April 6, 2018
By John Heisler
On paper, there’s not much difference between the Notre Dame and Minnesota Duluth teams that will play Saturday night in the title game of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.
Notre Dame averages goals 2.97 per game, Duluth averages 3.02.
The Irish allow 2.17 goals per game, Duluth permits 2.11.
Pick any other statistic and there’s likely not much to choose from between the Irish and Bulldogs.
These two teams both played in the NCAA Frozen Four a year ago in Chicago. Both teams lost to Denver–the Irish fell in the semifinals and Duluth lost the title game.
Both teams advanced to the Frozen Four in 2011, the last time it was played in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Duluth eliminated Notre Dame in the semifinals that year.
So let the coaches and players who will be on the respective Xcel Energy Center team benches Saturday night suggest what they anticipate when these two teams face off in the final game of the collegiate hockey season:
–Notre Dame junior forward Dylan Malmquist: “Playing a team from Minnesota in the final game–that’s going to be a very cool atmosphere and a very cool experience for all of us, especially the Minnesota guys. Just playing in the X (Xcel Energy Center) alone, in the Frozen Four, is very cool as it is. But to play a Minnesota team and most likely have most of the crowd rooting against you, that’s something we’ve experienced before and it’s very fun.”
–Notre Dame senior forward Bo Brauer: “I think back to five years ago when we won it (in high school) with Edina, and we played against Duluth East in the semifinals. It kind of reminds me about that game because a lot of those guys on the UMD team are from northern Minnesota. It’s a really special opportunity to come together with the Irish, and hopefully we can really do something sweet tomorrow night.”
–More from Brauer: “Last year we came into the Frozen Four probably being a little more satisfied than we should have in that we were stunned beating UMass Lowell in overtime. I think not having as much experience under the bright lights last year hurt us. Taking that as motivation to get us back to here really has helped us. And being calm and just staying positive throughout, it has really helped us.”
–More from Malmquist: “I think focusing on us rather than focusing on everything else and putting all the distractions from the Frozen Four to the side and just focusing on what we have in the locker room and our team has been a big part of it.”
–Irish coach Jeff Jackson: “The teams we have a respect for, we like to play them. With Duluth it’s been obviously more nonconference, but they’re at our place again next year. So we’ve had a good relationship with them. They play the game the right way. Scott (Sandelin) is one heck of a coach. His staff has done a tremendous job. We just like how they do things.
“Their athletic director (Josh Berlo) is a former assistant athletic director at Notre Dame. Our hockey operations director (Nick Siergiej) is originally from Duluth–that’s where we got him from. So there are ties in many ways between Minnesota Duluth and Notre Dame. But it’s just the respect factor. We have such respect for them as a program and their coach and their coaching staff.”
–More from Jackson: “When you’re playing a team that you know like Michigan, it’s one thing. It’s a little bit more challenging when you haven’t seen a team (like Duluth). We played them the beginning of last year, so probably an unfair evaluation since I think it was the second week of the season.
“But I know how Scott coaches. I know how they play the game. They play the game the right way. They play a fast game. They play transitionally. They have depth. They’re spread out like we are as far as their offensive depth. They’ve got some talented young defensemen and their goaltending has solidified which probably helped push them over the top to get to this point. Both teams have pretty good special teams.
“Last night I think it was a bit of an anomaly with us on face-offs, but they seem to be a good face-off team. We have to be stronger on the dot in order to have possession of the puck. I don’t see a ton of differences in a lot of ways between the two teams. But I guess we’ll find out.”
–Duluth coach Scott Sandelin: “I haven’t seen a ton of them. Obviously our focus coming in was on Ohio State. But I saw a little bit of them, watched a little bit more last night.
“I have a lot of respect for Jeff and their staff. I like the way they play the game. I think they play the game the right way. I think they feel the same way about us. That’s why we’ve enjoyed playing each other. We’ve had some great games over the last four, five, six years. We’re going to play them again next year at the end of October. So that will be fun.
“For me it’s just the way they play, and we enjoy playing those teams. They’ve had good teams every year. For me those are always good challenges. I have a lot of respect for Jeff and what he’s done, not just at Notre Dame but wherever he’s been. Obviously he’s won before. I just enjoy playing against him.”
–More from Sandelin: “I’ve been fortunate, even before I got to Duluth, to be part of a couple of NCAA titles (1997 and 2000) at North Dakota with Coach (Dean) Blais. One of the things I learned as a head coach was back in 2004 when we went to Boston (for the Frozen Four). I think I was maybe a little too structured with our guys instead of just letting them kind of enjoy it and kind of keep your normal routine.
“So when we got back to this tournament in 2011 obviously it was great because it was here (in Saint Paul). We have a lot of kids from Minnesota. We let them spend time with their families and do their normal routines like they do on a road trip and we weren’t so maybe over-structured.
“To me they need to enjoy the experience. It’s the same thing this year, and it was the same thing in Chicago. Because it’s really important that they enjoy it. The last two years or three times we’ve been in it we’ve been able to get to the final game, so you really enjoy the whole weekend and you’re not going home on Thursday night or Friday. That’s important, too.
“Just keeping your normal routine, letting them do what they normally do, not getting out of routine, not over-coaching. I think that’s important. I hope the guys enjoy it, and I hope they appreciate that, too. Those are some of the things I’ve learned.”
–More from Sandelin: “We’re fortunate that we play in a really good league. It’s been a lot of fun since we’ve been a part of that league every weekend. I know a lot of leagues can probably say the same thing–but it’s like playoff hockey. There are no easy nights.
“When you’re pushed every week I think it keeps your kids focused on the week. We also try to play a really hard nonconference schedule to go along with that. So I think when you’re pushed every week it forces you to get better. If you don’t then you’re probably out.
“So this year, for our younger players, it was a learning experience every weekend. Everything was new. You see different teams. You see different styles. We’re pretty fortunate we’ve got a lot of good hockey players and good teams in our league. It’s only made us better.
“I think it’s helped us at least get to the tournament. And hopefully we’re battle tested for the challenge on Saturday.”
Senior associate athletics director John Heisler has been following the Irish sports scene since 1978.