There’s no question that UMD’s power play has struggled this season. The Bulldogs are used to getting solid production from that group, but while we’ve seen some progress through 14 games, the results really haven’t been there on a consistent basis. At least not yet.
Noah Cates deflected a Koby Bender shot by Alaska freshman goalie Daniel Allin 28 seconds into overtime Saturday, giving UMD a hard-fought 1-0 win and a weekend sweep.
It’s the first time since opening weekend — Oct. 8-9 against Bemidji State — that UMD has scored power play goals in consecutive games. Both goals this weekend were timely. Carter Loney found the back of the net Friday to break the seal after UMD controlled large chunks of possession in the first 14ish minutes but couldn’t find paydirt. And Cates got his team a win after a scoreless game found overtime at Amsoil Arena for the second straight home weekend.
Outside of that, it was hard to evaluate discernible progress on the power play this weekend, thanks to the absences of Casey Gilling and Wyatt Kaiser (both games) and Dominic James (Saturday). After Saturday’s game, coach Scott Sandelin expressed optimism that all three — along with forward Luke Loheit — would be able to play at Northern Michigan next weekend.
But it felt like the power play did have more of a shot mentality on Saturday, even if a lot of those shots were blocked. We’ll see next weekend if that carries over.
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But the big story Saturday, besides the heroics from UMD’s unquestioned leader, surrounded who wasn’t playing. UMD had exactly zero healthy scratches for Saturday’s game, with Gilling and Kaiser sick and James and Loheit both banged up on Friday. Defenseman Jake Rosenbaum played forward. Jarrett Lee got his most regular ice time this season. Cates moved back to center.
Guys were in different roles, and they were asked to step up. While it didn’t consistently happen, there were some very good signs. First, despite the fact UMD wasn’t necessarily responsible with the puck over the first two periods (especially a stretch of the second period), Alaska had just 19 shots on goal, the same number as the Bulldogs blocked.
Cates seemed more involved offensively than he was for a lot of last season when he was playing center. He finished with six shots and had the puck a lot, especially as UMD started to press in the second half of the third period. UMD outshot Alaska 34-19 in the game, including 16-4 in the third period. Allin was under siege, but was given too much time to get comfortable for a guy who had played under 100 minutes and faced just 37 shots all season before Saturday’s start. By the time UMD started to consistently possess the puck in the offensive zone, Allin had settled in and played a strong game.
Blake Biondi was solid again, strong on pucks, good on the wall, and he finished with five shots. The defense was active offensively, with Darian Gotz, Matt Anderson, Louie Roehl, Hunter Lellig, and Owen Gallatin totaling 13 shots on goal (Gotz, Anderson, and Roehl each had three; Lellig and Gallatin two each). Alaska sags a lot of guys down low defensively, trying to protect the house as much as possible, so good shot volume from up high is designed to spread those defenders out a bit.
I thought Quinn Olson was more aggressive in the offensive zone, trying to get close to the net with pucks instead of staying on the perimeter. It wasn’t easy sledding, but it was good to see the drive from him.
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He only faced 30 shots in two games, but Ryan Fanti was excellent again, picking up his fourth shutout in the last seven games with 19 saves Saturday. Over those seven games, Fanti has stopped 157 of 161 shots from opponents, a .975 save percentage that will win a lot of hockey games, especially for this team. UMD isn’t the highest-scoring bunch, but the Bulldogs can make it work with this kind of defense and goaltending.
Sandelin has talked a lot this season about the timely saves, which is an area difficult to quantify but one Fanti has largely nailed. I’m sure he’d love the winning goals scored by Western and North Dakota back, but he mostly has come up with big saves when his team needed them, stopping breakaways and keeping UMD in leads, tied, or in striking distance in games.
(Timely saves and timely goals. Sounds like a recipe for a long run if you ask me.)
Those things don’t always lead to wins, but they almost always liven up a bench and get his teammates going.
There are things to watch for on Monday that don’t mean a lot in the big picture. UMD could take over at No. 1 in the polls, as Minnesota State — No. 1 last week — lost Friday at Lake Superior State. Polls don’t matter blah blah blah (yes, I’m guilty on that), but they’re a fun discussion point, and don’t pretend for a second it means nothing to fans to see their team in the top spot.
Also, don’t be shocked if Fanti is once again the NCHC Goaltender of the Week. He certainly should be in the running, as the only goalie in the league to pitch a shutout this weekend.
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Next up is more non-conference, this time a two-game road series against Northern Michigan. The Wildcats, from the CCHA, are 8-6-1 overall and tied with Bemidji State in points for second place in the league behind Minnesota State (Bemidji has four games in hand).
Northern can fill the net, with 61 goals scored in 15 games, but NMU has also conceded 56 times. The Wildcats are led in scoring by Denver transfer Hank Crone, who has six goals and 21 points.
The Berry Events Center in Marquette is Olympic ice, which is a surface often kind to UMD in recent years. We’ll learn more later this week on the status of the injured/ill players. Follow the Twitters for all of that stuff.
5pm pregames Friday and Saturday from HOPEFULLY NOT SNOWY Marquette.
