Monday Musings: Sweep Puts UMD in Better Position

Not sure you could have scripted a better weekend for UMD hockey. Both the men and women swept their road series, with the men likely staying alive for an NCAA at-large bid while the women kept their season alive in the WCHA playoffs.

(Great weekend for UMD junior Lara Stalder -- a goal and two assists Friday and one and one Saturday including the overtime game-winning goal -- and for senior goalie Kayla Black, who stopped 79 of 81 Bemidji State shots. The reward? No. 1 seed Wisconsin in a semifinal on Saturday afternoon. UMD needs to win Saturday and again Sunday to get the automatic bid. No at-large shot for the Bulldogs this year.)

The men needed wins. It wasn't just about the NCAA Tournament. We've beaten the horse beyond recognition this season. UMD was playing good hockey for the most part, but couldn't catch a break, and the Bulldogs were running out of time to turn things around.

Two wins in St. Cloud might not mean things are turned around, but it's as good a sign as anything we've seen since the Minnesota series in October, if we've seen those signs at all.

It's not about the PairWise, instead about what's between the ears.

Assistant coach Jason Herter bluntly said last week that he's "run out of speeches" for the team. So the timing of this is certainly good.

How did it happen? Well, I'm glad you asked.

******

On Friday night, UMD started its top line -- Dominic Toninato centering Alex Iafallo and Adam Johnson -- and St. Cloud State opted to go with its second line, centered by David Morley. 39 seconds later, UMD led 1-0 on a rebound goal by Johnson.

For much of the remainder of the weekend, Toninato's line was matched against Kalle Kossila's top line of SCSU. I thought Toninato's group did a fantastic job when given that opportunity. And they played a lot of minutes, part of the reason for the matchup.

(Dom got destroyed in the faceoff circle this past weekend, but the line still did a good job defensively. Also, Toninato's line was probably the best on the team at pushing the puck out of the defensive zone. Despite big minutes against top SCSU players, they were rarely hemmed in for an extended period of time, and they were much more efficient than others on the weekend when given chances to clear pucks, even it meant taking an icing.)

That's not the only way UMD won. Far from it.

No matter who was on the ice, the Bulldogs played a smart, competitive, committed defensive game on Saturday, after admittedly being a bit too loose in Friday's win and getting bailed out by goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo (career high 49 saves Friday). UMD kept SCSU's prime scoring chances to a minimum on Saturday, keeping Kaskisuo clean for the most part and allowing him to see the puck.

(The Huskies' power play goal was an exception to this rule, but it was about the only exception.)

And it's hard to lose when you never trail (0:00 in 120:00 against St. Cloud State) and are rarely tied (29:00 of 120:00). That leaves UMD with a lead for 91 of 120 minutes in a weekend series, and that's okay.

(It's actually better than that.)

Karson Kuhlman had a huge weekend with three goals -- including the eventual winner Saturday on a great tip -- and an assist. The UMD defense was outstanding, especially Andy Welinski and Neal Pionk, who played big minutes against all of SCSU's top guys and acquitted themselves very well.

Defense is a five-man bit, but every blue-liner in the lineup made a big play at some point on the weekend, and when you have that and not many mistakes at the other end, you're not going to lose a lot of hockey games.

******

One weekend remains in the regular season, as UMD battles Miami this weekend in Duluth. The teams are tied at 31 points, but UMD holds the tiebreaker edge. That means UMD needs to just split the series somehow to get home ice. And it's more than likely the Bulldogs will play Miami again the following weekend, unless the UMD-Miami series ends in a sweep and Omaha sweeps Denver (unlikely, I'd say).

UMD took four points at Miami in January, tying 1-1 (losing in three-on-three) before winning 5-2. The Bulldogs only tallied once all weekend, however, against red-hot RedHawks goalie Jay Williams, who won twice over the weekend against Colorado College to continue his strong play as of late. Williams has allowed two or fewer goals in ten of his last 14 starts, including back-to-back shutouts of the Tigers over the weekend.

It's just another goaltending code for UMD to crack in a league full of very good goalies.

(Think about it: Half the NCHC's goalies are up for the Mike Richter Award, and none of them are Williams, who has started 12 straight games since Ryan McKay got the start in the Saturday game against UMD and faltered.)

It'll be an interesting weekend for sure, largely because it's another in a series of better-win games for UMD that sets up an absolute must-win the following weekend, likely against the same team and quite possibly in the same building.

If UMD can win twice this weekend and get by whoever (Miami or UNO) in the first round of the NCHC playoffs the following weekend, it might not need to win the NCHC title to make the NCAAs. That's what this SCSU series may very well have provided UMD: Margin for error.

That and some much needed confidence. I know it's a tacky word to some, but seeing rewards for hard work means something when you've seen as few this year as UMD has. Now, we get to see if there is any carry-over to another huge weekend.

Game 32: UMD at St. Cloud State

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Tremendous opportunity in front of UMD. Not only can the Bulldogs pick up their fourth NCHC sweep of the season, but UMD can present itself with a (very small) bit of margin for error over the rest of the season.

Beat St. Cloud State to sweep the series, and UMD possibly won't need to win the league tournament to be in at-large position. Also, the Bulldogs will -- no matter what -- enter the season's final weekend in a home-ice position in the NCHC.

All that stands in their way tonight? The third-ranked team in the country, on Senior Night with a large senior class and all their families in attendance as part of an expected standing-room only crowd, probably pissed off to have lost at home Friday night.

No big deal, right?

A UMD win would give it four straight wins at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, believed to be the longest UMD win streak in St. Cloud since SCSU went Division I.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Exell

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely

SCSU
Eyssimont - Kossila - Russell
Benik - Morley - Newell
Murray - Peterson - Tedesco
Jackson - Winiecki - Benson

Schuldt - Prow
Widman - Borgen
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Lindgren - Reijola - Zevnik

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Jumps St. Cloud State Early, Rides Kaskisuo to Upset Win

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- A college hockey game is 60 minutes in length.

It is the rarest of things when something bad happens to a team that leads for 59:21 of the possible 60:00. And not even some of the rotten luck UMD has dealt with this season was going to change that Friday night.

Adam Johnson scored a greasy goal 39 seconds into the game, and UMD led the rest of the way in winning 4-1 here over No. 3 St. Cloud State. The win might not make a big dent in UMD's PairWise deficit, and it won't put the Bulldogs in the NCHC title race or anything like that, but what it does is give this team some confidence that it has been desperately seeking for a while.

UMD got rewarded for good hard work early in the game, overcoming an SCSU power play when Jimmy Murray took an interference penalty in the neutral zone. On the delayed penalty, Tony Cameranesi set up Brenden Kotyk to make it 2-0. Then Karson Kuhlman went through St. Cloud's defense like a knife through hot butter and beat goalie Charlie Lindgren to make it a 3-0 game through one period.

Justifiably, most of the over 4,800 in attendance were in shock at this point. UMD hadn't scored three goals in a road period since Nov. 20, and you have to go back to last year's Northeast Regional semifinal against Minnesota to find the last time UMD scored three goals in a first period.

An a'ight road period, I'd say.

I'm not going to say UMD cruised from there. St. Cloud State threw the kitchen sink at UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo, and the sophomore didn't even flinch. The Huskies peppered the UMD net throughout the night, but only a wicked shot by freshman Mikey Eyssimont got behind Kaskisuo. That goal made 3-1 in the second period, but Kaskisuo permitted the adversary to get no closer on this night.

The last time UMD played St. Cloud State, I felt Kaskisuo conceded a couple "Man, I bet he'd like to have that one back" goals. And while I don't think I've been critical of Kaskisuo, it was clear that he wasn't stealing points for UMD. He was solid, but hadn't been able to pull off a spectacular performance when his team needed him to.

Until Friday. Any need for redemption on his part -- which in my opinion was minimal -- is erased after his performance. He was outstanding, and you can safely say Kaskisuo stole these three points. The team in front of him wasn't bad, which probably helped the goalie's cause. But St. Cloud State likely out-chanced UMD in the game and it could be argued the home side deserved a better fate.

UMD is familiar. It's happened a lot this season, and even if one were to look at this game as a case of outright thievery, I doubt an apology or gift basket will be coming St. Cloud State's way.

A few things stood out.

Alex Iafallo (3-5-8 his last eight games, two assists Friday) was great. He's really stepped to the forefront, looking more like the player I know he can be here. His speed is game-changing and he's really been moving lately.

Kuhlman (three point night) was fantastic in all phases. Officially, he was credited with three blocked shots, but he's a disruptive player without the puck who played confidently with it Friday. Well, outside of the two-on-zero where he tried to pass to Cameranesi and there ended up not being any shots taken by either player in the sequence. We'll just forget that play happened.

Kotyk used his body effectively to win a couple puck battles, blocked two shots, and scored that second goal off Cameranesi's dish to the slot.

And did I mention Kaskisuo made 49 saves, a new career high for him (beating the old mark by 13)? Yeah, he was pretty good.

(It's believed to be the first 50-shot game by a UMD opponent since Omaha put up 53 Jan. 11, 2014, a game UMD won 3-1 behind 52 saves from Aaron Crandall.)

Every SCSU player had at least one shot except Ben Storm and David Morley. Eyssimont had 11. But UMD did what it could to maintain Kaskisuo's ability to see pucks while the Huskies tried their damndest to screen him and tip shots.

It was a fun, cleanly played game, and a much, much-needed Bulldog win.

Game 31: UMD at St. Cloud State

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The Bulldogs know what needs to be done, and they're running out of time to do it.

UMD has just two weekends left in the regular season, and while the nerds say UMD is still in the at-large race (barely), the Bulldogs just need to start winning some games.

I've seen a lot of comparisons made to past Bulldog teams that didn't meet expectations. That's all well and good, guys, but this season is different than any other.

If you've watched this team for any length of time, you can't possibly argue that the effort isn't there, or that players aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. Absent of perfection that no one is able to bring to the table, UMD has not been foiled by a lack of effort. As I said on Twitter after last Saturday's North Dakota game, the Bulldogs have been good to very good in probably 24-26 of 30 games this season.

(The four games I know weren't nearly good enough were the two against Bemidji State, along with Friday home games against Denver and St. Cloud State.)

A team that has shown that kind of consistency in its effort certainly deserves a better fate than this team has seen to this point. Call that whining or whatever you want, I don't care. I'll stand by it as the truth.

And I still believe this can get turned around. I'll believe it until we're completely out of games to play.

For UMD, senior Austin Farley is back. Senior Austyn Young (upper body) is out.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Johnson
Farley - Cameranesi - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Mackay
Sampair - Decowski - Exell

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely

SCSU
Eyssimont - Kossila - Russell
Benik - Morley - Newell
Storm - Peterson - Murray
Jackson - Winiecki - Benson

Schuldt - Prow
Widman - Borgen
Nevalainen - Lizotte

Lindgren - Reijola - Zevnik

Monday Musings on a Tuesday: Bad Things Keep Happening

Very similar to the Saturday puppy blog, I just don't know what to say to you guys. So this will be quick.

I mean, UMD, by my admittedly biased but hopefully not totally inaccurate estimation, played four good to very good/great games against a great North Dakota team. UMD controlled the majority of the four games, including dictating pace this past weekend in a tough place to play.

Two goals on 139 shots, one power-play goal in 16 chances, and more importantly, zero NCHC standings points.

Zero. As in "none," "not any," or maybe "not even one damn point."

Looks so bad, no matter what the product looked like.

UMD played strong defensively (the Brock Boeser winning goal late Saturday was really the only significant mistake UMD made in its own zone all weekend) and had the puck a lot, especially Friday.

Nothing to show for it.

Plainly, it (bleeping) sucks.

******

Two things from the Twitter crowd.

--> Lots of frustration, which is understandable. I'm not going to directly address the "fire the coach" mob, despite them being convinced they have a good case built around what the Wild have done since Mike Yeo was let go. This coach shouldn't be fired. No one has quit on Scott Sandelin, and changing coaches isn't going to magically cure the run of terrible luck this team has endured.

(Find me a team that's hit more goalposts and broken more sticks to ruin offensive zone possessions than UMD has this season. It's uncanny. You see a defenseman find a soft spot in the circle, someone passes it to his wheelhouse, he winds, and his stick explodes.)

--> People want to know what UMD (25th in the PWR) has to do to get back in at-large consideration. I don't pretend to be a math expert, but I'd say at this point it starts with sweeping St. Cloud, which would also give UMD the season series against a really good team. That can't hurt, though I admit to being clueless about how much it would actually help.

--> Lastly, people want to know if this team can get hot. I believe in this team until there are no more games to call. I'm not giving up and I know the team isn't. There are games to play, so hell yes this team can get hot. I freely admit they're running out of time, but it can happen, and the talent is there. Just ask, well, any coach or scout involved in this league.

******

The not-terribly-smart hit by UND defenseman Troy Stecher on UMD senior Tony Cameranesi at 20:00 of the third period Saturday night drew him a one-game suspension from the league.

Troy Stecher's hit on Tony Cameranesi - no replay from UND broadcast, made my own https://t.co/6LL7dGicFL

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) February 21, 2016

I hated the hit, and I'm glad the league acted. It was pretty cheap, in my estimation, and it came when the game was basically over. There was no "within the context of the game" moment. It was a hit Stecher didn't need to throw, and I'm sure he knows this without some radio hack in Duluth scolding him in a blog.

Stecher's a good player and a trusted leader on his team. He's a better player than he showed on that hit. UND will miss him in Omaha Friday night, and it will welcome him back with open arms on Saturday.

******

From the frying pan to the fire.

UMD heads to St. Cloud State this weekend with one more chance to play spoiler in the league title race. SCSU and UND are tied at 47 points, six points up on Denver, which closes with Western Michigan and Omaha. SCSU finishes with us and then Colorado College, while UND gets Omaha and Western Michigan.

In case you still care about who wins the league.

UMD is tied for fourth with Omaha and Miami. Omaha has the tiebreaker at the moment. Here are the remaining schedules.

Omaha: vs North Dakota, at Denver
UMD: at St. Cloud State, vs Miami
Miami: vs Colorado College, at UMD

And that's it for a brief update. Enjoy the high school hockey section finals this week, and hey the Wild are playing hockey again, so there's that, too. Talk from St. Cloud.

Game 30: UMD at North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- It's not often that I'm genuinely curious how a UMD team is going to respond to something. This is one of those situations.

After Friday's controversial (read: awful) penalty shot call that led to Austin Poganski's overtime winner and a 2-1 North Dakota victory over UMD, I absolutely want to see how the Bulldogs come out in this game.

So much has gone the way of the adversaries this season. UMD hit two more goalposts in Friday's game, outshot another opponent at even strength (25 times in 29 games, including all three against UND), had a lead for a good chunk of the game and never trailed until the winner was scored, and yet gets nothing to show for it but another addition to the "L" column and a drop to 26th (from 23rd starting the night) in the PairWise.

But this is probably the first time that UMD's players can point to a circumstance -- an officiating decision that even a lot of UND press box staff and media were taken aback by -- almost completely out of anyone's control. Could Carson Soucy have made a better defensive play by keeping his feet moving? Maybe, but we'll never know. He did what he felt he had to do to prevent Poganski from cutting to the front of the net by himself, likely never in his wildest dreams thinking it would lead to a penalty shot.

(By the way, as I just told esteemed UND radio voice Tim Hennessy: If that's established as the penalty shot standard and called such consistently, I have zero issues. But I've seen probably a half dozen instances this season -- both for and against UMD -- where guys have had clear breakaways and been fouled from behind with only a minor called. Based on that loose standard, there's no way the Soucy call from Friday comes close. It's undoubtedly a penalty, but that should never be called a penalty shot with how we've defined that in today's game.)

Anyway, the 18 skaters and goalies have to move on. Friday's game was chippy and got quite emotional late. I would expect that with the way it ended and the desperation the visitors have to be feeling at this point, this game might go off the rails in a hurry. Buckle up.

(One lineup change for UMD. Senior forward Austyn Young is out with what is believed to be an upper-body injury. Watch Twitter for updates, as I'll talk to Scott Sandelin in about a half hour.)

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Kuhlman
Osterberg - Thomas - Cameranesi
Johnson - Decowski - Mackay
Young (Blake) - Spurrell - Sampair

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely

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

Poolman - LaDue
Ausmus - Stecher
Wolanin - Thompson

Johnson (Cam) - Hrynkiw - Tomek

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs Suffer Stomach Punch OT Loss to North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Screw it.

I don't want to write it. You don't want to read it.

So just watch this video and let's call it even, mmmK?

Game 29: UMD at North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- From the arena that puts everyone else in college hockey to shame, it's go time for the UMD Bulldogs.

At 11-12-5 and 23rd in the PairWise rankings entering the weekend, hope is not lost. A middling non-conference record and three losses to the one-bid WCHA (including two to mid-pack WCHA team Bemidji State) somehow hasn't sunk UMD's at-large hopes.

But the ship is taking on water.

UMD probably needs three wins the next two weekends to continue any hope of that at-large bid. Did I mention UMD is at North Dakota this weekend and St. Cloud State next weekend? Yeah, there's that.

If the Bulldogs can survive the next two weekends with a winning record, then sweep Miami at home March 4-5, it's entirely possible the Bulldogs won't have to win the NCHC Tournament to get in the NCAAs.

Playing a tough schedule has its benefits, I guess.

As for this weekend, it's obviously a tough task. This is a team that UMD has traditionally struggled against, and it's a building UMD has traditionally struggled in. I have UMD at 5-15-3 all-time at the new Ralph Engelstad Arena, which opened for the 2001-02 season.

Silver lining: UMD is 3-3-1 in the last seven games here, and has played quite well even in a few of the games that were lost. There used to be something about this team playing in this building, but the Bulldogs have shown in recent years they're more than capable of winning here.

Good, because now they probably have to, even if the coaches are trying to remove the pressure and preach a "just relax and play" message. In and of itself, that's not wrong.

"The pressure's on them," UMD coach Scott Sandelin said this week. I don't disagree. UND was swept in a road series for the first time since 2011 last weekend, losing twice in Denver. Rookie head coach Brad Berry -- a former teammate of Sandelin's at UND -- liked most of what he saw, but he wasn't thrilled with his team's defensive play.

I would expect that to be a priority for the -- um, er -- Fighting Hawks this weekend. It remains to be seen whether that affects a transition game for UND that is positively lethal, as dangerous as any in college hockey. UND scored three transition goals in the Friday game in Duluth, winning 3-0. It scored two power-play goals in the Saturday game before adding a late empty-netter.

Last weekend, that transition game was vital to the North Dakota offense yet again, but UND was way too sloppy in its own zone to secure a win in either game.

Limiting North Dakota in transition is a big point of emphasis on the weekend. Of course, it was last time, too, and we all saw how that went.

If UMD doesn't solve Cam Johnson, who allowed zero goals in that December series despite facing 78 UMD shots. Sandelin talked Wednesday about seeing some weaknesses in Johnson's game during that Denver series, but he obviously isn't going to identify them publicly, and exploiting them is another matter completely.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely

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

Poolman - LaDue
Ausmus - Stecher
Shaw - Thompson

Johnson (Cam) - Hrynkiw - Tomek

(UND lists freshman defenseman Christian Wolanin as an extra skater for warmup. I'll update on Twitter if he is inserted into the lineup for someone.

Game 28: Bemidji State at UMD

Three months to the date of a bizarre power outage that postponed the season opener between these two teams, the Bulldogs are finally set to host the Bemidji State Beavers. Both teams are playing well. UMD has won three straight, and Bemidji is 6-2-2 in its last ten games. Records are identical at 11-11-5 overall.

Some news:

UMD senior forward Austin Farley is out for this game with an undisclosed injury. I've been told the hope is to get him healthy for the North Dakota trip. Also out injured are freshman forward Parker Mackay and junior defenseman Dan Molenaar. I don't know the seriousness of either injury at this point, but the bye week is definitely not coming at a bad time.

Junior blue-liner Brenden Kotyk is suspended for this game, but junior Willie Raskob has been deemed sufficiently recovered from an upper body injury and will play.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Iafallo - Toninato - Kuhlman
Young (Blake) - Thomas - Cameranesi
Johnson - Decowski - Young (Austyn)
Sampair - Spurrell - Exell

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Raskob
McCormack - Corrin

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

BSU
O'Connor - Ward - Harms
Gerbrandt - Bauman - Parker
Fitzgerald (Leo) - Fitzgerald (Gerry) - Fitzgerald (Myles)
Marinaccio - Arentz - Heller

Eichstadt - McCormack
Beauvais - Billett
Pedan - Janco

Bitzer - Mimmack

Monday Musings: Bulldogs Rally Late for Dramatic Win, Weekend Sweep

For UMD, Saturday was probably not the crispest 60 minutes of the season. The Bulldogs appeared indecisive with the puck at times, passing wasn't sharp, and things looked a little disjointed at times.

But the season long mantra has been "stick with it," and UMD did just that on Saturday. About 36 minutes after a controversial video replay decision overturned a go-ahead goal, senior captain Andy Welinski got a shot through traffic and by Colorado College goalie Jacob Nehama to tie the game 2-2. 53 seconds later, a Dan Molenaar shot was stopped by Nehama, but Alex Iafallo hammered home the rebound for his third goal of the weekend to put UMD ahead to stay.

Welinski's goal was set up by a Sammy Spurrell faceoff win. Spurrell's line (Charlie Sampair and Austyn Young) played well, with Sampair setting up Spurrell for a scoring chance on the shift before the fateful faceoff. Young contributed a couple good chances as well, so it was fitting this trio was on the ice for the equalizer.

Iafallo's goal came off good work in the offensive zone by Jared Thomas and Tony Cameranesi. Molenaar was able to get a shot off, and Iafallo went to the net. Two of the three goals he scored on the weekend came off driving the net and getting to a loose puck (the other was an empty-net goal).

UMD coach Scott Sandelin put together two new lines over the weekend. He had Thomas center Iafallo and Cameranesi, and Dominic Toninato centered Austin Farley and Karson Kuhlman. Three of the six (Iafallo, Farley, Kuhlman) scored goals in the series, Cameranesi had three assists, Toninato had two assists, and Thomas added an assist, so all six players got on the board in one way or another.

Not only that, but Spurrell's line gave UMD a number of quality shifts both nights, and the Cal Decowski line (with Adam Johnson and Parker Mackay) had a solid weekend while being held off the board outside of a Johnson assist Friday.

******

It was what this team needed. And spare me the "It was just Colorado College" stuff. Since falling to 0-13 Nov. 27, CC was 6-6-1 heading into this series. UMD was 4-6-2 in the same span.

And Colorado College didn't just improve while playing the dregs of society. The Tigers swept Miami, tied North Dakota, won at St. Cloud State, and beat Omaha at home. Colorado College's record isn't good, but a 13-game losing streak will do that to anyone. These are two significant wins for UMD, for a number of reasons.

--> Friday night (CC took a 2-0 lead in the second period) was the first time this season UMD won a game where it trailed at any point. Saturday was the second. To put that in perspective, UMD's second win last season came after the Bulldogs conceded the game's first goal. It took until win No. 10 for it to happen this year.

--> Iafallo hadn't scored with a goalie in the net since Dec. 4 before scoring the go-ahead goal Friday and the winner Saturday. He also scored the empty-netter Friday for a three-goal weekend.

--> With the wins, UMD takes sole possession of fourth in the NCHC. The Bulldogs know they will be no worse than tied for the last home-ice spot when they reconvene in Grand Forks next weekend. UMD has 25 points, Miami (no games in hand) has 22, and Omaha (two games in hand that will be played this weekend) sits in sixth with 19. Omaha will hold the tie-breaker on UMD if it sweeps Western Michigan this weekend and ties the Bulldogs for fourth (UNO will have eight league wins and UMD has seven).

--> UMD broke a string of futility at home. Over its previous four games at Amsoil Arena, UMD went 0-3-1 and was outscored 10-3. The Bulldogs improved to 6-5-2 overall at home this season, which isn't world-beating but is a step in the right direction.

I'm sure everyone's sick of hearing "stick with it," but UMD showed this weekend that there is serious value to doing exactly that.

Give CC credit. I thought the Tigers tightened up a bit defensively Saturday and forced a few mistakes they couldn't get UMD to make on Friday. No, the Bulldogs weren't as sharp as Friday, but I firmly believe at least some of that is a credit to Colorado College more than it is a discredit to UMD. But the Bulldogs did a good job shaking off the controversial disallowed goal (Welinski's shot went in, but it was ruled that Farley prevented Nehama from playing his position) and getting a close win anyway.

******

Now, it's time to move on. Quickly.

Bemidji State visits Tuesday night, as the teams make up UMD's scheduled home opener from Oct. 9 that was postponed by a freak power outage.

It's a short turnaround for UMD, but a huge game. UMD is responsible for two of the NCHC's three losses to WCHA teams this season (18-3-2 record). One of those was Oct. 10 in Bemidji, as the Beavers scored a late goal to win 3-2. The Bulldogs can't afford another non-conference loss.

After a slow start, BSU has rallied and now has an identical 11-11-5 record to UMD's. The Beavers haven't played since the North Star College Cup, beating Minnesota Jan. 30 and losing to St. Cloud State in the title game the next day. They had to Lake Superior State after Tuesday's game, while UMD will take this weekend off.

Before that, though, business. Get this win, get over .500, hopefully get healthier on the bye (juniors Kyle Osterberg and Willie Raskob will hopefully both be back for the North Dakota trip), and hopefully UMD can get on a run before the season ends.

Game 27: Colorado College at UMD

As Scott Sandelin is occasionally prone to say, you can't have a great weekend if you don't win on Friday night.

Check.

Now, on to winning Saturday night.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Molenaar
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

CC
Gooch - Ockey - Bergh
Fejes - Rothstein - Gerdes
Bradley (Trey) - Bradley (Cody) - Heil
Burmaster - Hansen - Roos
(Warmup skater: King)

Kivihalme - Kwiecinski
Farny - McCaskill
Israel - Emilio

Nehama - Marble

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Bulldogs Rally and Get Rewarded for Effort

A happy Saturday blog for the first time in a while. The Bulldogs hadn't won a Friday game since Dec. 4 against Western Michigan, a run of five straight Friday non-wins (0-4-1).

Won't be a really long blog, but I wanted to get some thoughts out there on the game. Plenty of programming notes on the bottom of this.

When Luc Gerdes scored on a power play early in the second period to put Colorado College ahead of UMD 2-0, it appeared that the home and Friday futility would quite possibly continue, despite another strong first period effort.

UMD outshot CC 16-6 in the first, took 32 shots, missed two tap-in goals and a couple potential tip-in goals, and watched Cody Bradley score the only goal of the period when a bad pass intended for his brother Trey bounced to him in the slot. Of course it bounced right to him, right?

The Bulldogs have been given numerous chances to pack it in, lamenting their terrible luck this season. Yet they keep coming, and they were finally rewarded on Friday night.

Austin Farley ripped a wrister top shelf to break UMD's long power play drought at 39 chances and get the home team on the board less than two minutes after Gerdes' goal. Farley's line with Dominic Toninato and Karson Kuhlman was going all night, and it was Kuhlman who made a great move to the net to tie the game in the second period. Farley got an assist on that goal, by the way, for his 100th career point.

Kuhlman had a great night, creating chances by making power moves to the net. Probably should have had a hat trick, but CC's Jacob Nehama was able to do just enough to keep the door shut on a couple other great chances Kuhlman created.

Toninato had a strong night as well, picking up two assists to triple his season total. He's been among UMD's best players in all phases, especially since the calendar turned to 2016, and it's nice to see him getting points to show for it.

Frankly, I really liked most of everything I saw from UMD tonight. Cal Decowski's line (Adam Johnson and Parker Mackay) was a minus on the night, and Willie Corrin and Brenden Kotyk were each minus-two in the back, but that's not indicative of the team effort. The new "second" line of Jared Thomas, Tony Cameranesi, and Alex Iafallo were stellar, with Iafallo getting his first two-point game of the season (two goals) and scoring a nice rebound goal to put UMD ahead for good in the third.

Even the fourth line of Sammy Spurrell, Charlie Sampair, and Austyn Young contributed solid shifts, even when stuck out there against the Bradley line of CC a couple times.

Neal Pionk had a great game, as did partner Andy Welinski (two assists each, both plus-four). Pionk's poise is that of a seasoned Division I veteran, but he shows that poise in his 26th game. It really is a sight to see, and it's not something that should be taken for granted.

It was a good team effort by UMD, and for a team that has struggled to score, getting five had to feel really good. The net drive was there, the net front presence was there, and the goals came as a result.

Simple formula, and this is how it looks when it works. It just hasn't worked often enough this season, even though the effort was there numerous times.

******

Lots of Hockey Day Minnesota coverage on Saturday. If you can't make it to Bayfront Park, join us on 92.1 The Fan at 9:30. Jeff Papas will call Duluth Denfeld vs Eveleth-Gilbert at 10am, and Kraig Karakas and I will be on the mic for Duluth East vs Lakeville North at 1pm. Lots of interviews around the games, as we tell the story of how this event came to be and what it means for Duluth's hockey community.

Also, I'll be on Beyond The Pond on KFAN in the Cities with Brandon Mileski and his crew at around 10:25, and you can catch me later in the day on KFAN with Joe Nelson in the 2pm hour. #overexposed

Game 26: Colorado College at UMD

From the friendly confines of Amsoil Arena. Well, they have yet to be as friendly as we'd like. Still need to work on that.

In UMD's last nine home games, it is 2-5-2 while being outscored 22-19. If you remove the two wins (both over Western Michigan), that margin is 20-6. Six goals in seven games on home ice. And trust me, UMD head coach Scott Sandelin hasn't forgotten about the importance of winning here.

"I think we've got to take advantage," he said. "The bottom line is we've got to establish this as a tougher place to play, and we haven't done that this year. We've kind of been Jekyll and Hyde in our own building."

Vastly improved Colorado College is the opponent in this series. The Tigers are 6-6-1 since a ghastly 0-13 start, and if any of you think we'll seeing the same team it saw in November in Colorado Springs, you're sadly mistaken. CC is probably one of the more improved teams in the country when you look at the start to the season and the way the Tigers are playing now.

Reminder, I'm on Beyond The Pond with Brandon Mileski and crew Saturday at 10:25 on KFAN FM 100.3 in the Cities. The show normally airs in Duluth, but will be pre-empted by Hockey Day coverage from Bayfront. Duluth folks can listen live on iHeartRadio if you're so inclined, and the show is usually available on podcast, too.

Also, if you're a TV watcher, Friday's game is on FSN. Or just #ListenToTheRadio so my son can eat.

Lines?

Lines.

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

Welinski - Pionk
Soucy - Molenaar
Corrin - Kotyk

Kaskisuo - McNeely - Deery

CC
Gooch - Ockey - Bergh
Fejes - Rothstein - Gerdes
Bradley (Trey) - Bradley (Cody) - Heil
Burmaster - Hansen - Roos

Kivihalme - Kwiecinski
Farny - McCaskill
Israel - Emilio

Nehama - Marble

Impact Freshmen Help Keep UMD Afloat

Heading into the season with eight seniors and two highly-touted freshmen, UMD coach Scott Sandelin was clear what he thought expectations were of the latter.

For forward Adam Johnson of Hibbing and defenseman Neal Pionk of Hermantown, it wasn't going to be enough to come in and make the adjustment to college hockey. They were put in roles that showed the coaching staff expected them to be impact players.

For both, it's fair to say there have been ups and downs, but there's no question they've made an impact. Johnson has contributed on the power play from the start of the season, and while he only has ten points as we get ready for this weekend's series between the Bulldogs and Colorado College, his speed and smarts are obvious virtually every time he hops the boards.

Pionk has been a top-pair defenseman for a large part of his freshman season, playing both on his off-side and his natural right side with senior captain Andy Welinski, who is also right-handed but plays on the left side with Pionk nowadays.

"Maybe we were too stupid to try that earlier in the year," Sandelin quipped a few weeks ago when asked about having Welinski on the left side of that pairing after Pionk played that side earlier in the season. "I talked to Andy about playing the off side. I think he really enjoys it. I know I did when I played. I think it's good for him, not only for us, but it's good for him down the road to learn that."

When asked if he had a preference, Pionk said he'd "go right side for now," but he said he'll play where he's told.

"You see the ice differently from the left side," Pionk added. "On the right side, you're more fluid going up the ice. There are benefits to both sides."

With two goals and ten points in 25 games, Pionk has shown no real signs of slowing down. He's playing big minutes and largely playing them well. It's a great thing for his development, and for UMD's future, as Pionk figures to be a top defenseman in this program for a long time to come.

Along the way, though, a third guy has emerged for UMD as a freshman who can be counted on in big spots. Parker Mackay came to UMD from the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Spruce Grove Saints, where he was a captain last year. Mackay doesn't have the local ties Johnson and Pionk do, nor did he commit years ago like they did. Compared to those two, Mackay was a late addition to the 2015-16 class, and he's shown himself to be a very worthy addition.

"He's extremely competitive," Sandelin said. "He's done a really good job for us. He cares, and he works extremely hard. He's getting better because he wants to."

Sandelin relayed a story from Friday's loss to Northern Michigan, saying Mackay was one of the first players off the ice when the game ended, and he was practically in tears.

"That was one you don't want to lose," Mackay said this week of a game where UMD held a 3-2 lead in the third period before NMU rallied to win on a late power-play goal. "It's frustrating throwing games like that away late in the season."

Mackay was injured at the end of the first period Friday, taking a puck to the neck while blocking a shot. Sandelin saluted his freshman, saying "That's the sacrifice you make as a teammate," while Mackay told me he got lucky.

"It hit me flat instead of spiraling," he said.

He didn't miss a shift.

Saturday, UMD jumped all over Northern Michigan with three goals in the first, including two in the first four minutes. Mackay had the second of those, his fourth goal of the season. Early in his UMD career, Mackay has the look of a player who can play on any line and in any situation.

He singled out senior Cal Decowski's leadership in helping him adjust to the college game: "He's a guy that leads by example, working hard on and off the ice. He doesn't take shortcuts. Always staying positive, always has the right things to say. It's been good to follow him."

When you look at the UMD roster, it's littered with guys who could make really good captains in future seasons (assuming they don't leave early, obviously). I'm talking about guys like Carson Soucy, Dominic Toninato, Karson Kuhlman, Kyle Osterberg, Pionk, and definitely Mackay. There's no questions UMD not only recruits high-end talent, but Bulldog coaches are searching for the right kind of character to mesh and develop into leaders for the team in their upperclass years.

It's a huge development for a UMD team that has seen so many experienced players struggle offensively. We don't need to keep harping on those problems, but it's clear a lot of veterans haven't produced the way they have in the past or the way they were expected to this season. Getting impact from a guy like Mackay has gone a long way toward keeping this team in the NCAA Tournament race (very much alive) and in the race for home ice in the NCHC playoffs.

******

Colorado College visits this weekend. UMD won 5-0 and 6-0 in Colorado Springs Nov. 20-21, but look at some of these numbers:

Colorado College was 0-12 after UMD won those games, and the Tigers fell to 0-13 the following Friday by losing to Air Force. Since then, the Tigers are 6-6-1, and they've swept Miami, won at St. Cloud State, tied at North Dakota (a game they trailed 4-0 in the first period), and beaten Omaha at home.

CC was outscored 53-18 over those first 13 games, but a much more respectable 43-39 over the 13 games since. Not earth-shattering, but certainly a lot better than the start of the season.

"They've beaten some good teams," Mackay said of the Tigers since the Bulldogs were there in November.

"Their power play is getting better and has produced," Sandelin said, "and their goalie (Jacob Nehama) has played outstanding for them. They're a team that poses a different set of challenges. This is a much, much improved team."

UMD better be careful. The Bulldogs got lucky the first time around, in that they played Colorado College at a great time. That team had zero confidence, and it was obvious. As soon as UMD scored in each game, it was basically over for the night. The Tigers offered very little pushback. Things are so much different now that this team was not phased at all by falling behind 4-0 in the first period at North Dakota. That wouldn't have been the case in November.

If UMD gets positive results this weekend, it will have earned them.

Hockey Day Minnesota on 92.1 The Fan

Saturday is Hockey Day Minnesota at Bayfront Park in Duluth. We have the event covered on 92.1 The Fan, and you can listen free on iHeartRadio.

Here's a preview of what you'll hear on the radio, besides the games, of course. Jeff Papas, Kraig Karakas, and I will be with you throughout the day. We start on the air at 9:30am Saturday.

At 9:35am, Duluth Mayor Emily Larson welcomes this wonderful event to the city and Bayfront Park.

At 9:40am, we talk with the new executive director of the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association, Jason Watt, about his new role and growing up playing on Duluth's outdoor rinks all the way to his time at UMD.

Before the 10am game between Eveleth-Gilbert and Duluth Denfeld, we'll visit with the head coaches of both teams, Jeff Torrel of Eveleth-Gilbert and Kevin Smalley from Duluth Denfeld.

After the first period, we chat with the director of the Local Organizing Committee that was instrumental in bringing Hockey Day Minnesota to Bayfront Park, Jeremy Downs. We'll discuss the challenges and the amount of work that went into this production.

In the second intermission, we'll hear from the athletic director at Duluth Denfeld, Tom Pearson, as we learn about the impact of the event on Denfeld's athletic program and community.

Between games, we have a number of interviews lined up. At around 12:20, we chat with DAHA Board President Brett Klosowski about the impact of Hockey Day Minnesota on the association.

Then around 12:30, we talk to former Duluth hockey star and UMD Bulldog Pat Francisco, who was instrumental in organizing the funding effort that led to construction of the Duluth Heritage Sports Center.

At 12:35, we talk to Dane Youngblom of the Duluth Fire Department, followed by Sgt. Ken Zwak of the Duluth Police Department, as we preview the Police vs Fire outdoor hockey game that will be played Saturday night.

Around 12:40, we visit with a representative of the Minnesota Wild and Fox Sports North, talking about the history of Hockey Day Minnesota, which is in its tenth year in 2016.

Then, before the Duluth East vs Lakeville North game at 1pm, we preview the game with Lakeville North coach Trent Eigner and Duluth East coach Mike Randolph.

After the first period of East-Lakeville North, we'll hear from Duluth East athletic director Shawn Roed. He'll discuss how this event came together for Duluth's high school hockey teams and preview his winter sports teams in upcoming playoffs.

Following the second period, we'll learn about the Duluth Area Special and Sled Hockey Program from Christian Koelling of DASSH, who is also director of hockey operations for the UMD men's program.

Hope you can join us.

Monday Musings: Bulldogs Earn Much-Needed Win

There was good and bad for UMD in Saturday's 3-1 win over Northern Michigan in Marquette. Obviously, with the end result being a win that snapped a five-game winless streak, and no one obviously getting shelved by an injury, the good outweighs the bad.

We'll start there and save the negative for later.

UMD ground out a win against an opponent that wants to slow the pace of the game. Saturday's game was played at NMU's pace, with not many scoring chances either way. This has been an issue for past UMD teams, but the Bulldogs stuck with their tight defense and didn't give NMU much of anything. The Wildcats' only goal came off a UMD mistake, as Adam Johnson tried to weave through the neutral zone and coughed up the puck. Dominik Shine got it back over the UMD blue line and fed Darren Nowick to cut UMD's lead to 3-1.

Not only did that close the scoring, but the Wildcats didn't seriously threaten after that goal, either. By no means was it pretty, but it was an effective defensive performance by a team that really needed one.

Going into Friday, head coach Scott Sandelin really wanted to see his team play tighter defensively. While there were spurts of it in the series opener, NMU scored four goals, and three of them came off questionable defense (including a transition goal that UMD allowed not even 30 seconds after taking the lead in the third period).

The effort in the UMD zone was much more consistent and effective on Saturday, and the Bulldogs were rewarded for it with a victory.

Offensively, it wasn't pretty. In fact, I'm not sure what the final 40 minutes consisted of, because there weren't a lot of hockey-type things happening. But the Bulldogs jumped on NMU freshman goalie Matthias Israelsson, making his fourth appearance of the season, for two goals on three shots in less than four minutes. Matthias Dahlstrom took over from there, but the damage was done when Tony Cameranesi and Parker Mackay scored for a 2-0 lead. Dominic Toninato jammed in a rebound late in the first to make it 3-0.

The Bulldogs didn't do a whole lot offensively the rest of the night, but they also didn't have to. They weren't threatened.

It was a win, a win where Mackay continued his ascent by scoring again and contributing a very nice game. A win where senior captain Andy Welinski chipped in another point for a three-point weekend. A win where Kasimir Kaskisuo made 19 saves and was solid in net. A win where Alex Iafallo picked up his first assist of the calendar year. A win.

******

Good thing it was a win, because it takes the stain off the last 40 minutes, which was honestly some of the worst hockey I've seen all season. That's not all on UMD. The Wildcats didn't appear to have much urgency, even late in the game down by two goals. It wouldn't be fair to say NMU was content to lose the game 3-1, but it did look like that at times. Like I said, UMD went against a team that likes to slow the game down and limit scoring chances, and the Bulldogs didn't have to worry about chasing the game like they did Friday, because they scored first Saturday and never looked back.

It also makes the power play's performance less painful.

But that one still stings.

The power play was scoreless in seven tries. It generated just three shots on goal, marking the same number of shots on goal UMD got short-handed. The Bulldogs are now scoreless in their last 36 power plays going back to Dec. 11. Of those 36 power plays, UMD has been held without a shot on goal in 17 of them, including eight of 11 over the weekend against Northern Michigan.

There's been some bad luck -- goalposts, missed nets, "How did he do that?" saves, etc. -- thrown in to ruin effective man advantage efforts by UMD. Not all 36 power plays have been garbage, far from it, actually. But they've all had the same net result: No goals.

On Saturday, the power play looked like a group that didn't think it had a chance to score. Movements and passes were deliberate. Players appeared indecisive, unsure of themselves. And from my seat, our power play just looked way too easy to defend.

The system hasn't changed. We've seen it work. This was a power play hitting at over 20 percent before the slump started. But it works when passes are crisp and decisions are quick. That didn't appear the case on Saturday, and I don't know how that gets fixed.

I do know that is has to be better. We've beaten this subject to death, and yet it will inevitably come up again this week. I'm not going to call for personnel changes, largely because they just made personnel changes and constantly switching up personnel won't solve the issue.

(In fairness, special teams are far from a disaster. The penalty kill continues to shine, and it is probably equal parts Kaskisuo and the killers doing a good job. That's good to see. They're not overly relying on Kaskisuo to save the bacon, and instead doing things like preventing clean zone entries and blocking shots to make his life easier at times.)

******

Next up is a three-game homestand that will play out over five days. It starts with Colorado College in town Friday and Saturday. The Tigers are a .500 team since an 0-13 start to the season, and clearly CC is playing better hockey. I watched back the Tigers' games at St. Cloud State Jan. 8-9, and CC earned that split.

The Tigers have also swept Miami since UMD played in Colorado Springs Nov. 20-21 (5-0 and 6-0 wins). CC rallied from 4-0 down to eventually steal a point at North Dakota two weekends ago, and this past week the Tigers beat Omaha 5-1 Friday before losing 6-1 on Saturday. In the Saturday loss, CC was held to just 12 shots on goal.

It's also Hockey Day weekend, so we invite you to make a day of it on Saturday. Outdoor high school games at Bayfront Park start at 10am, and there's plenty of time after the second high school game to grab dinner and join us inside Amsoil Arena for the second game against the Tigers.

The homestand concludes with Bemidji State next Tuesday, Feb. 9. That's a makeup from the power outage-spoiled home opener that was scheduled for Oct. 9.