OXFORD, Ohio — Greetings from Oxford, Ohio, the home of something called “You’re Fired.” The internet says it is “Oxford’s only paint your own pottery studio,” and it’s been here long enough that I first walked by the place the first time we came here, which would have been during the 2013-14 season.
I was somewhat disappointed to learn it has nothing to do with Vince McMahon.
It’s also a couple blocks down the road from Skyline Chili, which is a popular chain spot here in Ohio, and also serves as a great spot to start colonoscopy prep.
(I’m kidding about the last part. I think.)
Anyway, it is here that UMD will wrap up the first half of the season against Miami Friday and Saturday. STUDENT athletes on both teams are staring down final exams ahead of their respective holiday breaks. And both teams are deeply desiring the six NCHC standings points up for grabs on the ice, as neither is off to the start in league play it was looking for.
8 THOUGHTS
1. Ending that winless streak last weekend was huge, but Saturday night left UMD wanting more. I remarked during the postgame on Friday that UMD won a game with its older players scoring huge goals, few if any passengers in the lineup, and one of its more disciplined games of the season.
Saturday, there were no goals, not by older or younger players, there were some guys who had tough nights, and UMD did not play a disciplined game.
“I thought our first 10, 12 minutes were good, and then our power plays happened and we lost every bit of momentum,” head coach Scott Sandelin said after Saturday’s 1-0 overtime loss to Omaha. “Our second period was not good. Stezzy (Zach Stejskal) had a great game for us, again another goalie plays great, and we don’t get a win for him.”
2. UMD did indeed start strong, leading 13-3 in shots at one point in the first period. But nearly all that damage came at even strength, as the Bulldogs’ two power plays in the second half of the period generated all of three shots.
Up 15-7 in shots through 20 minutes of a scoreless game, UMD wasn’t in a horrible position despite not taking advantage of the power play chances. Of course, little did the Bulldogs know that the second period would go from a snowball to an avalanche. A scoreless avalanche, yes, but still an avalanche.
Omaha dominated the second. UMD had all of three shots on goal in the period. If it wasn’t for Stejskal, the Bulldogs could very easily have lost the game right there in that middle stanza. Shot attempts were 27-5 for Omaha.
Twenty. Seven. To. Five.
A lot of that damage was done in what were basically three straight Maverick power plays in the period, as Omaha started on the man advantage and picked up two more chances along the way. And on a night where UMD fans left the building (somewhat understandably) dissatisfied with the men in stripes, the calls that led to these power plays could not be fairly disputed.
Stejskal stood tall. Literally and figuratively. Plainly said, the senior deserved a much better fate.
3. With one game excepted, UMD’s goaltending is on the upswing. Yes, St. Cloud State put a half dozen on UMD Nov. 18 to win 6-5. But in the four games and change prior to that, fifth year senior goalie Matthew Thiessen posted a .932 save percentage, stopping 151 of 162 shots over that stretch.
Stejskal got the start off the Bulldogs’ bye last weekend and did nothing to make one second-guess Sandelin’s faith in him. Stejksal was sharp all weekend, conceding only three times on 52 shots for a .942 save percentage. Add that performance to Thiessen’s pre-Thanksgiving run, and the goaltenders have combined for a .921 save percentage since Thiessen relieved Stejskal Nov. 3 against Minnesota.
Simply put: .921 should be good enough to win some hockey games. Only UMD is 1-5-1 in these games.
Saturday wasn’t the first time Sandelin’s postgame press conference included a lament over his team not winning a game for the goalie who gave them a chance to do so.
“Thiess (Thiessen) played well enough in, really, four of those games to get wins,” said Sandelin. “Unfortunately, we didn’t. Hey, if they keep doing their job …
“I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of both of them, the last seven games. That’s a good sign. Just gotta figure out in front of them.”
4. Entering the weekend, UMD is the most penalized team in the NCHC in terms of number of them and minutes taken (85 for 198 in 15 games). The Bulldogs have seven penalties and 14 minutes more than the next most-penalized team in the league (Denver).
Two Bulldog players have been thrown out of games, and those misconducts count as separate ten-minute penalties, meaning UMD has taken 83 enforced penalties in 15 games.
And because I have absolutely nothing better to do on a random Thursday night in Oxford, Ohio, I have gone through every game box score and charted what UMD has been called for. Buckle up, because here’s the list, sorted in order of what they’ve been called for the most.
Hooking: 15 times
Tripping: 13 times
Cross-checking: 13 times
Slashing: 8 times
Holding: 7 times
Roughing: 6 times
Interference: 6 times
Boarding: 3 times
An excessive number of participants on the playing surface: 3 times
Charging: 2 times
Head contact: 2 times
High sticking: 2 times
Elbowing: 1 time
Facemasking: 1 time
Unsportsmanlike conduct: 1 time
(In the interest of fairness and context, here are Denver’s…
Roughing/Tripping: 16 each
Interference: 9
Boarding: 8
Holding: 6
Slashing: 5
Cross checking/Hooking: 3 each
Elbowing/10 minute misconduct: 2 each
Hitting from behind/Embellishment/Faceoff violation/High sticking/Unsportsmanlike conduct/Charging/Too many players: 1 each)
When we’ve asked Sandelin about penalties in the past, he has made clear there are certain things he can live with. And there have been a few times where UMD players have been playing hard and aggressive hockey but got burned by a penalty for it. If he reads this blog, he isn’t, however, going to be thrilled with the number of stick fouls his group has been called for (SPOILER: He’s likely well aware, even if not of the exact number).
Yeah, there are calls we don’t agree with. That’s part of the game, however. And for every call that’s made that you might not think was a good call, there is probably one (or more than one) that could have been called but was not.
The reality here is that UMD needs to find a way to play the game aggressively, but without the number of (especially) stick fouls we’re seeing. We saw it last Friday. We know they’re capable. Now it’s a matter of stringing a few games like that one together.
This young group has shown signs of figuring things out as we’ve gone through the first half, and this is the next challenge.
5. Miami coach Chris Bergeron knows there’s no easy way out of the funk that’s taken hold with his program.
We spoke at NCHC Media Day in September, and Bergeron had a strong feeling what it would take to get Miami moving forward.
“I think it’s going to be the returning kids that get us through this phase in the programs history. A group of kids that say ‘No more,’ and the incoming kids don’t know what that looks like. They don’t know what this league looks like. We need to rely on some experience. Unfortunately, some of that experience is is negative. However, we’re gonna to try to rely on some of the positive things over the last couple of years to just be more consistent with and build off of.”
Has it worked? Mixed bag.
Miami is 0-6 in NCHC play, but started the season strong, sweeping Canisius and getting a win and tie at home against nationally-ranked Arizona State. But once league play started, a familiar problem crept in.
The RedHawks just don’t do a good enough job keeping the puck out of their net.
Miami is conceding 4.5 goals per game over its six league games so far, 29 goals allowed total. Graduate Logan Neaton has gotten the bulk of the work in goal, posting an .897 save percentage in 13 starts. Some of Miami’s ancillary numbers are stronger than they’ve been, and the RedHawks appear more dangerous offensively. But it’s hard to outscore teams in this league, and Miami simply isn’t built for racehorse hockey.
We’ll see if UMD can find some offense this weekend. It’s been there in spurts, and it would sure help if the power play found the kind of consistency we saw early on (even if that wasn’t exactly sustainable).
(By the way, the power play is still over 30 percent on the season. It might frustrate at times, but it certainly hasn’t been the problem.)
6. The NCHC is busy for this final weekend of play before the holiday break. In fact, after Saturday’s series finales around the league, UMD will be the next NCHC team to play a game (Dec. 28 against Northeastern in Milwaukee at the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff, where there better be donuts in the press box).
After getting just two points at home against North Dakota (despite leading both games), Denver is at Western Michigan. The Pioneers have struggled defensively this season, no better example than the touchdown they conceded Friday against UND, kicking away a 4-1 lead in a 7-5 setback.
St. Cloud State puts its 6-0 NCHC record on the line this weekend in Omaha. That’s a series worth keeping an eye on, as the Huskies have impressed in league play, but they’ll be tested by a big, heavy Omaha outfit.
Finally, Colorado College heads to Grand Forks to try to slow down the North Dakota train. The Fighting Hawks’ eight-game winning streak was snapped Saturday in Denver, but UND still got a point out of that game and is the No. 1 team in the completely meaningless human polls. Turns out flipping all eight of your defensemen and bringing in a new goalie doesn’t napalm your chances of winning lots and lots and lots of hockey games.
7. The UMD women are also wrapping up their first half this weekend at St. Cloud State. If the Bulldogs are to improve on their 81-14-9 overall record all-time against SCSU, they will likely have earned it.
No disrespect to past iterations of the Huskies, but this SCSU team is dangerous. After going 18-18-1 in Brian Idalski’s first season as head coach, the Huskies are 12-5-1 so far in 2023-24, including a win at Ohio State last Friday. Since starting a women’s hockey program in 1998, SCSU has posted just three winning seasons, the last coming under Jeff Giesen in 2009-10 (15-14-8).
UMD coach Maura Crowell believes the Huskies are faster and deeper than they’ve been, and that’s helped them find some goal scoring. But when you have Sanni Ahola and Jojo Chobak trading off in goal, you don’t need a ton of offense. Just some will probably be enough.
Good thing UMD isn’t any kind of defensive slouch either, thanks to goalies Hailey MacLeod and Eve Gascon, along with a team-wide commitment to the craft.
“I think that also goes back to our coaches and just having full, complete trust in their game plan,” said forward Reece Hunt, a graduate transfer from Bemidji State. “Something we really hone in on is having layers and making it hard for teams to get to our goalies. When they do, I have full trust in our goaltenders and we’re so fortunate to have them.”
8. Ahola’s save percentage? .966. And it isn’t the highest of the four goaltenders who could see action this weekend. Nope, because MacLeod is at .968. Gascon comes in at .946 and Chobak .932.
Those gaudy numbers led me to joke about the possibility of a 7-6 game this weekend. I swear I’m not trying to speak/type it into existence.
Crowell says they’ll be ready for anything, and Sunday’s 3-2 win over Wisconsin in Madison is evidence.
“I thought Sunday was a great example of that, where we were in the box for six out of the first 10 minutes of the game,” she said. “That was really a little surprising, I would say. And we got it done, great penalty kill. Then we end up getting a five on three in the next five minutes. We didn’t score on that. So I was just happy with all of those calls and all of that surprise that that stuff didn’t dictate the way the game went.
“Both sides got through that, and then we started playing five on five hockey. But that’s a great example. You just never know if the goals are flying in. Hey, we’ll be ready for that, too.”
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We’ll have the men’s games this weekend on KDAL. 5:30 pregames both nights. Back pregame with the lines.
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