Friday Gameday: New Trend for No. 1?

Three weeks gone. Three new No. 1s.

After a 2-2 tie and a 3-2 win at home against No. 11 Nebraska-Omaha over Thanksgiving weekend, it’s time for UND’s crack as the top dog in the hockey world.

The newly-dubbed No. 1 North Dakota men’s hockey team will try to break the running trend of No. 1s to fall tonight and Saturday as the Green and White take on the Lake Superior State Lakers in Grand Forks.

Lowly Lakers?

 LSSU has struggled so far this season falling to 3-13 after a painful 7-0, 3-0 sweep at the hands of Minnesota State this past weekend, in which they were outshot 77-45.

The Lakers are a team coming into the Ralph Engelstad Arena searching for production on both sides of the ice.

Entering tonight’s tilt, the Lakers are near the bottom of the country in scoring as well as defense ranking 56th and 55th in goals per game (1.69) and goals allowed (3.88), respectively.

LSSU brings just one double-digit scorer into this weekend’s non-conference faceoff. Minot-native junior forward Bryce Schmitt leads the Lakers with 10 points (5g, 5a).

In the nets for the Lakers, freshman Gordon Defiel looks to improve on 3-11 record as well as a 3.53 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.

Lots of Leftovers

 Last weekend may have been Thanksgiving, but UND is looking to feast on a struggling LSSU squad.

Junior and November’s national player of the month Drake Caggiula paces North Dakota’s (10-3-2) attack that is scoring at a 3.22 goals per game clip.

The dynamic forward leads the Green and White with 20 points (7g, 13a). Caggiula’s linemates, seniors Michael Parks (5g, 11a –16 pts) and Mark MacMillan (7g, 6a – 13 pts) round out one of the nation’s top scoring groups.

It’s been Zane McIntyre’s net for UND this season and the junior has been up to the task. The reining National Collegiate Hockey Conference goaltender of the week carries a stellar 10-3-2 record into this weekend’s series.

The Pick

Simply put, UND cannot take anything less than a sweep. Facing a struggling opponent in a non-conference series, this is a weekend for North Dakota to flex its muscles. Although DDC knows a team like LSSU has nothing to lose and will bring its best to The Ralph this weekend, UND’s talent is too much to ignore. After being embarrassed at home in a 5-1 loss to Bemidji State and escaping Air Force with a come-from-behind 3-2 OT win earlier in the year, UND won’t take a wounded Laker team for granted. Fast starts are important for the Green and White as UND is clearly the better team this weekend.

UND SWEEPS, 4-0, 6-2.

 

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.

Friday Gameday: Turkey Trash Talk

The No. 11 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks have been known in recent years as long on offense and short defense.

 

The 2014-15 Mavericks looked to have flipped that script.

 

Former UND head coach Dean Blais and Nebraska-Omaha head to the Ralph tonight and Saturday for a two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference turkey day weekend tussle boasting the conference's best defense and a goaltender in Ryan Massa that is playing lights out.

 

The senior netminder is 6-1-1 on the year with the nation's fourth best goals against average at 1.49 and second best save percentage at .951. The Mavericks also boast the seventh-best penalty kill, going 40-for-44 on the year, 90.4 percent.

Not Only Defense?

This past weekend, Omaha (7-2-1) earned a home split with Minnesota-Duluth falling 3-2 on Friday night and coming back and netting some big goals en route to a 4-1 win on Saturday.

 

Omaha sophomore forward Austin Ortega, the team's leading scorer coming into this weekend (5g, 8a -- 13 pts), felt that this result may indicate a pattern against UND.

 

“Tonight we were able to get up on the board; we really showed we’re a scoring team,” Ortega said after the 4-1 win. “Kind of sending a message to North Dakota that we can score on any goalie out there.”

Something To Say?

UND junior goaltender Zane McIntyre and No. 2 North Dakota may have something to say about that.

 

Massa carries the better numbers into this weekend, but McIntyre carries the pedigree and some pretty solid numbers himself. The junior boasts at 9-3-1, a 2.04 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

 

The Green and White will look to best Massa with a top-line that features the nation's third leading scorer in Drake Caggiula, senior centerman Mark McMillan and senior winger Mike Parks. The trio has combined for 18 goals and 24 points, with Caggiula leading the way with 17.

The Pick

DDC is back in the north country visiting the family with Mrs. DDC and baby and is looking forward to stuffing his face, chasing the little one from family member to family member and watching a great series. Call DDC maybe a bit biased, but, in his time watching Nebraska-Omaha play, he's never been impressed by them defensively. Evidently this year's squad has righted the defensive ship, so to say. DDC is a little more skeptical. As pointed out in Puck Daddy's college hockey blog posted this week, an unbelievably hot goaltender, a huge shooting percentage and lack of puck possession all are signals for the ride to slow for Omaha. DDC thinks a series at UND in Grand Forks may just be the reason.

 

UND SWEEPS, 4-2, 5-1

Roses and Thorns: A Birthday, a Barn and Some Bounces

NCHC Standings:
1) Miami, 20 points; 2) UMD, 15 pts; 3) UND, 12 pts;
4) DU, 9 pts; 5) UNO, 9 pts; 6) St. Cloud State, 7 pts;
7) Western Michigan, 5 pts; 8) Colorado College, 0 pts

Welcome back to DDC for your second installment of Roses and Thorns.

Another week in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference brought yet another split for UND as they took on No. 16 St. Cloud State at the Herb Brooks Center in St. Cloud.

The Huskies rode the stellar play of their star, Jonny Brodzinski, who netted two goals en route to a 3-1 win on Friday night. UND battled back with an energetic performance on Saturday night and earned the split with a 3-2 win behind two Trevor Olson goals, the first two of the freshman’s career.

Here’s what stood out to DDC this weekend:

Roses

No. 1 – Troy Stecher

Another solid defensive weekend for this budding star. DDC wishes this kid would find the score sheet more often so people could know more about him. He was everywhere this weekend again playing shutdown defense with his partner Gage Ausmus. Stetcher has been nothing but astounding
this year and this weekend was no different.

No. 2 – Trevor Olson

Happy birthday Mr. Olson. The Freshman winger sat out Friday night’s loss and his addition back into the lineup with Bryn Chyzyk going down with an injury sparked a UND win. Olson netted his first two career goals on his 21st birthday and added a physical presence that the Green and White have lacked for much of the year.

No. 3 – Jonny Brodzinski

This kid is a stud. He showed it on Friday night. UND kept him quiet on Saturday and that ultimately got North Dakota the split. A unique blend of size, speed and scoring makes this forward really fun to watch.

No. 4 – Herb Brooks National Hockey Center

DDC had the opportunity to watch UND’s win on Saturday with Mrs. DDC and two friends, and the barn was rocking. There was lots of green in the stands and the small, intimate rink provided an amazing college hockey atmosphere. It doesn’t have Bavarian almonds and the seats aren’t padded, but despite this, DDC will definitely be making this trip again next year.

Thorns

No. 1 – Faceoffs

Yuck. UND got slaughtered in the dots on Friday 22-34, losing key faceoff after key faceoff in the defensive zone. Saturday was much better as senior Mark McMillan was slotted as the top centerman, going 19-14 for the top line. This needs to be a point of focus for North Dakota going forward. The teams in the NCHC are too good to be given opportunities in the offensive zone because of lost faceoffs.

No. 2 – Bad bounces

No excuses for UND on Friday night, but it is of DDC’s opinion that North Dakota was the better team 5-on-5 and a couple of awful bounces off defenders and offensive players a like ended up in the back of the net for the Huskies. These happen and Saturday night provided better bounces for UND, but again, these happen and the Huskies took advantage on Friday.

No. 3 – Missing the net

Too many times this weekend, UND came down on a rush and whistled shots wide that ended up being transition offense for St. Cloud. Hit the net. St. Cloud shot from all over the ice all weekend and created big rebounds that led to offensive chances. UND gets a few of these misses on net on Friday, especially early in the game while they carried the play, and we could be talking sweep for the Green and White.

So, that’s it. Up next, it’s Turkey Day weekend as the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks head to the Ralph for another important NCHC tussle. Come back later this week and DDC will bring you the breakdown.

Friday Gameday: A Trip Down I-94

8-2-1 and 5-0.

1-5-1.

Which trend will continue as the No. 2 UND men’s hockey team takes on the No. 16 St. Cloud State Huskies tonight and Saturday?

North Dakota is rolling coming into this weekend’s National Collegiate Hockey Conference tilt with that 8-2-1 record, going 5-0 on the road for the first time since the 1980-81 season However, UND is just 1-5-1 in its last seven games against St. Cloud.

Highs and lows

It’s been an up and down year thus far for the Huskies as they enter the weekend a very average 4-5-1 after a win and shootout loss this past weekend at Western Michigan.

At its high, St. Cloud knocked off previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Minnesota.

At its low, the Huskies got swept at home against UMD.

SCSU Jr. F.
Jonny Brodzinski

Which team shows up this weekend against the Green and White will ultimately come down to a talented forward group.

Junior forwards Jonny Brodzinski (5g, 3a), Joey Benik (5g, 3a) and Kalle Kossila (2g, 6a) lead the Huskies with eight points while Senior defenseman and assistant captain Andrew Prochno (2g, 5a) is just behind the SCSU top line with seven.

Their explosive offense has been aided by a tremendous power play unit that is clipping at a 25% (11-out-of-44) rate this year, good for sixth-best in the country.

Sophomore goaltender Charlie Lindgren paces the Husky defense with a 4-5 record, 2.49 goals against average and .909 save percentage.

Top line vs. Top line

UND Jr. F. Drake Caggiula
is tied for the national lead
in points with 16.

The talented Benik, Kossila, Brodzinski line will certainly see its equal this weekend at the Herb Brooks Center.

The top line of seniors Michael Parks and Mark MacMillan and junior Drake Caggiula reunited this past weekend with MacMillan’s return from a wrist injury and it didn’t take long for the trio to get reacquainted.

The line recorded four points in a 2-2 tie on Friday and a whopping seven in a 4-1 victory on Saturday to earn a split with Miami in Grand Forks.

Caggiula leads the way for the nation’s seventh-best scoring team (3.55 goals a game) and is tied for first in the country in scoring with 16 points (6g, 10a). Parks (5g, 9a) and MacMillan (6g, 4a) are right behind him with 14 and 10 points respectively.

Between the pipes, it’s all Zane McIntyre.

The junior stalwart has been as steady as steady goes this season with a 8-2-1 record, 1.95 goals against average and .928 save percentage.

McIntyre had a rough start to open the year, getting yanked in the second period after giving up four goals in an embarrassing 5-1 home loss to Bemidji State.

Since that game, however, the netminder is 8-1-1 with a tiny 1.67 GAA and stellar .935 SV PCT.

The Pick

With all this talk about offense, it’s easy to forget about the talent on the blue lines. DDC believes this is where the weekend is won and frankly, UND’s is better than St. Cloud’s.

Sophomore defenseman Paul LaDue returned from injury against Miami and was very quiet and seemed to be getting his legs underneath him. North Dakota fans know what this kid is like when he gets going. LaDue will be a key cog this weekend for the Green and White.

The offenses on both ends of the ice will get theirs this weekend, but DDC believes  UND’s ability to play shutdown defense while providing offense at the same time, ultimately makes the difference.

DDC has been much maligned this season for picking a sweep every week, but, you know what? He’s only been wrong on two weekends. Call him a homer if you want, but DDC thinks UND is playing great hockey right now. The 1-5-1 trend falls by the wayside and a 2-0 streak starts for the Green and White in St. Cloud.

UND SWEEPS … 4-3, 5-3.