Bulldogs open ‘Sandelin Era’ with 9-1 goal outburst over Regina
DULUTH, MINN. — The Scott Sandelin Era of UMD hockey got off to a bold, free-wheeling start Sunday night, in a 9-1 exhibition romp over the University of Regina, and for a while it almost looked TOO free-wheeling.
The Bulldogs jumped ahead 4-0 in the first period, moving the puck crisply, skating hard and jumping at chances with eagerness. Repeatedly, one of the UMD defenseman zoomed in from the blue line to get a scoring chance as well.
“Yeah,” said Sandelin. “Mark Strobel came down from upstairs and said, ‘Did you tell those guys to go in like that?’ ”
Sandelin laughed. He hadn’t told the defensemen to gamble offensively, but he didn’t mind, either, that the Bulldogs — returning veterans and newcomers alike — seemed to play with intensity to exorcise the reputation of not being able to score.
In fact, a team that spent the last two years unable to score on purpose scored on Sunday on purpose, by accident, by hard work and by opportunistic strokes of luck. Jim Murphy, a freshman center from St. Paul Johnson by way of Waterloo in the USHL, scored two goals, while his linemates, Jon Francisco and Judd Medak, scored a goal each, and Francisco added three assists for good measure. Other goals came from veterans such as Ryan Homstol, Nate Anderson and Jesse Fibiger, and rookies such as Jay Hardwick.
“There were a lot of positives, I thought,” said Sandelin, after his first game as head coach since taking over for Mike Sertich. “I thought all three goalies played well, and our new guys came through with some goals. It was also good that some of the ‘old guys’ got some goals. Sometimes the game wasn’t all that free-wheeling, but we got to work on our power play and penalty killing.”
The Bulldogs scored five power-play goals and a sixth just after a power play expired before a crowd that might have been curious to see the new team under the new coach. The game drew a crowd of 2,821, undoubtedly affected by the undefeated Vikings football game on home television, and it was the only chance the Bulldogs have as a dress-rehearsal before the upcoming weekend’s WCHA opening series at Minnesota. Regina had played 10 games before coming to Duluth, including games in the Cougars league at Manitoba Friday and Saturday.
But having not played didn’t slow the Bulldogs. Captain Derek Derow was held out of the game to fully recover from minor knee surgery, and Drew Otten was among the scratches, which meant the previously light-scoring Bulldogs opened without their top two returning goal-scorers. They responded by outshooting Regina 44-19 and swarmed at the Cougars from the outset. The hustling, aggressive ‘Dogs were held 0-0 for almost a full 10 minutes, then jumped to a 4-0 lead on goals by Homstol and Nate Anderson, both on power plays, and Medak and freshman defenseman Hardwick barely a minute apart later in the session.
None of the goals was what you’d call picturesque, but the early outburst was a promising sign. Homstol scored after rushing up the right side, and his attempt to chip a shot seemed to bounce, off-speed, and fooled goaltender Graham Cook at 9:46. Nate Anderson knocked in a loose puck at 14:27. Medak then went hard to the net to convert a blocked shot by Beau Geisler into the third goal, at 17:01. Hardwick, a freshman from Warroad who is the grandson of former long-time Warroad caoch Dick Roberts, stepped up for a loose puck and carried deep on the left, and when he tried to pass to the crease, the puck glanced in off a Regina defenseman at 18:07.
Sophomore Rob Anderson, the incumbent in goal based on experience gained last season, was flawless in the first period, although a 14-4 shot barrage kept the puck at the far end of the DECC rink most of his period.
Sophomore Jason Gregoire had more business in the first six minutes than Rob Anderson had the whole first period, as the Cougars played a much more spirited second period. Murphy, another Bulldog freshman, made it 5-0 with a spin-around shot on a rebound midway through the period, before Regina broke through on a power play at 13:42.
“We had a nice rush and I missed the net,” said Murphy. “Our line had two rebounds, and I knew I had to keep it low and get it on net for a rebound.”
Instead, it went in. Nathan Strueby got the Regina goal, winding up for a big slapshot from the right boards, but UMD, outshooting Regina 13-10 in the second period, had a 5-1 lead.
Adam Coole, a freshman from Duluth East, got the third period, and immediately benefited when Francisco knocked in another goal from the crease at 1:19, and another by Fibiger at 3:44 — both coming on power plays.
The obviously untried power play continued to function well later in the final period, as the Cougars continued a steady tour of the penalty box. While two men up, Nelson smacked in a rebound at 11:40 to make it 8-1, and Murphy got his second goal of his first collegiate game at 13:22, just three seconds after a power play had expired.
“I got the second one on a nice pass from Francisco in the corner,” said Murphy. “He and I and Judd had worked the puck in low, Judd cycled the puck to Frannie, and he made a nice pass to me. It took me two tries to knock it in.”
However, it did go in. Everything went in for the Bulldogs in the game — the perfect start to a new regime.
Holst, Alexander score late goals to lift UMD women to 4-3 win
DULUTH, MINN.—Sometimes winning requires nothing more than the refusal to lose. For the UMD women’s hockey team, Erika Holst and Laurie Alexander came through with third-period goals to lift the Bulldogs from a 3-2 deficit to a 4-3 victory and a sweep of their opening series against St. Lawrence.
The two pivotal goals both came from individual determination. UMD outshot the Saints 44-29 for the game, but Emily Stein, a senior and surprise starter in goal for St. Lawrence, had been almost impossible to beat for over two and a half periods. With 7:46 to play in the third, the 3-2 Saints lead forged on two goals from Shannon Smith was looking more and more valid. Then Holst scored her second of the night, an opportunistic goal to be sure.
“The puck came out to me and I shot,” said Holst, a sophomore center from Nykoping, Sweden. “The puck bounced up in the air, and I was behind the goal line so I tried to bat it out in front. But it hit the goalie’s pads and went in.”
A little luck was the result of Holst’s work, and the score was knotted 3-3.
With 3:58 remaining, and overtime looming, the Bulldogs attacked again. The top two lines couldn’t find the net, so Alexander, a sophomore from Pense, Saskatchewan, carried the puck out from behind the net in heavy traffic. “I got one shot, and we kept hacking at it. She left a little room, and it went in under her pads.”
Was it her biggest goal at a Bulldog? Alexander, who scored three goals as a freshman last season, smiled and said: “I think so, yeah.”
This was a game the Bulldogs seemed almost destined to lose. In Friday’s 7-0 victory, the Bulldogs admitted it might have been different had St. Lawrence scored on repeated early chances. In Saturday’s rematch, the Saints DID score on some of those chances, and it WAS a different game.
Smith, a sophomore from Fernie, British Columbia, solved UMD goaltender Tuula Puputti at 1:05 of the first period to give the Saints a 1-0 lead, and five minutes later, Suzanne Fiacco, a junior from Norwood, N.Y., scored again. The Bulldogs, who played an erratic first period in Friday’s game, played a much better first period in the rematch, but trailed 2-0 because of Stein’s 13 saves. The Saints had used two goaltenders in Friday’s game, neither of whom was Stein, a senior from Nepean, Ontario. She was solid all night in Game 2, and the Bulldogs had to work to crack the scoring column.
“We have two seniors and two freshmen for goaltenders,” said Saints coach Paul Flanagan. “Emily played very well tonight. They’re so strong, but we came out here wanting a tough series, and we got it. Give our kids credit. Last night we fell back on our heels after they scored their third goal. Tonight, we did a better job of checking and staying in our systems.”
If there was a turning point that got the Bulldogs untracked, it was when referee Annette Voracek called a weird penalty on Holst to open the second period. She was squeezing a Saints skater off along the boards right in front of the benches, and the St. Lawrence skater thumped into the padded post separating the two player benches and went down hard. Voracek, from across the rink, called an elbowing penalty on Holst.
“I was mad,” said Holst. “We came out all pumped up for the second period, and 20 seconds into it they called that penalty on me.”
The sophomore from Sweden came out of the penalty box and went right to the net, joining a flurry of action just in time to swat a loose puck past Stein to cut the deficit to 2-1. “I was frustrated, and just after I came out, Jenny Hempel and I came in on the net,” Holst said. “She shot, and the rebound was staying there for me.”
The jump-start got the Bulldogs going, and just 25 seconds later, Brittny Ralph whistled in a shot from the right point for a 2-2 tie.
That score stood until the third period, but nothing was easy for UMD in this one.
Smith carried the puck into the UMD zone, filtered through a gambling defense, and cruised in front, hesitating to let Puputti drop to the ice and then lifting a shot into the upper left corner to reclaim a 3-2 lead for St. Lawrence at 5:32.
That put the pressure squarely on the Bulldogs offense, and, thanks to Holst and Alexander, they responded to gain both a narrow escape and a victory.
Rooth, Puputti lead slow-starting Bulldogs to 7-0 1st-game win
DULUTH, MINN. — For most of the first period, it looked like Year 2 might be more of a problem than the UMD women’s hockey team anticipated. But after holding off a spirited opening by St. Lawrence, the Bulldogs put things together in time to skate to a 7-0 victory at the DECC.
Goaltender Tuula Puputti held the Bulldogs in the game during their out-of-sync start, which was pretty much forced on them by St. Lawrence. Once UMD got untracked, then caught fire for four second-period goals, it was smooth sailing to the victory behind three goals and an assist from Maria Rooth and the shutout goaltending of Puputti.
“They’re a good team and we had to work,” said Rooth, a free-wheeling sophomore winger from Sweden. “We knew we could score, but it was the first game, and it just took us some time.”
UMD coach Shannon Miller got exactly what she expected, and wanted, for an opening series, which concludes with a Saturday night rematch.
“I expected them to come out and put some pressure on us, and I told the team that, because they have a good team with a good coach,” said Miller. “We didn’t outshoot them by that much, and while it was 7-0, there really wasn’t that big a margin in the game. I’m proud of our team, though, because I expected us to have some nervous energy, and I knew once we got it out, we’d go. And we responded well.”
St. Lawrence put the puck in deep and forechecked right off the opening faceoff, and the Saints fired off the first five shots of the game. Amanda Sargeant had a couple of excellent scoring chances. In fact, when UMD was finally given a shot on the board, it was a gift, coming when Hanne Sikio’s shot hit the right post and glanced back into the crease without ever being on goal. The Bulldogs, who opened with a lot of romps last season, were being given sympathy statistics.
“We knew from playing against them last year that it would be a tough game,” said Puputti. “But I really like to start with a game like this.”
UMD killed two penalties, then got a power play of its own and made it click late in the first period. Freshman winger Sanna Peura from Finland shot one off a pipe, and then Pamela Pachal, a defenseman who moved up deep on the left, scored at 16:07, with one second left in the power play.
It wasn’t as though any big weight was lifted, but the Bulldogs started to click right after that. Rooth had the puck in the right corner, skated to the net, then snapped a shot high into the short side at 17:43 for a 2-0 lead.
“I was going to give it to Jenny Hempel because she was screaming,” said Rooth. “But the goaltender heard her and stepped out, and left me the whole side of the net.”
That goal got Rooth untracked, and she opened the second period by sneaking out of the UMD zone for a long pass from Brittny Ralph, then zoomed in alone at goalie Caryn Ungewitter, beating her with a high-speed deke and a shift to her backhand at 3:58. But Rooth had to share the heroics with a pair of freshman forwards.
Peura, hustling for the puck all night, blocked an outlet try and rushed for a shot, with Sikio knocking in the rebound for a 4-0 lead. Rooth made it 5-0 with another end-to-end rush at 12:46. The second-period onslaught concluded at 18:08 when Sheena Podovinnikoff, another freshman, was sent sprawling to the ice but saw the puck and swept in a rebound for the 6-0 cushion.
St. Lawrence coach Paul Flanagan switched to Rachel Barrie in goal for the third period, and she came up with 11 saves, yielding only Hempel’s goal midway through the session, after Rooth had circled around behind the net and fed across the goal-mouth.
As Miller had said, the scoreboard didn’t reflect how competitive the game was. The Bulldogs had a 32-27 edge in shots, but Puputti had to be outstanding to record the shutout. After the early Saints attack, she also had to stop a third-period chance when Suzanne Fiacco broke in alone.
“Tuula played very well,” said Miller. “She’s so ‘on’ her game right now, she’s really playing well.”
Pro hockey’s ultimate uncertainty can’t affect Kurvers’ class act
Tom Kurvers sat up high, in the press box of the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, watching the fledgling Minnesota Wild play an exhibition game. He was wearing a dress shirt and tie, and his cool demeanor, and handsome, winning smile were the same as when he skated on defense for the UMD Bulldogs.
Kurvers came from Bloomington Jefferson, making the transition from high school star to college hero with ease. He always played with poise, and he helped usher in the most successful era of UMD hockey. He was a junior on the team that made Bulldog history by making its first-ever appearance in an NCAA tournament in 1983, and his senior year couldn’t have been more memorable.
Kurvers was the captain when the Bulldogs won their first WCHA championship in 1984. That was the year UMD had to move to Williams Arena in Minneapolis to play host to a playoff series against North Dakota because of a boat show at the DECC. A UMD “home” record crowd of 7,297 watched the ‘Dogs whip the Sioux 8-1 to come as close as possible to winning a two-game, total-goal series in one game. UMD stayed close the next night, losing 5-4, to claim the series and move on to the NCAA tourney.
After beating Clarkson, UMD ventured to Lake Placid, N.Y., for its first try at the NCAA final four. Bill Watson and Bob Lakso scored goals and UMD beat North Dakota 2-1 in the semifinals, and the next day, Kurvers — already the WCHA most-valuable player — was presented with the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top colllegiate hockey player in the country. The night after that, UMD lost 5-4 in a four-overtime classic against Bowling Green in the national championship game.
Kurvers, who may well be headed for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in the next couple of years, went on to play defense for 11 seasons in the NHL, with the reputation as a smooth, poised goal-creator at the point of power plays. Had he been a physical terror, Kurvers undoubtedly would have stayed in one place for his full career, but he was far too classy to merely be a thug. So he played for Montreal, Buffalo, New Jersey, Toronto, Vancouver, the New York Islanders and Anaheim.
Another very classy individual, Bobby Smith, hired Kurvers to scout for Phoenix a couple years ago, and it was in that capacity that Kurvers was “home” in Minnesota, visiting the Xcel Center. He is caught in the midst of one of the most peculiar situations in NHL history, as owner Richard Burke, who bought the Winnipeg Jets with the intention of moving the franchise to the Twin Cities, then found that the Minneapolis city fathers had sold the farm at Target Center to the Timberwolves so thoroughly that an NHL franchise couldn’t hope to break even.
So the Jets moved on to Phoenix, and Burke put Smith in place to run the franchise. But Burke is trying to sell the team now, and when it is finalized, Wayne Gretzky has been promised the position to run the franchise. That means Smith is running the team day to day, knowing each day might be his last. Same for Kurvers.
“Wayne isn’t there yet, so it’s business as usual until the transition actually happens,” Kurvers said. “We’re pretty sure it will come sometime before the end of the year, but until then, none of us knows what our future will be. So I was anxious to get out on the road and do some scouting, of the NHL, AHL, IHL — anywhere, because its pretty uncertain back in Phoenix.”
Kurvers and his wife had their second child, a baby girl named Rose, in August. Their older daughter is Madison, 5. “My parents are still in Bloomington, so it’s fun coming back here,” Kurvers said.
Like everyone else who is from Minnesota and has ever played the game, Kurvers is happy for Minnesota to be back in the NHL. And Kurvers can provide a bit of extra insight into the new Wild regime, under coach Jacques Lemaire, because he spent a year playing under him in Montreal.
“Jacques Lemaire is the most astute coach I ever had,” said Kurvers. “He knew all the little signals from each player, the signals they give off when things are going good or going bad. He learned them in a hurry, and it helped him know how to work with each player. I only had one year under him, and I wish it could have been longer.”
When Gretzky, another class act, takes over the Coyotes, it is anticipated he’ll stock the administrative positions with his own friends and associates. If he has a clue, he will make sure to keep Tom Kurvers in the operation. If not, and Kurvers becomes available, he has so much respect around the NHL that it seems certain he’ll be quick to find another job. Kurvers is a star player who never forgot where he came from. He helped put UMD’s hockey program on the national collegiate map, and he’d be an asset to any operation. Look for him at a hall of fame near you, soon.
SPEAKING OF HALL OF FAME
You’ll read about it officially after it’s all signed, sealed and delivered, but you can write this down as fact, right now: Herb Brooks will be the head coach of the 2002 men’s U.S. Olympic hockey team that will play in Salt Lake City.
Worldly Bulldog women’s hockey team set for St. Lawrence series
If last season proved anything to the UMD women’s hockey team it was to shoot for the sky, because even the loftiest of projections is not out of reach.
Year 2 starts this weekend, and when St. Lawrence comes to the DECC to take on the Bulldogs Friday and Saturday nights it will be some evidence of how much difference a year makes. Especially when it’s a spectacular, league-championship, final-four type year.
None of the nation’s established eastern colleges wanted to venture out west to play a small college in its first season, so UMD had to go east to play the top teams.
“We went out to Lake Placid for a tournament and we beat St. Lawrence out there,” said UMD coach Shannon Miller. “We beat ’em 3-1, but they were small and incredibly fast. They’re only about two hours from Montreal, and they’ve recruited seven or eight Canadian players, including a couple I tried to recruit.”
They would be defenseman Isabel Chartrand and large forward Gina Kingsbury. So, having reloaded an already-potent attack, and with appreciation for what Miller has built at UMD, St. Lawrence became the first of four eastern colleges more than willing to come to Duluth this year to engage one of the nation’s elite teams. ECAC powers New Hampshire, Harvard and Northeastern are scheduled to come to the DECC for consecutive UMD series in December and January.
“And Dartmouth wanted to come out and play us too, but we didn’t have any room on our schedule,” said Miller. “What a difference a year makes.”
St. Lawrence will be a stirring first test for the Bulldogs, who have to prove they can stay at last year’s high plane. And to do that, they’ll have to find enough goals to replace the 93 that Jenny Schmidgall figured in, with her 41 goals and 52 assists. Schmidgall is taking at least the first semester off to have a baby, although she is skating through some of the team’s lighter drills at practice, just to stay sharp.
“I think a lot of people will score on this team,” said Miller, after Monday’s typically high-spirited practice session. “Maria will score, Erika, Hanne, Sanna, Hempel.”
Deciphering the coach’s run of first, last and nicknames, she is counting on the international flavor of her Team World personnel: sophomores Maria Rooth and Erika Holst from Sweden, and Hanne Sikio and freshman Sanna Peura from Finland, plus Jenny Hempel fromÂ…Hopkins.
“Maria will shine, big time,” said Miller. “She and Erika are playing so well together. And Hanne is playing with a lot more confidence. Sanna has good hands and is making a very good complement to her linemates.”
Peura’s linemates are center Joanne Eustace and winger Sikio, while Holst centers Rooth and Hempel on another explosive unit.
“I think we have two lines that can score consistently,” said Miller, who learned last year that even the nation’s elite teams didn’t have more than two lines that could score, and few, if any, could stay with the Bulldog sharpshooters.
The Bulldogs have more depth than a year ago, and while freshman Sheena Podovinnikoff centers Laurie Alexander and Michelle McAteer for now, at least, the coach said she anticipates rotating several other players through on a fourth line.
Defensively, Thulla Puputti will be in goal, while defensive pairs are Brittny Ralph and Navada Russell, Pamela Pachal and freshman Satu Kiipeli from Finland, and Jessica Smith and Jenni Venho make up a third unit, with freshman Tricia Guest rotating in.
Miller said her most pleasant surprises in this, the team’s second training camp, have been the improvement shown by Finnish freshmen Peura and Kiipeli, and the individual effort that has been shown by Hempel and Shannon Mikel.
“The two Finns surprised me, not so much by how good they were, but by how much they’ve improved in the two weeks of camp,” Miller said. “And Hempel has proved that she worked so hard she’s pulled ahead of some of the players that were pretty even with her last year. Shannon, also, has worked hard and you can tell by how much she’s improved.”
The players seem to reflect Miller’s confidence and optimism.
“The new players look good, I think,” said Rooth, who is being counted on to improve on her lofty scoring totals of last year, when she was a freshman from Sweden. “They’re a little nervous right now, about the first game, but that’s how we were last year.”
If the rookies rise up to perform the way Rooth, Holst, Sikio and Puputti did last year in their transitional first season, the Bulldogs could, indeed, live up to their lofty expectations.
BULLDOG NOTES/Miller and her coaching staff, as well as players who started on the UMD club team, were shocked at the death of Julie Enberg last weekend. Enberg, 38, had coached the club team and remained as one of the staunch boosters of the team when it became a varsity squad last year. She was discovered last Saturday, having died in her sleep. The freshmen are forwards Sheena Podovinnikoff from Kamsack, Saskatchewan and Sanna Peura from Jyvaskyla, Finland, defensemen Tricia Guest of Estevan, Saskatchewan, and Satu Kiipeli from Oulu, Finland, and goalie Patricia Sautter from Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
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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