UMD head coach Scott Sandelin knew Western Michigan wouldn’t make it easy on his team Sunday at Amsoil Arena. The Bulldogs weathered an early storm from the Broncos, were buoyed by a strong penalty kill, and got to work in the offensive zone. Opportunistic on scoring chances early, UMD was able to ride out a 4-1 victory for a two-game sweep that could be a real shot in the arm for the Bulldogs.
“Good game for us, hard-fought,” Sandelin said. “They were a better team than (Saturday). They came out, which we knew they would. Zach (Stejskal) made some huge saves. I thought the last 15 minutes, we were playing very well.”
UMD indeed was back on its heels early. Western pressed, but couldn’t solve the freshman goalie Stejskal, making his third start of the season. He was sharp, UMD did a good job keeping the Broncos from getting in the high-danger scoring areas, and then the Bulldogs pounced on two early scoring chances to change the game.
On Saturday, a game UMD was controlling could have turned on its ear had the Bulldogs not picked up two quick goals late in the period for a 2-0 lead. Sunday, a game UMD wasn’t controlling fell into its control thanks to goals 67 seconds apart by Cole Koepke and Ben Almquist. Koepke’s goal was set up by great work down low by Tanner Laderoute, who battled two Western defenders and got the puck to the slot for Koepke to one-time past goalie Alex Aslanidis. Not long after, Blake Biondi lost control of the puck across the Western line, but was able to get it to Luke Loheit before Almquist jammed home a rebound for his first career goal.
Defenseman Connor Kelley added his first career goal on a breakaway late in the period to give UMD a 3-0 lead. Noah Cates scored on a power play right after Western scored a power-play goal to close within two, and the score didn’t change again. UMD was able to grind out a win by limiting the opportunities Western got in close with Stejskal. Part of that was staying out of the box. The Broncos’ goal, scored by Ty Glover, came on their third power play. It was also their last power play. UMD’s discipline was on point while playing with a lead, something that’s been a part of their identity over the years.
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It’s always cool to see players get their first college goals. It was especially cool for both Almquist and Kelley, for different reasons.
Almquist was a midseason addition last season, playing in 14 games and recording an assist during mainly fourth line duty. The skilled forward played a lot on the wings last season, but he is a natural center and got a shot centering the fourth line this weekend. He made the most of it. That line was solid Saturday and good again yesterday, along with producing that key second goal in the first period. It’s easy to think a fourth line’s job is to just not get scored on, but that way it was constructed this past weekend, with Almquist centering Luke Loheit and Jarrett Lee Saturday, then Loheit and Biondi Sunday, there’s a lot of skill there. No reason to think they can’t make things happen offensively, and this past weekend was a good start. UMD has Luke Mylymok available as well, and he’s looked good in his limited duty to this point. Mylymok brings another grit element to that line, and he’ll probably draw back in at some point. It’ll be interesting to see his chemistry with Almquist and whoever is on the right wing.
Kelley, who is draft eligible this summer, has looked increasingly confident, playing a lot with Cornell transfer Matt Cairns on the “third” pairing. He’s been used on the penalty kill, but we saw his speed and skill Sunday when he activated to join a rush and drove the net when no one picked him up, creating a partial breakaway where he beat Aslanidis for a 3-0 lead.
And another UMD newcomer continued a run of strong play. Stejskal was sharp, making 24 saves on 25 shots, allowing Glover’s stuff attempt early in the second for Western’s only goal. So far, he’s allowed four goals — one after a miscommunication with the defense behind the net led to an open-net goal, one on a shot off a defender’s skate, one in three-on-three overtime, and Glover’s goal Sunday. He has a .940 save percentage. Ryan Fanti has been good when called upon, and he was sharp Saturday as well, but there’s little question Stejskal has earned the opportunity to play more as we move forward. Sandelin has been effusive in his praise of Ben Patt, who hasn’t played outside of an exhibition appearance but, as Sandelin notes, keeps pushing in practice. We may indeed have a legitimate goalie competition at UMD for the first time in a while, and Sandelin does not sound at all like someone in a hurry to see that competition end.
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Next up is a four-game series against Miami. The series initially scheduled for Oxford two weeks ago will be played there Friday and Saturday, with the RedHawks visiting Duluth next week for two games at Amsoil Arena.
Miami is off a two-game sweep at the hands of No. 6 St. Cloud State, with 3-2 and 8-2 losses in St. Cloud. Freshman goalie Ludvig Persson was hit hard Saturday, allowing five goals on 19 shots, but still has a .937 save percentage in 11 appearances. UMD faced a Western Michigan team that had been unbeaten in its previous four (3-0-1), and now faces a Miami team that is winless in its last four (0-3-1).
The RedHawks have struggled to score, averaging under two goals per game through 16 games. But the RedHawks have conceded 18 times in the last four games, a trend that can’t continue, especially when you consider the struggles at the other end of the rink. On average, Miami is being outshot 34.4 to 22.6 per game, a difference of nearly 12 shots per game that can be hard to overcome, no matter how good the goaltender is.
5:30 pregame Friday, 3:30 Saturday on KDAL, with broadcasts coming to you from our studios in downtown Duluth. Back later this week with a look ahead, barring any big news before then. 🤞
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