{"id":127752,"date":"2021-04-07T16:54:58","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T21:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=127752"},"modified":"2021-04-08T20:47:53","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T01:47:53","slug":"umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent’s missing players ‘doesn’t make it any easier’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin instructs the Bulldogs during practice at PPG Paints Arena on April 7, 2021 in Pittsburgh (photo: Justin K. Aller\/NCAA Photos via Getty Images).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s national semifinal against Massachusetts as the most experienced team in this Frozen Four, and by a landslide. Not only are the Bulldogs the two-time defending national champions, but in the last five years, Minnesota Duluth has made more Frozen Four appearances than the other three teams combined.<\/p>\n

So, when news broke on Monday that their semifinal opponent, UMass, will be missing four players \u2013 including their top goaltender and leading goal scorer \u2013 due to COVID protocols, it probably isn\u2019t surprising that the Bulldogs players and staff were somewhat unfazed.<\/p>\n

“It was kind of the same thing as we had in Fargo a couple of weekends ago with Michigan,” said senior Kobe Bender, referring to the Bulldogs moving past the first round on a “no contest” after Michigan was removed from the tournament because of positive COVID cases on-site. “But we\u2019re just trying to focus on ourselves, getting better everyday.”<\/p>\n

When you talk to head coach Scott Sandelin, he too doesn\u2019t have much of a reaction. As he says, it\u2019s not like suddenly UMass won\u2019t show up on Thursday. He understands, if anything UMass could be hungrier.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s unfortunate and you feel for those players,” said Sandelin. “But again, what our players are saying, we haven\u2019t had a lot of discussions about it. Those guys the read social media, they know what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

“It doesn\u2019t make it any easier. We\u2019ve got to worry about what we need to do, regardless of who is in their lineup. They\u2019re a good hockey team. They\u2019ve got a lot of depth. You see it time and time again, whenever there\u2019s injury, a lot of guys step up and I\u2019m sure that\u2019s going to be the same for [UMass] tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t hurt that you\u2019re experienced when approaching a situation where things have changed drastically for your opponent. No one seems wide-eyed on Minnesota Duluth, likely a by-product of being 12-1 in this tournament \u2013 including 5-1 in the Frozen Four \u2013 over the last half-decade.<\/p>\n

Sandelin is quick to acknowledge that playing under the dark cloud of COVID this season makes the Frozen Four feel different. He alluded to the typical demands that Wednesday would in other years place on his team: facing questions from hundreds of media members in the locker room and at a live press conference. Instead, a couple of players and Sandelin sat in a room and answered the questions of a sparse few over Zoom.<\/p>\n

There also isn\u2019t interaction with family, friends and fans. Certainly enjoyable experiences for the players and staffs, but those can take away from a team\u2019s focus.<\/p>\n

“This year is different, a lot different,” said Sandelin. “But the good thing is we have the guys who have been through it. The more you get those opportunities, it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to win all the time, but it helps.”<\/p>\n

If anything, Sandelin and his team may feel like this Frozen Four and all the sacrifices that this Bulldogs team \u2013 and every other NCAA team in every sport in the country \u2013 made, changes the feeling. Some fans say that winning a Frozen Four this year, due to COVID, deserves an asterisk.<\/p>\n

Maybe it does, but as the Bulldogs coach put it, this one would be special for a whole different host of reasons<\/p>\n

“Let\u2019s face it, these are all meaningful. [The Frozen Four] is a very difficult place to get to,” Sandelin said. “But a little bit more [meaningful] because of the sacrifices the players have made, it does make it a little more special that way.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s been a lot of stress, anxiety week-to-week. But these all have great meaning. It\u2019s special to get to the Frozen Four, hopefully we get past this first game and get a chance to play in the last game of the year, which is what everyone\u2019s goal is.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s semifinal as the most experienced Frozen Four team, but doesn’t think UMass losing players makes things any easier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":127753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,1426],"tags":[812,1653],"coauthors":[800],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent's missing players 'doesn't make it any easier' - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s semifinal as the most experienced Frozen Four team, but doesn't think UMass losing players makes things any easier.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127752\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent's missing players 'doesn't make it any easier' - College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s semifinal as the most experienced Frozen Four team, but doesn't think UMass losing players makes things any easier.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127752\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialUSCHO\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-07T21:54:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-09T01:47:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Connelly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Connelly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/\",\"name\":\"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent's missing players 'doesn't make it any easier' - College Hockey | USCHO.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-07T21:54:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-09T01:47:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54\"},\"description\":\"Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s semifinal as the most experienced Frozen Four team, but doesn't think UMass losing players makes things any easier.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 07: Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs practice during a Division I Men's Ice Hockey practice day held at PPG Paints Arena on April 7, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller\/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent’s missing players ‘doesn’t make it any easier’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/\",\"name\":\"College Hockey | USCHO.com\",\"description\":\"Men's and Women's D-I and D-III College Hockey News, Features, Scores, Statistics, Fan Forum, Blogs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54\",\"name\":\"Jim Connelly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4c7d31050418d5e7a74507617d667afd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Connelly\"},\"description\":\"Senior Writer Jim Connelly is a senior writer and has been with USCHO.com since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he writes \\\"Tuesday Morning Quarterback.\\\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/author\/jimbo15\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent's missing players 'doesn't make it any easier' - College Hockey | USCHO.com","description":"Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s semifinal as the most experienced Frozen Four team, but doesn't think UMass losing players makes things any easier.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127752","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent's missing players 'doesn't make it any easier' - College Hockey | USCHO.com","og_description":"Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s semifinal as the most experienced Frozen Four team, but doesn't think UMass losing players makes things any easier.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127752","og_site_name":"College Hockey | USCHO.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialUSCHO\/","article_published_time":"2021-04-07T21:54:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-09T01:47:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim Connelly","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@USCHO","twitter_site":"@USCHO","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim Connelly","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/","url":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/","name":"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent's missing players 'doesn't make it any easier' - College Hockey | USCHO.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-04-07T21:54:58+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-09T01:47:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54"},"description":"Minnesota Duluth enters Thursday\u2019s semifinal as the most experienced Frozen Four team, but doesn't think UMass losing players makes things any easier.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021-M-DI-Ice-Hockey-Practice_1722-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 07: Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs practice during a Division I Men's Ice Hockey practice day held at PPG Paints Arena on April 7, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller\/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/04\/07\/umd-despite-covid-issues-for-umass-experience-teaches-the-bulldogs-that-an-opponents-missing-players-doesnt-make-it-any-easier\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UMD: Despite COVID issues for UMass, experience teaches the Bulldogs that an opponent’s missing players ‘doesn’t make it any easier’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/","name":"College Hockey | USCHO.com","description":"Men's and Women's D-I and D-III College Hockey News, Features, Scores, Statistics, Fan Forum, Blogs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54","name":"Jim Connelly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4c7d31050418d5e7a74507617d667afd","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jim Connelly"},"description":"Senior Writer Jim Connelly is a senior writer and has been with USCHO.com since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he writes \"Tuesday Morning Quarterback.\"","url":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/author\/jimbo15\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127752"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127752"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127770,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127752\/revisions\/127770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127752"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=127752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}