
Midwest-Duluth Sports Director Bruce Ciskie blogs his thoughts about whatever sports-type things he wants to blog about. The blog WILL stick to sports. Oh, and it’s very heavy on UMD hockey when the Bulldogs are in season because Bruce calls the games and it’s pretty much all he’ll write about.
Game 30: North Dakota at UMD
Good win Friday. Let's do it again. UND captain Bennett Zmolek is out with an injury. Jayden Jubenvill replaces him. UMD changes nothing. Ethan Dahlmeir vs Jan Spunar again. Lines? Lines. UMD forwards Plante (Max) - Plante (Zam) - Shaugabay Truman - Gaffney - Arnott Anderson - Shlaine - Bibby Bentz - Kovich - Bechen UM...
Feb 07, 2026
Game 29: North Dakota at UMD
Here we go. Lines? Lines. UMD forwards Plante (Max) - Plante (Zam) - Shaugabay Truman - Gaffney - Arnott Anderson - Shlaine - Bibby Bentz - Kovich - Bechen UMD defense Hanson - Kleber Pionk - Pierce Cleveland - Siepmann Bodnarchuk UMD goalies Dahlmeir - Sheffield North Dakota forwards Swanson - Rickwood - Zellers James...
Feb 06, 2026
9 Thoughts: Olympics Arrive as Crunch Time Hits
As you read this (thanks for that, by the way), the 2026 Winter Olympics are underway, with women's hockey among the events that get going before the opening ceremony Friday night, Italy time. Plenty of UMD flavor in the hockey tournaments, especially on the women's side of things. Oh, and UMD hosts its final scheduled...
Feb 05, 2026
Game 28: UMD at Denver
DENVER -- Very interested to see how this game starts. UMD has lost three straight by 4-3 scores, gaining only one of a possible nine points in the NCHC standings. Starting goalie Adam Gajan will leave the team Sunday to join the Slovakians ahead of the Olympics in Italy. Outside of a third period that featured UMD pos...
Jan 31, 2026
Takeaways: Late Rally Falls Short
DENVER -- At his weekly media conference Wednesday, UMD coach Scott Sandelin bristled at the opening question from Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune, where Matt asked about how the players are handling the adversity off getting swept by Western Michigan last weekend. "What adversity are we going through?,&qu...
Jan 31, 2026
Game 27: UMD at Denver
DENVER -- The postseason is still six weeks away, but we're getting closer and closer, and games are going to get tighter and tighter. UMD's 9-1 non-conference record has it still in a very good position to return to the NCAA Tournament, despite losing three of its last four games. Scott Sandelin seemed encouraged by h...
Jan 31, 2026
9 Thoughts: Trust The Process
DENVER -- From a results standpoint, the UMD men had their toughest weekend of the season against a very good Western Michigan team last weekend at Amsoil Arena. But success in the regular season isn't always measured by the pure result of the game. Saturday is a good example of that. Sometimes you have to, well, you k...
Jan 30, 2026
Game 26: Western Michigan at UMD
Words usually go in this space, but I don't have any. We'll hit the air at 5:30, hopefully we can be a diversion from the doom-scrolling. I understand if you're not looking for that right about now. Please do join us if you think a diversion is a good idea. We aren't here to pretend things aren't happening. But the gam...
Jan 24, 2026
Game 25: Western Michigan at UMD
One of the strangest sequences -- maybe "unique" is a better word, not sure -- of the UMD season happened in the Saturday game at Kalamazoo on Dec. 6. The Broncos tied the game 2-2 early in the third period. With 9:22 left in regulation time, UMD goalie Adam Gajan stopped a shot from Western forward Grant Slu...
Jan 23, 2026
9 Thoughts: Second Half Grind Continues as Schedule Ramps Up
With no disrespect meant to anyone, the UMD men's hockey team is going to learn an awful lot about itself in the next three weekends before its final bye of the regular season. Home versus Western Michigan, at Denver, and then back home for North Dakota. The rest of the NCHC's top four is lined up for the Bulldogs to g...
Jan 22, 2026
Game 24: UMD at St. Cloud State
ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Friday was the first series-opening loss of the season for UMD after 11 straight wins. I probably didn't need to tell you that. There were Fridays along the way where the Bulldogs were far from perfect, where maybe the scoreline didn't necessarily reflect the way the game went, but the result was a ...
Jan 17, 2026
Game 23: UMD at St. Cloud State
Seven weekends remain in the regular season for UMD. The Bulldogs will play 12 games, all for NCHC points, with one bye week mixed in. It all starts here against old friend St. Cloud State. The teams haven't met in the first round of the postseason either of the last two years, cutting back on some of the well-discusse...
Jan 16, 2026
9 Thoughts: Olympic Opportunities for Three Current Bulldogs
The Winter Olympics are less than a month away in Italy, where the talk remains about facility construction ahead of the hockey tournament. And the women's event starts Feb. 5, ahead of the opening ceremony and the start of the men's draw on the 11th, so time's running out quickly on that. Nations participating in the ...
Jan 15, 2026
Game 22: Lindenwood at UMD
You know the drill. Early game, not a lot of time. Both teams make changes, listed below. Grayden Siepmann is dinged up after that hit in the first period Friday, hopefully nothing serious there. Ethan Dahlmeir vs Liam Beerman. Dahlmeir's first start as a Bulldog, something that might have been in the works but became ...
Jan 10, 2026
Game 21: Lindenwood at UMD
Great women's game with UMD and Wisconsin tying 1-1, UMD wins the shootout 1-0 in three rounds to send a nice crowd home happy. On to the men. Lines? Lines. UMD forwards Plante (Max) - Plante (Zam) - Shaugabay Truman - Gaffney - Arnott Anderson - Shlaine - Bentz Zaremba - Kovich - Bechen UMD defense Hanson - Kleber Pio...
Jan 09, 2026
9 Thoughts: The Second Half Begins
I'd say "Welcome back," but I don't know if you went anywhere. Hope your holidays were swell, whether you took in any of the large gobs of hockey being played or not. Either way, we do hope you plan on making your way down to Amsoil Arena Friday and Saturday, as for the first time this season (!), the UMD men...
Jan 08, 2026
9 Thoughts: Cleaning Out the Holiday Break Notebook
My intention was to write before the World Juniors started, but I got sick as the Pre-Tournament Series was getting started in Duluth, and that stupid thing lingered through Christmas and was still bugging me as the World Juniors started. Didn't stop me from getting down to the Twin Cities a bunch, which didn't help me...
Jan 05, 2026
Game 20: Arizona State at UMD
Not quite a "Last day of school" vibe, but we're close. UMD wraps up the 2025 portion of its schedule and hits the halfway mark of the NCHC season with the series finale here against Arizona State. A 3-1 UMD win on Friday gave Scott Sandelin 483 wins in his 1,000 games as head coach. It also moved the Bulldog...
Dec 13, 2025
Game 19: Arizona State at UMD
UMD and Arizona State met six times last season, in ASU's inaugural run in the NCHC. The record will forever reflect that the Sun Devils went 4-1-1 in those six games, outscoring the Bulldogs 23-19. UMD outshot ASU 214-187 in those six games, outshooting Arizona State in every game except the Saturday game in Duluth, w...
Dec 12, 2025
9 Thoughts: Sandelin Reflects on Hitting 1,000 Games
What do you do when the center of attention isn't a huge fan of talking about himself? You make him do it anyway. If you know Scott Sandelin at all, you know he just isn't someone who wants to talk about himself very much. Normally, this is where I'd take a shot at a guy like PJ Fleck, but I've grown and you're on your...
Dec 10, 2025


