KALAMAZOO, Mich. — As I wrote Thursday, UMD coach Scott Sandelin knows Lawson Ice Arena is a unique place to play. But he didn’t want to overload his group, flush with 12 newcomers (11 on the trip, nine in the lineup Friday), with information about the environment.
Here’s what he said, as chronicled in our pre-series 8 Thoughts: “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.”
After weathering a whale of a storm in the first period, some of the damage self-inflicted, UMD settled down and played a pretty good game Friday, getting a Darian Gotz partial breakaway goal with 1:05 left to beat Western Michigan 5-4 in the opening game of a two-game series.
ALMOST INSTANT HIGHLIGHT THAT NO ONE OTHERWISE HEARD
Gotz gets the winner late! pic.twitter.com/B4ZugNaLrM
— Bruce Ciskie (@BruceCiskie) November 19, 2022
This game had a little bit of everything, so grab a coffee or a snack and let’s discuss it.
8 THOUGHTS
1. This was as good a start from UMD as we’ve seen so far. The Bulldogs buzzed almost from the start, generating offensive zone time, managing the puck well, and exiting their zone efficiently. Off a rush, UMD’s fourth line got on the board when Kyle Bettens’ centering pass appeared to go in off a Western defender. It’s his first career goal and one I’m sure will be a top-shelf, bar-down snipe when he tells people about it years from now.
Less than two minutes later, UMD got another scoring chance, and Cole Spicer buried a rebound for his first career goal. Not even five minutes into the game, and the Bulldogs had a 2-0 lead. Everyone’s feeling good.
More than the goals, though, it was Western’s stunning lack of offensive zone time, and UMD’s efficiency at pushing the puck up the rink when it was down at the visitors’ end. It’s been a constant point of emphasis for this group, and while Friday was far from perfect in this regard, it was a step forward for UMD against a quality opponent that really can crank up the pressure and make it difficult to exit the defensive zone.
2. The good feelings didn’t last. Western won an offensive zone faceoff just seconds after Spicer’s goal, and Jamie Rome pushed a rebound by Matthew Thiessen to get the lead cut to 2-1.
That’s when insanity took over.
UMD was about to go on a power play, as the referee had his arm in the air and was going to call Cam Knuble for holding. But before the power play could start, UMD defenseman Owen Gallatin put the puck into his own net on an absolutely bizarre play. I mean, this is Twilight Zone stuff.
This UMD Bulldogs own goal on a delayed penalty is something I’ve NEVER seen before in my life.
Still cannot believe that it happened. pic.twitter.com/ycDrkvyBIq
— Max Veech (@venividiveech) November 19, 2022
Obviously not something Gallatin did on purpose. I’m also not sure what the idea was on this play, but whatever it was is not what happened. Gallatin joins a list that includes the likes of Matt Niskanen and Dylan Samberg in scoring own goals while at UMD.
(Samberg’s was particularly hilarious, as he took the puck after a faceoff win and just misread the angle, beat Hunter Shepard clean. I can only imagine Shep’s real-time reaction to that gaffe. And UMD won that game, too. Always makes you feel a little better about such a mistake.)
By the way, Knuble was the last guy to touch the puck, so he got credit for the goal.
To make matters worse, Luke Grainger then stole a puck in the neutral zone, raced in, and beat Thiessen with a backhander before Wyatt Kaiser was able to get back defensively. Suddenly, Western had two goals in 43 seconds, three in 3:05, and a 3-2 lead.
The lead didn’t make it through the power play, though. Ben Steeves one-timed the puck home from (GUESS WHERE) the right circle to re-tie the game. The game was barely nine minutes old, and we had six goals and some absolute did-that-really-just-happen insanity going on in a building that’s already insane enough.
3. Things settled down, at least a little. The pace and intensity didn’t stop, but the goalies on both ends settled down a little bit, and the game turned into a bit of back-and-forth. Both teams applied pressure, both teams struggled at times with exits, but they were good enough in front of their respective nets to keep things from getting too crazy. Thiessen got a bit scrambly in the second period, losing his stick twice (in one of those sequences, it was good stickwork by UMD in front of the goal that prevented Western from getting one, as Thiessen lost his stick and the net at nearly the same time).
The teams traded tallies in the second period, with Quinn Olson sniping home a shot early for a 4-3 lead before Western’s Jason Polin got his tenth of the season on a rebound during a Bronco power play.
But the personality of the first nine or so minutes was largely unsustainable, and it did not sustain in this case. Really good game, back and forth, entertaining, but the start of that game was something unlike anything most of us have ever seen (or likely will see again for a long time, if ever).
4. With Aiden Dubinsky nursing a lower-body injury, UMD played Kaiser, Derek Daschke, and Owen Gallatin a ton, both Saturday against Omaha and again here on Friday. I’m relatively certain that there wasn’t a shift in the game where one or two of the three were not on the ice.
Playing on the road, it’s harder to control matchups. Whenever there is a stoppage in play, UMD has to declare its players who will be on the ice, and then Western will get a chance to match up however it wants. Sandelin and assistant coach Cody Chupp managed to make sure one of their top, trusted guys was on the ice virtually at all times.
It’s smart coaching, but it also takes an understanding of what of workload a player can handle. Kaiser is “our fiercest competitor,” Sandelin said last week, Gallatin is one of UMD’s smartest players, and Daschke looks increasingly comfortable with the defensive part of his job while continuing to contribute offensively.
5. A late Gotz penalty led to the game-winning goal … for UMD. Gotz tripped up a WMU player after appearing to get caught a little flat-footed. The Broncos’ started their power play with 3:12 left in regulation and proceeded to not attempt a shot during the two-minute sentence. Great kill by UMD, and after Carter Loney’s stick broke blocking a pass, it was Olson finding a loose puck and sending it up the rink to Gotz, just out of the box. He skated in and beat Western goalie Cameron Rowe five-hole to put UMD back in front.
Dominic James then blocked two shots in a final-minute flurry from Western with Rowe pulled for an extra attacker. Thiessen was credited with three saves, and Gotz blocked Western’s final shot attempt before the puck was cleared to clinch the win for UMD.
(James is not credited with any shot blocks during this sequence. In fact, only Gotz is credited with one, even though James got two and Tanner Laderoute blocked a center point drive from Carter Berger that stunned him a bit. Based on that, UMD should have been credited with at least ten shot blocks on the night instead of seven. That’s not a stat that’s widely reported, but it’s one where UMD ranked fifth in the NCHC entering the weekend, and it’s been an area Sandelin and staff have emphasized, especially as of late.)
6. It’s only been 13 games, but UMD seems to have a type. The Bulldogs now have seven wins. Three of them have come on goals that came in the last 1:41 of regulation (Daschke with 1:41 left against Cornell, Gallatin with 1:41 left against Colorado College, and Gotz with 1:05 left here Friday).
Two other wins — the opener against Arizona State and last Saturday against Omaha — have come in overtime.
That’s five wins out of seven snatched very, very late in the proceedings.
This team is going to do what it can to kill me.
7. The rest of the NCHC docket from Friday saw a blowout and another dramatic finish.
In Grand Forks, North Dakota blew the game open with a four-spot in the second period and cruised past Miami 7-1. UND got goals from seven different players in the thrashing that gets the Fighting Hawks back in the win column after a tough weekend last week at home against Denver.
In Colorado Springs, Dylan Anhorn scored late to snap a 1-1 tie for St. Cloud State, as the Huskies beat Colorado College 3-1. Brendan Bushy (short-handed) and Zach Okabe (empty net) tallied for SCSU, while Noah Laba had Colorado’s goal.
Denver and Omaha have this weekend off and will collide in Denver next weekend.
8. For the second straight game, the UMD women have a milestone to celebrate. Last Saturday, Naomi Rogge became the 23rd player in program history to hit 100 career points. Friday night, Ashton Bell made it 24, picking up her 100th career point with an assist as UMD blanked Harvard 4-0. Anneke Linser scored twice, while Katie Davis and Clara Van Wieren also tallied. Emma Soderberg picked up her 15th career shutout.
(We’ll be waiting a while for the next Century Watch. Linser needs 27 points, and she’s the next closest.)
UMD will try to close out a perfect non-conference season at 3pm Saturday.
Shout-out to Jim Boos’ volleyball team, which beat Washburn 3-1 to open play at the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Wayne, Neb. The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals, where they face NSIC rival Concordia-St. Paul Saturday at 5pm. The NSIC has all four semifinalists in the region, with Concordia beating Nebraska-Kearney in five sets, St. Cloud State getting by Northwest Missouri State in four, and host/top seed Wayne State beating Harding in straight sets.
The NSIC has been a top Division II conference for some time, so this isn’t shocking, but it’s a damn shame that a league that boasts some of the nation’s top teams will only have one advance past this weekend.
We’re back from the snow globe known as Kalamazoo Saturday at 4pm. Check the blog pregame for the lines.
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