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

Game 37: UMD vs North Dakota (NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinal)

MINNEAPOLIS -- Sorry I'm late. Maybe I'll tell the story later.

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

UND
Cagguila - Schmaltz - Boeser
Gardner - Johnson (Luke) - Poganski
Chyzyk - Simonson - Janatuinen
Gersich - Sanderson - Wilkie

Poolman - LaDue
Ausmus - Stecher
Shaw - Thompson

Johnson (Cam) - Hrynkiw - Tomek

Monday Musings: Bulldogs Extend Season With Sixth Straight Win

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eight. In 60 minutes of hockey.

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

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

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

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

******

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short answer: #JustWinBaby.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

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

Caito - Joyaux
Hutton - Richart
Dornbrock - Belpedio

Williams - McCarthy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A few factoids:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

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

Caito - Joyaux
Hutton - Richart
Dornbrock - Belpedio

Williams - McCarthy

Monday Musings: Seniors, Kaskisuo Secure Sweep

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seems that's pretty good.

******

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

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

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

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

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

Game 34: Miami at UMD

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

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

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

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

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

Hutton - Richart
Belpedio - Joyaux
Dornbrock - Sullivan

Williams - McCarthy

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game 33: Miami at UMD

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

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

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

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

Hutton - Richart
Belpedio - Joyaux
Dornbrock - Sullivan

Williams - McCarthy