This is a huge game, for a multitude of reasons.
I'm not so sure I'd go to the "gut check" terminology, but UMD has been lauded by observer after observer for its talent. A loss here leaves UMD 2-6 in the NCHC at break.
I don't have to tell you that it isn't good enough. Or that it is going to leave a rotten taste in a lot of mouths going into nearly three weeks away from games, and close to a month away from any games that count.
Western Michigan played very well Friday, and surely will try to make life miserable for UMD again in this game.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Osterberg - Cameranesi - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Iafallo - Toninato - Krause
Herbert - Tardy - Basaraba
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - Molenaar
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
WMU
Cichy - Killip - Hadley
Hargrove - Balisy - LaPorte
Kessel - Dries - Novak
Berschbach - Pitt - Kovacs
Stewart - Morrison
Dienes - Fleming
Oesterle - Brown
Slubowski - Hafner
(This is how it was listed Friday, but Hafner started. We expect he will again.)
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Hits a Wall
Kraig and I said it on the air a couple times.
When the fourth line is the best line for UMD in a game, it isn't really a good thing.
Sure, it's good for the line. In this case, it was really nice to see Cal Decowski, Sammy Spurrell, and Charlie Sampair keep going the way they've been going. I'm sure this stretch has been good for their confidence, and their chemistry actually seems to be growing.
However ...
In no other way is it good. Guys who aren't used to big minutes are suddenly asked to play big minutes because, you know, they're the only ones really doing a whole lot. And while a line chart is nothing but a piece of paper, the fourth line is usually listed there for a reason.
(Unless you're Andy Murray, and you think you can fool people into thinking your top line is three guys who have zero points combined entering the game. But I digress.)
If the fourth line is your best line, it's because not enough guys on the top three lines are doing their part.
Throw in a suddenly leaky defense and shaky goaltending, and you have a recipe for a three-game losing streak. UMD has that after a 5-3 loss to Western Michigan Friday. Those three losses have all come at home, marking the second three-game home losing streak for UMD since Amsoil Arena opened. To put that in perspective, before October 2011, UMD hadn't had a three-game losing streak on home ice since the 2007-2008 season, the Season of No Goals. Now they've had a pair of them in barely two years.
How did we get here?
Defensive breakdowns. For whatever reason, teams have now found ways to exploit the UMD defense. St. Cloud got a number of -- via coaches' terminology -- easy goals by simply getting pucks and bodies to the net and beating Bulldogs to spots. Ugly rebounds, poorly-defended rushes, players sneaking behind defenders, we've had it all, and much of it hasn't been good.
Not enough offense. 12 shots over the last 40 minutes Friday. Not one player on this highly-touted roster is averaging a point per game. Andy Welinski, Tony Cameranesi, and Austin Farley combined for 86 points last season. They have combined for six goals and 20 points so far this season. The freshmen have been pretty good, but the older guys need to get going.
It's almost like we've hit a wall. It's the same concept, because that usually comes out of nowhere. I'll theorize that part of the problem is that this team has been largely carried in all phases by the freshmen. Young players are going to make mistakes when tasked with big minutes at this level. The older guys just haven't come around for the most part, though I'm pretty confident at least Farley isn't 100 percent healthy, and I'm not sure Cameranesi is, either.
(There isn't any intel that I'm privy to on either player. These are simply observations from watching them play this year versus last year. With Farley, for example, he will never be known for his breakaway speed, but he doesn't look right at times when skating. I could be reading too much into things, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
So we applaud the fourth line. We also applaud Kyle Osterberg, whose effort and doggedness stand out just about every time he hops the boards. I see a future captain-type here, I really do. He's a perfect penalty killer, because the PK is so much about effort and determination and a willingness to outwork the opponent. Osterberg is always willing to outwork the opponent, and you can never question his effort. Linemates Caleb Herbert and Justin Crandall had their moments Friday, but Osterberg was a constant, and it didn't matter who he was on the ice with.
Break begins after Saturday's game. The Bulldogs won't play again until Jan. 3, and the next regular season game won't be until Jan. 10, which is nearly a full month from now.
Point?
This is it. Empty the tank. Pull out all the stops, because there's no reason not to. Focus all day Saturday should be on ending the first half of the season on a good note. It won't wash away everything that has gone wrong, particularly in the last two games, but it will give everyone in the room a good feeling heading into the holidays. And the break should allow some people to get closer to 100 percent, so we're better in the second half of the season.
At this point, I'm not in favor of thinking of the alternative, so I won't. Time to go get a win and damn the alternatives.
When the fourth line is the best line for UMD in a game, it isn't really a good thing.
Sure, it's good for the line. In this case, it was really nice to see Cal Decowski, Sammy Spurrell, and Charlie Sampair keep going the way they've been going. I'm sure this stretch has been good for their confidence, and their chemistry actually seems to be growing.
However ...
In no other way is it good. Guys who aren't used to big minutes are suddenly asked to play big minutes because, you know, they're the only ones really doing a whole lot. And while a line chart is nothing but a piece of paper, the fourth line is usually listed there for a reason.
(Unless you're Andy Murray, and you think you can fool people into thinking your top line is three guys who have zero points combined entering the game. But I digress.)
If the fourth line is your best line, it's because not enough guys on the top three lines are doing their part.
Throw in a suddenly leaky defense and shaky goaltending, and you have a recipe for a three-game losing streak. UMD has that after a 5-3 loss to Western Michigan Friday. Those three losses have all come at home, marking the second three-game home losing streak for UMD since Amsoil Arena opened. To put that in perspective, before October 2011, UMD hadn't had a three-game losing streak on home ice since the 2007-2008 season, the Season of No Goals. Now they've had a pair of them in barely two years.
How did we get here?
Defensive breakdowns. For whatever reason, teams have now found ways to exploit the UMD defense. St. Cloud got a number of -- via coaches' terminology -- easy goals by simply getting pucks and bodies to the net and beating Bulldogs to spots. Ugly rebounds, poorly-defended rushes, players sneaking behind defenders, we've had it all, and much of it hasn't been good.
Not enough offense. 12 shots over the last 40 minutes Friday. Not one player on this highly-touted roster is averaging a point per game. Andy Welinski, Tony Cameranesi, and Austin Farley combined for 86 points last season. They have combined for six goals and 20 points so far this season. The freshmen have been pretty good, but the older guys need to get going.
It's almost like we've hit a wall. It's the same concept, because that usually comes out of nowhere. I'll theorize that part of the problem is that this team has been largely carried in all phases by the freshmen. Young players are going to make mistakes when tasked with big minutes at this level. The older guys just haven't come around for the most part, though I'm pretty confident at least Farley isn't 100 percent healthy, and I'm not sure Cameranesi is, either.
(There isn't any intel that I'm privy to on either player. These are simply observations from watching them play this year versus last year. With Farley, for example, he will never be known for his breakaway speed, but he doesn't look right at times when skating. I could be reading too much into things, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
So we applaud the fourth line. We also applaud Kyle Osterberg, whose effort and doggedness stand out just about every time he hops the boards. I see a future captain-type here, I really do. He's a perfect penalty killer, because the PK is so much about effort and determination and a willingness to outwork the opponent. Osterberg is always willing to outwork the opponent, and you can never question his effort. Linemates Caleb Herbert and Justin Crandall had their moments Friday, but Osterberg was a constant, and it didn't matter who he was on the ice with.
Break begins after Saturday's game. The Bulldogs won't play again until Jan. 3, and the next regular season game won't be until Jan. 10, which is nearly a full month from now.
Point?
This is it. Empty the tank. Pull out all the stops, because there's no reason not to. Focus all day Saturday should be on ending the first half of the season on a good note. It won't wash away everything that has gone wrong, particularly in the last two games, but it will give everyone in the room a good feeling heading into the holidays. And the break should allow some people to get closer to 100 percent, so we're better in the second half of the season.
At this point, I'm not in favor of thinking of the alternative, so I won't. Time to go get a win and damn the alternatives.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Game 15: Western Michigan at UMD
Greetings and salutations.
It's the final series before break. A chance to go out on a high note. And the local newspaper chooses to spotlight the fact that the loser will be in last place in the conference.
Grrrreat.
I know it's true. I hate that it was the best storyline found in the series. It's amazing how one fluke goal and a bad night can change the perception about a team.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - Molenaar
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons
WMU
Cichy - Killip - Hadley
Hargrove - Balisy - LaPorte
Kessel - Dries - Novak
Berschbach - Pitt - Kovacs
Stewart - Morrison
Dienes - Fleming
Oesterle - Brown
Slubowski - Hafner
It's the final series before break. A chance to go out on a high note. And the local newspaper chooses to spotlight the fact that the loser will be in last place in the conference.
Grrrreat.
I know it's true. I hate that it was the best storyline found in the series. It's amazing how one fluke goal and a bad night can change the perception about a team.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - Molenaar
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons
WMU
Cichy - Killip - Hadley
Hargrove - Balisy - LaPorte
Kessel - Dries - Novak
Berschbach - Pitt - Kovacs
Stewart - Morrison
Dienes - Fleming
Oesterle - Brown
Slubowski - Hafner
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Andy Murray Enjoying Time Back in School; Bulldogs and Broncos Both Desperate
Andy Murray is an NHL guy by trade, but he's coaching college hockey now, and he's embraced it.
"I thought it (coaching college hockey) would be a great experience, and it hasn't disappointed," the third-year coach told me this week. Murray worked in the NHL from 1988-1995 and again from 1998-2010. He was an assistant in Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Winnipeg before head-coaching stints with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues.
When Jeff Blashill left after one extraordinary year at Western Michigan to join the Detroit Red Wings coaching staff, WMU hired Murray, who had been let go by the Blues during the 2009-10 season.
"It's different in the sense that you're in charge of these players 24 hours a day," he said. "There's lots of academic meetings and that type of thing you don't have at the pro level. But I enjoy it. I like the recruiting process, and the fact that you can really make an impact on the lives of these young people."
Even before Murray brings his Broncos to Duluth for a series this weekend, he has local ties. His daughter, Sarah, played her college hockey at UMD and was a part of two NCAA title teams under Shannon Miller, whom Andy Murray knew from their time coaching with Team Canada. Two years ago, when UMD played Western Michigan, Andy Murray spoke glowingly of Miller and his daughter's experience playing for UMD.
In two-plus years at Western Michigan, Murray has sure made his mark. The team plays a hard-nosed style, especially in its defensive zone. The message is simple: We want to be absolutely miserable to play against, and the players appear to be buying in.
It's not just making opponents absorb contact to make plays with the puck. They're hard on everyone, they defend well, and they are relentless when they establish a forecheck. WMU defends the transition game well, with defensemen that don't often get out of position, and forwards who work their tails off on the backcheck. There aren't a lot of odd-numbered chances to be had against the Broncos. When you do get one, your reward is having to beat Frank "The Big" Slubowski. Not the best goalie in the country, but a very good one with a hell of a nickname.
They just don't give up much off the rush. UND got a lot of goals from hard work and a tough forecheck last week.
Up front, Shane Berschbach is a point-per-game player having a very good season so far. Justin Kovacs is also off to a strong start, and team captain Chase Balisy is a quality pivot. But I believe Western's depth can be exposed by this UMD team. North Dakota won two one-goal games over Western Michigan last week, largely because UND just doesn't have the depth across its lineup that we're all used to seeing UND have.
(Insert "cab driver" joke here, if you're so inclined.)
The Bulldogs have four lines that can score. Murray agrees.
"When I look at UMD's lineup and their four units, and they're getting production from all of their four units," he said. "A bit of an issue for us is we're not getting a lot of scoring from two units. That puts a lot of pressure on certain players."
Don't be fooled by the standings. These are two good teams that are both capable of winning games this weekend. But I believe UMD has the upper hand, provided it can shake off what happened last week.
"I think the most frustrating part (Saturday) was getting away from our team structure," junior center Caleb Herbert said. "We didn't stick together."
UMD didn't look the same after that bad goal in Friday's loss, and while it's fair to say that such a play can be deflating, it's not fair to put everything that happened after that on the goal. At some point, the Bulldogs needed to regroup and recover, and even given 20 hours after the Friday game ended, UMD just couldn't get back to the way it was playing before SCSU used a fluke shot from center ice to tie the game 2-2.
The Bulldogs have the talent and depth to beat Western Michigan. They need to keep their heads and get quality goaltending to execute the plan and go into break on a high note. Both teams are going to be desperate for wins before taking some time off, and both teams want to get out of the NCHC cellar (tied for seventh with six points, though they are the only teams in the league who haven't played at least eight conference games).
I believe UMD can do well this weekend, but a lot will hinge on forgetting what happened last weekend.
"I thought it (coaching college hockey) would be a great experience, and it hasn't disappointed," the third-year coach told me this week. Murray worked in the NHL from 1988-1995 and again from 1998-2010. He was an assistant in Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Winnipeg before head-coaching stints with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues.
When Jeff Blashill left after one extraordinary year at Western Michigan to join the Detroit Red Wings coaching staff, WMU hired Murray, who had been let go by the Blues during the 2009-10 season.
"It's different in the sense that you're in charge of these players 24 hours a day," he said. "There's lots of academic meetings and that type of thing you don't have at the pro level. But I enjoy it. I like the recruiting process, and the fact that you can really make an impact on the lives of these young people."
Even before Murray brings his Broncos to Duluth for a series this weekend, he has local ties. His daughter, Sarah, played her college hockey at UMD and was a part of two NCAA title teams under Shannon Miller, whom Andy Murray knew from their time coaching with Team Canada. Two years ago, when UMD played Western Michigan, Andy Murray spoke glowingly of Miller and his daughter's experience playing for UMD.
In two-plus years at Western Michigan, Murray has sure made his mark. The team plays a hard-nosed style, especially in its defensive zone. The message is simple: We want to be absolutely miserable to play against, and the players appear to be buying in.
It's not just making opponents absorb contact to make plays with the puck. They're hard on everyone, they defend well, and they are relentless when they establish a forecheck. WMU defends the transition game well, with defensemen that don't often get out of position, and forwards who work their tails off on the backcheck. There aren't a lot of odd-numbered chances to be had against the Broncos. When you do get one, your reward is having to beat Frank "The Big" Slubowski. Not the best goalie in the country, but a very good one with a hell of a nickname.
They just don't give up much off the rush. UND got a lot of goals from hard work and a tough forecheck last week.
Up front, Shane Berschbach is a point-per-game player having a very good season so far. Justin Kovacs is also off to a strong start, and team captain Chase Balisy is a quality pivot. But I believe Western's depth can be exposed by this UMD team. North Dakota won two one-goal games over Western Michigan last week, largely because UND just doesn't have the depth across its lineup that we're all used to seeing UND have.
(Insert "cab driver" joke here, if you're so inclined.)
The Bulldogs have four lines that can score. Murray agrees.
"When I look at UMD's lineup and their four units, and they're getting production from all of their four units," he said. "A bit of an issue for us is we're not getting a lot of scoring from two units. That puts a lot of pressure on certain players."
Don't be fooled by the standings. These are two good teams that are both capable of winning games this weekend. But I believe UMD has the upper hand, provided it can shake off what happened last week.
"I think the most frustrating part (Saturday) was getting away from our team structure," junior center Caleb Herbert said. "We didn't stick together."
UMD didn't look the same after that bad goal in Friday's loss, and while it's fair to say that such a play can be deflating, it's not fair to put everything that happened after that on the goal. At some point, the Bulldogs needed to regroup and recover, and even given 20 hours after the Friday game ended, UMD just couldn't get back to the way it was playing before SCSU used a fluke shot from center ice to tie the game 2-2.
The Bulldogs have the talent and depth to beat Western Michigan. They need to keep their heads and get quality goaltending to execute the plan and go into break on a high note. Both teams are going to be desperate for wins before taking some time off, and both teams want to get out of the NCHC cellar (tied for seventh with six points, though they are the only teams in the league who haven't played at least eight conference games).
I believe UMD can do well this weekend, but a lot will hinge on forgetting what happened last weekend.
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Game 14: St. Cloud State at UMD
UPDATE: Freshman forward Dom(inic) Toninato is out (virus). Max Tardy takes his spot in the lineup.
This could go a couple different ways. Either UMD, bound and determined to get a win after having it snatched from them Friday, comes out like the proverbial gangbusters, takes the play to the No. 2 Huskies again, and finds a way to win a hard-fought game ...
... or St. Cloud plays as St. Cloud feels it's capable of playing, takes the play to UMD, and earns the full lot of six points for the weekend.
Honestly, could see it working either way.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo -Toninato Tardy - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Johnson
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
SCSU
Benik - Dowd - Thorson
Brodzinski - Kossila - Murray
Oliver - Rehkamp - Bertsch
Tedesco - Morley - Papa
Prochno - Prow
Gravel - Nevalainen
Storm - Rabey
Faragher - Lindgren
This could go a couple different ways. Either UMD, bound and determined to get a win after having it snatched from them Friday, comes out like the proverbial gangbusters, takes the play to the No. 2 Huskies again, and finds a way to win a hard-fought game ...
... or St. Cloud plays as St. Cloud feels it's capable of playing, takes the play to UMD, and earns the full lot of six points for the weekend.
Honestly, could see it working either way.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo -
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Johnson
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
SCSU
Benik - Dowd - Thorson
Brodzinski - Kossila - Murray
Oliver - Rehkamp - Bertsch
Tedesco - Morley - Papa
Prochno - Prow
Gravel - Nevalainen
Storm - Rabey
Faragher - Lindgren
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Sting
This will be quick.
Running errands and blogging on the phone. Excuse typos.
That one stung. Still does, actually. UMD snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Friday, dominating statistically but falling 4-2 on a pair of third period goals by Jonny Brodzinski.
The only areas the Huskies outplayed the Bulldogs were special teams and faceoffs. SCSU was 2 for 4 on the power play, held UMD to one goal in six chances, and won 44 of 71 faceoffs.
UMD owned in shots, possession, and chances, but St. Cloud goalie Ryan Faragher was sharp as a tack.
It wasn't Matt McNeely's best game in the Bulldog net. He allowed a goal from center ice after a bounce off defenseman Tim Smith high in the defensive zone. Hard top blame him solely for the other two he allowed, but he looked shaky at times, fumbling the puck a bit and seeming to struggle to control it.
Can't pin the loss on him totally, not that I ever do just blame the goalie. The Dogs lost too many faceoffs, didn't do enough on the power play, and need to be more consistent with getting traffic to the net.
Generally, they played well against a very good team. It'll take an even better performance Saturday, because you can bet SCSU won't be satisfied with the win considering it was outshot 38-19 and outplayed much of the game.
I believe UMD can win and split, but there's a part of me that thinks our best shot was Friday. Had them on the ropes and couldn't finish. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Running errands and blogging on the phone. Excuse typos.
That one stung. Still does, actually. UMD snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Friday, dominating statistically but falling 4-2 on a pair of third period goals by Jonny Brodzinski.
The only areas the Huskies outplayed the Bulldogs were special teams and faceoffs. SCSU was 2 for 4 on the power play, held UMD to one goal in six chances, and won 44 of 71 faceoffs.
UMD owned in shots, possession, and chances, but St. Cloud goalie Ryan Faragher was sharp as a tack.
It wasn't Matt McNeely's best game in the Bulldog net. He allowed a goal from center ice after a bounce off defenseman Tim Smith high in the defensive zone. Hard top blame him solely for the other two he allowed, but he looked shaky at times, fumbling the puck a bit and seeming to struggle to control it.
Can't pin the loss on him totally, not that I ever do just blame the goalie. The Dogs lost too many faceoffs, didn't do enough on the power play, and need to be more consistent with getting traffic to the net.
Generally, they played well against a very good team. It'll take an even better performance Saturday, because you can bet SCSU won't be satisfied with the win considering it was outshot 38-19 and outplayed much of the game.
I believe UMD can win and split, but there's a part of me that thinks our best shot was Friday. Had them on the ropes and couldn't finish. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Friday, December 06, 2013
Game 13: St. Cloud State at UMD
Home again.
Only took 38 minutes to get from the mansion in Proctor to the rink. Traffic sucks. Expected that going southbound, but apparently everyone and their mother wants to freeze their bum off at Bentleyville or something.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Molenaar
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons
SCSU
Thorson - Dowd - Benik
Murray - Kossila - Brodzinski
Oliver - Rehkamp - Bertsch
Tedesco - Morley - Papa
Prochno - Prow
Gravel - Nevalainen
Storm - Daly
Faragher - Lindgren
Only took 38 minutes to get from the mansion in Proctor to the rink. Traffic sucks. Expected that going southbound, but apparently everyone and their mother wants to freeze their bum off at Bentleyville or something.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Molenaar
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons
SCSU
Thorson - Dowd - Benik
Murray - Kossila - Brodzinski
Oliver - Rehkamp - Bertsch
Tedesco - Morley - Papa
Prochno - Prow
Gravel - Nevalainen
Storm - Daly
Faragher - Lindgren
UMD Takes Aim at Another High-Ranked Opponent
Frying pan, meet fire.
We knew going into the season that there were plenty of really good opponents on UMD's schedule. Reality has proven the theory correct.
For the third time this season, UMD will battle a team in the top two of the national rankings. So far, the Bulldogs have posted a 2-2 record in four games against such opponents (Minnesota and Notre Dame), winning by a combined 10-3 (4-1 over Notre Dame and 6-2 over Minnesota) while losing two games by a combined 9-3 (3-2 to Notre Dame and 6-1 to Minnesota).
This weekend, St. Cloud State invades Amsoil Arena, with a No. 2 national ranking in tow. The 20th-ranked Bulldogs are coming off a bye week, and while UMD wasn't as banged-up as it was after the Ohio State series (its last bye), the boys should be even healthier now.
SCSU isn't No. 2 by default. The Huskies just don't sport a lot of weaknesses right now. The forward depth is impressive. Guys like Jonny Brodzinski, Kalle Kossila, and Joey Benik are playing bigger roles because Hobey Baker winner Drew LeBlanc and Ben Hanowski graduated. Nic Dowd is off to a great start as well, and the Huskies have plenty of solid role players all over the lineup.
Defensively, you needn't look further than Andrew Prochno. The junior has developed into one of the better defensemen in the NCHC. He and his blue-line partner Ethan Prow were each plus-four in SCSU's 6-2 win over Colorado College Nov. 23, the Huskies' last game.
That isn't to say that UMD is full of slouches in the lineup.
The Bulldogs got some guys going in the Minnesota win, as Justin Crandall tallied four points, Caleb Herbert had three assists, and Tony Cameranesi was strong again. Crandall, Austin Farley, and Cameranesi combined for a great first-period goal in that win after Crandall came on in a line change for Adam Krause. Before Crandall's normal linemates -- Herbert and Kyle Osterberg -- could hop the boards, Crandall intercepted a clearing attempt, found Farley behind the net, and then Farley fed a wide-open Cameranesi in front. It was a great example of what can happen when you hem even a great team like Minnesota in its defensive zone for a long shift. The Gophers had no chance of making a change, they got tired from constantly chasing the puck, and UMD made them pay.
These teams are somewhat similar in that both coaches like the forward depth available, and yet the teams have struggled on the power play. They are both between 17 and 18 percent, with UMD's 17.2 percent vastly improved from what it was before a 4-for-7 performance against Minnesota two weekends ago.
UMD will be challenged to get pucks to (and then by) SCSU junior goalie Ryan Faragher. He carries an impressive .923 save percentage, and the Huskies allow only 24 shots per game. Of course, UMD permits just 25, and sophomore goalie Matt McNeely has a .927 save percentage.
Goals might be tough to come by for both teams, which sends us right back to the special teams bit I already brought up. The team that gets its power play going will be the one getting the money.
As for UMD, don't expect many lineup changes from the Minnesota win. Sophomore defenseman Willie Corrin (undisclosed injury) will likely be the only one out from that game. I believe we'll see junior Luke McManus draw in if that ends up being the case.
The way the forwards played against Minnesota, even in that loss, there really isn't any reason to change anything there. McNeely should get a second straight start in goal. He was sharp early on against Minnesota, and then played well while getting peppered with pucks as Minnesota tried and failed to generate a rally as UMD built a big lead.
These two series before Christmas should be entertaining, even if there isn't much scoring. These are teams that will test UMD's discipline -- in a "playing strong in its own zone" kind of way, and not in an "avoiding dumb penalties" way -- and patience while also pressuring the Bulldogs' generally-young defense.
We knew going into the season that there were plenty of really good opponents on UMD's schedule. Reality has proven the theory correct.
For the third time this season, UMD will battle a team in the top two of the national rankings. So far, the Bulldogs have posted a 2-2 record in four games against such opponents (Minnesota and Notre Dame), winning by a combined 10-3 (4-1 over Notre Dame and 6-2 over Minnesota) while losing two games by a combined 9-3 (3-2 to Notre Dame and 6-1 to Minnesota).
This weekend, St. Cloud State invades Amsoil Arena, with a No. 2 national ranking in tow. The 20th-ranked Bulldogs are coming off a bye week, and while UMD wasn't as banged-up as it was after the Ohio State series (its last bye), the boys should be even healthier now.
SCSU isn't No. 2 by default. The Huskies just don't sport a lot of weaknesses right now. The forward depth is impressive. Guys like Jonny Brodzinski, Kalle Kossila, and Joey Benik are playing bigger roles because Hobey Baker winner Drew LeBlanc and Ben Hanowski graduated. Nic Dowd is off to a great start as well, and the Huskies have plenty of solid role players all over the lineup.
Defensively, you needn't look further than Andrew Prochno. The junior has developed into one of the better defensemen in the NCHC. He and his blue-line partner Ethan Prow were each plus-four in SCSU's 6-2 win over Colorado College Nov. 23, the Huskies' last game.
That isn't to say that UMD is full of slouches in the lineup.
The Bulldogs got some guys going in the Minnesota win, as Justin Crandall tallied four points, Caleb Herbert had three assists, and Tony Cameranesi was strong again. Crandall, Austin Farley, and Cameranesi combined for a great first-period goal in that win after Crandall came on in a line change for Adam Krause. Before Crandall's normal linemates -- Herbert and Kyle Osterberg -- could hop the boards, Crandall intercepted a clearing attempt, found Farley behind the net, and then Farley fed a wide-open Cameranesi in front. It was a great example of what can happen when you hem even a great team like Minnesota in its defensive zone for a long shift. The Gophers had no chance of making a change, they got tired from constantly chasing the puck, and UMD made them pay.
These teams are somewhat similar in that both coaches like the forward depth available, and yet the teams have struggled on the power play. They are both between 17 and 18 percent, with UMD's 17.2 percent vastly improved from what it was before a 4-for-7 performance against Minnesota two weekends ago.
UMD will be challenged to get pucks to (and then by) SCSU junior goalie Ryan Faragher. He carries an impressive .923 save percentage, and the Huskies allow only 24 shots per game. Of course, UMD permits just 25, and sophomore goalie Matt McNeely has a .927 save percentage.
Goals might be tough to come by for both teams, which sends us right back to the special teams bit I already brought up. The team that gets its power play going will be the one getting the money.
As for UMD, don't expect many lineup changes from the Minnesota win. Sophomore defenseman Willie Corrin (undisclosed injury) will likely be the only one out from that game. I believe we'll see junior Luke McManus draw in if that ends up being the case.
The way the forwards played against Minnesota, even in that loss, there really isn't any reason to change anything there. McNeely should get a second straight start in goal. He was sharp early on against Minnesota, and then played well while getting peppered with pucks as Minnesota tried and failed to generate a rally as UMD built a big lead.
These two series before Christmas should be entertaining, even if there isn't much scoring. These are teams that will test UMD's discipline -- in a "playing strong in its own zone" kind of way, and not in an "avoiding dumb penalties" way -- and patience while also pressuring the Bulldogs' generally-young defense.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday Musings: Bulldogs Lay the Wood to Minnesota
Probably couldn't have scripted a better way for UMD to go into its Thanksgiving bye week. After a 6-1 loss Friday in Minneapolis, the Bulldogs hopped on the bus Sunday, went back to Mariucci, and thumped the No. 1 Gophers 6-2.
It marks UMD's most lopsided win and most goals scored at Mariucci since 1997 (8-4). It also marks Minnesota's worst home loss since a 6-0 defeat to Wisconsin three years ago.
Not much went wrong in the game for UMD. The Bulldogs came out physical, and Minnesota didn't look nearly as sharp as it did Friday. The fact that UMD stayed physical and didn't let Minnesota do anything easy surely played a role in that.
Special teams were huge. The talented Gophers scored just twice in ten power plays, while UMD got four goals in seven power plays. The onslaught pushed UMD's season percentage up five points to around 17 on the season. Still not the 20-25 percent we're used to, but a really positive step.
Dominic Toninato got the Dogs' first short-handed goal since Adam Krause in Houghton last year. It was the first shortie for UMD outside of Houghton since Mike Connolly's score-and-truck-the-poor-Yale-guy in the 2011 regionals.
Justin Crandall (twice), Austin Farley, and Kyle Osterberg scored on the power play for UMD. Tony Cameranesi scored the game's only even-strength goal.
I was impressed with UMD's resolve once again. I don't doubt it at this point, but it's always nice to see. Friday got away from them. It didn't necessarily feel like a 6-1 game, but the scoreboard is the scoreboard. Sunday felt a little more like a blowout because UMD was so determined and physical throughout the game. But it got away from the Gophers with all the special teams foibles, especially on their struggling penalty kill.
I thought UMD did a better job keeping the Gophers from piling up glorious scoring chances in the third period than the Gophers did to UMD Friday. Matt McNeely still had to be sharp, and he came up with 36 saves. Carson Soucy and Dan Molenaar both gave UMD some puck-moving back on the blue line. Soucy was especially good after missing a couple games as a healthy scratch.
A big step is coming for this group. It has to find a way to piece together two consistent, quality performances in a weekend. Doesn't matter what days the games are, what times the games are, where the games are, or who UMD is matched up against.
The Bulldogs play St. Cloud State out of their bye Dec. 6-7. SCSU has lost once this season, and the Huskies are off this weekend, too. It'll be a hell of a test for UMD, and it'll be for conference points.
Enjoy your holiday, everyone. Shop 'til you drop.
It marks UMD's most lopsided win and most goals scored at Mariucci since 1997 (8-4). It also marks Minnesota's worst home loss since a 6-0 defeat to Wisconsin three years ago.
Not much went wrong in the game for UMD. The Bulldogs came out physical, and Minnesota didn't look nearly as sharp as it did Friday. The fact that UMD stayed physical and didn't let Minnesota do anything easy surely played a role in that.
Special teams were huge. The talented Gophers scored just twice in ten power plays, while UMD got four goals in seven power plays. The onslaught pushed UMD's season percentage up five points to around 17 on the season. Still not the 20-25 percent we're used to, but a really positive step.
Dominic Toninato got the Dogs' first short-handed goal since Adam Krause in Houghton last year. It was the first shortie for UMD outside of Houghton since Mike Connolly's score-and-truck-the-poor-Yale-guy in the 2011 regionals.
Justin Crandall (twice), Austin Farley, and Kyle Osterberg scored on the power play for UMD. Tony Cameranesi scored the game's only even-strength goal.
I was impressed with UMD's resolve once again. I don't doubt it at this point, but it's always nice to see. Friday got away from them. It didn't necessarily feel like a 6-1 game, but the scoreboard is the scoreboard. Sunday felt a little more like a blowout because UMD was so determined and physical throughout the game. But it got away from the Gophers with all the special teams foibles, especially on their struggling penalty kill.
I thought UMD did a better job keeping the Gophers from piling up glorious scoring chances in the third period than the Gophers did to UMD Friday. Matt McNeely still had to be sharp, and he came up with 36 saves. Carson Soucy and Dan Molenaar both gave UMD some puck-moving back on the blue line. Soucy was especially good after missing a couple games as a healthy scratch.
A big step is coming for this group. It has to find a way to piece together two consistent, quality performances in a weekend. Doesn't matter what days the games are, what times the games are, where the games are, or who UMD is matched up against.
The Bulldogs play St. Cloud State out of their bye Dec. 6-7. SCSU has lost once this season, and the Huskies are off this weekend, too. It'll be a hell of a test for UMD, and it'll be for conference points.
Enjoy your holiday, everyone. Shop 'til you drop.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Game 12: UMD at Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Packers are getting blown up at home by a 2-8 team that has done everything but actually give up.
Let's start this game already.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Molenaar
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron)
UMTC
Warning - Rau - Fasching
Condon - Kloos - Cammarata
Serratore - Boyd - Ambroz
Reilly (Connor) - Isackson - Lettieri
Skjei - Bischoff
Reilly - Parenteau
Marshall - Brodzinski
Wilcox - Shibrowski - Coyne
Let's start this game already.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Molenaar
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron)
UMTC
Warning - Rau - Fasching
Condon - Kloos - Cammarata
Serratore - Boyd - Ambroz
Reilly (Connor) - Isackson - Lettieri
Skjei - Bischoff
Reilly - Parenteau
Marshall - Brodzinski
Wilcox - Shibrowski - Coyne
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Saturday (Sunday?) Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bouncing Back, Soucy, More
Fun "off day." Drove home, ran a practice, and then watched Wisconsin's now-annual football beating of Minnesota.
(It was cute how the Gophers had worked themselves into a lather by beating hapless Northwestern, overrated Nebraska, and pitiful Indiana, wasn't it? Play a real team next time, yo.)
Anyway, it wasn't a day off for the UMD men's hockey team, as the Bulldogs practiced at Amsoil Arena. UMD will board a bus bound for Minneapolis Sunday midday, and then play No. 1 Minnesota to wrap up their non-conference series Sunday afternoon at Mariucci Arena.
Of course, the sting of a 6-1 Minnesota win remains from Friday, and no amount of video review or memory recall is going to make anyone feel better. That said, let's be fair about a few things.
Sunday, I expect to see UMD tweak a few things in the lineup. For those asking about freshman Carson Soucy, he's playing Sunday unless he catches whatever North Dakota was passing around on its bus from Omaha a couple weeks ago.
I don't even have to ask. I'm just that confident.
Soucy looked fantastic for a few games, but was sent upstairs last Saturday in Grand Forks after struggling a bit. He's a freshman. It happens. The onus is on him to make his spot in the lineup more permanent this time around.
UMD has eight defensemen, and they've all played a good chunk of game except for freshman Dan Molenaar, who was injured and missed a lot of time last year. He's needed some time to get acclimated, but I've been told he is getting closer. Honestly, if he's close enough, he could draw in on Sunday, too.
There's a lot of competition, and only X number (six) of lineup spots available nightly.
Up front, I'm not sure I'd change a single thing about the lineup as it was constructed Friday. I know I wouldn't touch the fourth line, but I might move them up the ol' chart a bit. Cal Decowski, Charlie Sampair, and Sammy Spurrell were consistently in the offensive zone making good things happen Friday. Let them do that again.
I'm tempted to say that Tony Cameranesi/Austin Farley should break up for at least a night, but I'm not ready to say it's time. I don't hate the idea of seeing what they can do apart, but I also don't like the idea of panicking and doing it when they just had an outstanding game a week ago.
Plus, the problem here isn't something that will be solved by changing up the lines. It'll be solved by playing better and not dropping off the face of the earth when a couple bad things happen. UMD couldn't stop the avalanche on Friday. Surely, the Gophers will try to do the same thing Sunday. Pushback will be vital.
Driving down early Sunday afternoon. I'll talk to you from the rink. Let's hope for a good one, and a good result!
(It was cute how the Gophers had worked themselves into a lather by beating hapless Northwestern, overrated Nebraska, and pitiful Indiana, wasn't it? Play a real team next time, yo.)
Anyway, it wasn't a day off for the UMD men's hockey team, as the Bulldogs practiced at Amsoil Arena. UMD will board a bus bound for Minneapolis Sunday midday, and then play No. 1 Minnesota to wrap up their non-conference series Sunday afternoon at Mariucci Arena.
Of course, the sting of a 6-1 Minnesota win remains from Friday, and no amount of video review or memory recall is going to make anyone feel better. That said, let's be fair about a few things.
- Minnesota is really, really, really good. To make things more difficult, Minnesota is playing at a very high level right now.
- UMD started great on Friday. Took the play to the home team for a time.
- Like I said Friday night, sometimes it just gets away from you.
- I didn't hate how UMD played the last 25 minutes or so of the game. Sure, the Gophers throttled back a bit, but UMD did some good things and didn't stop competing.
Sunday, I expect to see UMD tweak a few things in the lineup. For those asking about freshman Carson Soucy, he's playing Sunday unless he catches whatever North Dakota was passing around on its bus from Omaha a couple weeks ago.
I don't even have to ask. I'm just that confident.
Soucy looked fantastic for a few games, but was sent upstairs last Saturday in Grand Forks after struggling a bit. He's a freshman. It happens. The onus is on him to make his spot in the lineup more permanent this time around.
UMD has eight defensemen, and they've all played a good chunk of game except for freshman Dan Molenaar, who was injured and missed a lot of time last year. He's needed some time to get acclimated, but I've been told he is getting closer. Honestly, if he's close enough, he could draw in on Sunday, too.
There's a lot of competition, and only X number (six) of lineup spots available nightly.
Up front, I'm not sure I'd change a single thing about the lineup as it was constructed Friday. I know I wouldn't touch the fourth line, but I might move them up the ol' chart a bit. Cal Decowski, Charlie Sampair, and Sammy Spurrell were consistently in the offensive zone making good things happen Friday. Let them do that again.
I'm tempted to say that Tony Cameranesi/Austin Farley should break up for at least a night, but I'm not ready to say it's time. I don't hate the idea of seeing what they can do apart, but I also don't like the idea of panicking and doing it when they just had an outstanding game a week ago.
Plus, the problem here isn't something that will be solved by changing up the lines. It'll be solved by playing better and not dropping off the face of the earth when a couple bad things happen. UMD couldn't stop the avalanche on Friday. Surely, the Gophers will try to do the same thing Sunday. Pushback will be vital.
Driving down early Sunday afternoon. I'll talk to you from the rink. Let's hope for a good one, and a good result!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Well, That Escalated Quickly
MINNEAPOLIS -- About the first ten seconds of this are all you need.
Sums it up.
Not sure what else needs to be put in this space after a 6-1 Minnesota win here Friday night.
UMD scored first, as its fourth line continued to be effective. Charlie Sampair buried a close-in rebound and gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
As well as UMD played the first 14 minutes of this game, little did we know it would be the highlight of the night for the visitors.
Minnesota buried a turnover that turned into a speed rush into the Bulldog zone to tie the score. And it was curtains from there. UMD forgot everything good that happened over 14 minutes, and the Bulldogs couldn't regain their poise at any point in the game before the score was out of hand.
We just were talking earlier this week on the radio about the Wild, after they lost 6-2 to Montreal on Tuesday. Games get away from even the best NHL teams over the course of a long season.
The college season is much shorter, but the same is true. Games get away from you every now and then, even if you're a good team.
That's all this was, ultimately. It wasn't a mandate about how good the Gophers are. We know how good the Gophers are. Instead, it was a mandate about what happens when you feed into the Gophers' strengths, which UMD did all night with bad turnovers and bad clearing attempts. The Bulldogs did a pretty decent job for a good chunk of this game at getting pucks to the net, but UMTC sophomore goalie Adam Wilcox was as good as I've ever seen him. That only made UMD's job even more difficult. It was bad enough when the goals started piling up for Minnesota, but Wilcox' play made any sort of attempt at a rally virtually impossible.
UMD will be back in Duluth by the time most of you read this. The Bulldogs will bus back down Sunday. It's a move that will draw plenty of questions if UMD doesn't play well. Of course, we all know that's unfair. Doesn't stop people from doing it.
Reality is that a day here to do nothing does nothing for the team. They can sleep in their own beds for two nights by going home, and they can practice at home Saturday before coming back down Sunday. Is it a "normal" game day? No. But no 4pm game on a Sunday after a Friday game and basically a day off is going to be a "normal" situation for people who as accustomed to their routines as Division I athletes tend to be.
If UMD doesn't rebound with a better effort Sunday, it won't have a damn thing to do with the travel schedule. Nothing.
I'll probably add to this either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, or post a separate blog. I have an early wake-up to get back to Duluth Saturday morning and run my PeeWee team's practice. And after what I've heard about their game Friday, that practice won't include many pucks.
Talk at you again later this weekend.
Sums it up.
Not sure what else needs to be put in this space after a 6-1 Minnesota win here Friday night.
UMD scored first, as its fourth line continued to be effective. Charlie Sampair buried a close-in rebound and gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
As well as UMD played the first 14 minutes of this game, little did we know it would be the highlight of the night for the visitors.
Minnesota buried a turnover that turned into a speed rush into the Bulldog zone to tie the score. And it was curtains from there. UMD forgot everything good that happened over 14 minutes, and the Bulldogs couldn't regain their poise at any point in the game before the score was out of hand.
We just were talking earlier this week on the radio about the Wild, after they lost 6-2 to Montreal on Tuesday. Games get away from even the best NHL teams over the course of a long season.
The college season is much shorter, but the same is true. Games get away from you every now and then, even if you're a good team.
That's all this was, ultimately. It wasn't a mandate about how good the Gophers are. We know how good the Gophers are. Instead, it was a mandate about what happens when you feed into the Gophers' strengths, which UMD did all night with bad turnovers and bad clearing attempts. The Bulldogs did a pretty decent job for a good chunk of this game at getting pucks to the net, but UMTC sophomore goalie Adam Wilcox was as good as I've ever seen him. That only made UMD's job even more difficult. It was bad enough when the goals started piling up for Minnesota, but Wilcox' play made any sort of attempt at a rally virtually impossible.
UMD will be back in Duluth by the time most of you read this. The Bulldogs will bus back down Sunday. It's a move that will draw plenty of questions if UMD doesn't play well. Of course, we all know that's unfair. Doesn't stop people from doing it.
Reality is that a day here to do nothing does nothing for the team. They can sleep in their own beds for two nights by going home, and they can practice at home Saturday before coming back down Sunday. Is it a "normal" game day? No. But no 4pm game on a Sunday after a Friday game and basically a day off is going to be a "normal" situation for people who as accustomed to their routines as Division I athletes tend to be.
If UMD doesn't rebound with a better effort Sunday, it won't have a damn thing to do with the travel schedule. Nothing.
I'll probably add to this either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, or post a separate blog. I have an early wake-up to get back to Duluth Saturday morning and run my PeeWee team's practice. And after what I've heard about their game Friday, that practice won't include many pucks.
Talk at you again later this weekend.
Game 11: UMD at Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS -- Welcome to the home of the big block "M" and all things hockey.
Or something.
I've always enjoyed our trips here, but especially lately. Like Grand Forks, my early years calling games featured a lot of lopsided losses here, but recent trips have seen UMD play better. Losing sucks, but losing 4-3 is much more enjoyable than losing 7-0. And I've seen that happen here. It's no fun in any way for anyone.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Corrin - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Johnson
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely
UMTC
Warning - Rau - Fasching
Condon - Kloos - Cammarata
Serratore - Boyd - Ambroz
Michaelson - Guertler - Lettieri
Skjei - Holl
Reilly - Bischoff
Marshall - Brodzinski
Wilcox - Shibrowski - Coyne
(By the way, the Gophers list goalies in whatever order they want, with the disclaimer on the line chart that the order does not indicate the starter. I'd be stunned if Wilcox didn't start, even though Shibrowski shut out Minnesota State in Saturday's game last weekend.)
Or something.
I've always enjoyed our trips here, but especially lately. Like Grand Forks, my early years calling games featured a lot of lopsided losses here, but recent trips have seen UMD play better. Losing sucks, but losing 4-3 is much more enjoyable than losing 7-0. And I've seen that happen here. It's no fun in any way for anyone.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Corrin - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
McManus - Johnson
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely
UMTC
Warning - Rau - Fasching
Condon - Kloos - Cammarata
Serratore - Boyd - Ambroz
Michaelson - Guertler - Lettieri
Skjei - Holl
Reilly - Bischoff
Marshall - Brodzinski
Wilcox - Shibrowski - Coyne
(By the way, the Gophers list goalies in whatever order they want, with the disclaimer on the line chart that the order does not indicate the starter. I'd be stunned if Wilcox didn't start, even though Shibrowski shut out Minnesota State in Saturday's game last weekend.)
Bulldogs Blocking Way to Defensive Success
MINNEAPOLIS -- It wasn't blatantly obvious in the season opener against Michigan Tech, but it didn't take long for most observers to realize that this UMD men's hockey team wasn't going to make life easy for opposing offenses.
Before the season started, many wondered where the defense would come from. UMD lost three top four blue-liners from last year's sub-.500 team, and while there was plenty of experience back, the Bulldogs knew they were going to be relying on players they hadn't relied on much before.
What's happened through ten games? Lots of pats on the helmet, plenty of ice, and probably some visible bruising.
UMD is blocking shots like crazy.
No matter who is on the ice, guys are making it extremely difficult to get shots through to the net.
"It starts at the top with our leaders," junior defenseman Derik Johnson said this week. "We block shots every day in practice. We're in the training room with ice bags on. I think that sends a pretty strong message to the rest of our team about how we're gonna play. It's sacrificing your body for your teammates."
"It fires up the whole bench," head coach Scott Sandelin said recently.
In last weekend's series at North Dakota, UMD blocked over 30 shots in two games, including 23 on Friday. Willie Corrin blocked six by himself, even though he hadn't played much this season, especially lately.
There is no reason to think any of this will change anytime soon, especially heading into this weekend's series against No. 1 Minnesota.
Some will joke that shot blocks come from being out of position to begin with. Johnson doesn't necessarily argue that, but he notes that the game has evolved to a point where shot-blocking has become vitally important.
"You look back maybe ten years ago, it wasn't done as much," he said. "But with the way guys are able to move the puck, sometimes you're out of position. You gotta put your body in front of it."
UMD will take the blocked shots as long as they come. Between defensemen and goalies, there were plenty of questions about the back end coming into the season. While Aaron Crandall has played well over his seven straight starts, it doesn't hurt to have guys making those sacrifices in front of him.
"They take a lot of pride in what they do," Crandall said about his defense. "I joke with them that sometimes it takes away from my saves, I could pad my stats a little. But it's awesome. They've had some huge blocks on pucks I haven't even seen.
"When you see guys laying out, blocking shots, it makes you want to make big plays. Because it obviously hurts them more than it hurts me."
Of the likely lineup for Friday's game, 15 players are from Minnesota, one more from Superior (close enough, right?). It's hard to find a series on the schedule that would have more guys fired up and ready to go than this one, even though it's non-conference.
Despite not being in the same conference anymore, Sandelin knows his team is facing a huge rival. A big reason for it is the number of Minnesotans currently on the UMD roster.
Sandelin also knows it's a formidable opponent, even though it's one that UMD thinks it can play with.
"I think too many teams go in there and give them too much respect," he said this week. "We know how we have to play. Hopefully we can go in there and do that. It's a big series, a big rival. We've got a lot of Minnesota kids that like beating them."
The Gophers are certainly powerful up front. Hudson Fasching is a power forward-type who has flashed some Nick Bjugstad-type ability along the wall and with a deadly shot. Fasching isn't quite that good yet, but you can see some similarities with his game. Remember, it took Bjugstad a little while to learn how to use his big body and long arms, but once he did, he quickly became one of the best players in the college game.
Forwards like Justin Kloos -- a former Minnesota Mr. Hockey -- and Taylor Cammarata have speed to burn. They are part of a forward group that already possessed the lightning-fast Nate Condon, the underrated (for now) Sam Warning, and the always-dangerous Kyle Rau. Yes, the Gophers lost a lot after last year, but Don Lucia has them well-positioned to continue their recent success.
By the way, if you can get the puck to the net, the reward you face there is dynamic sophomore Adam "Stalock's Cousin" Wilcox, who only has a .931 save percentage so far.
/sigh
We're an underdog here this weekend, no doubt, but Sandelin is also right. Too many teams play almost scared of Minnesota's speed. But the Gophers aren't unlike any other speedy college hockey team out there, including UMD.
(People seem to forget that UMD has plenty of quicks in its lineup, too.)
Hit them hard enough and often enough, and speed tends to slow a little bit. UMD's gameplan should include relentless pursuit in all zones, hard hitting, and smart plays with the puck. Manage the puck, keep it away from their guys, limit their transition opportunities, and get people to the front of the net to make Wilcox' life a difficult one.
Not easy, but doable. Like I said before Notre Dame, the opponent is definitely good, and UMD believes it's good, too.
Time to forget about the former and prove the latter.
Before the season started, many wondered where the defense would come from. UMD lost three top four blue-liners from last year's sub-.500 team, and while there was plenty of experience back, the Bulldogs knew they were going to be relying on players they hadn't relied on much before.
What's happened through ten games? Lots of pats on the helmet, plenty of ice, and probably some visible bruising.
UMD is blocking shots like crazy.
No matter who is on the ice, guys are making it extremely difficult to get shots through to the net.
"It starts at the top with our leaders," junior defenseman Derik Johnson said this week. "We block shots every day in practice. We're in the training room with ice bags on. I think that sends a pretty strong message to the rest of our team about how we're gonna play. It's sacrificing your body for your teammates."
"It fires up the whole bench," head coach Scott Sandelin said recently.
In last weekend's series at North Dakota, UMD blocked over 30 shots in two games, including 23 on Friday. Willie Corrin blocked six by himself, even though he hadn't played much this season, especially lately.
There is no reason to think any of this will change anytime soon, especially heading into this weekend's series against No. 1 Minnesota.
Some will joke that shot blocks come from being out of position to begin with. Johnson doesn't necessarily argue that, but he notes that the game has evolved to a point where shot-blocking has become vitally important.
"You look back maybe ten years ago, it wasn't done as much," he said. "But with the way guys are able to move the puck, sometimes you're out of position. You gotta put your body in front of it."
UMD will take the blocked shots as long as they come. Between defensemen and goalies, there were plenty of questions about the back end coming into the season. While Aaron Crandall has played well over his seven straight starts, it doesn't hurt to have guys making those sacrifices in front of him.
"They take a lot of pride in what they do," Crandall said about his defense. "I joke with them that sometimes it takes away from my saves, I could pad my stats a little. But it's awesome. They've had some huge blocks on pucks I haven't even seen.
"When you see guys laying out, blocking shots, it makes you want to make big plays. Because it obviously hurts them more than it hurts me."
******
Of the likely lineup for Friday's game, 15 players are from Minnesota, one more from Superior (close enough, right?). It's hard to find a series on the schedule that would have more guys fired up and ready to go than this one, even though it's non-conference.
Despite not being in the same conference anymore, Sandelin knows his team is facing a huge rival. A big reason for it is the number of Minnesotans currently on the UMD roster.
Sandelin also knows it's a formidable opponent, even though it's one that UMD thinks it can play with.
"I think too many teams go in there and give them too much respect," he said this week. "We know how we have to play. Hopefully we can go in there and do that. It's a big series, a big rival. We've got a lot of Minnesota kids that like beating them."
The Gophers are certainly powerful up front. Hudson Fasching is a power forward-type who has flashed some Nick Bjugstad-type ability along the wall and with a deadly shot. Fasching isn't quite that good yet, but you can see some similarities with his game. Remember, it took Bjugstad a little while to learn how to use his big body and long arms, but once he did, he quickly became one of the best players in the college game.
Forwards like Justin Kloos -- a former Minnesota Mr. Hockey -- and Taylor Cammarata have speed to burn. They are part of a forward group that already possessed the lightning-fast Nate Condon, the underrated (for now) Sam Warning, and the always-dangerous Kyle Rau. Yes, the Gophers lost a lot after last year, but Don Lucia has them well-positioned to continue their recent success.
By the way, if you can get the puck to the net, the reward you face there is dynamic sophomore Adam "Stalock's Cousin" Wilcox, who only has a .931 save percentage so far.
/sigh
We're an underdog here this weekend, no doubt, but Sandelin is also right. Too many teams play almost scared of Minnesota's speed. But the Gophers aren't unlike any other speedy college hockey team out there, including UMD.
(People seem to forget that UMD has plenty of quicks in its lineup, too.)
Hit them hard enough and often enough, and speed tends to slow a little bit. UMD's gameplan should include relentless pursuit in all zones, hard hitting, and smart plays with the puck. Manage the puck, keep it away from their guys, limit their transition opportunities, and get people to the front of the net to make Wilcox' life a difficult one.
Not easy, but doable. Like I said before Notre Dame, the opponent is definitely good, and UMD believes it's good, too.
Time to forget about the former and prove the latter.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
2014-15 UMD Recruiting Taking Shape
The UMD men's hockey team signed four players during the fall signing period. The four will, barring setbacks, play for the Bulldogs starting next season.
Via UMD, here is some background info on the group, which includes one local player. With only four players in this year's senior class, you can expect UMD will be light on spring-time recruits unless there are early departures. UMD does appear in need of one more goaltender for next season.
Via UMD, here is some background info on the group, which includes one local player. With only four players in this year's senior class, you can expect UMD will be light on spring-time recruits unless there are early departures. UMD does appear in need of one more goaltender for next season.
Brett Boehm • F • 6-3 • 170 • 9/19/94 • Martensville, Saskatchewan (Flin Flon/SJHL)
Currently holds a share of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League scoring lead with 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists in 16 outings ... took part in the Canadian Junior Hockey League's Prospect Games last month in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia ... is in his second full season of duty with the Flin Flon Bombers ... was chosen the SJHL Rookie of the Year in 2012-13 after racking up 25 goals and 29 assists during the regular season (49 games) ... paced all SJHL first-year skaters in goals, assist and total points .. added six more points during the Bombers' 10-game playoff run last winter ... enjoyed a rewarding two-year career with the Beardy's Blackhawks of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League prior to his arrival in Flin Flon ... ranked first in the SMHL in goals, (40) assists (46) and points (86) en route to being named that circuit's Top Forward and a first team All-Star for 2011-12.
Blake Heinrich • D • 5-11 • 200 • 2/17/95 • Cambridge, Minn. (Sioux City/USHL)
Has been stationed in Sioux City, Iowa, the past two seasons, skillfully manning the point for the United States Hockey League's Musketeers ... his stat line thus far in 2013-14 includes three goals and two assists in 14 games ... closed out the 2012-13 season with the third highest scoring total of any Sioux City blueliner (20 points on three goals and 17 assists) and was a +12 on the year ... skated for the gold medal-winning U.S.entry at the 2012 World Junior A Challenge .... is a teammate of fellow 2014-15 UMD recruit Jared Thomas ... was coached in 2013-14 by former UMD assistant coach and hockey alumnus Brett Larson ... was part of a defenseman crew one year ago that included current UMD rookie Dan Molenaar ... passed up his final year of eligibility at St. Paul's Hill-Murray High School to join the USHL ranks in 2012-13 ... was taken in the fifth round (144th selection overall) by the Washington Capitals in the 2013 National Hockey League Draft.
Jared Thomas • F • 6-1 • 190 • 2/21/94 • Hermantown, Minn. (Sioux City/USHL)
Enlisted his services with the Sioux City Musketeers in 2012-13 ... has four goals and assists to his credit through 16 games this season while sharing the locker room with fellow UMD recruit Blake Heinrich ... those 20 points are bettered by only three other USHL combatants at the moment ... made quite a splash as a USHL rookie, producing 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points (second among all full-time Musketeers) ... a team-high 11 of his 18 goals came on the power play ... starred at nearby Hermantown High School for three seasons before moving on to the USHL ... his UMD athletic bloodlines run deep -- his father, Mike, was an All-American offensive lineman for the Bulldogs while his mother Kelli (Ritzer), received All-Northern Sun Conference recognition in both basketball (four times) and softball (three) and is a member of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame ... his uncle, Corey Thomas, also lettered in both baseball and football for the Bulldogs.
Blake Young • F • 6-3 • 185 • 11/21/94 • Battleford, Saskatchewan (Battlefords/SJHL)
Will come to UMD with at least two years of Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League seasoning tucked under his belt ... ranks fifth on the 2013-14 Battlefords North Star scoring charts with with 10 points (six goals and four assists) ... took part in the SJHL Showcase event earlier this fall ... put up eight goals and 12 assists in 52 games during his first SJHL go-around in 2012-13 ... was the recipient of the North Stars Fan Favorite Award that year ... captained the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League's Battlefords Stars in 2011-12 and topped the team in scoring.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Monday Musings: Bulldogs Split at UND
For the second straight year, the UMD Bulldogs played generally fantastic hockey in Grand Forks over a weekend. This time, they didn't leave North Dakota without a victory in their back pocket.
Friday's 4-2 loss was somewhat disappointing. Before Saturday's game, talk of the loss was largely nitpicking little things UMD could have done better to prevent the loss.
* Don't lose the faceoff after Adam Krause's power play goal tied the score 2-2.
* Play with more poise in the defensive zone in that ensuing shift, increasing the chance that someone would clear the zone and relieve the pressure.
* Don't put yourself in a position to go a man down after a 90-plus second defensive zone shift, leading to an eventual power play goal.
* Don't commit two more stick infractions later in the third period, hurting momentum and taking precious time off the clock.
* Get to the net and stay there in the offensive zone, instead of turning away after driving to the front.
When you can talk about little plays here and there over the course of 60 minutes, that's a good thing, even in a loss. There have been wins this season where UMD didn't play as well over the course of a whole game as it did on Friday.
Saturday, those little things were largely cleaned up, and UMD ended up scoring its most goals (six) and winning by the biggest margin (three) it has ever won by at the new Ralph, taking a 6-3 victory and three NCHC points back across Highway 2.
The Bulldogs have to be pleased with the effort, as Krause scored twice, Tony Cameranesi and Willie Raskob had three assists apiece, and Austin Farley scored for the first time in a while.
UMD chased UND starting goalie Clarke Saunders with three goals on 13 shots in the first, then got a key five-on-three kill (1:20 worth) in the second period after UND had cut a 3-1 lead in half. That kill got the Bulldogs going again, and freshman Sammy Spurrell restored the two-goal cushion with a late second-period snipe.
UMD threw up another crooked number in the third to finish it off.
Many, many Bulldogs played well on Saturday. It was really good to see Farley get back on the scoreboard. Cameranesi had a great night, and Raskob is playing incredibly well right now. I'm excited to see what he can do with the puck on the big sheet this week. Krause got to the net for a goal on Friday, then showed he has quite a shot with his two goals on Saturday. The Bulldogs blocked shots, played with snarl, and showed off some incredible skill and higher potential over the weekend.
While we'd all like to see this team win Friday games, it's good that they've been able to rally three times this season from Friday losses to earn series splits. The next step is not just playing well both nights, as the 'Dogs did in Grand Forks, but making that lead to wins both nights.
The next chance to do that is this weekend, when UMD battles No. 1 Minnesota at Mariucci Arena. Games are 7pm Friday and 4pm Sunday. The Gophers will test UMD across all four lines and three defensive pairings. They're the best team in the country right now, and playing them in their barn will be a great challenge.
Friday's 4-2 loss was somewhat disappointing. Before Saturday's game, talk of the loss was largely nitpicking little things UMD could have done better to prevent the loss.
* Don't lose the faceoff after Adam Krause's power play goal tied the score 2-2.
* Play with more poise in the defensive zone in that ensuing shift, increasing the chance that someone would clear the zone and relieve the pressure.
* Don't put yourself in a position to go a man down after a 90-plus second defensive zone shift, leading to an eventual power play goal.
* Don't commit two more stick infractions later in the third period, hurting momentum and taking precious time off the clock.
* Get to the net and stay there in the offensive zone, instead of turning away after driving to the front.
When you can talk about little plays here and there over the course of 60 minutes, that's a good thing, even in a loss. There have been wins this season where UMD didn't play as well over the course of a whole game as it did on Friday.
Saturday, those little things were largely cleaned up, and UMD ended up scoring its most goals (six) and winning by the biggest margin (three) it has ever won by at the new Ralph, taking a 6-3 victory and three NCHC points back across Highway 2.
The Bulldogs have to be pleased with the effort, as Krause scored twice, Tony Cameranesi and Willie Raskob had three assists apiece, and Austin Farley scored for the first time in a while.
UMD chased UND starting goalie Clarke Saunders with three goals on 13 shots in the first, then got a key five-on-three kill (1:20 worth) in the second period after UND had cut a 3-1 lead in half. That kill got the Bulldogs going again, and freshman Sammy Spurrell restored the two-goal cushion with a late second-period snipe.
UMD threw up another crooked number in the third to finish it off.
Many, many Bulldogs played well on Saturday. It was really good to see Farley get back on the scoreboard. Cameranesi had a great night, and Raskob is playing incredibly well right now. I'm excited to see what he can do with the puck on the big sheet this week. Krause got to the net for a goal on Friday, then showed he has quite a shot with his two goals on Saturday. The Bulldogs blocked shots, played with snarl, and showed off some incredible skill and higher potential over the weekend.
While we'd all like to see this team win Friday games, it's good that they've been able to rally three times this season from Friday losses to earn series splits. The next step is not just playing well both nights, as the 'Dogs did in Grand Forks, but making that lead to wins both nights.
The next chance to do that is this weekend, when UMD battles No. 1 Minnesota at Mariucci Arena. Games are 7pm Friday and 4pm Sunday. The Gophers will test UMD across all four lines and three defensive pairings. They're the best team in the country right now, and playing them in their barn will be a great challenge.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Game 10: UMD at North Dakota
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Off we go from Grand Forks, where the UMD men try to salvage a series split from North Dakota.
Sounds strange to say, but there shouldn't be a whole lot of schematic changes for UMD. The penalty kill struggled a bit, but UMD has to be generally pleased with its effort Friday. Of course, you have to expect UND will be even better in this second game, so raising the game is a must for all Bulldog players.
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Corrin - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely
UND
Chyzyk - Caggiula - Grimaldi
MacMillan (Mark) - Johnson - Parks
Pattyn - Gaarder - Rodwell
MacMillan (Mitch) - Tambellini - Murphy
Simpson - Schmaltz
Mattson - LaDue
Ausmus - Stecher
Saunders - Gothberg - Hrynkiw
Sounds strange to say, but there shouldn't be a whole lot of schematic changes for UMD. The penalty kill struggled a bit, but UMD has to be generally pleased with its effort Friday. Of course, you have to expect UND will be even better in this second game, so raising the game is a must for all Bulldog players.
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Corrin - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely
UND
Chyzyk - Caggiula - Grimaldi
MacMillan (Mark) - Johnson - Parks
Pattyn - Gaarder - Rodwell
MacMillan (Mitch) - Tambellini - Murphy
Simpson - Schmaltz
Mattson - LaDue
Ausmus - Stecher
Saunders - Gothberg - Hrynkiw
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Blowing Off Steam After ANOTHER Frustrating Loss in North Dakota
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Unfortunately, frustration seems to come along with any trip we make to Grand Forks for hockey.
More of it came Friday night, as UMD lost 4-2 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in a game that featured over five minutes of action before the first whistle of the game, two goals scored with UMD skaters laying in the net, what felt like about a ten-minute review of a play that had already been reviewed, and your typical inconsistent call-nothing-and-then-call-everything officiating.
Let's pick apart the important stuff.
Early in the third period, a Michael Parks wraparound attempt appeared to be stopped by UMD defenseman Willie Corrin. Why Corrin? Because he was checked into the net behind the play, and couldn't get out of the crease area before Parks got the puck there.
Only, it wasn't stopped.
Referees Derek Shepherd and CJ Beaurline took a look at the video and quickly confirmed there was no goal scored.
Only, they must not have looked closely.
According to what I was told after the game, it seems UND coach Dave Hakstol told the officials that the team's video coordinator upstairs had looked at the replay and seen it was clearly a goal. Armed with that news, Shepherd and Beaurline went back to the replay monitor and started watching it.
Sure enough, television replays confirmed it was a goal. Then TV showed the replay again. And again. Shepherd and Beaurline must have been watching a riveting hockey game on that monitor, because there's no way it took that long to review the goal and determine the correct time. There was some mumbo-jumbo in the press box that there was a problem with the video, but it seems convenient.
It was one of those moments where I would have really appreciated the officials having to crack open a mic and explain what the hell was going on. Of course, that makes too much sense to ever happen.
Ultimately, this sequence didn't adversely impact the outcome, because UMD responded to it well. That doesn't mean that NCHC officiating guru Don Adam shouldn't lob a call to UMD coach Scott Sandelin Saturday morning to apologize. No excuses, just admit that the guys didn't get it done and they'll all try their damndest to learn and be better next time. Keep it simple, eh?
After that Parks goal, UMD got mad and got a couple quick goals to tie it up at 2-2. On the first one, Alex Iafallo was checked into the crease while UND goalie Clarke Saunders went to try to play a puck outside the crease. As Saunders tried to get back, he stumbled, and a Dominic Toninato shot hit Iafallo and went across the line to make it 2-1. Adam Krause scored on a scramble play 20 seconds later to level.
UMD took a couple penalties, though, including a cross-check on Carson Soucy that led to the game-winning goal by Jordan Schmaltz. The Bulldogs also got nailed with a couple extremely ticky-tack hooking penalties in the final eight minutes, calls that were completely unnecessary and luckily harmless from a scoreboard perspective.
This brings me to the next point.
There were 18 minor penalties in the game, ten on UMD and eight on UND. As they got into the third period, Shepherd and Beaurline officiated like the game was spiraling out of control. The fact of the matter was that the closest we came to a major fracas was at 17:44 of the first period. Matching two-minute minors were called and life went on.
A huge beef for me over the years with officials has been what I perceive to be a lack of understanding of the game. I'm not just going to attack the guys we have here this weekend, because it's a common thread in college hockey. Either slightly chippy games like the one here on Friday get over-called because the officials are seeing things getting out of hand when they most certainly aren't, or they ignore everything and let the game get out of control.
In Friday's case, it was the former.
Hockey is a fast, emotional, physical game. Things will happen that are in violation of the rules, sometimes because the emotions are so dang high. But games like Friday's don't need to be over-officiated, because they never get close to being out of control. Want to see a game that got out of control? Look at this boxscore.
(In that particular game, post-whistle garbage was let go time and time again until things boiled over. Different officiating crew than what we have this weekend, but the same problem. No real basic idea of game flow, and they let things get out of hand before finally putting their feet down.)
Another complaint: How many times this season has UMD owned puck possession and shots on goal, only to somehow have more power plays against than for? I know we have a couple young guys who have taken dumb penalties along the way, but it's pretty hard to believe that the team chasing the puck a preponderance of the game is the one drawing all the penalties.
Anyway, I've written enough about the officials. Y'all don't pay to watch them work.
Can you tell some of us are frustrated with playing well here and losing? Going back to last season, UMD has now played 190 generally wonderful minutes of hockey at The Ralph, only to come away from it with just one league point, a tie last season.
It beats the hell out of what has been generally the only other way I've seen UMD play in Grand Forks, which is not very well. But it still sucks, and it's wearing on a few of us who work closely with this team but don't put on the skates.
I can't sit here and complain about very much that UMD did on Friday. I thought the forwards on the penalty kill did a lackluster job helping on a couple clearing opportunities, and the Bulldogs ended up paying dearly for that with the Schmaltz power play goal.
UMD was pretty good on the power play in limited opportunities. The Bulldogs have to find a way to stay out of the box. Six power plays against doesn't sound like a ton, especially when a couple were abbreviated, but it sounds like a ton when you only have three chances of your own.
Dominic Toninato and Alex Iafallo were dynamic at times in this game, and I really liked the fourth line when it got ice time. Cal Decowski continues to take hard hits to make even the littlest of plays, and he nearly set up Charlie Sampair for goals twice.
UMD blocked 23 shots Friday, including 11 in the first period. Corrin, a guy who hasn't played in a while in part because he hasn't been great at some of the little things, blocked a team-high six. Unfortunately, he was stuck in the net for a huge play in this game, as mentioned above.
The Bulldogs need a split here. This is the perfect time to be playing UND, as it is still trying to find itself in some ways. The high-end skill is there, but UND doesn't have the depth UMD at least thinks it has. That depth needs to come to the forefront for the Bulldogs.
If nothing else, for the sanity of certain people, including me.
When I got to the hotel Friday, I was greeted with an email from the NCAA. In said email was a statement from one of the rules gurus, former CCHA referee Steve Piotrowski. It was sent to clarify a rule about video replay. In part, the statement read:
Thanks to some sleuthing from College Hockey News, we know.
OK.
Extreme examples, yes. But this rule is dumb. If the cameras and technology exist to properly look at a play like that, do it. Shouldn't matter what those cameras are at the game for. The purpose here should be to get calls right, not confuse everyone and make dumb rules.
Bertagna went on to say that his officials erred in reviewing that UMass goal after being asked to by York. Sound familiar?
(Ah, there I go again.)
In the NCHC Friday, Denver rallied from 2-0 down to beat Western Michigan 5-3 in Denver. Trevor Moore lit the lamp twice for DU, while Sam Brittain outgoaltended Frank Slubowski. Non-conference, Miami got another Ryan McKay shutout to beat Wisconsin 2-0. UNO got two in the third, including the scorching Josh Archibald's ninth of the year, to upend Michigan 3-2. Also, St. Cloud State edged past Alabama Huntsville 10-0.
(Prediction: Whoever loses to UAH this season will not make the NCAA Tournament.)
One last thing: UMD's series against Minnesota is listed as Friday/Saturday, but those of you who have tickets to Saturday's game should pay close attention to college football. Why? Because the to-be-determined start time of next week's Wisconsin-Minnesota football game will determine the start time -- and possibly day -- of next Saturday's UMD-Minnesota game.
TV rules the world, after all. Oh, and TCF Bank Stadium was built on what used to be a parking lot for Mariucci Arena. When a football game is happening, there is almost literally nowhere to park on campus. They simply can't cram 50,000 in there for a big football and and almost simultaneously have 10,000 at Mariucci for hockey.
If the B1G decides that Wisconsin-Minnesota will start at 11am, then our game next Saturday will shift to an 8pm start. If the football game is placed in the 2:30pm time slot, we won't play Saturday, and instead will play Sunday at 4pm.
So keep that in mind if you have tickets for "Saturday" or plan to get them.
More of it came Friday night, as UMD lost 4-2 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in a game that featured over five minutes of action before the first whistle of the game, two goals scored with UMD skaters laying in the net, what felt like about a ten-minute review of a play that had already been reviewed, and your typical inconsistent call-nothing-and-then-call-everything officiating.
Let's pick apart the important stuff.
Early in the third period, a Michael Parks wraparound attempt appeared to be stopped by UMD defenseman Willie Corrin. Why Corrin? Because he was checked into the net behind the play, and couldn't get out of the crease area before Parks got the puck there.
Only, it wasn't stopped.
Referees Derek Shepherd and CJ Beaurline took a look at the video and quickly confirmed there was no goal scored.
Only, they must not have looked closely.
According to what I was told after the game, it seems UND coach Dave Hakstol told the officials that the team's video coordinator upstairs had looked at the replay and seen it was clearly a goal. Armed with that news, Shepherd and Beaurline went back to the replay monitor and started watching it.
Sure enough, television replays confirmed it was a goal. Then TV showed the replay again. And again. Shepherd and Beaurline must have been watching a riveting hockey game on that monitor, because there's no way it took that long to review the goal and determine the correct time. There was some mumbo-jumbo in the press box that there was a problem with the video, but it seems convenient.
It was one of those moments where I would have really appreciated the officials having to crack open a mic and explain what the hell was going on. Of course, that makes too much sense to ever happen.
Ultimately, this sequence didn't adversely impact the outcome, because UMD responded to it well. That doesn't mean that NCHC officiating guru Don Adam shouldn't lob a call to UMD coach Scott Sandelin Saturday morning to apologize. No excuses, just admit that the guys didn't get it done and they'll all try their damndest to learn and be better next time. Keep it simple, eh?
After that Parks goal, UMD got mad and got a couple quick goals to tie it up at 2-2. On the first one, Alex Iafallo was checked into the crease while UND goalie Clarke Saunders went to try to play a puck outside the crease. As Saunders tried to get back, he stumbled, and a Dominic Toninato shot hit Iafallo and went across the line to make it 2-1. Adam Krause scored on a scramble play 20 seconds later to level.
UMD took a couple penalties, though, including a cross-check on Carson Soucy that led to the game-winning goal by Jordan Schmaltz. The Bulldogs also got nailed with a couple extremely ticky-tack hooking penalties in the final eight minutes, calls that were completely unnecessary and luckily harmless from a scoreboard perspective.
******
This brings me to the next point.
There were 18 minor penalties in the game, ten on UMD and eight on UND. As they got into the third period, Shepherd and Beaurline officiated like the game was spiraling out of control. The fact of the matter was that the closest we came to a major fracas was at 17:44 of the first period. Matching two-minute minors were called and life went on.
A huge beef for me over the years with officials has been what I perceive to be a lack of understanding of the game. I'm not just going to attack the guys we have here this weekend, because it's a common thread in college hockey. Either slightly chippy games like the one here on Friday get over-called because the officials are seeing things getting out of hand when they most certainly aren't, or they ignore everything and let the game get out of control.
In Friday's case, it was the former.
Hockey is a fast, emotional, physical game. Things will happen that are in violation of the rules, sometimes because the emotions are so dang high. But games like Friday's don't need to be over-officiated, because they never get close to being out of control. Want to see a game that got out of control? Look at this boxscore.
(In that particular game, post-whistle garbage was let go time and time again until things boiled over. Different officiating crew than what we have this weekend, but the same problem. No real basic idea of game flow, and they let things get out of hand before finally putting their feet down.)
Another complaint: How many times this season has UMD owned puck possession and shots on goal, only to somehow have more power plays against than for? I know we have a couple young guys who have taken dumb penalties along the way, but it's pretty hard to believe that the team chasing the puck a preponderance of the game is the one drawing all the penalties.
Anyway, I've written enough about the officials. Y'all don't pay to watch them work.
******
Can you tell some of us are frustrated with playing well here and losing? Going back to last season, UMD has now played 190 generally wonderful minutes of hockey at The Ralph, only to come away from it with just one league point, a tie last season.
It beats the hell out of what has been generally the only other way I've seen UMD play in Grand Forks, which is not very well. But it still sucks, and it's wearing on a few of us who work closely with this team but don't put on the skates.
I can't sit here and complain about very much that UMD did on Friday. I thought the forwards on the penalty kill did a lackluster job helping on a couple clearing opportunities, and the Bulldogs ended up paying dearly for that with the Schmaltz power play goal.
UMD was pretty good on the power play in limited opportunities. The Bulldogs have to find a way to stay out of the box. Six power plays against doesn't sound like a ton, especially when a couple were abbreviated, but it sounds like a ton when you only have three chances of your own.
Dominic Toninato and Alex Iafallo were dynamic at times in this game, and I really liked the fourth line when it got ice time. Cal Decowski continues to take hard hits to make even the littlest of plays, and he nearly set up Charlie Sampair for goals twice.
UMD blocked 23 shots Friday, including 11 in the first period. Corrin, a guy who hasn't played in a while in part because he hasn't been great at some of the little things, blocked a team-high six. Unfortunately, he was stuck in the net for a huge play in this game, as mentioned above.
The Bulldogs need a split here. This is the perfect time to be playing UND, as it is still trying to find itself in some ways. The high-end skill is there, but UND doesn't have the depth UMD at least thinks it has. That depth needs to come to the forefront for the Bulldogs.
If nothing else, for the sanity of certain people, including me.
******
When I got to the hotel Friday, I was greeted with an email from the NCAA. In said email was a statement from one of the rules gurus, former CCHA referee Steve Piotrowski. It was sent to clarify a rule about video replay. In part, the statement read:
In order to clarify the rules committee’s position, effective immediately, only games that are being televised (e.g., national/regional network, cable, or recognized broadcast entity) are allowed to be used. Therefore, any in-house camera feeds or video that is being produced for an internet streaming broadcast are no longer allowed for this video review purpose.This didn't make a lot of sense to me for a couple reasons. For starters, the rule is dumb, and I'll outline that in a second. Also, why was it being sent out? Something must have happened, but no one I mentioned the statement to at the arena was aware of anything.
Thanks to some sleuthing from College Hockey News, we know.
After it appeared UMass tied the game in the third period, Boston College head coach Jerry York called a timeout and asked for the play to be reviewed. After the review, the goal was called back for a UMass player being offsides, however, according to NCAA rules, officials may only review offsides during televised games.So in other words, if a rinky-dink cable network somewhere -- a "recognized broadcast entity" -- is airing a college hockey game with two or three crappy cameras and primitive replay equipment, that can be used for video review purposes. But NBC Live Extra's multi-camera, high-quality Notre Dame webcasts can't be.
Boston College went on to win the game, 2-1.
"There is a little bit of confusion based on how the rule is worded," said (Hockey East commissioner Joe) Bertagna ... "We can go up and look at and review a bunch of things. ... Offsides and too many men on the ice are not traditionally things you can review. In the current two-year rulebook, it says in championship play, you can review offsides and too many men on the ice. Well, over the summer, the NCAA decided to expand that to any televised games, but it did not really define what it meant by televised games."
Thursday's game was not broadcasted on television, but a webcast was available through the internet.
OK.
Extreme examples, yes. But this rule is dumb. If the cameras and technology exist to properly look at a play like that, do it. Shouldn't matter what those cameras are at the game for. The purpose here should be to get calls right, not confuse everyone and make dumb rules.
Bertagna went on to say that his officials erred in reviewing that UMass goal after being asked to by York. Sound familiar?
(Ah, there I go again.)
******
In the NCHC Friday, Denver rallied from 2-0 down to beat Western Michigan 5-3 in Denver. Trevor Moore lit the lamp twice for DU, while Sam Brittain outgoaltended Frank Slubowski. Non-conference, Miami got another Ryan McKay shutout to beat Wisconsin 2-0. UNO got two in the third, including the scorching Josh Archibald's ninth of the year, to upend Michigan 3-2. Also, St. Cloud State edged past Alabama Huntsville 10-0.
(Prediction: Whoever loses to UAH this season will not make the NCAA Tournament.)
******
One last thing: UMD's series against Minnesota is listed as Friday/Saturday, but those of you who have tickets to Saturday's game should pay close attention to college football. Why? Because the to-be-determined start time of next week's Wisconsin-Minnesota football game will determine the start time -- and possibly day -- of next Saturday's UMD-Minnesota game.
TV rules the world, after all. Oh, and TCF Bank Stadium was built on what used to be a parking lot for Mariucci Arena. When a football game is happening, there is almost literally nowhere to park on campus. They simply can't cram 50,000 in there for a big football and and almost simultaneously have 10,000 at Mariucci for hockey.
If the B1G decides that Wisconsin-Minnesota will start at 11am, then our game next Saturday will shift to an 8pm start. If the football game is placed in the 2:30pm time slot, we won't play Saturday, and instead will play Sunday at 4pm.
So keep that in mind if you have tickets for "Saturday" or plan to get them.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Game 9: UMD at North Dakota
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Despite reports of vomiting players throughout the week in Grand Forks, it appears all or a significant portion of UND's roster is healthy enough to play hockey in this series opener against UMD.
For the first time in a while, the teams will actually play a four-game season series. It's the first time in four years that the teams are scheduled to play two-game series both in Grand Forks and in Duluth.
(In 2010-11, they met in Grand Forks, but the only meeting in Duluth was a non-conference game to open Amsoil Arena that we otherwise won't discuss. In 2011-12, their only meeting was a split in Duluth. Last year, the teams played two here, with North Dakota getting a win and a tie.)
For such longtime rivals, the move to the NCHC is already paying off. I'd much rather come here annually than go to -- no disrespect intended -- Bemidji, where the games and atmosphere isn't nearly as enjoyable.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Tardy
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Corrin - Johnson
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely
UND
Chyzyk - Caggiula - Grimaldi
MacMillan (Mark) - Johnson - Parks
Pattyn - Gaarder - Rodwell
MacMillan (Mitch) - Tambellini - Murphy
Simpson - Schmaltz
Mattson - LaDue
Stecher - Panzarella
Saunders - Gothberg
For the first time in a while, the teams will actually play a four-game season series. It's the first time in four years that the teams are scheduled to play two-game series both in Grand Forks and in Duluth.
(In 2010-11, they met in Grand Forks, but the only meeting in Duluth was a non-conference game to open Amsoil Arena that we otherwise won't discuss. In 2011-12, their only meeting was a split in Duluth. Last year, the teams played two here, with North Dakota getting a win and a tie.)
For such longtime rivals, the move to the NCHC is already paying off. I'd much rather come here annually than go to -- no disrespect intended -- Bemidji, where the games and atmosphere isn't nearly as enjoyable.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Tardy
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Corrin - Johnson
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely
UND
Chyzyk - Caggiula - Grimaldi
MacMillan (Mark) - Johnson - Parks
Pattyn - Gaarder - Rodwell
MacMillan (Mitch) - Tambellini - Murphy
Simpson - Schmaltz
Mattson - LaDue
Stecher - Panzarella
Saunders - Gothberg
Familiar, Similar Teams Meet in Grand Forks
Couple housecleaning notes before we get started.
1. I've gotten a few emails asking for more UMD coverage. I'll try to get more of that going for you. Balancing work and coaching and calling hockey games is proving difficult, but I'll do my best.
2. Look for info on Red Rock Radio's updated apps soon. For now, I believe the iPhone bit works, but you can still go here and listen to games via your internet browser on any smartphone.
Now, on to business ...
Grand Forks has not been a good place for UMD in a long time. The Bulldogs are 2-7-1 in their last ten games against North Dakota in any building, but the team's history at Ralph Engelstad Arena is cover-your-eyes worthy.
UMD is 36-71-3 all-time in Grand Forks, including a 3-13-3 mark in the new Engelstad Arena, which opened for the 2001-02 season.
Perspective: I've seen UMD win two games in Clarkson's building. I've also seen UMD win two games at The Ralph. It's not something that happens often.
These are two pretty similar teams when you look at the general makeup. Each team is loaded with talented freshmen and sophomores, and some of those good players haven't quite found their stride yet in 2013-14. They have senior and sophomore goalies who have both played and have experienced varying success.
The way things are going, they probably deserve to be teams playing around the .500 mark, which both are (7-7-2 combined). If North Dakota wins and ties this weekend, the teams will have identical 4-4-2 records.
UND coach Dave Hakstol called his team "inconsistent" when I talked to him this week.
"We've done a lot of things well, and we've had time periods where we've done a lot of things poorly," he said. "I thought we were a lot better last week against Omaha."
Could this be a great chance for UMD to end a long string of poor results in Grand Forks? Senior goalie Aaron Crandall hopes so.
"I've never beat them, and that's a huge goal for me this weekend," Crandall told me. "I really want to get on the board against them, especially at The Ralph."
(Crandall is 0-3 in three career starts against North Dakota.)
This isn't the same Crandall that UMD fans saw his first three years. Rattled by inconsistency, Crandall has been fantastic as a senior. He seems much more comfortable in virtually every way. A 1.81 goals against and .925 save percentage serve as sound evidence of that fact. Also, Crandall doesn't think he's started five straight games since high school or maybe juniors. He's earned those five starts, and he's earned the right to take the first crack at North Dakota.
"I think we've played a lot better than our record is," Crandall said. "It's exciting because it's early, and obviously you're not measured on what you do early. It's what you do late."
Both teams have been elite on the penalty kill, in the top three of the nation. UMD is first (93.6 percent), and UND third (92.5).
"You just have to keep things simple, stay within the system," Hakstol said. "Bottom line is you gotta work your tail off, and our group has done that."
UMD is similar. Good kills rely on sound play from all four skaters on the ice, and sometimes the goalie has to come through. For both teams, this has been the case. Crandall has been especially sharp short-handed.
North Dakota should be ready this weekend, despite the short week of prep. Last time on home ice, UND was swept by St. Cloud State. You can bet that we'll see the best this group can give on Friday. Hopefully UMD is sharp off its own bye and can exceed that intensity level.
These teams have hooked up for some very good and often emotional hockey in recent years. For UMD to take another step in its development, it must go into The Ralph and play at least as well as it did last year. Do that, and the result from last year (loss and a tie) could be flipped, or even more than that.
1. I've gotten a few emails asking for more UMD coverage. I'll try to get more of that going for you. Balancing work and coaching and calling hockey games is proving difficult, but I'll do my best.
2. Look for info on Red Rock Radio's updated apps soon. For now, I believe the iPhone bit works, but you can still go here and listen to games via your internet browser on any smartphone.
Now, on to business ...
Grand Forks has not been a good place for UMD in a long time. The Bulldogs are 2-7-1 in their last ten games against North Dakota in any building, but the team's history at Ralph Engelstad Arena is cover-your-eyes worthy.
UMD is 36-71-3 all-time in Grand Forks, including a 3-13-3 mark in the new Engelstad Arena, which opened for the 2001-02 season.
Perspective: I've seen UMD win two games in Clarkson's building. I've also seen UMD win two games at The Ralph. It's not something that happens often.
These are two pretty similar teams when you look at the general makeup. Each team is loaded with talented freshmen and sophomores, and some of those good players haven't quite found their stride yet in 2013-14. They have senior and sophomore goalies who have both played and have experienced varying success.
The way things are going, they probably deserve to be teams playing around the .500 mark, which both are (7-7-2 combined). If North Dakota wins and ties this weekend, the teams will have identical 4-4-2 records.
UND coach Dave Hakstol called his team "inconsistent" when I talked to him this week.
"We've done a lot of things well, and we've had time periods where we've done a lot of things poorly," he said. "I thought we were a lot better last week against Omaha."
Could this be a great chance for UMD to end a long string of poor results in Grand Forks? Senior goalie Aaron Crandall hopes so.
"I've never beat them, and that's a huge goal for me this weekend," Crandall told me. "I really want to get on the board against them, especially at The Ralph."
(Crandall is 0-3 in three career starts against North Dakota.)
This isn't the same Crandall that UMD fans saw his first three years. Rattled by inconsistency, Crandall has been fantastic as a senior. He seems much more comfortable in virtually every way. A 1.81 goals against and .925 save percentage serve as sound evidence of that fact. Also, Crandall doesn't think he's started five straight games since high school or maybe juniors. He's earned those five starts, and he's earned the right to take the first crack at North Dakota.
"I think we've played a lot better than our record is," Crandall said. "It's exciting because it's early, and obviously you're not measured on what you do early. It's what you do late."
Both teams have been elite on the penalty kill, in the top three of the nation. UMD is first (93.6 percent), and UND third (92.5).
"You just have to keep things simple, stay within the system," Hakstol said. "Bottom line is you gotta work your tail off, and our group has done that."
UMD is similar. Good kills rely on sound play from all four skaters on the ice, and sometimes the goalie has to come through. For both teams, this has been the case. Crandall has been especially sharp short-handed.
North Dakota should be ready this weekend, despite the short week of prep. Last time on home ice, UND was swept by St. Cloud State. You can bet that we'll see the best this group can give on Friday. Hopefully UMD is sharp off its own bye and can exceed that intensity level.
These teams have hooked up for some very good and often emotional hockey in recent years. For UMD to take another step in its development, it must go into The Ralph and play at least as well as it did last year. Do that, and the result from last year (loss and a tie) could be flipped, or even more than that.
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Game 8: UMD at Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One more game before the break, and despite Friday's win, look for UMD to deliver a much-improved performance in this series finale.
Ohio State is bound to be better, as well, so the Bulldogs had better step up their level of play. Faceoffs were largely non-competitive in Friday's 3-1 UMD win, and it's an area UMD must make some headway in to have a good shot at a weekend sweep.
Lines?
You know it. Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Tardy
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall - McNeely
tOSU
Niddery - Statchuk - Johnson
Gust - Dzingel - Angeli
McCormick - Lundey - Greco
Schilkey - Oddo - Szczechura
Gedig - Healey
McLean - DaSilva
Jardine - Brevig
Tomkins - Davis
Ohio State is bound to be better, as well, so the Bulldogs had better step up their level of play. Faceoffs were largely non-competitive in Friday's 3-1 UMD win, and it's an area UMD must make some headway in to have a good shot at a weekend sweep.
Lines?
You know it. Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Tardy
Sampair - Decowski - Spurrell
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall - McNeely
tOSU
Niddery - Statchuk - Johnson
Gust - Dzingel - Angeli
McCormick - Lundey - Greco
Schilkey - Oddo - Szczechura
Gedig - Healey
McLean - DaSilva
Jardine - Brevig
Tomkins - Davis
Friday, November 01, 2013
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Winning Ugly > Losing Pretty
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Friday night wasn't pretty, unless you just look at the final score.
UMD 3, Ohio State 1
The Bulldogs got outshot, lost 53 of 78 faceoffs, continued to struggle on the power play, but found a way to win a key non-conference game here Friday night.
How?
Aaron Crandall made 28 saves, including a couple big ones on Ohio State power play chances. UMD skaters blocked 19 tOSU shot attempts. And UMD's freshmen came up big.
Of eight scoring points in the game, five came from first-year Bulldogs, including all three goals. Reigning NCHC Rookie of the Month Kyle Osterberg started things off with a power-play goal in the first. Sammy Spurrell got his first UMD goal in the second, and Dominic Toninato ran his goal-scoring streak to two games (
) in the third period.
It was in no way a pretty performance for UMD. Sometimes, especially on the road in a tough environment like this, it just isn't going to be pretty.
But winning ugly is a heck of a lot better than losing pretty.
The Bulldogs were tough defensively. Everyone was in on the shot-blocking act, which was led by Derik Johnson (three) and Luke McManus (among those with two). The UMD "third" defensive pairing has been quite a find, a duo that the coaches can put out in virtually any situation and know that pucks will have a hard time getting through to whoever the goalie is. 11 of 18 skaters blocked at least one shot.
I felt like UMD's top line struggled in its new look Friday. Caleb Herbert didn't play badly in the middle. In fact, he was our best faceoff man by far, winning 12 of 21. He just didn't have a ton of help. Wingers Joe Basaraba and Austin Farley struggled to keep control of the puck, and the line just didn't look in synch. It makes some sense, considering they were just put together this week. But it can't continue much longer.
Farley has one goal and three points in seven games. We need to get him going. Same for Tony Cameranesi. The sophomore won three of 15 faceoffs Friday, and that left linemates chasing the puck all the time.
(Toninato was a garish 5-17 on the night, but one of those 17 losses came right before he scored. Alex Iafallo stripped an Ohio State player of the puck and fed Toninato for a close-in shot.)
I thought this was UMD's worst game when it came to puck possession so far. Not just because it got outshot. There were too many times where tOSU won a draw clean, and it led to Bulldog players chasing the puck up the rink. UMD couldn't take ownership of the neutral zone like it has at times this season because it could never hold on to the biscuit long enough. The Bulldogs did a fantastic job clogging lanes defensively, and for as much chasing as they did, I thought it was very good they somehow avoided constantly icing the puck.
But the overall possession numbers couldn't have been as good as they've been, and UMD can't keep playing this way and expect success.
There are a lot of guys who have to get going. Cameranesi has more PIMs (nine) than points (three). Farley has just the three points. We know Andy Welinski can be more of a factor.
But while these three sophomores try to get things clicking, we'll gladly let the freshmen carry the load. Osterberg and Iafallo each have five points to lead the team.
Oh, and Crandall has a 1.51 goals against and .935 save percentage. The team save percentage is up to .930. That's a good way to win hockey games while the offense solves itself.
UMD improved to 3-1-1 in non-conference play, obviously a huge component -- like it or not -- in the Pairwise.
Oh, and we saw an actual, honest diving penalty. Toninato went for it late in the first period. I didn't get a good look at it from 4,877 feet away like we are in this building, but word is it was a legitimate call. I've never understood why officials don't call it more often. Even if it isn't always easy to call, it's something that could really benefit the game if they did roll it out more. Imagine the hesitation we'd see from players when they thought about diving, then thought about putting their team short-handed with such a dumb play. As it stands, that threat doesn't exist enough to be relevant.
In the NCHC, Western Michigan rallied from 2-0 down to beat Colorado College in overtime, 3-2, in Kalamazoo. Archie Skalbeck and Alex Roos had CC up 2-0 in the first before Justin Kovacs and Jordan Oesterle leveled for the Broncos later in the frame. It stayed 2-2 before Kyle Novak scored in overtime, making a winner out of Frank Slubowski.
St. Cloud State scored three in the third to rally past North Dakota 3-2. Drake Caggiula scored for UND in the first, which is awesome after he was stretchered out of the exhibition against the Under 18s on Saturday. But Kevin Gravel, Kalle Kossila, and Andrew Prochno scored for SCSU in the third. Mark MacMillan got one late for UND, but it wasn't enough to keep Ryan Faragher (29 saves) and the Huskies unbeaten.
Josh Archibald got his fifth of the year in overtime to lead Nebraska Omaha past Denver 3-2 in Denver. The Pioneers had leveled with 4:02 to go on a Joey LaLeggia goal. Ryan Massa stopped 33 shots as UNO won its NCHC opener.
Non-conference, Miami shut out Canisius 3-0. Alex Wideman scored twice for the RedHawks.
The UMD women had 53 shots on goal against St. Cloud State Friday. Scored one goal in a 4-1 loss. The UWS women had 29 shots on goal against Hamline. Scored 12 goals in a 12-1 win. I chuckled at that contrast, though surely Shannon Miller didn't find it funny.
53 shots will win UMD more than it loses UMD, so it's probably too early in the season to get overly concerned.
UMD 3, Ohio State 1
The Bulldogs got outshot, lost 53 of 78 faceoffs, continued to struggle on the power play, but found a way to win a key non-conference game here Friday night.
How?
Aaron Crandall made 28 saves, including a couple big ones on Ohio State power play chances. UMD skaters blocked 19 tOSU shot attempts. And UMD's freshmen came up big.
Of eight scoring points in the game, five came from first-year Bulldogs, including all three goals. Reigning NCHC Rookie of the Month Kyle Osterberg started things off with a power-play goal in the first. Sammy Spurrell got his first UMD goal in the second, and Dominic Toninato ran his goal-scoring streak to two games (
) in the third period.It was in no way a pretty performance for UMD. Sometimes, especially on the road in a tough environment like this, it just isn't going to be pretty.
But winning ugly is a heck of a lot better than losing pretty.
The Bulldogs were tough defensively. Everyone was in on the shot-blocking act, which was led by Derik Johnson (three) and Luke McManus (among those with two). The UMD "third" defensive pairing has been quite a find, a duo that the coaches can put out in virtually any situation and know that pucks will have a hard time getting through to whoever the goalie is. 11 of 18 skaters blocked at least one shot.
I felt like UMD's top line struggled in its new look Friday. Caleb Herbert didn't play badly in the middle. In fact, he was our best faceoff man by far, winning 12 of 21. He just didn't have a ton of help. Wingers Joe Basaraba and Austin Farley struggled to keep control of the puck, and the line just didn't look in synch. It makes some sense, considering they were just put together this week. But it can't continue much longer.
Farley has one goal and three points in seven games. We need to get him going. Same for Tony Cameranesi. The sophomore won three of 15 faceoffs Friday, and that left linemates chasing the puck all the time.
(Toninato was a garish 5-17 on the night, but one of those 17 losses came right before he scored. Alex Iafallo stripped an Ohio State player of the puck and fed Toninato for a close-in shot.)
I thought this was UMD's worst game when it came to puck possession so far. Not just because it got outshot. There were too many times where tOSU won a draw clean, and it led to Bulldog players chasing the puck up the rink. UMD couldn't take ownership of the neutral zone like it has at times this season because it could never hold on to the biscuit long enough. The Bulldogs did a fantastic job clogging lanes defensively, and for as much chasing as they did, I thought it was very good they somehow avoided constantly icing the puck.
But the overall possession numbers couldn't have been as good as they've been, and UMD can't keep playing this way and expect success.
There are a lot of guys who have to get going. Cameranesi has more PIMs (nine) than points (three). Farley has just the three points. We know Andy Welinski can be more of a factor.
But while these three sophomores try to get things clicking, we'll gladly let the freshmen carry the load. Osterberg and Iafallo each have five points to lead the team.
Oh, and Crandall has a 1.51 goals against and .935 save percentage. The team save percentage is up to .930. That's a good way to win hockey games while the offense solves itself.
UMD improved to 3-1-1 in non-conference play, obviously a huge component -- like it or not -- in the Pairwise.
Oh, and we saw an actual, honest diving penalty. Toninato went for it late in the first period. I didn't get a good look at it from 4,877 feet away like we are in this building, but word is it was a legitimate call. I've never understood why officials don't call it more often. Even if it isn't always easy to call, it's something that could really benefit the game if they did roll it out more. Imagine the hesitation we'd see from players when they thought about diving, then thought about putting their team short-handed with such a dumb play. As it stands, that threat doesn't exist enough to be relevant.
******
In the NCHC, Western Michigan rallied from 2-0 down to beat Colorado College in overtime, 3-2, in Kalamazoo. Archie Skalbeck and Alex Roos had CC up 2-0 in the first before Justin Kovacs and Jordan Oesterle leveled for the Broncos later in the frame. It stayed 2-2 before Kyle Novak scored in overtime, making a winner out of Frank Slubowski.
St. Cloud State scored three in the third to rally past North Dakota 3-2. Drake Caggiula scored for UND in the first, which is awesome after he was stretchered out of the exhibition against the Under 18s on Saturday. But Kevin Gravel, Kalle Kossila, and Andrew Prochno scored for SCSU in the third. Mark MacMillan got one late for UND, but it wasn't enough to keep Ryan Faragher (29 saves) and the Huskies unbeaten.
Josh Archibald got his fifth of the year in overtime to lead Nebraska Omaha past Denver 3-2 in Denver. The Pioneers had leveled with 4:02 to go on a Joey LaLeggia goal. Ryan Massa stopped 33 shots as UNO won its NCHC opener.
Non-conference, Miami shut out Canisius 3-0. Alex Wideman scored twice for the RedHawks.
The UMD women had 53 shots on goal against St. Cloud State Friday. Scored one goal in a 4-1 loss. The UWS women had 29 shots on goal against Hamline. Scored 12 goals in a 12-1 win. I chuckled at that contrast, though surely Shannon Miller didn't find it funny.
53 shots will win UMD more than it loses UMD, so it's probably too early in the season to get overly concerned.
Game 7: UMD at Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Bulldogs haven't played particularly well the last two Fridays, so a fast start is highly encouraged as this non-conference series opens up in B1G Country.
Honestly, it's weird seeing the Big Ten logo so prominent inside a hockey arena. It's one thing at a place like this to see it associated with basketball, a sport that shares this building (and draws a few more fans, I'm told). It's another to see it on the ice, something we haven't dealt with before.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Herbert - Basaraba
Osterberg - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Spurrell
Sampair - Decowski - Young
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall - McNeely
tOSU
McCormick - Lundey - Szczechura
Gust - Dzingel - Angeli
Lippincott - Oddo - Schilkey
Niddery - Statchuk - Johnson
Gedig - Dalrymple
McLean - Healey
Cristofoli - Jardine
Tomkins - Olson - Davis
Honestly, it's weird seeing the Big Ten logo so prominent inside a hockey arena. It's one thing at a place like this to see it associated with basketball, a sport that shares this building (and draws a few more fans, I'm told). It's another to see it on the ice, something we haven't dealt with before.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Herbert - Basaraba
Osterberg - Cameranesi - Krause
Iafallo - Toninato - Spurrell
Sampair - Decowski - Young
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall - McNeely
tOSU
McCormick - Lundey - Szczechura
Gust - Dzingel - Angeli
Lippincott - Oddo - Schilkey
Niddery - Statchuk - Johnson
Gedig - Dalrymple
McLean - Healey
Cristofoli - Jardine
Tomkins - Olson - Davis
Reunion of Sorts Steals UMD-Ohio State Spotlight
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Whether it's a WCHA title, a national championship, or an individual milestone like his 200th career coaching victory, Scott Sandelin is always quick to say that it isn't about Scott Sandelin.
So it wasn't a surprise to hear Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik remind me that this weekend isn't about Steve Rohlik.
These guys are die-hard hockey coaches. They are as intense and as driven as anyone I've worked with in the sport, and their success in the business is no surprise. The success of their teams on the ice means an awful lot to them, and no one goes into a game more prepared than they do.
They also get it. This isn't about them, no matter how hard we may try.
The storyline this week is simple. Rohlik and associate coach Brett Larson are both former UMD assistants. Rohlik recruited a big chunk of UMD's 2011 national championship team. Larson had a hand in bringing in many of the current players, along with serving as an assistant coach during that magical 2011 run.
The guy who hired them at UMD is still there. Speaking to the Duluth News Tribune this week, Larson was exceptionally complimentary of Sandelin's impact on his career.
While this "reunion" is taking many of the headlines into this weekend, it isn't the story.
That'll happen on the ice, where UMD looks to figure out what has been a bit of a Friday night slumber the previous two weeks. The Bulldogs were not sharp for 40 minutes of a 3-1 loss at Colorado College two weeks ago, or of a 3-2 loss to Notre Dame last week.
"Our first third of the weekend, the first two periods, were not as good as the last four," Sandelin said of the Notre Dame weekend. "We gotta figure that out."
Rohlik, who calls his Ohio State team a work in progress, says his team also has to "figure out how to play 60 minutes."
Whichever team does that this weekend will clearly have a leg up.
Ohio State has some guys. Ryan Dzingel has six assists and seven points in six games. Darik Angeli has four goals. Nick Oddo has a point per game so far, and Alex Szczechura is off to a good start. Rohlik knows his team can score, and they should test UMD's young defense and a goaltending group that had questions surrounding it before the season started.
That goaltending has been a forgotten storyline with this team so far. UMD's team save percentage was unacceptably below .900 last season. It's .922 through six games. Matt McNeely and Aaron Crandall have combined for a 1.68 goals against, with McNeely starting three straight before Crandall started three straight.
In my opinion, Crandall has been the better of the two. He's seeing the puck well right now, and he's doing a good job playing aggressively in goal and making sure he gets the space he needs to make saves.
Ohio State's goaltending hasn't been as good. Sophomore Collin Olson is off to a horrid start, and so far it's been freshman Matt Tomkins carrying the load. tOSU's only got a save percentage of .868 so far, so neither has been great, but Rohlik said they're seeing improvement.
It could be a tough weekend for UMD in another way. The Bulldogs are accustomed to quality atmospheres in buildings they go to on the road. This will not be one of them. Value City Arena seats 17,500, but when we dropped off the players' equipment Thursday night, the upper deck was already blocked off by curtains. The Buckeyes' game Tuesday against Bowling Green drew a paltry 1,782, and even if those folks are happy to be at the game and make a lot of noise, it isn't much of an atmosphere to play in.
Look for UMD to utilize quick shifts early in the game to try to get everyone involved quickly. The sooner someone throws a big hit or makes a big play, the sooner the bench comes alive. The upshot is that the Bulldogs have some experience in these situations (hello, Anchorage). It shouldn't be a big deal, but I've seen it affect teams before. When playing games you expect to win, you can't afford to get tripped up by something relatively minor like this.
I'll be back later Friday with line charts once we get to the building.
So it wasn't a surprise to hear Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik remind me that this weekend isn't about Steve Rohlik.
These guys are die-hard hockey coaches. They are as intense and as driven as anyone I've worked with in the sport, and their success in the business is no surprise. The success of their teams on the ice means an awful lot to them, and no one goes into a game more prepared than they do.
They also get it. This isn't about them, no matter how hard we may try.
The storyline this week is simple. Rohlik and associate coach Brett Larson are both former UMD assistants. Rohlik recruited a big chunk of UMD's 2011 national championship team. Larson had a hand in bringing in many of the current players, along with serving as an assistant coach during that magical 2011 run.
The guy who hired them at UMD is still there. Speaking to the Duluth News Tribune this week, Larson was exceptionally complimentary of Sandelin's impact on his career.
“I owe my coaching career to Scott Sandelin. I was kind of an out-of-the-box pick when he hired me. I had just finished playing and didn’t have a ton of coaching experience. Without him taking me on at UMD, I’m not where I’m at right now."
While this "reunion" is taking many of the headlines into this weekend, it isn't the story.
That'll happen on the ice, where UMD looks to figure out what has been a bit of a Friday night slumber the previous two weeks. The Bulldogs were not sharp for 40 minutes of a 3-1 loss at Colorado College two weeks ago, or of a 3-2 loss to Notre Dame last week.
"Our first third of the weekend, the first two periods, were not as good as the last four," Sandelin said of the Notre Dame weekend. "We gotta figure that out."
Rohlik, who calls his Ohio State team a work in progress, says his team also has to "figure out how to play 60 minutes."
Whichever team does that this weekend will clearly have a leg up.
Ohio State has some guys. Ryan Dzingel has six assists and seven points in six games. Darik Angeli has four goals. Nick Oddo has a point per game so far, and Alex Szczechura is off to a good start. Rohlik knows his team can score, and they should test UMD's young defense and a goaltending group that had questions surrounding it before the season started.
That goaltending has been a forgotten storyline with this team so far. UMD's team save percentage was unacceptably below .900 last season. It's .922 through six games. Matt McNeely and Aaron Crandall have combined for a 1.68 goals against, with McNeely starting three straight before Crandall started three straight.
In my opinion, Crandall has been the better of the two. He's seeing the puck well right now, and he's doing a good job playing aggressively in goal and making sure he gets the space he needs to make saves.
Ohio State's goaltending hasn't been as good. Sophomore Collin Olson is off to a horrid start, and so far it's been freshman Matt Tomkins carrying the load. tOSU's only got a save percentage of .868 so far, so neither has been great, but Rohlik said they're seeing improvement.
It could be a tough weekend for UMD in another way. The Bulldogs are accustomed to quality atmospheres in buildings they go to on the road. This will not be one of them. Value City Arena seats 17,500, but when we dropped off the players' equipment Thursday night, the upper deck was already blocked off by curtains. The Buckeyes' game Tuesday against Bowling Green drew a paltry 1,782, and even if those folks are happy to be at the game and make a lot of noise, it isn't much of an atmosphere to play in.
Look for UMD to utilize quick shifts early in the game to try to get everyone involved quickly. The sooner someone throws a big hit or makes a big play, the sooner the bench comes alive. The upshot is that the Bulldogs have some experience in these situations (hello, Anchorage). It shouldn't be a big deal, but I've seen it affect teams before. When playing games you expect to win, you can't afford to get tripped up by something relatively minor like this.
I'll be back later Friday with line charts once we get to the building.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Game 6: Notre Dame at UMD
UMD needs to play 60 minutes in this game, not 50. Also, stay out of the penalty box, even if it means not getting power plays of your own.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Spurrell
Iafallo - Toninato - Young
Sampair - Decowski - Krause
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
ND
Costello - Fogarty - Rust
Lucia - Tynan - Wuthrich
Voran - Gerths - Peterson
Herr - Hinostroza - Schneider
Taker - Johns
Lind - Russo
Johnson - Ostlie
Summerhays - Rogers - Katunar
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Spurrell
Iafallo - Toninato - Young
Sampair - Decowski - Krause
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
ND
Costello - Fogarty - Rust
Lucia - Tynan - Wuthrich
Voran - Gerths - Peterson
Herr - Hinostroza - Schneider
Taker - Johns
Lind - Russo
Johnson - Ostlie
Summerhays - Rogers - Katunar
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Irish Eyes Smile After Non-Conference Win
Yes, I had to go there.
This will be a quick blog. I have errands this morning and a hockey practice to run this afternoon. But Friday was so interesting that I couldn't ignore it completely.
Not often that you see two ejections in a game, with neither of them being for a hit from behind nor contact to the head.
Instead, UMD junior Caleb Herbert was booted late in the first period after being found guilty of spearing Notre Dame center T.J. Tynan in his happy place. Officials used video review to confirm the guilty party on the call. That is within the confines of NCAA video replay protocol, which allows officials to call a penalty and then use video review to confirm the player who committed the infraction. In this case, a linesman made the call, and a referee looked quickly at the video to make sure they had the right player.
But the truly bizarre happened in the third period.
UMD junior co-captain Adam Krause was checked into the Notre Dame goal crease. On his way out of the crease, Irish goalie Steven Summerhays grabbed Krause by the facemask -- from behind -- and pulled him back. After the ensuing skirmish, the officials convened. They sent Andy Ryan of Notre Dame and a loudly protesting Krause to the box for matching roughing calls (conveniently missing the cross-check that sent Krause flying into the crease to start with). They then ejected Summerhays for facemasking.
You read that correctly. A goalie got ejected. Not for fighting or for a hit to the head. No, for facemasking.
Freshman Kevin Catunar came in, and he played pretty well. In my opinion, UMD didn't do enough to test the glove of the 6-5 youngster, and his pads cover a lot of space since he's 77 inches tall and everything.
But this wasn't a bad effort by UMD at all. I'm sure the Bulldogs would like to get a good chunk of the second period back, and they have to find a way to stay out of the box against these guys. But five on five, UMD proved it can play with one of the best teams in the land.
Notre Dame is legit, people. Among the skaters are eight seniors who have seen virtually everything there is to see -- last night proved you never have seen everything. And Jeff Jackson knows he can play those eight seniors in any situation he wants. Tynan (two assists) has a bit of "rat" to him. He's a smart, crafty, two-way player who might be better on the penalty kill than he is offensively. David Gerths, Bryan Rust, Shayne Taker, and many others have talent and loads of experience playing high-end Division I hockey.
What am I saying? Notre Dame has everything Notre Dame needs to make it to Philadelphia next April. And it's probably going to take an upset or a rash of injuries to prevent it.
That team that has everything got plenty of fits from a young UMD team that needs to grow on the blueline, and it needed some bounces to win 3-2 on Friday. It's a good sign for UMD, no question. The Bulldogs have some very talented pieces of their own.
Cal Decowski had a great night, I thought, after Herbert was ejected. Unlike the Tech home game where Dominic Toninato was ejected and it seemed it took the air out of everyone, it seemed that some guys tried to take advantage of the extra ice time available with Herbert out. Decowski and Krause were two examples of that. Andy Welinski struggled early, but got better with the puck in the last 40 minutes, and he threw a couple nice hits in the defensive zone. Freshman Carson Soucy continues to show himself as a heck of a find by the UMD coaching staff, but he had more struggles Friday than he had in the first four games.
For now, they have to solve the blue line. Notre Dame did a very good job of putting pressure on the defensemen, and doing so forced too many turnovers by the home team. UMD has to deal with those puck management problems on Saturday to avoid a sweep. I'd expect a little bit of jumbling of personnel, though nothing major with the lines or pairings. Remember, UMD only has 14 forwards and eight eligible defensemen (they have nine rostered, but St. Scholastica transfer Brenden Kotyk can't play this season per NCAA rules). It's a long season, and the guys who sat out last night have to be kept fresh so they're available in case of injury.
The NCHC went 2-4 in non-conference play Friday. St. Cloud State (at Colgate) and Denver (vs Niagara) both won, while Colorado College (at Clarkson), Miami (at Providence), Omaha (vs Cornell), and UMD all lost.
This will be a quick blog. I have errands this morning and a hockey practice to run this afternoon. But Friday was so interesting that I couldn't ignore it completely.
Not often that you see two ejections in a game, with neither of them being for a hit from behind nor contact to the head.
Instead, UMD junior Caleb Herbert was booted late in the first period after being found guilty of spearing Notre Dame center T.J. Tynan in his happy place. Officials used video review to confirm the guilty party on the call. That is within the confines of NCAA video replay protocol, which allows officials to call a penalty and then use video review to confirm the player who committed the infraction. In this case, a linesman made the call, and a referee looked quickly at the video to make sure they had the right player.
But the truly bizarre happened in the third period.
UMD junior co-captain Adam Krause was checked into the Notre Dame goal crease. On his way out of the crease, Irish goalie Steven Summerhays grabbed Krause by the facemask -- from behind -- and pulled him back. After the ensuing skirmish, the officials convened. They sent Andy Ryan of Notre Dame and a loudly protesting Krause to the box for matching roughing calls (conveniently missing the cross-check that sent Krause flying into the crease to start with). They then ejected Summerhays for facemasking.
You read that correctly. A goalie got ejected. Not for fighting or for a hit to the head. No, for facemasking.
Freshman Kevin Catunar came in, and he played pretty well. In my opinion, UMD didn't do enough to test the glove of the 6-5 youngster, and his pads cover a lot of space since he's 77 inches tall and everything.
But this wasn't a bad effort by UMD at all. I'm sure the Bulldogs would like to get a good chunk of the second period back, and they have to find a way to stay out of the box against these guys. But five on five, UMD proved it can play with one of the best teams in the land.
Notre Dame is legit, people. Among the skaters are eight seniors who have seen virtually everything there is to see -- last night proved you never have seen everything. And Jeff Jackson knows he can play those eight seniors in any situation he wants. Tynan (two assists) has a bit of "rat" to him. He's a smart, crafty, two-way player who might be better on the penalty kill than he is offensively. David Gerths, Bryan Rust, Shayne Taker, and many others have talent and loads of experience playing high-end Division I hockey.
What am I saying? Notre Dame has everything Notre Dame needs to make it to Philadelphia next April. And it's probably going to take an upset or a rash of injuries to prevent it.
That team that has everything got plenty of fits from a young UMD team that needs to grow on the blueline, and it needed some bounces to win 3-2 on Friday. It's a good sign for UMD, no question. The Bulldogs have some very talented pieces of their own.
Cal Decowski had a great night, I thought, after Herbert was ejected. Unlike the Tech home game where Dominic Toninato was ejected and it seemed it took the air out of everyone, it seemed that some guys tried to take advantage of the extra ice time available with Herbert out. Decowski and Krause were two examples of that. Andy Welinski struggled early, but got better with the puck in the last 40 minutes, and he threw a couple nice hits in the defensive zone. Freshman Carson Soucy continues to show himself as a heck of a find by the UMD coaching staff, but he had more struggles Friday than he had in the first four games.
For now, they have to solve the blue line. Notre Dame did a very good job of putting pressure on the defensemen, and doing so forced too many turnovers by the home team. UMD has to deal with those puck management problems on Saturday to avoid a sweep. I'd expect a little bit of jumbling of personnel, though nothing major with the lines or pairings. Remember, UMD only has 14 forwards and eight eligible defensemen (they have nine rostered, but St. Scholastica transfer Brenden Kotyk can't play this season per NCAA rules). It's a long season, and the guys who sat out last night have to be kept fresh so they're available in case of injury.
******
The NCHC went 2-4 in non-conference play Friday. St. Cloud State (at Colgate) and Denver (vs Niagara) both won, while Colorado College (at Clarkson), Miami (at Providence), Omaha (vs Cornell), and UMD all lost.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Game 5: Notre Dame at UMD
I ran into Notre Dame's video and other things guru, Nick Siergiej, a former UMD staffer, on my way into the rink. After sharing our complaints about the officiating (of course) so far this season, we agreed that games like this are usually a lot of fun.
This job is usually fun, mind you, but these types of games are much more fun. Notre Dame and UMD have produced some quality hockey in the last five meetings, going back to the 2011 Frozen Four. These are two programs that are compatible, as I like to say, and this is a rivalry that should continue.
(It will. UMD is in South Bend both for the IceBreaker next year and a two-game series in 2015-16.)
Anyway, on to the opener of this series. Hopefully it isn't a penalty-filled clunker that ends 3-2 with a goal off someone's rear end.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Young
Sampair - Decowski - Krause
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
ND
Costello - Fogarty - Rust
Lucia - Tynan - Wuthrich
Herr - Gerths - Voran
DiPauli - Hinostroza - Schneider
Taker - Johns
Lind - Russo
Johnson - Ryan
Summerhays - Rogers - Katunar
This job is usually fun, mind you, but these types of games are much more fun. Notre Dame and UMD have produced some quality hockey in the last five meetings, going back to the 2011 Frozen Four. These are two programs that are compatible, as I like to say, and this is a rivalry that should continue.
(It will. UMD is in South Bend both for the IceBreaker next year and a two-game series in 2015-16.)
Anyway, on to the opener of this series. Hopefully it isn't a penalty-filled clunker that ends 3-2 with a goal off someone's rear end.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Iafallo - Toninato - Young
Sampair - Decowski - Krause
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons
ND
Costello - Fogarty - Rust
Lucia - Tynan - Wuthrich
Herr - Gerths - Voran
DiPauli - Hinostroza - Schneider
Taker - Johns
Lind - Russo
Johnson - Ryan
Summerhays - Rogers - Katunar
UMD Faces Latest in Long Series of Non-Conference Tests
I'm not a fan of hyperbole, but look at UMD's non-conference schedule:
vs Michigan Tech
vs Notre Dame
at Ohio State
at Minnesota
vs Minnesota State and either Minnesota or St. Cloud State (North Star College Cup)
There aren't a lot of programs which can boast an out-of-league schedule this difficult. It'll be good for a young Bulldog team.
That said, the best of these tests probably comes this weekend, when Notre Dame visits Amsoil Arena.
Last week, UMD rebounded from a 3-1 loss to Colorado College to pick up a dominant 5-1 win on Saturday in Colorado Springs. You could see a bit of a turnaround in the Bulldogs' game in the third period Friday, even though it ended up not being enough.
"We weren't real happy with that effort (Friday), and that's unacceptable," junior forward Justin Crandall said this week. "We knew what we needed to do Saturday."
To be perfectly blunt, UMD kicked the crap out of Colorado College Saturday, in a way I haven't seen a UMD team do to anyone on the road in my eight-plus years doing this. That game was never close in terms of puck possession, scoring chances, or offensive zone time. UMD had 71 shot attempts to 36, 44 shots on goal to 14, and outshot CC 59-20 over the last four periods of the two-game series.
"I think it was our best 60 minutes for sure," head coach Scott Sandelin said. "Our guys controlled the play. I thought they played very hungry to win the game."
Wins like that are fun, even when followed by 4:30am wakeup calls and 5:30am bus rides through the Colorado mountains.
But now the Bulldogs have to follow that strong performance with more of the same. And there will be significant resistance this weekend.
Notre Dame is in town for a pair of games starting Friday. The teams have split weekend series the last two years. The Fighting Irish are 4-0 and ranked second in both national polls, having outscored foes 17-5 so far this season. They are eight-for-40 on the power play.
(You read that right. 40 power plays in two games.)
Notre Dame has experience up and down its lineup. Its leading scorer through four games is a freshman who plays on the fourth line (in fairness, Vince Hinostroza has seen power play minutes and contributed there). Robbie Russo is one of the best defensemen in the country, and Steven Summerhays has a .946 save percentage through four starts.
"They have a lot of seniors," Sandelin said. "There aren't a lot of new faces in their lineup, so they've got a lot of experience."
Traditionally, Notre Dame is a pretty difficult team to play against. In addition to Russo, there are big bangers like Shayne Taker and Kevin Lind back there. Sophomore Andy Ryan has shown promise, too.
Russo is the key to Notre Dame's lethal power play unit. He quarterbacks the top group, and he loves to have the puck. A big key for UMD will be to deny him good looks and force someone else to carry the load. It's much easier said than done, since Russo will go just about anywhere on the ice to get the puck on his stick.
UMD can attack this team with speed, and I'd expect that to be a big advantage for the Bulldogs if they're ultimately successful this weekend.
Staying out of the box would be good, too. I'm actually somewhat confident that Notre Dame wouldn't mind some five-on-five hockey after seeing 40 power plays and 24 penalty kills over 240 minutes of hockey.
Notre Dame's numbers are gaudy, but the Irish have yet to trail this season. Not even for a second. Maybe UMD can rattle the proverbial cages and get a lead at some point. Again, I'm somewhat confident that Jeff Jackson won't think it's the worst thing to happen if his team falls behind. Over 34 games, it's inevitable. Might as well see how the crew responds.
These are UMD's last home games until December, so I'm expecting good and enthusiastic crowds for what should be a very good, fast-paced series.
vs Michigan Tech
vs Notre Dame
at Ohio State
at Minnesota
vs Minnesota State and either Minnesota or St. Cloud State (North Star College Cup)
There aren't a lot of programs which can boast an out-of-league schedule this difficult. It'll be good for a young Bulldog team.
That said, the best of these tests probably comes this weekend, when Notre Dame visits Amsoil Arena.
Last week, UMD rebounded from a 3-1 loss to Colorado College to pick up a dominant 5-1 win on Saturday in Colorado Springs. You could see a bit of a turnaround in the Bulldogs' game in the third period Friday, even though it ended up not being enough.
"We weren't real happy with that effort (Friday), and that's unacceptable," junior forward Justin Crandall said this week. "We knew what we needed to do Saturday."
To be perfectly blunt, UMD kicked the crap out of Colorado College Saturday, in a way I haven't seen a UMD team do to anyone on the road in my eight-plus years doing this. That game was never close in terms of puck possession, scoring chances, or offensive zone time. UMD had 71 shot attempts to 36, 44 shots on goal to 14, and outshot CC 59-20 over the last four periods of the two-game series.
"I think it was our best 60 minutes for sure," head coach Scott Sandelin said. "Our guys controlled the play. I thought they played very hungry to win the game."
Wins like that are fun, even when followed by 4:30am wakeup calls and 5:30am bus rides through the Colorado mountains.
But now the Bulldogs have to follow that strong performance with more of the same. And there will be significant resistance this weekend.
Notre Dame is in town for a pair of games starting Friday. The teams have split weekend series the last two years. The Fighting Irish are 4-0 and ranked second in both national polls, having outscored foes 17-5 so far this season. They are eight-for-40 on the power play.
(You read that right. 40 power plays in two games.)
Notre Dame has experience up and down its lineup. Its leading scorer through four games is a freshman who plays on the fourth line (in fairness, Vince Hinostroza has seen power play minutes and contributed there). Robbie Russo is one of the best defensemen in the country, and Steven Summerhays has a .946 save percentage through four starts.
"They have a lot of seniors," Sandelin said. "There aren't a lot of new faces in their lineup, so they've got a lot of experience."
Traditionally, Notre Dame is a pretty difficult team to play against. In addition to Russo, there are big bangers like Shayne Taker and Kevin Lind back there. Sophomore Andy Ryan has shown promise, too.
Russo is the key to Notre Dame's lethal power play unit. He quarterbacks the top group, and he loves to have the puck. A big key for UMD will be to deny him good looks and force someone else to carry the load. It's much easier said than done, since Russo will go just about anywhere on the ice to get the puck on his stick.
UMD can attack this team with speed, and I'd expect that to be a big advantage for the Bulldogs if they're ultimately successful this weekend.
Staying out of the box would be good, too. I'm actually somewhat confident that Notre Dame wouldn't mind some five-on-five hockey after seeing 40 power plays and 24 penalty kills over 240 minutes of hockey.
Notre Dame's numbers are gaudy, but the Irish have yet to trail this season. Not even for a second. Maybe UMD can rattle the proverbial cages and get a lead at some point. Again, I'm somewhat confident that Jeff Jackson won't think it's the worst thing to happen if his team falls behind. Over 34 games, it's inevitable. Might as well see how the crew responds.
These are UMD's last home games until December, so I'm expecting good and enthusiastic crowds for what should be a very good, fast-paced series.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Game 4: UMD at Colorado College
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- After a rough start and an eventual 3-1 loss to Colorado College Friday, UMD tries to bounce back in the series finale.
After this game, UMD is out of conference play and on a bye, so the Bulldogs don't return to NCHC play until Nov. 15-16 at North Dakota. The NCHC home opener isn't until December.
And that's it for this year's schedule quirk. Happens to everyone.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Iafallo - Toninato - Young
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Krause
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron)
CC
Krushelnyski - Bradley - Taft
Fejes - Skalbeck - Roos
Maric - Collett - Hanson
Wamsganz - Rothstein - Heil
Stoykewich - Olofsson
Harstad - McDermott
Slavin - Young
Thorimbert - Lockwood
After this game, UMD is out of conference play and on a bye, so the Bulldogs don't return to NCHC play until Nov. 15-16 at North Dakota. The NCHC home opener isn't until December.
And that's it for this year's schedule quirk. Happens to everyone.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Iafallo - Toninato - Young
Osterberg - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Decowski - Krause
Soucy - Welinski
Smith - Raskob
Johnson - McManus
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron)
CC
Krushelnyski - Bradley - Taft
Fejes - Skalbeck - Roos
Maric - Collett - Hanson
Wamsganz - Rothstein - Heil
Stoykewich - Olofsson
Harstad - McDermott
Slavin - Young
Thorimbert - Lockwood
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Surges Late, Can't Beat Thorimbert in First Loss
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- You know it's a bad night when I leave my laptop cord in the broadcast booth.
Wasn't great on the ice, either, as UMD fell 3-1 to Colorado College in front of a sellout crowd at the World Arena.
The Bulldogs struggled from the outset Friday, unable to generate consistent offensive zone pressure or get a lot of pucks or bodies to the net. UMD had eight shots in each of the first two periods, but few memorable scoring chances.
The third period was better, but UMD entered it down 2-0 and couldn't equalize before a CC power play goal past the halfway mark of the period iced the game.
Early in the game, UMD didn't appear to be in any kind of synch. Austin Farley uncharacteristically passed up a couple great shooting chances in favor of ill-advised passes that led to UMD not getting shots at all in those particular sequences. Offensive zone rushes were killed by bad passes or bad puck decisions.
These things happen early in the season. Was a bit surprising to see the top line -- Tony Cameranesi, Joe Basaraba, and Austin Farley -- struggle with the puck a bit, since they were together last year. But I'm not at all shocked the second line is struggling with two freshmen and a guy in Caleb Herbert who played center last year.
UMD's third and fourth lines were generally non-factors in this game. Justin Crandall had his moments, but this group as a whole didn't get nearly enough offense going and just struggled to get pucks to the net. When it finally did, CC goalie Josh Thorimbert stood his ground nicely, making 14 of his 30 saves in the third period as the Bulldogs surged. It just wasn't enough.
The Bulldogs have done pretty well with puck possession, even in this game, where faceoffs were 36-29 the wrong way. That's a big reason I'm not concerned at this point in time.
Also, the team played very well in the third period Friday. They got pucks to the net, bodies to the net, and generated some consistent pressure. Were it not for the power play goal (Andy Welinski had to take the penalty he took), those last couple minutes would have been really interesting.
Scoring is an issue, but if puck possession isn't a huge issue, scoring will come around. As we saw last Saturday with Tech, if puck possession becomes a problem, it's next to impossible to score. Two games where goalies were great against UMD isn't anything meaningful. If it keeps up, we could have an issue.
But the fact that UMD isn't chasing the puck up and down the rink is a good thing. It's tougher to turn around puck possession issues than it is to turn around scoring issues. Coaches like to talk about "bearing down" in front of the net. UMD has to do that. Pucks are there to be banged into the net. It's simply a matter of someone taking advantage of the opportunities.
There is zero reason for panic at this point. For that reason, I don't expect huge lineup changes Saturday. UMD might tweak the bottom two lines to try to get a spark, and you might see a change on defense or in goal, where Aaron Crandall hasn't played yet. That isn't a shot at Matt McNeely, but it might benefit the sophomore to watch a game right now after playing three in a row. A .923 save percentage through three games is impressive, so I don't think that's the problem.
But don't look for much more change than that.
Now watch UMD throw the players' numbers into a hat and re-draw everything.
North Dakota won the first game in NCHC history, beating Miami 4-2. Four different players scored for UND, and goalie Zane Gothberg made 35 saves on 37 shots for the win. North Dakota led 3-0 in the second before the RedHawks scored twice in the middle stanza. Nick Mattson's goal with seven-plus minutes to play iced it for UND.
Nebraska Omaha won non-conference at Northern Michigan, 2-1. Ryan Walters and Brock Montpetit lit the lamp for the Mavericks, with Montpetit's third period tally proving to be the game-winner. Kirk Thompson stopped 28 of 29 Wildcat shots for UNO, which improved to 2-1.
At the Brice Alaska Goal Rush, Western Michigan broke its season-long shutout streak early and routed Alaska Anchorage 6-2. Shane Berschbach scored twice for the Broncos, while Josh Pitt had a goal and an assist. Frank Slubowski got the win in goal. Also, Denver blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 overtime loss to host Alaska. Cody Kunyk tied the game in the third for the Nanooks, then Garrick Perry scored in the final 30 seconds of overtime to win it. Denver had held opponents scoreless for the first 159 minutes and change this season before UAF scored in the last minute of the second period Friday to get on the board. Opponents flip-flop Saturday, with Denver battling UAA and Western Michigan playing Alaska.
Also, the Minnesota women scored three in the third to pull away from UMD 4-0 at Amsoil Arena. The Gophers have now won 54 games in a row.
Wasn't great on the ice, either, as UMD fell 3-1 to Colorado College in front of a sellout crowd at the World Arena.
The Bulldogs struggled from the outset Friday, unable to generate consistent offensive zone pressure or get a lot of pucks or bodies to the net. UMD had eight shots in each of the first two periods, but few memorable scoring chances.
The third period was better, but UMD entered it down 2-0 and couldn't equalize before a CC power play goal past the halfway mark of the period iced the game.
Early in the game, UMD didn't appear to be in any kind of synch. Austin Farley uncharacteristically passed up a couple great shooting chances in favor of ill-advised passes that led to UMD not getting shots at all in those particular sequences. Offensive zone rushes were killed by bad passes or bad puck decisions.
These things happen early in the season. Was a bit surprising to see the top line -- Tony Cameranesi, Joe Basaraba, and Austin Farley -- struggle with the puck a bit, since they were together last year. But I'm not at all shocked the second line is struggling with two freshmen and a guy in Caleb Herbert who played center last year.
UMD's third and fourth lines were generally non-factors in this game. Justin Crandall had his moments, but this group as a whole didn't get nearly enough offense going and just struggled to get pucks to the net. When it finally did, CC goalie Josh Thorimbert stood his ground nicely, making 14 of his 30 saves in the third period as the Bulldogs surged. It just wasn't enough.
The Bulldogs have done pretty well with puck possession, even in this game, where faceoffs were 36-29 the wrong way. That's a big reason I'm not concerned at this point in time.
Also, the team played very well in the third period Friday. They got pucks to the net, bodies to the net, and generated some consistent pressure. Were it not for the power play goal (Andy Welinski had to take the penalty he took), those last couple minutes would have been really interesting.
Scoring is an issue, but if puck possession isn't a huge issue, scoring will come around. As we saw last Saturday with Tech, if puck possession becomes a problem, it's next to impossible to score. Two games where goalies were great against UMD isn't anything meaningful. If it keeps up, we could have an issue.
But the fact that UMD isn't chasing the puck up and down the rink is a good thing. It's tougher to turn around puck possession issues than it is to turn around scoring issues. Coaches like to talk about "bearing down" in front of the net. UMD has to do that. Pucks are there to be banged into the net. It's simply a matter of someone taking advantage of the opportunities.
There is zero reason for panic at this point. For that reason, I don't expect huge lineup changes Saturday. UMD might tweak the bottom two lines to try to get a spark, and you might see a change on defense or in goal, where Aaron Crandall hasn't played yet. That isn't a shot at Matt McNeely, but it might benefit the sophomore to watch a game right now after playing three in a row. A .923 save percentage through three games is impressive, so I don't think that's the problem.
But don't look for much more change than that.
Now watch UMD throw the players' numbers into a hat and re-draw everything.
******
North Dakota won the first game in NCHC history, beating Miami 4-2. Four different players scored for UND, and goalie Zane Gothberg made 35 saves on 37 shots for the win. North Dakota led 3-0 in the second before the RedHawks scored twice in the middle stanza. Nick Mattson's goal with seven-plus minutes to play iced it for UND.
Nebraska Omaha won non-conference at Northern Michigan, 2-1. Ryan Walters and Brock Montpetit lit the lamp for the Mavericks, with Montpetit's third period tally proving to be the game-winner. Kirk Thompson stopped 28 of 29 Wildcat shots for UNO, which improved to 2-1.
At the Brice Alaska Goal Rush, Western Michigan broke its season-long shutout streak early and routed Alaska Anchorage 6-2. Shane Berschbach scored twice for the Broncos, while Josh Pitt had a goal and an assist. Frank Slubowski got the win in goal. Also, Denver blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 overtime loss to host Alaska. Cody Kunyk tied the game in the third for the Nanooks, then Garrick Perry scored in the final 30 seconds of overtime to win it. Denver had held opponents scoreless for the first 159 minutes and change this season before UAF scored in the last minute of the second period Friday to get on the board. Opponents flip-flop Saturday, with Denver battling UAA and Western Michigan playing Alaska.
Also, the Minnesota women scored three in the third to pull away from UMD 4-0 at Amsoil Arena. The Gophers have now won 54 games in a row.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Game 3: UMD at Colorado College
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Penrose Cup is here.
For display, I'm guessing. Seems a bit too early for someone to be able to clinch the league title.
This first NCHC season kicks off in style, as UMD takes on Colorado College in the back end of a CBS Sports Network (221 on DirecTV, not sure about others).
(They tell me we will start on time. I don't think we have a snowball's chance in downtown Honolulu of being on TV when the game starts if we indeed start on time. North Dakota-Miami probably won't be over by 8:37 Central time. Hopefully, I'm wrong.)
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Iafallo - Toninato - Herbert
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Tardy - Krause
Corrin - Welinski
Soucy - McManus
Smith - Raskob
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron)
CC
Krushelnyski - Bradley - Taft
Fejes - Skalbeck - Roos
Maric - Collett - Hanson
Wamsganz - Rothstein - Hansen
Stoykewich - Olofsson
Harstad - McDermott
Slavin - Finch
Thorimbert - Lockwood
For display, I'm guessing. Seems a bit too early for someone to be able to clinch the league title.
This first NCHC season kicks off in style, as UMD takes on Colorado College in the back end of a CBS Sports Network (221 on DirecTV, not sure about others).
(They tell me we will start on time. I don't think we have a snowball's chance in downtown Honolulu of being on TV when the game starts if we indeed start on time. North Dakota-Miami probably won't be over by 8:37 Central time. Hopefully, I'm wrong.)
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Iafallo - Toninato - Herbert
Osterberg - Decowski - Crandall (Justin)
Sampair - Tardy - Krause
Corrin - Welinski
Soucy - McManus
Smith - Raskob
McNeely - Crandall (Aaron)
CC
Krushelnyski - Bradley - Taft
Fejes - Skalbeck - Roos
Maric - Collett - Hanson
Wamsganz - Rothstein - Hansen
Stoykewich - Olofsson
Harstad - McDermott
Slavin - Finch
Thorimbert - Lockwood
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Bulldogs' Record Proves Altitude Isn't Huge Issue During Colorado Visits
The tunnel at the World Arena in Colorado Springs doesn't have such a sign. Instead, two signs like the one I snapped a picture of at the rink Thursday adorn the inside of the facility.
These aren't there for the fans. The fans aren't exerting enough energy to have to worry about altitude.
They also aren't there for the broadcasters, though there was this one time the elevator there was on the fritz and I had to haul my fat body up all those stairs. And then I was worried a bit about the altitude.
But I digress.
The altitude reminders are out there. Home teams love to remind visitors about it, and the media loves to use it as a talking point whenever there's a significant game out here.
Does it matter?
Longtime UMD strength and conditioning coach and current marketing guru Justin May never believed in it. He believed in the conditioning of his athletes, and didn't think there was a whole lot to the altitude talk as long as the athletes took care of themselves.
Coaches don't want to even let someone suggest it could matter in a game. That's excuse chatter, and coaches hate that. Not only that, but it's part of the mental game. If you go into a game thinking your body is going to break down because of altitude, it probably will.
Athletes are wired the same way.
"Obviously, being reminded of that, it's in your mind," sophomore center Tony Cameranesi said this week when asked about the visual notes of elevation in the Colorado arenas. "But for the most part, as long as you work hard and don't really think about it, it goes away a little bit."
And if you look at the records UMD has posted both in Denver and Colorado Springs, there's reason to believe that the altitude talk is nothing but that ... talk.
In its last 18 games at the Colorado Springs World Arena (since the start of the 2003-04 season), where UMD opens NCHC play against Colorado Springs Friday night, the record is 9-6-3. Included in that are some very impressive performances, including a two-game WCHA playoff series sweep that started the team's run to a Final Five championship in 2009. Over the same stretch, the Tigers are 140-72-13 on home ice, a winning percentage of .651, a much higher total than the .417 they've posted against UMD in the same building.
Up Interstate 25, the Bulldogs have been solid, though not as impressive, in Denver over the years. Since the start of the 2003-04 season, UMD is 8-8-1 against the Pioneers at Magness Arena. I guarantee you DU has won more than half its home games in the last decade. Don't even have to look it up.
My point? UMD hasn't cared about the altitude in the last decade, at least (UMD was 1-7 in its first eight games at the World Arena once it opened in 1998). I'm not saying you shouldn't, but it's humorously overrated.
Maybe in football, where the 300-pounders are running around, it matters a bit more. We all know what thin air can do to a baseball. But the Bulldogs aren't suffering when they play out there. Quite the opposite, actually.
******
In other matters, it is a historic night on Friday, as conference games are played in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference for the first time. Everyone seems to have been able to poke their fun at the "Super League" after Omaha lost to Bentley last week. They must have forgotten about Michigan losing to a Canadian college team (Waterloo) the previous weekend, and the No. 1 team in the nation (UMass-Lowell) losing its home opener to a Sacred Heart squad that won exactly two games a year ago, and one that got pasted by RPI 6-0 the next night.
The NCHC is going to be a very, very good league. Other things will work themselves out. No, the app isn't perfect yet. But at least there is one, and they'll work to make it better. I mentioned on Twitter last week that in-progress scores on the league website need to show what period the game is in, and how much time is left. The league responded and said it will try to make it better.
I know this thing has been in the works for a while, but it doesn't mean every kink will be ironed out before games are played. What matters is that when those imperfections rear their ugly heads, someone actually makes an effort to improve. In that way, I really like the responses I've seen from the league to certain questions and concerns.
I do believe the league made a mistake in not setting up a streamlined video streaming package, where everyone goes through the same service, and games can be easily found on the league website with little hassle. A UMD fan should be able to watch every UMD game played (in league play, that is) without buying access from a bunch of different schools. Hopefully, it's something that is looked at in the future.
It's next to impossible to predict how this league will play out, and even opening weekend is going to be fun. Colorado College hasn't played a game that counts yet, and while UMD has, I tend to think UMD will average more than three goals per weekend.
In Oxford, Miami hosts North Dakota in a battle of programs who have gone without a national championship since UND won in 2000, no matter what the fans want you to believe (Miami has never won one, though it's certainly been close a couple times). They're tremendous programs, however, and this weekend should be some fantastic hockey.
More than anything, that's what we should be focused on. I think those expecting these teams to go unbeaten through conference play, and for the league to have everything instantly figured out, are barking up the wrong tree. In the end, the hockey will win out, and NCHC hockey is going to be good.
******
It's hard to get a good read on this weekend series. I think the style of play will be completely different from what we saw with Michigan Tech last week. Colorado College wants to get out and skate, and so does UMD. More than anything, the good mesh of playing styles is why UMD has done so well against the Tigers.
CC has Alex Krushelnyski, one of the nation's most underrated players, leading the charge up front, along with Archie Skalbeck and promising young talent like sophomore forward Hunter Fejes. The Tigers are not as deep in the back, unless Wild draft pick Gustav Olafsson develops quickly. And the loss of Joe Howe in goal could be significant unless senior Josh Thorimbert reverts to his third team All-WCHA form from his sophomore season.
UMD will get a chance to push the pace with its lethal top two forward lines, and I think we'll see a lot more from the second line than we did last week, when Dominic Toninato, Alex Iafallo, and Caleb Herbert struggled to get room against the Huskies.
******
Finally, congratulations to future UMD Bulldogs Neal Pionk and Karson Kuhlman. Both have been named to Team USA for the World Junior A Challenge next month in Nova Scotia. Pionk is a defenseman from Hermantown, and Kuhlman is a forward from Cloquet/Esko/Carlton.
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