Bulldogs to Face Minutemen in National Championship

UMD and UMass will hit the ice at 7 p.m. at the KeyBank Center in the national championship.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – All eyes will be on the KeyBank Center on Saturday night as UMD takes on UMass in the national championship. This will be a battle of the rookies against the veterans.

UMD is playing in its third straight title game while this will be the first time ever for UMass. The Bulldogs feel their experience will help them out.

“Obviously for the guys who have made three Frozen Fours in a row, three national championships in a row, we can use that for our experience. We can look back on what it took last year to win it and what we know we have to do this year,” sophomore Nick Swanney said.

But the Minutemen aren’t letting this new experience get to them and feel ready for all the nerves and excitement that come with playing in a national championship.

“It’s something that we’ve been growing as a team just throughout our entire season, experience-wise. Obviously you look back to TD Garden, it’s just another experience for us. I think we’re at the point know where everybody understands what’s at stake, and I’m excited to get things going,” 2018-19 Hobey Baker Award Winner Cale Makar said. 

UMass outlasted Denver 4-3 in overtime in Thursday’s semifinal game to advance to their first ever national championship.

While this is a new opponent for the Bulldogs, they can already see what stands out about the Minutemen.

“They have some lead defensemen that can skate. So I think if we just stay on top of them, put some bodies on them, try to wear them down or try to make them play more defense then they’d like to, we’d have a great chance,” freshman Noah Cates said. 

“We’re going to have to try to stay disciplined against them, their power play has been really good all year. But I think that in order for us to have success, we’ll have to get on their ‘D’, get to the net hard with a lot of bodies there and a lot of second efforts as well,” senior Parker Mackay said. 

And the Minutemen know how good the Bulldogs have been all season long but they feel ready for the challenge.

“We’ll be set for Duluth, we have a pretty good understanding of how they play, they’re like Denver. very defensive minded team, they don’t give you a lot. I think they’re a little bigger team, play a little heavier style. But we fully, respect the opponent, we fully respect that they’re the defending national champion, that they’ve been here every year. We understand we’re the underdog. It’s alright. We’re fine with it,” UMass head coach Greg Carvel said. 

Puck drop for Saturday’s national championship game is set for 7 p.m.