Bulldogs clip Falcons 7-2
UMD beat Air Force 7-2 Saturday afternoon. Yes, it was a hockey victory, and yes, it was at the DECC — two things that had been mutually exclusive for the Bulldogs this season.
It came in the first Silverado Shootout tournament, and even though the ‘Dogs outshot the Falcons 57-14, it was never as easy as it sounded. In fact it was hard labor for two full periods which shouldn’t have been surprising, since the Bulldogs had gone 0-6-1 in seven home games, and scored only 10 goals in those DECC games.
But this is a new year, and when the explosion came in the third period, it was so impressive it was almost unpatriotic. The Bulldogs pumped five consecutive goals into the Air Force Academy net to expand a 2-1 lead to 7-1 over the stubborn but overmatched Falcons.
The game drew 4,068 to the semifinal tournament game, and sends the Bulldogs (5-12-2) into today’s 3:05 p.m. final against Massachusetts-Lowell — a 6-1 winner over Army in Saturday’s first game. Air Force (7-11-1), which has three seniors and nine freshmen and six sophomores, will regroup to face Army in a decidedly militaristic third-place game at 1:05.
“I told our players that they won’t face a tougher, more physical game than this one,” said Air Force coach Frank Serratore, a former Greenway of Coleraine goaltender who is in his second year at the Academy. “That’s the most physical Mike Sertich team I’ve seen. They were honest, tenacious and physical. He just rolled the lines over, but I noticed a definite sense of urgency in their play.”
Derek Derow and Curtis Bois scored two goals apiece for the ‘Dogs, while Jeff Scissons, Colin Anderson and Shawn Pogreba added single tallies. Air Force got a goal from Justin Kieffer, a senior from Brainerd, who assisted on Scott Bradley’s game-ending goal as well.
UMD outshot the Falcons 57-14, but shots-on-goal have not been the Bulldogs problem this year; shots IN goal has, and for two periods, the game was a spooky replica of Tuesday’s 4-1 loss at RPI’s tournament, when they outshot the host team 51-23.
“In that one, we outshot RPI 39-15 after two periods, and we were behind 3-1,” said goaltender Brant Nicklin, who yielded one goal before turning the nets over to Tony Gasparini for the last 10 minutes.
This time, the shots were 39-8 after two periods, and while UMD led, it was only 2-1. Derow converted a neat 2-on-1 pass from Tommy Nelson for the game’s first goal, but Kieffer scored when Nicklin went down sliding toward the left pipe while the puck ricocheted off a skate to Kieffer on the right side, so it was 1-1 despite a 23-4 shot advantage for UMD.
Scissons poked in a power-play rebound late in the second. Hardly reason to breathe easily for the ‘Dogs. And it looked like a repeat of the weekly trivia quiz: “Who will be player of the week? It depends on who’s playing goal against UMD.” This time, it was Marc Kielkucki, an Air Force sophomore from Brooklyn Park, who played at Champlin Park.
“I thought about that, after two periods,” said Pogreba. “But when you’re not scoring, there’s not much you can do about it but keep shooting.”
Not a bad theory, and this time it worked. The third period explosion was truly a breakthrough for UMD. Richie Anderson swiped the puck and fed Colin Anderson to make it 3-1 at 3:50; Derow scored, from his knees, with a rebound at 5:30; Pogreba strained against a defenseman to curl outside from behind the net, then spun free to the inside and scored from the crease at 8:17; Bois got in alone on the right side and shot over the falling Kielkucki at 10:21; and Bois was sprung on the right side of a 2-on-1 by Ryan Homstol’s neat pass and drilled a shot into the upper left at 13:49.
“Our kids tried hard,” said Serratore. “Our goaltender gave us a chance for two periods, but Duluth had too much for us.”
LOWELL WHIPS ARMY 6-1
Massachusetts-Lowell spotted Army a 1-0 lead for a period, but came back to score three goals in the second period and three more in the third to whip the Cadets 6-1 in the first semifinal of the Silverado Shootout at the DECC.
K.C. Finnegan’s goal put Army up at 1:29 of the first period, and goaltender Scott Hamilton made it stand up until the second period. Wil Tormey’s goal at 0:46 of the second period, Jeff Boulanger followed with a power-play goal, and Kyle Kidney made it 3-1 late in the middle period. John Campbell’s goal at 0:25 of the third made it 4-1, and Dan Fontas got his first two goals of the season 52 seconds apart late in the third to finish the victory.
“That goal at the start of the third period was a big turning point,” said Lowell coach Tim Whitehead, whose RiverHawks outshot Army 45-18 and will take a 7-9 record into today’s tournament final against UMD. Army is 7-8 for the season.
UMD set for matinee puck tournament
It’s been 15 years since UMD brought a college hockey tournament home to Duluth, and the First Silverado Shootout already is assured of a record number of U.S. skaters on the ice at the DECC in the Saturday-Sunday event at the DECC.
The Bulldogs will, of course, have their share of U.S. skaters, and Massachusetts-Lowell will bring some American players from Hockey East, but the addition of military academies from Air Force and Army assures a record, because, naturally, all their players are from the U.S.
The first college tournament in Duluth since the 1983-84 season will be held in daylight, as Mass-Lowell faces Army at 11:05 a.m. and UMD takes on Air Force at 3:05 p.m. Saturday. The third-place game will be at 11:05 Sunday, with the championship game at 3:05.
The Bulldogs shook free of the scoring ills of their first half in the WCHA by beating Union 4-2 at the RPI tournament Monday, getting goals from Shawn Pogreba, Mark Gunderson, Nate Anderson and Jeff Scissons. They lost 4-1 to RPI in the final, with an empty-net goal widening the margin, but it was one of their better games of the season. They attacked the net, dominated play offensively, and outshot RPI 51-21, but only Derek Derow scored.
“Everybody played really well,” said coach Mike Sertich. “We never had a problem with our attitude all season, but I think everybody came back from our time off ready to start in fresh.”
The Silverado Shootout will have a festive touch, mainly because it is as close to home as Air Force can get for first-year head coach Frank Serratore, a former star high school goaltender at Greenway of Coleraine. Serratore, a highly successful assistant coach at North Dakota who later rebuilt Denver University’s program as head coach until an injury-plagued season ended his term with a controversial firing.
Serratore then was named the first coach and general manager of the Minnesota Moose, the International Hockey League pro franchise that played in the St. Paul Civic Center for two seasons. Serratore moved to Winnipeg when the franchise went north, but his urge to return to college coaching led him to Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
This will be the first time UMD has played Air Force. The Bulldogs played Army two years ago to open the season, and were stunned with a 6-4 opening loss before winning 3-0. UMD is 6-1 against Lowell, but the teams haven’t played in 10 years, since the interlocking schedule between the WCHA and Hockey East.
The Bulldogs can be excused if they aren’t exactly in a hospitable mood for the tournament, but they have less-festive things on their minds.
Arriving back home Wednesday night, UMD had New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to prepare to overturn a couple of stinging trends:
* The Bulldogs are winless at home this season (0-6-1) and they’ve scored only 10 goals in those games — four of them in a 5-4 loss to Colgate.
* UMD has gotten stellar goaltending from Brant Nicklin, but opposing goaltenders have resembled Hall of Famers while recording a 1.89 goals-against and a .934 save percentage against UMD shooters. Scoring one goal in 51 shots against RPI won’t help those stats.
Ah, but all that could be left behind as 1998’s ancient history if the Bulldogs can score some goals this weekend.
In the 1982-83 season, UMD played host to Jeno’s Holiday Classic, in which the ‘Dogs smacked Northern Arizona 7-3, Northern Michigan 4-2 and Harvard 3-2 to claim the title. Those victories made UMD 19-5-1 at midseason, and Sertich went on to win coach-of-the-year honors after a fourth-place WCHA finish, which vaulted him from interim to permanent status in his first year as coach.
The next year, UMD lost to Lake Superior State 4-3, beat Ferris State 7-2 and lost to Boston College 6-4, but the Bulldogs went on to win their first WCHA title that season, climaxed by an incredible 5-4 loss in four overtimes against Bowling Green in the NCAA final at Lake Placid.
Since then, the Bulldogs have only played in four other holiday tournaments, and they hit the road for those. They won the Sheraton/USAir Classic in Burlington, Vt., in 1995 and won the Syracuse Invitational last season, beating Clarkson 5-2 and Colgate 6-2. Until that tournament, UMD was 8-10 overall; from the tournament on, the ‘Dogs went 11-5-2, rising to fifth — and home playoff ice — in the WCHA.
Currently last in the WCHA and 4-12-2 overall this season, the Bulldogs are in need of a similar turnaround. But while they may be 4-12-2 this season, they are undefeated this year.
Injuries rock top-rated hockey teams
At its best, hockey is a game of speed, finesse and precision, punctuated by some jolting bodychecks now and then. Hibbing beat Eveleth-Gilbert last week in an overtime thriller in a perfect example, which also had the Up North Regional No. 1 rating riding on it.
At its worst, hockey can be reduced to a continuing series of rollerball-style hits, where any semblance of skill and finesse winds up under a pile of bodies. There have been more than a few examples of that recently, where “finishing their checks” and crashing opponents into the boards at every opportunity becomes the priority.
During holiday break, most teams, such as Greenway of Coleraine, are ultra-busy in tournaments. Duluth East, on the other hand, is taking time off for a midseason break. Opposite approaches to the holidays, maybe, but East and Greenway share the pain of having players sidelined with serious injuries.
Ross Carlson, East’s star junior forward, is out with a third-degree shoulder separation after one of a long series of heavy hits when the Greyhounds won 6-3 at Edina last week. He will be out another two weeks, and East coach Mike Randolph could only express relief that his team — ranked No. 2 regionally and No. 4 statewide — had almost two weeks off, from last Tuesday until this Saturday.
“Ross was the fifth shoulder injury we’ve had this year,” said Randolph. “I don’t know if there’s more running, or more checking from behind, but there are a lot more high hits. I can’t remember us having many shoulder injuries over the years, but we’ve had Eric Johnson, Mark Anunti, Jon Hedberg, Pat Brannan and Carlson all suffer shoulder injuries this year.”
Greenway’s injuries started in the preseason IRC Jamboree and hasn’t let up.
“What bothers me most is the number of checks from behind,” said Pat Guyer, coach at Greenway of Coleraine. “When I played, I don’t remember players hitting from behind. If a guy had his back turned, you pulled up. Nowadays, you see hits from behind all the time. Kids aren’t invincible, but a lot of players have absolutely no respect for other players. In my mind, when a player is knocked out with an injury, the player who injures him should be thrown out for just as long.”
Greenway is fifth in the Up North regional ratings and ninth statewide, despite playing without its two best defensemen. Adam Johnson, a 6-foot-6 star, was hit from behind against Grand Rapids and has been out for a full month. Bo Geisler is out with a separated shoulder from a late hit against Warroad that splattered him into the end boards. Also, sophomore Joe Badavinac returned to the lineup after a hit from behind against Virginia provided a scare in the Jamboree.
Guyer doesn’t blame other coaches, or specific players, so much as what he sees as a reckless style that appears the result of a direct influence by pro hockey. Players become so eager to deliver a crushing hit that they fail to consider the consequences.
“When I’m holding a kid’s head in my hands for 20 minutes, waiting for an ambulance in Virginia, that’s a nightmare,” said Guyer. “I’ve known the kid [Badavinac] all his life, I know his family, and he was afraid to move because of a neck injury. It turned out not to be too serious, but I had to wait until I got a call from his mother that he was OK before I could relax.”
Amid the flurry of holiday tournaments, Hibbing and Greenway played a unique North-South event against Burnsville and Eden Prairie to open this week. The two IRC teams played the two Twin Cities teams and then switched partners the next night, with all four games featuring 20-minute periods, according to the high school league’s allowance for holiday-time experimentation.
The tournament scene had two notable exceptions: Duluth East and Grand Rapids, both of whom took a break after games on Dec. 22, and not playing again until the New Year.
East’s 6-3 victory at Edina on Tuesday of last week was the Greyhounds sixth straight victory, and after a few days off, and a few days back practicing, the ‘Hounds will play Apple Valley on Saturday at the DECC. That game is sure to rekindle memories of the five-overtime state tournament game, 93-minute, 12-second epic that stands as the longest game in Minnesota prep history. This week’s game will also consist of 20-minute periods.
Hermantown, Denfeld, Marshall, Proctor, Minneapolis South and Buffalo conclude a three-day tournament with Wednesday’s pairings of Marshall-Minneapolis South at 10 a.m. and Hermantown-Buffalo at noon, both at Hermantown, while Proctor plays Denfeld at Proctor, also at noon.
Hermantown is another team that has been successful without being at full strength. The Hawks, ranked eighth in the state and fourth regionally, lost 6-3, 220-pound defenseman J.R. Bradley to a dose of mononucleosis. Bradley scored two goals and two assists in the season-opening game against Chisago Lakes, then was knocked out by the mono, which also caused him to miss three weeks of school. He could be back within a week, pending a visit to the doctor and his return to conditioning.
[week 6..]
Up North Hockey Ratings
BOYS/STATE
1. Elk River, 7-0
2. Hill-Murray, 6-0
3. Hibbing, 7-1
4. Duluth East, 8-2
5. Hastings, 6-1
6. Eveleth-Gilbert, 6-1
7. Eagan, 8-0
8. Hermantown, 7-1
9. Greenway of Coleraine, 4-2
10. (tie Roseau, 6-1
and Warroad, 6-1
BOYS/REGIONAL
1. Hibbing, 7-1
2. Duluth East, 8-2
3. Eveleth-Gilbert, 6-1
4. Hermantown, 7-1
5. Greenway of Coleraine, 4-2
6. Silver Bay, 7-1
7. Cloquet, 4-3
8. Superior, 4-3
9. Duluth Denfeld, 4-3-1
10. Duluth Marshall, 5-4-2
GIRLS/STATE
1. Roseville, 10-0
2. Park Center, 11-0
3. Eagan, 11-1
4. South St. Paul, 11-0
5. Bloomington Jefferson, 9-1
6. Rosemount, 9-2
7. Duluth Dynamite, 8-3
8. Burnsville, 7-1-1
9. Henry Sibley, 8-1
10. Edina, 7-4
An especially good year passes
[1998–a very good year/john gilbert upnorth viewpoint…]
As years go, the just-passing 1998 was more than just special to me, because I hopped on board the Up North Newspaper Network in midyear. That also means some of the highlights of my sports year had a different scope. While everybody runs retrospective columns when the year ends, here are some events that missed the mainstream lists.
* Frigid winter weather notwithstanding, 60,000 fans paid their way into the Metrodome to watch Jeremy McGrath return to the pinnacle of motocross racing at the annual Supercross.
* There were four sides to a bizarre high school hockey story in Elk River: 1. Coach Tony Sarsland threatened one of his players during a game and was suspended for four games. 2. Several players from past teams contacted a reporter to say they had been similarly abused, verbally and/or physically, by Sarsland over the past 3-20 years, although some didn’t want their names used. 3. Damage control by a small group of Sarsland’s personal boosters insisted the accusations were only malcontents out to get Sarsland. 4. An “impartial” three-man panel investigated and determined it was a one-time incident, so Sarsland should resume coaching. Incredibly, the committee refused to interview any past accusers because they might be “prejudiced.” (That’s like having your store robbed, but the police only want to interview those clerks who weren’t robbed!) I always enjoyed dealing with Sarsland, and his Elks are currently No. 1 in the state, even though legal action is currently being pursued against Sarsland and the school by the family of one of the team’s top players.
* The state hockey tournaments were filled to the brim with thrills by Up North teams. In the girls tournament, Hibbing beat Bloomington Jefferson, then upset No. 1 Roseville, before losing a 1-0 overtime thriller to Apple Valley in the final. In boys play, Edina won a state-record six-overtime 6AA playoff final against Eden Prairie, but at state, Duluth East beat Hastings, Bloomington Jefferson (3-2 on Kevin Oswald’s overtime goal) then stopped Anoka with a 3-1 defensive masterpiece in the final. Eveleth-Gilbert beat Hermantown in an all-Up North Class A final, after Hermantown upset No. 1 Red Wing.
* I missed what undoubtedly was the biggest single sports event in Duluth during 1998 — UMD’s hockey victory over Minnesota in the third and deciding playoff game, and coach Mike Sertich’s celebratory grand slide into the goal. I did, however, see Tony Gasparini’s first goaltending start, in the WCHA Final Five, end when he was held down in the crease by a St. Cloud State player while the Huskies scored the tying goal in the final seconds, then beat the Bulldogs in overtime.
* Simon Peter of Tanzania made his move going up Lemon Drop Hill — where most runners falter — and emerged from the North Shore fog and drizzle to win Grandma’s Marathon in a record 2:12:47.
* The Duluth-Superior Dukes struggled all summer, but Ila Borders proved she could pitch, and handle an overload of national media, which was the thing she wanted least.
* The Trans-Am auto race on the streets of Minneapolis was befouled by several weird rulings by officials, as reported in the Up North Network if not elsewhere. A month or so later, Sports Car Club of America officials cited that race and others while dismissing those same officials. Sadly, Minneapolis officials have decided to discontinue the unique charity race.
* Iron Range native Warren Johnson dominated Pro Stock drag racing, and the Line family, from the Cloquet “suburb” of Wright, stood out at the August BIR drag races. Incomprehensibly, the chief shareholder of the public track made the rest of 1998 stormy by firing and/or prompting resignations from loyal, long-standing BIR workers. If the track runs in 1999, it will be after hiring an entire new staff.
* More hockey news was huge: Duluth East senior-to-be Patrick Finnegan passed up his senior year to play Major Junior at Windsor, Ontario…NHL star Brett Hull, a summertime Duluthian, left St. Louis to sign with Dallas…Cloquet’s Jamie Langenbrunner missed the start in a contract dispute but now is flying for the same Stars…And UMD is starting to build an on-campus arena for its new women’s hockey program, which will be easily expandable to be a state-of-the-art home on the hill for the Bulldog men as well.
Ah, but now we’re into pre-retrospection, which will have to wait for a future year.
WCHA Christmas wishes left over
[John Gilbert viewpoint…12-30-98…]
‘Twas the week after Christmas, and on Santa’s special list
is a not from WCHA coaches, a wish-list that was missed!
All of the preseason WCHA prognostications are distant memories, but they were right on in some ways. It was suggested that North Dakota and Colorado College not only would be the best two teams in the WCHA, but perhaps in the nation. Don’t look now, but the two of them have run away from what is otherwise a very balanced race. For third.
Meanwhile, here is the secret list of what each of the nine WCHA coaches asked for at Christmas time. It’s alphabetical, because Santa always goes in alphabetical order:
Dean Blais, North Dakota—A history book, so he can read about how, once upon a time, a long, long time ago, he didn’t have success with every move he made on every team he coached. He can read it between games, while his Fighting Sioux cruise to a third straight WCHA championship.
Craig Dahl, St. Cloud State—Continued solid goaltending to support an offense that has been surprisingly productive so far.
George Gwozdecky, Denver University—Completion of the new rink, so the Pioneers will have a home for their home games.
Don Lucia, Colorado College—A healthy Toby Petersen, whose return might allow the Tigers to prevent North Dakota from duplicating CC’s unprecedented feat of three straight WCHA victories.
Jeff Sauer, Wisconsin—A few goals, because the Badgers give up the fewest goals in the league but are still struggling for .500.
Mike Sertich, UMD—A new playbook: “Nice Guys Don’t Have to Finish Last,” which was needed since Sertie tossed the one he used the first half of the season into the bay. That one was: “How to Win the Title While Scoring Only Once Each Game.”
Dean Talafous, Alaska-Anchorage—Official documentation that the Seawolves won’t have to give back the four points they swiped from UMD at the DECC. They could prove critical.
Tim Watters, Michigan Tech—A second half that proves his Huskies can live up to the class and humility of their coach.
Doug Woog, Minnesota—Complete isolation to concentrate on videotapes of successful, well-coached and innovative teams, even if their talent was less than his current team. But wait! Those videos are of the Gophers during Woog’s first five years, ‘way back when they were stylish, cohesive over-achievers, who showed individual improvement from year to year, and actually had fun playing the game and being in the program.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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