It had been 701 days since UMD’s last postseason game, but it looked like it had been a week or two.
Unfazed by Western Michigan goals in the final minute of the second and third periods, UMD did what UMD does: It won a postseason game.
Freshman defenseman Connor Kelley’s second goal in as many games was his first career game-winner, and the Bulldogs advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals Saturday night with a dramatic 5-4 win over Western Michigan in Grand Forks.
“I think their wing came out to me a bit, so I decided to shoot it,” Kelley said very matter-of-factly about his winning tally. It wasn’t a play without controversy, as it appeared there was a problem with the drop of the puck on the faceoff. The puck looked like it hit the glove of UMD’s Jesse Jacques, then bounced off either the hand or stick of Western Michigan’s Paul Washe before finding its way to WMU defenseman Aidan Fulp. Instead of clearing the puck, Fulp softly played it right up the middle, and as it were, right to Kelley.
“Something weird happened,” Kelley said of the faceoff. Western coach Andy Murray was furious immediately afterwards, but he had cooled his jets by the time he got to the podium for the postgame press conference.
“Duluth certainly would maybe find another way to score, but on that situation, it should have been blown down,” said Murray. “All of the players kind of hesitated on the play because I think they all expected it would be blown down.
“The referees have tough calls to make, but certainly that was one with four guys out there that we felt they should have maybe seen it.”
(To be fair, Murray is correct that it should have been blown down, and UMD fans would have been furious if it had happened the other way. Again, justifiably upset at that. However, it’s also fair to say that players are told over and over again to play to the whistle, and while it’s easy to understand why one would have assumed a whistle was coming, it never came and the Broncos had possession of the puck after the faceoff foible. Both of these statements can be true. We, as fans of the game, can also hate the way it ended, even if the team we support won and that makes us happy.)
Murray’s remark that UMD “would maybe find another way to score” is appropriate here. At this point, expecting UMD to win a playoff game that advances to overtime is a completely fair thought. The Bulldogs have won 13 straight playoff games going back to the start of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Here’s the streak:
2018 NCAAs
Minnesota State: W, 3-2 (OT)
Air Force: W, 2-1
Ohio State: W, 2-1
Notre Dame: W, 2-1
2019 NCHC tournament
Omaha: W, 2-1 (OT)
Omaha: W, 4-1
Denver: W, 3-0 (2 ENG)
SCSU: W, 3-2 (2OT)
2019 NCAAs
Bowling Green: W, 2-1 (OT)
Quinnipiac: W, 3-1 (ENG)
Providence: W, 4-1 (2 ENGs)
UMass: W, 3-0
2021 NCHC tournament
Western Michigan: W, 5-4 (OT)
Only two of the 13 wins were “comfortable” wins for the Bulldogs. Two. The other 11 were nail-biters, down to at least the final minute of regulation. To add to this, UMD has trailed in four of the 13 games, including Saturday.
It’s really an amazing run for this UMD team, and one of the more impressive parts of Saturday’s win is how a team that hadn’t played a postseason game in nearly two years handled adversity.
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Cole Gallant’s rebound goal in the final seconds of the second period gave Western Michigan a 3-2 lead. UMD regrouped in intermission and scored twice in the first eight minutes of the third to take a 4-3 lead. The Broncos pushed hard in the latter half of the third period, trying to tie the score. Western recorded eight straight shots on goal at one point, and Jason Polin potted the equalizer with 21.8 seconds left in regulation to force the extra session.
“Before the game, we wanted to stay even keel on the bench,” senior Nick Swaney said. “Being able to battle back shows the kind of character team we have.”
In chatting with head coach Scott Sandelin the last few days, it’s clear he knows his team’s level of experience is an asset. But it had been 701 days. Would everyone just pick up where they left off? While Saturday might not have emphatically answered that question, the Bulldogs did show the kind of mettle that has defined their teams these last four seasons. UMD hasn’t been college hockey’s reigning champions for 1,074 days by accident.
“We gave up late goals at the end of the second after we tied it, and then we give up another one (late in the third),” Sandelin said Sunday. “Both those situations are great learning things, and I like how our guys responded. You have to be in those situations, and to me it’s more about the response. I like what our guys showed. At this time of the year, it doesn’t matter how you win hockey games. Win to survive, and that’s the mentality we have to have.”
Sandelin pointed out that he liked how his team bounced back after trailing 3-0 last week at St. Cloud State, rallying to tie and force overtime before the Huskies won in the extra session.
“That makes three times in a row,” he said, noting he would prefer they avoided falling behind like they did against SCSU in the last meeting, and twice against Western Michigan on Saturday. Either way, it’s all a part of hockey, and fans should absolutely be encouraged how the Bulldogs have handled these early shots of postseason adversity.
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It’s the first time since March 11, 2017, that the UMD men and women have played postseason games on the same day. They haven’t won playoff games on the same day since March 14, 2009. Hopefully that all changes on this day.
The UMD women are in Erie, Pa., for an NCAA quarterfinal game against Colgate at 6pm. Watch it live at ncaa.com.
It was a long Sunday last week, as the Bulldogs came off a 7-2 WCHA semifinal loss to Ohio State and had to sit around all freaking day before the NCAA selection show at 8pm, not knowing at all if they made the national tournament.
Senior McKenzie Revering called it the “longest day ever” when we spoke last week. She said her classmates — she lives with her fellow seniors — tried to occupy themselves by taking naps and watching the ECAC and WCHA women’s title games. Head coach Maura Crowell was in the same boat, saying she checked out the two conference championship games that day. UMD got word shortly after 8pm that day that it would see its season extended, and it touched off a great celebration in the locker room.
Behind the scenes reaction ⬇️ #Family #BulldogCountry pic.twitter.com/6IRw93LiHi
— UMD Women's Hockey (@UMDWHockey) March 8, 2021
You just don’t see this anymore. The PairWise means everyone knows going in that they’re either in or out, and the selection shows are about finding out where you’re going and who you’re playing. With the process turned subjective for this year because of the pandemic, we got this sight, and it was awesome.
The Raiders (15-6-1) don’t score a ton (2.77 goals per game), but goalie Kayle Osborne has a 1.74 goals against and .924 save percentage entering the national tournament. Meanwhile, UMD junior Emma Soderberg is looking to rebound from the Ohio State game, where she was pulled after allowing five goals on 15 shots (it wasn’t on her alone, mind you, and credit Ohio State for the speed they generated in transition, which gave UMD fits). The WCHA Goaltender of the Year will hopefully stand tall in this one. Winner to the Frozen Four!
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2:30 pregame for the men on KDAL. Back pregame with the lines. Support UMD loud and proud today, and enjoy a big day.
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