THE ARCHIVE
You can’t fake muscle in the NCHC. You can’t out-skill everyone forever. Eventually, you have to stand in front of a net and take a beating. That’s when we’ll see if this team has backbone or if they’re just another batch of Duluth waterbugs — fun to watch, easy to squash.
The Bulldogs erupted for four second-period goals and cruised past Augustana 4-1 in the nonconference college men's hockey series opener
“Being accepted into this conference offers our team and student athletes the opportunity to earn all-conference recognition and the ability to compete in conference sponsored events and competitions.” -- Stella Maris activities director Chris Lemke.
The numbers don’t lie: UMD went 7-8-2 at Amsoil last year. The year before? 7-10-1. In 2021-22, they were 8-7-2. That’s three straight years of mediocrity in a building that was supposed to intimidate.
Duluth has a plan. The question now is whether it has the guts — and the will — to knock down the roadblocks standing in the way.
Downtown won’t be saved by consultants, binders or cheerleaders. It will be saved when Duluth faces its most challenging problem — the needles, the psychotic breaks, the encampments in doorways — and chooses to act rather than avert its eyes.
