Thursday, March 04, 2021 Good morning Bulldogs fans!
Five days ago, the Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team took four of a possible six league points from the top team, Wisconsin, in the top league of women's college hockey, the WCHA.
UMD, which finished second in said league, was 87 seconds away last Saturday from sweeping the Badgers, who at the time were the No. 1 team in all the land.
Three days from now, the eight-team NCAA Division I women's hockey tournament field will be announced. Will the Bulldogs be one of those eight teams? It depends on who you ask.
We'll start with Bulldogs coach Maura Crowell:
"I think we made a big statement last weekend and at the same time, we want to control our own destiny," Crowell said Wednesday during her weekly press conference. "So we're focused on Ohio State and taking care of business there. I think if we do that, then really good things happen."
Voters (a combination of coaches and media, like myself) in both national polls seemed to agree this week with Crowell that her Bulldogs made a statement against Wisconsin. They have the Bulldogs at No. 5, which if this was the Pairwise, would make UMD immune from a series of Cinderella conference champions knocking them out.
As for me, I agree most with the second part of Crowell's statement, as I'm not convinced the selection committee will hand half of the field to the WCHA. Minnesota and/or UMD are both in danger of being left out of the tournament with semifinal losses this weekend.
The Gophers likely have an edge on the Bulldogs after beating them twice in their only meeting in November, however, Minnesota has won just three of its last 10 games (3-6-1). The Gophers are also 2-7-1 against Wisconsin and Ohio State.
UMD can make sure it's not the sacrificial lamb for another Eastern team by beating the Buckeyes at 5:07 p.m. Saturday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. That not only puts UMD one win away from nabbing the WCHA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament -- the only true way any team can clinch a spot in the field of eight in 2020-21 with no Pairwise -- but it also gives the Bulldogs a 3-2 record against the Badgers and Buckeyes. It makes UMD the second place team in the country's best league during the regular season and one of the last two standing during the postseason.
"I do think we put ourselves in a really good position based on last weekend. We just want to continue to win hockey games," Crowell said Wednesday. "I think we made a great statement here, and as we've said for the past week, we're just getting started."
If the season ended Wednesday night, here is what my bracket for the 2021 NCAA tournament in Erie, Pennsylvania would look like:
For a look at where the UMD stands in the men's hockey tournament, check out Bracketology below.
I'll have a WCHA Final Faceoff preview posted Friday to DuluthNewsTribune.com and TheRinkLive.com. Check out Follow, Watch, Listen below for all the ways you can catch the Bulldogs at the Final Faceoff this weekend, as no tickets are being released to the general public. THIS WEEK ON BULLDOG INSIDER: Bulldog Insider Podcast: Q&A session with women's senior class This week on the Bulldog Insider Podcast, it's Senior Day.
We welcomed five of the Bulldogs' six-person senior class (McKenzie Revering had to skip to take her teacher's exam) on the podcast to talk about their four years as Bulldogs.
We talked about their first day on campus and first time stepping inside Amsoil Arena. We asked what originally brought them to UMD and what their favorite moments were as Bulldogs.
We also asked the all-important question of whether or they'll be back next season or not. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, student-athletes have been granted an extra season of eligibility. Some have made decisions (like Anna Klein, she'll be back and is doubling down on how great her goal/intro video will be next season), while others are still weighing their potential options (like Canadian Olympic hopeful Ashton Bell).
You can listen to this week's episode at DuluthNewsTribune.com, TheRinkLive.com, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also read excerpts from this week's episode here in the Bulldog Insider Q&A.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: Bulldogs men close regular season against St. Cloud State While the Bulldogs' women begin what they hope is a lengthy postseason run Saturday in Minneapolis, the UMD men's hockey team will play its regular season finale four hours earlier to the Northwest in St. Cloud.
The Bulldogs and the Huskies drop the puck at 1:07 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, with second place in the NCHC on the line. That may not seem like much, however, there is a big difference between second and third place this year in the NCHC standings.
Finishing second in the NCHC gets you the second seed and two days off in between the league's quarterfinals and semifinals at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota, should you win. Finish third and you get just a single day in between.
Here is the 2021 NCHC Frozen Faceoff schedule, and a look at the matchups. Note the second and third seeds are all that remain to be decided at this point.
Quarterfinals March 12 No. 8 Miami vs. No. 1 North Dakota No. 7 Colorado College vs. No. 2 UMD or SCSU March 13 No. 6 Western Michigan vs. No. 3 UMD or SCSU No. 5 Denver vs. No. 4 Omaha Semifinals: March 15 Championship: March 16
The Bulldogs and Huskies are currently separated by a point in the NCHC standings. Jim Erickson, the radio voice of SCSU hockey, recently reached out to find out what the tiebreaking scenarios were for second place this season if both the Bulldogs and Huskies finished with 44 points, and Michael Weisman, the NCHC's Director of Communications, was happy to get that for us.
SCSU wins the tiebreaker on head-to-head (tiebreaker #1) with 2 regulation wins and 1 OT win to UMD’s 2 OT wins and 1 regulation win (or not counting OT, SCSU goes 2-1-3). From a points perspective, of the 18 points possible between the teams, SCSU would win 10 and UMD 8 if UMD wins in OT (or shootout) Saturday.
Translation: The Bulldogs need to beat the Huskies in regulation on Saturday to get that second seed and a shot at redemption against Colorado College, if the Tigers get to to Grand Forks next weekend. Colorado College had to cancel this weekend's series with Denver due to another positive COVID-19 test within the program.
For more on Saturday's game, look for a preview to be posted Friday to DuluthNewsTribune.com and TheRinkLive.com. Check out Follow, Watch, Listen below for all the ways you can catch the Bulldogs on Saturday.
FOLLOW, WATCH LISTEN How to keep up with the Bulldogs this weekend Minnesota Duluth men at St. Cloud State 1:07 p.m. Saturday At Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud
Follow Twitter: Follow News Tribune college hockey reporter Matt Wellens Live stats: Updates from SCSU Sports Information
Watch Online streaming: NCHC.tv (subscription required) TV: KBJR
Listen Radio: KDAL 610 AM/103.9 FM
Minnesota Duluth women vs. Ohio State 5:07 p.m. Saturday At Ridder Arena in Minneapolis
Follow Twitter: Follow News Tribune college hockey reporter Matt Wellens
Watch Online streaming: Flohockey.tv (subscription required) TV: None
Listen Radio: KDAL 610 AM/103.9 FM
*If UMD beats Ohio State: Minnesota Duluth women vs. Wisconsin/Minnesota winner 2:07 p.m. Sunday At Ridder Arena in Minneapolis
Follow Twitter: Follow News Tribune college hockey reporter Matt Wellens
Watch Online streaming: Flohockey.tv (subscription required) TV: None
Listen Radio: KDAL 610 AM/103.9 FM
MATT IS THE COMMITTEE Here's what my NCAA tournament bracket would look like With the Pairwise rankings being useless this season due to a lack of nonconference games across the sport thanks to COVID-19, the selection and seeding of this year's NCAA tournament is really anyone's guess.
And anyone who is anyone has one, including all of us at The Rink Live.
What I'm bringing you in the newsletter the next couple weeks is who I would put in the NCAA men's hockey tournament. As we get even closer to selection time, I'll start forming brackets.
Not much has changed this week between the teams I'm letting in and out, or the seeding. I did bump UMass up from a No. 3 to a No. 2 seed after the Minutemen beat Providence and Boston College last week. Omaha has dropped from a No. 2 to a No. 3 after a third-straight loss to North Dakota.
UConn was bumped off the bubble after splitting at home with Maine, while Notre Dame is now on the bubble after sweeping Michigan State to get to .500 on the season an eligible.
Here's a look at this week's field:
No. 1: North Dakota, Boston College, Minnesota State, Minnesota No. 2: Wisconsin, Michigan, St. Cloud State, UMass No. 3: Minnesota Duluth, Boston University, Omaha, Bemidji State No. 4: Bowling Green, Providence, Quinnipiac, AIC Last four out: Michigan Tech, Clarkson, Notre Dame, Lake Superior State
Send me your thoughts. Tweet at me (@mattwellens) or shoot me an email (mwellens@duluthnews.com).
#ASKWELLENSANYTHING Tweet or email me your questions
Have a question for #AskWellensAnything? Email me at mwellens@duluthnews.com with #AskWellensAnything in the subject line, or by tweeting at me (@mattwellens) while using the #AskWellensAnything hashtag.
If I don't know the answer, I'll ask someone who does.
And no, it doesn't have to be hockey related. I'm here to answer all your food, beer, parenting and Star Wars questions, too. My wife is the Marvel expert.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend.
College Hockey Reporter Duluth News Tribune and The Rink Live
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