ST. PAUL, Minn. — This is one of those classic cases where one wishes that one could split oneself in half for a weekend without tragic results.
Unfortunately, we can put a man on the moon …
Anyway, I’m in the Twin Cities, where the UMD men’s hockey team will try to win its second straight NCHC playoff championship*. The Frozen Faceoff semifinals will happen Friday, with UMD battling Denver at 4pm, followed by North Dakota and Western Michigan at 7:30pm.
(* – counting only tournaments decided in Xcel Energy Center)
Meanwhile, the UMD women are in Pennsylvania, and looking to claim the sixth national championship in program history. The Bulldogs face Northeastern in the national semifinals Friday at 2:30pm (streaming on ESPN PLUS).
Before this rambling dissertation is over, we’ll have previewed both of these events. I encourage you to follow @MattWellens on Twitter, as the Duluth News Tribune will have plenty of coverage from Happy Valley while we try to hold down the fort in St. Paul.
******
Ladies first.
The Bulldogs’ program is no stranger to this stage, having played in eight previous Frozen Fours and six prior national championship games. Maura Crowell led UMD back to the NCAA Tournament in 2017, but last season was the Bulldogs’ first Frozen Four since 2010, valuable experience for a group of players that returned largely intact this season before adding graduate transfer Elizabeth Giguere.
While last year’s environment was different, basically a tournament played in a bubble in Erie, Penn., UMD still enters this event with a better idea of what to expect, both on and off the ice.
“Sometimes confidence in our league is hard to find when you’re always duking it out with the best in the country,” Crowell said this week. “That familiarity with playing Northeastern, we know what kind of style Hockey East plays.”
Giguere — named a second team All-American on Thursday — is probably the biggest difference between these two teams compared to their rosters from a year ago. Yes, returning players on both sides have improved, but no one on either side has joined this season and made the kind of impact Giguere did.
And Giguere might be the most modest person around. So I asked fifth-year senior Naomi Rogge about her last week.
“She’s such a selfless player,” Rogge said of Giguere. “She’s so humble. She has all the respect for her teammates. She’s been an amazing add to our team. She’s made us better by proving that you can be such a talented player but also a great teammate. She always wants to make people around her better.”
One of the biggest beneficiaries? Senior Gabbie Hughes, named Thursday a Patty Kazmaier top three finalist and first team All-American, the seventh in UMD history and first since Lara Stalder in 2017 (no UMD player has ever won this award, first given out in 1998). Hughes has 22 goals — including four of UMD’s five goals in last week’s regional in Minneapolis — while Giguere has 60 points to lead the team.
“I think our line, we’ve been split up for half a game,” fifth year senior co-captain Anna Klein said this week, speaking of the line of her, Giguere, and Hughes, and the chemistry has been there from the start. “Just knowing each other, playing this whole year, I think we’re ready to go and we know we’re going to get our offensive chances.”
******
Defensively, UMD suffered a big blow when senior Maggie Flaherty took a hard check into the boards Feb. 1 in St. Cloud. It was clear that Flaherty was in some real difficulty after the hit, and she has not played since (the play, by the way, was deemed a minor and inexplicably kept that way after a video review).
Crowell this week ruled Flaherty out for the Frozen Four, meaning her season ended on that play. UMD was forced to adapt quickly, given the Bulldogs were facing games the next weekend in Madison and knew it would have to get through the postseason without a player who had so ably taken the mantle as their No. 1 defenseman with Ashton Bell out for the year (Canadian Olympic centralization).
Senior co-captain Kylie Hanley had already moved to the blue line before Christmas, and she’s gained more and more confidence as she’s played more back there. Freshman Hanna Baskin took Flaherty’s spot on UMD’s top power play unit late in the season and did not look out of place.
“Our schedule lightened up a bit (after Wisconsin),” Crowell said. “I think they play their best when we’re playing (against) the best, when they’re under a lot of pressure, when they don’t have time to think and try to do things that they don’t need to do.”
“Maggie’s a great player, so it’s a miss, but I feel like our defense has really grown,” said Klein. “I think our forwards have taken on more defensive responsibilities. I’ve been really proud of our defense and how they’ve stepped up. Kylie, it’s her first year back there and she’s playing big minutes. Stewie (Taylor Stewart) looks great. You’ve got Nina (Jobst-Smith). I trust them all, and been very impressed seeing how much they’ve stepped up since Maggie’s been gone.”
Northeastern is a huge test for any defensive corps. Skylar Fontaine, who capitalized on an uncalled but clear penalty and scored the overtime winner against UMD in the semifinals last year, is back and has 48 points in 37 games. Maureen Murphy leads the Huskies with 30 goals and 56 points, but Swiss Olympian Alina Mueller is at 1.95 points per game with 39 points in 20 games. Goalie Aerin Frankel, last year’s Patty Kaz winner, is at a .952 save percentage with a goals against of 1.06.
Crowell noted this week that Northeastern appeared caught off-guard by UMD’s speed in the first period of that semifinal game last year, but the Huskies adapted, outshooting UMD 43-15 over the remainder of the game, including basically a full overtime before Fontaine got the winner.
Emma Soderberg, who stopped 64 of 65 shots (.985 save percentage) over the two games last weekend, will need to be sharp and strong early in this one. That said, Klein-Hughes-Giguere give UMD a chance to score on any defensive team in the country, and when you’re facing a team that outshoots its adversaries by almost a 2:1 ratio on average per game, making them play a little defense is sometimes the best thing you can do.
Crowell loves her depth, both up front and on defense, and we’ll find out Friday afternoon if it’s good enough to keep this great season going, to allow UMD to take the next step.
******
The men already know they’re bound for the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the NCHC already knows it’s getting five teams in the national tournament, no matter what happens this weekend.
Based on the College Hockey News Probability Matrix, Denver will be seeded anywhere from second to fifth (most likely third or fourth) overall. North Dakota is looking at a finish anywhere between third and eighth (most likely options are fifth, sixth, and eighth). Western Michigan could land anywhere between third and seventh (most likely fourth or sixth). UMD will end up between fifth and 11th overall (likeliest spot is ninth or eighth). St. Cloud State, which was eliminated from the league tournament by the Bulldogs last weekend, will finish either ninth, 10th, or 11th, with 10th place being the most likely landing spot by a lot.
There’s a really nice trophy on the line this weekend, but no one is playing for their season. Human nature being what it is, one of the intriguing storylines into this weekend is trying to figure out what team is going to go all-out for the hardware, knowing it might not improve their NCAA spot at all, or only by maybe one spot in the Pairwise. Remember, Denver is hosting in Loveland and is locked into playing there, but every other NCHC team will be taking an airplane to its regional. You can’t even go to the players with “Hey, go win and the trip won’t be so long.”
UMD coach Scott Sandelin said this week that he’s brought it up to his team.
“We’ve talked about it the last two days,” Sandelin said. “It’s certainly a concern.
“I think last week, our preparation was good. I think our guys knew that if we didn’t go in there and win that series, we might not be playing. I think there was really good focus and maybe some desperation. This week, I’ve felt maybe less of that. I don’t know why, because this is the best time of year to be playing. It’s a chance to play for a conference championship. You can’t look past this weekend.”
The Pioneers, co-champions in the NCHC regular season, are certainly formidable. Led by Hobey Baker finalist Bobby Brink (more on this in a moment), Denver is the likely No. 1 seed in Loveland and a prohibitive favorite to get back to the Frozen Four. Coach David Carle quickly pushed this team back to elite status after a down season in the shortened COVID year that saw the Pioneers miss the NCAA Tournament.
“They’re talented,” said Sandelin. “They’re dangerous off the rush. You’ve got to find ways to stop plays in your D-zone. They’ve got some dangerous weapons offensively. We’ve had some interesting games with them, for sure.”
UMD lost both Friday games to Denver (5-0 at home and 5-3 in Denver) before rallying to split both series with a 6-2 win at home and a 3-2 win in Denver on Feb. 12, which might stand as UMD’s most rousing win of the season. That was the night that some sort of stomach bug plagued the Bulldogs, affecting upwards of half the roster. One of them was starting goalie Ryan Fanti, who fought through feeling like garbage to stop all 13 shots he faced in the first period, including a penalty shot.
“It was crazy,” Fanti said this week. “I got to the rink and started getting dressed, starting feeling a bit weird. I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t even know what it was, just kinda felt like not myself. Then I heard a few murmurs about a few other guys not feeling 100 percent. So I went and talked to (athletic trainer) Sarah (Miller) and got a few Tums.
“Was in the bathroom a few times, throwing up a few times, then went out to warmups and felt better right away. Then I started to fell worse again. Kinda did the same thing again before the first period, felt better, thought I’d stick it out. But throughout the rest of the first period, just didn’t have any energy. Played well, which was nice, but at that point I made a decision that was best for the team. Zach (Stejskal) was feeling well, it just wasn’t fair for everyone else. I wasn’t there 100 percent in my head and body.”
It was so bad that night that UMD had puke buckets set up on the bench during the game, something Sandelin said he had never experienced as a coach before.
“It, straight up, is one of the craziest things,” Fanti added. “I don’t think people really knew how bad guys were feeling. It wasn’t two or three guys, it was upwards of half the team. It was something you can laugh at now, but you definitely don’t want to go through again.”
******
A few other notes on the weekend of hockey.
–> UMD fifth year senior Koby Bender’s hat trick Friday night in St. Cloud was his first since high school, he said. Bender, a Cloquet native, will be playing in Xcel Energy Center for the first time this weekend. He was scratched for both games of the Frozen Faceoff in 2018 and 2019, then the tournament wasn’t played at all in 2020 and was at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks in 2021.
–> By the way, Fanti will be playing in an NHL building for the first time. Due to COVID protocols, he didn’t travel to Pittsburgh for the Frozen Four last year, and the 2020 event — during Fanti’s freshman season — was canceled. He said he watched games at the X when he was young, but is “super excited” to play in a big arena for the first time.
–> Fanti was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Year during Thursday’s awards ceremony at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Fanti carries a 1.99 goals against and .921 save percentage into Friday’s semifinal game with Denver. It’s the third time in the NCHC’s nine seasons that a UMD goalie has won the honor, with Hunter Shepard going back to back in 2019 and 2020.
–> Klein said it was “awesome” to see Bell at the regional last weekend. Bell, back from winning Olympic gold with Canada, was able to visit the team last Thursday during a layover on her way to Pittsburgh for an exhibition game against Team USA. Bell was UMD’s captain last season and is expected back for her fifth year of eligibility next season.
–> On the women’s side, UMD’s future is bright, much like its present. Goalie Eve Gascon, who committed to UMD in the fall of 2020, is going to make history this weekend when she suits up for the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, one of the leagues in Canada’s major junior (men’s Under-20) system. Gascon is expected to debut Saturday against Rimouski Oceanic. She will be the third woman to play for a QMJHL team, joining Manon Rheaume and Charline Labonté. While a men’s player appearing in a Canadian Hockey League game (the CHL oversees the QMJHL, as well as the Ontario and Western Hockey Leagues) would eliminate any chance of him playing college hockey, the rules for women’s players are different. Gascon will not risk her UMD eligibility by playing in the QMJHL, as long as she only accepts “actual and necessary expenses” to participate.
–> In case you’re wondering, and I know you are, longtime UMD equipment assistant and treasured friend Hoagie is with the women this weekend in Pennsylvania, as he was last week in Minneapolis. He tossed his hat on the ice when Hughes completed her natural hat trick against Harvard, and then had one of the players go get it for him. 🤣
******
Thursday was practice/press conference day at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. It came the day after the Hobey Baker Award Committee announced a list of ten finalists for this year’s honor, a list that includes exactly one (1) player from the NCHC, widely regarded as the toughest conference in the sport.
That player is Brink, and he’s deserving of the honor, no doubt. The nation’s leading scorer was also named the NCHC Player of the Year Thursday.
The beef isn’t with Brink’s inclusion. And it’s not with the exclusion of anyone from UMD. We didn’t expect UMD to land anyone in the top ten, and that’s okay. After all, the award can’t go to all Bulldogs, right? 😉
I’m not here to denigrate anyone, not any of the other finalists, and not anyone who has a hand in crafting this list. I know from experience that it’s a hard job, and it’s not something that anyone is doing for the money, I can promise you that.
And I certainly don’t think that team success necessarily guarantees individual honors.
But how does the hardest league in the country only have one Hobey finalist? Where are Western Michigan’s Ronnie Attard and maybe even Ethen Frank?
Attard, an All-American last season, was a finalist for NCHC Player of the Year after a year where he posted 13 goals and 35 points in 35 games, while driving his team’s offensive play time after time and showing continued improvement in his own zone.
All Frank did was lead the nation with 26 goals. And if you think he somehow feasted on lesser competition, he scored six in four games against St. Cloud State and added two-goal games against Denver and UMD, none of which are easy to score bunches of goals against.
Western coach Pat Ferschweiler wasn’t afraid to speak his mind at his press conference.
“I certainly, first of all, don’t want to disrespect anyone that did get nominated and tell them congratulations,” Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “(Frank) led the toughest conference in all of college hockey in goals and led the nation in goals.
“And (Attard) is a returning All-American, who’s a superstar defenseman and had a great season. So do we think they’re worthy of being nominated? Absolutely. Ahead of who? That’s up to you to decide.”
Bottom line: There isn’t a harder league in the country, top to bottom. The NCHC proves it year in and year out. Attard already turned heads last season, and with UND’s Jake Sanderson apparently cursed this season, there’s no doubt who the league’s best defenseman was.
(This feels like a different conversation, but somehow Michigan freshman Luke Hughes is the only defenseman in the top ten. For all the talk about the Hobey ignoring goalies, there are three of them in the top ten this year, but only one defenseman.)
I like Frank as a player, but Attard’s omission was glaring to me from the second I looked at the list. If Brink was No. 1 in the NCHC this season, as the voters decided, then Attard was 1A. It’s as big a miss in the Hobey top ten as I can remember in a long time, and it makes me wonder a lot of things, including “Does this happen if Attard plays somewhere else?”
And you know what I mean by that.
Anyway, there are a lot of things that should matter when considering these individual awards. But one of the big ones should be strength of schedule. Are you consistently getting tested against top competition? And no one schedules tougher than the NCHC, which per KRACH has the top three teams in the country in terms of schedule strength (UMD, St. Cloud State, and Western), along with six of the top 12 (UND is sixth, Denver ninth, and Omaha is 12th). And all eight NCHC teams are in the top 15, as Colorado College comes in 14th and Miami 15th.
That’s a freaking gauntlet. Its best players deserve more than one seat at the Hobey table.
******
Montage at 3:30pm, followed by pregame ahead of a 4pm faceoff in St. Paul.
We will update as often as possible on the women’s game against Northeastern, and we hope the news is good.
Stream it all here.
Guessing the pregame post will be brief, but I’ll be back with the line charts.
Comments