UMD Opens 2012-13 With Split

Friday 6-2 UMD Win Turns to Saturday 3-2 Loss

It was 10 year s since the Bulldogs have started a NCAA season with a sweep and now it is 11. UMD came out so fast Friday en route to a 6-2 win that one should have predicted a let down from a young team. But people didn’t and they looked for more of the same against the Buckeyes on Saturday. UMD fell victims to Ohio State 3-2 Saturday.

Unfortunately, this may be the story of the young UMD team for a while, inconsistency. Looking at the team it maybe isn’t youth that is the issue, it may be inexperience. With leaders leaving over the last two years by graduation and early departure, many Bulldogs that need to step up haven’t needed to in the past.

Some faces appear on the top line that aren’t accustomed to facing top liners on the other side of the puck. Every player has to step up their game and get used to being that player they saw across the locker room past years. The talent is there, no doubt about it, but the new responsibility and spotlight must be taken into account and fast. With three of the next four series on the road and only one more non-conference opponent, the road looks long and winding. A quick week and the road maybe just what UMD needs as they travel to South Bend Wednesday to play the 2-0-0 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Gophers Not Looking Back. The opponent was different, but the result was the same on the opening weekend this season. After destroying Sacred Heart to start 2011-12, the Gophers toyed with and summarily dispatched the Spartans of Michigan State 5-1 and 7-1 to start 2012-13.

We expected Michigan State to put up some fight and they did, but it was nothing compared to the scoring of Minnesota Twin Cities. The pick of the Gophers to be tops in the WCHA looks pretty good right now, but championships are not won in October so we will see where this long season takes the WCHA teams.

Next Up, Notre Dame. The Irish picked up two wins in the Icebreaker Tournament beating Maine 1-0 and Nebraska-Omaha 3-2. The key in each game was not the high scoring of Anders Lee and TJ Tynan, but the goaltending of Steven Summerhays.

Notre Dame and UMD play Thursday and Friday night both at 6:35pm CDT.