UMD Men’s Hockey Thumps Bemidji 6-2

UMD fell behind Friday night, 2-0 on goals by Bemidji's Brad Hunt and Jordan George just 1:05 apart at 6:21 and 7:26. Wade Bergman got UMD back into the game 55 seconds later, at 8:21, when he skated in from the blue line to punch in a rebound after a flurry of attempts including a JT Brown shot point blank. Jack Connolly also got an assist on Bergman's first goal of the year. UMD used it's timeout at 12:34 of the second period, likely needing a quick breather after the Bergman goal then an unsuccessful powerplay. The quick break worked, as JT Brown scored at 13:24, putting a Chris Casto rebound into an open Bemidji net with goaltender Andrew Walsh trying to dive back to his net, to no avail.

Keegan Flaherty stuffed a rebound of his own shot past Walsh, at 8:15 of the second period, from Dan DeLisle, to give UMD a 3-2 lead, his 3rd goal of the season after 0 goals his first two Bulldog seasons. Casto then scored his first Bulldog goal, from Caleb Herbert and Justin Crandall at 9:32 of the period.

With the Bulldogs on cruise control in the third period, Brady Lamb scored at 7:11 from Travis Oleksuk and Jack Connolly, and Connolly scored his second of the season, from Bergman at 11:07 for the final 6-2 tally.

Kenny Reiter held his ground after the two Bemidji goals, stopping 15 of 17 total shots while Walsh stopped 34 of 40 Bulldog shots in the loss.

UMD Hockey Rallies Against Michigan Tech

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For the first 39 minutes on Friday, UMD peppered Michigan Tech goaltender Josh Robinson with shot after shot but couldn't put the puck behind him. Tech had a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Brett Olson and Milos Gordic. At 19:04 of the second period, Justin Fontaine finally got the 'Dogs on the board, getting through the Tech defenses to bury the rebound of a Justin Faulk shot from the circle. The spark from that goal carried to the third period, when Fontaine scored again, on a shorthanded hustle, diving to the puck and sweeping it through Robinson's 5-hole as he came out to try and challenge the puck. Jack Connolly, Joe Basaraba (his first career goal), and Dan Delisle the each scored in the next 7:16 for the 'Dogs, giving them a 5-2 lead. Olson scored again for Tech at 18:11 of the third but the UMD lead was too much. UMD outshot Michigan Tech 47-17 for the game, and Tech never had more than 7 shots in any period. Wade Bergman had two assists while Jack & Mike Connolly, Justin Faulk, Mike Montgomery, Keegan Flaherty, and Mike Seidel each added a solo assist for the 'Dogs.

Justin Faulk controls the puck in the zone

Justin Fontaine starts a dive to the puck

Fontaine swept the puck through Robinson’s legs for the game tying goal

Joe Basaraba lets a slapshot go, that beat Robinson for his first career goal

UMD Men’s Hockey Sweeps Alaska Anchorage

The UMD men's hockey team finished a series sweep of Alaska Anchorage with a 6-0 win on Saturday, October 23rd. Travis Oleksuk scored the first of his two goals, just 50 seconds into the first period, and that goal was the only goal of the period. Justin Fontaine gave UMD a 2-0 lead with a powerplay goal 3:43 into the second period, and Dan DeLisle scored his first career goal at 17:16. Kyle Schmidt added a goal in the third period, giving UMD a 4-0 lead. Oleksuk scored his second goal at 9:21, and DeLisle scored his second with 4 seconds left in the game to give UMD the final 6-0 score. Keegan Flaherty, and J.T. Brown each had two assists for the 'Dogs, while Oleksuk, Schmidt, Jack Connolly, Mike Connolly, and Mike Siedel each had solo assists. Aaron Crandall got the shutout for the 'Dogs, his second win of the season in as many starts.

Travis Oleksuk scored twice for the ‘Dogs Vs Anchorage

Dan DeLisle scores his first career goal, and would add a second goal later

I’m not shooting EVERY UMD men’s hockey game, but will shoot the occasional ‘Dogs game, especially when it’s a doubleheader day with the UMD women playing before.