NCAA Tourney Bid on the Line for UND

After their loss in overtime last night, UND would fall to 15th in the pairwise putting their NCAA tournament bid in jeopardy. However, depending on how some of the other conference tournaments end up next weekend, they quite possibly could be out already for the first time in 12 seasons.

Much like Friday night, UND would find themselves in a hole and having to make their way out of it once again. With an early second period goal for Colorado College, they looked to put North Dakota away and extend this to a third game Sunday night. However, about two and a half minutes after CC would go up 2-0, UND sophomore Drake Caggiula would find the twine and put North Dakota on the board.

As the clock would become the enemy of North Dakota in the third, coach Dave Hakstol would look for a late spark in his team, and who better to look to then your top line, the "Funky Bunch" line as I like to call them, of Drake Caggiula, Mark MacMillian, and Michael Parks. The line would combine for five points in the series opener, and with Caggiula already on the board in this one, why not?

With just under four minutes remaining in the third, MacMillian and Caggiula would factor in on Jordan Schmaltz's game tying goal and the Ralph would erupt. With the late goal, the fans, and the guys sitting on the bench would hope that momentum would shift in their favor heading into the overtime period.

Exactly seven minutes into the first overtime, the game would be over when CC freshman Alex Roos would find a hole and fire the puck past Zane Gothberg. This game would be just the second time in Gothberg's last 18 starts that he would allow three or more goals.

Tonight is a must win for UND if they look to make the tournament for a 12th straight season, and want to fight for the inaugural NCHC Frozen Face-Off championship.

Colorado College beats North Dakota in O.T.

Grand Forks, ND – A look at the calendar told us that March 15, 2014, wasn’t Ground Hog Day. Funny, it sure felt like it.  After giving the Colorado College Tigers a two-goal lead the night before, UND coughed up another two-goal lead again, a night later. Through two periods of play, UND looked like the team that had lost 23 games, not the Tigers.

The Tigers would get goals from Peter Stoykewich and Scott Wamsganz to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. UND would answer with a goal from Drake Caggiula. UND would go into the third period down 2-1.

In the third period, UND would finally get the game-tying goal from Jordan Schmaltz with just under four minutes left in regulation. Tigers forward Alex Roos ended UND’s hope of a series sweep with the game-winning goal at 7:00 mark of overtime, sending UND fans to the exits with an empty feeling.

They say it’s very hard to end another team’s season, even a team that’s lost 23-of-35 games.  Tonight, the Tigers proved that theory. For a second night in a row, the Tigers came out the gates hungrier than UND.

“We were a team that played like a team that wanted to continue the season, as long as they could,” Colorado College head coach Scott Owens said.  “I give them credit, when they get a couple of their lines up and going and get into a rhythm, they’re very hard to contain. I am very proud of our guys. On any given Sunday anything can happen. It happened for us last year. We’re aiming to stay out and head to Minneapolis.”

UND knew the Tigers would be gunning for them. After Friday night’s game sophomore forward Bryn Chyzyk alluded to this, “I know they’re going to be really hungry tomorrow because it’s tough to end a team’s season.”

For a second night in a row, UND started slow and then took the momentum, but couldn’t break through against senior goalie Josh Thorimbert who stopped 44-of-46 shots and improved to 7-22-6 with the win. UND goalie Zane Gothberg stopped 26-of-29 stops and dropped to 16-8-3 with the loss.

"I thought we built our game through the 60 minutes, head coach Dave Hakstol said. “We probably wanted a little bit better start. We didn’t give up a whole lot, but we didn’t generate a whole lot in the first 10 minutes of the hockey game.”

UND has been to the NCAA tourney 11 seasons in a row and with the loss to the Tigers sit at 15^th in the Pairwise Rankings. If UND doesn’t win this series, they would be hard pressed to make the NCAA tournament for a 12^th consecutive season in a row.

“Its do-or-die,” UND defenseman Jordan Schmaltz said. “If we win, we put ourselves in a good chance to get in the national tournament. If we don’t, we could see our season ending early.”
UND forward Stephane Pattyn also echoed those sentiments, “I think that should be our mentality. That’s the way they played tonight. I think we’re going to have to match that and maybe play harder.”

Tonight, there’s a lot at stake as UND (21-12-3) takes on Tigers (7-23-6) in a crucial game three match-up at 7:08 p.m. at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Interesting Stats

UND has lost the last three Saturday games and is 3-3-0 in their last six games.

Coming into tonight’s game, UND had a (1-8-1, .150) record when the opposition lead after two periods of play. The record took another hit, and dropped to (1-9-1, .136) with the 3-2 loss to the Tigers.

For just the second time in three months, UND goalie Zane Gothberg allowed more than two goals. Both times was against the C.C. Tigers

NCHC Playoffs: Friday Morning Links

Good morning… The NCHC Playoffs Started last night between Omaha and Denver. The Mavericks went 3-for-4 on the power-play and beat the University of Denver 4-3. The Mavericks wore down Denver with their speed. I am not much of a prediction person, never have been, but I predict that this series will be over tonight. Denver found out that it was costly to take penalties against Omaha.

I did watch the NCHC's free video from the game last night's game between Nebraska-Omaha and Denver and the quality was excellent. You can click on this link to view the game you want to see.

Tonight, UND begins their playoff series against the Colorado College Tigers. Last season, the Tigers ended UND’s string of Final Five championships at three by winning in overtime of the quarterfinals.

You can vote for Drake Caggiula’s goals on the NCHC web page. Click on this link to vote.

Apparently, there was some travel issues for the NCHC to deal with after the match-ups were set last Saturday.  

Tonight’s game between Miami and Saint Cloud State is on FSN+ (652-1 DirecTV). It doesn’t violate the NCHC's exclusivity agreement  with CBSSN because the game is on a regional network. Fox College Sports was on a national network.

As of last night, there were a good number of tickets left for this weekend's series.

Links

UND Hockey: Grand Forks Cousins make an Impact in First Season with UND

 NCAA Women’s Hockey: Is It Time to Tweak the Pairwise Rankings?

Nebraska-Omaha Takes Game One Over Denver

Hobey Watch, USCHO: The locks, the near-locks and those playing for spots among the Hobey finalists

 

Weekend Match-Ups, 1st Round NCHC games (by Donn)

Here we are the regular season has come to an end in the inaugural NCHC season.  The race for the Penrose Cup is over with SCSU claiming the first ever NCHC regular season title.  Now we are at the first round of playoffs, so let’s get it started in here.

FINAL NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T-SW………Points

St. Cloud St……………….15-6-3-0…………...48
North Dakota……………..15-9-0-0…..…….….45
Nebraska-Omaha………..13-9-2-1…..………..42
Minnesota-Duluth………..11-11-2-2….….……37
Western Michigan………..11-11-2-2…….……37
Denver……………………..10-11-3-2……….…35
Colorado College……….. ..6-13-5-1…….….…24
Miami………………………..6-17-1-1….…….….20

NCHC 1st Round Playoff Series

#21 Western Michigan @ #18 Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend the Broncos split with NoDak (2-0L, 2-1W) in Grand Forks and the Bulldogs split with UNO (8-2W, 4-1L) in Duluth.

Season series – UMD wins 3-1-0 – split in Duluth swept in Kalamazoo

Well with the teams tying in the standing, with identical records too, it make sense to predict a three game series.  These teams are evenly matched on paper, and similar on the ice. I’m giving my nod to the home team.  BULLDOGS IN 3

#27 Denver @ #26 Nebraska-Omaha (Thurs/Fri/Sun)

Last weekend the Pioneers split with the RedHawks (5-2W, 2-1L) in Denver and the Mavericks split with the Bulldogs (8-2L, 4-1W) in Duluth.

Season series – UNO wins 3-1-0 – swept in Denver and split in Omaha

This is short week for both teams with the series starting on Thursday.  DU was one win away from hosting a first round game, but could pull it off on Saturday night.  Can the Pioneers put last weekend behind them and focus on the Mavericks?  The Pioneers are 6-6-5 on the road, doesn’t get much more even than that, the Mavericks are 9-9-0 at home and 7-7-2 on the road… someone is going to end up with a losing there five hundred record.  MAVERICKS IN 3

#40 Miami @ #5 SCSU

Last weekend the RedHawks split with the Pioneers (5-2L, 2-1W) in Denver and the Huskies split swept CC (7-4, 4-1) in Colorado Springs.

Season series – tied 2-2-0 – splits in both Oxford and St. Cloud  

The RedHawks started the season the number one team in land, now they are 40^th in the pairwise rankings, and the Huskies are 5^th in the PWR.  The Huskies have only 8 loses all season, 6 in the NCHC and 2 are to Miami.  I think the Huskies will be ready when MU comes calling this weekend, but it wouldn’t surprise me if MU forced a three game series.  HUSKIES IN 2

#51 Colorado College @ #10 North Dakota

Last weekend NoDak split with the Broncos (2-0W, 2-1L) in Grand Forks and the Tigers were swept by SCSU (7-4, 4-1) in Colorado Springs.

Season series – UND wins 2-0-0 – UND swept in Grand Forks

The Tigers have been abysmal on the road this season, going 1-13-2 away from Colorado Springs.  CC is currently on a four game skid, after winning the previous three, they have given up 19 goals in those last four loses.  Look for UND to bring the pressure and score early and often, to keep the Tigers in their cage, so to speak.  NODAK IN 2

UND Hockey: Zane Gothberg NCHC Goaltender of the Week

UND goalie Zane Gothberg was again the NCHC's awarded the goaltender of the week, for a second time in a three-week period.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Zane Gothberg, North Dakota
Sophomore Goaltender
Thief River Falls, Minn.

Gothberg was strong in net all weekend against Western Michigan, allowing just two goals in a split with the Broncos. He posted a 1.01 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage in the series, while making 40 saves on 42 shots. On Friday, Gothberg pitched his second career shutout, both coming in his last six games, as he stopped all 18 shots in a 2-0 win, while helping kill all four WMU power plays. He was named the game’s third star for his efforts. On Saturday, the Boston Bruins prospect totaled 22 saves in a 2-1 loss while not allowing an even strength goal.  Gothberg helped UND end the weekend 7-for-8 on the penalty kill and also finished the NCHC regular season with a 2.26 GAA in conference play, which led all goaltenders. He has now claimed NCHC Goaltender of the Week three times this season.

 

UND Hockey: Finding the silver lining in a Penrose-less day

Obviously, the UND hockey team is known for its second half surges. This season’s second half surge was the fifth best of Dave Hakstol’s coaching tenure at UND. Looking at the schedule and the results, I think it’s safe to say that on November 30, 2013, this season’s second half surge commenced.

While many of us are disappointed that UND didn’t win last night. There are many things to be excited about as well. This loss didn’t sit well with the players either.

I don’t know if anyone thought this team would own an  20-11-3 record after starting the season 4-7-2. I think this team might have actually exceeded expectations.

Since November 30, 2013, UND is averaging 3.25 goals per game and giving up 2.06 goals against per game.

After the rough start, I didn’t think that they would end up in second place of the NCHC standings. Nonetheless, the loss last night is kind of disappointing. The focus of the team now turns to getting a green banner.  

I think it’s safe to say that this team transformed from a hockey team finding its way, to a team that’s a threat to win a league playoff title and an NCAA title. What happens to them, will determined in the next few weeks.  

During that time, sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg is 13-2-1 with a .935 save percentage and a 1.63 goals against average. It’s hard to believe that Gothberg started the season off with a 2-5-2 record.

Speaking of Gotberg, he won the NCHC GAA title (2.26).  He beat out he beat out Ryan Massa (2.27). He was also tied for second with Lukas Hafner from Western Michigan in save percentage (.924).

Breaking down the numbers: After Saturday night’s game, UND is now 1-9-2 (.167) in games when they score two or fewer goals.

UND is 11-0-0 when they score four or more goals.

UND is 8-10-3 when they scored three or more goals.

UND is 6-7-1 when the opponent scores first.

When UND leads after the first period, they have a 11-1-1 record.

When UND leads after the second period, they have a 15-1-0 record.

When UND is behind after two periods, they have 1-8-0 record

When the opposition leads after the first period, UND has a 6-7-1 record.

UND is 6-6-0 against Nationally Ranked Opponents.

I don’t know what to make of this stat… UND is 6-0-0 on CBSSN.

Playoff Hockey is here

NCHC first round

No. 8 Miami (12-19-3) – PWR 40 at No. 1 St. Cloud State (21-8-5) – PWR 5

No. 7 Colorado College (6-22-6) – PWR 51 at No. 2 North Dakota (20-11-3) – PWR 10

No. 6 Denver (16-14-6) – PWR 26 at No. 3 Nebraska Omaha (16-16-2) – PWR 34

No. 5 Western Michigan (17-14-5) – PWR 21 at No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth (16-14-4) – PWR  19

The NCHC Playoff bracket is set. predictions and thoughts.

Saturday Morning Pontifications: Is there a Penrose Trophy in the Future?

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.

NCHC Hockey: Going down to the Wire

North Dakota	NoDak	42	22	14	8	0	0	0.636	73	61	32	19	10	3	0.641	101	84
St. Cloud State	SCSU	42	22	13	6	3	0	0.659	76	59	32	19	8	5	0.672	114	86
Nebraska Omaha	UNO	39	22	12	8	2	1	0.591	76	60	32	15	15	2	0.500	106	101
Minnesota Duluth	UMD	34	22	10	10	2	2	0.500	60	64	32	15	13	4	0.531	90	91
Western Michigan	WMU	34	22	10	10	2	2	0.500	64	66	34	16	13	5	0.544	91	89
Denver	DU	32	22	9	10	3	2	0.477	54	54	34	15	13	6	0.529	86	77
Colorado College	CC	24	22	6	11	5	1	0.386	47	64	32	6	20	6	0.281	61	100
Miami	MIAMI	17	22	5	16	1	1	0.250	52	74	32	11	18	3	0.391	92	98

 I guess we should take a look at the standings. This is definitely going down to the wire this season. Three teams (UND, SCSU, UNO) have a chance to finish first overall. Tiger’s beat writer Joe Pasiley has the procedures for breaking ties on his blog. This is what happens if teams tie in standings of the NCHC. So, if UND and SCSU win out, UND gets the tie breaker.

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.