Our question this week for The Rink Live beat reporters is: What should be the New Year's resolution for the team you cover?
Those reporters are Mick Hatten, Jess Myers, Christian Babcock, Shane Frederick, Brad Schlossman, and Matt Wellens. Hatten covers St. Cloud State, Myers covers the University of Minnesota, Babcock covers Bemidji State, Frederick covers Minnesota State University-Mankato, Schlossman covers the University of North Dakota and Wellens covers Minnesota Duluth.
If you have a question for the group, follow us on Twitter and use #asktherinklive.
Answers:
Hatten (SCSU): The Huskies should resolve to use the recipe more that it used in last weekend's sweep of Bemidji State. SCSU had 10 penalty minutes in the entire series and went 5-for-9 on the power play, which helped it outscore the Beavers 9-3 in the two games.
Wellens (UMD): The Bulldogs need to score some goals. Goaltender Ryan Fanti has been playing phenomenal, so they don’t need a lot. They literally just need “some” to pick up points each night.
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Schlossman (UND): UND has been great when playing with the lead. But if you include the exhibition game Jan. 1, UND has given up the first goal of the game in seven out of the last eight contests. Playing from behind and chasing games constantly isn't a great recipe for success.
Myers (Minnesota): Like in a cheaply-written holiday movie where an estranged couple finds happiness by learning to trust one another again, the Gophers defense and goaltending would be wise to do the same. Too often in the first half, defensive mistakes ended up in the Minnesota net. Fear of this leads to "safe" play which is unproductive at best, and boring at worst. The Gophers should play a more fearless brand of hockey, trust yourselves, and trust your goalie.
Babcock (BSU): Bemidji State should resolve to get better results at home. It's undeniable at this point that there's a significant discrepancy between the Beavers' success rate on the road (8-3) and home (2-7). If BSU can sweep Lake Superior State this weekend at the Sanford Center, which it did in Sault Ste. Marie in November, that would go a long way toward righting the ship.
Frederick (MSU-Mankato): The Mavericks will vow to improve their power play. They're on a seven-game win streak, despite going 2 for 21 over that span, and they're 2 for 24 over the last eight games. For the season, the Mavericks' power play is at 22%, so they know they're capable. The new year will be a good time to get that going again.
