No. 7-ranked Minnesota Duluth scored three unanswered goals to defeat unranked Northern Michigan 3-1 on Friday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Here are my thumbs up and thumbs down from Friday’s game, followed by my three stars of the game.
Thumbs up to the Bulldogs scoring a power play goal
Yay! Who is sick of talking about how unproductive the Bulldogs power play as been? I’m pretty sure Scott Sandelin is. I’m happy not to annoy him about it now for at least a week or two.
Here are the stats for UMD before scoring a power play goal in the third period Friday:
- 0-for-18 on the last 18 power play chances
- Five-straight games without a power play goal
- 4 for 48 on the power play going into the night in the previous 14 games (So now UMD is 5 for 50 in the last 15 games)
UMD junior forward Tony Cameranesi did the honors of ending the Bulldogs’ power play draught by getting what he called a lucky bounce on the puck he threw on the NMU net. The assessment of NMU head coach Walt Kyle would back that up. He said it was a bad goal allowed by his backup goaltender Michael Doan.
But as Cameranesi pointed out, those are the kinds of goals – the lucky bounces – that can turn things around.
Oh how right he was since it was a shot from the neutral zone by junior defenseman Willie Corrin in the second period that finally got UMD on the board. It was Corrin’s first collegiate goal.
“We’ve been trying to take pride in winning faceoffs and getting to lose pucks and doing the simple things on the power play and not forcing it,” Cameranesi said. “I think we showed that a little bit tonight. We just have to keep doing that and not take for granted we have the extra guy and play hard and get to pucks. Yeah you have the extra guy but you have to out-work those four guys.”
Thumbs down to falling behind 1-0 in the opening minutes again
Speaking of working hard …
Northern Michigan, which was 10-0-5 when scoring first and 6-0-3 when leading after the first period going into the weekend, scored 2:52 into the game thanks to a Bulldogs turnover at their own blue line. The result was an odd-man rush and senior DJ Vandercook – late edition to the lineup Friday and back in 2011 a late walk-on at NMU – looking like Pavel Datsyuk on a goal that put the Bulldogs down 1-0. It was Vandercook’s first goal in nine games this season and second of his collegiate career.
UMD has given up three goals in the opening minute of the game this season and six in the opening four minutes. Head coach Scott Sandelin attributed the slow start Friday to getting out-worked. He’s said that multiple times this season after slow starts by his team. It’s troubling this continues to happen to UMD.
“They had more energy than us. We were standing around a lot,” Sandelin said. “They were working harder. We talked about it before the game. Don’t get out-worked. Make sure you respect your opponent and don’t get out-worked. I thought we came out and they out-worked us. When you’re not moving your feet, when our team is not moving their feet, we’re not as effective.”
Matt’s Three Stars
3. UMD freshman forward Jared Thomas: The rookie from Hermantown gets the game-winner on Friday in the third period by burying a one-timer on a pass from behind the net. His only other goals prior to Friday night both came Oct. 18 at Minnesota State-Mankato.
2. UMD junior center Tony Cameranesi: It really would not have been the end of the world if Cameranesi didn’t score with four seconds left on a power play late in the third period. Considering it was only the Bulldogs’ second power play of the night and they were getting plenty of scoring chances, I wasn’t worried about another 0-for night for UMD on the man advantage. That being said, I think Cameranesi’s power play goal in the final two minutes will prove to be a huge monkey off the back of the Bulldogs’ special teams.
1. UMD junior defenseman Willie Corrin: You’ve all heard the phrase, “getting the monkey of their back.” Of course you did, because I just used it in the paragraph above. Those of you old enough probably remember Steve Young simulating that cliché when he finally won a Super Bowl with the 49ers. Well, Willie Corrin of International Falls put a new spin on that phrase when he scored his first collegiate goal on Friday.
“Curious George is no longer on my back. I kicked him off. I thought he was locked on there for awhile.” – Corrin
Corrin scored his first collegiate goal in his third season with UMD from the neutral zone. You can see it via a GIF by @CampBenCh on Twitter. It was a huge turning point in the game for UMD, hence why Corrin is my No. 1 star.