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THE WEEKLY PRESSER WENT SIDEWAYS before it ever got started.
“How are you seeing the guys handle the adversity they’re going through right now?” a beat reporter asked Bulldogs men's hockey coach Scott Sandelin out of the gate on Wednesday, after Minnesota Duluth had been swept out of Amsoil Arena, falling 4-3 Friday and 4-3 in overtime Saturday to the defending NCAA champions, the Western Michigan Broncos.
Sandelin didn’t hesitate: “What adversity are we going through?”
It wasn’t sarcasm. It wasn’t deflection. It was a correction.
The No. 8-ranked Bulldogs didn’t get embarrassed against Western Michigan. They didn’t get pushed around. They lost two one-goal games — one after chasing the game late, the other on a power-play goal in overtime — to the third-ranked team in college hockey. That’s not adversity. That’s the NCHC reminding you how narrow the margins are.
“It’s Western,” Sandelin said. “It’s a fine line in this league.”
Friday night showed what happens when you don’t manage the puck or the pace early. UMD trailed 4-1 with 1:23 left before storming back with two goals in 36 seconds to turn the building electric, only to run out of time. The Bulldogs outshot Western Michigan 37-21, went 1-for-6 on the power play, and never held a lead.
“Our guys have got to play better,” Sandelin said afterward. “You can’t just pick and choose.”
Saturday morning’s “fairly stern discussion” wasn’t panic. It was calibration.
“Sometimes guys think they’re playing hard,” Sandelin said. “You’ve got to play harder. Sometimes they think there’s intensity, but the intensity has to be higher.”
Saturday was the response. Tighter gaps. Better layers. Cleaner exits. UMD led twice, killed late penalties, and was 17 seconds from forcing a tie before Western struck on a power play in overtime to complete the sweep.
“I thought our guys played a good game Saturday,” Sandelin said. “We had our opportunities. In overtime, again, we didn’t capitalize.”
That’s the fine line he keeps talking about — not effort, not compete, but execution when the game compresses.
Now the Bulldogs (17-9-0 overall, 8-8-0 NCHC) head to Denver for a series that carries real weight in the standings. Minnesota Duluth sits fourth in the nine-team league with 25 points — the final home-ice spot — behind North Dakota, Denver and Western Michigan. Below them, the gap is thin enough to matter.
That’s why this weekend isn’t about adversity. It’s about accumulation.
The Pioneers play the kind of game that punishes hesitation. They want possession. They want controlled entries. They extend shifts with second-wave pressure and active defensemen. If you chase, they turn it into zone time.
“They’re a puck possession team. Very poised with the puck,” Sandelin said of the Pios.
UMD’s Ty Hanson anchors a blue line that can move pucks and generate offense, but Denver doesn’t give you clean lanes. Their stick details close space. Their angles force turnovers. Their defense activates without abandoning structure.
“You can’t go running around (against the Pioneers),” Sandelin said. “They’re going to make you look stupid.”
Which is why Sandelin keeps circling back to puck management, faceoffs, and special teams — the unglamorous details that decide playoff seeding.
“You’ve got to play a real simple, direct game,” he said. “Take care of pucks. Win the special teams game. Faceoffs.”
The Bulldogs have the offensive punch to stay in the race for home ice in the first round of the league playoffs. Max Plante leads the nation with 40 points. Zam Plante and Jayson Shaugabay both sit at 35. Callum Arnott has goals in three straight games. Adam Gajan has been steady in goal.
What they don’t have is margin.
UMD is 8-8-0 in league play. Denver is 10-6-0. Western Michigan is 10-4-0. Those aren’t abstractions — they’re the difference between hosting a playoff series and opening March on the road.
“You’ve got to find ways to win those games,” Sandelin said. “You get an opportunity in overtime on a power play, you’ve got to capitalize.”
UMD didn’t capitalize last weekend. That’s why the Bulldogs were swept at their own barn.
So no, the question wasn’t how they’re handling adversity. The real question is whether they can turn good hockey into points — starting this weekend. Because in the NCHC, effort keeps you competitive.
Execution keeps you home.
