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Down the stretch, as in the playoffs against Miami of Ohio, UMD’s offense was ignited by senior linemates Dom Toninato (left) and Alex Iafallo (14). Photo credit: John Gilbert

We’re hustling to get this week’s Reader out in time, so we can properly discuss UMD’s quest for the NCAA men’s hockey Frozen Four championship — and the Bulldogs take on Harvard in a 5 p.m. game on Thursday in the first semifinal.
We’ve all been careful to not be too optimistic about the Bulldogs winning their second NCAA title ever, but it is time we quit recalling the wondrous playoff term of 2010-11 when UMD won its only national title in men’s hockey.
Those who weren’t here at that memorable stretch, or who didn’t witness UMD’s fantastic play to beat Notre Dame 4-3 in the semifinals and Michigan 3-2 in the championship game at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul — and even some of those who watched it all first-hand -- tend to make that one more glorious than it really was.

Without a doubt, it was the highlight of UMD’s long and illustrious hockey history, but short memories might forget that the Bulldogs were not exactly sizzling through the stretch run of the spring of 2011. They had started that season sizzling, with an 11-1-2 launch. They flattened out a little, as the goaltending became inconsistent, even while the likes of Hobey Baker winner Jack Connolly and his non-relative namesake Mike Connolly kept scoring inspirational goals.

But on February 11, 2011, St. Cloud State inflicted an 8-2 setback on UMD, and the teams tied 3-3 the next night. MSU-Mankato stung UMD 3-1 next, before UMD won 6-2. Colorado College beat UMD 5-4 and the teams tied 3-3, and the Bulldogs, trying to regain their momentum, seemed to do that in a 4-1 victory over Nebraska-Omaha, only to lost 5-2 to the Mavericks in the rematch.

That meant the Bulldogs were in a 3-5-2 slide that threatened to cut short all the hope of such a strong season. Another bright spot came when UMD ended the regular schedule with a 4-2, 3-2 payback sweep over St. Cloud State, although a 5-5-2 stretch drive was nothing to boast about.
Then came a stunning 3-2 playoff loss to Bemidji State, which knocked the Bulldogs out of a shot at the league playoff title. Instead, they stayed home and suffered, although it also provided a rest that they didn’t even know they needed. The loss to Bemidji dropped UMD far enough in the pairwise ranking that they still made the NCAA’s 16-team field, but they were sent out east for regional play.

As the team left, I had a good conversation with coach Scott Sandelin, and asked him what he thought the team needed most to succeed in the regional. Scott shrugged and said: “Well, we could use a little goaltending!”
True, Sandelin had altered his alternating goalie plan and decided to go with Kenny Reiter when the Bulldogs faced an explosive Union outfit in the regional. There was no reason for particular confidence in Reiter’s play, but he suddenly became invincible and UMD won 2-0 on power-play goals by Kyle Schmidt and Justin Fontaine, and Reiter’s shutout.

That sent UMD against Yale, and Reiter again was strong as UIMD built a whopping 5-1 lead after two periods. Yale got two power-play goals in the third and it ended 5-3, but UMD was heading for the Frozen Four. In Saint Paul, Reiter stayed hot and UMD beat Notre Dame 4-3. Then came a powerful Michigan outfit, and Reiter did it again, winning 3-2 when Schmidt, the kid from Hermantown, scored the game-winner in overtime and immediately took off down the ice sheet, dropping on his back to do a sliding snow angel of celebration, before getting buried under an avalanche of teammates.

By then, Reiter was riding a wave of his own success. Outshot 34-21? Didn’t matter. UMD, after finishing 5-6-2, had come to life to win all four games in the regional and national tournaments to win the only men’s side championship banner, hanging in AMSOIL Arena.
By comparison, that team was magical in its final burst of success, but nobody will call those Bulldogs the best team in the country. They were the team that got the hottest at the right time and won it all.
This year’s Bulldogs are by far better equipped to win the national title. They battled powerful Denver throughout the season for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference title, and fell short by about the margin of losing a point here and there by winning shootout victories, instead of claiming the extra points in regulation time.

But the Bulldogs came back from that runner-up slot to win the NCHC playoffs for the first time, at Target Center, with a memorable overtime victory over North Dakota. Then they won the West Regional by winning a pair of overtime games, against Ohio State and Boston University.
This team went into this week’s Harvard game in the NCAA semifinals with something still to prove. I think Alex Iafallo should have been the Hobey Baker winner, but he wasn’t even among the 10 finalists. He was player of the year in the NCHC, and he leads the Bulldogs in goals with 19, in assists with 30, and in points, with 49. He also is a plus-20. Adam Johnson is second in goals and points with 18-20--38, while Iafallo’s linemate and fellow-senior Dominic Toninato is third in goals with 16 and is a plus-24. Freshman Joey Anderson, the other member of the top line, is 11-22--33. On a team with great balance rather than a go-to scorer, Iafallo and Toninato have been the go-to scorers down the stretch.

A strong and veteran defense, led by five seniors — if Brandon Soucy can play — and highly skilled sophomore Neal Pionk and freshman Nick Wolff, I think the defense will be the strong point UMD can depend on in the tournament.
There is no doubt they can count on freshman goaltender Hunter Miska, who has become as good a goaltender as there is in the nation, and carries a 2.21 goals-against and .919 save percentage to Chicago.
Overall, the closest match you can find is the mid-1980s teams of Bill Watson, Tom Kurvers, Norm Maciver, Brett Hull, and that illustrious cast of characters. While we might agree that this team is far and away the best team UMD has ever put on the ice, we also must acknowledge that it guarantees the Bulldogs exactly nothing! That’s why they play the games.