UMD Hockey Returning 10 National Champions for ’21-’22 Season

Scott Sandelin said the other day if the team isn't using the loss to UMASS as fuel to win the National Championship as they did, then something is wrong.

Next year's team is only losing four players, and 3 of them signed NHL contracts this year. Cole Koepke, Jackson Cates, Nick Swaney, and Senior graduate transfer Matt Cairns.

The theory of The Rink is that UMD needs to be hungry to win again. They were coming off a loss to Denver 3-2 in overtime when they came back the next year to win their first. It was the sting of that year before that made them hungry to win. The next year they returned a lot of the players and won the Frozen Face-off in the NCHC tournament, the first year ever for UMD and so they were hungry to win both. Last year they were hungry to three-peat. Then COVID stopped everything and also took the wind out of the sails of this year's team.

Then it was hard to practice, didn't know what the season would look like, and UND looked so good, no one could beat them. UMD did, in the longest game in history, and UMD was hungry to win that one, but, not hungry enough to beat UMASS who was still inspired by the loss to UMD two years ago.

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Now the tables are turned and UMD has the best looking chance for next year with players who know what it's like to win the National Championship, and what it's like to lose.

The Rink, says Noah Cates, who decided not to join his older brother, Jackson, in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers this spring. He will be the first two-time captain since Adam Krause. have felt the joy of winning it all at the Frozen Four and the sting of being sent home early. He will have experience and know the taste of what it's like to win it all and go home early and can talk about both to the new freshmen.

Should we be excited? Yes!!