One thing should be made clear first.
Just like the absences of some key players didn’t guarantee defeat last weekend against Northern Michigan, the returns of key players for this weekend guarantees nothing.
Last weekend’s games were there for the taking. UMD doomed itself Friday by 1) taking early penalties and going down two men, then 2) playing a poor second period, while 3) not doing a good enough job of protecting first-time starting goalie Ben Patt. Saturday, the Bulldogs didn’t properly cover a Northern rush in the first two minutes, giving up a preventable goal on the first Wildcat shot of the game. When it looked like UMD was getting onto good footing, it took untimely penalties that led to power play goals that allowed NMU to build on its lead. Then, gifted three third-period power plays, UMD couldn’t get a puck home to cut Northern’s lead to one goal and really make the Wildcats sweat out a game they led for the duration.
UMD coach Scott Sandelin did like some of his team’s performance on Saturday, but he pointed to the lost power play chances, the opening goal, and a second-period breakaway UMD conceded at the end of a four-on-four.
“It’s tough playing catchup,” he said. “We went through clips in the morning on rush coverage, then the first goal, we don’t backcheck enough. Now you’re chasing the game.
“…Our power play could have helped us out, get us back in that game. That’s an area we’ve got to find a way to get better at, because it’s going to get harder and harder to score goals. Our power play hasn’t been consistent enough to score, help us ease some of the five-on-five burden.
“…When you’re giving up breakaways, a guy’s making a 150-foot pass for a breakaway, that’s guys falling asleep, and those things can’t happen.”
Yes, the Bulldogs played last weekend without starting goalie Ryan Fanti (.946 save percentage) and sophomore defenseman Wyatt Kaiser. Yes, UMD lost fifth year senior defenseman Louie Roehl to an upper body injury Friday that cost him Saturday’s game and left UMD with no healthy scratches for the second straight Saturday. Yes, the penalty kill has been missing key forward Luke Loheit for 8 of the last 11 games.
Yes, everyone I just rattled off except Roehl (day to day, uncertain for Friday) is expected back to open a two-game home series with Denver.
But it guarantees nothing.
“We have to play how we play,” fifth year senior Kobe Roth said, predictably refusing to take the interviewer’s bait and make excuses with the number of players UMD has been missing.
“Obviously, it’s tough,” Sandelin said of the constant line shuffling, “but guys need to find a way to step up.”
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Reinforcements have indeed arrived. Fanti and Kaiser are back from COVID protocols and expected in the lineup. Loheit is back from an injury and should play. Hopefully, if Roehl is on the shelf this weekend, it’s a very temporary thing.
Now, that doesn’t mean UMD is going to get back to form. As Roth said, the Bulldogs have to play “the right way,” or it won’t matter who is in the lineup.
“We’ve got to have everybody on board,” said Sandelin, “with everyone playing the right away. It’s got to be every shift. We do that, and we give ourselves a chance.”
Sandelin said he expects his team will learn from the Northern series, “or we’re not a very good team.”
“We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves.”
They sure don’t. Here comes Denver, one of the hottest offensive teams in the land.
The tenth-ranked Pioneers have ripped off six straight wins since a four-game losing streak. Over those six games, Denver has scored 34 goals, an average of nearly six per game, while allowing only 10. David Carle’s team is hitting on many, if not all, cylinders heading into Duluth.
Sophomore Carter Savoie has 12 goals in 14 games. Fellow forwards Massimo Rizzo, Bobby Brink, Brett Stapley, Cole Guttman, and Carter Mazur are all averaging at least a point per game. Freshmen Sean Behrens and Shai Buium have both made an impact on a mobile, capable blue line.
With UMD at close to full strength, it’ll be interesting to see how the team plays defensively. Part of that will be the forwards. The Bulldogs simply haven’t gotten consistent play out of all four lines. Part of that is the constant lineup upheaval, which makes it hard to cultivate chemistry (it’s no surprise that UMD’s best lines last weekend were the Casey Gilling and Dominic James lines, which have experienced the least change through 16 games). But as Sandelin says, guys need to play the roles they’re asked to play. Or, as Roth put it, “we’re all here for a reason.”
Gilling’s and James’ lines were both good last weekend. Noah Cates was a beast, winning puck battle after puck battle. Those lines were key to UMD doing a better job establishing a forecheck on Saturday night, and they were key to what offensive push the Bulldogs generated on Friday. Biondi and James were dynamic, and Quinn Olson was in the middle of what might have been his best weekend in a strong first half when he was (justifiably) ejected from Saturday’s game for boarding NMU’s AJ Vanderbeck in the second period.
Denver’s power play is hitting at nearly 30 percent, so discipline will be a huge key for the Bulldogs. Loheit’s return should help solidify a kill that struggled a bit against Northern Michigan, but is still over 80 percent on the season. Again, considering all the changes all over the lineup, that’s pretty good.
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Teddy Bear Toss on Friday, so please come prepared if you’re attending. Post-game skate with the team on Saturday, so please come prepared if you’re attending.
Also, there’s a lot going on in the area of the DECC complex. The ice fishing show is back, as is the Nutcracker, and it’s still Bentleyville season. Make your way down early and make sure you can park and get in the building on time.
Otherwise, 6:30 pregames both nights on KDAL. Back before the game with lines and any further injury updates.
