Roses and Thorns: Beaten Up, but Still Unbeaten

DDC's first Roses and Thorns column of the 2015-16 season, after UND's 6-2 exhibition win over the Manitoba Bisons earlier in October, had only one thorn -- injuries.

In that column, DDC noted he hoped injuries never made the thorn section again this season.

Welp. So much for that.

The No. 1 UND men's hockey team earned a tie and a win in a non-conference, home-and-home series against Bemidji State, 4-4 on Friday in Bemidji and 5-2 on Saturday in Grand Forks to stay unbeaten on the season at 2-0-2, but certainly had its share of losses.

The Green and White, already down freshman goaltender Matej Tomek and senior forward Colten St. Clair to injuries coming into this past weekend, lost freshman Joel Janatuinen to an apparent concussion and starting goalie Cam Johnson to a leg injury on Friday night.

Johnson's injury led to junior walk-on goaltender Matt Hyrnkiw finishing off Friday's game and getting the start on Saturday, Hrynkiw's first college hockey action in his career.

Hrynkiw struggled a bit on Friday, allowing two goals in the third, but played well on Saturday, to earn his first win for UND.

Here's what else that stood out from this weekend's series.

Roses

No. 1 -- Matt Hrynkiw

DDC was certainly down on the junior after Friday night's tie, as Hrynkiw looked incredibly shaky early on. The netminder allowed a goal on his first shot faced and struggled with rebound control, leaving several chances for Bemidji State. Despite the struggles, Hrynkiw made a couple of really important saves, including one in overtime, to hold on for the tie. The junior came back on Saturday and played well, making 19 saves, including nine in the third period, to pace the UND win. Hrynkiw will likely be back in the net this coming weekend in Vermont and will need to play well behind the Green and White.

UND Fr. F, Brock Boeser notched a hat trick, his first three goals with North
Dakota, in UND's 5-2 win on Saturday. (Photo credit: Grand Forks Herald)

No. 2 -- Brock Boeser, Nick Schmaltz and Drake Caggiula

These three came into this season as possibly, the best three scorers for UND, but did not play together until Saturday night. After a nine point (4g, 5a) performance from that line that saw Boeser notch a hat trick, his first three goals for UND, the Green and White might be hard pressed to break up this line. The trio dominated the Beavers, controlling play and creating chances throughout. With the shaky goaltending situation, North Dakota will more than likely need steady goal scoring. This line absolutely brought that on Saturday night.

No. 3 -- Troy Stecher

The junior defenseman continued his stellar play this weekend, notching the game-winner on Saturday, his first of the year. Stecher was aggressive offensively on the play, pouncing on a loose puck outside of a net-front scrum, potting his goal through heavy traffic. The alternate captain has five points (1g, 4a) on the season and has shown tremendous offensive play all year.

Thorns

No. 1 -- Injuries

UND Jr. G, Matt Hyrnkiw

Ugh. Outside of the aforementioned bumps, UND was also down freshman Shane Gerisch to illness, forcing freshmen Mike Gornall and Christain Wolanin into the lineup on Saturday. Wolanin, a defenseman, played left wing. The Green and White will need to carry a "next man up" mentality going forward, in particular in the nets. Hrynkiw is in the spotlight. He will need to improve to keep this UND team in games until Johnson and Tomek return.

Thanks for reading. Head back later this week as North Dakota prepares to again travel east, taking on the Vermont Catamounts in another important, non-conference series.

Friday Gameday: New No. 1, New Challenge

After loses all over the Top 10 this past weekend coupled with an Ice Breaker Invitational championship, the
UND men's hockey team has taken over the top spot in college hockey.

The No. 1 Green and White will look to hold onto that top spot in an all-important, non-conference, home-and-home series against the Bemidji State Beavers Friday night in Bemidji and Saturday night in Grand Forks.

UND enters this weekend after playing well in a win and tie in Portland, Maine against Lake Superior State,
5-2 and Maine, 1-1. The Beavers started off their 2015-16 campaign with a strong victory over then No. 2 Minnesota Duluth last Saturday in Bemidji.

BSU scored with just 22 seconds left to play in the game to top the Bulldogs for their first win of the season.

Former conference mates in the WCHA, these two teams know each other very well. Last season, the Beavers stunned UND in the front end of the home-and-home series, dominating the Green and White 5-1 in Grand Forks. The loss marked the first for UND at home against BSU since 1970. North Dakota bounced back the next night and downed the Beavers 2-1 in Bemidji.

Here's what to watch for this weekend with DDC's "Who? What? How?" series preview.

Who?

Players to Watch

 

BSU:

BSU So. G, Michael Bitzer

So. G, Michael Bitzer, 14-11-3, 1.80 goals against average, .929 save percentage last season; So. F, Brendan Harms (10g, 11a -- 21 pts) and So. F, Nate Arens (9g, 11a -- 20 pts) were Bemidji's 2nd and 3rd leading scorers in 2014-15.

UND:

Sr. F, Drake Caggiula (18g, 18a -- 36 pts) returns as UND's leading scorer from 2014-15. Caggiula notched two assists last weekend. Fr. F, Brock Boeser is a first-round NHL draft pick and lead UND in shots last Saturday vs. Maine with eight. So. G, Cam Johnson earned his first career victory last Friday against LSSU.

What?

Standout Stats

UND is 27-3-3 all-time against Bemidji State, including an 18-2-2 record at home. The Green and White
are 47-19-3 all-time in their home opener.

Freshmen Shane Gersich (Friday) and Chris Wilkie (Saturday) scored their first career goals for UND last weekend in Portland.

Junior Charlie O'Connor scored the game-winning goal with just 22 seconds left to play to top UMD last weekend. Sophomore goaltender Michael Bitzer, a Moorhead, Minn., native, made 28 saves in the victory.

How?

How'd they get here?

No. 1 UND (1-0-1) won the Ice Breaker Invitational last weekend in Maine with a 5-2 win over Lake Superior State and tie against Maine, 1-1.

Bemidji State downed No. 2 Minnesota Duluth with a late goal, 3-2.

The Pick

UND So. G, Cam Johnson

Although they left Maine with a bit of hardware, the UND players felt a bit deflated. The Green and White dominated the game, outshooting the Black Bears 45-20, including 18-10 in the third, but could not solve Maine goaltender Rob McGovern a second time, earning a tie. It clearly wasn't for a lack of chances. The line of freshman Shane Gersich, sophomore Nick Schmaltz and freshman Brock Boeser had noticeable chemistry, creating opportunities throughout. DDC sees no reason why this won't continue this weekend against the Beavers.

Expect a high-energy, physical series as these two teams know how their opponent likes to play. UND's playmaking ability and dominant defensive corps should show through this weekend. After a shaky start, allowing two goals on his first three shots faced, netminder Cam Johnson played well the rest of the way. If the Green and White get a similar effort from Johnson against the Beavers, UND's offensive ability should take a hold of this series.

UND SWEEPS 5-2, 4-2

Head back to the blog after this weekend's series to see how it all went down.

Thanks for reading.

Roses and Thorns: A Sight Unseen... A Title

The UND men's hockey team left the ice in Portland, Maine on Saturday night a bit deflated.

They had just dominated the Maine Black Bears for three periods, out shooting their Hockey East foe 45-20 and carrying play throughout, but lost in a shootout following a 1-1 tie. Despite the barrage of pressure and shots, the Green and White could only once beat Black Bear freshman goaltender Rob McGovern, leading to the tie.

However, on the back of a 5-2 win on Friday afternoon against Lake Superior State and Maine's tie and shootout win over Michigan State, a surprising and welcomed guest joined the UND locker room -- The Ice Breaker Invitational trophy.

Seemingly unaware that they had won the tournament, the Green and White celebrated a wholly successful weekend.

For the first time since in longer than he can remember, DDC did not get a chance to see even one second of this weekend's games as neither game was broadcast in any format. Seriously. No coverage... not even a highlight.

So, on the word of media and the sweet, silky voice of UND's play-by-play radio announcer Tim Hennessy, here's your sight unseen Roses and Thorns column for this weekend's play.

Roses

No. 1 -- Cam Johnson

UND sophomore goalie
Cam Johnson

Eleven seconds into the game on Friday, the sophomore goaltender seemingly had allowed his first goal in the
season. However, the quick strike was disallowed and UND fans everywhere breathed a deep breath. But, two goals on the first three Laker shots, Johnson was having flashbacks to his only start in his freshman year as LSSU took a 2-0 lead just six minutes into the game. This go-around with the Lakers would be different. Shaking off the demons of being pulled last year in Grand Forks against LSSU, Johnson settled down and did not allow another goal in 21 shots faced, pacing a 5-2 win. Johnson was solid on Saturday in limited work, allowing just 1 goal on 20 shots in a 1-1, Ice Breaker Invitational clinching tie. Cheers to Johnson.

No. 2 -- Freshman Chemistry

Again, DDC did not get to see them in action, but every media member raved about the line of freshman Shane Gersich, sophomore Nick Schmaltz and freshman Brock Boeser. Gersich scored his first career goal on Friday and the trio of Gersich, Schmaltz and Boeser had noticeable (again, DDC didn't see it, but he trusts the eyes of the media) chemistry on Saturday. Schmaltz had several set ups to his linemates, particularly Boeser who had eight shots on goal in the game. Don't forget about the other freshman, too. Chris Wilkie scored his first career goal on Saturday, UND's only tally in the 1-1 tie. It's exciting to see (well, hear) about a young group playing with a lot of chemistry just two games into the season.

No. 3 --  Brad Berry

Down 2-0 in his first game behind the bench as head coach just six minutes in, Brad Berry called his timeout. The Green and White took the pause well and ran away with a 5-2 victory. After the game, Berry talked about his first-ever timeout. "I thought, 'This coaching thing is pretty tough.' ". Well, UND took care of business the rest of the way and Berry got his first-career head coaching win.

Thorns

No. 1 -- What Year is This?

"I thought 'Great Scott! No video coverage from the Ice Breaker
Invitational?!' I told Marty, 'we better not come Back to the Future!' "
-- Dr. Emmett L. Brown's direct quote in an exclusive to DDC.

Seriously. It's 20-frickin'-15.

How was there no video coverage of these games this weekend?!

When Doc and Marty McFly come Back to the Future later this week on October 15th, they will be ashamed of the Ice Breaker Invitational not having a way to showcase these games to fans of college hockey. If you don't get the reference, Google it. DDC feels bad for you.

Thank you, Mr. Tim Hennessy and UND athletics for letting us hear these games. Shame on you, Ice Breaker Invitational officials.

Head back to the blog later this week as the Green and White play a home-and-home, non-conference series with Bemidji State.

Friday Gameday: Breaking the Ice

It's time to break the ice on the 2015-16 UND men's hockey season.

The Green and White are in Portland, Maine for the Ice Breaker Invitational, kicking off the season with non-conference games against the Lake Superior State Lakers today at 3:30 CT and the Maine Black Bears on Saturday at 7.

UND travels to the New England area for the first time in the regular season since 2013, looking to start off the season on the right foot in two all-important Pairwise rankings (PWR) games. It may sound silly this early in the season, but with PWR out-of-conference games being so heavily weighted, these games are big.

Let's take a look at who will be on the other side of the ice against the Green and White.

Lake Superior State Lakers

Last Season: 8-28-2, 7-20-1 (9th in WCHA). Made WCHA tournament as Alaska was disallowed from postseason play, lost to Minnesota State in two games in the first round.

Key Players: Sr. F, Bryce Schmitt, Sr. D, Eric Drapluk, So. D, James Roll, So. G, Gordon Defiel

Last Meeting with UND: 7-4, 3-1 losses in Grand Forks, December 2015

About the Lakers: Lake Superior State looks to improve off a tough 8-28-2 record last season that saw them finish 8th in the WCHA. The Lakers had a quick exit in the WCHA playoffs, dropping two to Minnesota State. LSSU is a team that will be looking for scoring. The Lakers return just five players who tallied 10 or more points last season and has 10 incoming freshmen. Senior alternate captain Bryce Schmitt, a Minot, N.D. native, notched 15 points (7g, 8a) last season for the Lakers.

Maine Black Bears

Last season: 14-22-3, 8-12-2 (10th in Hockey East). Lost to Vermont in three games in the first round of the Hockey East tournament.

Key Players: Sr. F, Steven Swavely, Jr. F, Cam Brown, Jr. F, Blaine Byron, So. G, Sean Romeo, Sr. G, Matt Morris

Last Meeting with UND: 3-1 L, 3-3 T in Grand Forks, October 2011.

About the Black Bears: Maine was an OT loss away from advancing in the HEA tournament last season and returns a bunch of scoring to a lineup that potted plenty of goals last season. Senior captain Steven Swavely had a solid, 28 point (8g, 20a) season last year and Junior forward Blaine Byron was second on the team with 12 goals. Sophomore Sean Romeo and Senior Matt Morris shared the net for the 2014-15 Black Bears last year and both could see time this weekend.

The Search for a Goalie and Goals 

UND Sr. F, Drake Caggiula

The two major storylines for UND coming into this season will be the search for goal scorers and a goaltender to replace All-American Zane McIntyre.

The Green and White return 2014-15 leading goal scorer and point producer Drake Caggiula (18g, 18a -- 36 pts) to this year's squad, but outside of the senior alternate captain, many question marks exist. UND loses seven seniors and two others (Jordan Schmaltz to pro hockey and Wade Murphy to Arizona State) from their scoring attack. Sophomore Nick Schmaltz and Junior Luke Johnson look to be important returners. The Green and White also bring in 10 freshmen to the program, led by NHL first round selection, Brock Boeser. Boeser (1g, 1a) and three other freshmen, Shane Gersich (2g), Chris Wilkie (1a) and Joel Janatuinen (1g) all notched points in an exhibition win last Saturday against Manitoba.

In the nets, sophomore Cam Johnson will likely start both games this weekend as freshman Matej Tomek will be out due to a lingering wrist injury for at least a couple more weeks. Tomek did not make the trip to Portland. Johnson was serviceable, but not great, against Manitoba, allowing three goals on 12 shots.

The Pick(s)

UND So. G, Cam Johnson

Season-opening road trips are always tough to pick as UND really doesn't know what it has in its 10 freshmen until they show it on the ice. In their exhibition win against Manitoba, those freshmen paced a quick and physical attack that saw them put up eight goals. If that win was any indication of things to come, UND will like what they see this season. Despite being loaded on the blue line with five returning regulars, North Dakota's weekend will likely come down to goaltending.

DDC sees UND putting up some goals, but until he sees Johnson take charge in net, it's hard to pick anything but one win in Portland on Maine's home ice.

UND WINS 5-2 vs. LSSU, FALLS TO MAINE 4-3

Come back on Monday and see if DDC's predictions held true in his Roses and Thorns Ice Breaker recap.

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.