November 4, 2010
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Top Dogs
Scoring Trio Sparks Minnesota-Duluth's Frozen Four Quest
by Justin Magill/CHN Reporter
Jack Connolly
Undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the nation, Minnesota-Duluth is on the right track in the early stages of the season.
The bulk of that success stems from the play of its dynamic top line. Jack Connolly and Mike Connolly (unrelated), and Justin Fontaine, are the top forwards for the Bulldogs and they have a bit of a bite going on thus far.
Mike leads the team with 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) and is fourth in point production in the nation. His linemates Jack (3 goals, 9 assists) and Fontaine (4 goals, 8 assists) are right behind him with 12 points. They're a big reason the Bulldogs have legitimate Frozen Four aspirations, and average 4.85 goals a game, one of the country’s most prolific attacks.
“Coaches look to us to lead the team,” Jack said. “They tell us the team goes as we go. We know that, too. It’s up to us to step up and lead this team and we have a pretty good one this year.”
UMD will begin a tough stretch beginning this weekend when it visits North Dakota. During the next month, it will also travel to Wisconsin, host Denver and take to the road again to Minneapolis. For the Bulldogs' top line, it was not only imperative for them to get off to a hot start individually, but get some confidence heading into the meat of their schedule.
“It doesn’t get easy,” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said. “We have had some other guys step up and do some good things for us. Our top line, that is why we put them together. They get things going for us.”
Sandelin said there could be times when he switches the Connollys and Fontaine up, but secondary scoring has been so prevalent with the likes of freshman J.T. Brown and junior Travis Oleksuk, that one of the nation’s premier line combinations gets to stay intact and create havoc on its opposition.
Another reason Sandelin may be wise not to mix up his star-studded trio is because they have become so familiar with each other having played together for the most part of two years.
The three played most of the 2009-10 season together and all eclipsed the 40-point mark, with Jack leading the way with 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists), Fontaine right behind (21-25—46) and Mike third (14-26—40). Through eight games, all are on pace once again to reach those numbers.
“They are fun to watch and extremely skilled,” Sandelin said. “They possess the puck so well, just wish they would shoot a little more, but they do everything so well. The chemistry each of them has is good and it works for our team.”
Most of last season and so far in 2010, the spark is still there and has not missed a beat.
“We read and react well together,” Fontaine said. “When you play together so long, good things can happen. You develop chemistry with your linemates when you play long enough with each other.”
“Playing with those guys makes things easy,” Jack added, “and a lot more fun, too. Everything we do from give-and-gos to one-timers, it just happens so naturally.”
The trio is a veteran group — unlike other programs, UMD has been stable recently with its roster. That more than anything helps a program like UMD in its quest for its first national title.
“A lot of teams look to upperclassmen for help,” Jack said. “We have that here and it has helped us in becoming one of the better teams. It can be difficult for teams with a lot of freshmen and sophomores to handle the roles of a leader.”
Sandelin has put the team on his Top Dogs' shoulders and gives a lot of responsibility to the three to get things going.
“It’s a challenge, but a good one for us,” Fontaine said. “It’s up to us to get everyone going for the game when we start.”
All of this is happening at an exciting time for the program, with the new AMSOIL Arena set to open Dec. 30 against North Dakota.
“Personally, I am really excited about it,” Jack said. “I grew up in Duluth, watched a lot of games at the DECC. It will be missed with all the memories and traditions, but I guess we have to start some new ones at the new rink.”