Perbix picks up first college goal but Leivermann, Irish take series finale

Jack Perbix is no stranger to the score sheet. The University of Minnesota freshman winger racked up 121 points in 74 games for Elk River high school from 2015 to 2018. 

After finishing his high school career at Elk River in the spring of 2018, Perbix split his 2018-19 season between the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers and the Des Moines Buccaneers, scoring 12 goals among his 49 points in 60 games. But in his first seven games Gopher he had been blanked other than a pair of assists, although not for lack of opportunity.

“I’ve had Grade-A chances that I want back but after getting that first one, you know, it was definitely monkey off my [back],” said Perbix, a 2018 fourth-round pick (No. 116 overall) by the Anaheim Ducks.

The monkey is gone after Perbix notched his first collegiate goal which gave the Gophers a 2-0 first period lead over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday night. But a pair of goals by Eden Prairie’s Nick Leivermann helped lift the Irish to 5-3 win over Minnesota in the finale of the opening weekend of the Big Ten conference schedule for both teams.

Leivermann, picked in the seventh round (No. 187 overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, scored twice in the second period, including a game-tying goal after which the Irish never trailed. The sophomore now has three goals to his credit at Notre Dame with all three coming at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

“We’ve kind of seen what our good hockey can look like; it looks pretty good,” Minnesota coach Bob Motzko said. “We didn’t sustain it tonight.” 

The Gophers jumped out out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of first-period goals by Brannon McManus and Perbix 3:39 apart. McManus, a junior, finished a 2-on-1 with Sampo Ranta when he took Ranta’s feed and beat a sliding Morris from the right circle at the 12:34 mark.

Less than four minutes later, Perbix jumped on a loose puck off a turnover forced by fellow freshman linemate Jaxon Nelson and wheeled into the high slot before firing a shot high off the inside of the right post. 

“I came across the circle and I noticed that I couldn’t see the goalie’s face and that’s just telling me that he couldn’t see mine,” Perbix said. “So I knew that he was screened and I just picked open net and I hit it.”

“The Nelson line emerged looking like college hockey players this weekend,” Motzko said. “I think the first six games we’ve been waiting for a group of guys. We had much more energy at times throughout all of our lines were tonight.”

The Irish bounced back in the second period with a trio of goals, two of them by Leivermann. His power-play goal at 5:20 got the Irish on the board and Notre Dame tied it at 13:46 on a goal by Mequon Wisconsin’s Spencer Stastney. 

“(Coach Jeff Jackson) has kind of been preaching to our power play that we haven’t got enough pucks to the net,” Leivermann said. “So I mean, we just kind of moved it around, make five or six passes, and hopefully, one of them goes in.”

Motzko lamented missed opportunities on special teams on a night when Minnesota’s power play was 0-for-3 against the Irish.

“We lost the special teams battle in a big game when you need it,” Motzko said. “Our power play had a couple opportunities get us back in the game and it doesn’t.”

But the Gophers regained the lead just 42 seconds later on a pretty goal by Garrett Wait. The former Edina star carried the puck into the left circle and across the low slot — with a toe-drag to evade a sliding Irish defenseman — before patiently outwaiting Morris who went down as Wait lifted a backhand shot over him.

The lead lasted less than four minutes, however, as Leivermann cut across the slot and fired a shot from between the tops of the circles that beat Moe for his second goal of the game and just the third of his college career. 

“Both are goals that I had were plays made by other players so it’s nothing to be looked down upon me,” Leivermann said “But I think it’s really fun to play here and I know that the boys kind of get going, especially all of the Minnesotans. We’re excited to be here so it’s fun.”

Jackson said Leivermann, after struggling a bit on Friday night, bounced back solidly on Saturday. 

“He’s learning how to defend because he’s always had the offensive skill,” Jackson said. “We’re trying to be patient with him, trying to get him some playing time so we can build some confidence, and tonight I thought it was really good.”

Tied 3-3 to start the third, the Gophers could not mount any offense and were outshot 17-2 in the final period. Defenseman Charlie Raith’s goal, the sophomore’s first collegiate point, just 1:25 into the period held up as the game winner with Maple Grove’s Trevor Janicke finding an empty net with 11 seconds remaining. 

“The bad thing about tonight’s game in general is we got destroyed on the faceoff,” Motzko said of Notre Dame’s 41-18 faceoff advantage. “So you start the entire night on defense and that wears you down and give Notre Dame credit on that.”

The post Notre Dame Wears down Gophers appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

‘Senior Night’ goals push UMD to second NCAA title

St. Paul — Maybe the UMD hockey team should try to schedule its “senior night” to coincide with the NCAA championship game every year. 

   Karson Kuhlman and Jared Thomas — senior linemates who spent most of their four years not scoring — came up with the biggest goals of their careers Saturday night to ignite the Bulldogs to a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame before 18,303 fans at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.

   The eight freshmen in the Bulldog lineup deserved the raves from all who watched, and sophomore goaltender Hunter Shepard weathered some intense pressure to hold that early lead, but captain Kuhlman, from Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, and Thomas, from Hermantown, came through with first-period goals to stake the Bulldogs to a 2-0 lead.

   Then UMD could safely, but dangerously, turn things over to goaltender Shepard and a textbook display of team defense led by their poised and patient blueliners, to win their second NCAA championship in men’s hockey.

    Kuhlman and Thomas continued their late offensive leadership, which shows some great patience by coach Scott Sandelin. Kuhlman, always hustling, has proven his captaincy repeatedly. His goal Saturday night was his 13th  of the season — far from sufficient reward for all the energy he’s spent.

   “If I could have 25 guys like Karson, my job would be a lot easier,” said Sandelin, who tried double-shifting Kuhlman in the first period after freshman winger Kobe Roth injured his ankle when he was checked into the boards. On the first shift Kuhlman played on the fourth line, he scored.

    Thomas, a big scorer in high school and in junior, spent his four years looking good, and doing everything right, but without scoring much. His goal — the game-winner — was his 11th of the season, and only his 21st in 163 games over four years. But Sandelin stuck with him patiently, for his speed, his two-way play, and maybe believing he might someday come through offensively.

   It worked, even if just barely, because Thomas’s 11th tally was the game-winner and gave UMD its second NCAA men’s hockey title at the same location it won it’s first one, in 2011. That time, the Bulldogs beat Michigan 3-2 in the second overtime, after beating Notre Dame 3-2 in the semifnals.

   For their play in the Frozen Four, Kuhlman and Thomas were both named to the all-tournament team, along with Shepard and freshman defenseman Scott Perunovich, and Notre Dame winger Andrew Oglevie and defenseman Jordan Gross. For good measure, Kuhlman also was named tournament most outstanding player.

    UMD violated a whole raft of traditions to finish 25-16-3 — the most losses by an NCAA champion. After losing twice in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Center, UMD made the NCAA field as the final at-large entry by one-10,000th of a Pairwise point over Minnesota. From that point on, the Bulldogs became the first team since 1977 to win all four of its NCAA tournament games by one goal.

    Taking down top-seeded Notre Dame, which finished 28-10-2 and still in search of its first NCAA title, means UMD won the title as the lone NCHC team in the field, against three Big Ten teams — for the third straight NCHC championship. 

   The other traditional difficulty the Bulldogs ignored was the high-risk of trying to hold onto a narrow lead against an explosive opponent. But the Bulldogs shrugged all of that off and continued to follow a remarkable pattern of their own, jumping ahead 2-0 with a forceful first period, then battling to hang on as the game progressed.

   The Bulldogs did that in Sioux Falls when they got a 2-0 lead on Air Force and won 2-1 for the West Region title, and they did it again Thursday when they struck twice in the first 3:04 and rode those goals to another 2-1 victory to eliminate Ohio State in the semifinals.

    So why should Saturday night’s final be any different? 

   The Bulldogs opened the tough, physical battle against Notre Dame by losing Roth, who a couple of hours later was helped onto the ice in a protective boot to join the raucous celebration. That’s when the senior tandem of Kuhlman and Thomas staked them to the 2-0 lead.

    On his first turn at wing with center Jade Miller in Roth’s spot on the fourth line, Kuhlman helped spring the puck free in the neutral zone, then he slipped ahead to the far blue line as Miller rounded up the puck and passed it ahead to Kuhlman, who was wide open to rush the net. Kuhlman started to crank up for a slap shot, and appeared to change his mind, striding in a couple more steps and snapping a wrist shot past Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris on the short side at 9:06.

Injured UMD forward Kobe Roth is escorted around the Xcel Energy Center Ice by linemate Jade Miller hoisting the Bulldogs national championship trophy following Minnesota Duluth’s 2-1 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Both Thomas and Kuhman have provided leadership roles with heady play and a lot of grit in tight quarters, and late in the first period, they demonstrated, collaborating on a forecheck in the right corner of the Irish zone. Kuhlman finally nudged the puck around the corner boards to Thomas, who won another battle for possession there and headed for the goal.

   With no angle to shoot at and no teammate to feed, Thomas rammed a shot at Morris, who was already kneeling in the crease, figuring he had every angle covered. Turns out, he didn’t. Thomas’s shot hit his skate and glanced into the net, and the Bulldogs were up 2-0 at 18:39 of the opening session.

   “Kars got the puck up to me, and I threw a surprise shot at his feet,” said Thomas. “I was fortunate enough to find a little hole there.”

   It could have been 3-0, but Mike O’Leary eliminated a set-up in the slot with a timely hook that saved a goal, maybe, but didn’t elude the officials. UMD’s power play, however, seemed to get more deliberate as time passed, interrupting their momentum on that overlapping power play, and another one 2 mintues into the second period.

    It was no surprise that Notre Dame got some fire from the penalty kills, and that the penalties started to even up. The Bulldogs did a good job killing a Louie Roehl penalty at 4:35, but when Perunovich stopped a rush and was called for interference when the Notre Dame skater hurtled over him, the Filghting Irish broke through Shepard’s goaltending.

   Dan Morrison was on the right boards and passed across the slot to Jake Evans in the left circle. Sophomore Andrew Oglevie broke hard to the net, and arrived just as the pass from Evans got to the crease, and Oglevie jabbed the puck under Shepard at 7:40.

    The Bulldogs obviously had no intention of sitting back to protect the lead, outshooting Notre Dame 18-9 in the second period. Still, the Irish had some excellent chances at the equalizer, the best of which was when Colin Theisen sped around the defense and crashed the net.

   Shepard, who had made two or three exceptional saves at the left post moments earlier, held his ground and made the save to preserve the 2-1 lead to the second intermission.

   “I thought we played much better in the second period,” said Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson, whose team dominated its first season in the Big Ten by winning its first 13 games, and made it a habit to win close games at the finish. “We needed to tie the game in the second, because once you get to the third period, they’re a shut-down team.”

   In the third period, the shut down effort was mainly by UMD’s kiddie corps — the steady and heady defense led by sophomore Nick Wolff and the five freshmen who never seem to sense any danger. They stopped rushes, played the puck smartly, and cleared everything, while leaving a few threats for Shepard to handle.

   After outshooting Notre Dame 18-8 in the second period, UMD held the Irish to only 5 shots with a 7-5 edge in the shut-down third, for a 35-20 game advantage. “Obviously, we didn’t want to get on our heels,” said Kuhlman. 

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UMD captain’s clutch play leads Bulldogs national title

“This year has been fun because our relationship as a coaching staff (with Kuhlman) grew,” Bulldogs head coach Scott Sandelin said. “We had a lot of talks earlier in the year. It was fun to see him kind of mature into the leader that he was.

 

“There were some frustrating times, but we found a way to get through together … I can’t say enough about Karson. He’s a great kid, great captain for us and I was so excited that he was the Most Valuable Player of this tournament because he deserved it.”

 

Kuhlman was also the MVP of the NCAA Division I West Regional and led the Bulldogs to four straight one-goal wins in the national tournament.

 

This was Kuhlman’s first season wearing a letter for a team since he was an alternate captain for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in 2013-14. His teammates voted him as the team’s captain last spring after the Bulldogs reached the national championship game.

 

UMD captain Karson Kuhlman and former Bulldog great, Bill Watson, share an embrace following Minnesota Duluth’s 2-1 Frozen Four championship game win over the Irish on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

“Throughout the summer and the fall, we knew we were going to have a lot of ups and downs,” said Kuhlman, whose team had eight freshmen and five sophomores in the lineup in Saturday’s win at Xcel. “As much as it was a learning experience for the younger guys, it was also a learning experience for myself and the leadership group.

 

“How to manage games with these younger guys and also how to manage everything from on the ice to off the ice to everything in between. At the end of the day, I couldn’t be happier with how all of them and how they stepped up.”

 

It helps when the captain is leading the way with his energy and relentless play. In the championship game, Kuhlman also stepped in to help out on a line he had not played a shift with this season.

 

Freshman left wing Kobe Roth went down with a lower leg injury in the first period. Kuhlman took a shift in Roth’s place and gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead with a goal at 9:06, which was 2:45 after Roth left the game.

 

“We were down to 11 forwards and I just liked the way Karson was playing,” Sandelin said. “He said he was fine to go and I told him to keep his shifts short. It paid off. It was a big goal for us to get the lead.”

 

Kuhlman got the puck from Jade Miller after Miller stole the puck in the neutral zone. He got it to Kuhlman, who faked a slap shot at the top of the faceoff circle, took a couple strides and then scored on a wrist shot from the faceoff dot.

 

“I was kind of caught it flat-footed and the ‘D’ man was closing in pretty good,” Kuhlman said of his 13th goal of the season. “I actually had scored on one of those earlier in my career on a really similar play on the catching glove side.”

 

Then Kuhlman set up the game-winner. Kuhlman and center Jared Thomas were attacking low in the Notre Dame zone. Kuhlman was able to push the puck down to Thomas, who took a couple strides toward the net and scored at 18:39 of the first period for a 2-0 lead.

 

UMD went on to win its third straight game that the Bulldogs held a 2-0 lead after the first period and ended up winning 2-1, this time to clinch its second national title.

 

Kuhlman grew up a Minnesota-Duluth fan and was a freshman on the Cloquet/Esko/Carlton High School team when the Bulldogs won their first title in 2011 in St. Paul.

 

“I remember 2011 and how much it meant to the fans in the whole city,” Kuhlman said. “I just can’t believe it. It’s pretty special.”

 

Kuhlman is an undrafted player, who finished with 38 goals and 40 assists in 165 career college games. He will graduate this spring with a degree in organizational management after being an NCHC All-Academic Team member for four years.

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Irish power-play opportunities dry up in title game loss to UMD

St. Paul — One of the well-documented themes of the 2018 NCAA Tournament was Minnesota-Duluth’s shutdown defense, a facet of the Bulldogs game that won the battle in the Frozen Four title game.

But Notre Dame’s power play sure came close to stealing the show Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Irish fell short, losing the championship 2-1 to the Bulldogs.

“Our power play has always been a big part of us in all these one-goal games,” Irish defenseman Jordon Gross, from Maple Grove, said.

Every time Notre Dame trailed during the NCAA tournament, its man advantage gave the Irish the spark it needed with the team’s first goal. It gave Notre Dame a spark Saturday, too, but a lack of opportunities down the stretch let that spark fizzle.

Trailing 2-0 for the second time this Frozen Four, Notre Dame scored on the power play to get within a goal of the Bulldogs. Andrew Oglevie was the man to score that first goal for the third time this tournament.

“(Our power play unit) has played together for a long time, we know where guys are going to be and we work on it a lot in practice,” said Oglevie, who had 15 goals this season, nine of which on the power play (eighth-most nationally).

“We pre-scout the other team pretty well.”

Oglevie’s redirection from the top of the crease on a rush off a pass from Cam Morrison sent the puck into UMD goaltender Hunter Shepard’s equipment and it trickled through into the net.

Oglevie saw that play coming.

(Photo by Jonny Watkins)

“The breakout goal was a direct result of our pre-scout,” Oglevie said. “We knew (the UMD penalty kill) would be vulnerable to the fast-break breakout. We posted two guys high and I kind of floated up the middle.

“Jake (Evans) made a nice pass up to Cam (Morrison) and he found me back door. I just tried to get a stick on it, not really trying to pick a corner. I just wanted to get it on net. I think it went five-hole.”

Notre Dame found itself trailing Providence by a goal after the first period of the East Region final, but an Oglevie power play goal got the Irish on the board late in the second period in a 2-1 win.

And Thursday night in the Frozen Four semifinals, after giving Michigan a two-goal lead going into the second, Notre Dame again used an Oglevie goal with the advantage to spark the comeback.

The Irish finished the season with a power play that converted 23.7 percent of its opportunities, good for seventh in the nation and went 6-for-15 from the beginning of the Big Ten Playoffs through Thursday’s semifinal.

But after Notre Dame scored Saturday, it wasn’t rewarded another power play, and without it, couldn’t get the equalizer.

“(The power play) got us back into the game and gave us momentum,” said Gross, who assisted on two power play goals and scored one this postseason. “Unfortunately, the refs put their whistles away after that goal. They didn’t want to give us another one.”

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Gophers complete sweep of the Fighting Irish with 4-2 win

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UMD blanks Notre Dame 3-0 for third at Ice Breaker Tournament

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Two days after a disappointing Ice Breaker Tournament loss to Minnesota in which its comeback bid fill short, Minnesota-Duluth rebounded and never trailed in defeating Notre Dame to capture third place.

Dominic Toninato and Alex Iafallo each had a goal and an assist and Matt McNeely made 23 saves as the Bulldogs cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Fighting Irish on Sunday at the Compton Family Ice Center.

Minnesota-Duluth made a few lineup changes all around, but the biggest change was that of McNeely playing in net for Kasimir Kaskisuo. Although the Bulldogs were in control for much of the game, there were times when the Irish applied serious pressure but McNeely stood very tall and confident during the Irish attack.

The Bulldogs held the shot advantage 29-23 and scored twice on the power-play, which also looked better on Sunday than it did on Friday. Both teams had plenty of chances on the power play as there were 18 total penalties for 42 total penalty minutes. Austin Farley was assessed a 10-minute misconduct towards the end of regulation.

Iafallo and Toninato looked great all weekend, producing much of the Bulldog offense. In addition to his two points today, Toninato had four points (2-2-4) on the weekend. Iafallo brings speed and finesse to the lineup while Toninato brings grit and hard hits.

Notre Dame was able to keep up with Minnesota-Duluth for most of the game but the Irish special teams were nowhere to be found. They seemed to struggle getting a rhythm going at even-strength coming off of their penalty kills.

Although many fans wanted to see the Lucia-Lucia matchup again, having Notre Dame play Minnesota-Duluth was just as fun for the fans to see as these two teams do have some history. The Bulldogs beat Notre Dame at the 2011 Frozen Four in Saint Paul before beating Michigan in overtime to take their first national title. Since that time the Bulldogs and Irish have played pretty evenly-matched contests.

Minnesota-Duluth (1-1) will play a home-and-home series against Minnesota-State Mankato this coming weekend. The Friday, Oct. 17 game will be held in Duluth while the Saturday, Oct. 18 game will be held in Mankato.

The post Bulldogs Bounce Back, Stifle the Irish. appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

WCHA Women

Amanda Kessel

University of Minnesota forward Amanda Kesselscored her team and nation-leading 15th goal of the season to go with 3 assists leading  No. 1 Minnesota to a sweep at Minnesota Duluth and capture the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week award. The junior from Madison, Wis. assisted on both game winning goals. It is the second such honor for Kessel who also won on Oct. 3.

Hanna Brandt

Gopher forward Hanna Brandt‘s four assists in Duluth earned the freshman from Vadnais Heights, Minn. her third (Oct. 3 and Oct. 24) WCHA Rookie of the Week award. the four points raise her overall season total to 33, good for tops in the nation and one point ahead of Kessel.

Here’s the link to the full release.

Hockey East Women

Lexi Slattery

Defenseman Lexi Slattery of Lino Lakes, Minn. scored her first collegiate goal and added an assist in helping her Providence College team to a series sweep at Maine and earn the Hockey East Rookie of the Week award. Slattery now has six points (1-5–6) through 10 games played for the Friars this season.

Here’s the link to the full release.

WCHA Men

Zach Palmquist

Minnesota State’s one-goal loss and upset win over then No. 2 Minnesota was recognized by the league with a pair of awards. Mavericks defenseman Zach Palmquist captured WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors. The sophomore from South St. Paul, Minn. registered a power-play goal in Friday’s 3-2 loss and an assist in Saturday’s 5-3 MSU win while helping hold the Gophers to just two even-strength goals in the series.

Dylan Margonari

On the strength of his first career goal, which just happened to be a game winner, Minnesota State forward Dylan Margonari is the WCHA’s Rookie of the Week. The freshman forward from Greensburg, Pa. scored at 16:19 of the third period on Saturday to lift the Mavericks to a 4-3 lead on their way to a 5-3 win.

Here’s the link to the full release.

CCHA Men

Anders Lee

With three goals and an assist in a split with Western Michigan, Notre Dame captain Anders Lee was named CCHA Offensive Player of the Week. The junior forward from Edina, Minn. was not shy about firing the puck in releasing 12 shots over the weekend and Lee also finished with a +4 plus/minus rating in the series.
Here’s the link to the full release.

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