COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — UMD and Colorado College have met three times this season. Zero of those three games have been decided in regulation time.
On Friday, the Bulldogs and Tigers ended up playing to a 2-2 tie before UMD won a three-round shootout 2-1 for an extra point in the NCHC standings.
8 THOUGHTS
1. UMD is again operating with no healthy scratches. Senior forward Blake Biondi practiced this week, but did not make the trip because of an upper-body injury. That’s all we’ve got. It left UMD with just its 19 skaters in the lineup once again, and no healthy scratches. Been that kind of campaign.
For the first time this season, junior Dominic James traveled with the team, since Biondi wasn’t available to make the trip. James has been ramping up his on-ice work as of late, but there’s no indication he’ll be cleared to return to the lineup.
(I broke a long-standing rule and went to the morning skate Friday, as I mentioned in my pregame blog. Was well worth the walk to see Dom out there shooting some pucks and skating around. It was a good feeling in a season that hasn’t gone the way any of us wanted it to.)
While the Bulldogs are winless now in seven straight games, Friday was a strong performance in the face of more absence-related adversity.
2. The Bulldogs mostly played well on Friday. Nothing is ever perfect, and I think UMD will go to sleep lamenting a couple chances where shots didn’t get off quickly enough, maybe a couple turnovers that sent Colorado College off in transition. But this is a team approaching 20 wins that is trying to lock down home ice for the first time in its NCHC tenure. The Tigers are a good puck-pressure team, and they’re going to force teams to make mistakes. UMD, I felt, did a really good job of minimizing the damage that could come from those mistakes.
UMD did it by playing a simple, direct game on zone exits and zone entries. Mostly gone were the fancy passes and dangles that have napalmed what should have been simple plays. Pucks out. Pucks in. It didn’t feel like a lot of players unnecessarily extended shifts, which is always a priority but can be a major factor when playing at altitude.
3. There were rewards. Anthony Menghini’s second period rebound goal gave UMD its first lead since Jan. 27. The Bulldogs did a solid job protecting that led, up until a turnover led to a CC three on two rush and Gleb Veremyev’s equalizer. Noah Laba scored off Quinn Olson’s stick on a late power play to give CC the lead, but UMD did not panic.
Four on four in the third period, Connor McMenamin tipped and intercepted a pass in the UMD zone, then skated in two-on-one with Jack Smith. McMenamin shot and the puck trickled by CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko to level the game 2-2.
The game stayed tied through one of the worst overtimes you’ll ever see (more on that coming up, as this old man is going to yell at some clouds) and UMD got goals from Menghini and Ben Steeves to win the shootout 2-1.
Matthew Thiessen was strong with 18 saves, but his guys did yeoman’s work in front of him. Colorado College was held to 43 shot attempts, with 13 of them blocked by UMD players before Thiessen had to deal with them. He made a couple really athletic saves off tipped shots, but Thiessen didn’t have to carry his team on this night. Would have been great to get the guy a regulation win, but wins are not a goalie stat, kids. Please tell your friends.
4. The power play struggled. Colorado College’s penalty kill is the second busiest in the NCHC, behind UMD, but the Tigers’ kill is rated third in the conference and showed it on Friday.
Maybe the UMD power play guys were shocked, because Friday was the first time since Jan. 12 that the Bulldogs had more power plays than their adversary (four compared to two). But the power play didn’t have a great night.
Only five shots in four power plays — two of which were three minutes each after CC majors coupled with UMD minors. Teams are trying to take Steeves (12 PPG on the season) away, which is understandable, but it means other guys might have to shoot pucks and try to create space.
UMD played a smart, disciplined game, only giving a dangerous Tigers power play — one that has struggled to gain any kind of consistent footing this season — two chances.
5. We have an overtime problem. I’ve hesitated to write this. Frankly, it feels a bit like “Old man yells at cloud,” which isn’t totally off-brand for me but still something I try to avoid doing habitually.
But after watching Friday’s overtime, I think we can officially say the format is well-intentioned but in need of repair. I’m sure the last thing we want to do is jam another important item on a pretty-packed agenda for the coaches’ meetings in Naples next month, but too bad. This needs to be taken care of.
What am I talking about? The neutral-zone regroup by the possessing team. You know what I mean. One team gets control of the puck, skates around the offensive zone for a bit, sees no open lane to get a scoring chance, and they take the puck out of the offensive zone to regroup and perhaps start changing personnel while maintaining possession.
Bor-ing.
I understand the why. Possession is so meaningful, and the last thing a team wants is to hold the puck in the offensive zone, make a mistake, and have three guys trapped on the ice for a minute when they’re probably already tired from the 60 minutes they just played.
Too bad.
We need to try something. A shot clock may be technologically impractical, but I like what it’s done in lacrosse. A full-on ban on the regroup may be tough to enforce, because what’s the punishment? You’re not calling a penalty, even I’m not that cruel. Loss of possession? Whistle and a faceoff where that team can just get possession back?
How about this? Once a team establishes possession in the offensive zone, any play made outside the zone while maintaining possession means a faceoff in your defensive zone, and the team also can’t change its personnel.
Maybe it’s a terrible idea. But we have to try something. Three on three overtime isn’t supposed to be boring, and now it too often is.
6. North Dakota is a win away from another Penrose Cup title after Friday’s 5-3 home win over Western Michigan. The Fighting Hawks can clinch it Saturday with a win and some help from Denver, which beat up on second-place St. Cloud State 6-2 Friday in St. Cloud. The Pioneers jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first half of the first period, chasing SCSU starter Isak Posch. Sound familiar?
Elsewhere, Omaha blew a two-goal lead in the third period before Zac Urdahl scored with 66 seconds left to give the Mavericks a 4-3 win over Miami. Omaha tied Western for fifth at 31 points, now four back of CC for the final home ice spot.
Western can no longer finish second, so I guess I can cancel my Kalamazoo hotel room for two weeks from now.
7. The UMD women put up five goals and dominated St. Cloud State 5-0 in Game 1 of their WCHA playoff series. Reece Hunt opened the scoring for UMD in the second period and proceeded to assist on each of the next/last four goals of the game, scored by Mary Kate O’Brien, Clara Van Wieren, Olivia Wallin, and Ida Karlsson.
UMD outshot SCSU 28-10 over the final two periods, including 18-6 in a decisive two-goal second period. Hailey MacLeod, who was named second team All-WCHA this week, stopped all 20 shots she faced in her sixth shutout of the season. All-WCHA First Team goalie Sanni Ahola of St. Cloud State held her own for a while, but ended up making 34 saves while under siege for a good chunk of the afternoon.
3pm for Game 2 Saturday.
8. Major upset in the WCHA playoffs Friday, as Minnesota State went into Ridder Arena and beat Minnesota 5-4 in Game 1 of that best of three series. Kamryn Van Batavia scored the winner with 1:38 to play in the third period. Ella Huber’s hat trick accounted for three of Minnesota’s four goals, but the Mavericks held Abbey Murphy, Minnesota’s leading scorer, off the board (she did have two assists).
Minnesota State was the only road team to win between the WCHA, the ECAC, and Hockey East on Friday. In the other WCHA games, Wisconsin took care of St. Thomas 4-2, while Ohio State speedbagged Bemidji State 10-1 in Columbus. Game 2s all on Saturday, with any deciding Game 3s to be played Sunday.
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We’re back at Ed Robson Arena Saturday at 7pm, pregame at 6:30pm. Lots to chew on around the league, so don’t miss the pregame show!
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