Goal one achieved: advancing to the Final Five in Saint Paul. One cannot take away the success in the best-of-three game series, but the fact that the Bulldogs needed three games to do it may prove to be costly for the goal of making the NCAA Tourney.
Behind stellar goaltending, solid defense, and balanced scoring the Bulldogs surged to the second round of the WCHA Playoffs with a 4-0 win over Colorado College at the DECC. The loss by CC ends their season.
To not follow CC to a season end, the Bulldogs must win. UMD is entering the Final Five as the only team of the five to not be as close to a guaranteed NCAA berth as it gets. In fact, UMD needs to get through Thursday’s Play-in game against North Dakota and even win one more to get a chance at the NCAA field. Bold statement, but how do we know what it takes is the question.
Again this year USCHO has their PairWise Predictor running. It is an interactive scenario generator where you choose the winners and losers and the PWR is calculated based on your choices. Without spending too much time yet on it, I have tried many possibilities and have come to the conclusion that UMD needs at least two wins to get in. Also, again this year I challenge you to look at the possiblilites and find if there is a way for UMD to get into the NCAA Tourney with only a Thursday win. Remember, at this point the top 14 get in because of the CHA and AHA champions not being in the PWR. Good luck and post comments if you find anything.
It again all comes down to how many conference winner “upsets” we see like Alabama – Huntsville’s CHA championship.
The bottom line remains that to continue the season UMD has to take care of their business and let the chips fall where they may.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Bulldogs Need Sunday; Bemidji Doesn't Pull Through
Here we are again. Another great chance for the Bulldogs to solidify their NCAA aspirations in route to the Final Five squandered. Instead, the team is headed to another home playoff series Sunday night game three. This will be the fifth straight home playoff series that will need a game three in 17 years. UMD is 4-1 in those games winning their last four.
It isn’t from lack of trying that UMD finds themselves playing on Sunday. Numerous great chances were had at CC goaltender Joe Howe, but Howe played an excellent game and staved off the Bulldogs. Total shot on goal did end up in UMD’s favor 40-31.
The part that really hurts is that a win would have propelled UMD higher than the #12 PWR ranking they were at prior to the WCHA games ending last night. Instead, they go back to limbo again, tied at #16 and out of the NCAA playoffs for now.
Not being able to be in Duluth for the games, the HighHorse staff is following the games in the internet broadcasts. Except for the part that after working very well all year, now we cannot get Bruce Ciskie’s call, so we are reduced to listening to the CC feed. What is interesting about the Tiger announcer is that he keeps referring to, “If the Tigers season is to continue…” And now it is if either team’s season is to continue, they must win tonight.
So much for my hope that the Tiger spirit would be crushed in OT fashion Friday and mail it in Saturday, but I guess that is how close these teams are. And it gives testament to the competition of the WCHA as all the series have been good match-ups, excluding the Anchorage losses at Wisconsin.
So off to Colorado Springs we go via the internet again tonight to listen to the last game for one of the teams in playing in Duluth tonight.
Dying Vengeance. The illustrious CHA took its final curtain call last night with their championship game in Niagara Falls, NY. I know that this is the way that college sports are supposed to work with the tournament winner getting an auto-bid to the NCAA (the Gopher Men’s Basketball team plays for the Big Ten title today in CHA style). But this is ridiculous.
There likely would be more of an outcry for the CHA to not have their auto-bid in a four team league if it wasn’t for Bemidji State’s run to the Frozen Four last year and the way they have competed this year nationally. But one of the CHA teams being over .500 (BSU) shows the competitiveness of this league.
I believe that everyone was OK with this year’s last hurrah also because Bemidji (#7 in the PWR) would waltz in and take the championship and that would be the ride off into the sunset that the CHA could take. In the style of March madness, that is not the script that was chosen.
Instead we get the old Hollywood script of the dying man taking vengeance against the living taking their secrets or treasures to the grave with them. BSU went to Niagara Falls and absolutely laid a pair of rotten eggs. First BSU lost to Niagara Friday night and then tied Robert Morris Saturday afternoon for the 3rd Place game. Alabama – Huntsville was the eventual CHA champion by beating Niagara last night. See their team photo showing all their index fingers in the air here.
The fallout from the events in Niagara Falls is that two teams from the now defunct CHA will be taking spots in the 16 team NCAA tourney. BSU will get a spot based on their PWR along with the CHA Champions Chargers. Couple that with the Atlantic Hockey auto-bid winner also going to the championship and we have the top 14 in the PWR now going. And that is assuming that another team in another conference doesn’t make an unlikely run to their league’s championship.
That truly would be an accomplishment worthy of an NCAA berth. Why? Because it would take more than two straight wins to do it like in the CHA.
It isn’t from lack of trying that UMD finds themselves playing on Sunday. Numerous great chances were had at CC goaltender Joe Howe, but Howe played an excellent game and staved off the Bulldogs. Total shot on goal did end up in UMD’s favor 40-31.
The part that really hurts is that a win would have propelled UMD higher than the #12 PWR ranking they were at prior to the WCHA games ending last night. Instead, they go back to limbo again, tied at #16 and out of the NCAA playoffs for now.
Not being able to be in Duluth for the games, the HighHorse staff is following the games in the internet broadcasts. Except for the part that after working very well all year, now we cannot get Bruce Ciskie’s call, so we are reduced to listening to the CC feed. What is interesting about the Tiger announcer is that he keeps referring to, “If the Tigers season is to continue…” And now it is if either team’s season is to continue, they must win tonight.
So much for my hope that the Tiger spirit would be crushed in OT fashion Friday and mail it in Saturday, but I guess that is how close these teams are. And it gives testament to the competition of the WCHA as all the series have been good match-ups, excluding the Anchorage losses at Wisconsin.
So off to Colorado Springs we go via the internet again tonight to listen to the last game for one of the teams in playing in Duluth tonight.
Dying Vengeance. The illustrious CHA took its final curtain call last night with their championship game in Niagara Falls, NY. I know that this is the way that college sports are supposed to work with the tournament winner getting an auto-bid to the NCAA (the Gopher Men’s Basketball team plays for the Big Ten title today in CHA style). But this is ridiculous.
There likely would be more of an outcry for the CHA to not have their auto-bid in a four team league if it wasn’t for Bemidji State’s run to the Frozen Four last year and the way they have competed this year nationally. But one of the CHA teams being over .500 (BSU) shows the competitiveness of this league.
I believe that everyone was OK with this year’s last hurrah also because Bemidji (#7 in the PWR) would waltz in and take the championship and that would be the ride off into the sunset that the CHA could take. In the style of March madness, that is not the script that was chosen.
Instead we get the old Hollywood script of the dying man taking vengeance against the living taking their secrets or treasures to the grave with them. BSU went to Niagara Falls and absolutely laid a pair of rotten eggs. First BSU lost to Niagara Friday night and then tied Robert Morris Saturday afternoon for the 3rd Place game. Alabama – Huntsville was the eventual CHA champion by beating Niagara last night. See their team photo showing all their index fingers in the air here.
The fallout from the events in Niagara Falls is that two teams from the now defunct CHA will be taking spots in the 16 team NCAA tourney. BSU will get a spot based on their PWR along with the CHA Champions Chargers. Couple that with the Atlantic Hockey auto-bid winner also going to the championship and we have the top 14 in the PWR now going. And that is assuming that another team in another conference doesn’t make an unlikely run to their league’s championship.
That truly would be an accomplishment worthy of an NCAA berth. Why? Because it would take more than two straight wins to do it like in the CHA.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tiger Taming
Here it is, the playoffs are upon the WHCA. In an up and down season, the Bulldogs fought their way, and then hung on, to finish in the upper half of the conference, earning a home playoff series. Their opponent is Colorado College.
UMD has had the opportunity to play CC four times this season giving each team a good idea of their opponent. The season series ended with UMD on top with three wins, with a sweep at the DECC.
CC has had a season similar to UMD’s. They started hot and have cooled off from there going from an entrenched upper half team and likely NCAA participant to now being on the road for the first round and needing help to have a shot at the NCAA tourney. And similar in this case is used loosely. UMD sustained their early season success longer than CC and finished off strong enough to host a playoff series. And again, let’s not forget that Bulldogs swept the Tigers in early January.
Last Weekend. Both teams are coming off of splits into this series. UMD, unlike CC, won their last outing. The Bulldogs beat the Seawolves 6-3 while CC lost to their rival Denver 7-3.
Tales that the Tape Give. Looking at the amassed stats from this season some keys to the series for the Bulldogs jump out. CC has a penchant for early period goals. The Tigers have tallied goals in the first minute of a period eight times this season and in the first two minutes of a period 20 times this season. UMD will have to be ready to play from the first puck drop because getting the first goal seems to be important to this Bulldog team. UMD is 12-3-1 when getting the first goal.
Special teams still play a large part of success for both of these teams. CC kills penalties better than UMD and the Bulldogs convert on power plays more often than the Tigers. In league games, UMD is first in PP at 24.8% compared to CC’s #3 ranking with 21.1%. For PK, again in conference stats only, CC kills off 82.4% good for fourth and UMD stops 81.4 % for sixth place. Combine special teams together, for whatever significance that stat brings, and UMD ranks at 5th in the league while CC is 8th. What it means is that UMD needs to keep converting power plays and playing good defense, especially when a man short.
One more stat to chew on, UMD has killed 23 of their last 24 penalties dating back to the Saturday night loss at North Dakota. During that streak, UMD kept opponents shutout on power plays for four straight games.
Friday Nights are Right? Friday games have been a documented struggle for the Bulldogs as of late. The Bulldogs have lost their last six Friday night games. A Friday loss is not a good way to start a best of three series, in fact it could be a killer. It is of the opinion of the HighHorse that Friday’s games will likely be the tell of how the series will end. As a side note, the Bulldogs are 13-4-0 in Saturday games and 1-1-0 in Sunday games this year.
It Takes Three. The mark of three goals is still important for UMD who are 19-1-1 when they achieve that mark. When held to less than three goals the Bulldogs have only one win.
The number three is also important to home playoff series. The last four home playoff series have needed the Sunday game. The good news is that UMD has won the previous three home Playoff series with a Sunday win. The last loss was against Michigan Tech in 1996 in OT.
Overall Thoughts. I will go out on my limb and predict that UMD will be aggressive and take care of this series in two games on their way to Saint Paul for the Final Five.
In the Other WCHA Playoff Series.
UMD has had the opportunity to play CC four times this season giving each team a good idea of their opponent. The season series ended with UMD on top with three wins, with a sweep at the DECC.
CC has had a season similar to UMD’s. They started hot and have cooled off from there going from an entrenched upper half team and likely NCAA participant to now being on the road for the first round and needing help to have a shot at the NCAA tourney. And similar in this case is used loosely. UMD sustained their early season success longer than CC and finished off strong enough to host a playoff series. And again, let’s not forget that Bulldogs swept the Tigers in early January.
Last Weekend. Both teams are coming off of splits into this series. UMD, unlike CC, won their last outing. The Bulldogs beat the Seawolves 6-3 while CC lost to their rival Denver 7-3.
Tales that the Tape Give. Looking at the amassed stats from this season some keys to the series for the Bulldogs jump out. CC has a penchant for early period goals. The Tigers have tallied goals in the first minute of a period eight times this season and in the first two minutes of a period 20 times this season. UMD will have to be ready to play from the first puck drop because getting the first goal seems to be important to this Bulldog team. UMD is 12-3-1 when getting the first goal.
Special teams still play a large part of success for both of these teams. CC kills penalties better than UMD and the Bulldogs convert on power plays more often than the Tigers. In league games, UMD is first in PP at 24.8% compared to CC’s #3 ranking with 21.1%. For PK, again in conference stats only, CC kills off 82.4% good for fourth and UMD stops 81.4 % for sixth place. Combine special teams together, for whatever significance that stat brings, and UMD ranks at 5th in the league while CC is 8th. What it means is that UMD needs to keep converting power plays and playing good defense, especially when a man short.
One more stat to chew on, UMD has killed 23 of their last 24 penalties dating back to the Saturday night loss at North Dakota. During that streak, UMD kept opponents shutout on power plays for four straight games.
Friday Nights are Right? Friday games have been a documented struggle for the Bulldogs as of late. The Bulldogs have lost their last six Friday night games. A Friday loss is not a good way to start a best of three series, in fact it could be a killer. It is of the opinion of the HighHorse that Friday’s games will likely be the tell of how the series will end. As a side note, the Bulldogs are 13-4-0 in Saturday games and 1-1-0 in Sunday games this year.
It Takes Three. The mark of three goals is still important for UMD who are 19-1-1 when they achieve that mark. When held to less than three goals the Bulldogs have only one win.
The number three is also important to home playoff series. The last four home playoff series have needed the Sunday game. The good news is that UMD has won the previous three home Playoff series with a Sunday win. The last loss was against Michigan Tech in 1996 in OT.
Overall Thoughts. I will go out on my limb and predict that UMD will be aggressive and take care of this series in two games on their way to Saint Paul for the Final Five.
In the Other WCHA Playoff Series.
#10 Michigan Tech at #1 Denver: It is just not Tech’s year, unless they are playing UMD, and they aren’t this weekend. DU sweep this weekend.We at the Hockey HighHorse are looking forward to taking in the games this weekend and are not planning on this being the last weekend of UMD Hockey for the season.
#9 Alaska – Anchorage at #2 Wisconsin: This same match-up ended in a three game upset in 2004, but no this year. I won’t say that it won’t take three games, but I will say that Bucky Badger will win the series.
#8 Minnesota State Mankato at #3 Saint Cloud State: I know that the Huskies will not admit it, but I would be willing to bet that this is the one team that they would not choose to play from the bottom half in the first round. In fact, MSU has done quite well at the National Hockey Center going 7-1-1 there in the last nine played. With the way the Mavs carried play last weekend I see this series as the best chance at an upset, MSU in three games.
#7 UMTC at #4 North Dakota: This series seems cut and dried Sioux win, but those Gophers have been pesky, and streaky, as of late. As much as UMD needs UMTC to stay a TUC for the PairWise, this series doesn’t look good for the Gophers. I will not rule out the need for three games, but I will say that the Sioux will take the series.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Small Numbers, Big Problem
Another weekend and another split. To be more specific, another split with a Friday loss and a Saturday loss. This one is more special, though, as it was the first chance for Anchorage to have a series sweep this year at home. Yes, it was the first Friday home win in a series this year. Actually, it was their fourth Friday win out of 17 Friday games. The stat is another example of UMD being on the negative end of a small number, an alarming trend for this year’s squad.
Small numbers and little company…or consolation. Some of the small numbers that UMD has been apart of this season:
The fourth Friday win for the Seawolves and the second at home. The first was the first game of the season, a part of the Kendall Hockey Classic.
PWR Conundrum. Currently UMD is sitting at 15th in the PWR. They started the weekend at 12, dropped to 18 after Friday’s loss, and buoyed to 16 after Saturday’s win. The move to the current place was due to the Gophers win against the Badgers Sunday afternoon.
At one point, the Bulldogs were ranked third in the PWR. That was before the current 4-8-0 streak. Quite a fall in ranking puts an NCAA berth in peril. The set-up is similar to last year and a postseason run will be necessary to make the playoffs. UMD will need to make it to the Final Five and most likely get to one of Friday’s games to have a chance of the NCAA’s.
Reasons for this Year’s Predicament. Besides the losing streak, the main reasons for the #15 ranking is lack of wins against TUC teams and the loss to Vermont on January 3. That’s correct, we can trace the current ranking back to one specific loss, another small number working aginst UMD.
The only way to remedy the problem is UMD to put together some wins and watch for those four to lose. And they may just all lose this weekend. Three of the four teams play the first round on the road and likely any series loss by these teams will result in a TUC reduction. Those possible losses paired with UMD wins, the Bulldogs PWR can benfit greatly.
Small numbers and little company…or consolation. Some of the small numbers that UMD has been apart of this season:
The fourth Friday win for the Seawolves and the second at home. The first was the first game of the season, a part of the Kendall Hockey Classic.
- Michigan Tech won five games this season, four in the WCHA. Two of the Huskies’ wins are against UMD.
- To this point, UMD has won one game when scoring less than 3 goals.
PWR Conundrum. Currently UMD is sitting at 15th in the PWR. They started the weekend at 12, dropped to 18 after Friday’s loss, and buoyed to 16 after Saturday’s win. The move to the current place was due to the Gophers win against the Badgers Sunday afternoon.
At one point, the Bulldogs were ranked third in the PWR. That was before the current 4-8-0 streak. Quite a fall in ranking puts an NCAA berth in peril. The set-up is similar to last year and a postseason run will be necessary to make the playoffs. UMD will need to make it to the Final Five and most likely get to one of Friday’s games to have a chance of the NCAA’s.
Reasons for this Year’s Predicament. Besides the losing streak, the main reasons for the #15 ranking is lack of wins against TUC teams and the loss to Vermont on January 3. That’s correct, we can trace the current ranking back to one specific loss, another small number working aginst UMD.
In looking at the PWR Comparison Table, UMD is in a strange position. They win the comparison against three teams ranked above them (Michigan State, Ferris State, and Northern Michigan) and lose the comparison to four teams below the Bulldogs (UMass – Lowell, Massachusetts, Maine, and BU).
All four teams below UMD that win the comparison are all from Hockey East, the league that Vermont is in. The teams win the comparison because Vermont hasn’t done well this season losing to all those teams. In addition, the four teams have better, albeit slightly better, TUC records than UMD. But the real “killer” here is the common opponents criteria, games against Vermont in particular.
The only way to remedy the problem is UMD to put together some wins and watch for those four to lose. And they may just all lose this weekend. Three of the four teams play the first round on the road and likely any series loss by these teams will result in a TUC reduction. Those possible losses paired with UMD wins, the Bulldogs PWR can benfit greatly.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Saturday Night Set-Up
As we wait for the puck to drop in the last regular season game for the Bulldogs many thoughts are racing through my mind. I will dispense with most of them for now and focus on UMD’s now assured slot in the WCHA playoffs.
As it turns out, the unimaginable happened in Saint Cloud tonight. The Huskies and Mavericks played to a tie, 2-2. That result along with the Maverick win Friday night is what was needed coupled with a UMD sweep for the Bulldogs to move up the WCHA standings instead of down. A UMD sweep would have moved the Bulldogs into 3rd place and looking towards a possible Thursday reprieve in the Final Five, but that is really putting the cart before the horse as the sweep is not possible.
As it stands, and it will not change not matter the outcome of the game starting in less than five minutes, the Bulldogs will finish in 5th. Their draw will be to host Colorado College at the DECC next weekend.
Tonight is a set-up game for next weekend and it may prove to be important. Currently Denver is taking it to Colorado College 6-0 midway through the second period.
As it turns out, the unimaginable happened in Saint Cloud tonight. The Huskies and Mavericks played to a tie, 2-2. That result along with the Maverick win Friday night is what was needed coupled with a UMD sweep for the Bulldogs to move up the WCHA standings instead of down. A UMD sweep would have moved the Bulldogs into 3rd place and looking towards a possible Thursday reprieve in the Final Five, but that is really putting the cart before the horse as the sweep is not possible.
As it stands, and it will not change not matter the outcome of the game starting in less than five minutes, the Bulldogs will finish in 5th. Their draw will be to host Colorado College at the DECC next weekend.
Tonight is a set-up game for next weekend and it may prove to be important. Currently Denver is taking it to Colorado College 6-0 midway through the second period.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Ending on a High Note, Long-Distance
Cohesive, resilient, confident…all things that one wants to see in their favorite hockey team. But which of them, if any, describes the UMD Bulldogs as they jet off to the 49th state to take on the Seawolves of Alaska – Anchorage? The season is still a story in the making. A season story that has two distinct sections that can be looked at two different ways.
One way to bisect the season is looking at the calendar and splitting the season into the winning first half before 2010 and the losing second half. The second way to look at the season is games against the “better” teams and the “worse” teams…in essence, TUC teams and not TUC teams. Either way, it has been a high flying ride at times and a rocky ride at other times. And it all comes down to the games in Alaska determining the final seeding of UMD in the WCHA playoffs.
Anyone Out There? Moving into the playoffs on a good note is important. Not too many teams can do what UMD did last year after getting swept by the Seawolves at home for the last series. A repeat, I fear, has very slim chances to succeed.
To win, a team needs to score and there has not been much of that going on in recent years by the Bulldogs. The only current Bulldogs to have tallied a goal against UAA ever are Justin Fontaine (4), Jordan Fulton (1), and Drew Akins (1). That should lead to no surprise that UMD is currently on a 0-4-2 streak when facing UAA.
Scoring, Part II. UMD has been playing better hockey as of late, but the goals are still fewer than the averages indicate. In this series scoring and taking leads into the period intermissions is of utmost importance. UAA is 0-14-0 this season when trailing after one period and 0-18-0 when trailing after two periods. Not even a tie in there is amazing. It is also interesting to see that intermissions are the key, because the Seawolves are 4-14-2 when their opponent scores first.
What Makes this Series a Struggle. Many factors are working against the Bulldogs. It is a long trip with major time zone difference, some players are fighting injuries, and others are sick. UAA is also very similar to two teams that UMD has faced this season with varying results, Mankato and Michigan Tech. UAA is a grind it out defensive oriented team that can shut teams down if they are on their game. Evidence their 8-0-1 mark when leading after two periods.
What Makes this Series a Success. The Bulldogs have had their struggles as indicated in this article. I believe that UMD has been broken down and are now building themselves back up for the playoffs as shown last weekend in two games that were very well played even though not many goals were scored. Games like the two coming up will show how far they have come and indicate how far they can be expected to go into spring.
Around the WCHA this Weekend. A full slate of games to end the regular season.
One way to bisect the season is looking at the calendar and splitting the season into the winning first half before 2010 and the losing second half. The second way to look at the season is games against the “better” teams and the “worse” teams…in essence, TUC teams and not TUC teams. Either way, it has been a high flying ride at times and a rocky ride at other times. And it all comes down to the games in Alaska determining the final seeding of UMD in the WCHA playoffs.
Anyone Out There? Moving into the playoffs on a good note is important. Not too many teams can do what UMD did last year after getting swept by the Seawolves at home for the last series. A repeat, I fear, has very slim chances to succeed.
To win, a team needs to score and there has not been much of that going on in recent years by the Bulldogs. The only current Bulldogs to have tallied a goal against UAA ever are Justin Fontaine (4), Jordan Fulton (1), and Drew Akins (1). That should lead to no surprise that UMD is currently on a 0-4-2 streak when facing UAA.
Scoring, Part II. UMD has been playing better hockey as of late, but the goals are still fewer than the averages indicate. In this series scoring and taking leads into the period intermissions is of utmost importance. UAA is 0-14-0 this season when trailing after one period and 0-18-0 when trailing after two periods. Not even a tie in there is amazing. It is also interesting to see that intermissions are the key, because the Seawolves are 4-14-2 when their opponent scores first.
What Makes this Series a Struggle. Many factors are working against the Bulldogs. It is a long trip with major time zone difference, some players are fighting injuries, and others are sick. UAA is also very similar to two teams that UMD has faced this season with varying results, Mankato and Michigan Tech. UAA is a grind it out defensive oriented team that can shut teams down if they are on their game. Evidence their 8-0-1 mark when leading after two periods.
What Makes this Series a Success. The Bulldogs have had their struggles as indicated in this article. I believe that UMD has been broken down and are now building themselves back up for the playoffs as shown last weekend in two games that were very well played even though not many goals were scored. Games like the two coming up will show how far they have come and indicate how far they can be expected to go into spring.
Around the WCHA this Weekend. A full slate of games to end the regular season.
Michigan Tech at North Dakota: With the Sioux two points behind UMD and holding the tie-breaker, the sweep this weekend by UND will necessitate at least three points by UMD to keep at least fourth place.
Saint Cloud State and Minnesota State Mankato (home and home): SCSU is two points ahead of UMD in the standings and they hold the tie-breaker. It has to be at least a three point weekend for Mankato for the Bulldogs to pass the Huskies. As much as I want it to happen, I see this series as a split.
Wisconsin at Minnesota: This series is interesting for UMD’s prospects. The Bulldogs could theoretically move as far up as second place because they have the tie-breaker over Wisconsin assuming a Gopher sweep. At the same time, UMD could use Gopher wins to keep them in the TUC. Honestly, though, this series will be a sweep for the Badgers.
Denver and Colorado College (home and home): Denver is the only team to have their first round match-up solidified. Again, CC winning would keep them as a TUC which would benefit the Bulldogs. Even so, Denver will take their rival who can still change their playoff destination for three points.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Split Keeps UMD Alive; North Dakota and Sioux Supporters Head to Court
Still alive in the hunt for the NCAA tournament, but that is about the best thing to come out of the weekend series with the UMTC Gophers. In two games that really could have gone either way, the Bulldogs did not show the fire, or firepower, that they will need to advance on into late March and early April.
The difference between the nights was Bulldog goaltending. Brady Hjelle played about equally well both nights making 21 saves Friday and 22 saves Saturday. Not that much difference as far as stats go. It shows that the defense was doing their job in limiting shots. Unfortunately it shows that either better scoring chances were given up on Friday or the goaltending was better on Saturday. It is the latter of the two. Inconsistent UMD goaltending need to be shored up soon. If UMD wants to repeat the successes of last season, the lesson of having good, no, great goaltending is necessary.
What is also concerning is the type of goals that are being scored. Of the five UMD goals, one was 5 on 5 and two were power play. It is good to see the power play coming back, but a balanced attack from all 3 or 4 lines is what is needed this time of year. Is this sounding repetitive?
Last concern is the fact that going to North Dakota the stat was touted where UMD was 6-0-0 when holding their opponent to no power play goals. Since that stat surfaced, the Bulldogs have twice allowed no opponent power play goals and lost both games, one against the Sioux and the other against the Gophers.
I did get the go ahead from my co-writer Saturday morning to push the panic button, but now I am on the other side and will wait to see what comes of the tough conference season-ending series in Anchorage. It will be a challenge to sweep. It will be a challenge to take three points. But three points is likely needed to stay in position number four in the WCHA. But is fourth in the WCHA a good match-up in the first round? More on that later this week.
Rankings. Polls are now out the window and the PWR is all that matters. Sixteen get into the NCAA Tournament and with auto-bids, usually the top fourteen in the PWR get in. After Saturday, the Bulldogs were perilously holding onto #16. After a win Saturday, they are now perilously holding onto #14.
Inspecting the PWR Comparisons, it is puzzling, just like the tale of two sections of the UMD season, of why the Bulldogs are at #14. They own the comparisons over three teams above them in the ranking. But they also lose comparisons to the #17, 21, and 23 teams. It all comes down to TUC (Teams Under (PWR) Consideration). UMD has done very poorly beating the good teams and it is starting to hurt in the ranking. The good news is that when the playoffs come, they should all be good teams that UMD plays, so there is the chance for redemption.
Who is in Control of the Name?
In what seems to be a wacky turn of events, the Fighting Sioux are heading back to court over their name in a report from the Grand Forks Herald.
The reason for the move isn’t what most would assume. In this case, it is the North Dakota Sate Higher Education Board asking the courts to help them drop the Sioux nickname. The plaintiff in the case is the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation who are in favor of the nickname and want it to stay. The Higher Ed Board wants it to sunset so they can host NCAA tournament games and allow UND and North Dakota State University to join the Summit League athletic conference who have a ban on nicknames like the NCAA. The twists and turns of this issue are getting more interesting all the time.
The difference between the nights was Bulldog goaltending. Brady Hjelle played about equally well both nights making 21 saves Friday and 22 saves Saturday. Not that much difference as far as stats go. It shows that the defense was doing their job in limiting shots. Unfortunately it shows that either better scoring chances were given up on Friday or the goaltending was better on Saturday. It is the latter of the two. Inconsistent UMD goaltending need to be shored up soon. If UMD wants to repeat the successes of last season, the lesson of having good, no, great goaltending is necessary.
What is also concerning is the type of goals that are being scored. Of the five UMD goals, one was 5 on 5 and two were power play. It is good to see the power play coming back, but a balanced attack from all 3 or 4 lines is what is needed this time of year. Is this sounding repetitive?
Last concern is the fact that going to North Dakota the stat was touted where UMD was 6-0-0 when holding their opponent to no power play goals. Since that stat surfaced, the Bulldogs have twice allowed no opponent power play goals and lost both games, one against the Sioux and the other against the Gophers.
I did get the go ahead from my co-writer Saturday morning to push the panic button, but now I am on the other side and will wait to see what comes of the tough conference season-ending series in Anchorage. It will be a challenge to sweep. It will be a challenge to take three points. But three points is likely needed to stay in position number four in the WCHA. But is fourth in the WCHA a good match-up in the first round? More on that later this week.
Rankings. Polls are now out the window and the PWR is all that matters. Sixteen get into the NCAA Tournament and with auto-bids, usually the top fourteen in the PWR get in. After Saturday, the Bulldogs were perilously holding onto #16. After a win Saturday, they are now perilously holding onto #14.
Inspecting the PWR Comparisons, it is puzzling, just like the tale of two sections of the UMD season, of why the Bulldogs are at #14. They own the comparisons over three teams above them in the ranking. But they also lose comparisons to the #17, 21, and 23 teams. It all comes down to TUC (Teams Under (PWR) Consideration). UMD has done very poorly beating the good teams and it is starting to hurt in the ranking. The good news is that when the playoffs come, they should all be good teams that UMD plays, so there is the chance for redemption.
Who is in Control of the Name?
In what seems to be a wacky turn of events, the Fighting Sioux are heading back to court over their name in a report from the Grand Forks Herald.
The reason for the move isn’t what most would assume. In this case, it is the North Dakota Sate Higher Education Board asking the courts to help them drop the Sioux nickname. The plaintiff in the case is the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation who are in favor of the nickname and want it to stay. The Higher Ed Board wants it to sunset so they can host NCAA tournament games and allow UND and North Dakota State University to join the Summit League athletic conference who have a ban on nicknames like the NCAA. The twists and turns of this issue are getting more interesting all the time.
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