BUFFALO, N.Y. — Close games, especially in the postseason, often come down to special teams. That was the case in Minnesota Duluth’s 4-1 win over Providence in the national semifinals on Thursday.
Four minutes into the third period, with the score tied 1-1, the Bulldogs took penalties 41 seconds apart: Tanner Laderoute for tripping and Billy Exell for slashing.
That was a golden opportunity for the Friars to take their first lead and put UMD back on its heels.
But the Bulldogs penalty kill held, and Providence lost any momentum it had. Five minutes later, Exell put UMD ahead for good.
“It was the turning point,” said Minnesota Duluth goaltender Hunter Shepard, who stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced. “They score and that was probably going to be the game. If we hold them off, that gives us all the momentum.”
UMD’s Justin Richards, who scored the opening and closing goals for the Bulldogs, won three crucial faceoffs during the penalty kill.
“Any time when you get a faceoff win, it’s advantageous because you start with the puck,” he said. “On the penalty kill, it’s that much more important because you can get the clear right away and kill off maybe 20, 25 seconds.”
“[Richards] has been one of our best faceoff guys for two years,” said UMD coach Scott Sandelin, whose team will play in its third consecutive national championship game on Saturday. “I tried to get him out there as much as I could to take the draws. He played a lot of minutes on that PK, as did Parker [Mackay]. You go with your best guys. He did a great job, as did all of them.
“What can you say? Got a little luck, got some saves, huge blocks by a couple guys. Just a big momentum swing.”
Providence coach Nate Leaman agreed.
“[The Duluth penalty kill] did swing momentum. I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. “On the 5-on-3, we didn’t win the faceoffs.”
“Obviously, that changed the game because you’ve got to score in these games when you get a 5-on-3,” said Providence forward Kasper Björkqvist. “Just look at the game, that and the fact that we didn’t really get a push at the end with the goalie pulled.”
For UMD junior defenseman Nick Wolff, it came down to fundamentals. “[Penalty killing] is all about rotation and who’s got the puck,” he said. “Take away shooting lanes and get in front of pucks.”
And win faceoffs.
“Winning draws are huge,” said Wolff. “Win draws and keep the puck out of the back of the net. That’s all that matters.”
