UMD Men’s Hockey to Face Stonehill College for First Time

Stonehill is in their 3rd year as a division one varsity program.

DULUTH, Minn.- It was a weekend to forget for the UMD men’s hockey team as they were swept on their home ice by the 6th ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers.

This upcoming weekend, they’ll try to bounce back against a team they have never played before.

In their 3rd year as a Division one varsity program, Stonehill College will make their way to Amsoil on Friday.

Head Coach Scott Sandelin says it was important to put the Skyhawks on the schedule in order to help them survive as a D1 program.

“I was told by a number of people you shouldn’t play them. I really don’t care what those people think. It’s important for us to play those teams and they want to play. So that’s why we scheduled it. I don’t know watching them a little bit last night against Lake State, another older team that’s going to come in here and work,” said Sandelin.

For UMD defenseman Joey Pierce, he says this week is a good week to look into the mirror and focus on the Bulldogs.

“We’re looking a lot more at ourselves right now and what we can clean up in our own end of the rink. Because that’s going to translate to anyone that we play against. Just being able to close on guys quick and get over d-zone quick. For us, we don’t totally know what to expect from them but we know we have what it takes in our room and so our focus is right now is us,” added Pierce.

Puck drop between the Skyhawks and Bulldogs is scheduled for Friday at 7:07 PM