Featured Image:
UMD’s Caleb Herbert considers his options against North Dakota in UND’s 4-2 win on Nov. 15, 2013 in Grand Forks. (Photo: Erik Classen / UND Athletics)

Grand Forks, ND—The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs came back from a two-goal third-period deficit to tie North Dakota before UND pulled out a 4-2 win on Friday.

It did not come without controversy, however.

North Dakota’s Michael Parks’ wrap-around shot just 37 seconds into the third period was judged to have not gone in and play continued. A brief review after the next whistle resulted in an initial ruling of no goal but, after a short discussion at the North Dakota bench, referees Derek Shepherd and CJ Beaurline spent nearly ten minutes on a second review and ultimately reversed their decision much to the delight of the anxiously-waiting sellout crowd of 11,810.

And much to the chagrin of the Minnesota-Duluth bench.

“There was no goal on the play. One minute there was no goal on the ice, then they go to the box and there was no goal, then they go to [talk to] the [North Dakota] coaching staff and they go back in to look at it and it’s a goal,” Minnesota-Duluth head coach, Scott Sandelin, said. “I’ve never seen that before.”

Not surprisingly, the view from the North Dakota bench slightly differed from that of UMD’s.

“[The officials] were patient in going back and looking for the video,” North Dakota head coach, Dave Hakstol, says. “I’m not sure if it was available right away. Bottom line, you want to get the call right and that was the right call.”

In a tough, hard-hitting game the Bulldogs were lead by freshman sensation, and leading point scorer, Alex Iafallo and his two point game. This was a homecoming for him as he returned to North Dakota after last season playing just an hour south for the Fargo Force of the USHL where he accumulated 43 points in 50 regular season games.

North Dakota took a 1-0 lead at 17:59 of the game when their scoring leader, Rocco Grimaldi, was able to tap in a rebound of defenseman Dillion Simpson’s shot off a clean face-off win by Jordan Schmaltz. The power-play goal came after a scrum in front of the Duluth net that lead to coincidental penalties with North Dakota already on the power play. This was indicative of the physical nature of game that included a total of 18 penalties.

With the Bulldogs down 2-0 Iafallo took it upon his shoulders to get UMD back into the game when he tallied their first goal at 6:37 of the third with a shot from the left hash mark catching North Dakota goaltender, Clarke Saunders, out of the net. Just 20 seconds later, with Schmaltz in the penalty box for an interference call, Iafallo added to the Bulldogs’ momentum when he assisted on Adam Krause’s goal to knot the game at 2-2.

“It was a tough way to give away a two-goal lead, but I liked our response,” Hakstol said.

Minnesota-Duluth continued to put pressure on North Dakota but Saunders, who stopped 34 UMD shots on the night, came up big. After watching the Bulldogs tie the game from the penalty box Schmaltz was able to redeem himself by scoring the eventual game-winning goal at 10:05 of the third period. His power-play blast from the point made its way through a screen and behind UMD goalie, Aaron Crandall, who finished with 19 saves.

“The power play was just sticking with it. It recovered several pucks and we kept the puck in the zone for a long time and finally Jordan found a line to get it through,” Hakstol said. “We had good net front traffic.”

“Jordan played a real solid game tonight,” he added.

Minnesota-Duluth came into the series with a league-leading the penalty kill of 93.6 percent but North Dakota managed two crucial goals on six power-play attempts.

“They got a couple power-play goals which ended up really being the difference,” Sandelin said. We took a couple undisciplined penalties in the third period when we got back to tie the game and that was the difference in the game. That is how fine a line it is.”

“I thought we played good. I thought we played a great game. We had chances to take the lead, but I thought their goalie played really good,” Sandelin added.

North Dakota’s Stephane Pattyn scored an open net goal at 19:04 for the game’s 4-2 final margin.

No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth will take on No.13 North Dakota again Saturday night at the Ralph Engelstad Arena for a chance to split the series.

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Featured image courtesy of St. Cloud State University Athletics.

GRAND FORKS, N.D.—St. Cloud State made its long-awaited National Collegiate Hockey Conference debut a successful one on Friday night in the opening game of the first-ever NCHC series held at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Junior defenseman Andrew Prochno’s first goal of the season at 12:36 of the third period completed a five-minute, three-goal rally as SCSU held on for a 3-2 win over North Dakota.

Prochno’s shot from the left point found its way through heavy traffic in front of the UND net and slipped past goalie Zane Gothberg for a 3-1 Huskies’ lead at the time.

“I was just trying to get it through,” Prochno said. “If there was no traffic at all, it would have been an easy glove save; it was just kind of a seeing-eye goal.”

Kevin Gravel and Kalle Kossila also scored for the Huskies while goaltender Ryan Faragher, who improved his record to 3-1-1 in five career games at the Ralph, earned the game’s No. 1 star honor with 29 saves.

UND got off to a strong start and took a 1-0 lead just 3:10 into the contest on a brilliant individual effort by sophomore Drake Cagguila. The 5’9” Cagguila raced down the right side and beat 6’4” St. Cloud State defenseman Kevin Gravel with a nifty inside-out move before finishing the play with a short-side, top- shelf rocket past SCSU goaltender Ryan Faragher for his third of the year.

The mere presence of Cagguila on the ice was welcome relief for his UND teammates and the fans after a scary open-ice collision in last weekend’s exhibition win over the U.S. Under-18 team. He left the ice on a stretcher and was sent to an area hospital where he was evaluated and later released that same night.

Cagguila, whose spectacular goal was immediately put on YouTube and included in ESPN’s SportsCenter Top-10 plays of the day, said he, “felt good out there.”

North Dakota maintained that one-goal lead into the second intermission despite three power-play opportunities for the Huskies. But Gothberg—a Grand Forks native who grew up in Thief River Falls— made 18 saves through two period, part of his 27 overall, and North Dakota’s top-ranked penalty kill managed to keep St. Cloud State in check through 40 minutes.

The Huskies came out with a fury in the third period and finally got on the scoreboard when Gravel scored his second of the year at the 2:36 mark on a slapshot from the slot past a screened Gothberg. St. Cloud State kept the pressure on and captured a lead it would not relinquish less than two minutes later when sophomore Kossila knocked in a rebound of a Ben Storm shot for his second of the season.

“We just had a mental lapse for the first five, six, seven minutes,” Cagguila said. “Every line was guilty of it. I don’t know if it was effort, but it was a lot of mental errors on our part.”

Prochno’s goal provided the Huskies with what turned out to be a much-needed two-goal cushion as North Dakota wasn’t quite finished. Mark MacMillan drew UND within one with 4:21 to play in regulation and they continued to apply pressure in the game’s final minutes but Faragher and a stingySCSU defense—which made for it difficult for North Dakota to get much going offensively all night— withstood the barrage.

“We just couldn’t get the puck up ice cleanly and into the zone,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said after his team failed to register a shot in three power-play opportunities. “We didn’t get a whole lot going on.”

St. Cloud has the opportunity to become the first team in four years to sweep North Dakota in Grand Forks in Saturday night’s series finale while North Dakota will be looking to salvage a series split. The puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m.

The post Huskies Rally to Top UND in NCHC Debut appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

During the second period Caggiula collided with a Team U.S.A. player causing him to land head first onto the ice. Between doctors, trainers and coaches, about 10 personnel were on the ice assisting Caggiula. He was carried away on a stretcher and sent to the hospital where he was released later that night with an upper body injury.

Seeing their teammate wheeled off on a stretcher sparked the team as they scored two quick goals.

“There are more important things than hockey and it was tough on our team,” North Dakota forward, Rocco Grimaldi, says. “We wanted to play the rest of the game for him and give it our all since he is the kind of guy that will do anything for our team.”

“It puts everything secondary, but I think our guys did a good job of going back to work and closing out a pretty good second period,” North Dakota head coach, Dave Hakstol, adds.” A lot of credit to them. That’s not the easiest thing to do as you’re going through that experience.”

Just over a minute after Caggiula was taken off the ice North Dakota forward, Mitch MacMillan, scored the first goal of the game with an odd angle shot from below the hash marks.

Less than two minutes later North Dakota’s Brendan O’Donnell snipes a one-timer from Mitch’s brother, Mark MacMillan, adding to North Dakota’s lead.

With only three seconds left in the second period North Dakota’s Jordan Schmaltz knocked in a rebound past Team U.S.A goaltender, Edward Minny, to give North Dakota a 3-0 lead going into the second intermission.

In the second period North Dakota dominated not only on the scoreboard, but also outshot Team U.S.A. 17-2.

Team U.S.A. tried to stage a comeback and cut the lead to 3-1 midway through the third period. Sonny Milano put one past North Dakota goalie, Clarke Saunders.

To close out the scoring North Dakota’s Coltyn Sanderson beat the buzzer with an open net goal to give North Dakota a decisive 4-1 victory. The game was Sanderson’s and Derek Rodwell’s first game of the season.

“I thought they both really worked their way into the game,” Hakstol says. “It’s hard when you haven’t played in such a long time. For [Sanderson] it’s been almost a year since he’s played, but I wouldn’t have had either of them on the ice in the last couple of minutes of a two-goal game unless I thought they were playing solid hockey. I thought it was fitting for [Sanderson] to get one right at the buzzer.”

6th ranked North Dakota will host their first ever NCHC conference game taking on 10th ranked St. Cloud State this weekend in Grand Forks at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. Friday’s game will be at 7:37 PM and Saturday’s game will be at 7:07 PM. Both games can be heard on FM 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM).

Notes: The hockey game was a designated North Dakota Strong game. North Dakota Strong is a campaign that raises funds and awareness for breast cancer research. All proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to Mayo Clinic for breast cancer research. The team wore pink jerseys for the game that will be auctioned off. Brendan O’Donnell, Mark MacMillan and Mitch MacMillan were named the three stars of the game. North Dakota outshot Team U.S.A. 30 to 19.

The post North Dakota Men’s Hockey Victory Over U.S. U-18 Team is Over Shadowed by Injury to Caggiula appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

More and more North American hockey players are packing up their hockey gear in pursuit of a professional career and new life experiences in other countries.

Former Gopher and Minnesota high school star, R.J. Anderson, is a player who has chosen the path of European professional hockey.

R.J. Anderson grew up playing his youth hockey in his hometown of Lino Lakes, Minnesota. After winning state titles as a pewee and bantam, Anderson and his teammates enjoyed the same success in high school by winning the 2004 Minnesota State High School Championship. Considered one of the greatest high school teams of all-time, the Cougars had a remarkable season going 30-1 while out scoring their opponents by an astonishing margin of 255-33 and becoming the only team ever to register three shut outs in three state tournament games. Individually as a defensemen, Anderson also had a magical junior season registering 85 points in just 31 games and leading the entire state in assists with 56.

Passing up the opportunity to play the 2004-2005 season in the USHL, Anderson came back his senior year for a shot at winning back to back state titles. The Cougars had another great season, but fell short of winning that state championship. Nonetheless Anderson still impressed. He was named to his second consecutive All-State Team, Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year and Mr. Hockey Award finalist his senior year. Additionally, he was a fourth round draft choice of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Before pursuing the dream of professional hockey, Anderson fulfilled another dream of wearing the Maroon and Gold. He played four seasons at the University of Minnesota where he helped lead the team to become WCHA Champions in 2006 and 2007 and three NCAA playoff appearances.

After his four seasons with the Gophers, Anderson played with various teams in the AHL and the ECHL before finding his path to play in Europe. On May 27, 2011 he signed a contract with the Lillehammer IK of the Norwegian Elite League joining former Gopher teammates Justin Bostrom, Kevin Wehrs and Gino Guyer.

“It made it easier because two of my three past [Gopher] teammates had played the prior season before so I had a good idea of what was going to happen before I went over there,” Anderson states, “Norway is a lot like Minnesota in a way because it is such a Scandinavian influence there. It reminds me a lot of the North Shore in Duluth.”

Anderson proved he could still put up impressive numbers in another country. In 45 games he captured the scoring title for defensemen by registering the most goals, 19, and the most points, 53, of any defensemen in the league.

“It’s a great honor winning an award like that, but a lot of the credit goes to the guys who were around me,” he remarks, “Them making me feel comfortable and putting me in a position to be successful because without that I probably wouldn’t have had the year that I did.”

On July 9th, 2012, Anderson signed a contract with the Malmo Redhawks of the Swedish second-tier league. Playing in 29 games with the team, he registered 10 points (5g, 5a).

“I felt [Sweden] was a good opportunity for me because it was a better league and a lot of doors can open up.”

Signing with Sweden gave Anderson another stamp on the soon to be full passport.

But coming into a new country and a new culture isn’t always easy.

“The biggest challenge in Sweden was being the only import. Figuring out who I was going to hang out with and the different groups and finding guys with common interests because you are half a world apart and a lot of things are different.”

Fortunately, Anderson was able to bring the North American athletic spirit with him to bond with his fellow teammates. American football became a bonding vehicle with his new teammates for he would have his teammates over to watch. In Sweden they do not play football, but they were very interested in learning and he was able to bond with them by teaching the game and rules for American football.

In midseason he was traded back to Norway where he had tremendous success a year earlier. Signing with the Oslo based Valerenga hockey team Anderson finished out the season. He again dominated as he led his team to the league championship. In the playoffs the team was runner up with Anderson leading all defensemen for the league in points and +/-.

One thing Anderson loved about Norway was the off ice camaraderie. He and his teammates enjoyed a lot of team bonding experiences such as skiing in the Norwegian Alps, playing paintball and going out for team dinners.

A funny tradition that is done in the Norway GET-league involves a game of “odd man out.” The leading scorer for each team wears a gold helmet the entire game so the other team can see who it may be. For some teams it is the same player all year long and others the helmet jumps around a bit. Anderson had the honor of wearing the illustrious gold helmet.

“It caught me off guard because it ended up being in my stall a few times. It’s pretty funny. I had to wear it, that’s the way it goes,” he shares with the laugh.

It doesn’t take much for the fans in Europe to get going. Fans are constantly doing cheers and waving flags the entire time; from warm ups to the end of the game.

“Here in North America you don’t see that as much. Fans are a little more quiet unless someone scores a goal; there is a fight or a big hit.”

The fans in Europe have so much passion for their sport teams; it is second to none.

“It’s pretty cool because a lot of the cities there kind of live and die by how their hockey and soccer teams do.”

“I still don’t know the language very well,” Anderson states with a laugh. “The Norwegians learn English at a very young age. English will get you farther than trying to learn their native language because some of those languages [in Europe] are hard to learn and speak. It’s funny because when they learn it, they learn proper English so sometimes it sounds like Shakespeare. They don’t understand our lingo a lot of the time.”

The food in Europe is another big change. Moose meat, oxen meat and horse meat, not something a North American may be used to.

“You have to keep an open mind about it,” he shares.

Traveling overseas to play has not only opened Anderson’s eyes about the game of hockey, but also about the passion of the sport in Europe. With Sweden being as small as it is and having won the Olympics, World Junior Championships and World Championships, that really made him think about the history of the sport in that country.

“It’s amazing how good some of the countries over there are considering how small they are. Sweden is 9 million and Norway is 5 million and to see how good their players really are is really remarkable and to see how well those smaller countries are going to be.”

R.J. Anderson has shown that moving to a new country to pursue a dream of hockey and travel may not always be easy, but it is a once in a lifetime experience that he will never forget.

“Overall, it’s been a great experience and I am looking forward to going back for a third year. And to see what else I get to encounter and broaden my horizon a little more. ”

The post Former Gopher Pursues his Professional Hockey Career Overseas appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Nick Bjugstad has graduated to the NHL. (MHM Photo by Jeff Wegge)

Nick Bjugstad is living the dream. So much so it’s as if the term was made for the former Minnesota high school and college star who now plays his hockey a mere 15 miles from Florida’s Atlantic coast.

While growing up idolizing high school hockey players in his hometown of Blaine, Minn., Bjugstad dreamed of one day donning the Bengal’s jersey and playing in the Minnesota state high school hockey tournament. But before he would wear that uniform he had to make a very tough decision between playing for the U.S. National Development Program in Michigan or staying at home to play.

“I decided to play at Blaine instead of with the U.S. team because I grew up watching high school hockey and the state tournaments,” Bjugstad said. “It was a great tradition so I felt that it was a better fit for me and that I could develop there, produce more of a scoring touch and would build more confidence playing in high school.”

Bjugstad indeed played three seasons for the Bengals, leading them to the state tournament each time (2008-2010) but never won the state title he sought. In his last year at Blaine, Bjugstad racked up 69 points (35-34) in 35 games and was awarded the prestigious Mr. Hockey award given to the most outstanding high school senior hockey player in Minnesota.

Not only was Bjugstad a step ahead in hockey, he took on the challenge of rising above the crowd in school as well. By taking summer courses and extra classes his junior year he was able to graduate a year early in 2010 which accelerated his dream of playing hockey for the Gophers.

Former Gopher Aaron Ness of Roseau, who performed the same feat two years prior, served as Bjugstad’s inspiration.

“I had never really thought about doing that until I saw Aaron Ness do it and I thought that was pretty cool to see him do,” Bjugstad said. “I talked to [Minnesota coach Don] Lucia the summer between my sophomore and junior year and he thought that I would be ready a little early so I accelerated.”

Bjugstad always knew that he wanted to skate with the maroon and gold jersey flapping in the air so when it became a reality it was a dream come true.

“When I first met with Lucia my freshman year it was awesome because I never thought I could make it there especially at that young age,” Bjugstad said. “It was very surreal sitting in Don’s office. I didn’t really think about going anywhere else; I knew right away that I wanted to go there.”

In his first season with the Gophers in 2010-2011, Bjugstad received the Frank Pond Rookie of the Year award while registering 20 points (8g-12a). He began turning heads when, as a sophomore, he was named to the All-WCHA First Team, won national Player of the Month for November and led the team in goal scoring with 25. Additionally, he led Minnesota to the MacNaughton Cup title, as WCHA regular season champions, and to the Frozen Four.

After an outstanding sophomore season there were many who speculated that Bjugstad, a first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers, would leave the Gophers and embark on his NHL career. Bjugstad chose to stay, however, because he felt Minnesota had the talent to make another run at the National Championship.

“I had a good year my sophomore year, but we didn’t win it all like we wanted to,” Bjugstad lamented. “We came close, but it was the fact that we had another chance the next season. I was with a great group of guys and we had another shot at it.”

The Gophers indeed had another shot at it thanks to an exceptional season in which they captured a second straight MacNaughton Cup (shared with St. Cloud State). But a heartbreaking overtime loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament to eventual champion, Yale, dashed the Gophers’, and Bjugstad’s, championship hopes.

As a junior, Bjugstad was named to the All-WCHA Third Team after leading Minnesota in goal scoring with 21 and finishing third on the team with 36 points. Shortly after Minnesota’s season came to a stunning end, Bjugstad made the difficult decision to forgo his senior season with the Golden Gophers and sign with the Panthers.

“I didn’t really know what I was going to do,” Bjugstad said. “The offer was on the table and I took it because I felt that it was time to move on with my career.”

On April 3rd, 2013, Bjugstad officially became a professional hockey player and his NHL dream was realized three days later when he made his NHL debut as the Panthers hosted Washington. Stepping into his first NHL locker room was imposing and awe-inspiring for the rookie.

“I was pretty wide-eyed to begin with getting in that locker room and seeing my jersey there,” Bjugstad recalled. “Everyone was very welcoming and the coaches were really helpful with getting me to learn their systems.”

Bjugstad admitted his first taste of NHL action was, “pretty nerve-wracking.”

“My first game was against the Capitals and [Alex] Ovechkin actually had a hat-trick which was pretty intimidating,” he said with a laugh. “Getting on the ice for those first couple shifts, I wasn’t thinking too much, I was just trying to play defensively.”

Finishing the season with Florida was a great experience for Bjugstad and his development. In all, Bjugstad played 11 games, scoring 1 goal and firing 17 shots.

When Florida’s season came to a halt, Bjugstad’s whirlwind spring continued when he was proudly selected to play in the World Championships held in Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland. In the span of just one month, he went from college hockey, to the NHL, then to become one of two college players asked to represent his country in the World Championships.

“I didn’t expect that one coming,” Bjugstad said. “I got the call about a week after the season with Florida. It was very fun going out there and seeing what it is like in Europe.”

One of Bjugstad’s teammates at the World Championships was arch-rival Danny Kristo. When asked what it was like playing with his antagonist from Eden Prairie and hated North Dakota, he responded with a laugh.

“Danny was actually my roommate in Europe,” Bjugstad said. “We always went at it when we played each other, but that’s how it is when you play against someone in hockey then you end up playing on a team with them; you become friends.”

The two longtime combatants managed to collaborate together to form a strong line helping the U.S. reach the podium for the first time since 2004.

“It was funny that we were on the same line,” Bjugstad said. We always brought up some of the events that happened in college and some of the fights that we got in to. It was a good time.”

Bjugstad’s biggest idols growing up were his dad and his uncle, fellow former Gopher Scott Bjugstad who played 317 gamed for three NHL teams, including the Minnesota North Stars, between 1984 and 1992. Although he never got to see them play, they served as important role models for him.

Another of Bjugstad’s heroes growing up was NHLer Matt Hendricks, a fellow Blaine native, who signed a free-agent deal with the Nashville Predators last week after three seasons with the Capitals. Bjugstad was inspired by watching Hendricks lead the Bengals to the 2000 state title before going on to star at St. Cloud State and, ultimately, reach the NHL.

“Hendricks [played] for Washington so it was cool playing against him for my first game,” Bjugstad said. “He chirped me a little, but it was fun playing against him. He is a really good guy.”

Bjugstad offered some advice to young hockey players who may aspire to achieve what he has: Enjoy it.

“Don’t have your parents push you too much,” Bjugstad said. “You have to make sure that you are having fun as well as working hard.”

Nick Bjugstad is proof that with hard work dreams do come true.

The post Living the Dream appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.