KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Last weekend, Denver had quite the adventure trying to get to Grand Forks and play North Dakota.
UMD was more fortunate with its Thursday trip into a snow globe. Not that it would take much. Hopefully the results are similar, however, since Denver swept UND, including winning Friday basically after getting off the bus.
Then again, at least UMD is playing Western Michigan and not, say, Canisius. Or Niagara.
AccuWeather meteorologists say the fiercest lake-effect snow event potentially in years could bring record-setting snowfall amounts of 3 to 6 feet downwind of the Great Lakes through the weekend.
AccuWeather's @AccuRayno has the details. https://t.co/b9O8WL1u7J pic.twitter.com/9hWLg2ddD1
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) November 17, 2022
So we’ve got that going for us.
(Can you imagine? Six feet of snow?? We had like three feet in the Halloween megastorm and people still talk about it 31 years later! Like, where do you put that snow? And do you have to build an ark when it eventually melts? Best wishes to all those affected in New York, wow.)
8 THOUGHTS
1. For 10 UMD freshmen, they’ll get the Lawson Ice Arena experience for the first time. The atmosphere can be intimidating, no doubt, but UMD coach Scott Sandelin doesn’t want to hype it up too much.
Sandelin: “We can’t build this up like it’s an impossible place, right? You know, it’s fun. Fans are great. Students are great. It’s a fun building, ceiling’s low. Things seem to always be quicker in there. Part of it’s the atmosphere.
“They play a fast-paced game. They’re a good team. They’ve had a good start, and they’re playing with some confidence right now.”
Lawson is unique. The students are right on top of the ice (and right under the press box). They’re loud, and they’re a little, um, vulgar. But as Sandelin noted, there’s just something about the building that makes it feel like everything happens faster. The internet says the rink is the NHL standard of 200 feet by 85 feet, but it absolutely plays faster than that. It’s like watching games at the old DECC, which was not an NHL sheet and played even smaller than it actually was.
“It feels like it’s a smaller rink,” said UMD fifth-year senior Jesse Jacques, who noted he has special memories of Lawson, as he scored his first UMD goal there. “The fans are right on top of you. It’s just so loud.”
And Western is a very, very tough team to take down at Lawson. WMU is 4-1 at home this season, and the loss was an overtime game against Michigan. The Broncos were 12-4 at home last year, 14-8-2 away from home. Last year’s home losses? Michigan (overtime), UMD (Ryan Fanti’s first of many great games last season), Omaha (Isaiah Saville 41 saves in a 1-0 win), and Denver (won the national title).
But it’s not impossible. Far from it. The Bulldogs split here last season, and they’ve won a lot of games here over the years. In the end, maybe Sandelin’s advice is the best.
“Just go play.”
2. Probably going to get tired of writing about this part (thought 2) of the game (thought 1). But here we go.
Sandelin was asked about the offense this week.
“We had 136 shot attempts in two games and almost 80 shots on net,” he said. “We do that, more often than not, they’re going to go in. Yes, gotta bear down. Sometimes you need a little puck luck too, but I’ll take my chances if we continue to do that.”
Hope is not a strategy, and the Bulldogs do need to keep doing the things they did last weekend on a consistent basis. Matt Wellens wrote about the offense this week, and I’m not going to parrot what’s already out there, but there were a lot of good signs against Omaha. Fewer fly-bys, more sustained offensive zone time. Lots of good looks.
Shots have to get off quicker in some cases (just look at Ben Steeves’ goals, half of which have come off one-timers or quick shots). There have been plenty of cases where UMD players have held the puck and/or stickhandled while in shooting position, looking for the perfect opportunity. As I’ve written before, there are times where holding the puck might not be the wrong play, but there are a lot of times where the quick shot is the better play.
3. How much has improved defensive play helped the offense?
“I feel like the D zone, we’ve actually played less there because we’ve done the little things right,” said Jacques. “We chipped pucks out, got it out early. I think that creates more offensive opportunity.”
“It’s getting better,” Sandelin said of his team’s defensive play, which was in the crosshairs really from the outset of the season, not surprisingly with the turnover on the blue line. “Still need to be stronger in some areas, especially down low. Our net coverage was a little better, but we’ve still got to win more battles down low. Our point coverage could be better, blocking some shots. Seems like a lot of point shots get through. That creates problems, and this team (Western) isn’t afraid to go to the net.”
What UMD has to do defensively against Western will be made more difficult, as Sandelin ruled out freshman defenseman Aiden Dubinsky (lower body) for the weekend series. Dubinsky missed Saturday’s game, and UMD dressed its seven healthy defensemen. Wyatt Kaiser, Owen Gallatin, and Derek Daschke played a lot. Riley Bodnarchuk and Darian Gotz played quite a bit. Will Francis and Joey Pierce were spotted more than the others, and both were on the ice with one of the big-minute guys pretty much every time they were out. It’s harder to dictate matchups on the road, but I would expect UMD to do something similar at Lawson this weekend.
4. Western lost a lot of talent over the offseason, but second-year Western coach Pat Ferschweiler appears to have reloaded quite nicely. Ferschweiler secured veteran goalie Cameron Rowe in the transfer portal (had been at Wisconsin). He added defensemen Carter Berger (UConn) and Zac Galambos (AIC) via the portal, along with forward Jack Perbix (Minnesota). Berger and Galambos each have ten points (Galambos has six goals). Freshman Ryan McAlister has 22 points, Max Sasson is off to a great start, and captain Jason Polin has two hat tricks this season.
With what WMU lost after last season (mainstays like Ethen Frank, Drew Worrad, Ronnie Attard, and Brandon Bussi were among the players to turn pro), what Ferschweiler has done is really impressive. It’s also not easy, but Western lost its opener in Anchorage, got out of there with a split, and has been scoring goals in bunches ever since.
5. Stylistically, Western can be a challenge, especially at home. This is as good a transition team as you’ll find, so things like puck management and puck placement will be paramount for UMD this weekend.
“Once they get pucks in the D zone, they just go,” said Jacques. “All five.
“Their defense hop up in the play, too. They’re a tough team to play against. Can’t get caught with the third guy low because that can bite you in the end. We’ve got to play really smart.”
When UMD is on its game, the Bulldogs get pucks north quickly. That will also be important. The Bulldogs were better on zone exits last weekend, which was a big part of the offensive zone time (as Jacques noted earlier). Western will pressure UMD heavily, and if the exits aren’t clean, it will mean lots of time defending. With how the Broncos activate all five players in the offensive zone, this will lead to trouble.
6. Just two other NCHC series this weekend, but both have some intrigue attached to them. Can North Dakota get off the mat at home against Miami? The Fighting Hawks were swept at home by travel-weary Denver last weekend, and now sit under .500 for the season. No one expects UND to stay there, but there are concerns, including defense and goaltending and scoring depth. Miami is off to a tough start in league play, having gotten rocked twice at Western before scoring only two goals and getting one point at home against Colorado College.
Colorado is at home to face St. Cloud State. The Tigers are unquestionably, undeniably better, but SCSU will test them. Guessing we’ll see a lot of Kaidan Mbereko for CC, as he’s caught fire to start league play. Can the Huskies solve him, or will the Tigers continue accumulating important early-season points?
Denver and Omaha are taking the weekend off and will collide next weekend in the only league series over the holiday.
7. The UMD women look to finish an undefeated run through non-conference play with two home games against old friend Harvard at Amsoil Arena.
The Crimson and Bulldogs met three times last season, twice in the regular season at Cambridge — both UMD wins — and in the NCAA Tournament, a matchup UMD won 4-0 on its way to the NCAA Frozen Four title game.
UMD is 4-0 in out-of-conference play, a big reason the Bulldogs sit ninth in the PairWise rankings (yes, I looked at the PairWise before January and I’m already sorry I did it) despite going 1-5 against the other NCAA powerhouses in the WCHA.
“We usually have fun games with them,” said UMD coach Maura Crowell. “They like to get up and down the ice like we do, they can transition quickly. Their power play was pretty good against us last year. I think they’re fun games, pretty evenly matched.”
These are important games for the Bulldogs, and they come before a well-deserved holiday weekend off. UMD will return to action Dec. 2-3 at home against defending national champion Ohio State.
8. Minnesota and Michigan are playing a Big Ten series, a Thursday/Friday affair in Ann Arbor. These are two top teams, and it will be a hoot to watch some of the nation’s top men’s college players go head to head for two games.
Unless we don’t actually get to see that.
Lines for @umichhockey. Lineup significantly affected by illness. The third string goaltender is playing left wing. Adam Fantilli is out of the lineup. pic.twitter.com/E75hR3JHg3
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) November 17, 2022
To make matters worse, we have this report from my friend Jess Myers, who will be covering the games for The Rink Live.
Scary situation in the @umichhockey family as defenseman Steven Holtz has been hospitalized this week with what sounds like RSV. Hoping everyone stays safe and that we have some great hockey with @GopherHockey visiting. pic.twitter.com/3hyoK5UuUY
— Jess Myers (@JessRMyers) November 17, 2022
First off, and hopefully this is obvious, but we send our best wishes to Steven Holtz. This is a horribly scary situation that is bigger than the game. And I realize the irony of what I’m saying here after what happened last season, but this game should not be played.
It’s a player safety issue, and while I understand Michigan and Minnesota have a lot of players, Michigan is in a tough spot. The Wolverines are dressing a backup goaltender as a forward to help fill out the lineup. And it’s clear both teams are significantly impacted by one or more communicable illnesses (the flu and RSV have made plenty of headlines, and it’s not like Covid has ceased to exist). How many more players are going to get sick in the coming days, and will asymptomatic players spread whatever virus from one team to the other while in the process of playing games?
(And, obviously, there’s a heightened concern when a Michigan player is hospitalized. Whatever is going around — Myers reported it’s likely RSV in the case of Holtz — is not to be trifled with.)
Postponing or cancelling games due to spreading illnesses is not unprecedented. It’s messy here, because these are conference games, and I get it. But, to me, this only increases the importance of making sure games are played in a safe and sensible manner. I understand why the games are being played as scheduled, but I feel this is a conversation that we should have as a sport. There should be a threshold on this type of thing, and I’ll let people smarter than I am (it isn’t asking a lot) figure out how to set one. It feels like we could at least spend some time discussing this and not as much worrying about guys fist-bumping their goalies after a period ends.
Rant over.
5:30 pregame on KDAL Friday, 4:30 on Saturday. Bless you, Western Michigan, for the early start. Will Twitter be dead by then? Better join us on the radio just in case! No better way to find out what’s happening in the game than to #ListenToTheRadio.
Anyway, back pregame from Lunatic Fringe with the lines.
BONUS THOUGHT
If basically everyone is to be believed, Twitter could be on the verge of collapse. This is good because Twitter is a cesspool in so many ways. It’s bad because it’s how many of us interact, especially during UMD games.
I’ve set up a couple alternate methods by which y’all can find me for UMD updates. I’m working on a Mastodon account, but I need to learn more about how it works before I sign up to ensure everyone who wants my updates can find them.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BruceCiskieRadio/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btciskie/
These are both public accounts, so give them a follow. I’m guessing we’ll use Facebook for in-game updates this weekend if the Twitter isn’t an option. I’ll keep you posted as best I can.
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