If the roles were reversed Wednesday night, we’d be acting as if Denver should practically apologize for stealing a game where it was dominated.
Now, my long-standing mantra has been to not apologize for any kind of win, but doesn’t mean I get to bury my head in the sand and choose to not accept reality.
And reality is that UMD stole one Wednesday in the NCHC Pod, scoring two quick goals in the third to win 2-1.
Head coach Scott Sandelin said Wednesday afternoon that sophomore Ryan Fanti had earned a chance to start the second of a back-to-back with his performance against Omaha Tuesday. Safe to say Fanti has earned a third straight start when the Bulldogs return to action Sunday. He was solid, if not spectacular, against Denver. Sandelin noted after the game that Fanti faced point-blank chances basically out of the gate Wednesday. While UMD tightened up a little bit as the first period went on, that all went away in the second.
“I thought Ryan Fanti had an outstanding game,” said Sandelin in the understatement of the night.
That middle stanza was ugly. Turnovers, little sustained possession, virtually no offensive zone time. Sandelin said “that’s what Denver does,” referring to the Pioneers’ ability to quickly get any team on its heels. Fanti kept DU from taking full advantage, conceding only a laser of a point shot from Bo Hanson at the 4:00 mark of the second period. He made some key saves, including a stop on Griffen Mendel during a two-on-one late in the period.
“He was their best player in the second period,” said Denver head man David Carle. “We had the puck on the stick of some really good players for us and he came up with big saves in key moments.”
I spoke to Sandelin about five hours before the game. He was concerned about fatigue with his team. The first back-to-backs in any season can be difficult, but those usually come with a level playing field. It’s not common for UMD to play one day, then play the next day against a team that didn’t play the day before. That’s what happened here, as the NCHC had to adjust its pod schedule once it became clear Colorado College wouldn’t be able to start at the same time as everyone else. UMD drew the short straw of an early back-to-back, while the Pioneers were opening their season Wednesday.
“It’s not an excuse,” Sandelin insisted, “we’ll go out there and we’re gonna battle, and we’ll see how we do.”
******
Sandelin has to be pleased with not only Fanti, but the battle level of his team, finding a way through when things weren’t going well. There just isn’t a panic with this group. Now that’s something that I’ve seen annoy the veteran coach in the past, as much as it’s a positive trait.
Why?
Because there have been times the lack of panic could arguably appear to be a lack of urgency. This group sure didn’t panic Tuesday or Wednesday, but it also clearly didn’t lack urgency in either third period. A power play that Sandelin thought struggled zipped the puck high and low and side to side with relative ease, flummoxing a Denver penalty kill that’s given more than a few UMD power play units fits over the years.
Jackson Cates worked himself open down low for a rebound chance that tied the game, then after a quick penalty on Denver put UMD back on the man advantage, Cates wired a shot off the right post that bounced right to Kobe Roth. And Roth rarely makes a mistake in that situation.
Denver goalie Magnus Chrona, who basically had the second period off, had no chance on either goal, especially Roth’s.
The power play, by the way, is off to a 4-for-8 start, which is both good and likely an unsustainable pace. Then again, RIT — still in Division III at the time — scored on 42.7 percent of its power plays in 2000-2001. So I guess it’s not impossible.
******
A few notable performances so far, besides the obvious with Roth and the Brothers Cates, who have been outstanding, especially when most needed.
I like the confidence I’m seeing from Wyatt Kaiser. A lot. He has a really low panic point with the puck on his stick. Shouldn’t really surprise anyone, considering he’s a true freshman straight out of high school and still started the season on the top defensive pairing, the top power play unit, and getting regular penalty kill time. Not many guys can walk in the door at this age and immediately have that level of trust from his coaches.
Koby Bender has done a lot of good things. UMD had just one shot on goal in the second period Wednesday, and that shot came at the tail end of a sequence that saw Bender block two shots, then a pass, and carry the puck up the rink to generate a chance on Chrona. He and Jesse Jacques are off to a good start with Roth as the current third line. It’s a key line for UMD at both ends of the ice, and players like Tanner Laderoute, Roth, Bender, and previously Jackson Cates, Riley Tufte, Parker Mackay, and many others have been extremely effective in that third-line role for the Bulldogs.
Guys like Quinn Olson and Luke Loheit have been mixed in on the penalty kill with success so far. That’s potentially huge for two reasons. First, Sandelin has said he’s concerned about the uncertainty with COVID and how it could cause sudden changes to the lineup. He wants to make sure different players are mixed in to different roles in case there’s a crunch. Also, it takes some of the heat off the brothers and Roth and Laderoute, who are already playing a lot of minutes in key situations. The more the coaches can trust different players to help on the PK, the better this team could end up being in the end.
******
Now, time for a bit of a break for UMD. The Bulldogs’ reward — if you can call it that — for the early back-to-back is an extended period of rest in the pod. UMD will not play again until Sunday afternoon against Miami (4pm on KDAL). This allows Sandelin to prioritize rest for his players while also giving him plenty of time for teaching, both on and off the ice.
The “rest” component looms large, because UMD plays five games in eight days starting Sunday (two straight against Miami, then North Dakota, Denver, and Colorado College).
While the men put their feet up and relax a bit, we’ll have the women’s games against St. Cloud State on the radio (Friday at 6pm, then Saturday at 3pm). UMD captain Ashton Bell was named the WCHA Defenseman of the Month for November (two goals and seven points in four games), while forward Clara Van Wieren won Rookie of the Month (two goals and three points). These will be UMD’s last home games of 2020, and will be played without fans (hey, the radio and stream are free!). I spoke Thursday to athletic director Josh Berlo, who is with the men’s team in Omaha. He said no decisions have been made regarding the potential of admitting fans to men’s or women’s home games in 2021. Stay tuned on that one.
Comments