One night after routing the RedHawks 8-1, the fifth-ranked Bulldogs (12-5-2) needed a pair of late third period goals to cap a 6-0 season against the RedHawks, with four of those wins coming in the last two weekends.
“That was a really gutsy win out of our team,” said UMD junior assistant captain Cole Koepke, who finished with a goal and an assist Saturday to extend his point streak to six games. “We stuck with it. We got into some penalty trouble and to see our guys fight back and never give up — we knew they were going to come out. It’s always hard to play a team six times. As a team, it was a good, gutsy win and I was proud to see us get that one.”
Koepke scored the game-winning goal with less than nine minutes to play in regulation, beating Miami freshman goaltender Ludvig Persson high, short side on the power play for his team-best 11th goal of the season. Koepke — who assisted on the empty-net goal by senior wing Kobe Roth in the final minute — finished the weekend with four goals and an assist after recording a hat trick Friday.
“As long as he's hitting the net, he’s got a chance to score,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said of Koepke, who according to the final stat sheet distributed by UMD on Saturday had 15 shots on goal. “He’s got a pretty lethal shot. Anytime his puck gets to the net, I like our chances. He’s been good.”
The Bulldogs went into the third period Saturday tied 1-1 after RedHawks freshman wing Matthew Barbolini tied the game 4:12 into the second period with a shot through traffic.
Senior wing Nick Swaney gave UMD a 1-0 lead in the first period by deflecting a blast by senior Matt Anderson. It was one of 28 shots UMD put on Persson — who was yanked 15:39 into Friday’s game after giving up three goals on seven shots — in the first period, but the only one to get through.
Persson finished with 55 saves as UMD outshot Miami 58-31 on Saturday. The 55 saves and 58 shots on goal were both records for an NCHC game.
“8-1, you always have worries how the guys are going to respond,” Sandelin said. “Our first period, the only thing disappointing was that we didn’t score more than one goal. We did a lot of things right and got a lot of pucks to the net. Give credit to their goalie. He didn’t have a great start last night but he played good tonight.”
The Bulldogs had an opportunity to break Saturday’s game open in the first period just as they did Friday when they scored four goals in the opening 20 minutes. Two RedHawks were called for three hooking penalties on a single play late in the period, resulting in a penalty shot and two-minute 5-on-3 power play for UMD.
Sophomore wing Tanner Laderoute, who was hooked on a breakaway during the delayed penalty, was stopped on his penalty shot and the Bulldogs could only muster two shots on goal during the two-minute, two-man advantage.
The Bulldogs penalty kill finished a perfect 5-for-5 on Saturday, killing off three-straight penalties in the second period and a five-minute major early in the third after senior wing Koby Bender was ejected for contact to the head after running into Persson.
Freshman goaltender Zach Stejskal made 30 saves for the Bulldogs, the most he’s had to make in four starts this year.
Thumbs up to the penalty kill
Minnesota Duluth goaltender Zach Stejskal (35) makes a save in the second period against Miami Saturday, Feb. 6, at Amsoil Arena. (Tyler Schank / tschank@duluthnews.com)
Bulldogs senior defenseman and assistant captain Louie Roehl said he and his teammates got a reminder from assistant coach Adam Krause on Saturday of the importance of special teams.
“Special teams is always a big part of games and they can win you and lose you games,” Roehl said. “It’s important to really focus and bear down on those.”
How true that was Saturday as UMD scored its game-winning goal on the power play, but also had to kill for 12 minutes and 24 seconds Saturday against Miami to preserve the win.
The RedHawks had two lengthy advantages on Saturday in which they could have buried the Bulldogs, but didn’t.
The first was in the second period, when UMD took three straight minors in a five-minute span, including two that overlapped, giving Miami a brief eight-second two-man advantage. Miami generated just two shots on goal during the three power plays.
The second extended advantage was the major penalty by Bender early in the third. Again Miami got just two shots on goal — the same amount Koepke generated on shorthanded attacks — and the major power play ended 28 seconds early thanks to a Miami minor.
The RedHawks had one final power play late in the third period down by a goal, and this time Stejskal had to step up with a pair of saves.
Both Koepke and Roehl said intensity was the key component of Saturday’s kills. It had been lacking at times this season, but not on Saturday night.
“We know what we’re doing, we just have to be intense about it,” Koepke said. “I thought all the killers had great intensity tonight. We were determined to get the job done. Luckily we were able to fight off some storms and get those five minutes killed off.”
Thumbs down to the lack of discipline
Minnesota Duluth forward Noah Cates (21) reacts as Miami defenseman Derek Daschke (13) shoves him in the first period Saturday, Feb. 6, at Amsoil Arena. (Tyler Schank / tschank@duluthnews.com)
Sandelin was not happy with his team’s discipline last weekend in the sweep of Miami in Oxford, Ohio. UMD took 10 penalties for 39 minutes, including a five-minute major and game misconduct by junior captain Noah Cates late in the second period of Game 1.
A week later, again against Miami, the Bulldogs were called for another 10 penalties and 31 penalty minutes, with Bender adding another major and game misconduct to the UMD ledger.
“We got to stop putting ourselves in these positions,” Koepke said.
For Sandelin, it hasn’t just been the sheer amount of penalties, but the timing of them. The Bulldogs took four of them in the third period Friday, but luckily were ahead 7-0 to start the third.
On Saturday in the series finale this weekend, UMD took one on top of another in the second, then a major early in the third with the game tied, and a minor late in the game leading by one.
Good thing the penalty kill held its own, finishing 14-for-17 in the four wins over Miami.
“It’s always a main focus of our group,” Roehl said. “We try to play hard as a blue-collar group, so we’re going to draw penalties, but we’ve got to be smart when we can.”
Miami defenseman Derek Daschke (13) and Minnesota Duluth forward Cole Koepke (17) battle for the puck in the third period Saturday, Feb. 6, at Amsoil Arena. (Tyler Schank / tschank@duluthnews.com)
Matt’s Three Stars
3. UMD senior wing Kobe Roth — Roth assisted Koepke on the game-winner and scored the empty netter for a two-point night and five-point weekend.
2. MU freshman goaltender Ludvig Person — The rookie rebounded from allowing three goals on seven shots Friday to make 55 saves Saturday.
1. UMD junior wing Cole Koepke — A modest two-point night after recording the hat trick on Friday.
Box score
Miami 0-1-0—1
Minnesota Duluth 1-0-2—3
First period
1. UMD, Nick Swaney 9 (Matt Anderson, Hunter Lellig), 12:53
Second period
2. MU, Matthew Barnolini 4 (Alec Mahalak, Dylan Moulton), 4:12
Third period
3. UMD, Cole Koepke 11 (Kobe Roth, Jackson Cates), 11:12 (pp)
4. UMD, Roth 10 (Koepke), 19:37 (en)
Saves — Ludvig Persson, MU, 27-13-15— 55; Ryan Fanti, UMD, 7-10-13—30.
Power play — MU 0-5; UMD 1-5. Penalties — MU 6-12; UMD 6-23.
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