SB Nation College Hockey - #17 Minnesota Duluth at #7 St. Cloud StateCollege Hockey's Home on the Blogospherehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49993/wchb-fav.png2014-11-07T21:21:44-08:00http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/rss/stream/69395522014-11-07T21:21:44-08:002014-11-07T21:21:44-08:00Decowski Scores in OT; UMD Knocks Off SCSU 3-2
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/05vG92ha9M3vPHUTwp3jzyVm1ZY=/3x0:725x481/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43687500/MattChristians-scsu-sbn-2.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Matt Christians</figcaption>
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<p>It took some crazy twists and turns to get there, but at the end of the night, Minnesota Duluth junior Cal Decowski knocked home a backdoor pass to give #17 Minnesota Duluth [5-4-0, 3-2-0-0 NCHC] a 3-2 overtime win over #7 St. Cloud State [3-4-0, 0-1-0-0 NCHC]. The win was Minnesota Duluth's first win on a Friday night this season, and their first victory in St. Cloud since 2007.</p>
<p>Minnesota Duluth took an early first period on a goal by Justin Crandall. That 1-0 lead would hold up through the second period and set the stage for a back-and-forth third period. St. Cloud State's Jonny Brodzinski tied the game at 1-1 early in the third with a laser of a shot on the power play.</p>
<p>Minnesota Duluth would have a chance to regain the lead with 1:52 of 5-on-3 power play shortly after Brodzinski's goal. The Bulldogs weren't able to capitalize on the two-man advantage a minute and a half after St. Cloud had killed those two penalties, the Bulldogs would take a penalty of their own. St. Cloud's Patrick Russell converted on that power play to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead.</p>
<p>It looked like that lead would hold until Minnesota Duluth juinor Andy Welinski wired a one-timer on the power play above the shoulder of St. Cloud State goalie Charlie Lindgren to send the game to overtime.</p>
<p>In overtime, Austyn Young, who had been up from the fourth line earlier in the game, forced a turnover at the St. Cloud State blue line and fed the puck to Kyle Osterberg, whose backdoor pass found Decowski for the winner.</p>
<p>The two teams will meet again tomorrow night for the second half of this two-game series.</p>
<p><b>Fancy Stats:</b></p>
<p>Shots on goal: SCSU 10- 10- 14-1-35 UMD 8-5-7-1-21</p>
<p>Corsi(even strength shot attempts): SCSU 11-14-12-2-39 UMD 12-8-8-1-29 (57.3% to 42.7% SCSU)</p>
<p>Prime Scoring Area attempts: SCSU 3-6-5-0 -14 UMD 4-2-1-1-8</p>
<p><b>Notes:</b></p>
<p>-This was a fun hockey game. There wasn't much scoring in the first two periods, but there was a lot of up-and-down hockey and good scoring chances both ways. It looked like Minnesota Duluth was headed for another loss at their House of Horrors when they failed to score on that 5-on-3 then gave up a goal to go down 2-on-1. Give them a lot of credit for digging deep and finding a way to steal two points tonight.</p>
<p>-The biggest reason Minnesota Duluth won tonight was Kasimir Kaskisuo. He was outstanding, especially in the second period when he faced some really high-quality shots and somehow found a way to get UMD out of the period leading 1-0. It's largely forgotten because of the wild third period, but to me, that's where UMD won this game.</p>
<p>The Bulldogs got outshot and outchanced all evening. Their possession numbers weren't very good. But Kaskisuo kept the game close enough that all UMD needed was one good shot on that late power play to tie the game. Minnesota Duluth didn't win very many of those types of games last year--if anything, they were in St. Cloud's position, losing despite a big shot edge--but they've added that ability with Kaskisuo in net, and that makes them a very dangerous team.</p>
<p>-The blue line is going to be a big concern for St. Cloud State going forward. Judging by ice time, they have a lot of confidence in their top three guys, and not much in the bottom three. The defensive zone turnover on UMD's first goal stands out as a good example of why. Those top three guys, especially Prochno and Prow logged a lot of ice time for the first game of a two-game series, and I think fatigue might have been a bit of a factor on that final turnover.</p>
<p>-That said, I was very impressed with freshman Mika Ilvonen in my first viewing. He played pretty sheltered minutes tonight, which I'm guessing is just a factor of trying to work him into the line-up with this only being his second game. But he's so smooth with the puck. He was a little late on a few reads, but with time, I think he'll be an exceptional player.</p>
<p>-I thought this was a strong game in net from Charlie Lindgren. He didn't stand out like Kaskisuo did, and his numbers will take a bit of a hit with the limited action he faced, but it's hard to fault on him on any of the goals. I thought he was strong positionally all night, and turned some quality chances into easy-looking saves by making himself big in the net. The goalie wasn't the issue for St. Cloud tonight.</p>
<p>-St. Cloud State muddle their way through their first three power play attempts with little success, in part because they were a bit too cute with the puck. On their fourth attempt, it became pretty clear that they were just going to get the puck to Jonny Brodzinski and let him shoot it. His first attempt was blocked by Minnesota Duluth, but he got the puck back right after and fired a beautiful shot for a goal. Brodzinski's shot is one of the biggest weapons in college hockey, and something that should be used more often.</p>
<p>-St. Cloud's Patrick Russell had three excellent scoring chances in the second period and was denied on all three attempts by Kaskisuo. He finally scored his first collegiate goal in the third period when he was left all alone in front. He's a dangerous player in front of the net and has a lot more goals in his future.</p>
<p>-By his own admission, Cal Decowski didn't have to do much on his overtime game-winning goal, but he was effective all night and the puck has a way of finding guys like that. Decowski has played well over the past few weeks, seen his playing time increase and is starting to see the results on the scoresheet. He has points in each of his last four games, with five total in that stretch.</p>
<p>-3976 was the official attendance, but that count feels low, if anything. There was a very good crowd here in St. Cloud tonight, which made for a fun atmosphere. The game on the ice was good, but there wasn't the seething hatred I saw last week between UMD and Miami. It makes a huge difference in atmosphere when it's a local opponent that the fan base knows though.</p>
<p>-Minnesota Duluth is now 4-0-0 on the year when I'm in attendance. I'll be back covering the Bulldogs next Friday at Mariucci, and then the 'Dogs are off my schedule until the North Star Cup. It could be a long December for them.</p>
<p><b>Final Scoring:</b></p>
<p><b>First Period:</b></p>
<p><i>12:22 Justin Crandall from Dominic Toninato 1-0 UMD</i></p>
<p>Toninato intercepted an SCSU breakout pass in the high slot. He skated to his left then fired a pass across the crease to a streaking Crandall who deflected the puck into an open net. [<a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176423/justin-crandall-gives-minnesota-duluth-a-1-0-lead/in/6939552" target="_blank">Video</a>]</p>
<p><b>Second Period:</b></p>
<p><i>None</i></p>
<p><b>Third Period:</b></p>
<p><i>3:13- Jonny Brodzinski from Andrew Prochno and Kalle Kossila (power play) 1-1 tie</i></p>
<p>On the power play, Brodzinski got the puck at the top of the left circle and fired a laser into the upper right corner of the net. [<a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176639/jonny-brodzinski-ties-game-at-1-1" target="_blank">Video</a>]</p>
<p><i>8:56- Patrick Russell from Joey Benik and Andrew Prochno (power play) 2-1 St. Cloud State</i></p>
<p>Russell was left all alone in front of the Minnesota Duluth net on the power play. He took a pass from Benik and deked across the crease to</p>
<p><i>14:14 Andy Welinski from Austin Farley and Dominic Toninato (power play) 2-2 tie</i></p>
<p>Welinski took a pass at the top of the umbrella on the power play and blasted a one-timed slap shot into the upper left corner of the net. [<a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176685/andy-welinski-ties-the-game-at-2-2" target="_blank">Video</a>]</p>
<p><b>Overtime</b></p>
<p><i>2:06 Cal Decowski from Kyle Osterberg and Austyn Young 3-2 Minnesota Duluth</i></p>
<p>Young forced a turnover at the St. Cloud State blue line and fed the puck to Osterberg who came into the zone on a 2-on-1. Osterberg made a pass across the crease to Decowski who knocked the puck into the net.[<a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176753/cal-decowskis-overtime-winner-for-minnesota-duluth" target="_blank">Video</a>]</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/nchc/2014/11/7/7176213/cal-decowskis-overtime-winner-leads-minnesota-duluth-to-3-2-win-at-stChris Dilks2014-11-07T20:26:07-08:002014-11-07T20:26:07-08:00Cal Decowski's Overtime Winner for Minnesota Duluth<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foxsports.com/north/college-hockey-highlights?s=371082">Cal Decowski's Overtime Winner for Minnesota&nbsp;Duluth</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Cal Decowski scored 2:06 into overtime to give Minnesota Duluth a 3-2 overtime victory against St. Cloud State.</p></p></div>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176753/cal-decowskis-overtime-winner-for-minnesota-duluthChris Dilks2014-11-07T19:55:21-08:002014-11-07T19:55:21-08:00Andy Welinski Ties the Game at 2-2<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foxsports.com/north/college-hockey-highlights?s=371061">Andy Welinski Ties the Game at&nbsp;2-2</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Andy Welinski's power play rocket from the point tied St. Cloud and Minnesota Duluth at 2-2 in the third period.</p></p></div>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176685/andy-welinski-ties-the-game-at-2-2Chris Dilks2014-11-07T19:33:05-08:002014-11-07T19:33:05-08:00Jonny Brodzinski Ties Game at 1-1<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foxsports.com/north/college-hockey-highlights?s=371011">Jonny Brodzinski Ties Game at&nbsp;1-1</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Jonny Brodzinski's fifth goal of the season on the power play tied St. Cloud with Minnesota Duluth in the third period</p></p></div>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176639/jonny-brodzinski-ties-game-at-1-1Chris Dilks2014-11-07T18:19:52-08:002014-11-07T18:19:52-08:00Justin Crandall Gives Minnesota Duluth a 1-0 Lead<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foxsports.com/north/college-hockey-highlights?s=370841">Justin Crandall Gives Minnesota Duluth a 1-0&nbsp;Lead</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Justin Crandall's second goal of the season gave Minnesota Duluth a 1-0 lead on St. Cloud State in the first period on Friday night.</p></p></div>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176423/justin-crandall-gives-minnesota-duluth-a-1-0-leadChris Dilks2014-11-07T16:30:43-08:002014-11-07T16:30:43-08:00St. Cloud State Line Chart 11/7<img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vvkYQzFz9eDRfJNWx7WR1v7Q93E=/410x410/cdn.vox-cdn.com/fan_shot_images/358468/scsuliner117_0_JPG.jpg" />
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>Here is St. Cloud State's line-up for tonight. No surprises for the Huskies. Daniel Tedesco returns to the line-up after missing the past five games with an injury.</p></p></div>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7176201/st-cloud-state-line-chart-11-7Chris Dilks2014-11-07T14:18:13-08:002014-11-07T14:18:13-08:00St. Cloud hoping to avoid emotional rollercoaster
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<img alt="SCSU goalie Charlie Lindgren (35) has made the net his own as a sophomore." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-kq1rIUiWQjz9_wDZmTul0qpZvM=/0x0:960x640/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43668138/lindgren.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>SCSU goalie Charlie Lindgren (35) has made the net his own as a sophomore. | Matt Christians</figcaption>
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<p>The Huskies have gone 3-3 against three top-5 teams and hold wins against both 2014 national finalists.</p> <p>Any doubt last Friday night could be a regular non-conference home game for St. Cloud State disappeared with the game's first goal in a 4-1 victory.</p>
<p>With his brother Michael in the penalty box, Huskies forward Jonny Brodzinski (<a href="https://www.jewelsfromthecrown.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Los Angeles Kings</a>) had the puck at the half wall. Skating down to the corner he found linemate <span>Kalle Kossila</span> open at the top of the slot. Kosilla did the rest, snapping a one-timer past Minnesota goalie <span>Adam Wilcox</span> (<a href="https://www.rawcharge.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Lightning</a>) for his first goal of the season.</p>
<p>The explosion of joy on the ice and among the five thousand plus standing at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center was less a celebration of a single goal against the team which had eliminated the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament a year prior.</p>
<p>Hosting the school colloquially known as "the U" is special even if the visiting team did not have a number one attached to its name. It always is when Minnesota schools face one another. One way or another, everybody involved Halloween night had an added incentive. You would hard pressed sitting above a costumed student section with a fervor and passion which would make "Let's Make A Deal" jealous to explain how zero points were stake.</p>
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<p>"It's amazing. Every series against the Gophers is going to be absolutely packed along with North Dakota," said Jonny, who leads the team with 4 goals a year after scoring 21. "Playing in front of a crowd like this, especially in costumes, is awesome."</p>
<p>Roles were reversed. Jonny the big brother was beating Mike and Minnesota for the first time in the three college games the pair had played against one another.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it's kind of nice," he said.</p>
<p>A day later and 70 miles away was a different result for St. Cloud State. Despite Kossila's declaration that the team would be as pissed as their opponents would be, the Huskies ended the two game series with a crashing halt 1:19 into overtime.</p>
<p>Gopher sophomore and former Lakeville North (MN) forward Justin Kloos completed a hat trick with a 4-3 overtime win for the Gophers, scoring against former Lakeville South (MN) and current SCSU goalie Charlie Lindgren. Less than 24 hours after leaving Minnesota's Seth Ambroz frustrated to the point where he stated the Gophers were punched in the mouth and didn't punch back, St. Cloud State only mustered 14 shots on goal.</p>
<p>The road can be a heartless place. Still, the scene at Mariucci for the Huskies was a far cry from the atmosphere one night before even with so much in common.</p>
<p>"We just didn't have a lot of energy in the locker room," Huskies head coach Bob Motzko said Saturday. "They were trying to find it. They're a good group of guys and it's just so hard when you can't find it."</p>
<p>Both games, both contrasting emotions have been par for the course this year for a St. Cloud State team that is 3-3 on the year.</p>
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<link href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3608425/mustreads.css" rel="stylesheet">
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<p>If the .500 record looks misleading that's because it is partially. Series splits against Colgate, Union and the Gophers - three teams each ranked in the top five when SCSU played them - have shown St. Cloud this year that its players can go against any team when the energy is there.</p>
<p>"We're still early in the year. We're not worrying about what Minnesota does, we have to do our job," Motzko said Friday after handing the Gophers its first loss of 2013-14.</p>
<p>So far that job has shown glimpses of one well done. The upperclassmen leading the Huskies have two consecutive conference titles to their name alongside a Frozen Four appearance. Once playing with Hobey Baker Award winners and finalists, the Brodzinskis and Kossilas are, along with Joey Benik and defensemen Andrew Prochno and Ethan Prow, the guys shooting for those honors.</p>
<p>Another change is in net. Replacing the departed <span>Ryan Faragher</span>, Lindgren, who had 10 appearances in net as a freshman, has installed himself as the man in goal. The 6'2", 183 lbs sophomore goalie may lack the experience of the upperclassmen, but is beginning to match their consistency over the last two seasons.</p>
<p>"There were some times when he bailed us out big time," Brodzinski said about his goalie. "You see it in practice and now you see it in games."</p>
<p>Both nights Lindgren was able to do so whether it was early Friday before St. Cloud State's power play frustrated or Saturday when positioning and rebound control kept a 22-4 first period shot attempt disadvantage even on the scoreboard.</p>
<p>It's that consistency which the players are working towards as a team. While Friday's home atmosphere was meaningful and emotional, SCSU's head coach would rather not dwell on the positives and negatives.</p>
<p>Well at least for the guys on the ice.</p>
<p>"I'm sure there is," said Motzko about whether there was an added emotion. "It's more with the fans, but it's big for the Minnesota kids, it's big for our fans. You can't hide from it. It's a great atmosphere, one of the better atmospheres you see in college hockey, but our emphasis all week long was how we continue to play hockey and how we play to take another step to what we're trying to do."</p>
<p>That's all anyone can do as those in the crowd and throughout college hockey's Civil War (or at least its upper Midwest battlefront) figure out what it means when the Huskies host the Gophers. It's special with or without a conference - no one will deny that. At the end of the day there's another game week and one that. St. Cloud State, playing in a conference where 6 of the 8 teams are in the top 20, hosts Minnesota-Duluth for NCHC points.</p>
<p>The Bulldogs are no slouches, having split every series against tough opposition themselves. But the weekend is a start of a run for a third straight conference title and a chance to balance out the lows and highs of an emotional October roller coaster.</p>
<p>"We're playing a long season," Motzko said between the fifth and sixth games of a 34 game regular season, before the words rang true the following night. "You don't want to start the emotional roller coaster. Next week we have Duluth. I think Duluth's one of the better teams in the country.</p>
<p>"That's why you can't get emotional when you play."</p>
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<p><i>Nathan Wells is a college hockey columnist for SB Nation. You can also follow him on Twitter -- <a data-show-count="false" class="twitter-follow-button" href="https://twitter.com/gopherstate">Follow @gopherstate</a></i></p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/nchc/2014/11/7/7175695/st-cloud-state-enters-nchc-play-looking-to-avoid-emotional-rolloercoasterNathan Wells2014-11-07T14:08:49-08:002014-11-07T14:08:49-08:00Minnesota Duluth Line Chart for 11/7<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/mattwellens/status/530843505808379906">Minnesota Duluth Line Chart for&nbsp;11/7</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Here is Minnesota Duluth's line chart for tonight's game vs. St. Cloud State.</p></p></div>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/7/7175701/minnesota-duluth-line-chart-for-11-7Chris Dilks