Having the fewest wins in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association isn't what Minnesota Duluth had in mind after one-third of the season.
Yet at 1-7-2 and 3-7-3 overall, coach Scott Sandelin believes the Bulldogs can turn things around in December.
''We're asking our guys to play hard, and most of the time we're getting that,'' Sandelin said. ''Most of our games have been tight; we haven't been giving up five or six goals a game. It's not like we've been terrible.
''If you keep working at it, the law of averages are going to change in your favor. We just need something good to go our way.''
UMD begins the month at sixth-place Alaska Anchorage (6-4-2), then has a home-and-home nonconference series with Bemidji State (3-4-3), a road series with Minnesota State-Mankato (3-9-1), and finally Ohio Hockey Classic games against Ohio State (4-7-3) and either Miami of Ohio (11-5) or Bowling Green (3-10-1).
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A demanding schedule, which is part of being in the WCHA, made UMD's past month demanding.
Although the PairWise Rankings, computer rankings that determine the NCAA Division I tournament field, haven't been posted yet this season, a version can be found on SiouxSports.com.
In the unofficial ratings, four UMD opponents are in the top eight -- No. 1 Minnesota, No. 3 St. Cloud State, No. 4 Michigan Tech and No. 8 Denver. The Bulldogs were 1-6-1 against those teams with four losses by one or two goals. (For comparison, in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll, Minnesota is No. 1, Denver No. 8 and St. Cloud No. 10, while Michigan Tech is unranked.)
Surprising Seawolves
Anchorage coach Dave Shyiak understands why his Seawolves are being called a surprise team in the WCHA. After winning just six games last season and finishing last in the league, Anchorage is 6-4-2 and tied for sixth entering Friday and Saturday home games with UMD.
Before the season, Shyiak said a team goal was to finish in the WCHA's top five. And in going 4-1 the last five games the Seawolves have defeated defending Division I champion Wisconsin and swept 2006 Frozen Four entrant North Dakota.
''I'm sure people are saying 'Oh, the Seawolves have turned things around.' But if we play aggressive like we have, we can beat good teams,'' said Shyiak, now in his second season. ''We're much-improved from a year ago. We're not relying on our goalie [Nathan Lawson] to stand on his head to win games.''
The Seawolves are winning despite not being overpowering. In all games, Anchorage is 37-37 in goals scored-goals allowed and 22-27 in league play.
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Senior forward Justin Bourne leads Anchorage in scoring with five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 12 games. Lawson, a junior, has an .891 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average.
''Once you get that little feeling that you have success and you know you can do it, that goes a long ways. Once you get that feeling, it just stays with you,'' Anchorage senior defenseman Chad Anderson told the Anchorage Daily News.
Anchorage's best WCHA finish in 13 years is sixth place.
Lake Superior tournament
UMD opens next season at home Oct. 12 and 14 in a tournament tentatively called the Lake Superior Cup. The inaugural event, set for Friday night and Sunday afternoon, includes Northern Michigan of Marquette, Mich.; Lake Superior State of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; and Michigan Tech.
The plan is for UMD and Michigan Tech to be home against Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan.
The following season (2008-09) will open with UMD and Michigan Tech on the road at Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan.
Michigan Tech coach Jamie Russell and Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle came up with the idea and then involved the other Lake Superior teams, Sandelin said.
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The tournament has a two-year contract.
