Since November 30, 2013, UND goalie Zane Gothberg is 13-1-1 with a .936 save percentage and 1.59 goals against average. During that same time, UND is 16-3-2. Also, senior goalie time Clarke Saunders has a 3-2-0 record during the same time. UND started the season 4-7-2, they were going nowhere fast and they were sitting in the bottom of the NCHC Standings. In looking at the turnaround, we might be able to credit the player's only meeting in late November. When asked about the turnaround, Gothberg was quick to give credit to the coaches.
“Obviously it starts with our coaching staff,” Gothberg said. “They’ve been through the ropes. They’ve been through everything, throughout the years. And I think it just kind of came down from them.”
Gothberg continued, “Once we figured out how to play our game, each guy bought in. It was a simple mentality change. Just a little bit before Christmas break. It was kind of cool to see what happened. You know what, we’re going out and proving ourselves every night, still. Proving to ourselves, and to our team that we can be even better.”
With the win last night, UND is either going to be playing Colorado College or Miami University. It’s just a matter of with team finishes number one, and which team finishes number two. UND is 2-0-0 against C.C. and 3-1-0 against Miami. Neither team is an easy out. So, we now have the four home teams for the NCHC playoffs, UND, SCSU, UMD and UNO. We'll know exact seeding at about 10:30 p.m.
It’s hard to believe that WMU is the sixth place team in the NCHC. Based on what I have seen, they’re a pretty good hockey team. It was fun to listen to former NHL coach Andy Murray after the game.
Here’s a few statistics to chew on. After finding it hard to score goals earlier in the season, UND is the third in the NCHC for goals for with 75. First is SCSU with 83 and second is Nebraska-Omaha with 78. Defensively, UND is second with 61 goals against, Denver is first with 56.
As I mentioned earlier in the season, I thought UND was a good hockey team that was trying to find their way. Some wanted to abandon the team. Early in the season, I went to a few practices and saw some of the goings on when the team was down. It was not all fun and games around the UND locker room, I can tell you that. You could feel the tension around the UND hockey team. I asked someone if it was stretch run was on already… Their response was, oh yeah. It's on.
That being said, there’s a lot of skill on this team. There’s also a lot of team speed. This is one of the fastest UND hockey teams that I have seen in a very long time. The play starts with the “D” and they lead the breakout, out of the defensive zone, in a lot of cases. If you can, focus on players like Jordan Schmaltz, Dillon Simpson or Paul LaDue, they’re very good with the puck. I think this team gets out of the defensive zone better than last year’s team, and that team had a lot of high-end offensive talent.
The UND hockey team is transforming from being a bruising team that checks you out of the building and takes a lot of penalties, to a team that can skate with the Boston Colleges. This is no accident. UND is changing like the NHL game has.
Tonight, UND will honor four very classy seniors, defenseman Dillon Simpson, forward Mitch MacMillan, forward Derek Rodwell and goaltender Clarke Saunders. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch this week’s “Through These Doors”. There’s some very good stuff.
On my way to work this morning, Simpson was on “Hockey on Campus” and I just can’t get over the fact that Simpson isn’t even 21 years old yet. The senior defenseman came to UND as a young age of 17. There’s freshmen on this team that are older than him. Age is just a number.
Surprising result of the night: After being named NCHC Goalie of the week, Ryan Massa gave up four goals on 27 shots to the UMD Bulldogs. UMD would win the game 8-2. Tony Cameranesi and Justin Crandall paced UMD with two goals each.
Showing posts with label NCHC Hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NCHC Hockey. Show all posts
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Monday, March 03, 2014
NCHC Hockey: Going down to the Wire
42
|
22
|
14
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
0.636
|
73
|
61
|
32
|
19
|
10
|
3
|
0.641
|
101
|
84
|
||
42
|
22
|
13
|
6
|
3
|
0
|
0.659
|
76
|
59
|
32
|
19
|
8
|
5
|
0.672
|
114
|
86
|
||
39
|
22
|
12
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
0.591
|
76
|
60
|
32
|
15
|
15
|
2
|
0.500
|
106
|
101
|
||
34
|
22
|
10
|
10
|
2
|
2
|
0.500
|
60
|
64
|
32
|
15
|
13
|
4
|
0.531
|
90
|
91
|
||
34
|
22
|
10
|
10
|
2
|
2
|
0.500
|
64
|
66
|
34
|
16
|
13
|
5
|
0.544
|
91
|
89
|
||
32
|
22
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
2
|
0.477
|
54
|
54
|
34
|
15
|
13
|
6
|
0.529
|
86
|
77
|
||
24
|
22
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6
|
11
|
5
|
1
|
0.386
|
47
|
64
|
32
|
6
|
20
|
6
|
0.281
|
61
|
100
|
||
17
|
22
|
5
|
16
|
1
|
1
|
0.250
|
52
|
74
|
32
|
11
|
18
|
3
|
0.391
|
92
|
98
|
1. The team with the greater number of NCHC regular-season wins shall be the higher seed.
2. Head-to-head competition. Among the teams tied in the standings, the team with the highest winning percentage will be the higher seed.
3. Goal differential: Total goals for and against in contests between the teams tied in the standings.
4. Winning percentage of the teams tied in the standings against the remaining NCHC teams, starting at the top of the standings and working toward the bottom until the tie is broken.
5. Coin flip.
Friday, February 28, 2014
This is why the UND vs SCSU game in on at 8:08 p.m.
I am been critical of the NCHC’s television deal with CBS Sports Network. (NCAA Hockey: Current NCHC Television Deal is Unacceptable)
“When” they the broadcast games, they’re awesome. Their hockey coverage is second to none. I would argue that the quality of the CBSSN broadcasts are top-shelf. I also love what Dave Starman and Ben Holden bring to the booth. But, they’re just not on enough. When we don’t have television coverage for away road games, you have to watch the games on a member school's webcasts. Most of them can't keep up with the traffic that UND hockey fans bring to their webcasts. Those for the most part have been less than acceptable this season as well. (NCAA Hockey: There Has to Be a Better Way)
Tonight’s game between SCSU and UND is on at 8:08 p.m. because the game time is being preempted by a college basketball game between Providence and Seton Hall.
Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but the NCHC leadership needs to do a better job when they negotiate the next television deal. No more exclusivity deals. So far, exclusive has proven to be fewer hockey games on the tube.
UND Hockey: Lots on the line this weekend
The table has been set. The stakes are high. The Penrose Cup will be in the Herb Brooks Arena (aka the Concrete Center) this weekend. If either team sweeps, they "would" clinch at least a share of the the Penrose Cup.
The SCSU Huskies (12-5-3-0 NCHC, 18-7-5 overall) and University of North Dakota (13-7-0-0, 18-9-3) are currently tied at the top of the NCHC standing with four games remaining in regular season.
The order is tall for UND, in their last 10 games against the Huskies they hold a 4-5-1 record and they haven’t had much success against Husky goalie Ryan Faragher. The last time UND beat SCSU was on (11/09/2012) when Clarke Saunders shutout the Huskies 3-0.
Records: UND has a 14-2-1 record the last 17 games. SCSU 7-6-3 record the last 16 games.
SCSU goalie Ryan Faragher has UND’s number
Over the last couple of seasons, Husky goalie Faragher has had UND’s number. In the last two seasons, Faragher has a 4-1-1 record against UND. This includes a series sweep earlier this season in Grand Forks. During his career against UND, the junior goalie has 6-3-1 record with a .940 save percentage and a 1.79 GAA.
Second verse same as the first.
At the Ralph Engelstad Arena, Faragher has been nothing short of amazing, compiling a 4-1-1 record, a.957 save percentage and a 1.50 goals against average. UND hopes their fortunes will change this weekend against the Huskies. The Green and White need to emerge from this weekend’s series with at least a series split, to keep their title hopes alive. To be successful this weekend UND is going to have to get pucks past Faragher. Sounds simple right?
Zane Gothberg is no slouch either
From this week’s game notes: In the last 13 games, UND goalie Zane Gothberg is 11-0-2, with a 1.75 GAA and a .931 save percentage. In 21 games this season, Gothberg is 13-5-3, has a 2.12 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Against the Huskies, Gothberg is 0-3-0, 3.10 GAA and has a .902 save percentage. Saunders is 1-1-1, 2.27 GAA and has a .920 save percentage.
The SCSU Huskies (12-5-3-0 NCHC, 18-7-5 overall) and University of North Dakota (13-7-0-0, 18-9-3) are currently tied at the top of the NCHC standing with four games remaining in regular season.
The order is tall for UND, in their last 10 games against the Huskies they hold a 4-5-1 record and they haven’t had much success against Husky goalie Ryan Faragher. The last time UND beat SCSU was on (11/09/2012) when Clarke Saunders shutout the Huskies 3-0.
Records: UND has a 14-2-1 record the last 17 games. SCSU 7-6-3 record the last 16 games.
SCSU goalie Ryan Faragher has UND’s number
Over the last couple of seasons, Husky goalie Faragher has had UND’s number. In the last two seasons, Faragher has a 4-1-1 record against UND. This includes a series sweep earlier this season in Grand Forks. During his career against UND, the junior goalie has 6-3-1 record with a .940 save percentage and a 1.79 GAA.
Second verse same as the first.
At the Ralph Engelstad Arena, Faragher has been nothing short of amazing, compiling a 4-1-1 record, a.957 save percentage and a 1.50 goals against average. UND hopes their fortunes will change this weekend against the Huskies. The Green and White need to emerge from this weekend’s series with at least a series split, to keep their title hopes alive. To be successful this weekend UND is going to have to get pucks past Faragher. Sounds simple right?
Zane Gothberg is no slouch either
From this week’s game notes: In the last 13 games, UND goalie Zane Gothberg is 11-0-2, with a 1.75 GAA and a .931 save percentage. In 21 games this season, Gothberg is 13-5-3, has a 2.12 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Against the Huskies, Gothberg is 0-3-0, 3.10 GAA and has a .902 save percentage. Saunders is 1-1-1, 2.27 GAA and has a .920 save percentage.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Hatten SC Times: Tickets still available for this weekend's games; UND vs SCSU
I am actually surprised that there are still tickets left for this game. Standing room is very good tickets. This will be a great series if you can take in game I would recommend going.
Mick Hatten, Saint Cloud Time -- Tickets for this weekend’s North Dakota at St. Cloud State men’s hockey series are getting difficult to come by, particularly for the Saturday night game at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
Tenth-ranked North Dakota and fifth-ranked St. Cloud State go into the weekend tied for the lead in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which is in its inaugural season. There are four games left in the regular season and the teams moved into a tie for the lead last weekend.
“This is always a big series for us and sales are always high,” said Chad Sheetz, St. Cloud State’s assistant director of athletic business & finance operations. “After Christmas, sales really started to pick up.”
As of about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, there were 599 remaining standing-room only tickets remaining for Saturday’s game, which starts at 7:07 p.m.
There are about 450 tickets available for Friday’s game.
Friday’s game has the unusual starting time of 8:07 p.m. because the game will be on a national telecast. Friday’s game will be televised on CBS Sports Network (Charter Channel 412, Direct TV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158).
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