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DULUTH — Two of college hockey's most prominent programs will meet at Amsoil Arena this weekend carrying considerably more baggage than their reputations suggest.
Minnesota Duluth has just returned from a disappointing trip to Sioux Falls, S.D., while the University of Minnesota arrives winless under new coach Brett Larson. For programs accustomed to measuring themselves against national championship standards, the early results have been unacceptable.
The Bulldogs (2-1-1) and Gophers (0-2) will renew their longstanding rivalry Friday at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday at 6:07 p.m.
Minnesota Duluth should have an advantage with home ice, but the Bulldogs have done little recently to justify assuming anything. Minnesota, meanwhile, has enough individual talent to beat quality opponents, although its first two games produced nothing resembling the beginning of a championship season.
The immediate pressure belongs to Scott Sandelin's Bulldogs, who opened their season by sweeping Long Island University (who?) 7-4 and 4-0 before delivering one of the more troubling early-season performances in recent UMD history. Augustana, playing only its fourth season of Division I hockey, defeated UMD 4-3 in overtime Friday before battling the Bulldogs to a 1-1 tie Saturday. The Vikings had no business being dismissed as an automatic victory, but a nationally prominent program with UMD's resources, tradition and aspirations should expect considerably better results from such a weekend.
Friday's loss was particularly disturbing because the Bulldogs failed to protect a third-period lead. UMD led 2-1 before Augustana scored twice in 17 seconds late in regulation. Zam Plante rescued the Bulldogs temporarily with an extra-attacker goal, but Brett Meerman ended the game just 20 seconds into overtime. Those are the kinds of collapses that expose defensive breakdowns, questionable decisions and an inability to manage critical moments. They also raise legitimate questions about whether a talented team is prepared to compete consistently against the nation's strongest opponents.
Saturday offered little redemption. UMD outshot Augustana 35-22, but managed only one goal in 65 minutes, with Hunter Anderson getting the Bulldogs' only score. Augustana then won the shootout, adding another unpleasant footnote to an already frustrating road trip. The Bulldogs generated opportunities but lacked finishing ability and failed to impose themselves offensively against a younger Division I program. Whatever positives the coaching staff identified in the performance, one goal and another game without a victory hardly constitute the response expected from the nation's fifth-ranked team.
That brings UMD to Minnesota, an opponent with considerably more history, higher-end individual talent and a new coach who knows the Bulldogs exceptionally well. Larson, a former UMD player and assistant coach, replaced Bob Motzko in March after spending eight seasons at St. Cloud State. He guided the Huskies to four NCAA tournament appearances and the 2021 national championship game. His hiring represented a significant change in direction for a Minnesota program coming off an 11-22-3 season, a record almost unimaginable during some of the Gophers' greatest years.
Larson inherited a roster with 13 returning players and 13 newcomers, a substantial reconstruction project at a school where patience can be scarce. Minnesota lost its first two games at Michigan Tech, 3-2 and 3-1. Michigan Tech broke a 2-2 tie in the third period of the opener, then scored twice in the final three minutes of the rematch after Mason Moe had pulled Minnesota even with a power-play goal. Three goals in two games will not satisfy Larson, particularly given the offensive talent available to him.
The Gophers remain dangerous because their roster includes several players capable of changing a game. Junior captain Brodie Ziemer scored 23 goals and recorded 36 points last season, including 11 power-play goals. Sophomore LJ Mooney contributed seven goals and 23 assists for 30 points, giving Minnesota another creative offensive threat. Junior Beckett Hendrickson scored in the opening loss to Michigan Tech, while senior defenseman Evan Murr, a transfer from Minnesota State, brings offensive ability and experience after collecting 30 points last season.
Senior goaltender Luca Di Pasquo provides another important piece. He posted a .920 save percentage in Big Ten competition last season and made 48 saves in Minnesota's two opening defeats. The Bulldogs will need to generate traffic, create rebounds and make life difficult around the crease rather than settling for shots that an experienced goaltender can see clearly. Minnesota's offensive struggles could also end quickly if Ziemer and Mooney begin producing at their established levels.
The Bulldogs have plenty of offensive weapons of their own. Jayson Shaugabay, Zam Plante, Barrett Hall, Callum Arnott and Anderson give Sandelin multiple scoring options, supported by defensemen Ty Hanson and Adam Kleber. UMD scored 11 goals during its opening sweep of Long Island but managed only four in two games at Augustana. That inconsistency is troubling because offensive depth means little unless a team can generate dependable production against opponents capable of competing physically and defending effectively.
Special teams could become decisive. Minnesota must find ways to get Ziemer and its other skilled forwards into productive situations, particularly on the power play. UMD, meanwhile, cannot afford unnecessary penalties or the defensive lapses that contributed to its Friday collapse. The Bulldogs also need more consistent faceoff performance, stronger puck management and better execution when protecting leads. Those are not unreasonable expectations of a veteran coach's nationally ranked team. They are fundamental requirements for winning championship-level hockey.
Recent history favors UMD. The Bulldogs swept Minnesota in Minneapolis last October, winning 3-0 and 4-1 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Minnesota scored just once in the two games, another indication of the offensive inconsistency that troubled the Gophers last season. The opportunity to repeat that success at Amsoil Arena should provide UMD with additional motivation, although Minnesota's changed coaching staff and rebuilt roster make this a different opponent from the one the Bulldogs handled a year ago.
For Larson, the series presents an early opportunity to establish credibility and demonstrate progress against a respected opponent. His familiarity with UMD should help Minnesota prepare, but familiarity alone will not solve the Gophers' scoring problems or produce the defensive discipline necessary to win on the road. A 0-2 start is not disastrous in October, particularly against a strong Michigan Tech team, but another winless weekend would leave Minnesota facing North Dakota in its home-opening series with a 0-4 record.
Sandelin faces a different challenge. His program already owns three NCAA national championships, including back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019, and has established expectations that extend well beyond winning a few games in October. The Bulldogs are supposed to be capable of competing with the best programs in the country. Losing to Augustana and failing to win the rematch do not erase their potential, but those performances demand accountability and a much sharper response.
There is no reason to declare either team's season in trouble after one or two weekends. College hockey seasons are long, young players improve and even excellent teams endure early setbacks. But dismissing these results as meaningless October hockey would be equally foolish. Minnesota is trying to rebuild a proud program that has slipped badly, while UMD is attempting to prove its impressive national ranking reflects more than preseason expectations and an opening sweep of Long Island.
The Gophers will arrive in Duluth hungry for their first victory, with a coach who understands the importance of this rivalry and a roster capable of producing substantially better hockey than it displayed at Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs will return home with the embarrassment of the Augustana weekend still fresh and an opportunity to show that their early problems were temporary rather than evidence of something more serious.
For Minnesota Duluth, winning this series would help restore confidence. Losing it would intensify questions about a team ranked among the nation's elite. The Bulldogs have enough talent to be better than they were in Sioux Falls, and this weekend offers an immediate opportunity to prove it.
The Gophers may be winless, but they are not without talent. UMD should understand that distinction better than anyone after its experience at Augustana. If the Bulldogs learned anything in Sioux Falls, it should be that reputation does not win hockey games, rankings do not protect leads and national championship aspirations mean nothing without performance.
Friday night, against their oldest in-state rival, the Bulldogs can begin answering those questions. They have already given their followers plenty of reasons to ask them.
