Fighting Sioux overcome Anderson’s heroics to trip Bulldogs 5-3
GRAND FORKS, N.D.—The public address announcer at Engelstad Arena gave UMD coach and former North Dakota assistant Scott Sandelin a warm and lengthy introduction. The crowd of 6,067 followed up by giving Sandelin a rousing ovation. But Rob Anderson gave Sandelin his most-appreciated tribute of the night, by kicking out 39 North Dakota shots and giving the UMD Bulldogs the chance for an upset.
Turns out, it wasn’t quite enough, but it took Ryan Bayda’s empty-net goal with 16 seconds remaining to settle a 5-3 Fighting Sioux victory in Friday night’s series opener. But coming close enough to for a pulled-goalie, six-skater attack through the last two minutes despite being outshot 44-17 was an impressive climax for a spirited effort by the Bulldogs.
“He gave us a chance to be in the game — to win the game,” said Sandelin. “That’s what we needed. That’s two good games in a row for Robbie. He followed up a good performance last Saturday with another good one tonight.”
With Anderson stopping shot after shot, UMD closed up to 3-2 in the second period, getting the only goal of the period while being outshot 17-5. The Bulldogs trailed 4-2 after Jason Notermann’s shorthanded goal midway through the third period, but Jon Francisco scored with 4:05 remaining to close the gap to one goal again.
All of that, however, was due to the play of Anderson. The sophomore goaltender from Superior had seemed the heir-apparent to take over in goal, after playing several games as a freshman backing up the senior Brant Nicklin last season. But he got himself at least partially into new coach Scott Sandelin’s doghouse before the first game at Minnesota, and freshman Adam Coole played and earned the starting slot in the alternating rotation.
Sandelin acknowledged that his difference with Anderson at the start was “a discipline thing.” And, perhaps showing he is striving to meet the coach’s demands for discipline, Anderson would only say “I can’t talk about it.”
Anderson certainly did his talking on the ice Friday night, when he counteracted the formidable Sioux offensive force with an acrobatic array of stops — diving, sprawling, sometimes hurling his body to the ice and thrusting an arm or a leg up in the air to stop a seemingly certain goal.
“My outlook coming into North Dakota was that I figured they were a good team, and I’d probably get 40 shots,” said Anderson. “So I figured if I could keep ’em to four goals, I could keep us in the game as long as possible and we’d have a chance.”
The Fighting Sioux outshot UMD 15-8 in the first period, but couldn’t break the scoreless tie until 17:36 had elapsed. Oddly, the breakthrough came when Bryan Lundbohm inexplicably wound up all alone at the goal-mouth. It’s never wise to leave a player uncovered in front of your net, and especially when he’s the WCHA’s leading goal-scorer. The junior from Roseau plucked the rebound away from Anderson after a shot from Jeff Panzer, and was all alone with time to waitÂ…and waitÂ…and wait some more, finally getting Anderson to drop before flicking his 14th goal into the upper left corner.
If it’s dangerous to leave such a scorer uncovered, it’s more dangerous to sag a little after giving up a goal. The ‘Dogs did that, and Tim Skarperud whistled in another goal 25 seconds later for a 2-0 lead. UMD recovered from that lapse to make it a wild final three minutes in the first period, as Judd Medak outraced a Sioux skater for a loose puck deep on the right side, and fed to the crease where Mark Carlson knocked it in at 18:41 for his first goal of the season. Now a left winger, Carlson was a defenseman until two weeks ago.
That got UMD back into the game at 2-1, but Trevor Hammer, another Roseau product, scored from the left circle with three seconds remaining in the period to make it 3-1, with all four goals coming in the final 2:24 of the period.
Anderson had a strong first period, but he really showed his merit in the second, when he stopped all 17 Sioux shots — many of them point-blank amid scrambles — and UMD scratched its way back into the game on a two-man power-play goal, one of only five shots in the period. Nate Anderson got the goal, sneaking to the crease from the right side just in time to convert Drew Otten’s pass at 3:57, before goalie Andy Kollar could react.
“Their goalie played great,” said North Dakota coach Dean Blais. “Especially in the second period, when we outshoot them 17-5 and lose the period 1-0.”
The Bulldogs got a power-play to open the third period, but Notermann stole the puck and raced in shorthanded, only to be foiled by Anderson, who dived out to poke-check the puck away. The Bulldogs got another power-play chance at 7:17, and Notermann got another shorthanded breakaway, after Kevin Spewak blocked a pass. This time, Notermann sped in and beat Anderson at 8:12.
“We were just plugging away, and we figured we’d finally score on him,” said Notermann, a sophomore from Rochester. “I don’t think I’ve gotten two shorthanded breakaways in a game since high school. He surprised me on the first one, by poke-checking me. So on the second one, I decided to shoot instead of deking.”
That goal took UMD out of proximity, but Francisco brought the ‘Dogs back to 4-3, cruising up the slot just as Ryan Homstol got control of the puck deep in the right corner. Homstol passed to the slot and Francisco got everything on a one-time blast that caught the left edge of the net with 4:05 remaining. That left the game up for grabs until the end, and his play gave Anderson renewed fire.
“This was my first start in here,” said Anderson. “Last year we came in here and Brant Nicklin gave up about six goals, and I came in for him and got smoked for four more.”
Sertich to coach at Michigan Tech
Mike Sertich is making a return to college hockey coaching, and he is doing it at the DECC this weekend.
No, Sertich is not returning to UMD, where he coached 18 seasons until being dismissed last spring. He decided Tuesday morning to accept an offer he had received Monday night to become the new head coach at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich. The Michigan Tech Huskies play UMD at the DECC Friday and Saturday nights.
Sertich made the announcement on the sports-talk radio show he just began hosting on WDSM, 710 AM. In typical Sertich fashion, he did it with style and subtlety, first talking about “scoops.”
Long-suffering Michigan Tech had upset North Dakota in the opening game of this season, but have since lost seven straight games, including a sweep last weekend against Minnesota State-Mankato. When asked if he thought Michigan Tech might be considering a coaching change, Sertich said that indeed they might be. When asked if such an opening ever came up and Tim Watters were to be fired, would he be interested in returning to the coaching life he loves, Sertich said yes he would.
Then, when asked if he thought such a turn of events could occur, Sertich said: “I would have to say Â… it’s a done deal.”
After the blockbuster announcement had settled in, Sertich said he had discussed the situation with Tech Athletic Director Rick Yeo Monday night.
“When I got home, there were two phone messages from Rick Yeo,” Sertich said. “I thought he was wondering how many passes I wanted.”
Sertich meant for this weekend’s Tech-UMD games. Sertich hasn’t attended a UMD game this season, since being relieved of command and replaced by Scott Sandelin.
“I thought about it a lot last night, but this morning I was having coffee with my wife, Audie, at 6:30, and she asked me if I’d made a decision. I said, ‘Not really.’ I thought about it some more, and on my way into the station for the show, I decided I’d do it. I guess the fire is still burning.”
Sertich, a native of Virginia, Minn., played high school hockey there and then at UMD. He got into coaching by assisting Gus Hendrickson at Grand Rapids High School, and after turning that school into the state’s premier power of the 1970s, Hendrickson and Sertich went to UMD in 1975. Sertich served as Hendrickson’s assistant until Hendrickson was dismissed.
One of the legends of the WCHA is how Sertich was hired only on an interim basis, because athletic director Ralph Romano had an ex-UMD star who was still in the NHL in mind to coach the following year. But under Sertich the 1982-83 Bulldogs went 28-16-1 in his first season and he was voted coach of the year. That got him a permanent contract.
In 1983-84, the ‘Dogs went 29-12-2, won the WCHA title for the first time in history, and went all the way to the NCAA championship game before losing a 5-4 quadruple-overtime classic to Bowling Green. Again, Sertich was coach of the year. And in 1984-85 UMD went 36-9-3, won the WCHA and again got to the NCAA final four before losing in overtime to RPI in the semifinals. Sertich was named WCHA coach of the year for an unprecedented third consecutive year.
The Bulldogs, under Sertich, had trouble maintaining such a high standard, as would any team, but Sertich was known throughout college hockey for his innovative and progressive style of coaching.
His term at UMD peaked again at 21-17-2 in 1997-98, when the Bulldogs capped it by beating Minnesota 5-4 in overtime in the third game of a league playoff series at the DECC, and Sertich ran across the ice in glee and slid into the goal cage in the postgame celebration.
But in 1998-99, the talent ran thin and UMD plummeted to 7-27-4 and ninth place. The Bulldogs stood 11-11 last season before a tailspin of 4-11 in the last half of the season left them eighth, at 15-22. Athletic Director Bob Corran fired Sertich, although he and the school held a press conference to announce that Sertich had resigned. His all-time UMD coaching record is above .500 for the 18 years, with 335 victories, 306 losses and 44 ties, with a 250-245-38 record in WCHA play.
Sertich had the last year of his contract worked out in legal terms during the summer, and spent most of the summer at his Island Lake home, fishing. When he got the opportunity to host the talk radio show three weeks ago, it was an immediate hit. It just had a short run, although Sertich promised to call in from Houghton.
“I’m going home after the show, loading the truck up and heading for Houghton,” Sertich said.
“It’s quite an honor to be asked, although I’m a little apprehensive. I’ll meet with the kids tomorrow, and we’ll be coming up to the DECC this weekend.”
Obviously, it will be a pressure-filled weekend for Tech and Sertich, but his usual sense of humor came through.
“I told Rick Yeo that I would do just about anything, but I won’t call season-ticket holders,” said Sertich, referring to a distasteful task he was ordered to do last year at UMD.
“Now that I’ve been in the media, I guess I can be my own critic,” he added. And, as for the chance Tech wins, he said his postgame celebration will be the model of decorum. “I have a no-sliding clause,” he said.
Sertie coaching again
Mike Sertich is making a return to college hockey coaching, and he is doing it at the DECC this weekend.
No, Sertich is not returning to UMD, where he coached 18 seasons until being dismissed last spring. He decided Tuesday morning to accept an offer he had received Monday night to become the new head coach at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich. The Michigan Tech Huskies play UMD at the DECC Friday and Saturday nights.
Sertich made the announcement on the sports-talk radio show he just began hosting on WDSM, 710 AM. In typical Sertich fashion, he did it with style and subtlety, first talking about “scoops.”
Long-suffering Michigan Tech upset North Dakota in the opening game of this season, but has since lost seven straight games, including a sweep last weekend against Minnesota State-Mankato. When asked if he thought Michigan Tech might be considering a coaching change, Sertich said that indeed they might be. When asked if such an opening ever came up and Tim Watters were to be fired, would he be interested in returning to the coaching life he loves, Sertich said yes he would.
Then, when asked if he thought such a turn of events could occur, Sertich said: “I would have to say it’s a done deal.”
After the blockbuster announcement had settled in, Sertich said he had discussed the situation with Tech athletic director Rick Yeo Monday night.
“When I got home, there were two phone messages from Rick Yeo,” Sertich said. “I thought he was wondering how many passes I wanted.”
Sertich meant for this weekend’s Tech-UMD games. Sertich hasn’t attended a UMD game this season, since being relieved of command and being replaced by Scott Sandelin.
“I thought about it a lot last night, but this morning, I was having coffee with my wife, Audie, at 6:30 a.m., and she asked me if I’d made a decision. I said, ‘Not really.’ I thought about it some more, and on my way into the station for the show, I decided I’d do it. I guess the fire is still burning.”
Sertich, a native of Virginia, Minn., played high school hockey there and then at UMD. He got into coaching by assisting Gus Hendrickson at Grand Rapids High School, and after turning that school into the state’s premier power of the 1970s, Hendrickson and Sertich went to UMD in 1975. Sertich served as Hendrickson’s assistant until Hendrickson was dismissed.
Sertich was hired only on an interim basis, because athletic director Ralph Romano had an ex-UMD star who was still in the NHL in mind to coach the following year. But under Sertich, the 1982-83 Bulldogs went 28-16-1 in his first season, and he was voted coach of the year. That got him a permanent contract.
In 1983-84, the ‘Dogs went 29-12-2, won the WCHA title for the first time in history, and went all the way to the NCAA championship game before losing a 5-4 quadruple-overtime classic to Bowling Green. Again, Sertich was coach of the year. And in 1984-85, UMD went 36-9-3, won the WCHA and again got to the NCAA final four before losing in overtime to RPI in the semifinals. Sertich was named WCHA coach of the year for an unprecedented third consecutive year.
The Bulldogs, under Sertich, had trouble maintaining such a high standard, as would any team, but Sertich was known throughout college hockey for his innovative and progressive style of coaching.
His term at UMD peaked again at 21-17-2 in 1997-98, when the Bulldogs capped it by beating Minnesota 5-4 in overtime in the third game of a league playoff series at the DECC, and Sertich ran across the ice in glee and slid into the goal cage in the postgame celebration.
But in 1998-99, the talent ran thin, and UMD plummeted to 7-27-4 and ninth place. The Bulldogs stood 11-11 last season before a tailspin of 4-11 in the last half of the season left them eighth, at 15-22.
Sertich resigned under pressure. His all-time UMD coaching record is above .500 for the 18 years, with 335 victories, 306 losses and 44 ties, with a 250-245-38 record in WCHA play.
Sertich had the last year of his contract worked out in legal terms during the summer, and spent most of the summer at his Island Lake home, fishing. When he got the opportunity to host the talk radio show three weeks ago, it was an immediate hit. It just had a short run, although Sertich promised to call in from Houghton.
“I’m going home after the show, loading the truck up and heading for Houghton,” Sertich said.
“It’s quite an honor to be asked, although I’m a little apprehensive. I’ll meet with the kids tomorrow, and we’ll be coming up to the DECC this weekend.”
Obviously, it will be a pressure-filled weekend for Tech and Sertich, but his usual sense of humor came through.
“I told Rick Yeo that I would do just about anything, but I won’t call season-ticket holders,” said Sertich, referring to a task he did last year at UMD.
“Now that I’ve been in the media, I guess I can be my own critic,” he added. And, as for the chance Tech wins, he said his post-game celebration will be the model of decorum. “I have a no-sliding clause,” he said.
Brooks to coach U.S. hockey team in 2002
Herb Brooks will return to the helm of the U.S. Olympic hockey team for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. You may have read that here three weeks ago, in a small notice that attracted some serious criticism from a few cynics. It will, presumably, attract less criticism after Wednesday, when it becomes official at a press conference at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
How ironic, that the best hockey coach in the world will be named in the fabulous new home of the Minnesota Wild, the new NHL team that never offered Herb a job.
Needless to say, Brooks wouldn’t talk about the Olympics yet, but in some recent conversations, it became clear that is a perfect time for him to return to the Olympic helm.
“There are a lot of variables, but the American hockey movement is something I’ve always been extremely interested in,” Brooks acknowledged. “You never get coaching out of your system, and the Olympic Games are still the top sports event in the world. From the competitive side, the ideal thing is to be able to play the game. In my situation, the next best thing is to be able to coach.”
For those born after 1980, that was the year when Brooks took a team of college selects, molded them into a tight, cohesive unit, and shocked the sports world with the single greatest athletic achievement in the history of sports — a victory over the Soviet Union and a final-game triumph over Finland to claim the gold medal at Lake Placid, N.Y.
That was the pinnacle, but it was only one of numerous bits of magic worked by Brooks. He coached the University of Minnesota for seven years and won three NCAA championships in those years — the only three titles ever won by the Gophers. That was when Gopher hockey meant something throughout the state, when college hockey was at the peak of its skill level, and Brooks in his own stubborn way established a legacy that is alternately ignored or promoted in recent, promotion-oriented years.
From there to the Olympics, where Brooks again operated his way, then back to the real world, he made a transformation in the New York Rangers that was akin to grooming plowhorses to win the Kentucky Derby, and he won 100 NHL games faster than any other coach in the Rangers’ rich history. He also had other conquests, less historic but no less sensational, such as assembling a Minnesota high school all-star team that came from several goals behind in the finals to win a national tournament. He agreed to coach France in the 1998 Olympics without being able to speak a word of French, and, in a preliminary tournament, his team upset the U.S., knocking the U.S. into a relegation round. The same French team won a few upsets at Nagano, then, with a different coach, failed to win a single game at the following World Tournament.
Brooks rejoined Craig Patrick, now the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Brooks’ assistant in 1980, to scout for prospects for the Penguins, and last year he gave in and agreed to take over as head coach for the second half of the season. Sure enough, he brought the Penguins together for an amazing run up through the standings, and won a playoff round from Washington before falling short when star Jaromir Jagr ran out of gas in the next round.
No question, that experience rekindled the coaching embers burning inside Brooks, and was a further element which makes this the perfect time and place to accept an offer from USA Hockey and the National Hockey League with its all-powerful Players Association. In past years, the purist in Brooks might have spoken out against pros taking over the Olympics. Now he accepts it as reality.
“At least in hockey, the gold medal is highly competitive,” said Brooks. “It’s not like basketball or other sports where the U.S. pros dominate and shouldn’t lose a game. Hockey has been a real tough thing for the U.S., especially now that the pros are in it, because there are six other teams with outstanding talent — Canada, Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, and Slovakia. And other teams, like Germany and Switzerland, aren’t bad, and have guys who can play.”
Canadians, Russians, Czechs, Swedes and Finns all come to the United States, make a wealthy living by playing in the NHL, and get more respect than the American players from U.S. fans. Meanwhile, Brooks is undeterred whenever there is a cause in his aim, and his cause in this case is simple: To prove that the U.S. hockey players can be united into a team that can prove the United States is more than just “apprentices in this game,” he said.
The Olympics, plus American hockey — where kids can work on their own and within their teams to improve and reach the pinnacle — are enough to entice Herb Brooks, the best hockey coach on the planet, to try to work his magic one more time.
John Gilbert is a sports writer for Murphy McGinnis Newspapers. He can be reached by email at john.gilbert@mx3.com.
Herb Brooks brings magic back to Team USA for 2002 Olympics
Herb Brooks will return to the helm of the U.S. Olympic hockey team for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. You may have read that in Murphy McGinnis Newspapers three weeks ago, in a small notice that attracted some serious criticism from a few cynics. It will, presumably, attract less criticism after Wednesday, when it becomes official at a press conference at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
How ironic, that the best hockey coach in the world will be named in the fabulous new home of the Minnesota Wild, the new NHL team that never offered Herb a job.
Needless to say, Brooks wouldn’t talk about the Olympic job before the announcement, but some recent conversations made it clear that is a perfect time for him to return to the Olympic helm.
“There are a lot of variables, but the American hockey movement is something I’ve always been extremely interested in,” Brooks acknowledged. “You never get coaching out of your system, and the Olympic Games are still the top sports event in the world. From the competitive side, the ideal thing is to be able to play the game. In my situation, the next best thing is to be able to coach.”
For those born after 1980, that was the year when Brooks took a team of college selects, molded them into a tight, cohesive unit, and shocked the sports world with the single greatest athletic achievement in the history of sports — a victory over the Soviet Union and a final-game triumph over Finland to claim the gold medal at Lake Placid, N.Y.
That was the pinnacle, but it was only one of numerous bits of magic worked by Brooks. He coached the University of Minnesota for seven years and won three NCAA championships in those years — the only three titles ever won by the Gophers. That was when Gopher hockey meant something throughout the state, when college hockey was at the peak of its skill-level, and Brooks in his own stubborn way established a legacy that is alternately ignored or promoted in recent, promotion-oriented years.
From there to the Olympics, where Brooks again operated his way, then back to the real world, he made a transformation in the New York Rangers that was akin to grooming plowhorses to win the Kentucky Derby, and he won 100 NHL games faster than any other coach in the Rangers’ rich history. He also had other conquests, less historic but no less sensational, such as assembling a Minnesota high school all-star team that came from several goals behind in the finals to win a national tournament. In the fall of 1997, Brooks agreed to coach France in the 1998 Olympics and World Championships, despite being unable to speak French. His France outfit won a couple of games at the Olympics in Nagano, but the real shocker came in May of 1998, when France beat the U.S. pros 3-1 in the World Championships in Switzerland, knocking the U.S. into the relegation round to rejoin the A Pool. The next year, with the same team but without Brooks, France failed to win a single game in the World Championships.
More recently, Brooks rejoined Craig Patrick, now the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Brooks’ assistant in 1980, to scout for prospects for the Penguins. Last year, Brooks gave in and agreed to take over as head coach for the second half of the season. Sure enough, he brought the Penguins together for an amazing run up through the standings, and won a playoff round from Washington before falling short when star Jaromir Jagr ran out of gas in the next round.
No question, that experience rekindled the coaching embers burning inside Brooks, and was a further element which makes this the perfect time and place to accept an offer from USA Hockey and the National Hockey League with its all-powerful Players Association. In past years, the purest in Brooks might have spoken out against pros taking over the Olympics. Now he accepts it as reality.
“At least in hockey, the gold medal is highly competitive,” said Brooks. “It’s not like basketball or other sports where the U.S. pros dominate and shouldn’t lose a game. Hockey has been a real tough thing for the U.S., especially now that the pros are in it, because there are six other teams with outstanding talent — Canada, Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, and Slovakia. And other teams, like Germany and Switzerland, aren’t bad, and have guys who can play.”
Canadians, Russians, Czechs, Swedes and Finns all come to the U.S., make a wealthy living by playing in the NHL, and get more respect than the American players from U.S. fans. Meanwhile, Brooks is undeterred whenever there is a cause in his aim, and his cause in this case is simple: To prove that the U.S. hockey players can be united into a team that can prove the U.S. is more than just “apprentices in this game,” he said.
The Olympics, plus American hockey — where kids can work on their own and within their teams to improve and reach the pinnacle — are enough to entice Herb Brooks, still the best hockey coach on the planet at age 63, to try to work his magic one more time.
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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