KALAMAZOO, Mich. — If Friday’s game at Lawson Ice Arena is any indication, we’re in for quite the competitive and enjoyable NCHC season.
On this night, however, it was the home team getting three points.
Ethen Frank backhanded a puck that squirted by UMD goalie Ryan Fanti and eventually across the goal line with 1:26 left in regulation, snapping a late tie and giving Western Michigan a 4-3 win over UMD to kick off the ninth season of NCHC play.
Drew Worrad won a race to a loose puck in the neutral zone after the puck was batted out off a UMD rush. UMD’s Matt Anderson couldn’t beat Worrad to the puck, and Louie Roehl couldn’t tie Frank up enough to prevent the shot, which got through Fanti’s five hole and trickled home to send the loud Lawson crowd into a frenzy.
The game came down to the final minutes despite the best efforts of Western’s special teams, which outscored UMD 2-0 and held the Bulldogs off the board on four power play chances, while cashing in on a Frank short-handed breakaway early in the third period. UMD had a five-minute power play in the second period that started strong and fizzled, going scoreless and getting four shots. It wasn’t a lost cause, however, as UMD did generate some puck possession, and the Bulldogs used that momentum to rally from 2-0 down in the second period with two five-on-five goals. Kyler Kleven and Casey Gilling lit the lamp for UMD, 3:11 apart, and the game was 2-2 after two periods.
Tanner Laderoute got UMD back on level terms in the third after Frank’s shortie, but the Bulldogs never led in this game, and Western’s top guys made a huge play when it mattered most.
As I mentioned in the pregame blog, and I still think it’s true, UMD is a deeper team than Western Michigan (though that depth has been tested and it might be again, as Kleven didn’t finish the game Friday). Outside of the starts of the three periods, where UMD was back on its heels a bit (especially the first period, where it looked for a bit like the Bulldogs were in for one long night), it felt like the kind of game we were expecting.
“It looked like we were off last weekend,” head coach Scott Sandelin said of his team’s start.
Evenly played game, back-and-forth action, and it came down to one team making some big plays. It just so happened that team was the wrong one, at least from this perspective. 😁
“It was just a good battle,” said Sandelin. “Unfortunately, they got the goal at the end.”
At five-on-five, UMD was the better team for large chunks of the game. The Bulldogs overcame a serious faceoff deficit (36 to 14 on the stats, even though it felt like UMD should have gotten credit for more than that share) to outshoot Western 22-17 at even strength, and UMD outscored Western 3-2 when the teams had the same number of players on the ice.
(Of concern: UMD’s power play is a net-zero right now. Three goals scored, three short-handed goals conceded. It won’t continue, but it’s something to look at. I’m not in the right frame of mind to try to find the last time UMD’s power play was a net-zero for this long a stretch. It’s hard to imagine, considering the history of good special teams this program has cultivated.)
(Yay, more parentheses. Let’s be fair to the penalty kill. Michael Joyaux powered a screened shot by Fanti on Western’s first PP chance, but the killers got it done on three straight after that, and the timing of all three couldn’t have been better. UMD got a key kill late in the first that led to the Bulldogs dominating the last four or so minutes of the period. The kill early in the second — right after Josh Passolt gave Western a 2-0 lead — was massive. WMU had a chance to really get UMD reeling, and the Broncos had one forgettable shot and not much zone time. UMD started to re-assert itself after that. And a kill early in the third helped UMD get the momentum it used to get Laderoute’s tying goal a little bit after the penalty ended.)
But that’s the margin for error in the NCHC. It’s hard to consistently generate offense at five-on-five, and a team that can win that special teams battle by two is going to have an edge more often than not.
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There are things to clean up for Saturday.
Faceoffs. I’ll repeat: It wasn’t a 72-28 percent night. It also wasn’t a good one for UMD, no matter how you slice it. Worrad and Paul Washe combined to go 27-11, many of them contested. UMD simply must do a better job on the 50/50 pucks. Again, with the margin for error being what it is, the Bulldogs could greatly benefit from not having to chase the puck around the rink after more than two-thirds of the faceoffs.
UMD’s communication wasn’t great at times. Anderson and Roehl looked crossed-up on the winning goal, though it also might not have mattered. Worrad and Frank pounced so quickly and attacked with such speed that I’m not convinced UMD could have stopped that play even if it had been handled perfectly. Paul Washe had a breakaway not long after Frank’s first goal that came after two UMD defenders went to the same guy and left the middle of the ice wide open. Washe’s shot missed the net.
And, obviously, the power play needs to produce. It did show some signs of life. I thought the “second” unit, with Quinn Olson, Blake Biondi, Dominic James, Connor Kelley, and Owen Gallatin were pretty good. They started the major power play, which did come after Gilling’s line was on the ice for a shift (actually, it was Noah Cates getting checked in the head to draw the major), but the replay review took long enough that Sandelin probably could have started the “top unit” if he had wanted to. Whatever reason, the hunch paid off, as that group did a good job zipping the puck around and getting some looks.
UMD also needs more consistency and balance out of its lineup. Overall, I thought the Bulldogs’ “depth forwards” — guys like the James line and the fourth line, with Carter Loney, Ben Almquist, and Kleven on Friday — outplayed Western’s bottom two lines. The fourth line for UMD was especially effective, which made the second period penalty box parade sting even more. They made a difference when they were on the ice, but they weren’t out there enough because of all the PP time each way. But there were some peaks and valleys from guys we shouldn’t see this many of them from. It’s a growing trend that bears watching, especially as the inevitable happens and this team starts to get healthier. That does have to happen, no?
Speaking of that, if Kleven can’t go Saturday, it stands to reason Jarrett Lee will draw back in, which might have been the plan anyway, only for Almquist. If Kleven can play, I wouldn’t expect Lee to. Almquist and Loney were good in this game, and it would be interesting to see what that threesome can do with a full game, especially if there’s more five-on-five time in that game.
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Elsewhere in the NCHC, Louie Jamernik scored twice for North Dakota in a 3-1 win over Denver at The Ralph. The Pioneers pushed late to equalize, but took a goalie interference penalty with 1:58 left. Jamernik hit the empty net during the power play.
In Omaha, Miami scored goals 19 seconds apart in the third period to win a seesaw affair from the Mavericks 4-3. Matthew Barbolini got credit for the equalizer, then Derek Daschke scored the eventual winner for the RedHawks, who got 32 saves from Ludvig Persson and won despite being outshot 35-13.
In Colorado Springs, Colorado College led 2-1 late, but Jami Krannila scored a power play goal with 4:25 to play in regulation, then picked up the winner in overtime as St. Cloud State beat CC 3-2 in the first NCHC game played at Ed Robson Arena.
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Rematch Saturday at 6pm. Coverage at 5pm on KDAL and all the normal online outlets.
Back pregame with the lines.
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