UMD vs Miami: We Need Points

The University of Minnesota Duluth heads east to take on Miami University in desperate need for NCHC points.


Coming out of a not so hot weekend against North Dakota, which is an understate by the way, the Bulldogs are going to be hungrier than ever for critical NCHC points.

Offensively things weren't clicking last weekend, which needs to change.  Winning faceoffs and maintaining control of the puck was a very big hole that North Dakota pointed out badly.

Now, given this UND team has been playing fairly decent, it's still no excuse to fall in both games by those scores.  So, things have to change.

Special teams need to get better.  0 for 9 last weekend.  That's simply unacceptable.

Look for some possible line changes and some hungry Bulldogs.  Losing five games in a row isn't an option for this team, but hey, it's on the road, and we like it better away from home.

Faceoff Facts:

  • The Bulldogs' strength of schedule (SOS) coming into this weekend takes a backseat to no other NCAA I club in the country.

  • The Bulldogs have compiled a 9-6-1 record (.594) away from Duluth so far this winter, compared with a 4-7-3 (.393) home record.

  • Junior center Caleb Herbert, who has picked up a goal and/or an assist in eight of the last nine outings (he had his career-high seven-game scoring streak terminated in last Friday's 3-0 loss to North Dakota), continues to top the Bulldog scoring charts with 26 points. He's currently tied for fourth among NCHC skaters in even strength goals with nine (all of his goals thus far have been scored in that situation) and for ninth in overall assists (17).
  • Going back to a 5-4 home loss to Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in the 41 games that they've struck for four or more goals (36-0-5). That includes a 7-0-1 record in 2013-14.

  • The Bulldogs have won both of their NCHC shootout to date, defeating visiting Denver 2-1 in four rounds on Jan. 18 and Colorado College 1-0 in three rounds on Feb. 8 at AMSOIL Arena.

  • The Bulldogs have drawn first blood in 12 of their 13 wins to date and are 12-3-2 overall when jumping out to a 1-0 lead (but a mere 1-10-2 when they opposition has done so).

  • UMD has rolled up the third-most first-period goals of any NCHC club (30), trailing only St. Cloud State (37) and North Dakota (31).

  • Senior goaltender Aaron Crandall, who had made 14 consecutive starts before sophomore Matt McNeely got the nod this past Saturday night, has established career-bests this season for appearances (25), starts (23) and victories (11). Crandall's career winning percentage of .555 (off a 27-21-6 record) is the third highest in program history at the moment, trailing only Rick Kosti (.753 between 1983-85) and Kenny Reiter (.657 from 2008-12).

  • UMD is 5-10-2 against nationally-ranked opponents in 2013-14 with those wins coming against No. 1 Minnesota (6-2 on Nov. 24 in Minneapolis, Minn.), No. 2 Notre Dame (5-1 on Oct. 26 in Duluth), No. 13 North Dakota (6-3 on Nov. 16 in Grand Forks, N.D.) and No. 20 Western Michigan (5-2 and 3-1 on Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Kalamazoo, Mich.).

  • The Bulldogs are 11-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period this season.


Enjoy.

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Bulldogs Land Hunter Miska

The University of Minnesota Duluth landed current Penticton goaltender Hunter Miska for future play between the pipes.


Miska, a Minnesotan puckstopper, has officially made his decision to play for the UMD Bulldogs as of mid February.

The something foot somethingdsafdjsahfds started play at the age of four with Centennial until he joined North Branch's hockey association a few years later.  Throughout this time, Miska wasn't stopping pucks, but doing quite the opposite...  scoring goals.

"Throughout that whole time, I played as a forward. Only one year I played every other game as a goalie. I really enjoyed the position but my mother was against me playing between the pipes. She told me that I was a better forward than a goalie," Miska told the Penticton Western News. "I kept playing as a forward up until I was ready to prove her wrong and make the switch."

From there, the skilled goalie was invited to gear for a U.S. National Team Development Program tryout, which evidently went well as Miska found himself rostered for the U17 team.

Starting in 2011, Miska played for the US NTDP for two seasons, participating in 38 games for the red, white, and blue.

Now with the BCHL's Penticton Vees, the Stacy, MN native is posting excellent numbers.  Exhibiting a 2.27 goals against average lands Miska seconf overall in the goalie standings, along with a save percentage of .914 and two shutouts to date.

"Hunter has been a huge part of our success; his confident attitude, tireless work ethic and overall athleticism has made him one of the elite goalies in the BCHL," said Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson.





Miska isn't expected to join the Bulldogs until the 2015-2016 season, but with such a large time gap, many things can change.

Enjoy.

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Kasimir Kaskisuo Commits to UMD

Minnesota Wilderness goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo has verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota Duluth.


Kasimir Kaskisuo, a Vantaa, Finaland native, has committed to wear maroon and gold for the UMD Bulldogs.

The 6-foot-3, 201lb netminder has played absolutely incredible for the NAHL's Minnesota Wilderness, leading the entire league with a goals-against average of 1.36 and save percentage of .948 while logging 1461 minutes between the pipes.  These numbers also include the 15-5-4 record he's sporting, along with 8 shutouts.

“UMD has everything I was looking for in a school and it’s amazing to be a part of this community,” Kaskisuo told the MN Wilderness. “UMD had the whole package, I feel like it’s the best place for me. It’s good to finally get the process over with and now I can focus on the rest of the season.”

Making another rare feat, Kaskisuo's tremendous amount talent has landed him on the NHL CSS North American Midterm Rankings, coming in at #16.  With all the success, comes a lot of attention as well.

"I visited a couple of other schools too, but it's a great hockey program (University of Minnesota-Duluth), and it had everything that I was looking for in a school," The Hockey Writers reported. "After that it was all about putting everything on paper. It was a tough decision, but it made a lot of sense."

Unfortunately for the goaltender, he's been benched with a lower-body injury for awhile, but should be back relatively soon and ready to better his already outstanding numbers.



Kaskisuo was the Bulldogs first answer to a goaltending problem UMD was facing with Aaron Crandall graduating this spring.  That being said, he's expected to join the team for the 2014-15 season.

Enjoy.

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