BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Coaches are never satisfied. And it was clear early in what became a 4-1 UMD win Friday night that the Bulldog coaches were not going to be close to satisfied. UMD's puck management was not great. Bemidji State likes to apply pressure, and the Beavers were doing a great job of forcing mistakes because...

And just like that, UMD enters its final non-conference test before kicking off the league schedule next weekend in Colorado. It's easy to say that we don't know as much as we were hoping to know about the 2026-27 edition of the Bulldogs, what with the team's unquestioned best player -- and one of its great leaders/dri...

The annual Highway 2 back-and-forth takes place this weekend, with the UMD men and Bemidji State alternating home games over a two-game series, one that starts in Duluth on Friday. If you haven't heard, longtime Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore announced before this season started that it would be his last on the job....

UMD's power play came alive on Friday night, scoring three goals on a Minnesota major penalty in the second period to turn a somewhat-competitive game into a blowout. The three goals came 1:54 apart, two from Ty Hanson and one from Hunter Anderson. 3-1 became 6-1, and the result was never in doubt after that. It was ba...

A few things to keep in mind if you're planning a visit for one or both of the games this weekend: --> The Haunted Ship is also open, so traffic could be a bit snarly going in and out of here; --> It's MEA weekend, which means there are visitors around Canal Park who -- gasp! -- aren't here for hockey; --> UMD...

UMD coach Scott Sandelin was asked at his weekly media conference -- yes, I know this isn't exactly hard-hitting -- what he remembered about playing against the jersey his players will wear this weekend against Minnesota. View this post on Instagram A post shared by UMD Men's Hockey (@umdmenshockey) They are throwbacks...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- It's a different game when you're facing pressure. UMD found that out Friday night. The Bulldogs didn't have to make a lot of plays under duress last weekend against Long Island. Players had time and space, and that can mess with even an experienced mind. We saw on Friday what can happen when a tea...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- "The hill gets steeper." Scott Sandelin talked about games getting harder than what his team experienced last weekend from a Long Island team that looked mostly overmatched -- outside of the excellent play of goalie Daniel Duris -- by the second period of the Saturday game. That would hav...

It wasn't a clean weekend for UMD. Yes, the Bulldogs picked up two season-opening wins over Long Island. Yes, UMD scored 11 goals on the weekend with ten different players lighting the lamp. Yes, UMD got a shutout from Carl Axelsson Saturday in his Bulldog debut. But UMD did not get through the weekend healthy. There's...

Luke Bibby played in 33 games last season, but it wasn't until Game 31 that he picked up his first collegiate point. He didn't wait much longer for his inevitable first career goal. Bibby, who carved out a role as a reliable bottom six forward with a willingness to go to the tough areas, fittingly scored that goal by g...

Safe to say, it's been a minute since we've had a season with this much anticipation before games are played. Veteran coach Scott Sandelin is every bit of that, in his 27th season. He knows the pressures that can fall on teams with high expectations. More often than not, his squads have been able to play through all of...

I know the UMD women kicked off their season last weekend, and we'll talk a bit about the starting point Laura Schuler got from her team in this here column. But it's fair to say the most anticipated UMD men's hockey season in a long time starts Friday inside Amsoil Arena, and we're going to start there, along with oth...

With the college hockey season quickly approaching, it has reached the time where we go on a largely fruitless but endlessly enjoyable mission to try to predict the order of finish in the NCHC. As per tradition, we begin by reminding you 1) of last season's standings, and 2) how your humble correspondent predicted them...

The dog days of summer are upon us. Of course, summer is such a fleeting thing around here as is, that the idea of dog days is more appropriate in winter, but that's just me being difficult. We've mostly known the 2026-27 UMD roster for basically three months now, but the nice people at the university posted it on the ...

Welcome to July, and welcome to the exact midway point of the UMD men's hockey offseason. As summer gets cranked up around Duluth (until the wind shifts), we're back with our traditional mid-summer look at what's been going on. While UMD ended up having quite the quiet offseason in terms of roster upheaval, it's been a...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- One more here in Albany, this time for a spot in the Frozen Four. A UMD team chalk full of standout sophomores will try to push the Bulldogs back to the biggest stage this sport has to offer. Standing in the way is top-ranked Michigan. It's a loaded Wolverines lineup, plenty of talent, depth, and a goal...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- For an old dude like me, nothing is quite as nightmarish as seeing a 9pm local time game delayed ten minutes by a glass issue, then giving us the serious threat of overtime. Hunter Anderson to the rescue. His goal with just over five minutes left put UMD in front for good. From there, UMD held on to bea...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- It's nice to be back in the NCAA Tournament, for sure. But we didn't miss the random 9pm Eastern time start to bend the knee to what ESPN wants. When the regionals were announced on Sunday, the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" decided to switch the scheduled start times for the regional semifinals...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Sitting on UMD's charter flight to Albany Wednesday, it dawned on me how long it had been since I had taken such a flight. I didn't cover the 2021 Frozen Four in Pittsburgh in person, the choice was made to work the event virtually on the back end of the pandemic. In 2022, I flew commercial to Colorado ...

DENVER -- It's 89 degrees outside. Let's play hockey! That southwestern heat dome is a hell of a thing, guys. It's very warm out, but not humid. The ice inside Magness looks good, and it's not a freezer in here. Yet. The National Cup is in the house, and will be presented to the winner of this game. That winner gets an...