UMD is now 5-5-1 since break after getting swept last weekend in Omaha. Not bad, not great. While Scott Sandelin has said a couple times this week that he felt his team deserved a better fate in Omaha (at least to some extent), UMD has to be much better defensively against a potent Arizona State attack than it was last...

International hockey is the flavor of the moment. While the NHL season goes on pause for the 4 Nations Faceoff, the PWHL is back after a pause for the latest unnecessary Rivalry Series, and two UMD women's standout defenders have returned from helping their respective countries qualify for the 2026 Olympics. Doublehead...

OMAHA, Neb. -- A pretty even game through two periods turned on a five-minute stretch to start the third period Friday night. Well, to be fair, a stretch of 5:01 to start the third period. 13 seconds into the third, Zac Urdahl scored short-side from a sharp-ish angle on the right wing to give Omaha a 2-1 lead. It was a...

OMAHA, Neb. -- It's "Country and Cowbells Night" here in Omaha. Join us and see if we survive with our ears fully intact. On the ice, UMD returns from a bye to battle Omaha. Like I said in the preview, byes are weird. They aren't necessarily as helpful as one might think. Jan. 17, Western Michigan returned fr...

OMAHA, Neb. -- Bye weeks are weird. Everyone thinks it's a great chance for a team to get healthy and reset, and to work on a few things. "I've done this a long time," UMD men's head coach Scott Sandelin said this week, as his team prepares to return from a bye to battle Omaha. "I always thought bye week...

A rousing win for UMD on Friday night. And maybe the kind of game that wakes up a fanbase that's, to be blunt, not come out in droves since the team stumbled out of the gates to start the season. Had nearly 6,000 paid for Friday, and most of the folks who showed up were more than engaged with the happenings on the ice....

For the pregame interview you'll hear if you #ListenToTheRadio at around 6:50, I always like to ask UMD coach Scott Sandelin for a few keys to success for his team against whatever adversary it faces for a particular weekend. Listen closely, and Sandelin offers some cool Xs and Os hockey insight that will help you be a...

Apologies to the legendary John Cena. Denver is in town for two, so a tremendous challenge awaits the UMD men, the UMD women battled illness and a top-tier adversary simultaneously last weekend, and plenty to do and see in the next nine thoughts. Go time. 9 THOUGHTS 1. "Bottom line, I wasn't good enough." Kla...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- It's funny how the perspective can change on weather. In northern Minnesota, everyone is preparing as best they can for some bitingly cold wind chills (50 below zero for many), and no matter what some rando on Facebook wants you to think, it does not get that cold every January. Meanwhile, he...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- But not for the visitors. Colorado College beat a short-handed UMD team 7-2 Friday night. This will be somewhat short and not at all sweet to summarize. 9 THOUGHTS 1. Let's start with some updates. If you didn't listen Friday, you might not have caught me covering for an earlier mistake. Norm...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Nothing has come easy for either UMD or Colorado College this season. The teams enter this weekend series tied for seventh in the NCHC at 13 points apiece. But that only tells part of the story. UMD started 3-7 and has only recently steadied itself a bit with a 3-1-1 run since break ended. Co...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Before we get to hockey, the passing of Bob Uecker has to be acknowledged. To a certain degree, your humble correspondent is likely not your humble correspondent were it not for many a night staying up past bedtime to listen to Bob Uecker (alongside current Cubs radio voice and also legend Pa...

Off a 2-0 win Friday, we'll see if UMD can secure the sweep while clearly fighting through illness, which is not at all atypical of a hockey team this time of year. (Trust me, it's going around big-time. I've already had COVID since the Arizona trip and am using my ninja skillz to avoid the latest rush of viruses as mu...

Nine weekends. Eight series. 16 games. All in NCHC play. This is the stretch that will teach us so much about this UMD team. No, eighth place on a nine-team table is not what anyone had been hoping to see this season. But the opportunity exists now to change that. UMD can put itself within striking distance of the midp...

Plenty to discuss this week, as the UMD women begin a critical stretch of conference games in their quest to hold on to a top-four spot in the PairWise, while the UMD men look to start the 2025 portion of their NCHC schedule strong against a longtime rival. Oh, and it's Ice Breaker weekend, combined with a visit from S...

UMD head coach Scott Sandelin minced few words when talking about Friday's game with Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune. "I liked our first 10-12 minutes," Sandelin told Wellens postgame. "After that, we weren't a very good hockey team. We weren't. They were the better team. Knapper got us a tie.&qu...

Off a strong performance Tuesday night in Bemidji, UMD will try to keep the good vibes going, but the challenge faced from Alaska this weekend is a stiff one. Since starting the season 0-4 with sweeps by Penn State (home) and Michigan Tech (road), Alaska has picked up at least one win or draw each weekend. They split a...

Lots to get to here this week, with the UMD men starting their second half with a win before ringing in the new year on a Highway 2 bus ride, and now both UMD teams are starting multi-weekend homestands below a new video board at Amsoil Arena. But the news to start is not great. 9 THOUGHTS 1. Will Francis' cancer has r...

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Let's just all hope the snow that wasn't forecasted stops so I don't regret cancelling that hotel room. (Not that I can't get another one.) Anyway, Happy New Year to all. No better way to ring in 2025, in my opinion. Bulldogs and Beavers. Max Plante and Adam Kleber are in Ottawa, and we hope they stay...

Is this on? What day is it? Anyway, hope everyone has enjoyed this holiday season. I'm currently on the tenth of 12 straight days not going into the office, and I've put this off long enough. It's time to do something that's kind of work-related. Thanks for reading. Plenty to get to here. 9 THOUGHTS 1. The first half d...