -- outside of an anomalous year or two. It's not a bad way to make a living, really.

But Minnesota wanted to aim higher. They determined Mason wouldn't get them there, and they fell for Brewster's bluster.

It could have worked, had Brewster possessed any real sense of how to run a football team (note: "into the ground" doesn't count).

Burned -- in part -- by Brewster's lack of experience, Maturi set out to fix that failing this time around. He wasn't going to settle for the hot assistant coach who lacked head coaching experience. The otherwise perfect candidate (Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst) was out as a result. No chance.

When fans heard this, names like Mike Leach and Mike Bellotti floated around. Then Miami fired Randy Shannon, bring to light another name. No buyouts would be necessary for any of them.

But were they fits?

This is what I wrote about this search:

Look around the league right now. The most successful coaches -- Jim Tressel, Kirk Ferentz, Bret Bielema, Pat Fitzgerald, and Mark Dantonio -- spent time in the Big Ten as assistant coaches before becoming head coaches in the league. Of them, only Fitzgerald is an actual alum of the school (Northwestern) he is at now, but the point is that all these coaches have worked within the culture of the league.

The Big Ten isn't like witchcraft or anything, but you don't see a lot of successful Big Ten coaches getting jobs at Florida or anything like that (notable exception is Nick Saban, but he left Michigan State for LSU after the 1999 season). It's a different way of doing things, and you have to understand the types of student-athletes who can succeed at these schools.

Just hiring the offensive coordinator from Auburn (Gus Malzahn), for example, isn't going to guarantee you anything.

Same thing if you try to pluck a coach like Gary Patterson from his current job (TCU). Patterson is great at recruiting Texas high-school stars. That state is so rich in talent that it's ridiculous, and Patterson does well getting top players to go to a Mountain West school.

Of course, if he takes the Minnesota job, he can't be guaranteed any kind of similar success in recruiting. Why would the star running back from Southlake Carroll say "No" to Texas so he could go to Minnesota?

Leach would have been a sexy, newsworthy hire. It also would have been a potentially volatile one. In an interview with The Sporting News magazine, Leach details what he's looking for from a school that wants to hire him. Among the items on his list are a rich recruiting base (Minnesota? Nope.), an undervalued program looking to get better (Minnesota is only undervalued because they're so bad), and an administration that is stable and focused (Minnesota is changing presidents, and Maturi is thought to be somewhat on the hot seat. It's not the picture of stability.

Only in the perfect situation would Leach be a good fit. His ego is such that he isn't right for just any opening, and his pedigree is impressive enough to allow him to do whatever he wants while he waits for the right job.

Gophers fans who wanted him over anyone are dreaming. He would have clashed with the administration. He's the anti-Tubby Smith, a gentleman (at least on the outside) who oozes class and dignity. Leach oozes smarts and is an eccentric fellow, but he's also got quite the ego, and he isn't afraid to use it. Just comparing Leach and Smith is unfair, because they're very different people.

As far as finding the right fit goes, Maturi may have done well here. He pigeonholed himself by not considering coaches who lacked FBS head coaching experience, because it left Chryst off his list. He also made it clear he wasn't going to hire another Brewster, so NFL assistants who lacked head coaching experience (Darrell Bevell and Leslie Frazier, for example) weren't going to be considered.

Neither was Marc Trestman, a former Gopher who is a successful CFL coach in Montreal.

In Kill, Maturi found a guy who has a lot of experience building programs, and he's got roots in the Midwest. He doesn't have the Big Ten experience I wrote about and thought was a necessity, but he does have an understanding of how to win football games in the Midwest. If Maturi wasn't going to consider first-time head coaches, he was not likely to get a guy with Big Ten experience that would satisfy his fanbase.

Then again, outside of the wrong guy (Leach), Maturi wasn't going to win with his fanbase. They wanted the sexy name, and Maturi was right not to deliver it to them.

After all, Illinois wanted the sexy name in Ron Zook. Look what that got them.

Game 862: Denver at UMD

It is the last game at the DECC on this Saturday night. The Bulldogs lost a 5-4 heartbreaker in overtime on Friday, as Denver scored three bad-angle goals and took advantage of a bad line change and a defensive lapse.

Hopefully, none of that happens again. It's an exciting night, with many UMD alumni and pro scouts expected to be here. Also a sold-out crowd that should be plenty loud.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Connolly (Mike) - Connolly (Jack) - Fontaine
Schmidt - Oleksuk - Brown
DeLisle - Flaherty - Seidel
Basaraba - Hendrickson - Grun

Olson - Montgomery
Bergman - Lamb
Olsen - Faulk

Reiter - Crandall - Gaffy

DU
Zucker - Shore (Drew) - Salazar
Ostrow (Kyle) - Shore (Nick) - Maiani
Knowlton - Dewhurst - Jackson
Mermis - Ostrow (Shawn)

Donovan - Nutini
Ryder - Makowski
Phillips - Wrenn
Lee

Brittain - Murray

Game 15: Denver at UMD

Just two more of these from the DECC.

*sniffle*

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Connolly (Mike) - Connolly (Jack) - Fontaine
Schmidt - Oleksuk - Brown
DeLisle - Flaherty - Seidel
Basaraba - Hendrickson - Grun

Olson - Montgomery
Bergman - Lamb
Olsen - Faulk

Crandall - Reiter - Gaffy

DU
Zucker - Shore (Drew) - Salazar
Maiani - Shore (Nick) - Bennett
Knowlton - Ostrow (Kyle) - Jackson
Dewhurst - Ostrow (Shawn)

Donovan - Nutini
Ryder - Makowski
Phillips - Wrenn
Lee

Brittain - Murray

My Favorite DECC Games

Everyone has their favorite DECC stories ... the games that they'll never forget. Here are my five favorites.

5. UMD advances to Final Five (2003).

UMD hadn't been to the WCHA Final Five in a while. And the 2002-2003 season didn't start with a ton of promise. Third-year coach Scott Sandelin got them to improve, though, and by the end of the season, they were good enough to earn a home-ice playoff berth for the first time since 1998 (more on that later).

They split the first two games against St. Cloud State, winning the Friday game 5-4 before dropping a 3-2 decision in overtime on Saturday thanks to a Mike Doyle winner from Ryan Malone.

(UMD fans hated Ryan Malone, but we all knew he was good, and it's not shocking he's made a few dollars playing pro hockey since.)

Sunday night, UMD just laid the wood to St. Cloud State. The Bulldogs never trailed in a 7-3 game that wouldn't have been that memorable at all had UMD been to the Final Five recently, or if the UMD student section -- in full throat all night -- not beaked SCSU starting goalie Jake Moreland to the point that he was talking to himself and banging his stick on his crossbar in frustration.

You don't think players can hear the fans? Jake Moreland is living proof they certainly can.

Fans celebrated the Final Five berth after the game, and UMD would ride the wave of that late-season run to a third-place finish in St. Paul, followed by a Frozen Four berth the following season.

4. Fast start, right result (2004).

UMD finished in the upper tier of the WCHA again in 2003-2004, propelled by a 14-game unbeaten streak that carried them into February.

Someone forgot to tell Minnesota State.

The Mavericks shocked UMD in overtime to open a best-of-three playoff series, then absorbed a 6-2 thrashing on Saturday thanks to a Junior Lessard hat trick.

Sunday started pretty well for UMD, as they took a 5-0 lead in the first period. It went downhill from there, as the Mavericks rallied. After UMD made it 6-2 on an Evan Schwabe goal, MSU scored two before the second period was over.

They added one more in the third before UMD put the clamps on the Mavericks, holding them to just four shots in the third period in a 6-5 win that sent them to a second straight Final Five. Eventually, the magic carried the Bulldogs to the Frozen Four in Boston, but no further, as Denver ended the dream in a Thursday semifinal.

3. Patrick White Shines (2007).
2. David Brown's Big Morning (2008).

In 2007, Grand Rapids had adorned themselves once again in the old-school orange. The artists formerly known as the Indians changed to the Thunderhawks in the name of political correctness, but the Halloween Machine had returned in 2006, when Rapids made a hell of a run to the state Class AA championship game.

Many of the principle players were back for Grand Rapids in 2007, including Minnesota recruit Patrick White, Sam Rendle, and Joe Stejskal. They made it to the Section 7AA semifinals for an afternoon affair against Duluth East. In the previous semifinal, a limited Tyler Johnson scored in the final minutes to give Cloquet an upset win over top-seed Elk River. Rapids and East topped that game with a stellar high-school hockey game.

The teams went back and forth all the way to overtime. Earlier in the season, I had scorned White for scoring a goal in the final seconds of a blowout loss to East and hot-dogging. On this day, there would be no blowout, and White had every right to enjoy his achievement, as he buried the overtime winner for the Thunderhawks. Grand Rapids then beat Cloquet for the section title, and they finished state runner-up to Roseau.

Meanwhile, Feb. 23, 2008 was a long day at the DECC. Not only were there two Section 7AA semifinal games, but the UMD women hosted St. Cloud State, and the men were scheduled to host Colorado College. That's a busy day at the rink, especially when you're covering all four games.

The first Section 7AA game was played at 10AM, as Cloquet/Esko/Carlton battled Duluth East. The Lumberjacks were the underdog, and they fell behind in the first period. A four-goal second period had CEC up a pair going into the third, but Rob Johnson almost single-handedly willed East back into the game. Johnson gave East a 5-4 lead in the third, but it wasn't meant to last long.

Senior defenseman David Brown completed a hat trick to tie it, and then CEC got a late power play.

Brown's fourth goal of the game came with just 12 seconds to go, and gave the Lumberjacks an improbable 6-5 win over Duluth East. It was the third straight year East was bounced in the section semifinals, and these two were heartbreaking.

1. The Comeback (1998).

To this day, this is the only DECC game I own on DVD. It was March 15, 1998.

Minnesota and UMD split the first two games in a best-of-three playoff series, each winning convincingly. The Gophers shut UMD out in the Saturday game, and they took a 3-0 lead into the third period of the deciding game on that Sunday night. After Minnesota made it 4-0 in the third, many of the 3,000 or so in attendance began heading to the exits. That would be a regrettable decision.

UMD got one from Duluthian Ryan Coole before the midway point of the third to make it 4-1, then Curtis Bois popped one in with under eight minutes to go to make it 4-2. It stayed that way until the final four minutes of regulation. Off a crazy scramble in front of the Minnesota net, Curtis Doell -- who had suffered a rather ugly-looking-but-not-at-all-serious-apparently leg injury earlier -- shoved the puck into an open net at 16:32.

The old house went berzerk less than a minute later, as Bert Gilling got open at the top of the left circle and beat Steve DeBus through two screening teammates for the equalizer.

Only then did Doug Woog wake up and call his timeout, which was enough to settle the game down and get it to overtime.

"I'm a little bit surprised that didn't come earlier," said Frank Mazzocco, who called the game with Tom Reid on what was then called Midwest Sports Channel and is now Fox Sports North.

"We talked about that. Sometimes, a one minute thing can really get the guys refocused and readjusted, and we were surprised by that," former UMD coach Mike Sertich told me this week.

In overtime, each team had some chances, but UMD's Brant Nicklin and DeBus held their own until the midway point. Off a faceoff in the Minnesota zone, the puck popped free behind the Minnesota net. Two UMD players got to it and got it to the front of the net, where it went into the air off a shot on goal. Mike Peluso flashed in front of the net and knocked the puck out of the air, into the goal. Joe Rybar took the initial shot, and Ken Dzikowski helped set the play up with his work behind the UMTC net.

DeBus protested, saying Peluso played the puck with a high stick, but it's clear on the DVD -- made by an acquaintance using the tape he had of the game -- that Peluso's goal would have stood had replay been in use in 1998.

It was a good date night for the future Mrs. Ciskie and me. It was one of our first, and it was one of those moments where you realize you're on the right track with someone. After all, we had a date at a hockey game. How does anything get better than that?

We've had numerous dates at hockey games since -- including a Valentine's Day Gopher-UMD game at some point -- and I have her to thank for my current obsession with the sport.

To this day, people in Duluth talk about that game as if they were there. Had they all been there, it would have required the DECC seat 25,000 people instead of 5,000.

And it wasn't even full.

Friday and Saturday, it will be.

Goodbye, old friend. We move on to a new building, but we'll never forget the old one.

UMD Bids A Final Farewell to the DECC

Since opening in 1966, the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has hosted 860 UMD men's hockey games. Over 4 million fans have attended the games, of which UMD has won 56 percent (458 wins and 51 ties to 351 losses).

Saturday night, the DECC will have its lights on for UMD for the last time.

The No. 1 Bulldogs host Denver this weekend for the final games at the DECC after 45 years of hockey. Considering UMD is 30-12-3 there since the start of the 2008-2009 season, it's not going to be an easy building to replace, but Amsoil Arena will try its best starting Dec. 30.

Before we get there, we have what should be a special weekend.

On the ice, UMD and Denver are a great pair of teams to have play games of this magnitude. The Bulldogs match up well with DU, and they have produced some quality hockey over the years. This won't be slow-down, clutch-and-grab hockey like we've seen from many of UMD's first few opponents this season. Instead, Denver will force UMD to play a high-tempo, skating game, something the Bulldogs are very good at.

Denver has some top young players, including forwards Drew Shore and Jason Zucker, defensemen Matt Donovan and David Makowski, and freshman goalie Sam "Great" Brittain.

With guys like Donovan and Makowski in front of Brittain, the goalie has found a way to look very sharp. While it doesn't sound like a really hard job with quality play in front of him, Brittain still looks like a very good young goalie who has stepped in and earned more playing time than virtually anyone could have expected.

Steering the ship is longtime coach George Gwozdecky, one of the best in the business. Indeed, it's a formidable and superb opponent for UMD to deal with in their final games of their time at the DECC.

Denver will be a stiff test for UMD's improving defense. Sophomore Dylan Olsen and freshman Justin Faulk are having all-WCHA seasons, and sophomore Wade Bergman is one of the team's more consistent players. The Pioneers will also test UMD's work ethic, and their forwards will have to play a solid two-way game. Failure to do so will lead to odd-man rushes and general ugliness.

The DECC has been a great building for UMD hockey. The Bulldogs have in excess of 100 more wins than losses in the building, and a sweep this weekend would take them to 460 wins total in the arena. More than that, the facility has played host to some of the all-time greats of UMD sports.

Guys like Huffer Christiansen, Derek Plante, Chris Marinucci, Tom Kurvers, Walt Ledingham, Rick Kosti, Curt Giles, Junior Lessard, Beau Geisler, MacGregor Sharp, Dan Lempe, Jeff Scissons, Dale Jago, Brett Hull, and many more called the DECC home. Many of them will be back this weekend, and no matter who takes the ice before the fans, the feelings will be very special.

Nearly 11,000 fans will take a seat or a standing spot for the games, and many of them will have their own special story to tell about a game at the DECC.

It might be one of Bill Watson's big nights, one of Hull's hat tricks, or the night Junior Lessard scored a hat trick in the WCHA playoffs. Maybe it was the game where Thomas Vanek missed an empty net, allowing Jon Francisco to score the game-tying goal with 11 seconds left, then the overtime goal that beat Minnesota.

You might remember a high school game, like David Brown's four goal night afternoon morning that beat Duluth East in 2008. Or the night Josh Johnson shut out the 'Hounds and led CEC to state. Perhaps, it's a more glorious Duluth East memory, as they certainly have won a few section titles in the DECC. If you're a Class A fan, maybe it's the night Hibbing and Virginia played a section final before a packed house, and Matt Niskanen led the Blue Devils to their first state tournament appearance. Or undefeated Hermantown toppling Hibbing to go to a state tournament they would manage to win.

While these great athletes have taken to the ice, they've had the fortune of so many high-class, superbly-talented broadcasters and writers keeping close tabs. The DECC has hosted so many great names in media ... guys like Marsh Nelson, Bruce Bennett, Tom Hansen, Mark Fleischer, Kerry Rodd, Rik Jordan, Kevin Pates, and Steve Jezierski, and more.

The DECC is done hosting UMD and high school hockey, but the facility isn't going away just yet. It's not getting the wrecking ball treatment. It won't be imploded. It will still be used, in fact, for some youth hockey.

Of course, that doesn't limit or curtail the great memories that will be talked about this weekend. Even if there were no hockey games scheduled, the opportunity to see and talk to so many Northland hockey legends makes it worth the trip.

It just turns out that UMD and Denver are so good that they won't get lost in the crowd or the hype surrounding the weekend. They're only going to make it more enjoyable.

UMD Hockey Notes

With everything going on this week, I haven't made it down to the DECC. Of course, that doesn't mean things aren't happening.

Defenseman Dylan Olsen was named to Canada's World Junior team tryout camp. Olsen tried out for last year's silver-medal team, but Hockey Canada hates college hockey players chose to send Olsen back to Duluth. Olsen struggled a bit in the second half of the season, and it's been theorized that the snub affected his play.

So far, Olsen's been a monster this season. He leads UMD defensemen in scoring, and when you watch him play, you almost automatically conclude that he's a goner to pro hockey after this season.

Making the Canadian team would be a nice feather in Olsen's cap. He will miss time for UMD regardless, because the camp is Dec. 12-15 in Toronto, and the Bulldogs play at Minnesota Dec. 10-11. If he makes the team, he'll be gone for the Amsoil Arena opener Dec. 30, as well as the Clarkson series Jan. 3-4.

If that's not bad enough, Justin Faulk might be joining him. Well, at the tournament in Buffalo Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Faulk is going to be on the U.S. camp roster, and while he's not a shoo-in for the U.S. roster, it seems more likely than not.

(This seems like a really good time to remind you that Team USA won the gold last year in this tournament. So suck on that, Canada.)

That would leave UMD without -- arguably -- their top two defensemen for a huge game against North Dakota. Assistant coaches Derek Plante and Brett Larson both brought this up as a great opportunity for the other defensemen on this roster. UMD has ten, and five of them have been in a never-ending struggle for ice time. The competition has been fun to watch in practice, and things could get really interesting if someone steps up and plays well while Olsen and Faulk are (presumably) gone at the WJC.

Will he or won't he? Must be something about guys named Brett.

Kevin Pates notes that we don't know for sure yet if Brett Hull will make it to Saturday's final game at the DECC. I was told the same thing by a couple people earlier this week.

It almost reads like we are being duped in hopes that there's a surprise in store for fans Saturday night. If that's the case, it's both genius and aggravating at the same time.

If it's seriously that Hull hasn't or can't make up his mind, then maybe there is something about being named Brett that renders the person indecisive by nature.

Of course, Hull -- who starred at UMD for two stellar years in the 1980s -- can do whatever he wants. He's earned that right with those 700-plus goals and two Stanley Cups, one of which I hoisted over my head at Grandma's Sports Garden in 1999.