UMD’s latest stay atop the NCHC lasted long enough for everyone involved in the title race to play one (1) more game.
The Bulldogs’ stay in first, along with their six-game winning streak, came crashing down Friday in Kalamazoo, where Western Michigan was in control throughout a 4-0 victory over UMD.
Senior Josh Passolt, a Hayward native, had his hands in all three shots that beat UMD goalie Ryan Fanti (Ethen Frank’s empty net goal was unassisted). Passolt scored the first goal by tipping a Michael Joyaux point shot home at the tail end of a power play in the second period (initially, this was labeled an even strength goal, but was changed back to a power play goal upon further review by the thorough crew led by WMU sports info guy Adam Bodnar). He assisted on Cole Gallant’s odd-man rush goal later in the period, then sniped home the third goal by winning a race to a puck that UMD lost at the Western Michigan line after a good offensive push.
“I thought they played on their toes all night,” head coach Scott Sandelin said (hear the full interview at around 2:50 on KDAL). “We didn’t manage the puck very well. I didn’t think our compete level was good enough. I just thought they were the better team. They were the hungrier team, which was pretty disappointing.”
From the outset, UMD appeared to be chasing its game a little bit. The Bulldogs generated zero odd-man rushes or breakaways, something that’s happened with regularity lately. And while they’re nice to have when they come from strong defensive play and good decisions leading to transition opportunities, the up-and-down, trading chances, racehorse hockey game is not UMD’s style.
Instead, the Bulldogs thrive when they can wear teams down in their defensive zone. Sandelin calls it a “ground game.” Get the puck down low, make good decisions, hold possession, make teams chase, and eventually the mistakes that lead to good scoring chances will come. It’s a hard game to play that involves a lot of patience and moxie, and the willingness to stick with a plan that might not always be working immediately. Keep doing the right things, and the chances will come. Start trading scoring chances, and it not only puts a ton of pressure on goalies, but it also can lead to trouble when facing a team like Western Michigan that simply doesn’t give up much when it’s on its game.
And as much as UMD’s coaches are probably peeved at what they saw Friday night, it’s also clear that Western was ready for this. The Broncos played as good a game as I’ve seen them play all season, and even back into the latter portion of last season, when Western ended the regular season in a top four position and was set to host a playoff series at Lawson before the pandemic put a halt to everything.
Fast? Check. Heavy? Check. Physical? Check. Smart? Check. You name it, the Broncos did it. That’s to their credit.
However, if you truly believe UMD is a better team than Western Michigan (as I do, to be fair), you have to believe (as I do) that UMD is capable of beating the Broncos at this game. And I believe UMD is capable of doing that.
Sandelin referenced “passengers” during his postgame Zoom call. That word came up again when we chatted for our traditional pregame interview. The word “identity” was also mentioned.
If the Bulldogs have no or significantly fewer “passengers” and play to their “identity” in this game, I very much like the chances of a weekend split.
Freshman Luke Mylymok draws back in for UMD, replacing Ben Almquist. Luke Loheit moves to the middle of that line. Zach Stejskal gets the start in goal. No changes for Western.
2:30pm pregame on KDAL.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD forwards
Olson – Cates (Noah) – Swaney
Koepke – Jacques – Laderoute
Roth – Cates (Jackson) – Bender
Mylymok – Loheit – Biondi
UMD defense
Kaiser – Roehl
Anderson – Lellig
Cairns – Gotz
Rosenbaum
UMD goalies
Stejskal – Patt
Western Michigan forwards
Glover – Washe (Paul) – Washe (Tim)
Frank – Worrad – Gallant
Passolt – Polin – Grainger
Rome – Van Os – Larkin
Western Michigan defense
Fulp – Attard
Bennett – Brickey
Fiedler – Joyaux
Hilsendager
Western Michigan goalies
Cain – Hawryluk – Aslanidis
(Again, goalies. Numerical. Aslanidis it is, we assume.)
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