On the Road

Why think about that when all the golden land's ahead of you and all kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see? -Jack Kerouac, On the Road

The yellow brick road. The road not taken. The long and winding road. The road to redemption. Whatever we're on here, it's a helluva ride.

There were times when many of us wanted to give up. There were times when we felt like the season was slipping through our fingers. There were times when it felt like our players had given up. Too many times we'd read the same tired old quotations in the papers after a loss. "We weren't ready to play." "We didn't have the effort." "We didn't play as well as we thought we could." It was disheartening.

Instead, this weekend tUMD showed exactly what kind of team they really are. Gritty, defensively sound, with explosive offense. tUMD chased Yale's goaltender from the game after he gave up five goals, a season high. The power play was lethal, and they got a shorthanded goal and killed off a two-man disadvantage, which was actually more like a 2 1/2 man disadvantage as one player did not have a stick.

We've had our ups and downs, our roadblocks and setbacks. Forwards, defencemen, goalies, fans, everyone. We lost a player to the pros at mid-season. We had a horrible first game in our new rink. We limped into the playoffs, some might say. We lost to a lesser team in the Final Five.

And we closed down our rink in style. We won a marathon 3OT game. We had a player put up five goals on the southern branch of our school. We never got swept, never lost back to back games. We have a Hobey Baker finalist. AND WE ARE GOING TO THE FROZEN FOUR.

And by we, I mean the players of course.

Certainly there was a lot of pressure on tUMD on Saturday. Yale was ranked as the top team in the PWR, which comes with its own pressures, but most folks felt that ranking was undeserved, which means losing to them would be a bit shameful. I'm sure that was more in the minds of fans than anything else. (I think it's funny that fans think they know the mindset of players; one fan of a nameless team [literally] stated that tUMD deliberately lost to Bemidji in order to get placed in the East regional, which is ludicrous.)

tUMD had to weather quite the storm in the first period; the first ten minutes were uneventful but then they had to fight off the two-man disadvantage, followed by another penalty, and Kenny Reiter and the penalty kill stood tall. Then MCON and Fonz had a 2 on 1 on the PK and Mikey scored, then plowed over a Yale player and taunted him. And that set the tone for the game.

Bergy scored even strength on a soft goal that Rondeau just... I don't know, missed? He tried to catch it and looked like... well, what I would look like if I played goalie. Yale started to get chippy, and Jack Connolly scored a sick goal from a wicked angle on a power play after a Yale played ran Kenny.

Yale's Brian O'Neill scored on a power play and gave them a little life. Then he decided to run Jake Hendrickson and head-butt him. I thought Yale students were supposed to be smart, but I cannot think of a dumber thing to do. It wasn't O'Neill's first dangerous hit on a tUMD player; he also took an elbowing penalty earlier in the second. The referees decided to kick him out of the game. This was certainly a fortuitous call for tUMD and a backbreaker for Yale, but perhaps Mr. O'Neill will think twice about headshots now, knowing that his desire to injure other players contributed to the end of his team's season.

My Guy Mike Seidel scored on the power play 20 seconds in, and then when another Yale player made a dumb mistake and put them down two players, Justin Fontaine cashed in on a lovely tic-tac-toe play.

Yale scored two in the third period, which was enough to cause severe panic for Biddco and me. My heart was pounding and my legs were shaking. I couldn't stay still and had to pace around a little bit, then sit down, then stand, then sit. I couldn't even eat the green bean casserole with bacon that MEg had made.

Then tUMD's brilliant defence kicked in, and while I was still scared out of my mind, they remained calm and collected and in control. It wasn't until there were about 30 seconds left in the game that I really, truly believed we would win the game.

And then an overwhelming sense of relief flooded over me. I was completely exhausted when we got home after we finished watching the Ugly Helmets - CC game, and still somewhat unable to believe that tUMD is going to be in the Frozen Four. Two more wins and we can finally get that title. 27 years after we should have gotten the first one.

For once, it's not just about the journey, but the destination. GO BULLDOGS!!!!!

A Dish Best Served Cold

tUMD 4, SCCC 2
tUMD 3, SCCC 2 (3OT)

On 11 March, 2007, freshman defenceman Trent Palm was on the bench when Andreas Nodl ended tUMD's season at 11:33 of the 3rd overtime. Senior Josh Johnson made 62 saves in his last game as a Bulldog. There wasn't a single Bulldog player, staffer or fan who wasn't absolutely devastated by that loss.

And last night, two freshmen defencemen for St. Cloud were in the locker room getting IVs to rehydrate, one after cramping up on ice and crawling off after being trapped out there while tUMD maintained possession of the puck. Mike Lee made 60 saves before Mike Connolly finally got the puck past him and ended SCSU's season. I doubt there were any Husky players, staffers or fans who were not absolutely devastated.

We know how you feel. Really, we do.

And now we know what it's like to feel the ecstatic relief of a triple-overtime win. Since the student section numbers were down, I decided I'd stand with them and make some noise. I was missing my nice, padded, comfy chair in 216 after awhile, but those nice long bleachers are perfect for lying on for a quick rest at intermission. Oh yes, there were five intermissions. Five. They had the Duluth East - Eden Prairie game on between periods, which caused me even more stress, and then when East lost I was terrified the Bulldogs were going to suffer the same letdown.

The Bulldog defence wasn't going to let that happen. Mike Connolly put the puck in the net, but the defence won the game. St. Cloud's only goals came from a power play and a scrum around the net. Drew Olson somehow stopped a breakaway, coming out of nowhere. Everyone was getting bodies on players, sticks in passing lanes, and pucks off stickblades. Kenny made a third fewer saves than Mike Lee (who was outstanding) thanks to the defence. And the forwards were in on it, too, laying hits or stepping back if a defender jumped up into the play. Mike Seidel was a human wrecking ball. And Kenny stood his ground, like Gandalf with the Balroc.

Northland News Center video that includes the game-winner, which I did not even see because it was so far away and I didn't have the presence of mind to look at the video board because I was mobbing Biddco and friends.


Northland News Center video of the postgame comments by Mike Montgomery and Mike Connolly.


I am so happy. After the Hermantown loss, the East loss, and the UMD women's loss, it just felt like nothing could go right. I was so nervous it was hard to participate in chants. We were hungry, thirsty, people were sobering up... I mean, we're talking real tragedies here. Anyway, I am so VERY glad I'm not getting in my car at this moment to drive back to the Cities from Duluth after a game right now, and thanks to THE ENTIRE BULLDOG TEAM, I didn't have to!

And I'm sure Palm is beyond thrilled to be on the right end of overtime this time around.

All-WCHA Ballot

It's that time of year again! The All-Conference ballots are being released. Might as well release mine.

First Team
F: Jack Connolly
F: Mike Connolly
F: Justin Fontaine
D: Justin Faulk
D: Mike Montgomery
G: Kenny Reiter

Second Team
F: Travis Oleksuk
F: JT Brown
F: Kyle Schmidt
D: Brady Lamb
D: Drew Olson
G: Aaron Crandall

Third Team
F: Mike Seidel
F: David Grun
F: Dan DeLisle
D: Wade Bergman
D: Trent Palm
G: Christian Gaffy

Rookies
F: JT Brown
F: Max Tardy
F: Joe Basaraba
D: Justin Faulk
D: Luke McManus
G: Christian Gaffy

Coach of the Year: Scott Sandelin
Player of the Year: Mike Connolly
Rookie of the Year: Justin Faulk

Agitating

tUMD 6, Mankato East High School JV Squad 2

You know what I love?

Winning.

You know what makes winning even sweeter?

Irritating opposing fans.

Last night's game started in typical (of late) Bulldog fashion. Eriah (horrible name) Hayes scored on a delayed penalty just over two minutes into the game. Weak. Mike Seidel made up for his penalty with a goal later in the period and we managed to get out of the first period even steven. Chad Huttel took a tripping penalty for a hip check that apparently the cave-dwellers in Mankato thought was kneeing.

Now for the irritation.

Mankato Coach Troy Jutting is known for three things: coaching goons, chain smoking, and whining constantly to the referees. And of course he started in his ref whining. And since I was within earshot of Jutting, I decided he needed a taste of his own medicine. And also to remind him that he needs to have a smoke. And people didn't like it! This horrible old hag behind me was just so offended. "You just don't go after a coach," she whined. "I always had a good impression of Duluth fans until now." Well, lady, I've never had a good impression of your fans, so you only cemented my opinion. I laughed at her passive-aggressive comments to her seatmates. I'd be embarrassed if Sandelin behaved the way Jutting did, not defensive of it.

At the end of the period Jutting decided to bend the ears of the referees again and we decided to remind the refs that they don't have to listen. And the Mankato fans didn't like that either. Hey, have a little respect for your Zamboni drivers. They need to get the ice re-surfaced.

In the second period tUMD took the lead on a JT Brown goal and then had a completely disastrous turnover to allow Mankato to tie it up. Guys, come on. Enough of that crap. PROTECT THE PUCK!!! HOLY CRAP!!!

Mike Seidel got his 2nd goal of the game (yeah for Team Coug!!!) on a power play just before it expired, which is always great. It's demoralizing for the killing team. And Trent Palm had an assist! Always great to see. Justin Faulk put the puck in the net on the next power play but it was waved off due to goaltender interference. Some Mankato fans decided to call tUMD cheaters, but failed to remark that, as they were on the penalty kill, they were also cheaters. MCON scored a legit goal on the next PP and then the period ended.

And the refs didn't even talk to Jutting! They just skated off while Jutting waited, shaking his head. Hilarious. Best decision they made all night!

In the 3rd, JT Brown scored another goal, making two players with two goals in the game, and then Justin Fontaine laid the hammer down. By that point, pretty much all the Mankato fans around me had left, which was so unfortunate! I wanted them to witness my glee! Although they witnessed plenty of glee from the SIX!!! SIX!!!!! SIX! goals we scored, so there's that. Also, to further solidify my high opinion of the people behind me, apparently while it is not ok to rib a coach, it is ok to mock a player for getting checked from behind into the boards (which should have been a five minute major, but the refs were just bizarre all weekend.)

The game could have been much closer, as Mankato fanned on two WIDE FREAKING OPEN NETS and Crandall was NOT on his game. Dear Sandelin, NO MORE GOALIE ROTATION.

Today is Hockey Day in America so I'm chilling watching the Wild followed by the Canadiens. Yay!

The Exorcist

tUMD 4, Tarnished Knights 1
tUMD 4, Tarnished Knights 2

So, we all knew that some strange and terrible force had taken over the Bulldogs somewhere between the closing of the DECC and the games at Mariucci. Perhaps AMSoil Arena was built on a Native American burial ground, or maybe it was the ghost of Christmas Past, or it could be some guys used a Ouija board to try to contact Pat Burns.

But yes, somehow and someway, the Bulldogs fell under a demonic possession.

And they exorcized their demons this weekend, at the expense of Mike Seidel, Drew Olson, and Joe Basaraba. Here is a re-enactment of what went on the past few nights. (Sorry, embedding was disabled.)

Superb job in both games, comrades. See you this weekend for the first win in AMSoil Arena!!

(No Numbers because I got a new computer and the Excel file is still on the old one.)

Jerseylicious (and other stories)

Oh, there's a lot to talk about.

First of all, tonight's the first night of Hanukkah. Smoke some marijuanukkah, drink a gin and tonukkah.

Next, I was going to do a post of DECC memories from RWD friends and family. The only people who responded were FHG and my mom. See, I don't really have any readers. Sadness.

Then, I saw this article today about the Canadian WJC roster announcements. (Thanks to Tom from Without a Peer!) O, Canada, you crazy mofos. Why can't you respect the players and the decisions they made? Dylan Olsen will be attending their tryouts. (The article shows a picture of him. It looks like he is being punched in the back.) Last year he was snubbed from the team. Now, of course, he was young and still developing, but Team Canada did some funky things. Like inviting Patrick Wiercioch, and then when he arrived (after missing the Denver vs. Duluth game), telling him his knee injury, which they had already known about, was going to keep him off the team. They could have just picked up the phone and reached out and touched someone, but instead they flew him there to jerk him around. Odd, no?

I still hope for the best, that Dylan Olsen will come back to tUMD in January with a silver medal for Team Canada, and that Justin Faulk will come back with a gold for Team USA!!! I will be rooting for Dylan ALL THE WAY!!!!

Okay, finally. There's going to be a jersey auction this weekend. Sigh. Here's a photo of the jerseys that the team will wear. It's a 1960s throwback, naturally. But WHAT DO I DO??? Last year's jersey auction nearly killed me. Seriously, the 2nd intermission, when I was waiting to find out if I'd get my Seidel jersey, was the longest 15 minutes of my life.

I don't know what to do. I'm not sure who I want to bid on. Do I go all in and bid on My Jacky's jersey? Or do I try for an under-the-radar guy? I don't know! Actually I have a plan on another possible jersey but we'll see. I'm getting all nervous just thinking about the possibility that I don't win a jersey. This is so upsetting! And probably a sign that I need a straitjacket instead.

Two days!!!! Then hockey!!!! And football!!!! Anyone else planning on going to the football game? I'm making a trip to Fleet Farm to stock up on foot warmers.

By Hook or By Crook

tUMD 6, Red Menace 5

Well, hello there. Have we all recovered from the weirdest hockey game I've seen in a long time?

Let's discuss while it's still fresh in my mind. First of all, the game was on TV! Glorious. Since the Gopher broadcast team is afraid to go to Houghton, FSN-North showed the UMD game! How exciting and awesome for us!

I assumed tUMD would give up an early goal and was pleasantly surprised when I received a text from my friend Corrin that it was already 1-0! On a Mike Seidel goal! Team Coug of course did not start him in fantasy hockey.

Then, terribleness. Wisconsin scored to tie the game, I didn't see the goal either. Then three minutes later they scored again, and then five minutes later they scored again and Kenny was yanked. I gotta say, the replays showed they were pretty brutal goals. Yikes.

tUMD had a power play opportunity to open the second and did not convert, but then Mike Seidel had his second goal of the night at the 2:07 mark! Exciting! I'm so happy for Mike. He is really a hard worker and has a lot of skill and if it weren't for the chemistry of that second line he'd have a good chance at playing on there.

Justin Fontaine scored to tie the game three minutes later, and Eaves yanked Gudmanson. Travis Oleksuk scored 17 seconds later for the Bulldogs to take the lead. Schmidt cashed in on a PP to make it 5-3, and rounding out the scoring in the second, Jordy Murray got a PPG. Then he was promptly called "Brady" by the commentator during his intermission interview. It could have been worse, they could have called him "Sarah."

Not a whole heck of a lot happened in the third period, although Wisconsin's PP is pretty dangerous, and they pulled Bennett and scored 18 seconds after they pulled him. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. And then I totally crashed. Why, oh why, did we let three guys that close to the net to get a whack at the puck? There were way too many people in there and the puck just found its way in there on a bounce or a tip or something.

Wisconsin had the advantage for the beginning of the overtime and then (just as Chuck commented in the UW chat room that UW was dominating) tUMD got some great chances and then some penalties were called and the remainder of the game was 4 on 4. tUMD had the puck in the zone and a UW player made a play on the puck. Mike Connolly dove for the puck, got a stick on it, and at the same time tripped the UW player. Dylan Olsen got the puck to Travis Oleksuk who put it five-hole on Bennett and it trickled into the net and the 'Dogs won.

Or so it would seem. But the referees wanted to review the goal. For... no apparent reason other than they realized that the alleged trip (although a couple of people who are not Bulldogs fans have said that perhaps it was a good non-call because he did play the puck, I don't know the rules well enough to try to make a case for it, and I would certainly have lost my mind if this had happened the other way) had led directly to the goal.

There is no way they could have waved that goal off without invoking some bizarro rule like "intent to blow." I wonder if perhaps they were thinking they could use that but realized that way, way too much time had elapsed. I don't know what they could possibly have been doing, but they finally, finally, finally called it a goal and the game was official.

So, not only was the #1 ranking NOT a curse in the end, it was actually a freaking good luck horse shoe four leaf clover rabbit's foot pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Congratulations, boys. Now go out and win a no-doubter tomorrow night.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 9!
Points until we reach last season's total: 18!

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 19!!!
JT Brown: 14!!!
Mike Seidel: 5!!!
Brady Lamb: 4
Drew Olson: 1!!! (Yeah! So glad to see you on the board, Drew!)

Freshmen
JT Brown: 14!!!
Justin Faulk: 10
Joe Basaraba: 1
others: zeros

Connollys
Jacky: 19!!!!
Mikey: 18

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 11!!!!
Drew: 1!!!!

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 2

On Notice
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Brady Lamb
Max Tardy

Goals Only
Wade Bergman
Keegan Flaherty
Mike Montgomery
Dylan Olsen

Wireless

tUMD 5, Tech 3
tUMD 4, Tech 2

Four people asked me when I was going to post. FOUR. Amazing. Anyway, I'm sorry. I did want to post this weekend but the Interwebs at my hotel (The Suites at Waterfront Plaza) had the worst wireless internet connection ever. All I had for internets was my BlackBerry and I can't really post on here.

Okay, folks, let's see if Grandma can remember the weekend.

Friday I went to the Coaches'? Coach's? Which one is it? Show at BWW. I don't like it there as much as I did at the Sports Garden because it is really hard to hear the show. That's fine because there was plenty to discuss with my gals. I wanted to win a Bulldog football jersey but this old guy decided to steal it. At first it seemed like a joke but then it became clear that this klepto wasn't going to let it go. So my friend Kris had to use her feminine wiles to get the jersey back to the table where it belonged. Bruce made me answer a trivia question. You know, it was not that long ago that Bruce was, oh, a bit recalcitrant to allow me on the radio. Now he's practically begging me for it! He asked me who scored the GWG in the 2009 Final Five championship game. The answer is MacGregor Sharp. I got it right although at the time I was guessing because I was very nervous. Sandy and Justin may were like totally right there watching! So I won a jersey thanks to Schmidt's mom and my own amazing brain!

The game on Friday started very poorly. tUMD was down 2-0 until just before the end of the 2nd period when Justin Fontaine hooked us up with a goal! Hooray! In the third period, tUMD got a penalty. Fontaine was on the PK and he was taking the puck into the attacking zone and got tangled up with a Tech defender. He shoved the puck toward the net and Tech's goalie, Robinson, came out to play it. The puck went through his five-hole and into the net. Glorious! MCON and Brett Olson went to the penalty box together and MCON stood there and yelled at him for like 5 minutes before play resume. Then My Jacky got a goal, finally getting himself off the naughty list, Joe Basaraba got his first goal as a Bulldog, Justin Faulk let fly a shot that rang off the pipe, shot up into the air and flew practically all the way to the blue line, and then Dan Delisle got this crazy bouncy goal. The only black mark on that period was the final goal, which came right as tUMD students were chanting "This game's over." Oopy. Oh, also, at some point JT Brown did a cannonball right into Tech's goalie.

Saturday it snowed a lot. I took some pictures. They will be uploaded sometime in 2015. Unless we all die in 2012.

MCON started the scoring off right away in the second game, although Tech answered back quickly. A Tech player got a contact to the head major penalty and was ejected from the game, and tUMD scored early in the 2nd period during that major. Tech scored again, on a play where Kenny tried to dive on the puck and missed and it went under him and into the net. These things occur. A scrum caused tUMD to get a 5 on 3 as Tech's entire team decided to go after Mike Seidel. He is so badass though and they failed. Justin Faulk got a goal and Eric Kattelus went totally apepoopy and cross-checked Mike, then hit him in the head, then skated toward the bench and had to be dragged away by the referees. It was not his best choice. Then tUMD had another 5 on 3 and Justin Faulk scored another goal. It was the exact same play! Lovely. No one else scored and my little Benny the Elf was kicked out of the game with about a minute left.

MEg and Shirtless guy were part of the on-ice entertainment during intermission. They tried valiantly but could not overcome Champ's "assistance" to the other team. Walt, the Zamboni Dude, recklessly drove the zam around the ice for his final resurfacing. It was totally awesome. Also, total fail on tUMD's part for not putting Walt in the middle of their stick salute.

Sorry this post came so late, but another one is coming soon! It's already half-written. And allegedly a Gauntlet.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 10! (SWEEP!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 20! (SWEEPITY SWEEP!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 18!!! (Offensive player of the week!)
JT Brown: 13!!!
Brady Lamb: 4
Mike Seidel: 3!!!!
Drew Olson: 0

Freshmen
JT Brown: 13!!!
Justin Faulk: 10!!!! (2 PPGS!!!)
Joe Basaraba: 1!!! (First goal as a Bulldog!!!)
others: zeros

Connollys
Mikey: 18!!!
Jacky: 18!!!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 10!!!!
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 2

On Notice
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Brady Lamb
Max Tardy

Goals Only
Wade Bergman
Keegan Flaherty
Mike Montgomery
Dylan Olsen
Kyle Schmidt (Kyle, you are needed this weekend!)
Mike Seidel

Six of One

tUMD 6, Drownedwolves 0

Tickets to the game? Er, I don't remember what it breaks down to per game.
Gas? I think about $30.
Junk food at the convenience store? $10 or so.
Mini hockey road trip with my best friend? Priceless.

What a glorious game. Other than MEg wearing a Seawolves jersey for most of the game. And also I almost killed us (well, not Bethlyn, I think I would have taken the brunt of the crash) turning onto Harbor Drive, but we lived. Obviously.

Travis Oleksuk scored in the first minute of the game. I was ecstatic. Partially because it was an excellent goal, partially because we scored first in a game, which we never seem to do. That was the only goal of the first period but there were numerous chances.

In the second period Fonz got a PPG that I didn't really see as it was at the other end, and then Dan DeLisle had a beauty of a goal for his first as a Bulldog. The last time tUMD faced the Seawolves at tDECC was the last regular season game two years ago and they sucked; Dan DeLisle was at that game. I was sitting with Bruce and pointed him out (I'm not that creepy, it was easy to deduce the 7'6" guy in the Totino-Grace jacket was DeLisle) and we were both blown away by his gigantism. And both horrified that a recruit had to see that crappiness. Thank you, Dan, for seeing how you could rectify the situation.

In the third period, an excellent goal by Kyle Schmidt opened the scoring in the period, and then Mike Seidel took one of those new mandatory-major penalties. I feel like in a few years a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty is going to be a mandatory forfeit. I was nervous, mostly because of the shutout. Travis Oleksuk was like "No, RWD, I got this," and after about 2 minutes of killing (which went by quickly! Usually I feel like even 10 seconds takes FOREVER) he had a nifty breakaway for a shorthanded goal. It looked originally like Kamal had made the save but then the puck trickled through his legs and into the net.

Jacky and Curtis Leinweber, in the ultimate "Pick on someone your own size" battle, got matching minors for cross checking and were awarded for their efforts with a 2-minute coffee break. They seemed to be having a scintillating conversation, probably about the new DECC, because at one point Jack gestured to the scoreboard. He must have been saying "In AMSoil arena, we'll have instant replay." Curtis seemed opposed.

Dan DeLisle scored with 4 seconds left, strangely. He just sort of stuffed the puck into the net. Half the arena was already gone and did not witness what can only be the start of a massive scoring streak for Mr. DeLisle.

Tuesday: Seat Selection
Friday: Devastate Bemidji
Saturday: Devastate Bemidji again while I am in attendance!

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 14!
Points until we reach last season's total: 29!

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 10!! (Too busy mixing it up to get too many points!)
JT Brown: 9!! (But some goals would have been nice for Team Cougar, dear)
Brady Lamb: 4
Mike Seidel: 2!
Drew Olson: 0 (Playing forward!)

Freshmen
JT Brown: 9!!!
Justin Faulk: 3
others: zeros

Connollys
Mikey: 11!!
Jacky: 10!!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 4
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 2

On Notice
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Mike Montgomery
Max Tardy

Goals Only
Justin Faulk
Keegan Flaherty
Brady Lamb
Dylan Olsen
Mike Seidel

Mike Seidel Travel Advisory: Duluth #1

Hi folks, it's Mike Seidel here with your weekend weather report. This weekend, the Bulldogs are at home, so the team won't have to travel, but you might!

It'll be quite a bit cooler than last weekend here in the Northland. Friday we're looking at a high of 56 and mostly sunny skies. If you're driving right back down again, like RWD & co, you should see an overnight low of 45 and a very slight chance of rain. Providence has less of a chance of winning than we have of getting rain. Uh-oh there, folks, I might have jinxed us there! Heh heh heh.

Saturday afternoon is UMD football's homecoming game, and it looks like the weather will be nice, if a little brisk. It should warm up to the mid-50s and you should see some sunshine, but dress warmly and bring a blanket. Or dress with no shirt and paint your chest maroon and gold. Saturday night it'll get down in the low 40s, and Sunday it should be sunny and in the high 50s for the drive home.

All right folks, that's your weather for this evening, hope to see you all out there at the DECC for our first home game of the season, dontcha know?

All Over But the Shouting

LSSU 6, Some Team I Don't Even Recognize 6

Oh yes, there shall be shouting. Preferably not just from me. Derek Plante, get that larynx warmed up.

I didn't watch or listen to this game because I was at work for two periods and couldn't get the newfangled interwebs to broadcast it. Thus I have some difficulty here in dissecting exactly what happened. But, someone had blundered. (Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.)

So, Kenny was stormed at with shot and shell, our top three boldly rode and well, and the entire game I was in hell.

Am I an idiot for wishing this was a 1-1 tie where our goaltending was sharp and our scorers just hadn't clicked yet? Is this at all weird? Because I'd be frustrated with our scorers, but not terrified that they'd never score a goal again. Whereas... well, never mind that. It is one game, no matter what I said on Twitter. That's visceral stream-of-consciousness stuff.

So my sports depression continues. 2 Twins losses, 2 Wild losses, and now this, which is not a loss but feels that way.

Bright spot of the game? Kyle Schmidt. He always gets a goal when we are in our most desperate situations. Oh and my cute little elf Benny Royer from MTU scored 2 goals, including the OTGWG.

Numbers (!!!!)
Wins until we reach last season's total: 16 (practice run)
Points until we reach last season's total: 33 (doooo it)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 2!!!! (Including a shorty from my favorite shorty!!!)
Mike Seidel: 1!!!!!!! (So very timely!)
Etc: Zippy

Freshmen
Everyone: Zoot

Connollys
Mikey: 3!!!!!!!!
Jacky: 2!!!!!!!!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 2
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 4
DeLisle: 0

On Notice/Goals Only
Nobody (lucky for you guys!!!)

Mike Seidel Travel Advisory: The Yoop

Hi folks, it's Mike Seidel here with your weekend weather report. This weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Sault Ste. Marie, MI to face the Lake Superior State Lakers on Friday night. Tomorrow's forecast is mostly sunny during the day with a high of 68, and a low of 44 tomorrow night. That's Fahrenheit, folks, we're not in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. No worries about rain but you might want a nice cozy jacket over your jersey. Expect a flurry of goals, though, because Lake State sucks.

We'll be making the 164 mile drive to Marquette, MI, after the game. No inclement weather is expected.

Saturday, the weather in Marquette should be partly cloudy with a high of 67, and Saturday night it should get back down to 48. It will feel extra cold for the Wildcat fans, since they will already be smarting from our vengeance. No Cats No Cats No Cats No!

The drive back to Duluth should be easy with clear skies the whole way. Happy trails, Bulldogs fans!

My Guys!

So we only have 8 days until hockey begins! Isn't that amazing?!

Actually, it's not. Everyone else gets to play some ancient Canadian senior league team. We do not. Annoying.

But I've gotta pick my guys! They need to be prepared for next week!

Back for more:
1. Jack Connolly
2. Mike Seidel
3. Brady Lamb

Everyone gets renewed! Yeah!

And we've got some new guys!
4. Drew Olson
5. JT Brown

I think I've decided to throw my "no freshmen" rule out the window. Obviously. Since I've picked a freshman Guy three years in a row.

All right, Guys, you've got your assignments, now go out and kick some butts!

You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows

I have spent far, far too much time humiliating my poor little Jacky with Photoshop, while neglecting my other Guys.

Those days are over.

I use the Google Images search engine a lot to try to find random photos of Bulldog players other than their roster pix to use in various ways. So one day I was Googling Mike Seidel, because one cannot possibly have enough pictures of the hottest hottie to ever wear a Bulldog jersey, I learned that the Weather Channel has a meteorologist also named Mike Seidel.

So, the newest RWD feature is the Mike Seidel Travel Advisory. Mike will be bringing you the weather for the weekend, wherever the team might be. Exciting!

What's Your Fantasy?

It was a tough draft for Team Cougar. We picked 5th of 7, and my darling little Jacky slipped out of our grasp ONE PICK before we were going to take him. We also did not get shorthanded goal superstud Brett Olson, Brady Lamb, or Kenny Reiter. Depressing.

Thanks to Bruce Ciskie and Brad Schlossman for their suggestions. All of Bruce's selections were taken before I could get them, but I was able to take advantage of a few of Brad's.

Here is Team Cougar 2010-2011!
1. Scott Gudmanson, G, UW
2. Danny Kristo, F, UND
3. Jay Barribal, F, UMTC
4. Gabe Guentzel, D, CC
5. Alex Hudson, F, UNO
6. Jason Zucker, F, DU
7. Dylan Olsen, D, UMD
8. Mark Zengerle, F, UW
9. Jordan Baker, F, MTU
10. William Wrenn, D, DU
11. Deron Cousens, D, MTU
12. Derek Forbort, D, UND
13. Mike Seidel, F, UMD
14. Nick Bjugstad, F, UMTC
15. Wade Bergman, D, UMD
16. Luke Salazar, F, DU

Here are the other teams, in draft order. Names have been changed to protect Weldie.

Team #1
1. Brad Eidsness, G, UND
2. Brett Olson, F, MTU
3. Tony Mosey, F, SCSU
4. Brad Hunt, BSU
5. Kurt Davis, D, MSUM
6. Rich Purslow, F, UNO
7. Travis Oleksuk, F, UMD
8. Mike Montgomery, D, UMD
9. Tommy Grant, F, UAA
10. Jordy Murray, F, UW
11. John Lee, D, DU
12. Curtis Leinweber, D, UAA
13. William Rapuzzi, F, CC
14. Kyle Schmidt, F, UMD
15. Aaron Marvin, F, SCSU
16. Joe Faust, D, UW

Team #2
1. Alex Kangas, G, UMTC
2. Jason Gregoire, F, UND
3. Justin Schultz, D, UW
4. Jesse Martin, F, DU
5. Rylan Galiardi, F, MSUM
6. Zach Budish, F, UMTC
7. Brad Malone, F, UND
8. Joey Martin, F, UNO
9. Aaron Ness, D, UMTC
10. Mario Lamoureux, F, UND
11. Sean Wiles, F, UAA
12. Channing Boe, D, MSUM
13. Zach Lehrke, BSU
14. Doug Leaverton, D, CC
15. Patrick Johnson, F, UW
16. Joe Gleason, D, UND

Team #3
1. Kenny Reiter, G, UMD
2. Anthony Maiani, F, DU
3. Matt Read, F, BSU
4. Ben Youds, D, MSUM
5. Ryan Lowery, D, CC
6. Jacob Cepis, F, UMTC
7. Beau Bennett, F, DU
8. Eric Olimb, D, UNO
9. Stephen Schultz, F, CC
10. John Faulkner, G, UNO
11. Sam Zabkowicz, D, SCSU
12. Drew Shore, F, DU
13. Brock Nelson, F, UND
14. Luka Vidmar, D, UAA
15. Matt Ambroz, F, UNO
16. Taylor Dickinabox, F, UND

Team #4
1. Mike Lee, G, SCSU
2. Mike Connolly, F, UMD
3. Evan Trupp, F, UND
4. Craig Smith, F, UW
5. Drew LeBlanc, F, SCSU
6. Rylan Schwartz, F, CC
7. Jake Marto, D, UND
8. Kane Lafranchise, D, UAA
9. Jake Gardiner, D, UW
10. Ben Hanowski, F, SCSU
11. Tim Hall, F, CC
12. Mike Dorr, F, MSUM
13. Travis Novak, F, SCSU
14. Jamie MacQueen, BSU
15. Nico Sacchetti, F, UMTC
16. Dillon Simpson, D, UND

Team #6 (Remember, Cougs drafted 5th)
1. Joe Howe, G, CC
2. Jack Connolly, F, UMD
3. Jordan George, F, BSU
4. Tyler Johnson, F, CC
5. Cade Fairchild, D, UMTC
6. Ian Lowe, BSU
7. Jaden Schwartz, F, CC
8. Dan Bakala, G, BSU
9. Derrick Lapoint, D, UND
10. Jared Festler, F, SCSU
11. Ryan Cramer, BSU
12. Taylor Johnson, D, SCSU
13. Michael Young, F, UNO
14. Erik Haula, D, UMTC
15. Kevin Wehrs, D, UMTC
16. Mark Alt, D, UMTC

Team #7
1. Phil Cook, G, MSUM
2. Chay Genoway, D, UND
3. Mike Hoeffel, F, UMTC
4. Kyle Ostrow, F, DU
5. Ben Blood, D, UND
6. Shawn Ostrow, F, DU
7. Patrick White, F, UMTC
8. Oliver Lauridsen, D, SCSU
9. Justin Faulk, D, UMD
10. Mike Louwerse, F, MSUM
11. Derek Lee, F, UW
12. John Ramage, D, UW
13. Andrew Hamburg, F, CC
14. John Kemp, F, UNO
15. Brett Bennett, G, UW
16. Kyle Brodie, D, BSU

Team #8
1. Justin Fontaine, F, UMD
2. Garrett Roe, F, SCSU
3. Matt Donovan, D, DU
4. Brady Lamb, D, UMD
5. Brett Hextall, F, UND
6. Steven Seigo, D, MTU
7. Matt Frattin, F, UND
8. Dan Dunn, G, SCSU
9. Adam Murray, G, DU
10. Sam Brittain, G, DU
11. Terry Broadhurst, F, UNO
12. David Makowski, D, DU
13. Matt White, F, UNO
14. Tyler Barnes, F, UW
15. David Eddy, F, SCSU
16. Nate Schmidt, D, UMTC

Voting Often

97 people voted in my last poll! That's amazing! I voted twice, so that means 95 people voted, and I think Corrin voted twice too, so that's still 94! Well, maybe other people voted multiple times and now we're back down to like 5 readers.

All right now, comrades. This poll is a little bit different. We are trying a little bit of a trust exercise, for in this poll you can enter your own answers. I'm going to set a few guidelines here:

1. People who have already had a "breakout" season are ineligible. People I consider to have had a breakout season already are: Brady Lamb, Travis Oleksuk, Jack Connolly, Mike Connolly, Mike Montgomery, Kenny Reiter and Justin Fontaine.

2. In case it is not COMPLETELY OBVIOUS from the RETURNING PLAYER part, freshmen are not eligible.

3. Please don't vote for your mom. Or my mom. Sophomores, juniors or seniors from the 2010-2011 UMD Bulldogs men's hockey team only.




Commence.

Second-Guessing

So, things have changed.

Brady Hjelle has left tUMD to go back to juniors. Chris Stafne has been dismissed from the team due to allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. I'll probably post a bit more about both incidents (or not, I am lazy), but I'm going to take another crack at lines and pairings. You can see the first attempt here.

Centre
Jack Connolly (Jr)
Travis Oleksuk (Jr)
Danny DeLisle (So)
Max Tardy (Fr)

Left Wing
Mike Connolly (Jr)
Kyle Schmidt (Sr)
Cody Danberg (Sr)
Jake Hendrickson (So)

Right Wing
Justin Fontaine (Sr)
David Grun (Jr)
Mike Seidel (So)
Keegan Flaherty (So)
Joe Basaraba (Fr)
J.T. Brown (Fr)

Left Defence
Dylan Olsen (So)
Scott Kishel (Jr)
Wade Bergman (So)
Drew Olson (So)
Trent Palm (rs-Sr)
Luke McManus (Fr)

Right Defence
Brady Lamb (Jr)
Mike Montgomery (Sr)
Chad Huttel (Sr)
Chase Ryan (rs-Sr)
Justin Faulk (Fr)

Goalie
Kenny Reiter (Jr)
Aaron Crandall (So)

I still want to move Flaherty to centre. The glut of right-wingers still requires a move. Centres are Jack Connolly, Travis Oleksuk, Danny DeLisle, Keegan Flaherty and Max Tardy. Left wingers are Mike Connolly, Kyle Schmidt, Cody Danberg and Jake Hendrickson. Right wingers are Justin Fontaine, David Grun, Mike Seidel, Joe Basaraba and J.T. Brown.

What sort of sucks now is that there is not a full practice line for the 5th liners. I wonder if a defenceman could play up? Although unless that's going to happen in games there's no reason for it to happen in practice. I wonder if anyone would be amenable to reverse-Montgomerying?

Defensive changes are the same as I previously made. Left defencemen are Dylan Olsen, Scott Kishel, Wade Bergman, Drew Olson and Luke McManus. Right defencemen are Brady Lamb, Mike Montgomery, Chad Huttel, Trent Palm and Justin Faulk.

Goalies are Kenny Reiter and Aaron Crandall. No word on a new goalie. Stay healthy, guys!

Lines? Lines. ((c) Bruce Ciskie)

Top line: Mike Connolly – Jack Connolly – Justin Fontaine
Nothing has caused me to change this.

Second line: Kyle Schmidt – Travis Oleksuk – Mike Seidel
I'm still fighting with this idea. I know it's probably my own bias, but I'm keeping this line here. There's no doubt about Smitty and Ole, but Seidel... I don't know how long he'll stay in this spot. HOWEVER, Sandy likes to make guys pay their dues, so I'm keeping this line together.

Third line: Cody Danberg – Danny DeLisle – David Grun
Gonna keep Murderer's Row intact, certainly.

Fourth line: Jake Hendrickson – Flaherty – J.T. Brown
Yes, I am keeping J.T. in over third-rounder Basaraba. J.T. is almost two years older than Joe, and he has experience playing against older players (at first, I mean, this past year he was one of the older players), and Joe has played at a high level, but against other people his age and younger.

Et al: Tardy, Basaraba

Top defensive pairing: Dylan Olsen – Mike Montgomery

Second pairing: Wade Bergman – Brady Lamb

Third pairing: Scott Kishel – Justin Faulk

Fourth pairing: Drew Olson – Chad Huttel

Fifth pairing: Luke McManus – Trent Palm

I kind of want to make some changes here, but I don't see where. Unless some guys switch from L to R, then there's no one I can move up. And I really really really want to move Faulk up.

Starting goalie: Kenny Reiter

Backup: Aaron Crandall

Ok, so it looks like I didn't change anything. But, whatever. I probably won't make another list unless something changes, but I think next I'll try to take a stab at special teams.

The All-WCHA Hottie Teams

For reals this time.

Coach: Jamie Russell*****
Assistant Coach: Brett Larson*
Blogger: Ryan Lambert, The Two-Line Pass

1st team:
F Mike Seidel, UMD
F Ryan Peckskamp***, SCSU
F Chris VandeVelde***, UND
D Ben Youds*, MSUM
D Drew Olson, UMD
G Brett Bennett, UW

2nd team:
F Mitch Bruijsten, UAA
F Craig Smith, UW
F Justin Jokinen*, MSUM
D Kane Lafranchise**, UAA
D Matt Donovan, DU
G Lars Paulgaard*, DU

3rd Team:
F Drew Akins, UMD
F Darcy Zajac**, UND
F Malcolm Gwilliam**, MTU
D Jake Gardiner, UW
D William Wrenn, DU
G Aaron Crandall, UMD

Freshman Team:
F Mike Seidel, UMD
F Craig Smith, UW
F Mitch Bruijsten, UAA
D Drew Olson, UMD
D Matt Donovan, DU
G Aaron Crandall, UMD

* denotes two-time honoree
** denotes three-time honoree
*** denotes four-time honoree
***** denotes six-time honoree

Notes
I know I said last year that the All-Hottie First Team goalie was to be renamed in honor of Robby Nolan, but, um, it was an especially rough year for the goalies. I mean, we have our 2nd-team All-Hottie goalie with Kate Gosselin's old haircut.
MTU has already updated their roster so I don't have a pic for Malcolm.
UMD's website is stupid and doesn't have links to individual players. I have some creative results.
I probably could have put together an All-Albino team this year. Frickin' scary, people.

Seeing Spots

The new banner is pretty, no? I know it doesn't fit in with the colour scheme, but it's fun.

So, there are rampant rumours that a certain player who decommitted from a certain sister school is interested in coming to a certain Harvard of the Midwest. But really, where would this certain individual fit in? tUMD is stacked. With or without this certain player, we’re going to have good players sitting every weekend, which is both good and bad. I’ve been wondering how everyone is going to fit in. And hey, I haven’t posted in awhile, so let’s do this.

Ok, so let’s take the team at face value. Here’s what I’ve got (freshmen positions are based on Heisenberg’s site):

Centre
Jack Connolly (Jr)
Travis Oleksuk (Jr)
Danny DeLisle (So)
Chris Stafne (Fr)
Max Tardy (Fr)

Left Wing
Mike Connolly (Jr)
Kyle Schmidt (Sr)
Cody Danberg (Sr)
Jake Hendrickson (So)

Right Wing
Justin Fontaine (Sr)
David Grun (Jr)
Mike Seidel (So)
Keegan Flaherty (So)
Joe Basaraba (Fr)
J.T. Brown (Fr)

Left Defence
Dylan Olsen (So)
Scott Kishel (Jr)
Wade Bergman (So)
Drew Olson (So)
Trent Palm (rs-Sr)
Luke McManus (Fr)

Right Defence
Brady Lamb (Jr)
Mike Montgomery (Sr)
Chad Huttel (Sr)
Chase Ryan (rs-Sr)
Justin Faulk (Fr)

Goalie
Brady Hjelle (Jr)
Kenny Reiter (Jr)
Aaron Crandall (So)

Well, obviously this isn’t going to work. Too many right wings and too many left defencemen. Too many MCs, not enough mics. I’ve made some changes, and here’s what I’ve got.

Ok, first I’m gonna sneak Keegan Flaherty to centre. Jake Hendrickson could do the same but I’m going to give the nod to the Keeg based on his playing time last year, and based on some other things you’ll see later. Stafne is a lefty so I am going to sneak him over to LW.

Now our centres are Jack Connolly, Travis Oleksuk, Danny DeLisle, Keegan Flaherty and Max Tardy.

Note that I have MCON down as a LW even though he has played RW, but at LW he shall stay. Left wingers are Mike Connolly, Kyle Schmidt, Cody Danberg, Jake Hendrickson and Chris Stafne. Right wingers are Justin Fontaine, David Grun, Mike Seidel, Joe Basaraba and J.T. Brown.

At defence we can make the easy adjustment of removing Chase Ryan from the lineup. He has extra eligibility left, but he is getting a real degree in a real subject so let’s say that he is going to start a new career. Someone else has to scoot over to RD, unless Palm chooses not to/is not able to play. But, let’s just assume the best here. Anyway, I think maybe to make things easier I will just put Palm there. He’s also right-handed.

Left defencemen are Dylan Olsen, Scott Kishel, Wade Bergman, Drew Olson and Luke McManus. Right defencemen are Brady Lamb, Mike Montgomery, Chad Huttel, Trent Palm and Justin Faulk.

Goalies are still Brady Hjelle, Kenny Reiter and Aaron Crandall. Now we’re in business and can start crankin’ out the lines.

Top line: Mike Connolly – Jack Connolly – Justin Fontaine
No way is Sandy going to open the season any other way. I am sure there will be many different combinations throughout the year, but this is such an easy call. With no Overly Mature Canadian team to tune up with, gotta stick with what ya know.

Second line: Kyle Schmidt – Travis Oleksuk – Mike Seidel
Left wing and centre were easy picks, but I am really unsure about this one. I can see either J.T. Brown or Joe Basaraba on here, too at some point in the season. I really hate the idea of Seidel relegated to the 4^th line, but he could also pick up a spot on the 3^rd line without losing any grit there, and I could see him on the top line if Sandy gets the urge to juggle things. He’s my breakout pick.

Third line: Cody Danberg – Danny DeLisle – David Grun
People might be killed by this line. Literally, not figuratively.

Fourth line: Jake Hendrickson – Flaherty – J.T. Brown
J.T. has been explosive so far in the USHL, which as we know is not a guarantee of success, but that’s why I put him in over Basaraba. Flaherty and Hendo are in to start with because they’ve paid their dues, as (almost) all freshmen must. Of course, once the season gets into high gear, anything goes, and there are going to be a lot of guys duking it out for a spot in the lineup.

Bleacher line: Stafne – Tardy - Basaraba
Get those suits pressed.

Top defensive pairing: Dylan Olsen – Mike Montgomery
Obvious pairing is obvious.

Second pairing: Wade Bergman – Brady Lamb
Ah, who can forget Rat Boy? Dear, dear Rat Boy. (I am sorry, this is not nice. But somehow I thought this one time and can't get it out of my head. It's better than Smeagol, which is what Akins calls him.) Bergman was voted rookie of the year and I am totally in agreement. Lamb has his issues but defencemen mature more slowly. He should be solid this year.

Third pairing: Scott Kishel – Justin Faulk
Complete opposite of what I said about the forwards. Faulk is going to get a chance right away.

Fourth pairing: Drew Olson – Chad Huttel
It just pains me to put Drew here. I think he’s awesome and has really come into his own, but I think Scotty’s been placed ahead of him by the coaching staff. If Sandy refuses to sit seniors, then Faulk will be here instead of Huttel, but Faulk’s offensive upside blows away Huttel’s, um, temper.

Fifth pairing: Luke McManus – Trent Palm
It all depends on Palm’s health and his plans. However, I think he’ll be eased back into the lineup if he does return, so I’m putting him here. And Luke, I am sorry, but you are the low man on the indigenous wooden sculpture.

Starting goalie: Kenny Reiter
Kenny Reiter? Yes he can! His overall performance last year (North Dakota game notwithstanding) gives him the first game of the year.

Backup: Brady Hjelle
When Hjelle’s hot, he’s hot, and if he can find consistency, he’ll be back in there again.

Backup’s Backup: Aaron Crandall
He didn’t see a second of ice time this past year, so I don’t see him climbing the ranks. I hope we at least see him in the exhibition game against the teenagers in January.

So, really, this is a full lineup and then some. I don’t see any way to fit another guy into the lineup, let alone give him any scholarship money.