DENVER -- We're ready to go from Magness Arena, where UMD tries to make like bananas. The Bulldogs split this weekend set and the season series with a victory.
UMD was close in many ways on Friday. I liked the intensity, the forecheck, the work ethic, and the willingness of players to go to the net. Need to finish better, and need to start periods better than the Bulldogs did in the first and second on Friday.
UMD broke a season-long streak of four straight games failing to hit 30 shots on goal with exactly 30 on Friday. That run of four low-shot performances has dropped UMD's per-game average from a peak of 34.6 down to 33.16 entering this game. UMD has averaged 27.4 shots per game over its last five.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kaskisuo - McNeely
DU
Moore - Doremus - Heinen
Loney OR Ritt - Shore - Marcinew
Larraza - Levin - Romig
Jacobson - Janssen - Arnold
LaLeggia - Zajac
Plant - Didier
VanVoorhis - Butcher
Jaillet - Cowley
Two DU lineup notes: We're told Evan Ritt will take the warmup and could play in place of Ty Loney, who is scheduled -- at this point -- to return after missing time with an undisclosed injury.
Also, this tweet indicates it will be Evan Cowley starting in goal instead of Tanner Jaillet.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Controversial Calls, Slow Second Period Start Sink UMD in Denver
DENVER -- I'd like to think I've been nice to our officials this season. At least the NCHC ones. This blog -- after the absolutely controversial 3-2 loss to Miami on Halloween night -- is the closest I've come to even being something less than diplomatic.
I'll try to keep that from changing on this night/morning.
UMD fell 3-2 here to the Denver Pioneers on Friday. It was an entertaining game, as expected, and UMD was sunk by a poor start over the first five minutes of the second period. Goals by Quentin Shore and Joey LaLeggia forced UMD coach Scott Sandelin to burn his timeout. The Bulldogs played better after that, but Karson Kuhlman's second-period goal was as close as UMD would get.
(The start to the game wasn't much better. Dominic Toninato took a goalie interference penalty at the 22-second mark, and Daniel Doremus scored from a bad angle seven seconds later.)
The Bulldogs were predictably unhappy after the game, though, and it wasn't because of that poor start to the middle frame.
Instead, UMD was left fuming over a somewhat controversial major penalty that was called against captain Adam Krause for interference with eight minutes left in the third period.
Krause hit Denver's Matt Tabrum while it appeared he (Krause, that is) was heading off for a change. I'll let you read Krause's version of the events, as told to the Duluth News Tribune.
Officials make mistakes. No matter how good they are, they are human. It happens.
And this one takes the cake so far this season. Here's a tweeted photo of the contact. There's barely any. If you watch the whole sequence over again, it crystallizes Krause's version. Tabrum looks to get in Krause's way on purpose. These guys aren't stupid. He knows Krause is going for a change. Everyone in the building knows Krause is going for a change. Tabrum gets in the way anyway, with the likely intent of drawing a penalty. When he goes down, he acts like he was hit in the head, comes off the ice slowly, and the officials overreact to that apparent injury and call a major penalty.
(Krause had a goal disallowed in the first period because, I think, the officials couldn't visually confirm the puck crossed the goal line. I have not yet seen a high-quality replay of this, but when I called it live, I reacted to what I saw, which was the puck crossing the goal line. I was sitting maybe six feet from the Root Sports main camera, so if I saw that, I find it hard to believe the TV replay didn't show the puck across the goal line. Then again, I'm in Colorado, so maybe I ate some brownies or something.)
(I can't tell you with certainty why that goal didn't count, because I couldn't hear the public address announcer tell the fans what the ruling was. That's a whole different rant. At some point, someone has to devise a system that makes it easier and more efficient to communicate referee decisions off replay reviews. "Have the PA guy relay it" is just not good enough, especially when a broadcaster is on the air and working alone. Sometimes, it's impossible to hear the announcement.)
UMD killed the major, thanks to a goal that was disallowed by a video review that showed goalie interference by Denver. The Bulldogs got Kasimir Kaskisuo off with 90 seconds left but couldn't equalize.
For UMD, plenty of guys played well. Cal Decowski's line with Justin Crandall and Kyle Osterberg produced a goal and had a very good night. I thought Willie Corrin (six shots, assist, plus-two) had a strong game. Tony Cameranesi's line was good again. Austin Farley helped Corrin set up Kuhlman for that second-period tally.
Just wasn't enough on Friday.
The slow start to the second killed the Bulldogs. It was inexplicable, too, because UMD had a very strong last ten minutes of the first. I don't know why, but that just didn't carry over. Maybe the guys assumed it would without them doing anything to make it? I don't know. It's frustrating, though, because these sloppy stretches have cost UMD too many games already. The Bulldogs simply have to find a way to stop starting slowly, whether it's the first period, the second, or the third. It can't happen anymore.
I do try not to make this a "rag on the refs" bit. We've discussed the difficulties of officiating at this level before. The athletes aren't getting smaller or slower, and as the speed picks up, so do the intensity and the emotion. It's a tough mix for officials, because it takes such a strong combination of smarts, vision, positioning, and hockey instinct to do the job at a high level.
They weren't good enough on Friday. I get that UMD has a reputation for some hits this season that have been over the line. But Krause hadn't been guilty of any of them, and is not regarded as a dirty player.
(At least, he better not be.)
This is why reputations are dangerous. They're human nature, but they're dangerous, because they can lead people to see things that aren't there. What Krause did Friday was probably not a penalty at all, because it was so obvious Tabrum was going out of his way to create the contact. To call it a major is just unacceptable.
It didn't cost UMD this game by any means, but that doesn't make it less frustrating.
Omaha had a five-on-three in overtime and got a goal from Austin Ortega on said man advantage to beat North Dakota 3-2. That came after Drake Caggiula tied the score 2-2 with less than a minute to play on a UND power play. Omaha holds on to first place, now by four points over UND and seven over UMD.
St. Cloud State walloped Colorado College 7-1. The Huskies led 7-0 before the second period was over. Kalle Kossila had four points, and a bunch of other guys had three, led by Jonny Brodzinski, who scored twice. The Huskies move back ahead of Western Michigan for sixth place, but the Broncos now have a game in hand.
(Western, by the way, hosts Miami Saturday, then meets the RedHawks next weekend at Soldier Field in the Hockey City Classic.)
I'll try to keep that from changing on this night/morning.
UMD fell 3-2 here to the Denver Pioneers on Friday. It was an entertaining game, as expected, and UMD was sunk by a poor start over the first five minutes of the second period. Goals by Quentin Shore and Joey LaLeggia forced UMD coach Scott Sandelin to burn his timeout. The Bulldogs played better after that, but Karson Kuhlman's second-period goal was as close as UMD would get.
(The start to the game wasn't much better. Dominic Toninato took a goalie interference penalty at the 22-second mark, and Daniel Doremus scored from a bad angle seven seconds later.)
The Bulldogs were predictably unhappy after the game, though, and it wasn't because of that poor start to the middle frame.
Instead, UMD was left fuming over a somewhat controversial major penalty that was called against captain Adam Krause for interference with eight minutes left in the third period.
Krause hit Denver's Matt Tabrum while it appeared he (Krause, that is) was heading off for a change. I'll let you read Krause's version of the events, as told to the Duluth News Tribune.
"He stepped in front of me to try and draw a penalty. He went down like I hit him with a hammer in the head and that’s just the way it is.I can't say it any better.
“You can’t hide from guys who dive like that. I put a shoulder into him, he saw me coming, he tried to block me from getting to the bench and he went down.”
Officials make mistakes. No matter how good they are, they are human. It happens.
And this one takes the cake so far this season. Here's a tweeted photo of the contact. There's barely any. If you watch the whole sequence over again, it crystallizes Krause's version. Tabrum looks to get in Krause's way on purpose. These guys aren't stupid. He knows Krause is going for a change. Everyone in the building knows Krause is going for a change. Tabrum gets in the way anyway, with the likely intent of drawing a penalty. When he goes down, he acts like he was hit in the head, comes off the ice slowly, and the officials overreact to that apparent injury and call a major penalty.
(Krause had a goal disallowed in the first period because, I think, the officials couldn't visually confirm the puck crossed the goal line. I have not yet seen a high-quality replay of this, but when I called it live, I reacted to what I saw, which was the puck crossing the goal line. I was sitting maybe six feet from the Root Sports main camera, so if I saw that, I find it hard to believe the TV replay didn't show the puck across the goal line. Then again, I'm in Colorado, so maybe I ate some brownies or something.)
(I can't tell you with certainty why that goal didn't count, because I couldn't hear the public address announcer tell the fans what the ruling was. That's a whole different rant. At some point, someone has to devise a system that makes it easier and more efficient to communicate referee decisions off replay reviews. "Have the PA guy relay it" is just not good enough, especially when a broadcaster is on the air and working alone. Sometimes, it's impossible to hear the announcement.)
UMD killed the major, thanks to a goal that was disallowed by a video review that showed goalie interference by Denver. The Bulldogs got Kasimir Kaskisuo off with 90 seconds left but couldn't equalize.
For UMD, plenty of guys played well. Cal Decowski's line with Justin Crandall and Kyle Osterberg produced a goal and had a very good night. I thought Willie Corrin (six shots, assist, plus-two) had a strong game. Tony Cameranesi's line was good again. Austin Farley helped Corrin set up Kuhlman for that second-period tally.
Just wasn't enough on Friday.
The slow start to the second killed the Bulldogs. It was inexplicable, too, because UMD had a very strong last ten minutes of the first. I don't know why, but that just didn't carry over. Maybe the guys assumed it would without them doing anything to make it? I don't know. It's frustrating, though, because these sloppy stretches have cost UMD too many games already. The Bulldogs simply have to find a way to stop starting slowly, whether it's the first period, the second, or the third. It can't happen anymore.
******
I do try not to make this a "rag on the refs" bit. We've discussed the difficulties of officiating at this level before. The athletes aren't getting smaller or slower, and as the speed picks up, so do the intensity and the emotion. It's a tough mix for officials, because it takes such a strong combination of smarts, vision, positioning, and hockey instinct to do the job at a high level.
They weren't good enough on Friday. I get that UMD has a reputation for some hits this season that have been over the line. But Krause hadn't been guilty of any of them, and is not regarded as a dirty player.
(At least, he better not be.)
This is why reputations are dangerous. They're human nature, but they're dangerous, because they can lead people to see things that aren't there. What Krause did Friday was probably not a penalty at all, because it was so obvious Tabrum was going out of his way to create the contact. To call it a major is just unacceptable.
It didn't cost UMD this game by any means, but that doesn't make it less frustrating.
******
Omaha had a five-on-three in overtime and got a goal from Austin Ortega on said man advantage to beat North Dakota 3-2. That came after Drake Caggiula tied the score 2-2 with less than a minute to play on a UND power play. Omaha holds on to first place, now by four points over UND and seven over UMD.
St. Cloud State walloped Colorado College 7-1. The Huskies led 7-0 before the second period was over. Kalle Kossila had four points, and a bunch of other guys had three, led by Jonny Brodzinski, who scored twice. The Huskies move back ahead of Western Michigan for sixth place, but the Broncos now have a game in hand.
(Western, by the way, hosts Miami Saturday, then meets the RedHawks next weekend at Soldier Field in the Hockey City Classic.)
Friday, January 30, 2015
Game 25: UMD at Denver
DENVER -- UMD's first trek to the Mile High City in more than three years features the Bulldogs trying to work themselves out of an offensive rut.
Through 16 games of this season, UMD was averaging 3.4 goals per game. Over eight games since, the average has plummeted by more than a goal per game to 2.25.
The power play -- 20 percent in the first 16 games and just three for 30 since -- is a culprit. But five-on-five scoring has to improve, too. It will only get more difficult to put the biscuit in the basket as we get closer to "win or go home" time. If the power play is going to keep struggling, the Bulldogs are going to go through hell trying to rack up enough goals to win games consistently.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kaskisuo - McNeely
DU
Moore - Doremus - Heinen
Janssen - Shore - Marcinew
Larraza - Levin - Romig
Jacobson - Tabrum - Arnold
LaLeggia - Zajac
Butcher - Didier
VanVoorhis - Plant
Jaillet - Cowley
Through 16 games of this season, UMD was averaging 3.4 goals per game. Over eight games since, the average has plummeted by more than a goal per game to 2.25.
The power play -- 20 percent in the first 16 games and just three for 30 since -- is a culprit. But five-on-five scoring has to improve, too. It will only get more difficult to put the biscuit in the basket as we get closer to "win or go home" time. If the power play is going to keep struggling, the Bulldogs are going to go through hell trying to rack up enough goals to win games consistently.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kaskisuo - McNeely
DU
Moore - Doremus - Heinen
Janssen - Shore - Marcinew
Larraza - Levin - Romig
Jacobson - Tabrum - Arnold
LaLeggia - Zajac
Butcher - Didier
VanVoorhis - Plant
Jaillet - Cowley
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Bulldogs Return to NCHC Play With Tough Assignment in Denver
DENVER -- Outside of next weekend's non-conference games against Northern Michigan, it's nothing but rematches the rest of the way for UMD.
The North Dakota series Jan. 9-10 was the last one for UMD that came against an NCHC team it had not previously played. Prior to that, UMD hosted Colorado College in December for its only meetings of the season against the Tigers.
This weekend, it's a rare trip to Denver.
Yes, I said "rare," which was not something that could be said about UMD trips to Denver just a few years ago. After going there regularly for a period of time starting in the spring of 2005, when the Bulldogs won a best-of-three WCHA playoff series at Magness Arena, UMD has not visited Denver since being led to a three-point weekend Nov. 4-5, 2011, by the likes of Jack Connolly, J.T. Brown, Travis Oleksuk, Brady Lamb, and Kenny Reiter (who stopped Jason Zucker on a penalty shot in a Saturday shutout win).
The 2012-13 WCHA schedule didn't feature a trip there, and neither did the inaugural season of the NCHC. So it's suddenly foreign territory for UMD, to the point where members of the Bulldogs' smallish senior class -- namely captain Adam Krause and assistant captain Justin Crandall -- didn't have much recollection of what Magness Arena was like.
(Crandall played in both games, while Krause was in the lineup that Saturday for a 4-0 victory. The Friday game ended 3-3 after UMD rallied from two goals down for the draw.)
There's no time for trips down memory lane this weekend. UMD coach Scott Sandelin liked a good chunk of what he saw in the first two periods of a 2-1 win over Minnesota at the North Star College Cup Saturday in St. Paul. It was a nice rebound for a Bulldog team that put in probably its worst performance this season to date in a 4-0 loss to eventual tournament champion Bemidji State on Friday.
But Sandelin was quick to note that, despite those good things through 40 minutes, "we were on our heels" in the third period, as the Gophers outshot UMD 11-2. Krause's goal at 17:49, the game-winner, was UMD's first shot on goal in the third period.
And, no, the game plan wasn't "lull Adam Wilcox to sleep by not doing anything of real significance offensively for almost 18 minutes."
Sandelin took a page out of the early-season playbook, actually, saying this week that he's more concerned about having his team ready to play than flooding their minds with information about the Pioneers, a team UMD faced Oct. 24-25 in Duluth and split against.
"Right now, I'm more focused on the things we need to do. You can put so much in their heads about what other teams have and what they do that you forget about what you need to do. That's been our focus."
Denver coach Jim Montgomery -- in his second year at the helm -- thinks there's something to be said in going back to the earlier meetings to see what UMD tried to do to his team.
"You compare their last couple games to those games and see how much they've changed," he said this week. "There's a lot of relevancy when you play a team and what they try to do you, besides what they tried to do against (other teams)."
It makes some sense. UMD wasn't off the rails in a one-point weekend against Western Michigan. I've said this before, but I felt there was intensity and drive in that weekend set, even though the results weren't there. The Broncos played extremely well and earned the five points, and to say UMD no-showed those games would be a disservice to Western Michigan's performance.
But at the risk of doing that to Bemidji State, Friday was as close to a no-show as we've seen from the Bulldogs this season. And Saturday was a much-needed response. That said, UMD didn't "finish" that game. Matt McNeely was on in the third period, the Bulldogs did hold their defensive structure more effectively than in past games, but as Sandelin said, they were on their heels and didn't create much pressure. Certainly not as much as they had in the first two periods.
(By the way, we don't know who's starting in goal Friday. Don't ask. I would guess UMD goes back to Kasimir Kaskisuo, but I've been wrong on the goalies so often over the years that these words should be taken with a grain of salt. I just think I'd like to see how Kaskisuo looks after being able to watch a whole game from the bench. He's played well for the most part this season. Even in these recent struggles, Kaskisuo hasn't allowed many -- if any -- "bad goals," the kind that just deflate a team. He just hasn't made the big saves he had been making earlier.)
The Pioneers present a different challenge than Minnesota. The Gophers have some big forwards with elite ability, but they're shakier on the back line. Denver's back line -- featuring Hobey Baker candidate Joey LaLeggia, Nolan Zajac, U.S. World Junior star Will Butcher, and the big, underrated Josiah Didier -- is as good as you'll see anywhere in college hockey.
Of LaLeggia, Montgomery says he's special "at both ends of the ice.
"He can change the momentum of a game in one shift. He can dominate a game throughout."
LaLeggia has 42 career goals, which is pretty good for a blue-liner. What's interesting is that he doesn't have a Shea Weber shot. He doesn't beat goalies with big velocity from the blue line. There aren't a lot of players in Division I who have LaLeggia's ability to get shots through traffic, and he's very good at finding soft spots in defensive coverage and exploting them by pinching from the point and making himself available in better scoring areas.
And when he's not putting pressure on the opposition to account for him all over the ice, it's probably Zajac doing that. Butcher has offensive ability as well, but he has a bigger shot -- at least in my opinion -- than the other two. Butcher played in the World Juniors after Christmas, and Montgomery said they're still monitoring his fatigue.
"With the emotion and the mental exertion you go through, we have seen Will be a little tired," the coach said, noting they're still monitoring his minutes.
"It's more the mental (side). When you play in big games, the mental toll it takes on you really catches up to you, usually about three weeks after it's done."
While UMD will surely want to hit Denver's defensemen whenever possible (and it's not as often as you might think), Denver will probably want to do the same with UMD junior Andy Welinski. He says he'll be ready.
"Being a bigger body, it's easier to prepare yourself," he told me this week. "It's something you get used to. It's no fun having to turn back and get the puck every time. It's a teaching point for our forwards to get the puck in and bang bodies in their end. Personally, I think it's just being aware and moving the puck quick."
Welinski noted it helps that he's put on some muscle since his freshman year, but it's still impressive how good he's gotten at avoiding big hits. Part of that is improved skating, and part of that is knowledge of the system and just understanding where the puck has to go. If he's quick getting rid of the puck, the other team can't knock him into the middle of next week.
One other matchup to watch this weekend would be special teams. UMD's power play is, in a word, struggling.
Since going a respectable 3-for-11 in a home-and-home sweep of Minnesota Nov. 14-15, the Bulldogs have scored a meager four power play goals in 44 chances. That's nine percent, and it ain't good.
Despite that, UMD is 6-5-1 over its last 12 games. Doesn't sound impressive, but considering UMD has four special teams goals in 12 games, it's actually a decent record.
(The UMD kill is 29-for-37 over the last 12 games, which is a shade under 80 percent and not a great number. But the killers were trending upward until allowing opponents five goals on 18 chances the last two weekends. Small sample size there, but the penalty kill absolutely has to improve, too.)
UMD's power play faces a tough matchup this weekend. The Denver kill is 17 for 19 this month and is clicking at nearly 87 percent on the season, allowing just 11 goals in 84 chances. For reference, UMD scored four times in 13 chances during the October series in Duluth, and the Bulldogs would be doing very well for themselves if they could repeat that performance this weekend.
(It's unlikely, not just because DU's kill is elite, but because UMD hasn't had 13 power play chances in a weekend since then, and hasn't had more than eight in any weekend since the start of November.)
The Pioneers are typically very aggressive on the kill, something that tends to give the Bulldogs fits. Sandelin has talked about "controlled urgency" in the past when he brings up how to beat very aggressive penalty kills, and this weekend will be no different. The key is making sure everyone knows what their options are on a play when they have the puck. Denver will force everyone on the rink to make quick decisions and quick moves. It risks leaving guys open, but the Pioneers will take a chance that their aggression will work, and if it doesn't, they'll put trust in goalies Tanner Jaillet and Evan Cowley, both of whom have save percentages over .920.
Sandelin has talked in the past about the need for UMD's best players to be its best players when the team is struggling. The top line took those words to heart Saturday against Minnesota, as Dominic Toninato and Alex Iafallo set up both of Adam Krause's goals in that 2-1 win.
The Bulldogs have shown balance across all lines this season, and that balance will be needed against Denver.
Yes, the Toninato line has to keep going. But they can't be the only guys doing so. There will be pressure on Tony Cameranesi's and Cal Decowski's lines to produce. They both had their moments Saturday, generating sustained offensive zone time while the six players on these two lines combined for 10 of the team's 26 shots on goal (Karson Kuhlman led with three and played well after, in my view, struggling quite a bit on Friday against Bemidji).
The more balance UMD shows, the harder it will be for Montgomery to match his top defensemen up with one forward line.
The North Dakota series Jan. 9-10 was the last one for UMD that came against an NCHC team it had not previously played. Prior to that, UMD hosted Colorado College in December for its only meetings of the season against the Tigers.
This weekend, it's a rare trip to Denver.
Yes, I said "rare," which was not something that could be said about UMD trips to Denver just a few years ago. After going there regularly for a period of time starting in the spring of 2005, when the Bulldogs won a best-of-three WCHA playoff series at Magness Arena, UMD has not visited Denver since being led to a three-point weekend Nov. 4-5, 2011, by the likes of Jack Connolly, J.T. Brown, Travis Oleksuk, Brady Lamb, and Kenny Reiter (who stopped Jason Zucker on a penalty shot in a Saturday shutout win).
The 2012-13 WCHA schedule didn't feature a trip there, and neither did the inaugural season of the NCHC. So it's suddenly foreign territory for UMD, to the point where members of the Bulldogs' smallish senior class -- namely captain Adam Krause and assistant captain Justin Crandall -- didn't have much recollection of what Magness Arena was like.
(Crandall played in both games, while Krause was in the lineup that Saturday for a 4-0 victory. The Friday game ended 3-3 after UMD rallied from two goals down for the draw.)
There's no time for trips down memory lane this weekend. UMD coach Scott Sandelin liked a good chunk of what he saw in the first two periods of a 2-1 win over Minnesota at the North Star College Cup Saturday in St. Paul. It was a nice rebound for a Bulldog team that put in probably its worst performance this season to date in a 4-0 loss to eventual tournament champion Bemidji State on Friday.
But Sandelin was quick to note that, despite those good things through 40 minutes, "we were on our heels" in the third period, as the Gophers outshot UMD 11-2. Krause's goal at 17:49, the game-winner, was UMD's first shot on goal in the third period.
And, no, the game plan wasn't "lull Adam Wilcox to sleep by not doing anything of real significance offensively for almost 18 minutes."
Sandelin took a page out of the early-season playbook, actually, saying this week that he's more concerned about having his team ready to play than flooding their minds with information about the Pioneers, a team UMD faced Oct. 24-25 in Duluth and split against.
"Right now, I'm more focused on the things we need to do. You can put so much in their heads about what other teams have and what they do that you forget about what you need to do. That's been our focus."
Denver coach Jim Montgomery -- in his second year at the helm -- thinks there's something to be said in going back to the earlier meetings to see what UMD tried to do to his team.
"You compare their last couple games to those games and see how much they've changed," he said this week. "There's a lot of relevancy when you play a team and what they try to do you, besides what they tried to do against (other teams)."
It makes some sense. UMD wasn't off the rails in a one-point weekend against Western Michigan. I've said this before, but I felt there was intensity and drive in that weekend set, even though the results weren't there. The Broncos played extremely well and earned the five points, and to say UMD no-showed those games would be a disservice to Western Michigan's performance.
But at the risk of doing that to Bemidji State, Friday was as close to a no-show as we've seen from the Bulldogs this season. And Saturday was a much-needed response. That said, UMD didn't "finish" that game. Matt McNeely was on in the third period, the Bulldogs did hold their defensive structure more effectively than in past games, but as Sandelin said, they were on their heels and didn't create much pressure. Certainly not as much as they had in the first two periods.
(By the way, we don't know who's starting in goal Friday. Don't ask. I would guess UMD goes back to Kasimir Kaskisuo, but I've been wrong on the goalies so often over the years that these words should be taken with a grain of salt. I just think I'd like to see how Kaskisuo looks after being able to watch a whole game from the bench. He's played well for the most part this season. Even in these recent struggles, Kaskisuo hasn't allowed many -- if any -- "bad goals," the kind that just deflate a team. He just hasn't made the big saves he had been making earlier.)
******
The Pioneers present a different challenge than Minnesota. The Gophers have some big forwards with elite ability, but they're shakier on the back line. Denver's back line -- featuring Hobey Baker candidate Joey LaLeggia, Nolan Zajac, U.S. World Junior star Will Butcher, and the big, underrated Josiah Didier -- is as good as you'll see anywhere in college hockey.
Of LaLeggia, Montgomery says he's special "at both ends of the ice.
"He can change the momentum of a game in one shift. He can dominate a game throughout."
LaLeggia has 42 career goals, which is pretty good for a blue-liner. What's interesting is that he doesn't have a Shea Weber shot. He doesn't beat goalies with big velocity from the blue line. There aren't a lot of players in Division I who have LaLeggia's ability to get shots through traffic, and he's very good at finding soft spots in defensive coverage and exploting them by pinching from the point and making himself available in better scoring areas.
And when he's not putting pressure on the opposition to account for him all over the ice, it's probably Zajac doing that. Butcher has offensive ability as well, but he has a bigger shot -- at least in my opinion -- than the other two. Butcher played in the World Juniors after Christmas, and Montgomery said they're still monitoring his fatigue.
"With the emotion and the mental exertion you go through, we have seen Will be a little tired," the coach said, noting they're still monitoring his minutes.
"It's more the mental (side). When you play in big games, the mental toll it takes on you really catches up to you, usually about three weeks after it's done."
While UMD will surely want to hit Denver's defensemen whenever possible (and it's not as often as you might think), Denver will probably want to do the same with UMD junior Andy Welinski. He says he'll be ready.
"Being a bigger body, it's easier to prepare yourself," he told me this week. "It's something you get used to. It's no fun having to turn back and get the puck every time. It's a teaching point for our forwards to get the puck in and bang bodies in their end. Personally, I think it's just being aware and moving the puck quick."
Welinski noted it helps that he's put on some muscle since his freshman year, but it's still impressive how good he's gotten at avoiding big hits. Part of that is improved skating, and part of that is knowledge of the system and just understanding where the puck has to go. If he's quick getting rid of the puck, the other team can't knock him into the middle of next week.
******
One other matchup to watch this weekend would be special teams. UMD's power play is, in a word, struggling.
Since going a respectable 3-for-11 in a home-and-home sweep of Minnesota Nov. 14-15, the Bulldogs have scored a meager four power play goals in 44 chances. That's nine percent, and it ain't good.
Despite that, UMD is 6-5-1 over its last 12 games. Doesn't sound impressive, but considering UMD has four special teams goals in 12 games, it's actually a decent record.
(The UMD kill is 29-for-37 over the last 12 games, which is a shade under 80 percent and not a great number. But the killers were trending upward until allowing opponents five goals on 18 chances the last two weekends. Small sample size there, but the penalty kill absolutely has to improve, too.)
UMD's power play faces a tough matchup this weekend. The Denver kill is 17 for 19 this month and is clicking at nearly 87 percent on the season, allowing just 11 goals in 84 chances. For reference, UMD scored four times in 13 chances during the October series in Duluth, and the Bulldogs would be doing very well for themselves if they could repeat that performance this weekend.
(It's unlikely, not just because DU's kill is elite, but because UMD hasn't had 13 power play chances in a weekend since then, and hasn't had more than eight in any weekend since the start of November.)
The Pioneers are typically very aggressive on the kill, something that tends to give the Bulldogs fits. Sandelin has talked about "controlled urgency" in the past when he brings up how to beat very aggressive penalty kills, and this weekend will be no different. The key is making sure everyone knows what their options are on a play when they have the puck. Denver will force everyone on the rink to make quick decisions and quick moves. It risks leaving guys open, but the Pioneers will take a chance that their aggression will work, and if it doesn't, they'll put trust in goalies Tanner Jaillet and Evan Cowley, both of whom have save percentages over .920.
******
Sandelin has talked in the past about the need for UMD's best players to be its best players when the team is struggling. The top line took those words to heart Saturday against Minnesota, as Dominic Toninato and Alex Iafallo set up both of Adam Krause's goals in that 2-1 win.
The Bulldogs have shown balance across all lines this season, and that balance will be needed against Denver.
Yes, the Toninato line has to keep going. But they can't be the only guys doing so. There will be pressure on Tony Cameranesi's and Cal Decowski's lines to produce. They both had their moments Saturday, generating sustained offensive zone time while the six players on these two lines combined for 10 of the team's 26 shots on goal (Karson Kuhlman led with three and played well after, in my view, struggling quite a bit on Friday against Bemidji).
The more balance UMD shows, the harder it will be for Montgomery to match his top defensemen up with one forward line.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Game 24: UMD vs Minnesota (North Star College Cup)
ST. PAUL -- That's the last time I heed warnings about ridiculous traffic.
"Get there before 2. It's going to be suffocating!"
Um, no.
Anyway, we're ready to go for the consolation game of the North Star College Cup. Just like everyone predicted earlier in the season, it's UMD vs. Minnesota.
UMD is 0-3-1 in its last four games. We'll call it a mini-slump, because Minnesota is 4-7-2 in its last 13 games, starting with that home-and-home sweep UMD put on them in November. The Gophers haven't played very well since October, and we'll ask Don Lucia why in a conversation you'll hear during the broadcast.
That Minnesota funk has dropped the Gophers to 20th in the Pairwise, making UMD's position of sixth much less precarious.
Stylistically, this is certainly a better matchup for UMD. There should be a good pace to this game, and I can't imagine the 14 Minnesotans -- plus honorary Minnesotan Austin Farley, a guy Gopher fans still don't like after last year's championship game -- in the Bullog lineup wouldn't love another piece of the Gophers.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
McNeely - Kaskisuo - Fons
UMTC
Rau - Kloos - Reilly (Connor)
Warning - Boyd - Fasching
Cammarata - Lettieri - Ambroz
Michaelson - Isackson - Bristedt
Skjei - Glover
Reilly (Mike) - Bischoff
Marshall - Brodzinski
Wilcox - Lehr - Coyne
(Note: Minnesota's line chart always says the listed order of the goalies does not indicate the starter. Usually, I don't believe that, but we'll see what we're told when we get pregame availability.)
"Get there before 2. It's going to be suffocating!"
Um, no.
Anyway, we're ready to go for the consolation game of the North Star College Cup. Just like everyone predicted earlier in the season, it's UMD vs. Minnesota.
UMD is 0-3-1 in its last four games. We'll call it a mini-slump, because Minnesota is 4-7-2 in its last 13 games, starting with that home-and-home sweep UMD put on them in November. The Gophers haven't played very well since October, and we'll ask Don Lucia why in a conversation you'll hear during the broadcast.
That Minnesota funk has dropped the Gophers to 20th in the Pairwise, making UMD's position of sixth much less precarious.
Stylistically, this is certainly a better matchup for UMD. There should be a good pace to this game, and I can't imagine the 14 Minnesotans -- plus honorary Minnesotan Austin Farley, a guy Gopher fans still don't like after last year's championship game -- in the Bullog lineup wouldn't love another piece of the Gophers.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
McNeely - Kaskisuo - Fons
UMTC
Rau - Kloos - Reilly (Connor)
Warning - Boyd - Fasching
Cammarata - Lettieri - Ambroz
Michaelson - Isackson - Bristedt
Skjei - Glover
Reilly (Mike) - Bischoff
Marshall - Brodzinski
Wilcox - Lehr - Coyne
(Note: Minnesota's line chart always says the listed order of the goalies does not indicate the starter. Usually, I don't believe that, but we'll see what we're told when we get pregame availability.)
Friday, January 23, 2015
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs Turn in Clunker at North Star College Cup; Questions From Twitter
ST. PAUL -- You guys probably know me well enough by now.
I'm not much of a sugarcoater.
(Yes, I know that's not a word. The squiggly red line under it is plenty of evidence of that.)
So I'm not going to sugarcoat what we saw Friday afternoon/evening at XCel Energy Center. It wasn't very good. In fact, it was about as putrid a performance as we've seen all season. Probably not even close, to be frank.
Bemidji State took it to UMD for the better part of 60 minutes in a 4-0 win here that sends the Beavers to Saturday's championship game. UMD will play Minnesota, a 4-2 loser to Minnesota State, for third place at 4pm Saturday. It's the fourth meeting this season between the longtime rivals, and they've come at four different venues (Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena, Mariucci Arena, Amsoil Arena, and now XCel Energy Center).
Things didn't start great for UMD, and they got much worse. Bemidji had four shots on goal before UMD even got close to one, but the Bulldogs generated some pressure after the first media timeout, which came just past the five-minute mark of the period.
UMD took a couple of penalties in a row, and Bemidji burned the Bulldogs on the second one, as Matt Prapavessis pinched from the center point to the high slot and put a screened shot by UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo for a 1-0 lead. I would question the screen, as it appeared obvious there was a BSU player screening Kaskisuo while his skates were in the blue paint. By NCAA rule, that should be a no goal.
(The relevant part of the Rule 73.1 goes like this: "The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within the goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by these actions, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to defend the goal either visually or physically, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed."
There is no question that if you watch this animation of the goal, Markus Gerbrandt's skate or skates are in the crease when the puck comes through. It's also clear Gerbrandt is doing his job, providing a screen and making it hard for Kaskisuo to see the shot. Letter of the law, this is supposed to be a "no goal" call, and I've seen it reviewed to that "letter of the law" standard on multiple occasions in my years on this job.)
Luckily, any controversy was averted by the rest of the game (note some sarcasm there). It wasn't good for the Bulldogs.
The Beavers made it 2-0 halfway through the second when the Fitzgerald triplets struck. Well, two of them, as Gerry fed Leo for a shot from the slot. It was an example of UMD's not-very-good puck management and defensive coverage in this game. BSU took control of the puck in the defensive zone and UMD just didn't get back well enough.
Bemidji State tacked on two more goals in the third off UMD turnovers to get to the 4-0 final score. It hastened the inevitable, because even at 2-0 after two, I remarked to someone in the press box that it felt like 8-0. UMD just didn't have anything going.
UMD had scoring chances, but the Bulldogs missed the net on 15 of 55 shot attempts in the game, and didn't do enough to make freshman goalie Michael Bitzer's life difficult. In 23 games, I'm not sure I've seen the kind of poor execution and battle level in the offensive zone that plagued UMD Friday. And it was a near-constant from start to finish. Races and puck battles were lost all over the rink, and those types of things will kill a team when it's on the power play.
It did that on this day, for sure.
UMD's power play struggled through a five-minute chance in the first period when Gerbrandt leveled Kyle Osterberg and was whistled for a charging major. Five shots on goal in five minutes isn't terrible, but UMD lacked the prime scoring area shots ... then and throughout the game.
Credit to Bemidji State. They were ready to play. The Beavers have more speed -- not just with the Fitzgerald kids, who are going to be a hoot to watch get better, because man you can see there's talent there -- than they've had in the past, but they still bring the proverbial lunch buckets to the game. Even with improved talent, it's the work ethic that will win them hockey games, just like Friday.
This isn't necessarily on Kaskisuo. Coach Scott Sandelin told me before the game that Kaskisuo's .865 save percentage over his previous five starts was a combo platter. Kaskisuo's play -- in a sense -- reflected that of the guys in front of him. Uneven, yes, but probably not solely responsible for the poor stat line in those starts.
Well, now it's .862 over six starts. And Friday was more of the same. I'd expect Sandelin to start Matt McNeely on Saturday against Minnesota, but I honestly thought McNeely might get the call Friday. So now you know what I know.
For UMD, getting beat is fine. It happens. The Western Michigan series was a dogfight from start to finish, and UMD didn't back down. Even when the Bulldogs weren't playing their best, they were battling. They won races, fought through checks, and found ways to make plays to the net.
None of those things really happened Friday. It was Bemidji State winning puck battles, winning races, and getting to the UMD net. More than anything, that's almost assuredly what concerned the coaching staff as it watched the events unfold.
What's the answer?
Honestly, it isn't that easy. Without Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune tweeting that there was a players-only meeting after the game, I could have predicted that outcome.
I'm not a big "blame the coaches" guy. At least, I'm not anymore. And especially in hockey. Coaches can't do anything for the players, outside of try their damndest to prepare them for what lies ahead. They can't execute the plan for the players, as badly as they might want to sometimes. This isn't football, where coaches are constantly making decisions from the sideline that can change the course of a game.
When you have a game like this one -- an absolute throw-the-tape-in-the-garbage clunker -- it's probably time for the players to take a look at what they're doing.
It's hard to believe that only two Fridays ago, UMD was largely carrying the play against then-No. 1 North Dakota. But as hard as it is to fathom UMD falling this far in just two weeks, it's only been two weeks. And there is a lot of hockey left to be played.
UMD has 13 games left, starting Saturday against the Gophers. It only took four to get to this point, and there's no reason the Bulldogs can't get back where they were just as quickly.
But it starts in that room, hence the players-only meeting. They have to figure out where they went wrong and get back to what was going so well.
Because of the early start, I had decided on the drive down Friday that I would take questions after the game from fans via Twitter. Never did I think the game would go the way it did, but I figured I'd do it anyway.
The only stipulation was I would not accept questions or comments that went after individual players. This isn't the NHL. No one played well Friday, and no individual deserves to be called out in a public forum.
So here are a few questions from actual Twitter followers @bruceciskie. Thanks to all who submitted on the fly Friday for asking good questions and not letting frustration get to them.
@biddco: "why do we have this slump around this time of year? Teams figure us and we don’t adjust?"
It's a common thought that we have this kind of slump every year. Here's what the numbers say. They're 0-3-1 in the last four, and we hope it doesn't get worse than that. But it's a slump, for sure.
UMD had a four-game slide in February of last year, but the losses came to very good St. Cloud State and North Dakota teams. UMD responded by winning three straight. There was no big slump outside of that, really.
The 2012-13 team was up and down all year, so I'm not sure a winless streak that hit nine games (eight in February) really was all that meaningful towards this argument.
2011-12's team, a very good one, went 1-3-1 over a five-game stretch that included a 5-0 loss to Michigan Tech and a loss to Alaska-Anchorage. UMD responded by going unbeaten in its next five games on its way to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2010-11 team had a pretty famous 8-2 loss to St. Cloud State as the big negative in a six-game run where it went 1-3-2. That season ended well.
So there have been three pronounced slumps in the last five years. I'm not sure that makes or breaks that question, but I think it's just part of the normal ebb and flow of a season. It's not fun, for sure, but I don't see it as being anything more than that, unless it keeps going.
Tony Schmaltz asks "Was this by far, the sloppiest game of the season?"
I don't think there's a question. The only game where UMD was close to being this poor offensively was the Friday game at home against Denver in October. And no disrespect to Bemidji State, but Denver's blue line is elite. The Pioneers make a lot of teams look virtually inept offensively.
UMD wasn't hard on pucks, didn't make good decisions (the multiple turnovers during a five-on-three should provide plenty of evidence of this), and just didn't have enough battle level to win this game. Those things haven't all been the case in any other game to this point, in my opinion.
Craig Berry asks "Were they looking past Bemidji to UofM or Mankato?"
Geez, I'd hope not. You'd have to ask the players to be sure. I'd imagine that wasn't the case.
Oh, and it's "Minnesota State," Craig.
Corey Lange: "what's it gonna take to bring back the teams intensity and drive?"
Jon Fischer: "how can the bulldogs get back to how they were playing before the break."
Would hope it doesn't take much. It was just there a week ago.
See, I could argue a lot of things about UMD's games against Western Michigan. But I can't argue that the Bulldogs lacked intensity or drive last weekend. They didn't execute well enough, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.
I didn't like the effort level on Friday, but that's quite the rarity with this group, even going back to previous seasons.
As for Jon's question, which was somewhat similar to Corey's, I'd argue the Bulldogs are very similar to the Wild. They aren't built on a star player with a bunch of followers. For UMD to win, it takes a 20-man effort. Everyone has to "pull on the same chain." Sandelin coined "sticktoitness" when we were chatting on Friday. When UMD is going good, it sticks to the game plan and plays the way Sandelin wants the team to play.
When it goes off the rails, like Friday, those things don't happen.
It isn't as simple as flipping a switch, but UMD can get it back as quickly as it seems to have lost it.
Paul Clusiau: "Here's a question. Why are we turning over the puck so much lately?"
It's a combination.
There have been times this season where forwards have been caught up the rink before the puck is out of the defensive zone. It's almost as if they're hoping the puck gets out, and they're thinking a few seconds ahead of where the play is at. If everyone executes and does their job, this isn't a huge deal.
But teams are putting more and more pressure on the defense, which means forwards need to help out and give the blue-liners options to get the puck out of trouble. Flying up the rink isn't providing that option.
The lack of options will make the blue-liners look sloppy. To get the train back on the tracks, UMD must first get back to the 200-foot game it was playing so effectively before Christmas.
Finally, Al Onken asks, "Game #2 at Grand Forks took a lot more out of this team than anyone thought at the time, I think. Agree/Disagree?"
I don't know that I do.
What I do think is that UND exposed UMD's defensive zone issues that I just discussed. Now it's time for the Bulldogs to adjust.
It doesn't matter if you win a game 1-0 or 8-5, but the 1-0 game will be much easier to watch if the guys are taking care of their goalie and their own end of the rink first.
There have been times this season where UMD's defensive breakdowns have been caused not by a lack of defensive acumen, but instead by players thinking too much about the offensive side of things. There have been quite a few odd-man rushes lately, and many of them have been caused by players being caught too far up the rink because they're trying to make things happen offensively.
More than anything on Saturday, I want to see UMD take care of its own zone, whether it's McNeely or Kaskisuo in net. If that happens, I'll be happy regardless of the end result, because I know that other things will take care of themselves.
They have to be good defensively first.
As mentioned, No. 1 Minnesota State beat Minnesota 4-2 in the other NSCC semifinal. Bryce Gervais scored twice for the Mavericks. Hopefully the Gophers have forgotten about that home-and-home sweep in November. Ah, who are we kidding? The third-place game should be very salty Saturday afternoon.
In the NCHC, North Dakota got a short-handed goal from Michael Parks in the third period to beat Colorado College 2-1. Zane McIntyre made 30 saves as CC actually led in shots 31-27. Just when CC was looking like an easy out for the NCHC regular-season champion, the Tigers are playing much better hockey. That could mean no easy outs for any home team in the league tournament.
Denver went into Oxford and beat Miami 3-1. With the score tied at one in the second, DU killed off a five-minute major on Ty Loney, who was ejected for a check from behind. Then Trevor Moore scored twice in the third, including an empty-netter with ten seconds left. Tanner Jaillet got the win in goal with 27 saves.
St. Cloud State blasted Western Michigan 7-0, sending the red-hot Broncos to just a second loss in 11 games. Western had been 7-1-2 over ten games, an impressive run that came against some strong competition. But WMU had nothing for the Huskies Friday night. David Morley scored twice, while Joey Benik had four assists for SCSU while Charlie Lindgren pitched a 23-save shutout.
I'm not much of a sugarcoater.
(Yes, I know that's not a word. The squiggly red line under it is plenty of evidence of that.)
So I'm not going to sugarcoat what we saw Friday afternoon/evening at XCel Energy Center. It wasn't very good. In fact, it was about as putrid a performance as we've seen all season. Probably not even close, to be frank.
Bemidji State took it to UMD for the better part of 60 minutes in a 4-0 win here that sends the Beavers to Saturday's championship game. UMD will play Minnesota, a 4-2 loser to Minnesota State, for third place at 4pm Saturday. It's the fourth meeting this season between the longtime rivals, and they've come at four different venues (Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena, Mariucci Arena, Amsoil Arena, and now XCel Energy Center).
Things didn't start great for UMD, and they got much worse. Bemidji had four shots on goal before UMD even got close to one, but the Bulldogs generated some pressure after the first media timeout, which came just past the five-minute mark of the period.
UMD took a couple of penalties in a row, and Bemidji burned the Bulldogs on the second one, as Matt Prapavessis pinched from the center point to the high slot and put a screened shot by UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo for a 1-0 lead. I would question the screen, as it appeared obvious there was a BSU player screening Kaskisuo while his skates were in the blue paint. By NCAA rule, that should be a no goal.
(The relevant part of the Rule 73.1 goes like this: "The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within the goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by these actions, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to defend the goal either visually or physically, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed."
There is no question that if you watch this animation of the goal, Markus Gerbrandt's skate or skates are in the crease when the puck comes through. It's also clear Gerbrandt is doing his job, providing a screen and making it hard for Kaskisuo to see the shot. Letter of the law, this is supposed to be a "no goal" call, and I've seen it reviewed to that "letter of the law" standard on multiple occasions in my years on this job.)
Luckily, any controversy was averted by the rest of the game (note some sarcasm there). It wasn't good for the Bulldogs.
The Beavers made it 2-0 halfway through the second when the Fitzgerald triplets struck. Well, two of them, as Gerry fed Leo for a shot from the slot. It was an example of UMD's not-very-good puck management and defensive coverage in this game. BSU took control of the puck in the defensive zone and UMD just didn't get back well enough.
Bemidji State tacked on two more goals in the third off UMD turnovers to get to the 4-0 final score. It hastened the inevitable, because even at 2-0 after two, I remarked to someone in the press box that it felt like 8-0. UMD just didn't have anything going.
UMD had scoring chances, but the Bulldogs missed the net on 15 of 55 shot attempts in the game, and didn't do enough to make freshman goalie Michael Bitzer's life difficult. In 23 games, I'm not sure I've seen the kind of poor execution and battle level in the offensive zone that plagued UMD Friday. And it was a near-constant from start to finish. Races and puck battles were lost all over the rink, and those types of things will kill a team when it's on the power play.
It did that on this day, for sure.
UMD's power play struggled through a five-minute chance in the first period when Gerbrandt leveled Kyle Osterberg and was whistled for a charging major. Five shots on goal in five minutes isn't terrible, but UMD lacked the prime scoring area shots ... then and throughout the game.
Credit to Bemidji State. They were ready to play. The Beavers have more speed -- not just with the Fitzgerald kids, who are going to be a hoot to watch get better, because man you can see there's talent there -- than they've had in the past, but they still bring the proverbial lunch buckets to the game. Even with improved talent, it's the work ethic that will win them hockey games, just like Friday.
This isn't necessarily on Kaskisuo. Coach Scott Sandelin told me before the game that Kaskisuo's .865 save percentage over his previous five starts was a combo platter. Kaskisuo's play -- in a sense -- reflected that of the guys in front of him. Uneven, yes, but probably not solely responsible for the poor stat line in those starts.
Well, now it's .862 over six starts. And Friday was more of the same. I'd expect Sandelin to start Matt McNeely on Saturday against Minnesota, but I honestly thought McNeely might get the call Friday. So now you know what I know.
For UMD, getting beat is fine. It happens. The Western Michigan series was a dogfight from start to finish, and UMD didn't back down. Even when the Bulldogs weren't playing their best, they were battling. They won races, fought through checks, and found ways to make plays to the net.
None of those things really happened Friday. It was Bemidji State winning puck battles, winning races, and getting to the UMD net. More than anything, that's almost assuredly what concerned the coaching staff as it watched the events unfold.
******
What's the answer?
Honestly, it isn't that easy. Without Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune tweeting that there was a players-only meeting after the game, I could have predicted that outcome.
I'm not a big "blame the coaches" guy. At least, I'm not anymore. And especially in hockey. Coaches can't do anything for the players, outside of try their damndest to prepare them for what lies ahead. They can't execute the plan for the players, as badly as they might want to sometimes. This isn't football, where coaches are constantly making decisions from the sideline that can change the course of a game.
When you have a game like this one -- an absolute throw-the-tape-in-the-garbage clunker -- it's probably time for the players to take a look at what they're doing.
It's hard to believe that only two Fridays ago, UMD was largely carrying the play against then-No. 1 North Dakota. But as hard as it is to fathom UMD falling this far in just two weeks, it's only been two weeks. And there is a lot of hockey left to be played.
UMD has 13 games left, starting Saturday against the Gophers. It only took four to get to this point, and there's no reason the Bulldogs can't get back where they were just as quickly.
But it starts in that room, hence the players-only meeting. They have to figure out where they went wrong and get back to what was going so well.
******
Because of the early start, I had decided on the drive down Friday that I would take questions after the game from fans via Twitter. Never did I think the game would go the way it did, but I figured I'd do it anyway.
The only stipulation was I would not accept questions or comments that went after individual players. This isn't the NHL. No one played well Friday, and no individual deserves to be called out in a public forum.
So here are a few questions from actual Twitter followers @bruceciskie. Thanks to all who submitted on the fly Friday for asking good questions and not letting frustration get to them.
@biddco: "why do we have this slump around this time of year? Teams figure us and we don’t adjust?"
It's a common thought that we have this kind of slump every year. Here's what the numbers say. They're 0-3-1 in the last four, and we hope it doesn't get worse than that. But it's a slump, for sure.
UMD had a four-game slide in February of last year, but the losses came to very good St. Cloud State and North Dakota teams. UMD responded by winning three straight. There was no big slump outside of that, really.
The 2012-13 team was up and down all year, so I'm not sure a winless streak that hit nine games (eight in February) really was all that meaningful towards this argument.
2011-12's team, a very good one, went 1-3-1 over a five-game stretch that included a 5-0 loss to Michigan Tech and a loss to Alaska-Anchorage. UMD responded by going unbeaten in its next five games on its way to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2010-11 team had a pretty famous 8-2 loss to St. Cloud State as the big negative in a six-game run where it went 1-3-2. That season ended well.
So there have been three pronounced slumps in the last five years. I'm not sure that makes or breaks that question, but I think it's just part of the normal ebb and flow of a season. It's not fun, for sure, but I don't see it as being anything more than that, unless it keeps going.
Tony Schmaltz asks "Was this by far, the sloppiest game of the season?"
I don't think there's a question. The only game where UMD was close to being this poor offensively was the Friday game at home against Denver in October. And no disrespect to Bemidji State, but Denver's blue line is elite. The Pioneers make a lot of teams look virtually inept offensively.
UMD wasn't hard on pucks, didn't make good decisions (the multiple turnovers during a five-on-three should provide plenty of evidence of this), and just didn't have enough battle level to win this game. Those things haven't all been the case in any other game to this point, in my opinion.
Craig Berry asks "Were they looking past Bemidji to UofM or Mankato?"
Geez, I'd hope not. You'd have to ask the players to be sure. I'd imagine that wasn't the case.
Oh, and it's "Minnesota State," Craig.
Corey Lange: "what's it gonna take to bring back the teams intensity and drive?"
Jon Fischer: "how can the bulldogs get back to how they were playing before the break."
Would hope it doesn't take much. It was just there a week ago.
See, I could argue a lot of things about UMD's games against Western Michigan. But I can't argue that the Bulldogs lacked intensity or drive last weekend. They didn't execute well enough, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.
I didn't like the effort level on Friday, but that's quite the rarity with this group, even going back to previous seasons.
As for Jon's question, which was somewhat similar to Corey's, I'd argue the Bulldogs are very similar to the Wild. They aren't built on a star player with a bunch of followers. For UMD to win, it takes a 20-man effort. Everyone has to "pull on the same chain." Sandelin coined "sticktoitness" when we were chatting on Friday. When UMD is going good, it sticks to the game plan and plays the way Sandelin wants the team to play.
When it goes off the rails, like Friday, those things don't happen.
It isn't as simple as flipping a switch, but UMD can get it back as quickly as it seems to have lost it.
Paul Clusiau: "Here's a question. Why are we turning over the puck so much lately?"
It's a combination.
There have been times this season where forwards have been caught up the rink before the puck is out of the defensive zone. It's almost as if they're hoping the puck gets out, and they're thinking a few seconds ahead of where the play is at. If everyone executes and does their job, this isn't a huge deal.
But teams are putting more and more pressure on the defense, which means forwards need to help out and give the blue-liners options to get the puck out of trouble. Flying up the rink isn't providing that option.
The lack of options will make the blue-liners look sloppy. To get the train back on the tracks, UMD must first get back to the 200-foot game it was playing so effectively before Christmas.
Finally, Al Onken asks, "Game #2 at Grand Forks took a lot more out of this team than anyone thought at the time, I think. Agree/Disagree?"
I don't know that I do.
What I do think is that UND exposed UMD's defensive zone issues that I just discussed. Now it's time for the Bulldogs to adjust.
It doesn't matter if you win a game 1-0 or 8-5, but the 1-0 game will be much easier to watch if the guys are taking care of their goalie and their own end of the rink first.
There have been times this season where UMD's defensive breakdowns have been caused not by a lack of defensive acumen, but instead by players thinking too much about the offensive side of things. There have been quite a few odd-man rushes lately, and many of them have been caused by players being caught too far up the rink because they're trying to make things happen offensively.
More than anything on Saturday, I want to see UMD take care of its own zone, whether it's McNeely or Kaskisuo in net. If that happens, I'll be happy regardless of the end result, because I know that other things will take care of themselves.
They have to be good defensively first.
******
As mentioned, No. 1 Minnesota State beat Minnesota 4-2 in the other NSCC semifinal. Bryce Gervais scored twice for the Mavericks. Hopefully the Gophers have forgotten about that home-and-home sweep in November. Ah, who are we kidding? The third-place game should be very salty Saturday afternoon.
In the NCHC, North Dakota got a short-handed goal from Michael Parks in the third period to beat Colorado College 2-1. Zane McIntyre made 30 saves as CC actually led in shots 31-27. Just when CC was looking like an easy out for the NCHC regular-season champion, the Tigers are playing much better hockey. That could mean no easy outs for any home team in the league tournament.
Denver went into Oxford and beat Miami 3-1. With the score tied at one in the second, DU killed off a five-minute major on Ty Loney, who was ejected for a check from behind. Then Trevor Moore scored twice in the third, including an empty-netter with ten seconds left. Tanner Jaillet got the win in goal with 27 saves.
St. Cloud State blasted Western Michigan 7-0, sending the red-hot Broncos to just a second loss in 11 games. Western had been 7-1-2 over ten games, an impressive run that came against some strong competition. But WMU had nothing for the Huskies Friday night. David Morley scored twice, while Joey Benik had four assists for SCSU while Charlie Lindgren pitched a 23-save shutout.
Game 23: UMD vs Bemidji State (North Star College Cup)
ST. PAUL -- The second annual North Star College Cup features a first-time participant.
Bemidji State wasn't here last year, just like UMD won't be here next year.
Coach Tom Serratore says he's excited, and he hopes his team's fans are, too. No matter how excited Beaver Nation is, don't expect a huge crowd for this first game. It's a 4pm local time start on a Friday, tickets are single-session both days, and traffic around here is supposedly going to be the epitome of awfulness all weekend.
We'll see how that affects turnout.
Anyway, check out my game preview. Also, UMD had one male and one female nominated for the awesome Hockey Humanitarian Award. And Red Rock Radio signed on for two more years of UMD football and men's hockey coverage.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Sampair - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kaskisuo - McNeely - Fons
BSU
Gerbrandt - Arentz - Parker
Fitzgerald (Leo) - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Myles)
O'Connor - Ward - Harms
Marinaccio - Bauman - Brewer
Rendle - Windle
Beauvais - Prapavessis
Pedan - McCormack
Bitzer - Walsh - Mimmack
Bemidji State wasn't here last year, just like UMD won't be here next year.
Coach Tom Serratore says he's excited, and he hopes his team's fans are, too. No matter how excited Beaver Nation is, don't expect a huge crowd for this first game. It's a 4pm local time start on a Friday, tickets are single-session both days, and traffic around here is supposedly going to be the epitome of awfulness all weekend.
We'll see how that affects turnout.
Anyway, check out my game preview. Also, UMD had one male and one female nominated for the awesome Hockey Humanitarian Award. And Red Rock Radio signed on for two more years of UMD football and men's hockey coverage.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall
Sampair - Thomas - Young (Austyn)
Johnson - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk
Kaskisuo - McNeely - Fons
BSU
Gerbrandt - Arentz - Parker
Fitzgerald (Leo) - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Myles)
O'Connor - Ward - Harms
Marinaccio - Bauman - Brewer
Rendle - Windle
Beauvais - Prapavessis
Pedan - McCormack
Bitzer - Walsh - Mimmack
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Bulldogs Venture Out of NCHC to Battle 'Baby Geniuses,' Bemidji State, at North Star College Cup
For UMD, it's time to put last weekend's disappointment in the rear-view mirror.
One point against Western Michigan? Sucks, but it's time to move on.
A new challenge awaits, as the Bulldogs head to XCel Energy Center for a Friday date with Bemidji State in the North Star College Cup.
Head coach Scott Sandelin has been quick this week to point out that this isn't the Bemidji State that Bulldog fans are used to seeing. Virtually gone are the days where it seemed a good hockey play for the Beavers was "chip the puck off the glass and hope someone beats an opponent to it."
That said, you're dead wrong if you don't think Tom Serratore's team will work hard in every game it plays. It's just that the Beavers aren't as big as Western Michigan, last week's difficult opponent. That doesn't mean anything will come easier for UMD. It means this game will be different, no matter how many similarities exist in the teams' styles.
"They don't have the size that Western does," Sandelin said this week. "They're a different team this year. They've got a little more skill, trying to play a different game themselves. But they've always been good defensively. They always work hard. They compete extremely hard."
"They're probably one of the hardest working teams in the nation," senior forward Justin Crandall said. "It's a team you want to get off to a good start against."
"Overall, I like our team," Serratore said. "I think we have a lot of good pieces in place."
Bemidji has plenty of youth. Of course, the way Serratore and his staff recruits, "younger players" are still 20. The Beavers had a seven-game losing streak in October and November, a frustrating run but one where Serratore was still not completely displeased.
"They kept their nose to the grindstone," he said, "and their work ethic never wavered. We were outshooting teams. I think over the course of the streak, five of the seven games we had more scoring chances. That's the picture you want to paint for your guys.
"We got out of it pretty good and had a little success."
However, Serratore says his team "took a step back" last weekend against Lake Superior State. In 1-0 and 4-2 losses, he said "our urgency was never there."
He said shot numbers on Friday (44 for his team) were inflated. Oh, and he wasn't happy with the net-front traffic.
"It's what I told our guys before the second game. 'I don't want you around the cage,'" Serratore said. "'I want you in front of the cage.' There's a difference. I thought we were just around the cage. This day and age, you have to manufacture offense any way you can."
Bemidji State has always been good at this, and I would expect it to be better on Friday. They'll get their noses dirty and make UMD outwork them to stop them from getting second or third chances on the Bulldog net.
They'll also reunite their triplet line.
Yes, BSU has a triplet line.
Not just any ol' triplets.
Myles, Leo, and Gerry Fitzgerald are freshmen for Bemidji State. They're not the biggest guys, but they lit up the BCHL last year and they have played well for Serratore so far. They got a little bit of buzz when they committed because of their background. The three appeared in the 1999blockbuster hit movie "Baby Geniuses" with such luminaries as Dom Delouise and Kathleen Turner.
Gerry has played in every game, while Myles has missed two and Leo seven. They've combined for eight goals (Myles has four), 16 assists (Gerry has eight), and 24 points (Gerry leads the trio with 11). Myles missed last weekend, but all three should be in the lineup Friday. It's a play-by-play guy'sdream nightmare.
"They're fun players," Serratore said. "They're clever out there. They skate. They compete. We're fortunate to have them. I think their body of work over the course of four years is going to be pretty exciting."
(At least Serratore said the plan is to keep them on the same line, as they were before Myles was injured. Or was it Gerry who was injured? Or Leo? Great, I'm already mixing them up and it's not even gametime yet.)
It's a similar game plan that we expect UMD to employ. Sandelin has made it clear this week that he wasn't happy with the missed scoring opportunities his team had against Western Michigan. The Broncos don't give the opponent much, and when the door was open last week, UMD didn't take full advantage nearly as often as necessary.
"We left some chances out there," Sandelin said.
The fact UMD led for exactly 0:00 out of the 125:00 played last weekend is a clear part of why the Bulldogs only got one point. I've seen UMD sweep series that they never led in (overtime goals to win games that were either tied or saw the opponent ahead the entire time prior), but that wasn't the ideal opponent for testing that kind of strategy.
This isn't, either. UMD has to get out to a lead, no matter what the pace of play is. That can't be an excuse. The Bulldogs have to bear down in the offensive zone, get pucks and bodies to the net, and bang away for second chance opportunities. Michael Bitzer and Andrew Walsh have been solid in goal for Bemidji, but neither has dazzled. Throw in seven empty-net goals allowed late in games, and BSU's team save percentage is a pedestrian .894. UMD needs to drive the net and pounce on pucks. Play with pace and wear down Bemidji State.
At the other end of the rink, UMD has to manage the puck better. There have been too many own-zone turnovers in the last few games, and there's no question those turnovers and defensive play that isn't as good as it was overall are big reasons why freshman goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo has a .865 save percentage in his last five starts. It's absolutely not all on him, and that number won't improve without a better team effort in front of the goalie.
As the season goes on, it will be harder to score, not easier. The teams that best do the little things will be the successful teams.
One interesting nugget in the tournament format this year is this: Last year's UMD-Minnesota shootout for the NSCC championship will not be repeated.
Tournament organizers have decided to go with NCAA Tournament overtime rules for the championship game of this event. That allows for 20-minute overtimes as we keep playing until someone puts the puck in the net.
Sandelin said he didn't know about it until this week. Neither did the rest of us.
"Last year's game, how could you not want to keep playing?," Sandelin said. "The kids want to decide it the right way, I think. It's good."
Asked if he's concerned about continuous overtime in a midseason tournament, Sandelin quipped, "If it goes too long we'll just give them two days off (during the week)."
"That's awesome," Crandall said. "I think I'm one of the advocates for doing that all year. You only play two games on a weekend.
"I think we were all pretty unsatisfied, including the fans, last year, having a great hockey game ending in a shootout. Hopefully it doesn't get there, but if it does, that will be a little bit better for everybody."
One point against Western Michigan? Sucks, but it's time to move on.
A new challenge awaits, as the Bulldogs head to XCel Energy Center for a Friday date with Bemidji State in the North Star College Cup.
Head coach Scott Sandelin has been quick this week to point out that this isn't the Bemidji State that Bulldog fans are used to seeing. Virtually gone are the days where it seemed a good hockey play for the Beavers was "chip the puck off the glass and hope someone beats an opponent to it."
That said, you're dead wrong if you don't think Tom Serratore's team will work hard in every game it plays. It's just that the Beavers aren't as big as Western Michigan, last week's difficult opponent. That doesn't mean anything will come easier for UMD. It means this game will be different, no matter how many similarities exist in the teams' styles.
"They don't have the size that Western does," Sandelin said this week. "They're a different team this year. They've got a little more skill, trying to play a different game themselves. But they've always been good defensively. They always work hard. They compete extremely hard."
"They're probably one of the hardest working teams in the nation," senior forward Justin Crandall said. "It's a team you want to get off to a good start against."
"Overall, I like our team," Serratore said. "I think we have a lot of good pieces in place."
Bemidji has plenty of youth. Of course, the way Serratore and his staff recruits, "younger players" are still 20. The Beavers had a seven-game losing streak in October and November, a frustrating run but one where Serratore was still not completely displeased.
"They kept their nose to the grindstone," he said, "and their work ethic never wavered. We were outshooting teams. I think over the course of the streak, five of the seven games we had more scoring chances. That's the picture you want to paint for your guys.
"We got out of it pretty good and had a little success."
However, Serratore says his team "took a step back" last weekend against Lake Superior State. In 1-0 and 4-2 losses, he said "our urgency was never there."
He said shot numbers on Friday (44 for his team) were inflated. Oh, and he wasn't happy with the net-front traffic.
"It's what I told our guys before the second game. 'I don't want you around the cage,'" Serratore said. "'I want you in front of the cage.' There's a difference. I thought we were just around the cage. This day and age, you have to manufacture offense any way you can."
Bemidji State has always been good at this, and I would expect it to be better on Friday. They'll get their noses dirty and make UMD outwork them to stop them from getting second or third chances on the Bulldog net.
They'll also reunite their triplet line.
Yes, BSU has a triplet line.
Not just any ol' triplets.
Myles, Leo, and Gerry Fitzgerald are freshmen for Bemidji State. They're not the biggest guys, but they lit up the BCHL last year and they have played well for Serratore so far. They got a little bit of buzz when they committed because of their background. The three appeared in the 1999
Gerry has played in every game, while Myles has missed two and Leo seven. They've combined for eight goals (Myles has four), 16 assists (Gerry has eight), and 24 points (Gerry leads the trio with 11). Myles missed last weekend, but all three should be in the lineup Friday. It's a play-by-play guy's
"They're fun players," Serratore said. "They're clever out there. They skate. They compete. We're fortunate to have them. I think their body of work over the course of four years is going to be pretty exciting."
(At least Serratore said the plan is to keep them on the same line, as they were before Myles was injured. Or was it Gerry who was injured? Or Leo? Great, I'm already mixing them up and it's not even gametime yet.)
It's a similar game plan that we expect UMD to employ. Sandelin has made it clear this week that he wasn't happy with the missed scoring opportunities his team had against Western Michigan. The Broncos don't give the opponent much, and when the door was open last week, UMD didn't take full advantage nearly as often as necessary.
"We left some chances out there," Sandelin said.
The fact UMD led for exactly 0:00 out of the 125:00 played last weekend is a clear part of why the Bulldogs only got one point. I've seen UMD sweep series that they never led in (overtime goals to win games that were either tied or saw the opponent ahead the entire time prior), but that wasn't the ideal opponent for testing that kind of strategy.
This isn't, either. UMD has to get out to a lead, no matter what the pace of play is. That can't be an excuse. The Bulldogs have to bear down in the offensive zone, get pucks and bodies to the net, and bang away for second chance opportunities. Michael Bitzer and Andrew Walsh have been solid in goal for Bemidji, but neither has dazzled. Throw in seven empty-net goals allowed late in games, and BSU's team save percentage is a pedestrian .894. UMD needs to drive the net and pounce on pucks. Play with pace and wear down Bemidji State.
At the other end of the rink, UMD has to manage the puck better. There have been too many own-zone turnovers in the last few games, and there's no question those turnovers and defensive play that isn't as good as it was overall are big reasons why freshman goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo has a .865 save percentage in his last five starts. It's absolutely not all on him, and that number won't improve without a better team effort in front of the goalie.
As the season goes on, it will be harder to score, not easier. The teams that best do the little things will be the successful teams.
******
One interesting nugget in the tournament format this year is this: Last year's UMD-Minnesota shootout for the NSCC championship will not be repeated.
Tournament organizers have decided to go with NCAA Tournament overtime rules for the championship game of this event. That allows for 20-minute overtimes as we keep playing until someone puts the puck in the net.
Sandelin said he didn't know about it until this week. Neither did the rest of us.
"Last year's game, how could you not want to keep playing?," Sandelin said. "The kids want to decide it the right way, I think. It's good."
Asked if he's concerned about continuous overtime in a midseason tournament, Sandelin quipped, "If it goes too long we'll just give them two days off (during the week)."
"That's awesome," Crandall said. "I think I'm one of the advocates for doing that all year. You only play two games on a weekend.
"I think we were all pretty unsatisfied, including the fans, last year, having a great hockey game ending in a shootout. Hopefully it doesn't get there, but if it does, that will be a little bit better for everybody."
UMD's Adam Krause, Zoe Hickel Nominated for Hockey Humanitarian Award
This is a big deal.
15 nominees for the prestigious Hockey Humanitarian Award were announced Thursday.
UMD has two of them.
Men's hockey captain Adam Krause of Hermantown and women's co-captain Zoe Hickel are on the list of nominees for the award, which recognizes "college hockey’s finest citizen – a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team, but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism."
Krause also earned a nomination this week for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Unlike that award, this particular honor is not exclusive to seniors. The 15 finalists include 11 seniors, three juniors, and a sophomore.
Both Hickel -- who hails from Anchorage and has developed into one of UMD's top players over her time at the school -- and Krause are active in the community. Frankly, you couldn't draw up two better representatives for the UMD Bulldogs. They're good with kids, good with the media, and obviously recognized by their teammates as great leaders in the room and on the ice.
The Hockey Humanitarian Award will pare down to five finalists in February, with the winner announced April 10 in conjunction with the Frozen Four in Boston.
UMD and Wisconsin (Brittany Ammerman and Joel Rumpel) lead the way with two nominees each.
15 nominees for the prestigious Hockey Humanitarian Award were announced Thursday.
UMD has two of them.
Men's hockey captain Adam Krause of Hermantown and women's co-captain Zoe Hickel are on the list of nominees for the award, which recognizes "college hockey’s finest citizen – a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team, but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism."
Krause also earned a nomination this week for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Unlike that award, this particular honor is not exclusive to seniors. The 15 finalists include 11 seniors, three juniors, and a sophomore.
Both Hickel -- who hails from Anchorage and has developed into one of UMD's top players over her time at the school -- and Krause are active in the community. Frankly, you couldn't draw up two better representatives for the UMD Bulldogs. They're good with kids, good with the media, and obviously recognized by their teammates as great leaders in the room and on the ice.
The Hockey Humanitarian Award will pare down to five finalists in February, with the winner announced April 10 in conjunction with the Frozen Four in Boston.
UMD and Wisconsin (Brittany Ammerman and Joel Rumpel) lead the way with two nominees each.
Red Rock Radio, UMD Extend Radio Partnership Through 2016-17
Happy to announce that UMD football and men's hockey will be staying with Red Rock Radio through the 2016-17 athletic season.
Please see the below for more information.
Please see the below for more information.
Red Rock Radio and the University of Minnesota Duluth are proud to announce the extension of their radio rights contract. Red Rock Radio and UMD have signed a two-year extension, keeping rights for UMD football and men’s hockey radio coverage with Red Rock Radio until the end of the 2016-17 athletic season.
“We're very excited that we were able to come to terms with UMD for another two-year sports agreement,” said Shawn Skramstad, President of Red Rock Radio. “We have had a very good working relationship with the college and are delighted to be able to bring all of UMD's football and men's hockey action to the Northland.”
The deal continues a relationship that first began in the fall of 2009. UMD football coverage airs on KQDS-AM “The Fan 1490,” while men’s hockey is found in the Duluth area on KZIO-FM 94.1 (“94X”). Games also air on a recently-expanded network throughout northeast Minnesota, with games on KBAJ-FM 105.5 (Deer River/Grand Rapids), KAOD-FM 106.7 (Babbitt/Ely), KKIN-AM 930 (Aitkin), and WXCX-FM 105.7 (Pine City/Siren).
“It’s great that we’ve come to this agreement,” stated Bruce Ciskie, Sports Director for Red Rock Radio and play-by-play voice of UMD men’s hockey. “I’ve had a great time working with UMD all these years, and I’m excited to continue what I think has been a great relationship for everyone involved, including Bulldog fans all over the Northland.”
In addition to continuing to air UMD men’s hockey and football, Red Rock Radio will continue to air the Bulldog Blitz Thursdays on the KQ Morning Show (KQDS-FM 94.9) and The Fan 1490 between August and April.
"UMD Athletics is very pleased to extend our partnership with the Red Rock family of radio stations to bring the Bulldog Men's Hockey and Football broadcasts to more stations and more of Bulldog Country than ever before. In addition, we are excited about the expanded the Bulldog Blitz coach and student athlete weekly spotlight to both KQ Morning Show and The Fan 1490. We look forward to continuing to grow this strong partnership." said Josh Berlo, UMD Athletic Director.
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