Monday Musings: Bulldogs Stumble Into Break

I was calling games in 2007-2008, a season I have (somewhat playfully) dubbed "The Year of No Goals." Over 36 games that season, UMD scored 74 goals. The leading point scorer was then-junior MacGregor Sharp, who had seven goals and 17 points. No one had more than five goals in UMD's 28-game WCHA season, in which the Bulldogs scored all of 55 goals. The Bulldogs were shut out six times, including three straight home games in February and March.

On Feb. 22 and 23, Colorado College goalie Richard Bachman blanked the Bulldogs in 3-0 and 4-0 CC wins. UMD ended up not scoring for over 230 minutes, almost four full games.

Simply put, it was the most frustrating season I've been a part of. Great people to be around, but nothing went well enough on the ice. Hell, Alex Stalock was amazing, and had little to no chance most nights because the team simply couldn't score.

This past weekend reminded me of that season.

Credit, first, where it's due. Cam Johnson played great both nights for North Dakota. He had luck on his side more than a couple times, but largely he did a great job making himself big, tracking pucks, and smothering shots to prevent good rebound chances.

That doesn't mean UMD did everything it could have done to score. The Bulldogs didn't get the net enough, especially on Saturday. While there was plenty of contact around Johnson, his rhythm wasn't disrupted enough for the Bulldogs to find success and get some pucks home.

UMD gave North Dakota fits all weekend. The Bulldogs were a beast on the forecheck, and their speed through the neutral zone was something to behold. But UND did a great job in a lot of areas. Outside of a short-handed breakaway by Kyle Osterberg in Friday's game, the Bulldogs didn't generate many odd-man rushes. That's a credit to UND's ability to get back defensively. It goes back to something Denver coach Jim Montgomery said last week. UND's best players are playing 200-foot hockey, and all their guys are following suit. Hard to beat a team when everyone is that committed.

North Dakota's transition game, which is elite, killed UMD on Friday. North Dakota's power play struck midway through Saturday's game after a game-changing boarding major (and game misconduct) to UMD captain Andy Welinski. I still disagree with the call, but the reality is UMD had to find a way to kill that off, and that didn't happen. UND struck twice in 31 seconds late in the power play, and that was all the offense Johnson needed.

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I don't rip individual players for performance-based reasons, as a general rule. These are amateur athletes and college students, and you might not like the performances, but the effort is usually there. Execution and precision aren't always, and you can bet North Dakota wasn't exactly pleased with its play on the weekend. UND was beaten to a lot of pucks and didn't generate any consistent offense at even strength (outshot a staggering 66-27 on the weekend at even strength). But you can't question either team's effort.

And preseason polls don't matter. They take into account what's happened in the past and returning players, not the relative talent of the teams in the here and now. Because we don't know the relative talent of the teams until they've played.

That said, I have coach after coach telling me how strong this UMD team is. How fast the Bulldogs are. How improved they are defensively. How well their respective team will have to play to beat UMD. I was around in 2007-2008. Dave Hakstol didn't tell me in 2008 how his then-Fighting Sioux would have to play their best hockey to even have a chance against a team that hadn't scored in two games and averaged fewer than two goals per game overall. Brad Berry told me that last week about this year's team.

Yeah, coachspeak has evolved, but Berry didn't need to say that if there wasn't a shred of truth to it.

My point? This team is 7-7-3 at the halfway mark of the season and, while there have been some very good performances in there, combined with what I believe to be an inordinate amount of bad luck, 7-7-3 isn't good enough.

Forget about winning a conference title that means very little big-picture. Look at the big picture. A .500 record, even against this tough a schedule, won't get a team into the NCAA Tournament. If the ultimate goal is to finish the business that went unfinished after BU got that late power play last March, this isn't a way to give yourself a chance.

As I've said in the past, there comes a point in the season where you are what you are. I don't know what that point is, but right now UMD is a .500 team that struggles to win games despite very good goaltending and vastly improved defensive play.

UMD did a lot of good things against a very good -- best I've seen this season -- North Dakota squad. What the Bulldogs didn't do was score, and that's a problem.

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What will UMD look at during its two-week break? Well, there are a couple changes that we could see to the lines, nothing of significance. My opinion only, but I wouldn't mind seeing centers Cal Decowski and Jared Thomas swap lines. Thomas hasn't scored since Oct. 17, a span of 14 games. Decowski hasn't scored all year, but his line has been productive, and he's shown he can play well with virtually any linemates. He's had time on this line -- with Kyle Osterberg and Austyn Young -- before. And Thomas, a little better offensive player, might give that fourth line another shot in the arm. You aren't losing much in the faceoff circle by making this move, by the way. Both guys are just under .500 for the year.

The power play has improved, but UMD has one group -- led by Tony Cameranesi -- that appears to be playing ahead of the other, which is headed by Dominic Toninato. That Toninato grouping has only combined for 38 points total this season, led by Welinski with ten. If their power play production were better, the overall numbers wouldn't be like they are. I don't know what personnel changes could help the power play, but I wouldn't be shocked if we saw some out of the holidays.

I also think UMD needs to improve its commitment to getting to the front of the net. Too many times on Saturday, players were standing to the side trying to get a stick in the shooting lane and tip pucks. Watch the good net-front guys in this sport, and you don't see them standing off to the side. It's a small thing, but when you have the kinds of struggles we're seeing UMD experience, it could be a huge factor moving into the second half.

The good news is that this team isn't far off. They're close. I'm convinced of it. But this team isn't there yet, and there is a lot of work to be done to get there. Undoubtedly, the coaches will spend time on self-scouting this week, and they'll basically have two weeks out of the break before they play a game that counts, thanks to the Jan. 2 exhibition.

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That's it for me, barring news that we need to get out there (unlikely). I hope you all have a great Christmas holiday season and a joyous New Year. Be safe and let's all hope for some snow up here to make things a little more white.

UMD plays the Under 18 Team Jan. 2, and is at Miami the following weekend. I'll talk to y'all again before the U18 game.

Game 17: North Dakota at UMD

Boy, I hope you're already here. If not, you might want to rethink whatever your plans were to get down here for the series (and UMD's first half) finale. Traffic is already hideous. Best wishes to you.

Disappointing result for UMD on Friday night. But outside of getting the little black disc behind UND goalie Cam Johnson, what more can you ask them to do?

For starters, I'd say the defense has to tighten up. All three UND goals were transition plays where someone got caught too far up the rink or someone didn't cover a man in the defensive zone. It shows the high-end skill North Dakota possesses, and that's tough to deal with under any conditions. But it also shows how strong UMD was for the vast majority of this game.

I do think the work around the net in the offensive zone could be better. That's not to say someone should plow Cam Johnson over or anything like that. Instead, actually not being as tight to the netfront can sometimes be a good thing. It isn't always good to be up against the top of the crease, because it limits your ability to get to rebounds. Johnson wasn't giving up many, but UMD has to find a way to create some if it isn't going to beat the goalie on the first shot.

Clearly, however, the UMD coaches weren't that displeased with what they saw. The lack of changes on the line chart you're about to read would at least reflect that idea.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Corrin - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
McCormack - Pionk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

UND
Caggiula - Schmaltz - Boeser
Janatuinen - Johnson (Luke) - Wilkie
Chyzyk - Simonson - Poganski
Gersich - Gardner - Olson

Ausmus - Stecher
Thompson - LaDue
Wolanin - Poolman

Johnson (Cam) - Hrynkiw 

Game 16: North Dakota at UMD

The showdown is on. Hopefully you can all beat the traffic.

We'll see if UMD can slay another dragon, so to speak. The Bulldogs were 1-4-1 all-time at Amsoil Arena against Western Michigan before outscoring the Broncos 13-2 in last weekend's two-game sweep here.

North Dakota is 4-1 all-time in this building, including a 5-0 win in the Amsoil Arena opener in 2010, and a 6-2 win in the last game between the teams here, played in 2014. Overall, North Dakota has outscored UMD in this building 21-8.

I don't have to tell you how significant this is in terms of the league standings. The Bulldogs simply can't afford to fall much farther behind UND and St. Cloud State, the top two teams in the conference at this juncture.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Corrin - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Pionk - Molenaar

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

UND
Caggiula - Schmaltz - Boeser
Janatuinen - Johnson (Luke) - Wilkie
Chyzyk - Simonson - Poganski
Gersich - Gardner - Olson

Ausmus - Stecher
Thompson - LaDue
Shaw - Poolman

Johnson (Cam) - Hrynkiw

Showdown With UND Looms for Bulldogs

The UMD Bulldogs have one series left before holiday break. One more chance to get points and move up in the NCHC standings before a two-week pause.

At this point in the season, potential distractions are plentiful. Final exams, travel home for the holidays, the break itself, etc. But with a marquee series ahead, neither team is hearing anything about that stuff.

"Our focus is not going to be lacking this weekend," UMD senior defenseman Willie Corrin said this week. "I think guys' mindsets are here."

"We know how good they are," said first-year North Dakota coach Brad Berry. "The other part is the rivalry side. Duluth has always brought out the best. It has all the makings of that. We have to make sure our young guys know the rivalry and how intense it gets."

Yeah, both teams will be ready to play.

This weekend's series should bring loud, sold-out crowds both nights, with plenty of UND fans infiltrating Amsoil Arena. It's the kind of home atmosphere UMD has thrived in recently. Fill the building and jazz things up a bit, as they'll be this weekend, and the home team tends to play pretty well.

It'll take everything UMD has. Not only is history not on the Bulldogs' side, but this UND team is very, very good. More on that in a bit.

First, the negative. North Dakota has been successful at Amsoil Arena -- literally -- since it opened its doors. UND won the opening game in the building 5-0 on New Year's Eve of 2010. Overall, North Dakota is 4-1 at Amsoil Arena, with the four wins coming by a combined score of 17-3. The last trip to Duluth was in the 2013-14 season, and North Dakota won 3-0 and 6-2. The Saturday loss was particularly galling, as UND put 22 shots on goal in the first period, 36 over the first 40 minutes. North Dakota is 11-4-1 in the last 16 games against UMD, but the Bulldogs did split in Grand Forks in the teams' only get-together last season.

"They're in our way," Corrin said of North Dakota's position in the NCHC standings.

It's been an interesting season so far in Grand Forks. Despite the shocking resignation of Dave Hakstol last spring (he took the coaching job with the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers), UND was positioned to make a run in the NCHC behind first-year coach Brad Berry, who is no stranger to the culture of North Dakota hockey.

"I was very honored and humbled to be a head coach here," Berry said. "Dave had a lot of success because he did things the right way. He wanted to have a chance to try to do it at the next level. The biggest thing for me is to remain consistent to what we are here at North Dakota.

"He (Hakstol) is a very humble and hard-working guy. The blocks to our program were laid by Gino Gasparini in the 1980s, and Dean Blais in the 90s and 2000s and Coach Hakstol. I want to try to emulate (them) and try to keep the bar up where they've raised it."

Highly-touted freshman goalie Matej Tomek was injured in the offseason and still hasn't played a second for UND. Sophomore Cam Johnson -- who played sparingly last year as UND rode Zane McIntyre to the NCAA Frozen Four -- started the first three games, but was injured in the third game (at Bemidji State), forcing UND to turn to junior and former walk-on Matt Hrynkiw. All he did was go 9-2-1 in goal while Johnson was out.

"He's a 4.0 student, an engineering major," Berry said. "He's a guy that's detailed, hard-working. Came in here as a walk-on. He bought in to what we were doing here. He waited his time, not getting anything as far as permanent promises. He remained constant and steady."

Now Johnson's back, and he's allowed three goals in four starts since his return, including Saturday's 4-0 shutout of Denver. Johnson has a .934 save percentage and will start at least on Friday night.

Despite using a junior and former walk-on who was never promised a second of playing time in college hockey, North Dakota is 14-2-2 and high atop the NCHC at 7-1 so far in league play. UND's lead is three points on St. Cloud State and seven on third-place UMD. The Bulldogs have surged from a tie for seventh to sole possession of third by getting 14 of a possible 15 points in their last five conference games.

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Last weekend, North Dakota throttled Denver 5-1 and 4-0. Well, "throttled" isn't exactly accurate with the Friday game, which didn't look the part of a 5-1 game as I watched it back. I thought it was a much more even game in terms of puck possession and chances, but UND took advantage of some transition opportunities and got a power play goal.

Now, that is an appropo term for the Saturday result. About halfway through the first period, shots were 4-3 North Dakota. At the end of the first period, shots were 19-3 North Dakota. They ended up 37-18 in favor of UND.

We know how good Denver is, and this was a jarring weekend result. Even when you look at Friday's game as a competitive affair that got out of hand on the scoreboard, it's hard to imagine someone putting the boots to the Pioneers like this in back-to-back games.

UMD coach Scott Sandelin told me this week he felt after watching the games back that it was more a case of North Dakota's level of play than anything Denver did wrong. UND was smothering, especially on Saturday. The Pioneers just couldn't sustain pressure and generate quality chances.

"I couldn't tell if Denver was just off that weekend of if they (UND) were that good," Sandelin said Wednesday, "but it looked like they were that good, so that's what we're preparing for."
Having watched those games back, I do think Sandelin is right. UND is a very, very good team that it will take a great effort to beat.

Sandelin thinks "we're going to need our best 120 minutes of the season" this weekend. That's accurate.

But there are ways. UMD needs to establish its strong forecheck, which won't be easy but can be accomplished by smart puck management and by the Bulldogs moving their feet and playing with high energy and intensity.

Keeping out of the box is huge, too. UND's power play is middling right now in terms of goals and chances, but it's going to get hot. There's too much talent for it not to.

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Oh, and UMD has to deal with the "CBS" line this weekend. Senior Drake Caggiula, sophomore Nick Schmaltz, and freshman Brock Boeser make up what is probably the most dynamic line in college hockey right now. Berry knows he can deploy the three in any situation and he can use them for 20ish minutes a game, if not a little more if conditions warrant.

The three have combined for an obscene 27 goals and 68 points, and they're a combined plus-75. Even if you think the plus-minus stat is overused and overrated (I do), that's a stupid-good number that shows how explosive and responsible the three are.

With the three of them capable of heavy minutes, UMD might not go with a straight-up match against them. As home team, UMD gets the last change and choice of matchup, and I would expect most of the time the Bulldogs use Dominic Toninato's line against that top UND line. But I also wouldn't be surprised if Tony Cameranesi, vastly improved on faceoffs since his return from injury, took some draws against that line, especially in the offensive zone.

Of course, once you've shut down the CBS line, you still have to stop UND's other lines, keyed by guys like Bryn Chyzyk, Luke Johnson, and Austin Poganski, and their dynamic blue line. Paul LaDue, Troy Stecher, Keaton Thompson, and Tucker Poolman can make plays from the back and are capable of wreaking havoc on adversaries by jumping into soft spots in defensive coverage.

"They have 14 wins for a reason right now," Sandelin said. "They're a team that's got a tremendous first line. They've got pretty good depth through the rest of their lines. Their D-corps is probably, top to bottom, the best in the league." 

That's not to say UND is unbeatable. I think UMD has more depth up front, and goaltending is a push. It could come down to the play of each team's defensemen. If it does, I'll take my chances.

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For the last time, a reminder. Both games start at 7, and if you want to have a chance to see the opening faceoff either night, you'd best arrive early. There is a lot going on in the DECC complex and surrounding area, and if Saturday's headaches before the Western Michigan game are any indication, it will be tough sledding to get anywhere down there between 6pm and 7pm both nights. Plan accordingly, carpool, arrive early, whatever you need to do. We don't want to see people not able to get in before the start of the game.

Also, please consider bringing an new, unwrapped toy for the annual toy drive Saturday night.

Monday Musings: Bulldogs Sweep Broncos, Win Streak Hits Four

Just another big win Saturday for the red-hot UMD men's hockey team.

Remember how I kept saying -- probably to the point y'all were sick and tired of reading it -- that UMD just needed to stick with it?

(Specifically, we addressed the offensive issues here, here, and here.)

Well, UMD stuck with it, and the Bulldogs have put up 24 goals over the last four games, including three games of six goals or more. That's likely not any more sustainable than the Bulldogs' lack of scoring was earlier in the season, but it's nice to see guys get rewarded.

UMD won 6-2 on Saturday in a game that, despite the somewhat-similar final score to Friday (7-0), was completely different. The Bulldogs had to deal with a significant Western Michigan pushback, especially in the early going. Shots were 6-1 and 7-2 in Western's favor on Saturday before UMD started to get a few things going. At no point, however, did this game resemble Friday's beatdown.

On Friday, you could have argued the final score was as much about what UMD did right as it was what Western Michigan did wrong. The Broncos used some superb play from goalie Lukas Hafner to keep that game relatively close into the third period. But once it got to 5-0 it ceased being a competitive sporting event. I don't like accusing college athletes of quitting (if you're not in their heads you just don't know), so let's just say WMU's body language and compete level weren't as good as they could have been. The Broncos looked every bit a team that was getting blown out and losing a seventh game in a row.

Saturday, the Broncos brought a much better and more consistent compete level, and UMD had to match their intensity to succeed. Mission: Accomplished.

Austin Farley scored twice, Tony Cameranesi notched four points, freshmen Adam Johnson and Neal Pionk had outstanding games, and while goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo let a couple pucks by him for the first time in three weeks, UMD had more than enough offense to win.

What's changed these last four games? Well, start with that pesky shooting percentage. In the first 11 games, UMD scored 24 goals on 408 shots on goal. That's a hideous 5.9 shooting percentage. It's also unsustainable, as shown the last four games.

In those four games, UMD has matched its goal total from the first 11 by scoring 24 times. It's taken UMD 154 shots on goal to hit that number, for a shooting percentage of 15.6. The power play has been a huge part of that, shooting at a 28 percent clip (nine goals on 32 shots). That leaves 122 shots taken by UMD over four games, and a total of 15 goals for a pretty solid 12.2 percentage that's less unsustainable. And even if it drops back into the high single digits, UMD will probably be fine.

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Some individual stats from the last few games:

--> Farley has points in all four games of UMD's winning streak, with 13 points on six goals and seven assists over the two weekends. He's twice had four-point games.
--> Cameranesi has eight points in those four games, including four on Saturday.
--> UMD has a few players on point streaks. Farley has points in all four games of this winning streak, with 13 in total. Freshman Neal Pionk has points in three straight, as do seniors Andy Welinski and Austyn Young, junior Alex Iafallo, and sophomore Karson Kuhlman. Adam Johnson has points in four of the last five games.
--> Kaskisuo's shutout streak reached 263 minutes, 58 seconds before it was snapped on a goal by WMU defenseman and countryman Oliwer Kaski. That said, he's stopped 97 of 99 shots (.980 save percentage) over the last four games, and his season numbers are now a 1.82 goals against and .928 save percentage. Not bad, eh?
--> With Kaskisuo's urge, combined with the improved offensive production, UMD's team save percentage is now ahead of that of its adversaries. Kaskisuo, Matt McNeely, and the empty net have a .921 for UMD, while opposing goalies are at .915. The margin through eight league games is now .929 to .907. Kaskisuo's NCHC save percentage is at .938.
--> Special teams are special right now. The power play is hitting at a nine for 21 clip (43 percent) since the streak started, while the UMD penalty kill is perfect in a baker's dozen opportunities over the four games.

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The Bulldogs move on now, and face a hell of a challenge this weekend. UMD hosts North Dakota, a legit top five team in the national polls that don't matter, and the first-place team in this conference. The Fighting Hawks (yes, I'm still getting used to this) have started hot under first-year coach Brad Berry (yes, I'm still getting used to this). At 14-2-2, one of the big stories of this season for UND has been goaltending.

Highly-touted freshman Matej Tomek hasn't played a game yet because of injury, and backup Cam Johnson went down in the team's second series, a home and home with Bemidji State. After struggling out of the gate, junior Matt Hrynkiw (third goalie entering the season) went on to play 12 games, starting 11. All Hrynkiw (pronounced "her-RINK-yoo," by the way) did was go 9-2-1 with a 2.11 goals against and .911 save percentage in his first game action for UND.

Johnson's back, and he has a .934 save percentage in eight games. Tomek has yet to play in a game, and with how Johnson is playing, there probably isn't a ton of rush on that.

Certainly, some of the credit for this goes to UND's defensive corps, which is probably the best in the NCHC and elite nationally. North Dakota sports great depth in Paul LaDue, Troy Stecher, Keaton Thompson, captain Gage Ausmus, Tucker Poolman, and promising freshman Hayden Shaw, among others.

Up front, North Dakota has as good a line as you'll find in the "CBS" line. Nick Schmaltz centers Drake Caggiula and Brock Boeser, and the three have combined for 27 goals (Caggiula has 13) and 68 points (Schmaltz has 21 assists).

They're good.

Many of you might look for UMD to match Cameranesi's line against Schmaltz, and may the best puck possession win. Personally, I'd expect Dominic Toninato's line to draw this assignment, at least to start things on Friday. Toninato, Iafallo, and Johnson were set to match up against Trevor Moore and Danton Heinen when Denver visited, I believe, but that was rendered moot when DU opted to put them on different lines. I highly doubt Berry is going to break up the most prolific scoring line in the country because his team is on the road and can't dictate matchups.

(This isn't a rip on DU. Jim Montgomery made it clear that week that he was still looking for the right combinations of forwards, and there was little doubt in my mind he was going to try Moore and Heinen on different lines as part of that search.)

The argument for using Cameranesi's line against "CBS" is that the Bulldogs will match strength on strength and bet on their strength to win out. The argument for Toninato's line is the history he and Iafallo have checking opponents' top lines, though that history is relatively untested this season with Johnson playing in Adam Krause's old spot on right wing.

In the end, I think this series comes down to UMD's ability to get pucks by the fantastic UND blue line and get pressure to the net. It also comes down to depth, and UMD's depth has been fantastic in the last three weeks. They don't necessarily have to score, but they're capable and they have been producing as of late. More later in the week once I watch back UND's games from last weekend and talk to coaches on both sides.

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Couple public service announcements:

1. This is a busy, busy weekend at the DECC complex. There's the Bentleyville Christmas light display at Bayfront Park, the Nutcracker ballet shows at DECC Symphony Hall, and the Arrowhead Ice Fishing Show at the DECC. They will all draw huge crowds, on top of the 7,000 and change expected for the hockey games. Consider yourself warned. Go early, walk over to Canal Park and kill some time, and know you have a parking spot and fairly easy access to the arena to get in the game on time.

2. Saturday night, UMD is conducting its annual toy drive. If you're going to the game, please consider bringing a new, unwrapped toy or two to donate. Hopefully, we can set a record with a standing room only gathering anticipated. Sadly, no Teddy Bear Toss this year, but the toy drive should be huge. Would love it if you could bring something to donate.

Game 15: Western Michigan at UMD

After a 7-0 UMD win Friday night, this is going to be very interesting. Western Michigan just looked -- to steal Matt Wellens' word -- "overwhelmed" in that game, and I don't know what needs to happen for Western to not look overwhelmed.

The Bulldogs haven't allowed a goal since Nov. 14 against Denver, a span of 230:20 that will extend a school record every second it stays alive. Western hasn't led at any point in the last 412 minutes and change while losing seven straight.

Just like Friday, the first goal in this game carries a small amount of significance.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Corrin - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Pionk - Molenaar

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

WMU
Pitt - Rebry - Muir
Molino - Tiffels - Novak
Conrad - Dries - LaPorte
Carpino - Hadley - McMullen

Schueneman - Kaski
Dienes - Fleming
Goff - Moldenhauer

Olson - Hafner

Game 14: Western Michigan at UMD

Here we go. UMD trying to run the unbeaten streak to four, Western Michigan looking to end a six-game slide. HUGE points this weekend as the Bulldogs start a four-game homestand.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Corrin - Welinski
Soucy - Raskob
Pionk - Molenaar

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

WMU
Tiffels - Rebry - Novak
Molino - Nong-Lambert - Muir
Pitt - Dries - LaPorte
Carpino - Hadley - McMullen

Schueneman - Stoykewich
Dienes - Fleming
Goff - Moldenhauer

Olson - Hafner

Bulldogs Open Homestand With Slumping Broncos

For the second straight time, UMD heads into a weekend series simply trying to keep a slumping team slumping.

Two weeks ago, UMD got the job done, outscoring Colorado College 11-0 over a two-game sweep to keep the Tigers winless.

Now, it's Western Michigan, a team that has been quite the thorn in UMD's side in recent years. The Broncos have lost six straight, outscored 27-7 in those games. Western hasn't led in a game since Nov. 13, a span of over 352 minutes.

Last weekend, coach Andy Murray was quick to point out that his team really only scored once in losses to RPI and Notre Dame at the Shillelagh Tournament in South Bend, Ind.

"Ended up losing the hockey game 4-1 (against RPI)," Murray said. "And the only goal that we did get, they shot in their own net. Our ability to finish has been a problem for us."

Murray also wasn't mincing words when asked about his team's recent struggles.

"We haven't been playing good hockey," Murray noted. 

It seems like a broken record. We went through this two weeks ago. But this is different animal. Western might not have a lot going on, but the Broncos have basically made Duluth a second home in recent years. WMU is 4-1-1 at Amsoil Arena, including a win and a tie (shootout win for a five-point weekend) last January.

And the style Western Michigan plays lends itself to much more success if the Broncos can come out and play well early in a game. Murray coaches his guys to play a very structured game, giving little room in the neutral zone and often outnumbering teams below the faceoff dots. The little battles in the corners that you see become really tough to win against the Broncos, and those little battles are bound to happen over the course of a game.

When UMD went to Colorado Springs, we talked almost incessantly about the importance of the first goal. That's the case this weekend, too. Murray basically admitted it. He told me his team had 28 scoring chances against the Engineers, "and when you aren't scoring you tend to open up a little bit." That leads to more opportunities for the adversary, and Murray said there were some goals his team has allowed in recent weeks that he wasn't pleased with.

The Broncos are constructed to play with a lead. We saw it twice last season, though UMD was able to rally for a tie in Duluth. When Western loosens up a bit, teams are able to generate scoring opportunities. Get a lead and try to drag the Broncos into a style of play they don't want anything to do with.

Assistant coach Jason Herter summed it up nicely this week.

"They have an exact opposite makeup in their hockey team than we do," he said. "We're exact opposites. It's going to be us trying to get them to play our game, which they're going to be very good at, and them trying to get us to play their game, which I don't think we're very good at. It's going to be the team that finds that middle ground, that can do pretty well at both, that's going to win this weekend."

Herter is the one who coined "skating refrigerators" to describe WMU last year. It's still correct. This is a big team. But that's not the only component of the Broncos that demands the attention of opponents.

"Some of those guys, they have some skill," Herter said. "You have to play against those guys who lean on you and play physical. They can back it up with offense and they can back it up with skill. That's why it's so important that we keep them down."

As I mentioned earlier in the week, there's plenty of skill on this team. Captain Sheldon Dries leads in goals with five, and he has speed to burn. They have guys like Fredrik Tiffels, too, who could play for any program in the country. They lean on you with that size, and then Murray can turn to his skill players to blow by unsuspecting opponents.

"In a run and gun game, we're faster," Herter said. "In a tie-it-down, lean on you game, they're fast enough to do some special things."
Western Michigan swept Omaha. Convincingly. Yeah, it was a month ago, but it still happened. If UMD isn't careful this weekend, the Bulldogs will find out how capable the Broncos are.

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UMD enters with plenty of confidence and momentum, right?

Not according to Murray. He'll have nothing of either word.

"There's two words that I don't allow our players to use," Murray, who has plenty of coaching experience in college, juniors, and pro hockey, said this week. "I don't like the word 'confidence,' and I don't like the word 'momentum.'

"Bottom line to me is when you play poor, you feel bad. When you play good, you feel good. To me, you have to go out and earn it. Normally, you get in life what you deserve. At this point, we haven't been deserving enough.

"Everybody talks about 'We won, so we have momentum.' But do you think the next team really cares? They want to knock you off, and they're going to be ready for you."

Murray admits that his team probably doesn't have a lot of either right now, but "that doesn't mean we aren't capable of playing good hockey."

It's an interesting look at things, and one that UMD senior forward Austyn Young doesn't necessarily agree with. Whether you want to call it confidence or not, he says that series in Colorado was just what the doctor ordered.

"It's good for a team to get that," Young said. "When you're struggling putting the puck in the net, you have to keep looking at the positives. It's really helped our guys. I can tell on the ice that everyone's upbeat."

Herter agrees.

"A lot of times kids confuse confidence with trust," he said. "The trust in the process and the trust that what they're doing is the right thing. When it doesn't work, we tend to say they don't have confidence. I think the kids are starting to trust that what they're doing is the right thing. If they're consistently doing it, they'll have a chance to win every night."

Herter also quipped he would have "cried" -- because he just wouldn't have known what to say to them -- if he had to look at the players after the Nov. 14 game against Denver if the Bulldogs hadn't rallied to tie the game and win the three-on-three for an extra NCHC standings point.

If UMD gets hot here before break, there's no question that will be looked at as a turning point in the first half of the season.

Call it "confidence," "momentum," "trust," or coin your own term for it. But clearly UMD has a chance this weekend to show that CC wasn't a fluke or the byproduct of a good team playing against a bad one.

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Just a quick programming note. The normal Saturday blog will not appear this week. I'll give you some expanded thoughts with the pregame lines on Saturday, but my son has a hockey tournament in Hoyt Lakes we're leaving for at 6:30 in the morning.

As always, follow me on Twitter for more -- pregame, in-game, and postgame, as well as during the day Saturday.