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!
*Screen pans across the ice, focusing on group of bloggers, readers, fans. Long, slow camera draw towards the far corner. Enter, the returning protagonist*
*Camera shift towards protagonist. Dramatic music rises*
*Protagonist's brow furled, clutching laptop, skating towards crowd*
*Protagonist's stride slowly extends as the group takes notice of returning protagonist. Music builds*
*One in crowd claps. Again. Again. Camera pans to another in crowd. Joins slow clap. Crowd continues to join*
*Music crescendos*
*Protagonist begins 3/4 skate towards crowd, opens laptop as claps reach summit. Protagonist joins the crowd*
END SCENE
Too much? Meh. It's been a while, and DDC enjoys an entrance.
It's been 1,398 days since DDC's last post, a November 20, 2017 recap of then No. 1 Denver and No. 3 UND splitting a series in Magness Arena. That was a fun one, by the way. Green and White were down 3-0 on Friday and came back to win 5-4 in wild fashion. Anyway, it's been a while! Let's catch up!
What's up?
Welp, not much has happened since 2017, amirite?! Right?? *Insert overplayed, lame 2020-21 joke here*. DDC has been busy. Right before and right as the world went nutty, a house was sold, a move to the in-laws occurred, a new house was purchased, a MBA was completed, and DDC baby No. 3 came along.
And, NOTHING. ELSE. HAPPENED. DDC swears. How about you? Nothing? Good. Glad all is well 😀
New season, new DDC -- well, old DDC? Idk. We're blogging, again
DDC swore he'd get back to his droves of fans once the MBA was done. It's done, so he's here. We'll be rolling this out again, at least once a week, during the hockey season, to chat about the good and the bad of our beloved University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks. *sigh* ok... he did it. He said it. Fighting Hawks. Time heals all terrible monikers, or something like that.
The Green and White have changed, a lot, obviously, since DDC has been gone, but the game stays the same. UND comes into the 2021-22 season as the two-time defending Penrose Cup champions as NCHC regular season winners and fully expects to compete for green banner No. 9, this year. The Hawks should be a physically dominant and defensive-minded team that, if the offense clicks with a hoard of new faces (transfers and freshmen), could be a real contender. More on that in the coming weeks as we inch towards the October 2nd exhibition against Manito... er, uh, Bemidji State. Wait, what? Yeah, we'll get to that. Stay tuned!
DDC is back, ladies and gentlemen. Looking forward to hearing from all of you.
It was No. 1 Denver versus No. 3 UND this past weekend from Magness Arena in Denver and what a series it was.
Storylines galore in this match up.
Friday night, the Fighting Hawks were stunned out of the gates and trailed the Pioneers 3-0 midway through the second when UND head coach Brad Berry took his team's timeout.
From there, it was pretty much a Green and White avalanche (see what DDC did there? Avalanche... Denver... NHL... get it? :D) as the Hawks stormed to a 5-4 comeback win.
On Saturday, DU got the split in a 4-1 win on the back of three power play goals. 'Nuff said about that, right? Na. We'll get to that later.
Bear with DDC, but this is a wee bit longer than normal, but he swears, there's some entertainment involved.
Check out what stood out to DDC in his Roses and Thorns review of the Pios and UND.
Roses
No. 1 -- Passing the Test
Coming into this weekend, DDC opined that while UND has been impressive in may ways so far this season, this series against DU would be a true test that would show the college hockey landscape, largely, who the Fighting Hawks really are. Indeed, the Pioneers proved they are the real deal (albeit with some chinks in the armor) but the Green and White took one from No. 1 in stunning fashion at Magness Arena on Friday and if it weren't for some.... well... DDC will touch on this later... we'll say... interesting calls...., had a chance for the sweep despite a 4-1 loss on Saturday. The college hockey season is indeed a marathon, not a sprint, but UND staked its claim as a team that is going to continue to make noise as a contender the calendar turns to 2018.
No. 2 -- Testicular Fortitude
DDC is going to share a bit of a secret that his droves (😉) of fans may not know about him. DDC is proud to say he's a wrestling fan. He understands that no, it's not real, but indeed, it is scripted. You know what, he'll say it... IT'S STILL REAL TO HIM, DAMMNIT! Annnnyway, DDC is going to steal a phrase from WWE legend Mick Foley (sorry for this, David Larson) and say one thing about this UND hockey team. They've got testicular fortitude.
Ok, so this video is talking about Bill Simmons getting fired from ESPN for this, phrase, but it's all DDC could find... but the point still stands.
At one point in the first period, the Hawks were being out shot 21-2 on the road against the No. 1 team in the country and after a second period shorthanded goal, UND trailed 3-0. But man, did this team show the guts and fight of a team that did not want to lose and rallied back for a ridiculous 5-4 victory, outshooting DU 34-13 after their horrendous start. This will be an important win for the Green and White to look back and know that in whatever situation they are in from here on out, they have the fight to get back and win hockey games.
Testicular fortitude for days, ladies and gentlemen.
No. 3 -- Depth
It's been said several times this year, but UND is truly a product of its depth. In Friday night's stunning comeback, the Green and White saw 13 players tally points and got goals from Zach Yon and Joel Janatuinen, both of which was their first of the season and Johnny Simonson's game-winner with 2:31 left was just his second on the year. On Saturday, freshman Matt Kierstad, inserted into the lineup after an injury to Casey Johnson on Friday, opened the scoring with his first of the year. While the Hawks may lack a bit of top end scoring (DDC will touch on this later), the depth of this team to be able to roll four lines against any team and get scoring from all over the lineup is this team's identity at this point of the season. Couple that with a defense that is playing incredibly well, UND has the pieces in place to stay with anyone in the NCAA.
Thorns
No. 1 -- Lack of True Top-End Scoring
DDC does believe that depth is a good thing and that definitely helped UND on Friday, its lack of top-end scoring is something this team lacked. The Fighting Hawks have just three players with double-digit points on the season as junior Nick Jones leads the team with five goals. In contrast, the top trio of Denver, Henrik Borgstrom, Troy Terry and Dylan Gambrell showed this weekend what top-end scoring looks like. The trio combined for 11 points on the weekend with Borgstrom and Terry both notching five-point weekends. Terry was particularly impressive, making plays all over the ice all weekend against UND. The Green and White need players who've shown scoring ability throughout their careers (ie. Shane Gersich and Austin Poganski) to step up and tally some points for UND to take the next step.
No. 2 -- Officiating
Ugh, DDC really does hate being "this guy", but the referee crew in Denver certainly made a difference this weekend. He's going to do his best to make this quick, but it can't go without saying that officiating played a part all weekend long. On Friday night, the NCHC crew made it a point toss players from the faceoff circle in a torrid fashion. Ok, DDC gets, they were trying to prove a point about faceoff infractions, but this was ridiculous. At one point, DDC counted five-consecutive faceoff tosses. It's just too much. Then on Saturday, the officiating crew literally changed the game. With UND sporting a 1-0 lead in the first, Cole Smith was issued a five-minute major and was tossed from the game for a penalty that lead to an injury to DU defenseman Adam Plant. While the play was certainly interference, DDC believes the call to make it a major was, and he's being nice here, a stretch. Take a look at the hit in question (Credit to the Goonie!). DU tied the game at 1 on a Borgstrom goal. You make your call, but that hit, to DDC, wasn't malicious, high, nor did it come at high speed.
The big calls kept coming and after a Pioneers goal to make it 2-1 early in the third, UND appeared to tie it on a nifty passing play on a 2-1 rush when freshman Collin Adams fed fellow rookie Jordan Kawaguchi beating Tanner Jaillet. Just before the faceoff, however, the refs got together after some, shall we call it, "protesting" from Denver head coach Jim Montgomery. After review, the officials ruled Adams made enough contact with Jaillet to overturn the goal on goaltender interference. Check it out... the play in question starts at 2:42 in the clip:
Even further, here's a still shot of Adam's stick touching Jaillet's pad, but the point here, the pass to Kawaguchi has already been made.
In short, did that contact prevent Jaillet from making the play? DDC's take? Absolutely not. The shot comes an instant later... Jaillet is already beaten. How was this play even sent for review? That may be even the bigger mystery here. Montgomery told local media after the game he challenged the play, which would have put DU's timeout on the line. If that's the case, why did the crew stand around to talk about it for several minutes? It was also reported that the officials told the UND bench that the linesman called the interference. Is this the case? If indeed it was, that may the the first time DDC has ever heard of a linesman making that kind of call. This case was echoed by other media. And if it were the linesman, again, why was there a discussion before the review? It seemed to DDC that this play wasn't going to be reviewed until Denver made a case for it. Simply bizarre.
DU then went on to score two more goals, both on the power play, to pace a 4-1 win and a split.
The power play goals are the biggest note here. Remember the major penalty to tie the game at 1-1? Well, that was only the start. The final tally of penalties called on Saturday night? Denver -- 1 penalty for 2 minutes (UND had :33 seconds of power play time). UND -- 8 penalties for 27 minutes (per Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, DU had 13:41 of power play time). That is absolutely ridiculous. The Hawks were certainly guilty of some poorly-times penalties in this game and warranted a big chunk of those calls, but are you meaning to tell DDC that DU did not commit a single penalty after the first period? Not a single stick in the skates? No hook around the waist? No interference? Nothing?
It was a sad state of affairs on Saturday that really overshadowed a wonderful weekend of hockey with No. 1 taking on No. 3, but what can you do?
Holy smokes, so much for keeping that short, eh?
Moving on. Thanks for reading and come back later for DDC's take on UND vs. Union in a Turkey Day weekend tussle from the Ralph.
Oh hey, Denver. Remember me? Nick Schmaltz celebrates his game-winning goal in the 2016 Frozen Four semifinals.
Sure, this has nothing to do with this weekend when No. 3 UND takes on No. 1 Denver at Magness Arena, but so be it.
Coming into the season, there was really one sure-fire hypothesis across the college hockey landscape -- the Denver Pioneers were going to be really good again after winning the national championship last season.
Sure the Pios lost 2017 Hobey Baker winner Will Butcher, but they returned five big stars from their title run -- the forward trio of Henrik Borgstrom, Troy Terry and Dylan Gambrell, All-American goaltender Tanner Jaillet and head coach Jim Montgomery. All five of those who returned spurned NHL offers to come back to DU for another run at college hockey glory.
The Pioneers had a hiccup two weekends ago when they were swept by Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, but after a convincing sweep of then No. 1 and undefeated St. Cloud State last weekend, all is right again in Denver with the Pios back on top of the polls.
So far, the hypothesis is still spot on -- DU is really good.
For the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, the Green and White faithful had plenty of questions coming into the season. With the departures of three NHL players Tyson Jost, Brock Boeser and Tucker Poolman, who would pick up the slack for UND?
The Hawks sport the nation's third-best team defense allowing just 1.75 goals per game and all things considered, UND has had a heckuva start to their season. Going 7-2-3 with good weekends against Minnesota, Wisconsin and a five-point weekend last series against Miami, it has indeed been a good start, but this weekend is a different story. It's time for a test.
UND travels to the Rocky Mountain state to take on the Pioneers in a weekend that could very well show the Hawks where they stand in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and NCAA landscape in a match up of No. 1 vs. No. 3.
A rivalry rooted in history renews and DDC has his take and says what he's watching in this weekend's "Who? What? How?" series preview.
Who?
Players to Watch
DU So. F, Henrik Borgstrom
leads the NCAA with 11 goals.
University of Denver Pioneers
Jr. F, Troy Terry, 5 goals, 13 assists -- 18 points (second in NCAA); So. F, Henrik Borgstrom, 11g (leads NCAA), 6a -- 17 pts (leads NCAA in points per game); Jr F, Dylan Gambrell, 5g, 11a --16 pts; Jr. F, Jarid Lukoesevicius, 4g, 6a -- 10 pts; Jr. F, Colin Staub, 2g, 7a -- 9 pts; Sr G, Tanner Jaillet, 5-1-2, 2.46 goals against average; .911 save percentage.
University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks:
Fr. F, Grant Mismash, 4g, 7a -- 11 pts; Jr. D, Christian Wolanin, 3g, 7a -- 10 pts; Jr. F, Nick Jones, 5g, 4a --9 pts; Jr. F, Shane Gersich, 4g, 4a -- 8 pts; Jr. F, Rhett Gardner, 3g, 4a -- 7 pts; Sr. G, Cam Johnson, 5-2-1, 1.63 GAA (5th in NCAA), .925 SV PCT; Fr. G, Peter Thome, 2-0-2, 1.92 GAA, .929 SV PCT (9th in NCAA).
What?
Standout Stats
Denver:
The Pioneers are 42nd in the NCAA in penalty killing at 77.8%, but are 4th in power play, clipping at 27.7%.
Denver is the nation's 2nd best scoring attack, netting 4.20 goals per game.
Sophomore sensation Henrik Borgstrom leads the NCAA in goals (11) and in goals per game (1.22). He's third in points (17). Teammate Troy Terry is second in points with 18 and Dylan Gambrell is tied for 7th with 16.
UND:
UND is tied for 3rd in team defense nationally, allowing just 1.75 goals per game and is second in the NCAA with a 95.8% penalty kill.
Senior netminder Cam Johnson is tied for 5th nationally with a 1.63 goals against average. Teammate Peter Thome is 10th with a 1.92 mark and 9th in save percentage at .929.
Freshman Grant Mismash is tied for 4th in the NCAA in rookie scoring with a 1.00 point per game mark.
How?
How’d they get here?
No. 1 Denver (6-2-2; 2-2-0 NCHC) swept then No. 1 SCSU at home 4-2, 5-1. Sophomore Henrik Borgstrom continued his early-season tear, notching two goals and an assist on Friday and added an assist on Saturday for a four-point weekend.
No. 3 UND (7-2-3, 2-1-1 NCHC) took five points last weekend at home against Miami, winning 4-1 on Friday and winning a shootout after a 3-3 tie on Saturday. Freshman goaltender Peter Thome started his third- and fourth-straight games for the Fighting Hawks as senior Cam Johnson nurses an injury.
The Pick
It's hard to not get nostalgic when UND vs. Denver faceoff.
One of DDC's fondest hockey memories, the Green and White's victory over the Pioneers in the 2016 Frozen Four semifinal capped by Nick Schmaltz's dramatic game-winner with just a minute to go in the game, will always come to mind when these two teams tussle.
Just for funsies, shall we?
What a memory.
Anyway, sure, Denver won it all last year, but UND actually served Denver its last loss before the Pios ran the table to a title last year, a 1-0 win in the NCHC semifinals last year.
Ok, back to the business at hand.
Again, Denver is really good. They sport a top trio in the aforementioned Borgstrom, Terry and Gambrell. They are good in net with Jaillet. The only question mark Denver had coming into this weekend was on the backend and after a leaky weekend against WMU, the Pioneers held an explosive St. Cloud team to just three goals last weekend.
For most of the season, Denver grouped their big three together and their offense was great, but the defense struggled a bit. Last weekend against the Huskies, Borgstrom, Terry and Gambrell were split up and that paid dividends.
Can UND slow DU's dynamic trio of Henrik Borgstrom (11 goals leads NCAA)
Troy Terry (17 points, second in NCAA) and Dylan Gambrell (16 points)
who've combined for a whopping 51 points in 10 games this season?
With last change against a UND team defense who's been really good this year against some good offenses, will Montgomery split the three up in hopes of spreading the offense around? Or will the trio be grouped together to avoid the Hawks top D-pairing of Christian Wolanin and Colton Poolman?
For UND, their scoring this season has been about depth. Against the Pioneers, DDC thinks the Green and White scoring punch needs to step up. Junior Shane Gersich and senior Austin Poganski have had slow starts to this season, but are more than capable of putting this team on their backs.
This weekend will come down to UND playing defense and picking their spots on offense. Expect to see bodies consistently hitting Borgstrom, the NCAA leader in goals (11) this weekend. If the Hawks can slow down Denver and get good goaltending from freshman Peter Thome, who has yet to lose in four starts, they should be able to keep up. Senior netminder Cam Johnson will miss his third-straight weekend due to injury.
Just in case he wasn't clear, for the third time, DU is really good. DDC also thinks UND is pretty good, too, but the question is how good? Will the Green and White score enough this weekend? DDC thinks the Hawks make a statement against the champs and leave Colorado with important early-season points.
UND COMES OUT FIRING ON FRIDAY WITH A 3-2 WIN AND GETS A POINT ON SATURDAY WHEN THE PIOS WIN IN A SHOOTOUT, 5-4.
Come back after the weekend to see if UND passed its test. Thanks for reading!
UND goalie Cam Johnson fights off Minnesota forward Brannon McManus during UND's 4-0 win over the Gophers on Saturday in Grand Forks. Johnson earned his 10th-career shutout with the victory. (Photo: GF Herald)
Well, it's back and for all intents and purposes, this past weekend's series between UND and
Minnesota lived up to its billing.
The Green and White played incredibly well on Friday, outshooting the Gophers handily, allowing just 18 shots on goal, the first time Minnesota was held under 20 shots in a span of 110 games. However, the Gophers got two transition play goals, one in the first period and the other halfway into the third to pace a 2-0 lead late into the game. UND got a Rhett Gardner goal with just under seven minutes to play to make it 2-1, but that's all they could muster as Minnesota took the opener.
On Saturday night, Minnesota upped their game and played better overall, but a power play goal on a five-minute major penalty taken late in the first staked UND to a 2-0 first period lead. The Fighting Hawks tallied twice more on that power play in the early parts of the second and the 4-0 lead held up as UND earned the split.
While DDC certainly would have loved a sweep, he'll take a split in two good performances.
Here's what stood out to DDC in his Roses and Thorns recap of the series with the Gophers.
Roses
No. 1 -- The Rivalry is Back
Regardless of the scores, this weekend was flat out fun to watch. Midco Sports color commentator and former Sioux goaltender Jake Brandt noted a few times in the past handful of weeks that the Ralph Engelstad Arena had lost a bit of its mojo and hadn't been too tough a place to play recently. Well, that went out the window on Friday from the very first shift as UND pushed paced early on and the REA faithful responded. Down the stretch in the front end of the series as the Green and White tried to rally back to tie the game, the crowd was loud and fully involved. Then on Saturday, three goals on on a five-minute major kept the barn rocking. Two good paced games with high energy made things clear -- The Rivalry is back. Cheers to five more consecutive years of this series.
No. 2 -- Christian Wolanin
UND Jr. D, Christian Wolanin leads the team in goals, points and shots on goal
While UND fans certainly saw a glimpse of what was to come from the junior defenseman from Detroit down the stretch last season, particularly in the NCAA tournament game against BU, Wolanin has certainly lived up to his stature this season. Wolanin was dynamic against the Gophers with an assist on Friday and two goals in a span of four and half minutes with UND on a five-minute power play to pace the 4-0 win on Saturday. The junior now leads the Fighting Hawks in goals (3), points (6) and shots on goal (23). Quarterbacking the power play, Wolanin had lead UND to a stellar 22% mark. Known for his offensive prowess during his career, Wolanin has been solid defensively, as well as the Green and White lead the nation in goals against, allowing just 1.17 goals per game on the season. It's been a heckuva start for Wolanin.
No. 3 -- Defense and PK
UND lost a senior captain in Gage Ausmus and an All-American now playing in the NHL in Tucker Poolman from last year's blue line, so it was easy to think that the Fighting Hawks would struggle at the outset defensively, this year. However, this has simply not been the case. As previously mentioned, the Green and White lead the nation in goals against (1.17) is second in penalty kill (96.3%) and net special teams (+7). Minnesota has always been known for a dynamic power play that can move the puck and pepper the net with opportunities over the years, but UND simply shut the Gophers down this past weekend killing off all 11 chances down a man. Senior netminder Cam Johnson earned his 10th career shutout on Saturday and is now third in the nation in goals against average (1.16) and 10th in save percentage (.942). As the Fighting Hawks look to find more scoring punch, their blue line is holding up incredibly well. Adding freshman Gabe Bast to the lineup this past weekend proved to be a good experiment as Bast added a tremendous offensive presence. Great start for the blue liners and Cam.
Thorns
No. 1 -- Don Lucia
Fr. F, Casey Mittelstadt sat out Saturday night's contest against UND
Alright, DDC is going to make this short, but Minnesota head coach Don Lucia is officially on this blogger's nerves. Lucia skipped a fan luncheon that has been attended by each visiting coach as long as DDC can remember. This can be dismissed easily as gamesmanship and so be it if that's the case. However, it did not end there. After a tough battle on Friday, Lucia decided to sit freshman star Casey Mittelstadt for Saturday night's game after the rookie took a shove in the lower back area on a net-front scrum. Lucia noted that Mittelstadt was sore and maybe he was just protecting his player. Again, this can be dismissed, but should it be? Lucia noted that Mittelstadt said he wanted to play, but the head coach held him out. To DDC, this is a disappointing move. What is this doing for Mittelstadt? Taking him out of probably the most heated game he's ever played isn't going to help the freshman as he's going to need to play in this type of environment at some point. Let the kid earn his stripes, coach. Well, that wasn't short, but so be it.
Thanks for reading, everybody! Comeback for a look at DDC's preview of UND's trip to Colorado Springs as National Collegiate Hockey Conference play beings against the Colorado College Tigers.
