To taking a quote out of the sports cliches' it isn't over until the fat lady sings. Hey Howie, the season isn't over for the Bulldogs, not yet anyways. Why don't you let the game play out first. In case you haven't noticed the Bulldogs get to play C.C. in the Springs this weekend where they have a record of 1-0-1 against the Tigers this year. Personally, I would wait till the end of the season before you start kicking dirt on the Bulldogs season.
You have to wonder if this guy followed the rest of the WCHA very closely because seeding for the WCHA playoffs were not really decided until the last hours of the season. Maybe he should stick to high school hockey. Seriously, who is to say the Bulldogs don't go to Colorado College beat the Tigers in two or three games and get to the Final Five? UMD is also ranked 17th in Pair Wise Rankings so a series win in Colorado Springs and a couple of games in St Paul could put them into the NCAA tourney. During the 2005-2006 season the UMD Bulldogs were 11-25-4 and went to DU and won a WCHA playoff series against the Pioneers in Denver.
Sandelin to be shown the door?
Is there a ground swell to have Sandelin removed? It doesn't appear to be so from reading the message boards and blogs around the blogsphere. I have seen a few message board posts from fans dissatisfied with the way things are going in Duluth but I not seeing hoards of angry Bulldog fans just yet. I did see a few posts were some UMD fans were calling for Stalock to be benched and that one was puzzling to me since Alex finished at the goal tending leader for the WCHA.
Future looks bright
In my opinion the Bulldog future seems bright and expect the Bulldogs to challenge for a top 5 position in the WCHA standings next season. Freshmen Mike Connolly 8-15-23 3rd in rookie scoring and Jack Connolly 5-13-18 10th in rookie scoring are showing promises of bright futures. I could imagine these two ripping up the WCHA goaltending next season. Also, Justin Fontaine who is only a sophomore is tied with the league lead with 9 power play goals and is third in scoring in the WCHA with (10-24-34).
So based on some current players and the arrival of Dylan Olson of the AJHL who was ranked number 23 among North American skaters in Mid-Season Rankings by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, so it would appear that coach Sandelin has the Bulldogs program going in the right direction. Earlier in the season when the Bulldogs played the Sioux I thought they were one of the tougher teams the Fighting Sioux had faced in the first half of the season 2008-2009 season. If that team that played against the Sioux on November 21st and 22nd the Tiger could have their hands full.
ANOTHER BULLDOGS MELTDOWN
Even those who bleed UMD maroon-and-gold expected it, if they were totally honest: the over-hyped Bulldogs men’s hockey team followed a familiar rut in the ice when it melted down big-time in the final two weeks of the regular season.
Competing for fifth-place and a home ice series in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs in the final weekend, UMD’s once-proud program sunk to perhaps the most pitiful low in Coach Scott Sandelin’s mostly unproductive tenure last weekend — when the poorly-prepared Bulldogs lost twice at home to (drum roll, please) the mighty, ninth-place Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves.
Twice at home to the Seawolves, with a possible home ice spot on the line. Even the program’s chief apologists might have a hard time spinning this meltdown in our favor.
The Bulldogs (16-12-8 overall, 10-11-7 WCHA) are 0-3-2 in the last five games and opens the league playoffs next weekend at Colorado College.
Yikes, Bullpuppies. You guys stunk up the DECC over the weekend. You let down your fans — including the proud alumni — your school and your community.
I don't understand it. Then again, I can't remember a time when I've called for a coach to be fired.
ReplyDeleteYou brought up great points. UMD not getting home ice isn't a horrible thing. Last weekend if certain results happened UMD could have finished third. Yet I supposed he'd still call for Sandlin's firing? UMD didn't get fifth, but as I talked about I consider Saturday's loss to be (sort-of) a win since UMD plays better at CC than at UMTC.
UMD is also still getting good caliber prospects, players with a shot at the NHL.
So yeah, he's be very premature and very over-reactive.
I have several friends that are Bulldog fans and attend games at the DECC with regularity. They all say Stalock kind of blew it last weekend because of his over-aggressive-ness coming out to play the puck. He supposedly had shown pretty good progress in showing some discipline in this area of his game, but last weekend he looked like the freshman he was when he first came into the league strait out of high school. Bulldog fans have also been known to actually "sieve" their own goalie when things are bad. It's not like the season is over though, they could easily go out to CC and sweep them...
ReplyDeleteUSAFA Bulldog, that was an intersting article, then I looked at the comments and I see the one UMD blogger is calling for Sandy's head.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would think that the Administration wouldn't want to make sense any rash decisions on their coaching position. We will see what happens.
One thing I remember reading at the end of last year was that UMD could not afford to fire Sandelin. His contract had too many years left on it and the University simply could not afford to pay a buyout. Whether this is true or not is anyones guess.
ReplyDeleteHowie Hanson is NOT representative of UMD fans. As Ciskie pointed out, he was critical of Sandy even when the team went to the Frozen Four. Eff him and the dead horse he keeps beating.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I smell a post at RWD.