MANKATO, Minn. — Apologies, first off, for the fact there was no pregame line chart post Friday. Normally it’ll be a thing, but we had to wait out the Minnesota vs Minnesota State women’s game before setting up for the broadcast. And that created a timeline that was too tight to get lines up.
Either way, we are back in downtown Mankato, and UMD is looking for a response. Coach Scott Sandelin repeatedly said before the season he was excited about his group, including the 12 newcomers. Yes, there are some injuries that UMD has to deal with (freshman forwards Ben Steeves and Jack Smith are day to day with lower body injuries, while goalie Zach Sandy has an upper body injury and is also day to day, but none are dressing for this rematch, as Sandelin indicated postgame Friday) and that makes things a little more difficult. But now Sandelin and his staff get to see how the team responds to an absolute throat punch of a performance from Minnesota State in a 6-0 win Friday.
It’s all part of the process. Development isn’t a continuous move upward. There are peaks and valleys, no matter how much coaches and players try to avoid them.
And you don’t get to pick when you have a bad day. If you had that ability, the bad days wouldn’t be so bad.
Sandelin will undoubtedly challenge his team to take a step forward here. It might not lead to a win, but a step forward is a step forward.
Only one change for UMD, with freshman defenseman Joey Pierce drawing in for Riley Bodnarchuk.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD forwards
Olson – James – Biondi
Mylymok – Loney – Loheit
Howard – Spicer – Laderoute
Johnson – Jacques – Bettens
UMD defense
Kaiser – Gotz
Daschke – Dubinsky
Gallatin – Francis
Pierce
UMD goalies
Stejskal – Thiessen
Minnesota State forwards
Sowder – Furry – Borchardt
Fitzgerald – Morton – Sandelin
Wilson – Silye – Groll
Hillman – Pavel – Eisele
Minnesota State defense
Hirose – Livingstone
Wheeler – Carroll
Malinowski – Cichosz
Bellini
Minnesota State goalies
Tracy – Rancier – Miller
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