Roses and Thorns: The Legend Continues

Results from NCHC first-round:
No. 1 UND sweeps No. 8 CC
No. 2 Miami tops No. 7 WMU in three games,
No. 6 SCSU upsets No. 3 Omaha with a sweep
No. 4 Denver sweeps No. 5 UMD

For the 13^th season in a row, the UND men’s hockey team hosted a first-round conference to

urnament series from Ralph Engelstad Arena.

And after a 5-1 and 3-2 series sweep of Colorado College, for the 13^th season in a row, UND fans will have the opportunity to follow the Green and White to the Twin Cities while they vie for a conference tournament championship.

No. 1 ranked UND shook off a slow start on Friday and netted two goals late in the second period before coasting in the third period.

On Saturday, CC brought their A game as a team that was playing for their season and stood toe-to-toe with North Dakota, tying the game in the third period.

But, the legend of Connor Gaarder would not let this series go past Saturday.

The senior assistant captain added to his growing list of big-time, late-season goals, notching the game-winner on a terrific back-handed, net-crashing one-timer with just over a minute left in the game.

After a nice play from Bryn Chyzyk in the neutral zone to turn over the puck, Austin Poganski came in from the right wing with Gaarder barreling towards the net. The freshman made a nifty saucer pass to the slot and Gaarder did the rest, sending the REA faithful into a frenzy and UND to the Target Center.

Gaarder’s goal was his fifth in his last six games – and fourth game-winner in that span.

The Edina, Minn., native’s penchant for scoring big goals started last season in the Frozen Faceoff as he potted two in a pivotal, third-place game victory over WMU, including the game winner that kept UND’s season alive. Then, in the NCAA tournament, Gaarder sent the Green and White to the Frozen Four with a dramatic double-overtime winner. In Frozen Four, Gaarder did it again, scoring UND’s lone goal against Minnesota, less than a minute after the Gophers took the lead in the third period.

The senior leader doesn’t have much to say about this knack for big goals, however.

 “It’s just puck luck and hard work, I guess,” Gaarder said on Saturday. “If you work hard, you’re just going to get the bounces.” 

Whatever it is, DDC hopes to see the tough-minded senior continue his flare for the dramatic.

Here’s what stood out to DDC in this week’s Roses and Thorns.

UND's Connor Gaarder nets the series-clinching goal with 1:22 left in the third on Saturday. (Photo: UNDsports.com)

Roses

No. 1 – Connor Gaarder

See above.

Gaarder came to UND four years ago as a late addition to the roster following J.T. Miller’s decision to de-commit from the program and bolt for the Canadian Juniors. While this move crushed DDC at the time as Miller was set to be UND’s first New York Rangers draft pick to don the Green and White,  there are certainly no reasons to be upset now. While Miller has seen success in Broadway, much to DDC’s liking, Gaarder has become a living legend for UND. Fair trade.

No. 2 – Nick Mattson

After bouncing in and out of the lineup during the first half of the season, the senior defenseman took Christmas break to reevaluate his play. Since then, Mattson has been arguably UND’s best defenseman and he showed up big time against CC. Mattson netted the game-winning goal on Friday and added two assists in the 5-1 added an assist. Mattson has been a force for UND, leading the team with 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in the last 14 games. The senior had often been a source of frustration for fans for parts of his career, but he’s brought his game to a new level during a special run.

No. 3 – Johnny Simonson, Bryn Chyzyk and Trevor Olson

These three were grouped together on the fourth line this weekend and found immediate chemistry. With senior Mark MacMillan officially out for the season and forward Colten St. Clair out for the weekend with injury, Simonson and Olson stepped into the lineup in the playoffs and made a heck of an impact. While trio only notched one point on the weekend, Chyzyk’s second assist on Gaarder’s game-winner on Saturday, the line played with energy and created many chances. Simonson may have had his best game with UND on Friday night, tallying three shots on goal. DDC expects this line to be together this weekend in Minneapolis and is certainly all for it.

UND's Nick Mattson celebrates his game-winning goal in front of the REA faithful on Friday. (Photo: UNDsports.com)

Thorns

No. 1 – No Coverage of Penrose Celebration

DDC did not have the opportunity to see UND parade the Penrose Cup around the REA following Saturday night’s win and he’s not happy about it. Ok, DDC gets it, there are timing constraints and other TV programs to be shown, but c’mon, not even a snippet?! C’mon Midco. This was a pinnacle regular-season celebration for the fans of the Green and White and you cut to other programming?! Fail. Well, here’s to hoping for more important trophy celebrations in the coming weeks.

Thanks for tuning in once again. Come back later this week for the breakdown of the Frozen Faceoff in Minneapolis.

Friday Gameday: Burn the Ships

Author Napoleon Hill wrote about The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Conquistador Hernán Cortés in his 1937 personal development book Think and Grow Rich.

“Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.”

Cortés called for his soldiers to burn the ships, never to retreat from battle.

While this excursion is not war, but hockey, the concept of burning the ships was expressed by senior Nick Mattson in last week’s episode of Through These Doors and in a well-penned article by the Grand Forks Herald’s Brad Schlossman. The UND men’s hockey team has sold out and bought in.

The epitome of buying in and selling out for North Dakota was expressed last weekend in an epic 5-on-3 penalty kill on Saturday night against SCSU that saw the Green and White block four shots and rip all momentum from the Huskies en route to a 3-1 win that clinched UND a share of the Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference champions.

This kill unfortunately led to a leg injury to senior leader Mark MacMillan who blocked a rocket shot with his knee off the stick of SCSU’s Jonny Brodzinski, which could be the hardest in all of college hockey. The assistant captain is tied for the team lead in goals for UND this season, but his effort and defensive ability will be missed even more.

While the Green and White will certainly miss the services of one of their senior leaders, at this time of the year, the cliché “next man up” holds true.

With one weekend remaining in the regular season, No. 1 North Dakota is 1 point shy of clinching the Penrose outright. Standing in their way, the Miami RedHawks, who with a sweep in Oxford, Ohio, would share the Penrose with UND and take the No. 1 seed into the conference tournament.

Burn the ships.

Here’s what to watch for in the title-deciding faceoff between UND and Miami in DDC’s “Who? What? How?” preview.

Who will hoist the Penrose Cup this weekend?

Who?

Players to watch

Miami:

Sr. F, Austin Czarnik, 2 goals, 30 assists – 32 points
Jr. F, Riley Barber, 16g, 15a – 31 pts
So. F, Anthony Lewis, 6g, 21a – 27 pts
Jr. F, Sean Kuraly, 16g, 7a – 23 pts

Jr. G, Jay Williams, 16-6-0, .920 save percentage, 1.90 goals against average (7th in NCAA), started in 6-2 L at DU last weekend.
Jr. G, Ryan McKay, 4-5-1, .907 save percentage, 2.81 goals against average, started in 5-3 W at DU last weekend.

UND:

UND Jr. F, Drake Caggiula

Jr. F, Drake Caggiula, 15 goals, 16 assists  – 31 points
Sr. F, Michael Parks, 12g, 19a – 31 pts
Jr. D, Jordan Schmaltz, 3g, 22a – 25 pts

Jr. G, Zane McInyre, 24-6-3, 1.93 goals against average (8th in NCAA), .933 save percentage (7th in NCAA). 24 wins lead NCAA.

16 players with at least nine points.

What?

Standout stats

Miami:

2.97 goals per game (19th in NCAA), 2.18 goals allowed per game (11th in NCAA), 19.3% power play (20th in NCAA), 83.1% penalty kill (30th in NCAA)

+24 in second period, -4 in third, 13-5-1 when scoring first, 7-6-0 when allowing first, +262 in shots

UND:

3.39 GPG (7th in NCAA), 2.09 GAG (7th in NCAA), 20.9% PP, 84.1% PK

17-0-3 when scoring first, 20-0-2 when leading after 2.

7-game unbeaten streak is longest current streak in NCAA.

Haven’t allowed a 5-on-5 goal in 259:28 (Third period, Feb. 14 vs. DU).

How?

How’d they get here?

UND's Michael Parks celebrates his goal against Miami in November
(Photo credit: UND Sports)

Miami:

No. 4 PWR, No. 5 USCHO, 20-11-1 overall, 13-8-1, 41 points, 2nd in NCHC.

Last weekend:

5-3 W, 6-2 L @ Denver.

UND:

No. 1 PWR, No. 1 USCHO, 24-6-3 overall, 15-5-2, 47 pts, 1st in NCHC.

Last weekend:

3-2 W, 3-1 W vs. St. Cloud State.

Last meeting:

Split Nov. 14-15 in Grand Forks. Miami won 3-2 on Friday and UND got the split with a 4-1 win on Saturday.

The Pick

It’s hard to take emotion out of an article like this. The gut-wrenching loss of MacMillan leaves a gaping hole for a UND team that has prided itself in outworking its opponent. MacMillan is a heart and soul player and his absence won’t go unnoticed.

That being said, depth has been the key to the Green and White’s success all season and DDC believes it will be “next man up” for UND. It will be interesting to see North Dakota’s line combinations this weekend after having the same lineup for over a month. However, DDC’s expects to see a fired up team on Friday that desperately wants to win for their injured leader and to bring the Penrose to Grand Forks while not sharing it with anybody.

On the other side of the ice, Miami is a talented as they come. The forward group led by Czarnik, Barber, Kuraly and Louis is as good as it gets in college hockey. This series in back in November in Grand Forks was high-octane, racehorse hockey and DDC expects to see this again in Oxford. No doubt, these two teams want six points. These two teams want the No. 1 seed in the NCHC tourney. These two teams want the Penrose.

The key difference comes on the backend. While Miami has certainly showed its defensive ability this season with a pair of solid goaltenders, neither Williams or McKay will be in the net for UND. Zane McIntyre will be and he has proven he’s a big-time goalie this season and DDC thinks the junior netminder shows it once again.

This is must-see college hockey.

DDC will take the criticism as a “homer” or whatever you will call him, but this UND team has truly burned the ships.

UND SWEEPS, 4-2, 3-2

Roses and Thorns: No Surprises, A Split

NCHC Standings: T-1) Miami, 7-3-0, 21 pts; T-1) UMD, 7-3-0, 21 pts;
3) UNO, 6-3-1-1, 20 pts; 4) UND, 6-3-1, 19 pts; 5) DU, 4-3-0, 12 pts;
6) WMU, 2-6-2-2, 10 pts; 7) SCSU, 2-5-1, 7 pts; 8) CC, 0-8-1, 1 pt

Another trip to Magness Arena. Another split.

The UND men’s hockey team and Denver played another high-energy, heated conference series this weekend as the Pioneers and netminder Evan Cowley took Friday night’s contest 4-1. North Dakota battled back on Saturday for a convincing 3-1 victory, earning the National Collegiate Hockey Conference split.

Here’s what stood out for the DDC in this week’s Rose and Thorns.

Roses

 

No. 1 – Nick Mattson 

The senior defenseman showed some veteran savvy in a big way on Saturday night. After being scratched the previous four games, Mattson netted UND’s first goal of the game and added an assist in the 3-1 victory. With Troy Stecher expected to be out through January, a contributing Mattson would be huge for UND.

No. 2 – Bryn Chyzyk

Chyzyk returned from injury and scored a big goal in Friday night’s game that got UND back in it at 2-1. He added an assist on Saturday. The junior has taken huge strides this season and it was nice seeing Chyzyk continue his good play after missing a good chunk of time with an injury.

No. 3 – Evan Cowley

DU head coach Jim Montgomery said after Saturday night’s 3-1 loss that he planned on using freshman goaltender Tanner Jaillet regardless of Cowley’s performance on Friday. Montgomery may be regretting that decision as Cowley was much better than Jaillet this weekend. The sophomore goalie came up huge on Friday, stopping 29 of 30 shots, also adding an assist. His save on the doorstep on UND’s Connor Gaarder with DU nursing a 2-1 lead in the third kept DU rolling and he earned the 4-1 win.

Thorns

No. 1 – Refereeing/Penalties

Ok. DDC gets it. No excuses. You can’t control the calls on the ice. However, the checking from behind call on UND’s top centerman and assistant captain Mark McMillan that saw the senior get ejected just seven minutes into the game, was flat out awful. Below is the call. You judge for yourself. Losing McMillan, UND was forced to jumble lines, even going as far as pulling Tucker Poolman from the blue line to forward. This call put North Dakota on its heels early on and made a big impact on a rivalry series. Two minutes? Sure. Five? Not a chance. Denver, in DDC’s opinion, was a bit soft on their skates this weekend and a talented power play group took advantage. Look, DDC understands that UND isn’t full of angels and protecting players is very important. However, calls like that shouldn’t be game changers. Call the two. Keep McMillan on the ice. Move on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AviQdFj_rF8

No. 2 – Stephane Pattyn

Pardon me for calling out the captain of this team, but the burley forward has put UND behind the 8-ball a few times this season with silly, after the whistle penalties. The forward did it again on Friday with an unsportsmanlike call. DDC has always loved the grit and gristle that Pattyn has brought to his team, but, UND would prefer to keep its captain out of the box.

No. 3 – Coltyn Sanderson

Sanderson didn’t directly do anything to earn a spot on DDC’s thorns this week, but that may be precisely why he’s on this list.  Once again, Sanderson was completely invisible on Friday night and freshman Johnny Simonson took his spot on Saturday and in DDC’s opinion, it should stay that way going forward. Sanderson’s lack of skill isn’t hurting the team, as the junior doesn’t see much of the ice, but Simonson is simply a better option.