OMAHA, Neb. — It’s been clear for a while that UMD will need to clean up a few things in its game if the Bulldogs are to get hot at any point here.
Chief among them is discipline, and parading to the penalty box four times in one 20-minute period is not going to get this team very far.
That said, UMD also showed Friday night why it can’t be counted out. Trailing 2-0, the Bulldogs staged an impressive rally, started to get to their game more, and it took a turnover off a fanned pass to put Omaha back in front for good in what became a 3-2 win in Omaha to open this two-game series.
8 THOUGHTS
1. UMD has to be more disciplined. The Bulldogs took four penalties in the first period, three resulting in Omaha power plays, one resulting in an Omaha power play goal by Ty Mueller. The six minutes of Omaha PP time might have skewed the overall flow of the first period a bit, but it never felt like the Bulldogs got to their game at five on five. The special teams time also made it harder for UMD to exploit what I believe is an advantage in forward depth, even with injuries robbing UMD of a couple key players. If UMD is rolling its lines, I think that’s a good thing for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs ended up with six penalties for 12 minutes, with two of them being part of coincidental penalties. Omaha scored once in four power plays, while UMD tallied its first shorthanded goal of the campaign.
So while the overall picture was meh in terms of discipline, the fact UMD — for the second time in three 2023 games — bunched up its penalties made things look worse, and made the job even more difficult.
2. When it was UMD’s turn to go on the power play, it was a struggle. Omaha’s kill is dead-last in the NCHC, but it didn’t look like it on Friday. The Mavericks’ aggression on the kill was a consistent problem for UMD, and eventually led to a Matt Miller shorthanded goal to give Omaha a 2-0 lead.
Aggressive kills are a problem when a power play is too deliberate and/or when players don’t quickly recognize their options on a play. To add to this: When UMD has struggled on the power play this season, it feels like it’s often come down to losing puck battles that leave them chasing dumped pucks. Either the Bulldogs don’t have enough players committed to the battles, or the outnumbered adversary comes away with the puck. Or, as was the case once Friday, UMD wins the battle, but the puck is mishandled and turned back over after players worked so hard to win it in the first place.
3. I’m sure Zach Stejskal will kick himself over the winning goal by Omaha, but he was outstanding Friday and may have been the only reason UMD had a chance in the end.
Stejskal told Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune he didn’t have his feet set after Jake Pivonka picked up a loose puck and fired it through his five-hole with 6:57 to play in the third period. The puck was loose after freshman Aiden Dubinsky fanned on it while trying to clear the zone.
Starting the last four games, Stejskal has a .919 save percentage in those appearances, giving his team a chance in every game he’s played. If you #ListenToTheRadio Saturday, you’ll hear an interview I taped with CBS Sports Network analyst extraordinaire Dave Starman before Friday’s game. He said UMD’s goaltending has been good, but needs to be very good.
Well, that last goal notwithstanding, Stejskal was very good on Friday. The competitor he is, however, the last goal will stick with him, I just hope not too much or too long.
4. UMD got to its game more in the third period. Owen Gallatin and Dominic James (shorthanded) got goals, but the Bulldogs started to generate more forecheck, got more turnovers, and got more scoring chances. It’s probably not a total coincidence that the third period featured the fewest special teams interruptions (four minutes, an Omaha PP that UMD scored on, and two minutes of four on four after matching minors).
The Bulldogs more than doubled their two-period shot total (12) in the third period (13). Omaha goalie Jake Kucharski had to make a few good saves among his 11, including an early breakaway for Kyle Bettens that he extended the left pad to stop.
It wasn’t necessarily a too-little, too-late proposition, because it was a combination of bad ice, bad luck, and maybe a slight lapse of concentration that beat UMD on this night.
5. Heading into Saturday, UMD needs more of what it got in the third period, less of the first two. The Bulldogs have to find a way to get pucks deep, behind the defense, and get better body position to affect breakouts and establish a more consistent forecheck. Part of that is placement of pucks when dumping them below the goal line, and part of that is just battle level. Omaha was first on a lot of pucks, and when the Bulldogs were able to get their second forward in good position, it often led to mistakes by the Mavericks.
Conversely, UMD has to be cleaner in its own zone. Besides the fateful play that led to Omaha’s winning goal, breakouts were out of sync a few times in the game, leading to extended time in the zone or quality scoring chances.
6. UMD is alone in sixth in the NCHC after Friday’s games. Western Michigan broke a fifth place tie with the Bulldogs by blanking North Dakota 4-0 in Grand Forks. Jason Polin scored two more goals, while Cameron Rowe stopped all 25 shots he faced. The Broncos showed some defensive prowess, holding UND to just four shots in the third period.
In Denver, the Pioneers scored six goals in a span of 6:33 in the second period, on their way to a 7-0 home win over Miami. Denver now leads the NCHC by six points, because …
7. Colorado College keeps on winning. The Tigers were dogwalked in the first period by St. Cloud State, but Kaidan Mbereko stopped 20 of 21 to keep CC in the game. Colorado College got two from Tyler Coffey and overcame Mbereko’s second-period departure to beat St. Cloud State 4-2 at the Brooks Center. It isn’t totally clear what happened to Mbereko, but Joe Paisley had this note on his Twitter.
Mbereko leaves with 3:19 left after taking shot off the facemark. Vernon in, leading Huskies 2-1
— Joe Paisley (@Paisleyhockey) January 14, 2023
I saw a couple tweets from SCSU people in attendance who said Mbereko watched the third period from the CC player entrance and he was not in uniform. Matt Vernon finished the game in goal for Colorado College.
8. The UMD women took care of business. Facing last-place Bemidji State, UMD took a big lead early and cruised to an 8-1 win. Taylor Anderson scored twice, while Nina Jobst-Smith (one goal, three assists) had a four-point game. Anneke Linser and Gabbie Hughes picked up a goal and two assists apiece. Hailey MacLeod started in goal and stopped 11 of 12 shots faced.
Same two teams Saturday at 3pm.
Here, we hit the air at 6:30pm Saturday on KDAL. Join us for the rematch, as UMD tries to get out of here with a split.
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