Roses and Thorns: UND's Newfound Weapons

UND Jr. F, Trevor Olson tips in the game-winning goal past SCSU netminder Jeff Smith for a wild 6-5 overtime win on
Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. Olson netted the series-clinching goal and now has game-winning
goals in three of the last four games for UND. Photo Credit: Jesse Trelstad, Grand Forks Herald.

As mentioned in DDC's preview of the first round National Collegiate Hockey Conference series between the UND men's hockey team and St. Cloud State, DDC Baby No. 2 was born March 1st.

Since that wonderful day in DDC's life, the Green and White has seen two new heroes come to the forefront -- junior forward Trevor Olson and DDC Baby No. 2.

Following a 5-2 win on Friday, Olson netted the game-winning goal at 7:38 of the OT period in a wild and memorable game at Ralph Engelstad Arena as UND swept the Huskies to advance the Green and White to the Frozen Faceoff in Minneapolis this coming weekend. Since DDC Baby No. 2's birth, UND was won four-straight games and Olson has the deciding tally in three of those games.

North Dakota handled St. Cloud fairly handily on Friday, but the old adage "it's hard to end a team's season" held true on Saturday as the Huskies brought a tremendous effort.

The game was tied 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before Olson potted the winner in OT. After a Shane Gersich goal made it 4-3 halfway through the third period, St. Cloud State continued to come at UND, tying the game just 1:02 later and took the lead just 1:44 after that.

But, the Green and White had the magic of Baby DDC No. 2 in their pocket as Christian Wolanin knotted the game at five with 4:02 to go.

During the intermission before the overtime period, fans at the REA were treated to bonus coverage of the UND men's basketball team's overtime winning effort in the Big Sky tournament finals that punched the Green and White's first-ever ticket to the NCAA tournament over Weber State, sending the fans into a frenzy that continued with Olson's winner in OT.

Baby DDC No. 2's magic was too strong for the Huskies and Weber State, for that matter.

Here's what stood out to DDC as UND notched wins No. 19 and 20 and moved one step closer to the NCAA tournament.

Roses

NCHC Playoffs First Round Results:

No. 1 Denver sweeps CC, 4-1, 4-0;
No. 2 UMD sweeps Miami, 5-4 (OT), 5-3;
No. 3 WMU in three over UNO, 2-1 (OT)
UNO, 5-2 WMU, 2-1 (OT) WMU;
No. 4 UND sweeps SCSU, 5-2, 6-5 (OT)

Frozen Faceoff semifinals -- Friday, times TBD:

No. 1 Denver vs. No. 4 UND
No. 2 UMD vs. No. 3 WMU

No. 1 -- Big Players Playing Big

While UND's depth has been a huge part of their last handful of games where they've won five-of-six, come playoff time, teams that compete for NCAA titles need to have their best players be their best players, each night. This was definitely the case this weekend for the Green and White. UND's top five point producers, Shane Gersich, Brock Boeser, Tyson Jost, Austin Poganski and Tucker Poolman all had multiple point weekends. Boeser returned to the lineup after missing the previous weekend in Miami and scored in both games. Gersich and Poganski also both scored in both. With the development of depth players increasing each game, having these five players rolling will prove large for UND as the look to continue to advance.

No. 2 -- Depth Goals Coming Up Large

As just mentioned, UND's depth players are turning dividends for the Green and White, of late. Along with Olson's game winner, junior Johnny Simonson and freshman Cole Smith both assisted on the game-tying goal by Christian Wolanin and did the same on Olson's series-clinching goal. Simonson fired the puck from the side boards toward the net and Olson got his stick on it to get the winner. The line of Smith, Simonson and Olson had a tremendous weekend, playing with edge and pace that St. Cloud had trouble containing. UND will be a tough out the rest of the way if this trend continues.

No. 3 -- A Memorable Day for UND Sports

DDC Baby No. 2's magic is pretty evident to this blogger. A wee bit biased, you say? No. You're wrong. DDC Baby No. 2 is clearly a UND sports Godsend.

Here's an awesome video of the ovation the REA crowd gave the UND men's basketball team's victory in the Big Sky Conference:

UND Men's Basketball Gets a Big Ovation at REA

You'll need a Facebook account to get to it and the video is about halfway down the page. Big props to the UND men's basketball team.

Thorns

No. 1 -- Last Game at REA for 2016-17

While it was done in victorious fashion, it's always a sad moment each season to know that the Palace on the Prairie will be closed for games until October. While UND struggled at times at home this season, The Ralph is always a true home advantage for the Green and White. Senior Gage Ausmus and Matt Hrynkiw as well as any underclassmen that leave after the season, helped send the REA faithful happy one more time. Here's to hoping there's another ceremony at The Ralph in about three weeks.

Thanks for reading and check back later this week as DDC previews the Frozen Faceoff at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Roses and Thorns: Two Boxes Left to Check

UND celebrates their 5-2 win over Michigan in the Midwest
Regional final on Saturday. Coupled with their 6-2 victory over
Northeastern on Friday, the Green and White punched their ticket
to the Frozen Four for the third-straight season. (Photo: GF Herald)

When UND men's hockey coach Brad Berry took over the 2015-16 squad from the NHL-departing Dave Hakstol, he immediately met with the team and made sure they knew that expectations weren't changing.

The Green and White had finished their past two seasons in the national semifinals and Berry made it clear in his first meeting as bench boss that the team had two boxes left to check -- get to the national title game and bring home green banner No. 8 to the REA rafters.

After two convincing wins in the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional in Cincinnati, North Dakota, once again, has just two boxes left to check.

The Green and White took the crown in the Queen City, overwhelming red-hot Northeastern 6-2 and shutting down Michigan and the vaunted CCM line, 5-2 and punched their ticket to Tampa and the Frozen Four for the third-straight season.

It was an impressive weekend for UND and here's what stood to DDC is his Roses and Thorns column, NCAA tournament style.

Roses

No. 1 -- Relentless Defense

UND head coach Brad Berry
after the 5-2 win over Michigan:

"I truly believe we have a special group
in our locker room," Berry said.
"They do the right things on and off
the ice. It's a team culture. It's a team-first
mentality. We've got a lot of high-end
players in that locker room.
They check their egos at the door.
It's team first and I think you witnessed
that this weekend."

The lead storyline coming into the Midwest Regional, outside of Northeastern's second-half success, was the offenses. The Huskies had the 12th-best scoring offense in the NCAA and the 7th-best power play, UND's was 8th led by the vaunted CBS line and the Wolverines, headlined by a trio of Hobey Baker Finalists, the CCM line, carried the best scoring offense and best power play. Who was going to score the most goals and head to Tampa? Well, simply put, it was the tenacious effort by the UND defense that stole the show and led UND to another Frozen Four. All weekend, the Green and White did not let either the Huskies nor the Wolverines time and space to create. They were incredible in the neutral zone. After dispatching NU in the first round, UND kept the CCM line of JT Compher, Kyle Connor and Tyler Motte at bay and made them do something that no other team had all season -- play dump and chase hockey. The CCM was a combined -7 on Saturday. This allowed the Green and White to control play and let their offense go to work. UND outshot their opponents by a 75-53 margin, allowing Michigan just 27 in the title game.  It was an amazing effort of sticks in lanes, board battle wins and net front efforts that led North Dakota. Goaltender Cam Johnson was solid, allowing just 2 goals per game to earn regional MVP honors. What a weekend from this defense against two tremendous offenses.

No. 2 -- Luke Johnson and the "Heavy Line"

The Junior forward has often been maligned by UND fans for his play in his career due to some ill-timed penalties and inconsistent play. But, Johnson has been nothing short of impressive in the NCAA tournament. Grouped on the newly dubbed "Heavy Line" with Rhett Gardner and Austin Poganski, Johnson notched a goal in each game this weekend and earned all-regional first team honors. The Grand Forks native has now scored a goal in five-straight NCAA tournament games, netting the eventual game winner on Friday and adding a crucial goal on Saturday with just 45 seconds left in the second period to give UND a 2-1 lead. Johnson and the Heavy Line's impact wasn't just offensive. The trio had a major part in shutting down the CCM line on Saturday with a terrific forecheck. Hats off to this trio, lead by Johnson.

UND's Rhett Gardner and the newly coined "Heavy Line" with Austin Poganski
and Luke Johnson had a tremendous weekend, notching 3 of UND's 11 goals and
leading a staunch defensive charge allowing just four goals in two games.
(Photo credit: Jesse Trelstad, Grand Forks Herald)

No. 3 -- UND's Depth

UND So. F, Johnny Simonson
scored a huge goal on Friday
with the Green and White trailing
1-0. It was Simonson's first goal
since October. The forward tallied
one of eight non-CBS line goals
on the weekend for UND.

For much of the season, a consistent storyline for the Green and White was their ability, or inability, of players outside of the top-flight CBS line to score goals. Once again, this is clearly in the rear-view mirror. The CBS did their part as both Brock Boeser and Drake Caggiula scored on Friday while Caggiula netted UND's first goal on Saturday, but the rest of the team did the heavy lifting on the weekend. The Green and White scored 11 goals on the weekend and the effort was from all over the lineup. Johnny Simonson scored UND's first goal on Friday, with the team trailing 1-0 in the first, his first since October. Then, Tucker Poolman, Luke Johnson and Bryn Chyzyk tallied the next three to put Northeastern away. On Saturday, it was more of the same. Caggiula opened the scoring for UND, but with the game tied 2-2, the Green and White depth took over with goals by Rhett Gardner and Coltyn Sanderson just 1:14 apart in the third period to send the Green and White to Tampa. Paul LaDue added an empty-netter to round out the 5-2 win. Scoring 11 goals in a regional is impressive. Even more impressive when just three of those came from UND's best forward line. This is a huge statement for the Green and White. This squad is absolutely not a one-line team.

Thorns

No. 1 -- John Siminson, Cam Jansen, UND's CCM line and the TV Announcers

Woof. DDC knows this is silly, but it's worth mentioning -- who were these guys calling the games at the Midwest Regional? Ok, ok .... yes, this doesn't matter, but it certainly was annoying listening to the color man mention how many times he was the MVP of the regional when he played for Boston University while butchering simple names for UND. He certainly knew the names of the CCM, except when he called the CBS line the CCM. The Green and White dominated both teams in the regional, but somehow, the game always seemed close with this duo's constant love for non-existent consistent offensive pressure. Thank you for the coverage of this tournament, ESPN, but c'mon, let's get these guys to do a little pregame prep, eh? *Deep breath* ok... rant over.

No. 2 -- The Ref Check Heard 'Round the World

Ok, so this might be a bit of a rose, as it was hilarious, but where in the heck did that ref come from that delivered a huge check behind the net after Caggiula's goal on Saturday? If you haven't yet seen it, check out this bomb of a hit.

Cag was just about to go for a big celly, but this ref wasn't having it. DENIED! UND has done more celebrations this season than in years past with a more relaxed team style, so maybe former head coach Dave Hakstol got in this guy's ear to not allow this anymore. Great form. DDC is dying to know what Caggiula said to the man in stripes, but Troy Stecher did a good job to keep this laughable. Good stuff.

For fans of the Green and White, we've been here before. Up next, it's UND vs. Denver in the national semifinals in Tampa. Check back this week for more as North Dakota's chase for No. 8 continues. Thanks for reading!

Roses and Thorns: Reasons for Excitement

Pure goal scoring.

Dynamic, game-breaking, cold-blooded goal scoring.

Whatever superlative you'd like to name it, the UND men's hockey team has lacked a pure goal-scoring punch over the last few seasons. Couple that sentiment with the fact the the Green and White lost six of it's 10 leading point producers from last season either to graduation or professional hockey, the need for scoring was a major story line heading into the 2015-16 season.

Albeit in exhibition form, UND may have gotten a glimpse of a special crop of goal scorers in a 8-3 drubbing of the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday night.

Trailing 2-1 early the second period, the Green and White ripped off seven unanswered goals en route to a victory. Of those eight goals, four came off the sticks of freshmen suiting up for the first time for UND.

For those of you new to the blog, DDC takes a look back at each weekend's series with his Roses and Thorns. Roses are the positives with Thorns being negatives.

So, let's take a look at what stood out.

Roses 

Freshman forward Brock Boeser notched his first goal in Green and White
in UND's 8-3 exhibition win on Saturday. (Photo credit: GF Herald)

No. 1 -- New Blood

As mentioned before, UND got four of its eight goals on Saturday night from freshmen. Three more came off the stick of Johnny Simonson, a sophomore that did not score a goal in just 22 appearances as a freshman. Brock Boeser gave the fans a peek at what looks to be pretty special ability, firing a laser that beat the Bisons' netminder high glove side, tying the game at one in the first period. Then in the second, Shane Gersich notched back-to-back goals in a span of 12 seconds to give UND the lead. Joel Janatuinen also scored his first goal in a UND uniform. The production wasn't just goal scoring. Boeser, Janatuinen and Chris Wilkie also notched assists. So, in total, the Green and White underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) tallied 15 points with seven of those coming from freshmen. An encouraging start, to say the least.

No. 2 -- Don't Forget About Us

Some of UND's "elder statesmen" shined, as well. Junior assistant captain Troy Stecher looked dynamic on Saturday night, tallying three assists and fellow junior Keaton Thompson added two, including a terrific pass off the side boards from the defensive zone to spring Boeser for his goal. The upperclassman, especially in the defensive corps, will need to continue to shine as scoring from freshmen can't be expected every night, particularly early on in the season.

No. 3 -- Effort Before Execution

New head coach Brad Berry echoed the idea of "effort before execution" to his young team in the week leading up to the exhibition win. That certainly showed on Saturday night. Despite trailing 1-0 and 2-1 early on in this game, UND never let off the gas. The Green and White peppered the Manitoba net with 56 shots on goal and carried a tremendous pace throughout. Credit the veterans and coaching staff for keeping the freshmen from being starry-eyed in their first appearance in front of their rowdy, Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd.

Thorns

Sr. F, Colten St. Clair
will miss the first half
of the season due to injury.

No. 1 -- Injuries

Already? C'mon!

UND found out on Friday that it will be without senior forward Colten St. Clair for half the season after suffering an arm injury in practice that will require surgery. Also, freshman goaltender and third-round NHL draft pick Matej Tomek sat out on Saturday with a nagging wrist injury. Tomek's injury, however, looks like it won't keep the Slovak rookie out much longer.

Here's to hoping that this is never a thorn again, this season.

No. 2 -- Shaky Start Between the Pipes

 

Goaltending, behind the play of All-American Zane McIntrye, hasn't been a question mark for UND over the past two seasons. With the injury to Tomek, it was sophomore Cam Johnson's net on Saturday night for an early audition. Although Johnson's play didn't decide the game in anyway, the netminder didn't impress, allowing three goals on just 12 shots faced, including two in his first four. Johnson, who was pulled in the first period in his only action as a freshman, fought the puck a bit on Saturday and had two goals in particular that he'd most likely want back. The Michigan native will likely be an important piece for this UND squad as the Green and White look to replace a gaping hole. Despite having an excellent defensive corps in front of him this season, Johnson simply needs to be better going forward.

So, that's it.

Come back later this week as UND prepares to head to Portland, Maine for games with Lake Superior State and Maine on Friday and Saturday night at the IceBreaker Invitational.

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.

Roses and Thorns: 4 Out of 6 Ain't Bad

It's not quite Meatloaf, but maybe, turkey?

The No. 2 UND men's hockey team took 4 out of 6 National Collegiate Hockey Conference points this weekend against No. 11 Nebraska-Omaha, tying 2-2 on Friday (dropping the shootout) and winning 3-2 on Saturday.

DDC's here with his roses and thorns from the Thanksgiving Day weekend faceoff in Grand Forks:

Roses

No. 1 -- Johnny Simonson

The Freshman forward was a stalwart in dots this weekend for UND, especially on Friday night, winning 9 of 13 draws. DDC loves the multifaceted play of this kid's play this year. North Dakota succeeds when they win the faceoff battle and Simonson is good.

No. 2 -- Zane McIntyre

Coming into the weekend, much of the talk was centered around the emergence of UNO netminder Ryan Massa. It was UND's man in the pipes who stood tall this weekend. Massa played well for Omaha, but McIntyre was great, especially on Friday night as the Mavericks pushed hard after UND tied the score. This team goes as Zane goes.

No. 3 -- Stephane Pattyn

Wow. DDC received this text from the author of the popular University of Hockey Blog following The Captain's shorthanded and eventual game-winning goal on Saturday night. "Was that Pattyn or Crosby?" Seriously. What a missile and at a huge point in the game win UND nursing a tenuous lead. The Green and White lead the nation with eight short-handed goals this year and that one was pretty special.

No. 4 -- Austin Ortega

“Tonight we were able to get up on the board; we really showed we’re a scoring team,” Ortega said. “Kind of sending a message to North Dakota that we can score on any goalie out there.” That quote after their win against Minnesota Duluth provided a bit of bulletin board material for this weekend. Well, Mr. Ortega may want to reconsider talking before acting in the future. A rose to the leading scorer for UNO who failed to register a point on the weekend as the Mavericks were held to 4 goals in the weekend.

Thorns

No. 1 -- Shootouts

Sure. This may not be here if UND had won on Friday night instead of lost, but did anyone else feel that shootout was extremely anti-climatic? DDC feels the NCHC brass needs to look at this. What's the need for it? That extra point may have a huge effect on the NCHC race down the stretch. Is this right? Both teams battle for 65 minutes and this is what decides it?

No. 2 -- Lulls in Play

It's become a frustrating pattern for UND this season. Torrid play for long stretches followed by long stretches of uninspired play. If this team plays a 60-minute hockey game, they are very, very tough to beat. The last 10 minutes on Friday nearly cost North Dakota the game. A lack of transition play and virtually no support on the boards led to huge chances for Omaha. Saturday, after going up 2-0, UNO scored a 2-1 goal that gave the Mavs all the momentum. There are too many good teams out there for UND to coast through large spans of games.