3 days Ago By Matt Wellens
DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth isn’t easing itself back into the 2024-25 schedule following a 23-day holiday break. The Bulldogs will play three games in five days this week, and will do it shorthanded. ADVERTISEMENT UMD is sneaking in one more game into 2024 when it takes on Bemidji State at 7 p.
m. on Tuesday — New Year’s Eve — at Sanford Center in Bemidji. Alaska will then visit Duluth for a pair of nonconference games at 7:07 p.
m. Friday and 6:07 p.m.
Saturday at Amsoil Arena. The Bulldogs will be without at least two of their key freshmen as winger Max Plante and defenseman Adam Kleber are with the U.S.
National Junior Team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. The 6-foot-5 Kleber has played in all 15 games up until this point while Plante missed 10 of UMD’s first 11 games this year due to a wrist injury suffered during the last meeting with BSU — a 4-3 overtime win by the Beavers on opening night, Oct. 5, at Amsoil Arena.
“One we’ve dealt with for 10 games out of the season, the other is a big component,” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said back on Dec. 11. “But we’ve had other guys play and we’re going to have to find ways to start the second half on a good note, whether guys are in or out or injured or gone or whatever.
” Repping that red, white and blue 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/KBLhipHrri When he last spoke to reporters, Sandelin was hopeful that freshmen goaltenders Adam Gajan and Klayton Knapp would both be healthy for Tuesday’s game at Bemidji.
Gajan missed UMD’s last two games before the break at Arizona State because of an ankle injury while Knapp suffered a lower body injury in Friday’s loss, but was able to serve as the backup to junior Zach Sandy in Saturday’s defeat in Tempe, Arizona. “We were talking. We might have had to throw Will Francis in the pads,” Sandelin said of game two at ASU.
“He has played goalie before, believe it or not.” Fifth-year senior wing Joe Molenaar also missed the ASU series with a lower-body injury. UMD hopes to have him back.
Freshman wing Trevor Stachowiak is out with a long-term injury and won’t be available this week. ADVERTISEMENT UMD is 5-10 overall — and just 2-7 at Amsoil Arena — with 19 games remaining in the regular season. These three contests this week are the Bulldogs' final three nonconference games before resuming NCHC play against St.
Cloud State on Jan. 10-11 in Duluth. With his team entering the holiday break on a four-game losing streak that has them eighth in the nine-team NCHC, Sandelin said he likes his group.
“There’s a lot of good in there,” he said. However, the coach said there is some urgency to start winning games, “because sooner or later guys don’t believe in what you’re doing.” “Our guys have grasped some of that, but they are not getting the results,” Sandelin said.
“That’s the challenge, to stay with it, maybe keep tweaking a few things here and there to see if we can make the difference — whether it’s lines, whether it’s power play combinations, whether it’s a little bit within the systems. “You don’t want to change too much, because to me that’s panic. I’ve always been a believer, ‘Just be really good at what you do.
’ And you can have little tweaks within that. That’s what we are going to do.” Bulldog Bites Plante has a goal and an assist at the World Juniors, but may have missed Sunday's overtime loss to Finland because of an injury, according to KDAL's Bruce Ciskie.
Stiga's pass 🤌 The finish from Plante 👌 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/tCzu9HjBxW Kleber is plus-2 in the last two games after being scratched for the opener.
The United States is 2-1 with one more preliminary round game at 7 p.m. Tuesday against host Canada in Ottawa before the knockout rounds begin on Thursday.
The 2025 World Juniors wrap up Sunday with the bronze and gold medal games. The Beavers sit .500 (8-8-3) at the holiday break after picking up wins over 11th-ranked Minnesota State, No.
3 Minnesota and No. 15 North Dakota — all at the Sanford Center, where BSU is 4-3-1 so far. Former Duluth East Greyhounds forward Austin Jouppi, a fifth-year senior, has a goal and five assists in 18 games.
Former Greenway standout Donte Lawson has three goals and four assists in 18 games. ADVERTISEMENT Minnesota Duluth men at Bemidji State 7:07 p.m.
Tuesday at Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota Follow BlueSky: Follow Matt Wellens for updates Live stats: BSU Athletics Watch Online streaming: Midco Sports TV: None Listen Radio: KDAL 610 AM / 103.9 FM ADVERTISEMENT.
