Always unruffled, UMD goalie Ryan Fanti cleared a rebound to Kobe Roth (10) while defensemen Darian Gotz (2) and Wyatt Kaiser (behind net) covered Denver attackers in UMD’s 2-0 semifinal victory. Photos by John Gilbert.

Nobody can properly define the word “charisma” as it involves sports teams and events, but the best definition is a feeling of total team unity that starts out meaning every essence of selfishness is boiled down into selflessness, and everybody contributes their best for the sake of the team’s success.

The UMD men’s hockey team has it, in unmeasured amounts, and even coach Scott Sandelin is unable to say exactly why.

All we know is that on three earlier occasions, UMD seemed to struggle toward the end of the regular season, then suddenly, as if Sandelin snapped some mythical fingers, the Bulldogs became invincible. On those three earlier occasions, the Bulldogs won NCAA championships, and here we are, going for a fourth.

UMD men’s hockey remains unequivocally the biggest sports attraction in Northeastern Minnesota, and showing signs of spreading all around the state, where other very good college hockey teams are giving everything for the same sort of success that Sandelin’s UMD Bulldogs have achieved.

It had never happened before, with the exception of the first decade of Division I women’s hockey, when Shannon Miller wove her magic and guided the Bulldogs to five NCAA titles, including the first three ever conducted.

Those were unbelievably skilled teams, and they all plugged their individual talents into Miller’s creative concepts and became unbeatable teams, loaded with charisma.

That went away with the dismissal of Miller, and while the current UMD women’s team is bristling with talent and just finished its second straight trip to the NCAA Frozen Four, the Bulldogs fell short by the slimmest of margins, to Northeastern in last year’s semifinals, and in a nail-biting loss to Ohio State in last weekend’s championship game against Ohio State.

That clears everything for the UMD men’s crack at it. Unlike the NCAA basketball tournament, which seems to take months to unravel, the men’s hockey tournament unfolds at breathtaking speed, starting with this week’s four regional tournaments.

It’s not surprising that UMD struggled a little at the end of the regular season, but we knew all the ingredients were there. Sure enough, having not swept a single NCHC series all season, the Bulldogs went to St. Cloud and beat the Huskies twice in a row to reach the Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Center – an oddly placed but perfect site for a league that doesn’t have a single Twin Cities team.

The top three teams all made it – Denver, North Dakota and Western Michigan – and UMD rose from a virtual tie for fourth as the No. 5 seed to take out No. 4 St. Cloud State, and then, with incredibly astute team defense and the brilliant goaltending of Ryan Fanti, the Bulldogs simple refused to allow a goal to either Denver or Western Michigan.

Blake Biondi, undoubtedly the most unsung team scoring leader in the country, is listed as third line right wing, but he raced to the net on a broken-shift rush with fellow Hermantown alum Jesse Jacques, and when Jacques feathered a pass across the slot, Biondi whacked it past Denver goaltender Magnus Chrona at 14:47 of the first period, an instant before peeling off to the right corner.

Fanti and the team defense made it stand up, and Kobe Roth hit an empty net from 125 feet with 21 seconds left for a 2-0 victory.

Western Michigan beat North Dakota 4-2, also with an empty net goal after a fiercely-paced contest. Those two games proved once again why the NCHC is the best conference in college hockey, because nobody had any room for fancy plays or stylish system stuff.

The hard-core tight-checking exhausted nearly every potential chance.

Then came the NCHC final, and Fanti again did his thing, blanking the Broncos while that underrated and overlooked third line clicked some more, as freshman center Dominic James scored unassisted in the first period, top-line center Casey Gilling scored a power-play goal in the second, and sophomore Wyatt Kaiser notched the clincher midway through the third for a 3-0 victory over Western Michigan.

All four make the 16-team NCAA field, along with St. Cloud State as a fifth entry, and with goaltender

David Hrenak recovered from a nasty flu that took him out of the plays series with UMD.
In a magic world, while the usual Big Ten promotion machine is trying to convince us that the Big Ten is the best because of Michigan and Minnesota, and Notre Dame, the NCHC will spread out and attack all four regionals.

On Thursday, the Loveland, Colo., regional has Denver meeting Mass-Lowell at 8 pm, after UMD battles old rival Michigan Tech at 2 pm. Those winners meet Saturday for a berth in the Frozen Four, two weeks hence in Boston.

Also on Thursday, the Albana regional has MSU-Mankato facing Harvard at 11 a.m., and North Dakota facing Notre Dame at 5.

On Friday, at Worcester, Mass., Western Michigan faces Northeastern at 11 am, followed by Minnesota against defending champion Massachusetts at 5, and those winners collide Sunday.
In Allentown, Pa., Michigan meets American International at 2 pm, and Quinnipiac takes on St. Cloud State at 7 pm, with those winners also meeting Sunday to fill out the Frozen Four.

All four regionals look highly competitive. We can agree that Michigan has the most raw talent, Mankato has an exceptional team that has Dryden McKay in goal – the best in the country, Minnesota is very strong although continuing to have what seems to be a lack of team unity, or charisma.

The NCHC teams all share a stubborn unwillingness to give up goals, or to lose. St. Cloud State is completely overlooked, while North Dakota, Western Michigan and Denver all are extremely strong defensively.

And UMD? Well, it’s playoff time. The Bulldogs don’t have a prominent line that deserves to draw checking coverage, but they do have that unsung third line, and the return to full health of the explosive Kaiser igniting the defense, and Fanti.

Biondi and James, Kaiser and Fanti all made the 6-man all-tournament team at Xcel Center, and Fanti was named MVP.

The Bulldogs don’t have any weak spots, and their overall skill, balance and depth is impressive, and those four all-conference guys may lead the way in charisma.

A hot goaltender, or a bad penalty call, could wipe out all the preparation and development. Nonetheless, if you’re picking a team going in, you have to remember one thing: It’s playoff time, and the Bulldogs don’t lose!

The UMD women made a spirited bid for their national championship, beating Northeastern 2-1 in the semifinals when Taylor Anderson tied the game midway through the third period and Naomi Rogge scored with 1:45 remaining in the second overtime.

In the final, Ohio State’s Paetyn Levis scored a power-play goal when Emma Soderberg had to struggle through traffic to return to the crease early in the second period, but Rogge deflected a right-point shot by Kailee Skinner down and it skipped through, trickling in to tie the game 1-1.

Levis, who hit both the pipe and the crossbar with shots later in the second period, lost a race to a loose puck to Soderberg on the first shift of the third period, but as Soderberg got to it, Levis clipped her and knocked her down. Clair DeGeorge scooped up the jostled clearing try and put it into the empty net.

Elizabeth Giguere scored barely a minute later to tie it 2-2, but the game winner came on yet another odd play.

Ohio State’s Kenzie Hauswirth fired a hard pass from the left boards, and it glanced off defenseman Brenna Fuhrman, who was perfectly positioned to cover Buckeyes winger Hadley Hartmetz, only to have the puck glance in off Fuhrman’s skate and wind up just inside the right post for the goal.

Led by an exceptional group of seniors, the Bulldogs could be headed for yet another strong season next year, when the NCAA tournament will be held at AMSOIL Arena.

In the very well-run Ryan Kern all-star hockey game at Essential Heritage Arena last week, players were split up onto the two teams, and it was fun to watch the players exhibit their season-long tendencies.

For example, Hermantown star Zam Plante had a goal and three assists, as his amazing playmaking skills came through shift after shift. The classic was that during the second intermission he worked a deal out and swapped positions – shifting back to defense.

Intriguing idea for coach Pat Andrews next season, maybe, because Zam was Bobby Orr and Scott Perunovich rolled into one from the point, as he moved in to set up scoring chances.

Blake Biondi eluded Denver defenders and nearly the camera as he exited stage right after scoring the goal against goalie Magnus Chrona that gave UMD a 1-0 lead.