SCORE TO WIN! WIN TO GET... WINS!
The bulldogs have a couple questions coming into this
season. One being, who in the world is
going to find the back of the net?
Jack Connolly, who scored 20 goals last season, Travis
Oleksuk, who scored 21 goals and J.T. Brown who buried 24 pucks were UMD’s top
3 scorers last season who together, combined for 160 points; they all
left. Making Caleb Herbert, who finished
off the year with 14 goals, Mike Seidel with 17 and Joe Basaraba with 7 left. Honestly, this is going to be a tough fill
for the dogs. It’s not realistic to say
that someone will replace those three, especially Jack, although anything is
possible right?
Austin Farley recorded 28 goals last season for the Fargo
Force and posted 59 total points in 51 games.
He was 10th overall in the USHL for total points and 8th
in goals. It’s no secret that he found
the back of the net last year in the United States Hockey League, but can he do
it at the collegiate level as well? I believe so.
At 5’9” 170lbs he’s not going to be the biggest skater on the ice, but I
expect him to be among the top scorers for the dogs this year.
Tony Cameranesi and Charlie Sampair could also be potential
freshman candidates to be among some of the top scorers this year. Tony put 18 goals in for the Waterloo Black
Hawks of the USHL last season and Charlie scored 30 goals for the Hill-Murray
Pioneers as a senior in high school last season. Tony has a year of experience in the USHL
under his belt and Charlie may sound like an iffy bet but at 6’1” 190lbs its
not like he’s going to pushed around to much.
But enough about incoming recruits, we all know UMD has
returning talent as well that will help put numbers on scoreboards all over the
country. You can’t exactly fall short of
the frozen four (only to the team that one the national championship) with 3
talented players right? Caleb Herbert is
going to have a hell of year. If it’s
not obvious, it should be. Plan on him
sitting near the WCHA scoring top, you heard it here first. Joe Basaraba will also have a fantastic
season this year, along with the experience of senior Mike Seidel who scored 2
goals in the bulldogs losing game against Denver in the WCHA final five.
Add Jake Hendrickson to the list of players to have a good
year as well. As a senior this year,
look for him to carry on from last year, specifically the Maine game where he
put 2 goals in to propel Duluth to face off against Boston College. He should be able to keep his numbers high
this year along with the rest of the returning players listed above.
Senior forwards Dan DeLisle, Keegan Flaherty and Cody
Danberg will use their experience to their advantage this year and also help
add points. These forwards, along with
Tim Smith, Joe Basaraba and Max Tardy know what it takes to win the national
championship, and I’m not saying they’re going to win it all, but that
experience will benefit them and the rest of the team very much so this year.
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