UMD Ready For BSU

By Dwight Cadwell
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Updated: October 8, 2015

Howie Hanson – Howie’s Blog

Sandelin: ‘We can’t overlook Bemidji’

Bulldogs men’s hockey coach Scott Sandelin has a lot of respect for his team’s opening-weekend opponent, Bemidji State.

“They work hard, they’re tenacious and they get after teams,” Sandelin said of the Beavers, who blitzed his Bulldogs 4-0 in their most recent meeting — a North Star College Cup first-round game on Jan. 25, 2015 in St. Paul.
“They recruited some skilled forwards and their goaltender is really good. Maybe early in the year we can expose their young guys on defense.”

The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs and Beavers meet Friday at 7:07 p.m. at Amsoil Arena and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Sandford Center in Bemidji.

UMD’s top dogs are senior defenseman Andy Welinski and sophomore goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo. Veteran forwards Tony Cameranesi, Al Iafallo and Dom Toninato will need to lead the team offensively.

Junior defensemen Carson Soucy and Willie Raskob are also being asked to step up their play.
“This group has learned lessons,” said Sandelin. “When you get an older group and the importance of every game, you certainly don’t look past or undervalue any team. If we do that, then we don’t deserve to win. Our message is pretty simple: we respect every opponent we play, we come ready to play and we put our best foot forward. That’s what we’re looking for.

“When the weekend is done, we turn the page and look forward to the next weekend. If you start looking too far ahead, you’re in trouble. Our guys have a ton of respect for the team we’re playing on Friday.”

Defenseman Adam Johnson (Hibbing) and defenseman Neal Pionk (Hermantown) are Bulldogs’ impact freshmen.
Bulldogs junior forward Dom Toninato on his teammate and close, personal friend Andy Welinski: “He’s a great guy on and off the ice. He’ll continue be huge for our team. He’s a great leader and a guy everyone can look up to and follow. There’s a lot of confidence with him on the ice. He defends well, and can also fly down the ice and get goals for us. He plays in every situation, power-play, man-short, five-on-fives.”