UMD holds off Northern Michigan in men's hockey

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- There wasn't a lot of time for Minnesota Duluth's players to ponder a 12-goal season-opening game.

After Friday's overtime tie against Lake Superior State, the Bulldogs bused three hours along Michigan's Upper Peninsula from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, arriving in Marquette about 2:15 a.m. They were at the Berry Events Center for an 11 a.m. skate, and then back in the same building for a 7:30 p.m. game with Northern Michigan in the fourth Superior Cup.

Coach Scott Sandelin asked his team to do three things better -- defensive coverage, penalty killing and faceoffs. There were better in all three areas in defeating Northern Michigan 3-2 before a crowd of 2,849. It was better than the 6-6 tie.

"Except for about five minutes, we played strong the whole game," said UMD freshman defenseman Dylan Olsen, who had the game's first goal. "We need guys to play their roles, block shots and be good defensively. We didn't need to change much."

The No. 8-ranked Bulldogs (1-0-1) got goals from three defensemen, and, when tested, goalie Kenny Reiter was good and finished with 19 saves. Northern Michigan (0-2) had lost to Michigan Tech in overtime Friday and didn't have much energy for much of the game, and was outshot 13-1 in the opening period and 36-21.

The Wildcats needed two goals 103 seconds apart by defenseman Andrew Fernandez in the last seven minutes to make it close.

"From last season we lost our top goalie, top three defensemen and four senior forwards. It's going to be a work in progress this season," said Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle, whose team was in the 2010 NCAA tournament. "We were fatigued in the first period and they just dominated us."

The second night of 2010-11 started dramatically different. UMD's defense held Northern Michigan to one shot on goal through 20 minutes, a dump-in from center ice. At the same time, the Bulldogs scored on two of their first three power plays.

Olsen drove a shot from the high slot just 51 seconds into the game and junior defenseman Brady Lamb connected from the right circle at 9:38 past junior goalie Reid Ellingson of Cloquet, who was replaced in the third period. Olsen's dad, Darryl, was a Northern Michigan defenseman from 1985-89.

"Friday was real scramble for us. We just wanted to get a lead and keep it simple tonight, and things were a whole lot better," said Lamb, with 13 career goals.

Puck control continued to be UMD's game in the second period with a 23-9 shots-on-goal advantage through 40 periods. The Wildcats, however, had a much better effort and produced three excellent scoring chances in close, and Reiter made the saves.

UMD's position improved when freshman defenseman Justin Faulk, known for his shot, unleashed an attempt from high on the right side 2:11 into the third period for a 3-0 lead. Yet, the Bulldogs may have relaxed and the Wildcats rallied as Fernandez scored in close with 7:45 left and from the left circle with 6:02 left and it was 3-2.

"Lake Superior had too many scoring chances Friday and that's what we wanted to limit. Northern Michigan only had a few and we played a solid game except for that stretch in the third period," said Faulk, a 2010 second-round NHL draft pick who was with the USA Under-18 team last season.

Northern Michigan and UMD are now 33-33-4 in their all-time series. The Wildcats are picked to finish sixth in the 11-team Central Collegiate Hockey Association after placing fourth last season.

"For most of the game they did what I asked. We played pretty darn well," said Sandelin. "It was another lesson to make sure to play to the buzzer, but it was a better effort."

The Bulldogs open the home season this Friday and Saturday against Providence College of Hockey East. The Friars opened with a 3-2 league home win over Northeastern on Friday.

Minnesota Duluth 2-0-1--3

Northern Michigan 0-0-2--2

First period -- 1. UMD, Dylan Olsen 1 (Mike Montgomery, J.T. Brown), :51 (pp); 2. UMD, Brady Lamb 1 (Justin Fontaine, Justin Faulk), 9:38 (pp). Penalties - Erik Higby, Northern Michigan (holding), :39; Higby, Northern Michigan (tripping), 4:59; Andrew Cherniwchan, Northern Michigan (interference), 8:38; Mike Connolly, UMD (cross-checking), 14:43.

Second period -- No scoring. Penalties - Erik Spady, Northern Michigan (slashing), :55; Trent Palm, UMD (interference), 18:50.

Third period -- 3. UMD, Justin Faulk 1 (David Grun), 2:11; 4. Northern Michigan, Andrew Fernandez 1 (Jared Brown), 12:15; 5. Northern Michigan, Fernandez 2 (Greg Hanson, Phil Fox), 13:58.

Shots on goal -- UMD 13-10-13--36, Northern Michigan 1-8-12--21. Goalies - Kenny Reiter (1-0-1), UMD (21 shots-19 saves); Reid Ellingson (0-2), Northern Michigan (25 shots-22 saves); Jared Coreau, Northern Michigan (11 shoits-11 saves). Power plays -- UMD 2-of-4, Northern Michigan 0-of-2. Referees -- Michael Lacina, Kevin Hall. Linesmen -- Eric Froberg, Ryan Gordon. A -- 2,849.