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Dom Toninato, last year’s UMD captain, wore a Colorado jersey as he battled Wild captain Mikko Koivlu for a faceoff at Xcel Center. Photo credit: John Gilbert

The problem with NHL exhibition games is that you may pay good money to attend, only to find out that two-thirds of your team’s regulars are sitting out the particular game you chose. The good news, however, is that you’re watching hockey - never a bad thing.
 My wife, Joan, and I attended last Saturday night’s game at Xcel Center in Saint Paul, and we enjoyed the Wild’s 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. True, a lot of the Wild stars didn’t play, but a worthy mix of veterans and younger prospects gave us a good look at why the Wild will be better than even last season’s stellar team. Eric Staal, who might have been the team’s most consistently dangerous forward, set up Mikhail Granlund for the first goal, and Granlund passed across to Matt Dumba for the second, while Devan Dubnyk stood firm in goal with 28 saves.

Meanwhile, wearing Avalanche white, there was No. 47 out there going at it against Mikko Koivu at center, battling on faceoffs, covering his check, hustling to the action and throwing his body around effectively. It was Dominic Toninato, former Duluth East star by way of the UMD Bulldogs, acquitting himself very well for Colorado. The next night, the teams played again in Colorado and the Avalanche prevailed 5-1. But exhibition results matter less than how players perform.

Former UMD goaltender Alex Stalock, newly acquired by the Wild, shut out Winnipeg in Winnipeg last week in what could solidify his status as Dubnyk’s backup. Saturday was quite a day for us. First, it was my distinct honor to attend the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association function at Roy Wilkins Auditorium next door, where the coaches group inducted George Nemanich of Red Wing, Russ Welch of Hastings, Dave Swanberg of LeSeuer=St. Peter, and Wayne Orn of Stillwater into their hall of fame.

Lorne Grosso, just retired as Rochester Mayo coach, was given the Cliff Thompson Award for long-term contributions to high school hockey; the late Pat Forte was honored with the Dave Peterson Award for developing youth hockey in various state areas; Duluth native Mike MacMillan was pressented the Bruce Johnson Award for contributions while being a director of the association; and I was honored to receive the Oscar Almquist Award for helping advance the sport of hockey and its players and coaches. 

That was particularly meaningful to me, because when I started my career as a sportswriter, I covered some games that involved Roseau teams coached by Almquist, and years later, when I coached summer-league college age players at Roseville Arena, I coached Tom Almquist, who was Oscar’s grandson, and who had played with my son, Jack, with the original Junior Stars.

A few words of gratitude from John Gilbert after receiving the Oscar Almquist Award from the MinnesotaHockey Coaches Association. Photo credit: Joan Gilbert

The last month has been special, because a month ago I was inducted into the Minnesota Senior Men’s Baseball Hall of Fame, after managing and playing for the Shoreview Hawks for 32 years in the 35-and-over league that has grown to be so successful in the Twin Cities and primarily down the Minnesota River Valley. 

That plaque, and the Oscar Almquist Award are crowding the wall in my home office, where the plaque commemmorating the 2010 Jim Fullerton Award, for a career spent striving to maintain the positive direction of college hockey. In addition, there is the 2003 trophy I was given when inducted into the State High School Coaches Hall of Fame.

It’s all pretty overwhelming, and I owe a huge thank-you to the hockey players, coaches and fans who made it all possible for the last 50 years. Chasing down the best hockey stories I could find, I was having a great time, proving that if you love what you do, it’s not work. But it is incredibly gratifying, and truly humbling, to find that people whose lives those stories might have touched appreciated it so much they made such an award possible.

UMD Hockey Teams Open

After the heavy losses to graduation and early departures hit both the UMD men’s and women’s hockey teams, I’ve spent considerable time since the end of last season wondering how long it will take the new edition of the Bulldogs to rebuild up to contending situations.

I was impressed when the UMD women were picked third in preseason picks by coaches and league observers, behind the co-favorite powers Minnesota and Wisconsin, or Wisconsin and Minnesota, whichever you prefer.The reality, of course, is that North Dakota dropped women’s hockey, which leaves UMD as the only logical pick to be a top contender for the Gophers and Badgers.

This will be an intriguing and challenging year for UMD coach Maura Crowell, who will have the first UMD team mainly of her selections. Last year, goaltender Maddie Rooney did a fantastic job and appears to have made the U.S. Olympic team, while every time UMD had to have a goal, it was either scored or generated by Ashleigh Brykaliuk or Lara Stalder, a Patty Kazmaier finalist, or by defenseman Sydnie Morin. They were among the elite women’s players in the nation, and all were recruited by former coach Shannon Miller.

Now we’ll get to see Crowell mold her own players -- plus a couple who transfered in from North Dakota -- into a contender. Penn State comes to AMSOIL Arena Friday night and Saturday afternoon to challenge UMD in the first WCHA series of the season.

The men’s picture is similar, with some big-time players departed from last year’s NCAA runner-up Bulldogs, such as their goaltender, six defensemen, and the top four scorers up front. Top guns like Dominic Toninato, Alex Iafallo, Kyle Osterberg were joined by Adam Johnson’s early departure, joining five outstanding senior defensemen, and brilliant sophomore Neal Pionk, who signed with the New York Rangers.

I love the optimism surrounding the UMD program, and the projections for incoming players, but it is going to take a little time for Scott Sandelin and his staff to mold the whole new crew into a team resembling last year’s contender. We get an early peek at the Bulldogs against Alberta in a Saturday night exhibiton game, then they get to host the Ice Breaker Tournament at AMSOIL the following weekend, where Michigan Tech faces Union, and then the Bulldogs face Minnesota.

The Bulldogs were projected to be fourth, behind Denver, St. Cloud State, and North Dakota in the NCHC, but I also suspect Miami of Ohio could vault up among the top four.  In the first national rankings, UMD was picked for No. 6, which is impressive, while Minnesota is No. 3. The Gophers face Alberta after UMD, as a tune-up for next week’s Ice Breaker.