DULUTH — Standing at a podium in a makeshift media room inside Amsoil Arena to speak with several reporters Friday night, sophomore goaltender Zach Sandy from Duluth, Minn., became emotional during the second half of the interview. admitted that.
But that's not because the Bulldogs' third goaltender just made his first NCAA start after watching the past 70 regular-season games.
That was because of the influence his fellow goaltenders, fifth-year Matthew Thiessen and true senior Zach Stejskal, had on him over the past two years.
“They're like big brothers to me,” Sandy said. “It's not easy when you don't play a lot. I can tell you they're doing an incredible job, even with the little things. They know every technique that can help me. To be honest. , I wouldn't be the goalkeeper I am today without them. I'm going to give them most of the credit. They're unbelievable to me.”
UMD's season begins this weekend when it faces Denver in a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal series Friday through Sunday at Magness Arena in Denver. Puck drops for the No. 7 Bulldogs and No. 2 Pioneers will be on the DU campus on Friday at 8 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT, and if necessary Sunday at 7 p.m. CDT. It is scheduled.
This weekend could be the last series for the current UMD goalie room. Stayskal, a Cohasset native who will turn 25 during the 2024-25 season, still has five years of NCAA eligibility remaining due to playing during the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic, but the Bulldogs have two has signed a national letter as the next goaltender. Chicago Blackhawks second-round draft pick Adam Gajan and Bismarck Bobcats' 20-year-old Clayton Knapp's intentions for the 2023 season.
It's unlikely that UMD will be using four goaltenders a year from now. So the trio cherishes the time they spend together, no matter how long it takes, and Thiessen said last Friday was one of the nights they'll all remember.
Sandy, whose only previous action at UMD was exhibition games, made 33 saves in the first game of the regular season to earn his first NCAA win. He stopped four shots in overtime and made a big splash after Ben Steeves' overtime goal that gave the Bulldogs a 6-5 victory over St. Cloud State and ended an eight-game winless skid. It sparked a celebration.
While half of the team molested Steves, Thiessen and Stayskal led the other half, following Sandy, as the team celebrated as one.
“We were smiling the whole time,” Thiessen said of Sandy's start after the fifth-year player made a career-high 52 saves and swept SCSU on Saturday. “It was great to see him there and get the opportunity and take advantage of it. When he came down on one knee in overtime, it was a really cool feeling for the whole team. ”
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Sandy will serve as Thiessen's backup for the Bulldogs this weekend in Denver, as Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin deemed Stejskal and sophomore center Jack Smith questionable but possible for the series against the Pioneers. There is a high possibility that it will.
Sandy, 21, is a three-sport athlete who also played football and baseball at Fargo-Shanley High School in North Dakota, and was hired as Thiessen and Thiessen's backup last fall after spending one season with the Minot Minotaurs of the North American Hockey League. I came to UMD for this purpose. Stay Skull.
A freshman in the 2022-23 season, he battled injuries during his first semester, all sustained during practice, until appearing in the first period of an exhibition game against St. Thomas at Amsoil Arena on New Year's Eve. was. Sandy found the back of the net again on January 6th in an exhibition game against the Tommies, coming on in the second half of the game.
“He puts the bags away every day,” Thiessen said. “He's doing everything he can to get better. To see him go out there and have success and win in his first game is pretty special. It's cool to see that. . ”
Sandelin said after last season that Sandy “ended up badly” after not playing during the regular season a year ago.
After Friday's OT win over SCSU, Sandelin wanted Sandy to play his first regular season game when the Bulldogs lost 6-0 to North Dakota last month on Feb. 23 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. said. It was another bad day for Sandy. That night he was sidelined with the flu, ruining his home state debut.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Sandy's late debut was a blessing in disguise, considering the Bulldogs were down 3-0 after the first period that night and trailed 5-0 entering the third period. Maybe.
“I think he probably has some goals he wants to get back, and I said that to the players in the locker room, and the players were excited for him,” Sandelin said Friday of Sandy's debut. “Two years went by, some exhibition periods went by and he got in there. For some of the goals (goals), I think he could have played a little bit better in front of them, but he defended them and I want to give him credit for coming up with some timely saves. It's not all about the numbers, it's the timeliness. Those were timely saves that gave us a chance to win the game.”
Sandy said he didn't really settle into Friday's game until the third period, where he stopped 10 of 11 shots. Before that, the Huskies had beaten him four times on 23 shots. He credited Stejskal and Thiessen for telling jokes from the bench and keeping him calm. It finally made him focus and lock in.
Stejskal and Thiessen's positivity that night is what Thiessen said often comes when Sandy is on the bench and one of the veterans is in the starting lineup. According to Sandy, that's his job as the No. 3 goaltender on the Bulldogs' depth chart. His goal is to be “an unbelievable teammate and a guy people want to be around.”
Next year, that role will change to Sandy, who will become UMD's veteran goaltender. He said he wants to be like a “big brother” to the new goaltender, just like Stegiskal and Thiessen have been to him.
“Steiskal and Thiessen, I honestly can't ask for two more players to come here and do it. Without them, I would have been lost. It's unbelievable to me.” Sandy said.
“It makes me so happy to think that someday I can be in their shoes. I hope I can be in their shoes as well.”
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
