UND's Connor Ford carries the puck up the ice during the Fighting Hawks' 5-2 loss on Friday in Conn.Photo Credit: Quinnipiac Athletics
DDC is going for the double dip, in this one. With departure for Music City on Thursday, DDC is wrapping up his review last week's split with Quinnipiac together with a nice, little Nashville-hot style sandwich preview of UND's Hall of Fame game with Penn State.
Let's giver a whirl, shall we?
It was a fun weekend of hockey and an un-shocking result. The Bobcats on Friday, paced by four-straight goals after UND took a 1-0 lead, took a 5-2 win. The next night, the Fighting Hawks used a solid defensive effort, paced by 17 blocked shots and a 34-save, 1 goal allowed performance by netminder Zach Driscoll to earn a 3-1 win and a series split.
There were definitely some standout pieces this weekend in Hamden, Conn., so let's take a condensed Roses and Thorns look at them.
Roses
1) Responding to adversity
To be blunt, the Green and White weren't very good on Friday night. Quinnipiac controlled every facet of the game and took it to UND. The Hawks looked slow, lacked creativity and cohesion, and there started to look like a bit of a lack of effort and that's not something DDC says about a UND game very often, win or lose. DDC expected a bounce back on Saturday and the Hawks bounced back, indeed. Right from puck drop, a noticeable level of hitting started and didn't stop until the final whistle and the Green and White essentially wore down QU with tenacious defense. DDC mentioned to a couple friends that he hadn't seen that level of hitting from UND for a long time and he believes this will likely need to be the way the team wins games for a while as they continue to gel offensively.
2) Jake Sanderson
Ok, so this probably wasn't needed because we're trying to condense, but DDC couldn't let this one go. Look at this frickin' wrister. Seriously. Just look at it. Three minutes into the clip. Goodness, gracious.
An NHL player playing college hockey -- the sophomore assistant captain had a three-point weekend (1g, 2a) and chipped in with a solid defensive performance. Again, enjoy him while he's here. Special, special player.
Thorns
1) General offensive flow, chemistry
We've spoken ad nauseum about the need for this team to gel. Adding 14 players to a squad is a daunting task for any team, and the Hawks showed that a bit on Friday night. Quinnipiac is a solid team with a lot of returners and they shut UND down for the most part in that game. It was a lot of one-and-done rushes, lots of dumps and chase, and not much for solid possession, passing in the zone. There was also a level of visual frustration from several players. Then on Saturday, North Dakota changed to a much more physical, energy-pushing style and generated success. This team needs to gel, still. Here's to hoping the team found a bit of its identity on Saturday.
Nashville, Here we Come
"So come and visit me in Music City. We'll drink all night and write songs no one will sing. There's room for you and your cowboy boots. We'll even get you a rhinestone suit. You don't even have to sing on key. Producers with computers can fix it all. In Nashville, Tennessee."
After waiting for over a year because of the global bastard that is/was COVID-19, it's time for DDC and the UND faithful to strap on their boots and spurs, travel down to Tennessee, and show Music City, and the Penn State Nittany Lions what we're all about. Let's do a quick breakdown for this non-conference tussle in Tennessee.
Peeking at Penn State
Hailing from the Big 10, Penn State comes into this Saturday's tilt from Bridgestone Arena for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game on a hot 5-1 start, but hasn't exactly faced much for top tier competition. The Nittany Lions have swept Long Island and Niagara (by the same scores UND swept the Purple Eagles, mind you) and split against Canisius. Not exactly murder's row, if you ask DDC.
PSU has played solid team defense this year, allowing just 1.83 goals per game and boasts the nation's fourth-best penalty kill at 96.4% through six games. Junior forward Kevin Wall leads the Nittany Lions with 7 points and his 6 goals ties him for fourth-best in the NCAA. Between the pipes, PSU has seen a near even split of Oskar Autio and Liam Souliere, both sporting at least a .938 save percentage.
Penn State had a down 2020-21 season going just 10-12 for the year and missing out on the NCAAs, but has been a solid program since their inception in 2013-14. In their nine-year existence, the Nittany Lions have made the national tournament in three of those seasons and accumulated 137 wins to just 119 losses and 23 ties.
The Pick
Is Penn State as good as their 5-1 start? DDC isn't saying the Nittany Lions aren't good, because that's likely not the case. PSU head coach Guy Gadowsky's legacy has been a strong one since he's coached in the NCAA ranks with Princeton and now the Nittany Lions and he's built PSU up as a contender in his eight seasons in Happy Valley. With that said, DDC doubts PSU has seen the talent level that UND will bring to the Music City on Saturday and that talent level will play a big factor. However, the Fighting Hawks have shown that they can be shut down by solid goaltending and team defense, which Penn State has shown they have this season. What will be the deciding factor?
DDC thinks you all know where he's going with this. The deciding factor is YOU.
"The Nittany Lions and Fighting Hawks will play for the first time ever with the game taking place in Nashville, Tennessee. This means the blue and white's first road game will most likely be in front of a neutral crowd, because of the the neutral site.
DDC's sorry to say, Mr. Jeremiah Hassel, but you haven't seen much of UND fans, have ya?
If you, as a reader, don't think that the fanbase makes a difference in these neutral settings, take a look at our record in these games. Truth is, this fanbase is a difference maker, not only in the noise we make, but in the desire for the players to play well in front of a crowd that has traveled 1,000s of miles to see them play. It's a pride that our fanbase carries and that pride comes back from the players. They want to win and they want to win for US.
With that, the Green and White take this one.
UND SINGS LOUD IN THE MUSIC CITY WITH A 4-2 WIN
Thanks again for reading. DDC will check back in after Nashville, if he survives! 😅
Kicking off the regular season, the No. 8/7 University of North Fighting Hawks take on the Niagara University Purple Eagles from the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, and as the 2018-19 UND squad can attest to, this weekend is an important one for the Green and White.
On January 5-6, 2019, UND faced off against Canisius College, got swept against a team that ultimately would finish 54 out of 60 teams in the Pairwise ranking, which determine the NCAA tournament field each season. These losses ultimately popped the Green and White's tournament bubble by season's end. While Niagara isn't necessarily as poor Canisius ended up being that season, with the Pairwise ranking determining everyone's fate, losing to the Purple Eagles would be a massive blow to a potential national tournament in the future.
With all of that said ... trap series.
And as he did for the Roses and Thorns column, DDC will re-introduce the Who? What? How? preview. Simply put, this is the people, the things and the situations that lead up to a particular weekend's tilt. The players, that standout stats, and the how they got here are going to give you all an idea of what to look for each weekend. And finally, it will end with DDC's weekend pick! Without further ado...
Who?
Players to Watch
Niagara University Purple Eagles -- 2020-21 stats
Sr. F., Walker Sommer, 8 goals, 7 assists -- 15 points; Jr. F., Ryan Numovski, 3g, 10a -- 13pts; Sr. F., Ryan Cox, 7g, 4a -- 11pts; Sr. D., Chris Harpur, 0g, 8a -- 8 pts; Jr. G.,Chad Veltri, 5-7-2, 2.61 goals against average, .914 save percentage; Sr. G., Michael Corson, 2-4-1, 3.28 GAA, .903 SV%
University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks -- 2020-21 stats
Moorhead, Minn., native and former UND recruit Carter Randklev skates for the Purple Eagles. The now sophomore tallied 3 goals and 2 assists for Niagara last season.
Niagara returns 18 players from last year's team and adds 12 rookies.
Niagara is 0-7-0 all-time against North Dakota including a 2013 NCAA regional loss. The Purple Eagles' last visit to Grand Forks in 2015 was not a pleasant one with UND sweeping the series to the tune of a 12-1 margin in the two games.
UND
This weekend marks 20 years since the REA opened it's doors. Cheers to the Palace on the Prairie.
UND welcomes forward Connor Ford (Bowling Green) and Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State) to this year's squad and hopes the two continue their solid WCHA goal scoring in the NCHC. Ford and Calder finished last season tied with 16 goals each, good for fifth in the nation.
The Green and White hopes to find offensive consistency and goal scoring with a plethora of new faces. Last year, UND was 16-1-0 when they scored at least 4 goals.
How?
How'd they get here?
Niagara plays in its first game action of the year after missing out on the NCAA tournament last season. The Purple Eagles fell in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals to end their campaign.
UND took down the Bemidji State Beavers 2-1 in an exhibition last weekend in Grand Forks. Sophomore winger Riese Gaber scored the Fighting Hawks' first goal and sophomore defenseman Jake Sanderson notched the game winner.
The Pick
The Cathedral of College Hockey turns 20. DDC predicts UND will celebrate in style with a sweep.
DDC will be honest, here ... this needs to be a sweep. He gets it, yes, it's October... but come tournament time, if he has to hear about a loss or two to frickin' Niagara from October, he is gonna be sick. DDC believes talent wins out, here. While there are concerns with how this team will gel to start the year, DDC believes in the pieces that the Fighting Hawks will skate out onto the REA ice this weekend. Zach Driscoll looked so good in the exhibition and he will clean up with a solid defensive performance in front of him.
Jake Sanderson is so an NHL player playing college hockey and DDC predicts a big weekend from him as Atlantic Hockey just doesn't have this type of talent skating against its opponents on a nightly basis. The UND faithful got a whiff of this premise in the first round of the NCAA tournament as the Hawks rolled AIC. The Yellow Jackets just weren't in UND's league and DDC believes that will show again this weekend for the Purple Eagles.
It's time to pay homage to the Palace on the Prairie for its 20th birth, kick the season off right, and get two wins.
The Green and White pushes Niagara over the falls and sweeps, 4-1, 5-2
Check back early next week to see how it all went down! Thanks for the read!
UND watches as it's 2021 NCHC championship banner was raised at the Ralph before the Fighting Hawks' 2-1 exhibition win over BSU. Photo credit: Russel Hons.
Alright, folks, it's Roses and Thorns time! For those of who are new to the blog, and since it's been a bit since DDC has done one, let's explain how this little thing goes. So, DDC will recap this past weekend ... the things DDC believes went well, stood out, were solid, they get a rose. The things, events, situations that DDC believes went poorly get a thorn. Let's be honest, this is a game where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
Let's get after it!
The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks had an exhibition this past Saturday that was not your normal exhibition. Normally, the Green and White takes on Canadian college team the Manitoba Bisons, but since everything is still kind of stupid, the NCAA allowed teams to schedule exhibitions against Division I opponents. Scheduling a game against the Bemidji State Beavers was an incredibly smart move for both teams. Instead of coasting through a match up against an inferior opponent just to get the legs warm, both of these squads were able to check out real, top-notch opposition. In fact, this game served as a scouting session for both teams as the two will play a home-and-home series in two weeks.
For the first two periods, this one looked like an exhibition -- sloppy play, turnovers, lack of offensive flow -- and the score was tied at 1. Then, like North Dakota fans are hoping to see all season, perhaps college hockey's premier defenseman (no, sorry Owen Power), did what he does. Sophomore defenseman Jake Sanderson gathered a loose puck to the left of the UND goal, blazed coast-to-coast and fired a quick shot to beat BSU netminder Gavin Enright at 11:02 of the third to give the Hawks the 2-1 lead which they never relinquished.
Here's what stood out to DDC.
Roses:
1) The Ralph is Back
Take a listen to the building when Sanderson buried his goal. Starts at about 2:40 into the clip:
God, that was missed. Cheers to full buildings in 2021-22.
2) Transfers, Rookies Look Solid
UND Goalie Zach Driscoll stopped 16 of 17 shots
With 14 new faces (9 freshmen, 5 transfer additions) on this year's squad, a lot of anticipation was built around how these players would fit into UND's mold. As was pointed out by the GF Herald's Brad Schlossman, the Fighting Hawks saw all of their transfer players look like they belonged, basically because, well, they've played college hockey before. Forwards Connor Ford and Ashton Calder played well with Calder showing great speed and quickness. Defensemen Chris Jandric and Brady Ferner both had solid showings. DDC was impressed by Jandric's vision and structure. Lastly, goaltender Zach Driscoll was incredibly steady against his former BSU brethren stopping 16 of 17 shots including a clutch save on a clean breakaway with seven minutes to go. As for the rookies, the Green and White faithful saw a consistent performance by Jake Schmaltz, wearing his cousin Nick's former No. 8 jersey and settling in to a second-line winger spot. Nick Portz played a tremendous defensive game, slotting in on the second penalty kill and center Mateo Constantini went 5-for-6 in the faceoff dot. Great starts all around for UND's new faces.
3) The Straw Stirs the Drink
As noted in his 2021-22 season preview, DDC believes Sanderson will be the key-est of all keys for UND this season and the alternate captain immediately started to stir that proverbial drink for his team. Sanderson looked every bit of his status, potting the game-winner and adding an assist in the exhibition. Going back to the clip of his goal, his speed is just flat out game changing. Watch as he sees the defenseman continue to give him space. He hits the blue line and just goes. Quick shot, boom. Goal. Enjoy him, boys and girls. He's a special, special player.
It was also nice to see sophomore forward Riese Gaber didn't forget how to shoot. Going back to the highlights, check out this rocket at around 1:10 into the clip. No doubter. That top powerplay unit of Gaber, Sanderson, Calder, Ford and Judd Caulfield could end up being really fun to watch.
Thorns:
1) The Need to Gel
Pointing out all the good this game had to offer is important, but it'll be important to note that UND did not have a lot of grade A opportunities in this one. Facing a solid opponent in Bemidji State, which DDC thinks will fare very, very well in the reincarnated CCHA (RIP WCHA 😞), showed that the Green and White may take some time before they develop consistent offensive prowess. With last season's team, the Fighting Hawks had three solid lines that could chip in on any night, but simply put, they didn't have that on Saturday. With 14 new faces, this team will need to rely on structure, goaltending, and solid defense to get some of these rookies up to speed and for new lines to develop. The pieces however are, without a doubt, there.
Thanks for reading! DDC will be back later this week as UND starts its regular season schedule with an important non-conference series with the Niagara University Purple Eagles Friday and Saturday at the Ralph.
As the minutes turned into periods, the periods turned into overtimes, the overtimes turned into hours, the way the 2020-21 season ended for the UND Fighting Hawks hockey team just didn't feel right.
After a season of unbridled success that saw the Green and White win 22 games, earn their second consecutive Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions, win their first NCHC Frozen Faceoff tournament, and dominate in their first NCAA tournament game since 2017, watching that puck slide through netminder Adam Scheel's pads ending the longest tournament game in history in the 6th overtime of the regional final didn't make DDC angry, it made him sad.
The 2020-21 Hawks were a squad that had it all -- top-end scoring, senior leadership, dynamic, playmaking defensemen, all-world goaltending. You name it, they had it. Looking forward to the new campaign, the faces may be different (and holy smokes, they are different), but a lot of those same traits exist in the 2021-22 incarnation of UND hockey.
Let's take a look into the future of where DDC thinks this season will playout for UND, the NCHC, and the NCAA.
It's time, ladies and gents. It's time for the big hits, the crazy passes, the buried one-timer. It's time for the Ralph. It's time for FULL ARENAS. Let's go.
UND Loses a Lot, Returns a Superstar
So. D., Jake Sanderson
Simply put, the Fighting Hawks got a little beat up in the offseason. Senior departures of Jordan Kawaguchi, Colin Adams, Grant Mismash were 1, 2, 7 on the team in scoring last season. Add in massive underclassman losses in defensemen Matt Kierstad and Jacob Bernard-Docker and forwards Shane Pinto and Jasper Weatherby (a late defection after a solid prospect camp with the Sharks), and UND has lost 7 of its 10 top scorers, including all five of their top 5. The cherry on top, Mike Richter finalist goalie Adam Scheel also left for a professional contract.
Yikes.
While an offseason like that makes many programs shudder, UND has a long tradition of reloading each season regardless of the previous outcome. Two major factors will play a role in that, in DDC's opinion -- the transfer portal that saw the Hawks grab five players and the return of defenseman Jake Sanderson. If that feels like a lot of pressure to put on one player, don't see it as a bane, see it as a badge of honor.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft had nothing short of an incredible freshman season. His numbers don't necessarily jump off the screen (2 goals, 15 assists -- 17 points), but his +20 sure does. And if anyone watched the second half of the season, especially in the overtime periods in the regional final and doesn't see a pure, unabashed superstar in Sanderson, you better get your eyes checked. The Whitefish, MT native will be the key cog for UND and DDC expects a significant point jump. On a team last season where Sanderson didn't have to produce a lot of points, he still showed that he absolutely can. All reports about him in the offseason indicate that he returns bigger, faster, and stronger and that's great news for Hawks' fans.
The Rest of The Cupboard Isn't Bare
Sr. F., Mark Senden was named UND's 2021-22 Captain
While Sanderson looks to be the straw that stirs UND's drink, the sophomore alternate captain will have a supporting cast that can certainly do it's part. Sophomores Riese Gaber and Tyler Kleven, juniors Brenden Budy, Ethan Frisch, and Judd Caulfield, and seniors Gavin Hain and newly-named captain Mark Senden will be familiar faces for the Green and White attack. Newcomers from the transfer portal in Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State) and Connor Ford (Bowling Green) had tremendous success with their former squads and hope to gel quickly. Finally, replacing netminder Adam Scheel, who left for a pro contract, and Peter Thome, who transferred to St. Thomas for their inaugural season at Division I, in comes transfer Zach Driscoll from Bemidji State. Driscoll had an outstanding career with the Beavers and should not miss a beat for the Fighting Hawks.
Adding in NHL draft picks in freshmen forwards Jackson Kunz (fourth round) and Jake Schmaltz (seventh round) and defenseman Brent Johnson (third round) among a nine-man class, UND will likely need to build some continuity early on in the season, but has plenty of solid pieces to round out the 21-22 roster.
A Look at the NCHC
Losing who they did to graduation and the pro ranks, UND could very well take a small step back as they look to repeat as three-time Penrose Cup champions. Who would be next in line to take their place? DDC thinks this will be a tight race to the finish, once again, but it's St. Cloud State that seems poised to make the best run. Following their disappointing blowout loss to UMass in the National Championship game, the Huskies are locked and loaded for another run. Returning all five of their leading scorers led by sophomore stalwart Veeti Miettinen, SCSU have loads of scoring and talent. Behind the Huskies, Denver, Omaha, Minnesota Duluth, and Western will have their say with the Pioneers bringing in a powerful freshman class to go with solid returners. Here's how DDC thinks the NCHC will land.
1) St. Cloud State 2) North Dakota 3) Denver 4) Omaha 5) Minnesota Duluth 6) Western Michigan 7) Colorado College 8) Miami
A Peek Around the Country
So. D., Owen Power
All offseason it seems like it's been Michigan this, Michigan that... blah, blah, blah 😁. Frankly, the talk is deserved. 2021 No. 1 overall NHL pick Owen Power returns for the Wolverines on a team that features seven... yes... SEVEN first rounders. We'll see if that means domination and if a young and talented team can make a run or if they go by the wayside of previous "super teams". Minnesota should be a solid club, returning nearly everyone from a NCAA tournament team last season, and UMass looks to defend its natty despite heavy losses in the offseason. ASU and Colorado College get new barns, which is great for the game, and St. Thomas makes its jump. Gonna be a wonderful year. Can't wait! Here's DDC's preseason NCAA rankings.
1) St. Cloud State 2) UMass 3) Michigan 4) Minnesota 5) Minnesota State 6) North Dakota 7) Boston College 8) Denver 9) Minnesota Duluth 10) Quinnipiac
There you have it, folks. We're on to another season. Time keeps chuggin' along, doesn't it? So glad it's hockey season!
