When the national Collegiate Hockey Conference was formed prior to the 2013-2014 season, all eight-member teams knew they’d be up against some stiff competition. Having gone through one season already, it came as no surprise that the first weekend of league play for the UMD men’s hockey team would not be an easy one. “It’s tough, it’s hard,” head coach Scott Sandelin said. “That’s how games are in this league.”
One concern is the young season has been the slow start. The Bulldogs struggled to gain an early lead again last weekend as they fell behind 33 seconds in to Friday’s matchup. Even though they finished with a 6-1 win Saturday, it took more than 25 minutes to start scoring. While the team was pleased with their play overall during the second matchup, they know they need to figure it out—and fast.
“We keep emphasizing quick starts and they’re not there right now, so we have to keep working,” forward Dominic Toninato said. “It’s what gets the game going and gets the momentum going. You don’t want to be falling behind early.”
With the first weekend of league play under their belts, the Bulldogs take on the University of Miami Ohio next weekend—another difficult NCHC opponent. Currently, the RedHawks own a 4-2-0 record, but they have yet to face off against a conference opponent. After coming in dead last in the conference standings last season, they still ended up make a run to the NCHC Frozen Face Off. This year, they are projected to end up as the second seed in the NCHC Preseason Poll.
In order for UMD to do well against Miami Ohio—and every other NCHC opponent they’ll face—the team knows how important having scoring depth is, something that was a slight concern coming into the season. This Saturday, however, UMD saw scoring from all four lines and 12 different skaters.
They not only saw scoring from multiple lines; everyone from seasoned veterans to newcomers created offense. Freshman Karson Kuhlman scored on a short-handed breakaway that sparked an offensive explosion ending in sex straight goals.
“It was nice to get the first goal instead of going down,” Kuhlman said. “After that, the flood gates opened up and that was great to see.”
A notable piece of every team’s puzzle is goaltending. Coach Sandelin mentioned before the season started that he would prefer to have a solid starting net minder as opposed to splitting time between two, it appears he may have found him. Kasimir Kaskisuo played in both games this weekend and looked comfortable between the pipes. While Sandelin hasn’t officially made a decision on the matter, he did give the Vantaa, Finland, native both nights as opposed to splitting the games up like he did the previous two weekends.
“I didn’t think it was the big of a decision actually,” Sandelin said after Saturday’s victory. “I thought (Kaskisuo) made some saves to keep it 0-0 for us to start tonight. It was tough to see them get the goal, but I thought he played really well. I felt it was a good opportunity for him.”
BY NICOLE BRODZIK Sports Editor