{"id":125360,"date":"2021-01-28T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=125360"},"modified":"2021-01-28T00:07:54","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T06:07:54","slug":"this-week-in-nchc-hockey-minnesota-duluth-hosting-limited-fans-as-players-pretty-focused-on-taking-care-of-business-on-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/01\/28\/this-week-in-nchc-hockey-minnesota-duluth-hosting-limited-fans-as-players-pretty-focused-on-taking-care-of-business-on-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in NCHC Hockey: Minnesota Duluth hosting limited fans, players ‘pretty focused’ on taking care of business on ice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Minnesota Duluth sophomore Ben Almquist scored his first NCAA goal last Sunday as UMD swept Western Michigan on home ice (photo: Dave Harwig).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s no getting around the fact that this is not a normal college hockey season, but a small slice of normality returned to Minnesota Duluth\u2019s Amsoil Arena home last weekend when the sixth-ranked Bulldogs hosted Western Michigan.<\/p>\n

A combination of positive COVID-19 tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the UMD program had recently caused the Bulldogs\u2019s schedule to change. Their series scheduled for Jan. 15-16 at Miami was moved to this weekend, Jan. 29-30. Then, it was announced Jan. 19 that the start of UMD\u2019s home series last weekend against Western Michigan would be pushed back a day, making it a Saturday-Sunday set.<\/p>\n

The delay didn\u2019t seem to bother the Bulldogs, who swept Western Michigan and scored a combined nine goals in the process. Jackson Cates had a natural hat trick and five points Saturday in a 5-1 win, and UMD got goals from four different scorers Sunday in a 4-1 victory.<\/p>\n

Even better, the Bulldogs got to play in front of fans at Amsoil Arena for the first time this season. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently loosened the state\u2019s COVID-19 restrictions to allow up to 150 fans into arenas, and UMD had no problem hitting that number Saturday and Sunday. Family members of many players were in attendance, as were UMD students who were spread out behind the net that the Bulldogs attacked in the first and third periods.<\/p>\n

UMD coach Scott Sandelin was pleased that his team gave the fans plenty of reasons to cheer, although his focus remained on what was happening on the ice.<\/p>\n

There was no change there from when the Bulldogs opened the season with nine games at the NCHC pod in Omaha, Nebraska, prior to the holiday break. UMD then split a series at No. 5 St. Cloud State and then dropped two one-goal games to the Huskies at home Jan. 8-9.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have 150 people in a 7,000-seat building, it still doesn\u2019t seem like there\u2019s anyone in there, but the guys knew they were there,\u201d Sandelin said about the Western Michigan series. \u201cIt\u2019s still hard to get used to because the buildings are still quiet, and there\u2019s not the normal energy you have, but playing those games in the pod, the guys got used to that, and there are certainly moments in a game where the crowd gives you energy, but for the most part, the guys are still playing and there are still momentum swings, hits, goals, and things in a game where the crowd can have an influence with that, but that\u2019s probably the unique thing about this, that you don\u2019t have that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys on the benches are how they normally are, but there aren\u2019t the oohs and the aahs and the cheers that are a normal part of the game. I\u2019m the same way once the game starts. You\u2019re pretty focused on what you\u2019re doing, and you hear things when you have crowds, but aside from seeing the students at the one end spread out and trying to do what they can, and the parents were behind us so I didn\u2019t look behind me, but within a game, you hear if someone has a big hit or there\u2019s a goal, you feel that energy, and the guys on both teams did a good job where the intensity level hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last weekend\u2019s sweep of Western Michigan saw UMD bump its record to 8-5-2, giving the Bulldogs a six-point cushion over Denver for fourth place in the NCHC standings with a game in hand.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to gauge how much of an impact having 150 fans in attendance had last weekend for UMD. But then, you don\u2019t get noise out of cardboard cutouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started in the pod, we knew there was only going to be whoever was working there and maybe some visiting players (as spectators), and you just got used to it,\u201d Sandelin said. \u201cOnce the players get on the ice, they\u2019re pretty focused and they go through the task at hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if we remember what normal is any more, and hopefully we can get that back soon and feel that emotion and energy in the buildings you play in. I\u2019ve talked with other coaches, too, and going on the road is probably easier because the home team wants that energy and that boost, and right now, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s more detrimental to the home team or the visiting team. For the visiting team, it\u2019s pretty normal. Sometimes you have fans, unless you\u2019re playing North Dakota and they travel pretty well, but there\u2019s not normally a ton of visiting fans on a lot of the buildings when you\u2019re on the road, but the home team (would normally have) has pretty good crowds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys miss it, but it\u2019s not like we had it when the year started, so the guys are used to the way it\u2019s been, and they were excited to have their parents (there in person) and not watching on a livestream or TV, so that\u2019s exciting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting ready for this weekend\u2019s series at Miami has been different than what Sandelin would normally have at this point in a season.<\/p>\n

In late January and into February, coaches are carefully managing practice times with players who are approaching the home stretch of another meat-grinder of a season. Doing so this time around takes on a different look, though, especially for a team that last week was getting ready to play again after having pressed the pause button.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only had a few days of practice, but the guys had a lot of energy, and it\u2019s funny because I think you look at the teams that have come out of those pauses, and they\u2019re raring to go,\u201d Sandelin said. \u201cI think teams have done pretty well (after those situations), and not that you want them to happen, but they guys were excited again to get back on the ice, and there are a lot of emotional swings, ups and downs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t had a normal, Monday-through-Thursday, week of practice since probably prior to the pod. I\u2019m hoping that after this weekend, knock on wood, everything goes good and we can have what I call a normal week before we play Miami again (at home Feb. 5-6).\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether UMD will be allowed to bring in bigger numbers of fans for the Bulldogs\u2019 remaining four regular-season home games is yet to be seen. Sandelin isn\u2019t stressing over that, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all hope it happens, but right now, it\u2019s day to day, week to week, and I\u2019m just hoping we can keep playing and get into a normal rhythm and not have any more shutdowns, whether it\u2019s us or another team,\u201d Sandelin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone wants to play, and if we\u2019re able to get more people in the building or play in (another) building that has fans, that would be fun, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re all hopeful for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mavericks break Denver\u2019s spell<\/h4>\n

On Sunday night, ninth-ranked Omaha ended a frustrating six-year, 19-game losing streak against Denver by beating the No. 20 Pioneers 5-2 at Baxter Arena.<\/p>\n

Two goals from Taylor Ward helped UNO over the top, and the Mavericks also got one goal apiece from Jimmy Glynn, Kevin Conley and Matt Miller. Ward\u2019s second goal of the game and team-best seventh of the season gave UNO daylight with 13:25 left, and Miller then added an empty-netter.<\/p>\n

UNO was 0-16-3 in its previous 19 games against Denver, dating back to January 2015. The Mavericks won Sunday\u2019s game despite being outshot 44-29. Isaiah Saville earned his seventh win of the season in net.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks play at home again this Friday and Saturday against No. 2 North Dakota.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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