Game Gab - Nightly Post-Game Analysis
Come here after the games for analysis and insights from CHN Staff members.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Michigan Tech 2, North Dakota 1 - Saturday, March 16, 2013
10th-seeded Michigan Tech used a late goal from fourth line freshman wing C.J. Eick with 2:02 left in the game to win and force a Game 3. It snaps North Dakota's 14-game WCHA playoff winning streak. Eick raced up right wing, got UND goalie Clarke Saunders to lean a shade to his right, then flipped a backhander high past him on the short side for the winning goal. "I was trying to take it wide and get the puck on net," Eick said. "Ryan Furne made a great pass to put me on, I wouldn't say a breakaway, but I had a little step on them. ... I think he (Saunders) was making the read I was going to cut to the far post, so he leaned and I tried to tuck it short side." His goal came about 30 seconds after UND freshman star Rocco Grimaldi had a similar rush at Tech goalie Phoenix Copley, but slid his shot wide.
"I'm ecstatic. We have a new breed of Huskies. I hope North Dakota knows that tonight," Michigan Tech coach Mel Pearson said on radio after the game. "We have everything we need for success tomorrow. ... Time to shock the WCHA world."
Michigan Tech goalie Phoenix Copley had lost his previous four starts and given up 19 goals in those games, but he was superb tonight. "It was a hard-fought playoff game," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We came up one goal short. We battled hard. It was kind of an up-and-down first period, I thought they carried the momentum in the second period and we had a good push throughout the third. But it wasn't enough."
Friday, March 15, 2013
North Dakota 5, Michigan Tech 3 - Friday, March 15, 2013
Michigan Tech put up a strong fight, outshooting North Dakota, 34-24. But the skill of North Dakota won out in the end, including the game's third goal from Danny Kristo. "I thought we played very average tonight," Kristo said. "We didn't do the things we need to do to keep playing this time of the year, but we're going to move on and forget about this one." Freshman goalie Zane Gothberg finished with 31 saves for UND, but gave up two soft goals, including one from center ice at 15:14 of the third period by Tech defenseman Riley Sweeney that chopped UND's lead to 4-3. But Kristo scored 58 seconds later to make it 5-3, banking in a rebound off a Tech player from a sharp angle for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Minnesota State 2, North Dakota 1 - Saturday, March 9, 2013
Freshman forward Brett Knowles has five goals this season, but two of them now are huge OT game winners -- one previously against Minnesota, and now this one. The teams split the weekend, which was enough to give Minnesota State a home-ice bid for the playoffs, with an opponent still to be determined. The loss prevented North Dakota from sharing the MacNaughton Cup with St. Cloud and Minnesota. ND will be the third seed and host Michigan Tech next week.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
North Dakota 6, Denver 1 - Saturday, February 23, 2013
North Dakota gets the split. After losing a close on Friday, ND throttles Denver in the rematch to move within one point of second-place Minnesota with two weekends remaining. Denver, meanwhile, winds up the weekend in a tie for the final home-ice spot in the WCHA with idle Wisconsin. Nobody was happy on North Dakota with Friday's 5-4 loss, in which it gave up 41 shots and Zane Gothberg was pulled early in the second period. Saturday, Clarke Saunders got the start and the defense held Denver to a more reasonable 29 shots. Denver actually scored first, but Danny Kristo (20), Carter Rowney (8) and Rocco Grimaldi responded for a 3-1 lead after one, and that was it.
"Obviously a big bounce-back win after last night," forward Mark MacMillan said. "Last night wasn't good enough. We came out today and special teams were great, and that's what you need to do this time of year to win games." ... said UND coach Dave Hakstol: "It was a game with so much specialty teams play that there were a lot of guys that didn't get a lot of minutes. The difference from last night is every time we had guys on the ice, they were contributing in one way or another. That was what I thought we were missing in last night's game."
Juho Olkinuora played brilliant for Denver in net Friday, but was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots in favor of Sam Brittain. It was a chippy game throughout, and then Denver really got frustrated late, as defenseman Scott Mayfield took 14 minutes in penalties with nine seconds left.
"No matter who's playing in net you're going to try getting pucks and bodies to the net," said MacMillan. "He's been phenomenal against us all year. The more you go to the net on a goalie the more you're going to get to him and today we just happened to get to him."
Saturday, February 9, 2013
North Dakota 5, Nebraska-Omaha 2 - Saturday, February 9, 2013
North Dakota played great all weekend and earned a two-game sweep. It has lost only three times in the last 17 games, and is firmly in second place now in the WCHA.
However, the real talk of the weekend is the outdoor game that ... well, did not go off smoothly. Outdoor games are still fun and worth getting excited about, and of course these teams, and the city of Omaha was rightfully looking forward to it ever since it was announced. But Sunday's game -- played at the baseball stadium where the College World Series is held -- had issues from the get go. There was rain during the week and it was a bit too warm Sunday. And then the ice ran into more problems following the early USHL game. The start time for UNO-North Dakota was pushed back from the afternoon, ultimately getting started around 6:30 ET. Adding insult to injury for UNO, swarms of North Dakota fans came down and overwhelmed the Mavericks fans in the stadium, making for a quite unique atmosphere.
“The ice conditions were a factor, no question,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol told the Omaha World-Herald. “And I thought that if one team was lucky enough to jump out to a lead that it was going to be a significant difference in the game. Luckily for us, it was us.”
The event was actually run by the Omaha Sports Commission, not Nebraska-Omaha, but it was still a rough weekend -- all-around -- for UNO.
As for this game itself, goals from Corban Knight (13) and Danny Kristo (18) for North Dakota, easily offset two from UNO's high scorers, Josh Archibald (16) and Dominic Zombo (10). UNO goaltender John Faulkner was pulled in favor of Dayn Belfour. The son of NHL standout -- and North Dakota alum -- Ed Belfour, Dayn hadn't played this season until Anthony Stolarz left the program. Belfour finally got a start in Friday's loss to North Dakota and played well.
“The one thing you can't correct is that if your team doesn't have heart and character, you'll never make a run at it," UNO coach Dean Blais told the Herald. "But I don't see that as a problem on our team. I see a lot of pride. They could have just turned it in and just went through the motions, but they didn't. They battled back, and it really could have turned.”
Saturday, February 2, 2013
North Dakota 4, Wisconsin 1 - Saturday, February 2, 2013
UND snapped its longest winless streak (5 games) in 10 years with the victory and handed the Badgers their first WCHA loss in their last 12 games (7-1-4). Power-play goals by sophomore center Mark MacMillan just 45 seconds into the game and a sensational backdoor cut by senior defenseman Joe Gleason to knock home a perfect feed from senior center Corban Knight at 13:24 stimulated an ovation from the fans. Sophomore right wing Michael Parks scored twice in the second period for his first career two-goal game to build North Dakota's cushion to 4-0. Despite a late miscue playing the puck, North Dakota goalie Zane Gothberg was impressive for the second straight game. He stopped 21 of 22 shots Saturday and 50 of 52 for the weekend after Friday's 1-1 tie. ... "I think everybody looks to the first power-play goal as a key part of the game, which it was, but also the following penalty kill was critical," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "Those guys did a very good job through the weekend."
Parks, who missed 18 of UND's first 19 games with injuries, showed how much he can contribute offensively when healthy. His goals were his fourth and fifth in 11 games after he tallied 12 his rookie season. "We wanted to come out and have a really good baseline game," Parks said, "and let our hard work gets us the goals. I think all four lines did that. Everyone contributed to the win."
Saturday, January 26, 2013
St. Cloud State 2, North Dakota 2 - Saturday, January 26, 2013
St. Cloud State followed up its rout of North Dakota on Friday, with a tie that kept the Huskies in first place all alone in the WCHA, and kept their hot streak alive. Meanwhile, North Dakota gets just one point for the second straight weekend, getting a tie one night after being outshot 33-15 in a game some players called "embarrassing." UND coach Dave Hakstol changed the line combinations on three of his four lines, the pairings on two of his three defensive units and switched the starting goalie as well. "Biggest change was our intensity and effort for the entire 65 minutes,'' Hakstol said. "Regardless of what the line combinations or D pairs are, if you play that hard night in and night out, you're going to win the majority of hockey games that we play." ... The tie wasn't what Hakstol wanted, though. "In terms of our team play, our performance and effort, I feel good about that," Hakstol said. "But to come away with one point, it's hard to feel good about anything."
St. Cloud's Jonny Brodzinski hit the goal post early in the third period that would've been the game winner. ... Said North Dakota's Corban Knight, "We left a point out there on Saturday night in a home game, so I don't think anybody's satisfied in that room right now. Definitely something's that pretty frustrating right now."
Saturday, January 19, 2013
North Dakota 4, Minnesota 4 - Saturday, January 19, 2013
Minnesota blitzed North Dakota pretty good on Friday, putting a real stamp on what's been a strong season so far for the Gophers. Minnesota keeps getting big win after big win, and are really, truly "back" as far as being a national threat. Obviously the Gophers were back last year, making the Frozen Four, but this really feels like a program that is completely back, as in consistently again. And perhaps the biggest reason this year is that freshman Adam Wilcox has been a huge find, and has been great right out of the chute. Even in the national title years of last decade, Minnesota didn't have this kind of goaltending.
Of course, it's been much-discussed that this series was the final one as members of the WCHA, unless they meet in the playoffs. The teams will be in separate new conferences next year, and Minnesota coach Don Lucia has so far balked at scheduling North Dakota for non-league games, at least over the next three years. Whatever his reasons, fact remains that a storied, passionate, sometimes overly-intense rivalry will be put on the backburner for a while, and it's a shame.
It was all on display this weekend, and Saturday, North Dakota bounced back with a more complete effort, and showed it wasn't going to go away quietly. Big names like Kristo, Grimaldi and Knight scored as ND took a 4-2 lead. But Minnesota made the home crowd go wild, coming back to tie, starting with Nick Bjugstad's 13th of the season. "(It's a) hard-fought battle," North Dakota's Rocco Grimaldi said. "It feels like playoff hockey every time you play (Minnesota). I can't even describe it, it's a whole new level out there. ... Today might sting even worse than yesterday, having a two-goal lead, but the season's still going on and we're still getting better every day."
North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said: "I thought we played a solid game. It's disappointing obviously to let up a 2-goal lead in the last 10 minutes. We got tangled up on the third goal. But I thought we came back off last night and played a more complete 60 minutes. ... They're a good team. They make plays. They're a big, strong team down low, you have to work to maintain them and control the scrums. ... I think we took a step forward. I saw a lot of things from young guys that I liked. ... Drake (Caggiula) is one of them. We've seen flashes. We're starting to see it more consistently."
North Dakota goes right back in the fire next week, playing at home against St. Cloud, which is tied for first.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Saturday, December 8, 2012
North Dakota 6, Denver 3 - Saturday, December 8, 2012
Denver was No. 2 in the country not that long ago, but has now gone winless in six straight games, with a tie and loss this weekend in Grand Forks, its longest such streak since 1999-2000. Friday was a hard-fought game in which Juho Olkinuora made 31 saves. Saturday, Denver went to Sam Brittain, and Brittain was not able to hold the fort as well. North Dakota heavily outshot Denver both nights, but capitalized better on Saturday.
Carter Rowney had three goals on the weekend, including two in Saturday's win; while Rocco Grimaldi, who made some dazzling plays only to fall short of a game winner Friday, had four points Saturday, making more dazzling plays along the way.
North Dakota was cruising with a 4-1 lead and outshooting Denver 22-9 late in the second period until sophomore wing Dan Senkbeil drew a 5-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind. Denver scored two goals in 17 seconds in the first minute of the 5-minute major to draw within 4-3 on goals by Ty Loney and Joey LaLeggia. UND regrouped and iced it with goals by Danny Kristo and Corban Knight (High River, Alberta) at 19:00 of the closing period to lock up the win. "Past couple of weekends, I was having my chances, but they weren't going in the back of the net," Rowney said. "Friday night, I kind of got a greasy one, but I felt like I got a monkey off my back. Today, I was lucky enough they started rolling in bunches."
Said Grimaldi, "Obviously that was a little bit of a bending for us, but we didn't break. The guys in the (dressing) room, we stick together through thick and thin. I went over to Senks (Senkbeil) before the third, and said, 'you know what, we're going to play for you. We got you. The team took the penalty, not you. That's on us. We're going to win this game for you.'"
Saturday, November 17, 2012
North Dakota 4, Minnesota-Duluth 3 - Saturday, November 17, 2012
Danny Kristo slid a backhand pass to Mark MacMillian, who one-timed the pass for the game-winning goal with 34 seconds left in overtime. Kristo had capped a three-way passing play with senior center Corban Knight for the game-tying goal at 5:53 of the third period. His feed on that play set up MacMillian. MacMillan was just moved to the line with Kristo and Knight tonight. It proved to be a magical formula, leading UND to its first Saturday night win in five tries. There was also a second-period fracas, which you can see in the video. ... "We had a game plan right from the start, maybe we didn't execute that so well in the first period," MacMillan said. "After the first intermission, our goal was to win the second and third, then if we needed to, win in overtime, and that's exactly what we did."
Saturday, November 10, 2012
St. Cloud State 5, North Dakota 2 - Saturday, November 10, 2012
North Dakota's pattern of winning Friday and losing Saturday continues on. St. Cloud State captain Drew LeBlanc had two goals and an assist in the win. Friday, Clarke Saunders got the better of Huskies goalie Ryan Faragher, picking up the 3-0 shutout win. Saunders wasn't as sharp Saturday, stopping 32 of 37 shots. ... The game turned after North Dakota freshman Jordan Schmaltz was given a 5-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind. UND was able to successfully kill it, but just seconds after the penalty expired, LeBlanc scored his first of two goals to put the Huskies up 2-1. ... "We played a solid first period. I thought after the five-minute major kill, we just got away from our game," North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. "Instead of supporting the puck, and a short pass game, we got stretched out. We turned a lot of pucks over at the offensive blue line. We were one-and-done in a lot of different situations. That's not the way we're going to be successful. ... I think you saw heavy legs. I don't think we moved the puck out of our zone very well and that was part of it. But that's not something we make an excuse for. We've played through those situations before and we've done a good job of it. We just couldn't get ourselves back on track tonight."
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Boston University 4, North Dakota 2 - Saturday, November 3, 2012
BU coach Jack Parker gave freshman goaltender Sean Maguire another chance to start Friday, after a bad first start. He was OK in the loss. But Saturday, it was back to fellow freshman Matt O'Connor, who was Hockey East Rookie of the Month for October, and that made a big difference. It's clear it's his job now, though Maguire may get worked in still here and there for a bit. A couple off other freshmen, Matt Lane and Danny O'Regan, scored late goals to give BU the split. See the full story.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Alaska-Anchorage 3, North Dakota 3 - Saturday, October 27, 2012
North Dakota defenseman Derek Forbort struck gold with a desperate play, with his team trailing Alaska Anchorage 3-2 and time running out. His flip shot from the left point at 18:52 of the third period hit the glove of an Anchorage player and deflected into the net. "I got a rolling puck back at the point and I just threw it toward the net," Forbort said. "I think it went off Corban Knight. I don't think I scored that one." After a lengthy video review of the goal, officials determined the puck hit an Anchorage player, and not Knight's high stick. The goal was good.
Freshman Rocco Grimaldi nearly won it for North Dakota in overtime. He brought the crowd of 11,581 to its feet roaring with a lightning-like dash down left wing when he blew past the Anchorage defenseman. Anchorage goalie Rob Gunderson slid down to stuff Grimaldi at the net to stop that electrifying moment. "I thought I had him (defenseman) beat there, so I tried to turn the jets on and beat him wide and drive it into the net whether it's through the goalie or whatever," Grimaldi said.
"I thought it took us 20 to 30 minutes to work our way in," North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. "They (Anchorage) were tenacious through the 60 minutes. We gave the lead away in the third period, which put us in a pretty tough spot. We found a way to come back and salvage a point."
UND has a pair of interesting, and big, games next weekend when it hosts Boston University.
North Dakota 6, Michigan Tech 0 - Sunday, March 17, 2013
North Dakota delivered one of its most complete games of the season to eliminate Michigan Tech. North Dakota will face Colorado College in the Final Five play-in game on Thursday. This marks the 11th straight year UND -- winners of the last three WCHA tournament titles -- has advanced to the Final Five, tying the league record for longest streak set by Minnesota (1999-2009). Goalies Clarke Saunders (27 stops) and senior Tate Maris (1) combined for the shutout. Maris, who played the last 4:02 of the game, saw his first varsity action in his four years and entered to a thunderous ovation from the fans.
"I thought the level of play was our most complete of the year, without a question," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We played at a playoff level for three periods. That started right from the drop of the (opening) puck." UND ran away with the game with an explosive four-goal second period, the most goals in a single period for UND since they scored four against Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 28. "Sometimes you can score the first goal in a game and maybe not deserve it," Hakstol said. "We deserved it tonight and we kept our foot on the gas after we got the first one."
Maris, much loved by his teammates, got a chance to play in goal for UND. "Easy decision," Hakstol said. "It means an awful lot to the guys in that locker room. He (Maris) means a ton to our program. He's earned a helluva lot more minutes than four over his time here." Maris, a walk-on from Denver, Colo., has practiced with the team every day, but never got into an actual game -- until now. "It's kind of indescribable," Maris said. "I guess I'm at a loss of words for it. It's kind of four years pushed into four minutes right there at the end. It's pretty surreal, to say the least."
Michigan Tech hopes it laid a foundation for the future. "It's a program we'd like to become in a lot of ways," Tech coach Mel Pearson said on his post-game show. "We'll get there. It's a tough night to look at all the accomplishments, but our program is growing and heading in the right direction. ... (The future) starts now and we have to get better. We can't be satisfied just accomplishing things here and there."
Box