Welcome to the 2023-24 men’s college hockey season. Lots of games on what is commonly known in the business as the common start date. That date is the 25th Saturday from the start of the NCAA men’s hockey tournament. It used to be normal for a few teams to play on this date, but most of what you’d see on this weekend would usually be exhibition games.
A recent rules change has made more programs comfortable with playing games that count on the common start date, which is Oct. 7 for 2023-24. That change allows teams to have a full, normal practice week the week before the common start date. In the past, coaches were only permitted four hours of on-ice per week with players until after that day, meaning teams would be playing games without having conducted a full, normal week of practice.
So UMD and Michigan Tech will skate this U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game having spent the entire week with their full allotment of practice time for a week.
Doesn’t mean there won’t be some early-season jitters seen from both sides, but it should make for a somewhat cleaner game.
That said, as we discussed in the preview on Friday, this wasn’t an easy week for UMD.
“It’s been weird,” head coach Scott Sandelin said this week. “We haven’t had 15 forwards since we started.”
UMD has 12 seemingly-healthy forwards dressed for this game. Carter Loney picked up an injury in practice on Tuesday but is on the fourth line as a right wing. Kyler Kleven is not playing for now because of an injury unrelated to the shoulder surgery that cost him last season. He was skating this week, but we don’t know a timeline (we also don’t often work in actual timelines around here).
Aaron Pionk on the top defensive pair is not a surprise when you read the blog and look at what Sandelin said about him this week.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD forwards
Olson – James – Loheit
McMenamin – Perkins – Biondi
Steeves – Spicer – Bettens
Menghini – Smith – Loney
UMD defense
Gallatin – Pionk
Bast – Dubinsky
Bodnarchuk – Gotz
Pierce
UMD goalies
Stejskal – Thiessen – Sandy
Michigan Tech forwards
Mosley – Koskipirtti – Kukkonen (Kyle)
Works – Caderoth – Marcinkevics
Raiman – Pietila (Logan) – Gordon
Richartz – Bronte – Pedersen
Stauber
Michigan Tech defense
Campbell – Getz
Pietila (Jed) – Pietila (Chase)
Williams – Russell
Michigan Tech goalies
Pietila (Blake) – Vayrynen
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