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Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

I hadn't had the feeling I did last night leaving the hockey game.. since UMD lost 4-0 to North Dakota in November of 08 when Kim Martin left the game because of a concussion.

The team just looked so inept that game and last night they looked like they'd never played a game together before. 90% of their shots were from the blue line, and twice as many shots that got through were blocked before they got to the goaltender.

They came back the next week to knock off Dartmouth twice the next weekend so hopefully this team can regroup and fix whatever caused the problems this weekend.

The big thing I realized last night is.. they really miss the leadership of Saara Tuominen when a game is going tough. The Wilson/Friddy/Blais line is a great line, so it's not the line that's a problem, just the lack of the senior leadership with Blais the only senior playing offense, while the other three are defensemen.

Don't get me wrong though.. Blais is one of my all-time favorite players for the Dogs, she just does more of her leading on the ice, where you can tell with Tuominen it's an overall leadership quality she has.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Speaking of Tuominen.. Her and Mariia Posa take on Iya Gavrilova and the Russian women on CNBC at 6:30 Central time
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

dhmn quote...The team just looked so inept that game and last night they looked like they'd never played a game together before. 90% of their shots were from the blue line, and twice as many shots that got through were blocked before they got to the goaltender.

Gotta give a little credit to OSU. They have some of the top forwards in the league...Spooner, Macintosh, Langan. Their defense is small but very mobile and their goaltending is starting to come around. I think they could surprise a few people in the WCHA Tournament.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

xwildfan said:
dhmn quote...The team just looked so inept that game and last night they looked like they'd never played a game together before.
Click to expand...

I think it's the inexperience of all of those talented Freshmen not knowing how to play as the "favorites" . . . so yes, missing Saara's leadership is a big, big deal . . . the thing I feared the most.

On the other hand, they just didn't play well . . . from the top line (Friddy looked really, really limited - like the entire left side of her body was 3/4 of a step behind the other) to the goaltending of Harrs. Just a bad performance all the way around.

And, to the other point. . . . OSU did look better than I'd anticipated. They sustained pressure throughout the game and could indeed inflict some damage come tournament time. However, Knapp was very suspect in goal . . . any real pressure from the Dogs and she'd have caved.

Go DOGS!!!!
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

The Dogs just looked like they were reacting to everything rather than trying to set the pace or get anything started on Saturday. And the Buckeyes came ready to play. That Spooner is a freaking machine. I didn't see as much from Langan as I was expecting, but their whole team put in the effort and deserved the win.

Saara's absence had to matter on the bench and in the locker room. There's a reason she's a captain for Finland's national team, too. She's going to be missed next year. I wonder who wears the "C" next year. Friddy, Holmlov, Martin, Larocque, Gray or Guzzo? Friddy seems like the natural choice, but I'm not a coach.

Maybe Friddy should've sat out the game to give her knee a rest. I had a chance to chat briefly with Julianne before the game and she said Friddy's knee was just a little tender, but geez...be healthy for the playoffs. This game wasn't going to decide a national title or anything and they knew before the game started that the Gophers had lost in St. Cloud. But one player doesn't win or lose a game.

I'm really glad Tomcikova's in Vancouver.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

I forgot about Heidi Pelttari playing for Finland also.. ;) oops!
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Good game on CNBC right now (channel 32 on Charter in Duluth), Finland vs Russia, in case anybody's looking for hockey. Tuominen, Posa and Pelttari playing for Finland and Gavrilova and Petrovskaya for Russia. Finland's racking up penalties but the game's tied 1-1 toward the end of the first.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

I honestly can't imagine how bad Jenny Harss' (and the Lanzl sisters) Germany team is that Slovakia (18-0 losers to Canada) beat them in Olympic qualifying!
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

I'm sure the rest of the names we know will do something in the upcoming games.. but

So far in 4 Olympic women's hockey games:

February 13
Kim Martin has shut out Switzerland 3-0, making 16 saves for Sweden against the Swiss.

UMD Grad Caroline Oullette scored a goal and added four assists, and red-shirted Bulldog Haley Irwin picked up two goals in Canada's 18-0 drubbing of Slovakia.

February 14
Jenny Potter had a hat-trick and two assists vs China, while former UMD assistant coach and Harvard alum Julie Chu scored a goal and had two assists.

Saara Tuominen and Heidi Pelttari each had an assist in Finland's 5-1 win over the Russian women's hockey team.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Some of these games look like a WCHA All-Star game, but it's still fun to see the current and former Bulldogs playing on the big stage. Saara got a ton of ice time in Sunday's game and looked really good. Pelttari, too. Having read some interviews that Gavrilova's done recently, I feel bad for the Russian women. Sounds like Russia has pretty much left that team to fend for itself. But Finland and Sweden look even better than they did in 2006, so at least the bronze medal game should be interesting if everything plays out like it should.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

"Saara's absence had to matter on the bench and in the locker room. There's a reason she's a captain for Finland's national team, too. She's going to be missed next year. I wonder who wears the "C" next year. Friddy, Holmlov, Martin, Larocque, Gray or Guzzo? Friddy seems like the natural choice, but I'm not a coach."

With Friddy already an assistant and Martin a returning assistant, my guess is those two plus Larocque, who i guarantee will run the ship next season.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

I also see that UMD is covering their olympic alums and current kids on their website for those of you that can't see games or just want quick look backs. There is a link on the left side of the hockey homepage.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Pernilla Winberg scored either three or four yesterday depending on whose story you read as Sweden beat Slovakia 6-2. Elin Holmlov and Jenni Asserholt also scored. Lots of good pictures here:

AP Images
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Since NBCOlympics.com box score says Winberg had 4.. I'll stick with that ;)

Either way it was a UMD show against Slovakia as Elin Holmlov (plus 2 assists) and Jenni Asserholt scored the other two Sweden goals and Erica Holst had 2 assists. Kim Martin had the game off.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Can anyone tell me if there will be any webcast of the Bulldogs first round playoff series. I know that B2 usually broadcasts the games but I have heard they will not be playing at the Decc??
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

CatMan said:
Can anyone tell me if there will be any webcast of the Bulldogs first round playoff series. I know that B2 usually broadcasts the games but I have heard they will not be playing at the Decc??
Click to expand...

No B2TV coverage, but there will be the usual radio coverage and maybe a live blog on the Bulldogs website.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

2/15/10 email from Miller:
"We have two games left in our regular season schedule and we are presently ranked #2 in our league and #3 in the country!

We travel to Bemidji this weekend for our last 2 regular season games and then play offs begin!

Tomorrow we move to the Heritage Ice Center, away from our home ice at the DECC. The DECC has taken the ice out for other events and we have decided to make the Heritage Center our home for the next two weeks. The weekend of February 26-28 is our best of 3 for the WCHA. These games will be Friday and Saturday at 7pm. (if a 3rd game is necessary it will be sunday at 4pm). We have chosen to play Friday at 7pm at Heritage instead of 3pm at the DECC. Our men's team plays the Gophers that night at 7pm so we were unable to have that ice. Why at Heritage at 7pm versus the DECC at 3pm?

1. Saara Tuominen and Mariia Posa (two of our players) will be traveling back from the Olympic Games THAT day. They arrive in Duluth mid afternoon and would be unable to play in a 3:00 game. Obviously we want them in our line up since they will have missed our last 8 games while being at the Olympics. So we chose to play at 7pm at a different arena.

2. Since we will be at Heritage Center the entire week before that we decided to just stay there and make that our home for the first round of play offs.

We hope everyone understands and comes to the Heritage to cheer us on Friday and Saturday nights!!!

We have a young team and small roster that is over-achieving to say the least......you being there, you cheering your lungs out makes a difference to us. Please come and cheer us on through the play offs!

Shannon Miller
Head Coach
Women's Hockey
University of Minnesota Duluth"
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

Anybody else watch the Canada vs Sweden game today? Ouch. Nobody expected Sweden to beat Canada, but I sure thought they'd bring a lot more to the game than what they did. Not pretty. A real head shaker especially seeing Kim Martin give up ten goals before being replaced. They have some work to do. They probably match up well with Finland, but Canada is clearly the best team in the Olympics.
 
Re: Bulldogs 09-10 Season

I had to leave to shoot basketball when it was 5-0 Canada.. well, actually I turned it off to get ready to go shoot basketball when it became 5-0.. probably could have watched a bit more. Just from what I saw, her team shut down after the first goal.. hard to ever imagine Martin giving up 10 goals to ANYONE.
 
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