I would normally tag a dateline on this post. UMD is on the road this weekend, after all, playing in Ithaca, N.Y., against Cornell.
But I am not in Ithaca. Or anywhere in New York.
Our broadcasts this weekend will emanate from Duluth and the KDAL studios. It’s a long story with multiple layers attached (and so I’m clear, it was ultimately my idea to not make this trip), but rest assured that we do not expect to broadcast any other games from the studio this season.
That said, we’ve got plenty of thoughts on the upcoming weekend.
8 THOUGHTS
1. I start with a very serious thought. I would be remiss to not make mention of Wednesday’s horrific events in Lewiston, Maine. Our sympathies are with all impacted by the shootings, as well as everyone who is triggered by the scenes or discussions replaying on televisions all over the country. These are things that simply don’t happen anywhere else on Earth with the regularity we see in the United States. I’m not here to preach, but I am here to ask.
(I’m not here to have a debate about these issues. We know they exist and can at least acknowledge their presence like adults. We can also acknowledge none of the answers are easy or come without difficult and deep conversations that are not meant to occur in this space.)
I want all of you out there to expect more out of our leaders than this. I recognize kneejerk reactions to isolated events are bad, and I’m not here with a bucket of ideas. I’m here to say we’ve tried doing nothing to solve what is obviously a problem.
Ignoring it did not make it go away. If anything, it made things worse.
I implore you to hold those you vote for accountable on this issue. Demand more. Expect more. And if they don’t give you more, find someone who will.
Let’s be better.
2. On to much more trivial things, big news in hockey on Thursday, as former North Dakota standout Shane Pinto — an unsigned forward for the Ottawa Senators — was suspended for 41 games by the NHL for a gambling infraction.
Much has been said and written about this, and I’m not going to offer anything that’s necessarily original in this space.
Gambling is a part of our culture now. It isn’t going anywhere. There’s, frankly, too much money involved in it. Money for the sports leagues, which indeed is filtered on to the athletes. Is it hypocritical for sports leagues to punish players for partaking in otherwise-legal gambling? That’s up to the consumer. There’s definitely a philosophical argument for that stance that makes sense.
However, there are bigger issues at play. One benefit of legal gambling is the checks and balances these companies are required to have. We’ve seen some big gambling investigations in pro and college sports over the last year, pretty much all of them were started when a company flagged betting behaviors that appeared sketchy.
The companies around the country that offer gambling where it’s legally available have a great stake in the integrity of the games they offer betting on. Because of that, you can expect more of what happened to Pinto (and to some NFL and college football players, among many others) to keep happening. If the integrity of the game is compromised, the house of cards collapses in front of all of us. There are too many people who are relying on that not happening.
Basically, if you’re an athlete, you better know what is and is not allowed in the league you’re playing in. If you have questions, I’m sure there’s someone you can call, and it’s on you to do that before you gamble on anything.
3. On to the Bulldogs. UMD headed east Wednesday night, flying to Buffalo before taking a bus from there to Ithaca. No word if they will see Cornell alum Andy Bernard during the trip, but they will see what is usually a pretty salty Cornell team that will be kicking off its season this weekend.
(For those unaware, the Ivy League teams traditionally don’t get their seasons kicked off until the end of October.)
The Big Red won 21 games last season, returning to the NCAA Tournament. Cornell lost 2-1 to Boston University for the Manchester Regional title and a spot in the Frozen Four. It’s been a bit of a renaissance for a program that saw its 2020-21 season completely cancelled by COVID restrictions that hit the Ivies hard.
Mike Schafer is a Cornell alum and enters his 29th season as head coach. He brings in ten freshmen — a strong class — to offset the ten players he lost to graduation and pro hockey. He gives the departing players a ton of credit for helping shepherd the program through its COVID pause and back to national prominence.
“I think that those experiences from last year will carry over. How difficult it is, how hard it is, how you got to stay the course. We were pretty consistent throughout the course of the year.”
4. When UMD hits the ice Friday, it will have a new member added to its leadership group. In announcing that Dominic James — an assistant captain — would miss the rest of the season last week, UMD coach Scott Sandelin said the staff was discussing potentially making an addition a group that includes captain Luke Loheit and assistant Quinn Olson, both fifth-year forwards.
That choice has been made, and was announced on Thursday. It’s graduate forward Connor McMenamin.
Frankly, it almost made too much sense. McMenamin was a captain in juniors at Tri-City, then wore an “A” for two years at Penn State. His leadership background was one of many reasons Sandelin took a run at McMenamin when he entered the transfer portal after four seasons at Penn State.
Now, with James out for the season, McMenamin will wear an “A” for the Bulldogs as well.
“We are excited to have Connor McMenamin serve as an assistant captain,” Sandelin said. “Connor has exemplified strong leadership qualities since he arrived in Duluth, and he has quickly earned the trust and respect of his teammates.”
5. Sandelin relishes the challenge his team will face this weekend. He talked only briefly about the trip, which included the uncommon Wednesday departure and a night in Buffalo before finishing up on Thursday.
While Cornell is opening its season this weekend, Sandelin knows better than to just assume his team will be better because it’s played five games. That lesson, he indicated, should have come last year.
“We caught them their first two regular season games (last year) and I thought they were much better Saturday and we got lucky to win. It’ll be a great test because we’re going to see a different style, but a style that we’re going to see a little bit in our league too.”
Schafer, for his part, says they’ll try to use the fact UMD has put over 300 minutes of hockey on tape (or, more appropriately, onto a hard drive) to their advantage. Just not too much.
“You don’t want them thinking too much but at the same time they better be prepared for what they do in order to have success,” he said. “We’ll have a little bit of both and not give them so much on one end of the spectrum, or just tell them to go play, and the other end of the spectrum not give them so much information that they’re paralyzed. It’s a fine balancing act.”
“I would say Cornell, similar to Bemidji, is a really well coached group that is consistent in how they play,” said assistant coach Cody Chupp. “Coach Schafer has done an incredible job there for years. I think we have an idea of what it’s going to look like. It could be an eye -opening experience for some of our guys, but I know for us, it’s about matching that intensity and that work ethic, being ready to go from the drop of the puck, not being surprised by how they play or how hard they play. That’s our challenge.”
6. In an effort to build something sustainable, UMD was more pleased with its game Saturday than it’s been at any point so far. It probably isn’t a coincidence that Saturday’s 5-4 overtime win in Bemidji featured more five-on-five play than any of UMD’s first five games.
“I thought it was our best five on five game of the year,” Chupp said. “It was the game that had the most five on five and, as a player, getting into a rhythm is such an important thing. You think back to some games where it’s been a ton of special teams or certain guys that don’t play on both special teams. It’s really hard to get into that five on five rhythm. I thought our start to the game on Saturday was great.”
Sandelin agreed, but quickly identified an area he’d like to see his team improve.
“Spice (Cole Spicer) scored a big time goal (the overtime winner), so I don’t have to talk about not winning the game, but overall it was a better game for us, but still ways to go in some areas as far as puck management and just being a little bit tighter defensively and structurally we’re fine, but we’re not engaging enough. I think we’re giving teams way too much room, we’ve got to connect more with their guys and eliminate them.
“We’re going to get tested this week and this team gets the net really well, their routes to the net are good, like I said, they always have a net presence, they get pucks there, they play along the wall.”
7. In what I thought might be a throwaway question, I asked UMD senior goalie Zach Stejskal about preparing for unfamiliar buildings. UMD has never played at Cornell’s Lynah Rink before this weekend, so all the Bulldog players have to go on is video and their Thursday practice and Friday morning skate.
What does Stejskal try to learn in those two (usually somewhat brief) practice sessions?
“I just try to figure out all my angles,” the Cohasset native said. “So where I am in the middle of the net was, you know, the dot, where’s this dot, where’s the blue line, you know. There’s just like seven spots that I like to kind of just visualize in my mind of where I am in the net.”
Like everyone else, Stejskal was excited for fellow Cohasset native Hunter Shepard, who made his NHL debut Wednesday night for the Capitals at New Jersey.
“It’s huge for this program, seeing a goaltender in the NHL,” said Stejskal. “My high school, Grand Rapids, is super proud of that guy.”
8. The UMD women play this weekend in Bemidji. It’s a homecoming of sorts for a couple people who will be there for the Bulldogs this weekend. Assistant coach Emma Sobieck not only was plucked off the Bemidji State coaching staff when the NCAA allowed hockey teams to hire a third paid assistant coach this summer, but she was a four-year player for the BSU program before becoming a coach there. Also, forward Reece Hunt transferred to UMD after four years as a Beaver. She told reporters this week that she’s been texting with a few of her former Bemidji teammates and is looking forward to playing there again.
“It’s going to be interesting being on the visitor’s side,” she said, “but it’s just a hockey game. I’m just trying to think hockey.”
Big six points on the line for UMD, which has allowed only eight goals (excluding empty netters) in six games so far.
As for the NCHC, North Dakota is home for Minnesota State this weekend. The Mavericks already have a pair of wins over St. Cloud State in their pocket, but are coming off getting swept at home by UMass last weekend. Omaha is home for a pair of games against Ohio State, which should be a really interesting series. Elsewhere, Arizona State visits Miami for a weekend set matching up teams that will be league rivals a year from now. Denver hosts Augustana Friday, then Air Force Saturday. Colorado College plays at Air Force Friday, then hosts Augustana Saturday.
Good luck to the local Division III teams, all opening up this weekend. The UWS and St. Scholastica men will meet for a single game Saturday at Mars Lakeview Arena. St. Scholastica’s women play at No. 4 UW-River Falls Friday night, while the UWS women host Lawrence for two games Friday and Saturday at Wessman Arena.
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As mentioned, I’m not in New York this weekend. But the goal is to bring you the games as if I was actually there.
5:30pm pregames both nights on KDAL. Back late Friday afternoon with lines.
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