Bulldogs to Face Friars in Frozen Four Semifinal

This will be the fourth NCAA Tournament meeting between UMD and Providence College, the most recent coming in 2016.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The defending national champ Bulldogs come to the KeyBank Center with a target on their back. They’re the highest remaining seed left in the Frozen Four and know there’s a lot on the line when they take on Providence on Thursday. It’s been three years since these two teams last met and the tables have completely turned in this one.

This will be the 26th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Friars and fourth in the NCAA Tournament, the most recent coming in 2016. Providence was the defending national champ, but UMD was able to get the 2-1 win in double overtime to knock off the Friars in the Northeast Regional semifinal.

“That was an intense one. Obviously it was my first regional game. I remember beating them in double overtime. intense game. They played hard though, really hard, they played fast. I feel like they’re a pretty similar team, they’re a blue collar team, they play hard all over the rink,” senior Parker Mackay said. 

This year, the Friars advanced to their fifth Frozen Four out of the East Regional after scoring six unanswered against top seed Minnesota State-Mankato and blanking Cornell in the final.

“They came back from a 3-0 deficit against Mankato so for that to happen in a regional with their backs against the walls speaks volume to the character they have in their room,” Mackay said. 

While it’s been a few years since the two teams last met, the Bulldogs can easily see the talent the Friars have that led them back to the Frozen Four.

“They’re a hard, gritty team to play against. they have a lot of skill and they have a lot of goal-scorers, too, so it’s going to be a tough first matchup,” sophomore Nick Swaney said. 

“They play a little similar to ourselves. They’re a good defense, [Hayden] Hawkey’s a really good goalie and it should be a good game,” junior Hunter Shepard said. 

“They get hard to the net. we’ve got to find a way to get to theirs because both teams have to solve pretty good goalies too,” UMD head coach Scott Sandelin said. 

The two teams are pretty similar. They’re tied for fourth in the NCAA in goals against average. UMD is fourth in shots per game with 34.6 while Providence is 5th with 34.1, so both teams are expecting a tough battle.

“I think both teams are heavy. I think both teams play as a group of five well. I think Duluth is one of the best-coached teams that I’ve watched on film in a long time. So I think they’re heavy, they work as a group of five, they’re good on the specialty teams. not a big difference between the teams. I think it’s going to come down a lot to will and want and desire, who can influence their game on the other team and specialty teams,” Providence head coach Nate Leaman said. 

While the Bulldogs have studied on what to expect with the Friars, they know that the most they can do now is play the way they know how.

“There’s only four teams left so every team left here is going to be a really good team and we’re going to have to play our best to beat them. I think if we play our hockey, no one’s going to beat us, so we just have to play our hockey,” freshman Tanner Laderoute said. 

Puck drop for Thursday’s semifinal is set for 4 p.m.