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UMD freshman Ashton Bell spotted the puck under Bemidji State goaltender Lauren Bench and went after it, knocking in her second goal of the game, and what proved to be the 3-2 game-winner Saturday night. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Jessica Healey scored her first of two goals for a 2-1 lead in Friday's first game. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Bailey Wright (left) scored a short-side goal on UMD goaltender Jessica Convery in the midst of four unanswered Bemidji State goals in Friday's 5-3 victory over UMD. Photo credit: John Gilbert

UMD goalie Jessica Convery pounced on a loose puck during the first game of the Bemidji State series. Photo credit: John Gilbert

UMD’s men’s hockey team didn’t have a lot of success in the first half of the season, which never seemed to bother coach Scott Sandelin much, because he had to anticipate that replacing so many departed players with so many talented but inexperienced players might take a little time.
A little time passed, all right, but last weekend started the second half of the season, and the Bulldogs started it off in style, sweeping the series at Colorado College in a 6-5 shootout and then a 5-1 second game. That’s the first NCHC series sweep of the season for UMD, and it lifts them into a tie for sixth in the NCHC with Nebraska-Omaha with 5-7 records. 

It also sends UMD into the most rugged three-week stretch of a schedule that no other Division I college team will have to face.
UMD returns to AMSOIL Arena Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m.) to take on North Dakota, possibly its biggest rival these days. Next weekend, the Bulldogs stay at home to face St. Cloud State. And the weekend after that, they go to Denver for their third consecutive series against teams that all have been No. 1 in the country at some point, and may be again.

It is time for these Bulldogs to flex their youthful skills and prove what kind of a team they really are. If they can battle their way through North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Denver, they could vault right up into contention in the NCHC.
Oh, and for a break, it’s not those six teams in a row; UMD also has a trip to Minnesota State-Mankato on Wednesday, January 20, next week - a game against the WCHA’s reigning power, between the North Dakota and St. Cloud series.
The sweep allowed UMD to climb one notch, to No. 14 in the Pairwise rankings that simulate the NCAA criteria. As UMD was sweeping CC, the University of Minnesota’s house of cards was, as they say, decked when Michigan came in and whipped the Golden Gophers 5-1 and 3-1 in Big Ten play. That drops Minnesota to 5-9-1 and sixth out of seven in the Big Ten, and they go to last-place Michigan State this weekend.

That result dropped the Gophers from being among the top 10 in the country, somehow, in the U.S. College Hockey Online rankings. The Gophers fell to 15th in the Pairwise, and are also 15th, one point behind UMD, in the RPI measurement of strength of schedule combined with results. But it seems as though the fellows around the country who vote on the USCHO poll have it in for UMD, because they still rank the Gophers 14th and UMD 15th. Curious, because UMD is ahead of the Gophers in all the meaningful criteria, and when they met head-to-head, UMD beat Minnesota 4-3 on Parker Mackay’s overtime goal. That game was only close because Minnesota gained a 2-1 lead when two Bulldogs collided at their blue line and fell down, leading to an easy Gopher goal, and they followed up with a power-play tally that made UMD work from behind 2-1 and 3-2. For the game, UMD outshot the Gophers 44-21, in case anyone with USCHO influence might be interested in any facts.

Regardless, those ratings right now are meaningless. Let’s discuss it again in about three weeks.

UMD WOMEN, BEMIDJI SPLIT

The women’s WCHA race took a serious turn for UMD last weekend, a fact that may be disguised by the hoopla surrounding the Bulldogs opportunity to play at St Cloud State in an outdoor game to celebrate Hockey Day in Minnesota. The Bulldogs will be favored to get past the Huskies in these “dogfights,” but UMD  is not in any position to assume anything.

Last weekend’s series against Bemidji State was the one that could be critical for the chance to earn home-ice for the upcoming WCHA playoffs, which are thrown into a mixup by the fact North Dakota dropped its women’s hockey program, leaving seven teams in the league. The league champion - undoubtedly Wisconsin - will get a first-round bye, while the other six pair up, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 5 vs. 4, to determine the semifinalists.

The Bulldogs got off to a strong start in the first game against Bemidji State, as  the teams battled through an even but scoreless first period, then Ryleigh Houston and Jessica Healey scored for a 2-0 lead  in the second period. Abby Halluska got one back 35 seconds before intermission, then the Beavers simply took the game over in the third period.

Jim Scanlan always has put together competitive teams since he was the coach and architect at East Grand Forks in boys high school play. At Bemidji State, he has the Beavers playing swift and creative hockey, moving the puck well, and that style paid big dividends in the third period, when Jacqueline Kaasa, Bailey Wright and Clair DeGeorge scored goals in sudden succession to lift the Beavers from that 2-1 deficit to a 4-2 lead. Jessica Healey scored her second of the game on a power play to lift UMD to a 4-3 deficit for the final seven minutes, but Bemidji State won it 5-3 when Reilly Foster, a senior from Proctor, hit an empty net.

To their credit, the Bulldogs came back with a spirited performance for assistant coach Laura Bellamy in the second game, winning 3-2 and outshooting Bemidji State 36-35 in a fast-paced battle. Ashton Bell was UMD’s inspiration in that one, scoring twice.
Halluska got Bemidji State off to an early 1-0 lead before Bell scored a power-play goal to tie it. Houston then got another power-play goal for a 2-1 UMD lead. But Haley Mack scored the only goal of the second period, when her shot missed, but she swung around behind the net to retrieve the puck and wrap it around the right post for the 2-2 tie.

Midway through the second period, the Bulldogs attacked on yet another power play. Bemidji goaltender Lauren Bench held off the flurry, and dropped to her knees, apparently assuming the puck was under her. That’s when Bell darted into the crease from the left edge and scored at 11:28, and it proved to be the game-winning goal.

“I think a lot of people thought the puck was covered, but I saw it sitting there, between her legs,” said Bell. “I went after it and I swung and missed on my first try but I got it on the second one.”
The victory lifts UMD to 6-9-1 in WCHA play, and 10-12-1 overall going into St. Cloud. But Bemidji State is 7-8-1 after the split and 12-12-2 overall. “Winning the first game gave us a chance to put some distance between us,” said Scanlan. “It would have been a lot better if we could have won the second game, too.”

Right now, Bemidji State stands fourth, behind Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State, for the final home-ice slot, while UMD is sixth. Both teams play the same four foes through the stretch run, and the Bulldogs will need to upgrade their game and hope for a little help.

HOUNDS HOME FOR PAIR

After being voted No. 1 in the state, Duluth East saw its undefeated season end with a 4-3 loss at Eden Prairie, despite the Greyhounds holding a substantial edge in shots, and leading 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. But East went back into the victory column with a 3-1 victory at Grand Rapids Monday night in a makeup for last week’s snowed out game.

The Greyhounds are back at Heritage Center for games against a very quick Brainerd team Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday against Roseau at 2 p.m.

UMD BASKETBALL HOME, TOO

Sophomore Brandon Myer is very likely the most impressive locally-raised standout the UMD men’s basketball team has had in at least a decade, maybe longer. Myer, a lean, quick sophomore from Superior has caught fire in the last 10 games, scoring more than 20 points in nine of the 10.
The Bulldogs took a break from NSIC play for their annual rivalry match with Wisconsin-Superior, and Myer scored 31 as UMD prevailed 74-68. 
With the UMD hockey team playing host to North Dakota in its biggest series of the season, the UMD men’s basketball team will be playing in direct conflict in Romano Gym. On Friday, UMD’s women’s team plays Minnesota State-Moorhead at 6 p.m. at Romano, followed by the men’s game against Moorhead at 8 p.m.

On Saturday, Northern State brings its team to Romano, with the women facing UMD at 4 p.m. and the men’s game at 6 p.m.