GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Beautiful day, albeit a windy one, in Grand Forks. About as warm as anyone could reasonably expect it to be on an NCHC game day.
But the thoughts of Bulldog fans are not necessarily happy ones after a 6-0 loss here Friday night, a game where UMD fell behind 1:05 into the game and did not seriously threaten to score until UND’s lead was at least three goals, if not more.
For the first time since the 2012-13 season, the last for UMD in the WCHA, the Bulldogs have posted separate winless streaks of at least five games in the same season. This year, an eight-game winless streak in the first half is now joined by a losing streak of five that remains active into this series finale.
As UMD returned from its Thanksgiving bye with that eight-game winless streak, one that would end in a 4-2 win over Omaha on Dec. 1, we had Blake Biondi at the weekly press conference. Asked about keeping a good attitude through the frustration, Biondi said “Our only way out is through.” That’s a derivative of a quote from the famous poet Robert Frost. When speaking about human suffering, Frost once said “The best way out is always through,” and it’s become a pretty common saying in the midst of struggles.
Reality here is that no one is going to fix it for the Bulldogs. North Dakota certainly isn’t going to provide any sympathy for its visitors this weekend. In sports, a team that sees an adversary struggling to stay afloat is more likely to throw said adversary both ends of a rope than a life raft.
Figure it out.
What’s gone wrong in this streak? Little bit of this, little bit of that.
Outscored 25-10. Combined save percentage of .861 (excepting the two empty-net goals conceded over this stretch). Back to playing undisciplined hockey*, taking bad penalties and getting caught on the wrong side of checks. Not creating enough scoring chances, or converting what is created.
And based on the words of fifth-year senior forward Quinn Olson to Matt Wellens after Friday’s game, finger-pointing.
“Right now, we’re kind of getting on each other a little too much,” Olson said. “If you look at any other successful team, they’re closely bonded and then they contribute all together and they pick each other up. That’s something that we need to keep preaching as leaders and keep working on.”
Looking down from the press box after a couple goals Friday night, one could sort of confirm Olson’s words here. It was a familiar feeling for this Packers fan, who has become accustomed to watching the Green Bay defense meekly concede a long touchdown, only to see safeties and cornerbacks yelling, finger-pointing, and gesturing at one another about whatever coverage was blown on that play. That itself doesn’t necessarily mean a team isn’t united, because such reactions can be from emotion that’s natural to feel after something bad happens.
(* – define the word however you’d like, but UMD is trending in the wrong direction when it comes to how many penalty minutes it is taking, as well as how many power plays the opponent is getting per game. Take out the Feb. 3 game in Omaha where neither team got a power play all night, and opponents are back over four power plays per game against UMD since Jan. 20. The penalty kill hasn’t broken yet (27-for-31 in this stretch for a solid 87 percent success rate), but this is not a sustainable winning model for a team that is still not getting very many power plays of its own. To that point, UMD’s per game power play average has not changed very much as the season has gone on. They aren’t getting many, and they’re converting at a very good rate when they get them. Special teams performance has not been a scourge on this team.)
It’s impossible to diagnose anything specific on the “team togetherness” front, because we simply aren’t in the room and don’t have nearly enough information. If that’s indeed a problem, it has to be addressed internally. As outsiders, we need to accept that reality and trust it will be handled as best it can be.
UMD’s coaches will likely identify a couple areas of necessary improvement in an effort to narrow the focus of the players. I have to think discipline is going to be one of those, as UMD simply can’t afford to keep taking penalties at the higher rate we’ve seen as of late. Puck management in all zones is also likely to come up. Turnovers that feed the adversary’s transition game have been an increasing issue as of late, and they’ve led to too many goals and scoring chances the other way, with defensemen and goalies hung out to dry.
Anyway, onward.
Connor McMenamin remains out for UMD. Lines in a blender. No changes for North Dakota. Tanner Komzak is taking the warmup for UND, but we’re told he will be scratched. If that plan changes, we’ll alert you. Maybe on X. Perhaps by text or homing pigeon if need be.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD forwards
Steeves – Perkins – Loheit
Olson – Loney – Bettens
Menghini – Smith – Biondi
Kleven – Fischer – Johnson
UMD defense
Pionk – Gotz
Gallatin – Dubinsky
Bast – Pierce
Bodnarchuk
UMD goalies
Thiessen – Stejskal – Sandy
North Dakota forwards
Perron – Berg – Gaber
Kunz – McLaughlin – Blake
James – Schmaltz – Jamernik V
Albrecht – Ness – Strinden
North Dakota defense
Pyke – Wiebe
Livanavage – Pehrson
Britt – Zmolek
Benoit
North Dakota goalies
Persson – Hedquist – Johnson
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