News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Sports
Diversions
World News
Classifieds
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
Sports
UND sweeps at Engelstad
By Adam Czech
Published:
Monday, December 9, 2002
Media Credit: Blair Schlichte
SCSU defenseman Ryan LaMere (left) and forward Mike Doyle help defend the net during a power play at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., Saturday. The Huskies lost to University of North Dakota with a score of 5-4.
Media Credit: Blair Schlichte
SCSU defenseman Ryan Lamere gets pulled down by UND forward Kevin Spiewak in Saturday night�s game.
This past weekend in Grand Forks, N.D., was a weekend of firsts for the SCSU men's hockey team.
It was the first time they had played in the $104 million Ralph Engelstad Arena. And, after being swept in a pair of one-goal games by the No. 1 ranked University of North Dakota (UND), it was the first time SCSU has been under the .500 mark in three seasons.
After a 4-3 loss Friday night and a 5-4 defeat Saturday night, the Huskies record now stands at 6-7-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the WCHA. It also appears that SCSU will have to try to get back over the .500 mark without senior goalie Jake Moreland who suffered what appears to be a dislocated left kneecap in the third period of Saturday's 5-4 loss.
With UND (7-1-1 WCHA, 14-1-1 overall) leading 4-3 at the 6:12 mark of the third period, SCSU junior defenseman Colin Peters pulled down UND sophomore forward Ryan Connelly as Connelly raced for the puck near SCSU's goal. Moreland went for the puck as well and was undercut by the falling Connelly. The whole incident was a blur to Moreland.
"I had no idea he was coming," Moreland said. "I went out to play the puck and I went up in the air. I don't even know how I hurt my left knee because he hit me on the right side. It's just a crappy thing that happened."
This weekend was a homecoming of sorts for Moreland who grew up in Grand Forks. As he was being assisted off the ice, the sellout crowd of 11,487 -- the first sellout this season in 10 games at Ralph Engelstad Arena -- gave him a standing ovation. Naturally, Moreland was hoping for a rousing ovation from his former hometown fans because of his play, not because of an injury.
"It felt pretty good I guess," Moreland said of the cheers. "It was really nice of the people to do that."
Freshman Jason Montgomery replaced Moreland in the net and let in the game-winning goal a minute-and-a-half later on a wrist-shot from the far circle off the stick of UND sophomore defenseman Nick Fuehr. Fuehr's shot was not a strong one, indicating that Montgomery may have been screened on the play.
"Yeah, I was (screened)," Montgomery said of the goal that ended up deciding the game. "I didn't catch it until it was by me."
Huskies freshman center Jonathan Lehun answered with his fifth goal of the season at the 11:19 mark of the third period to cut the deficit to 5-4. Later in the period, a controversial running into the goalie penalty on UND freshman phenom Zach Parise gave SCSU a power play with one minute to play in the game. Montgomery was then pulled and the Huskies had a six-on-four advantage to try to tie the game in the final minute.
SCSU never did get a quality shot off and the Sioux earned a sweep of the weekend series and their eighth consecutive victory over the Huskies in Grand Forks, N.D. But even after the final horn sounded, the two teams kept battling.
As SCSU senior center and captain Jon Cullen skated along the boards, he was speared by UND sophomore Brian Canady. The two teams converged, exchanged words and engaged in scattered minor shoving matches.
"We were just going over there to grab Culley (Cullen) and defend him," SCSU freshman defenseman T.J. McElroy said. "We're lucky the coaches stepped in and broke things up. Things could have gotten much worse."
"It was the weakest, most cowardly thing I have ever seen," Huskies junior defenseman Jeff Finger added. "I lost a lot of respect for that team. I had the utmost respect for them because of how they battle and they're well coached. That was a cowardly, cowardly play."
Cannady received a spearing major and a game-disqualification penalty for the incident. He will be ineligible for UND's tilt against Canisius Friday.
SCSU tallied 14 shots on goal in the first period of Saturday's contest but only a total of 12 in the final two periods. In Friday's 4-3 loss, the Huskies managed just 20 shots in the entire game against the UND defense.
There was also a stark contrast in how the two games were officiated. Friday's game saw a total of 12 penalties -- five against SCSU -- for 24 minutes. There was 26 penalties -- 13 on each team -- for 63 minutes in Saturday's game.
"It's been like that the whole year," Finger said of the officiating. "I really don't know what the refs' deal is. It's like they must have a quota for calls or something."
McElroy had a tough time adjusting to the officiating as well. "It's not really something you can adjust to," he said. "You just have to play the game and deal with it. It hurts you when there's a call every two minutes but you have to kill them off and not worry about it."
The Huskies did just that and killed off the first seven UND power plays Saturday night before the Sioux scored on their final three power play opportunities. SCSU allowed one power play goal in four chances Friday and were three-for-14 themselves on power plays over the weekend.
Another big difference in the two contests was how SCSU started each game. Friday night the Huskies came out sluggish and failed to capitalize on an early five-on-three advantage to extend their lead to 2-0. Saturday SCSU had a 2-0 lead at the 7:45 mark of the first period thanks to a goal at the 5:36 mark from senior wing Joe Motzko and McElroy's first career goal about two minutes later.
"We wanted to see what kind of character we had," SCSU head coach Craig Dahl said of his team's start in the series finale. "These were two hotly contested games. Sometimes close isn't good enough to win but it gives you an idea of how to play the game and it gives you the confidence that you can play with anybody."
One player who's going to need that confidence in the absence of the injured Moreland is Montgomery. So far this season the Blaine, Wash., native is 0-5-1 with a 3.75 GAA and a save percentage of .878. He thinks he's up for the task.
"It's going to be pretty much the same," Montgomery said of the situation. "I'm going to work hard and be as prepared as I can be to help the team."
Around the rink
-- Three Huskies gained their fortieth career points this weekend -- wing Mike Doyle, defenseman Jeff Finger and center Peter Szabo.
-- The Huskies have been out-shot in their last four games. Friday's 20-shot performance was the second lowest of the season for the Huskies.
-- SCSU's current three-game losing streak is its longest this season.
