> Scoring woes extend beyond UMD
> Entire WCHA mired in slump
>
> By Chris Miller
> Duluth News-Tribune sports editor
>
> Last season, scoring in the Western Collegiate Hockey
> Association was at an all-time low.
>
> This season, it's even lower.
>
> In successive weeks, there have been games of 1-0, 0-0
> and 1-0 in the WCHA.
>
> Minnesota-Duluth was a participant in one Saturday night,
> beating Michigan Tech 1-0 at the DECC to win by that
> score for the first time in school history, a span of 54
> seasons and 1,541 games.
>
> UMD, which has scored only 11 goals in its past seven
> games, lost 5-4 on Friday night. The Bulldogs are averaging
> only 2.4 goals per game in WCHA play, but are in the
> middle of the pack -- fifth place. UMD is 5-9 overall and
> 4-6 in the WCHA.
>
> The scoring woes are league-wide. The WCHA average
> was 6.91 goals-per-game last season, only the second time
> in 38 seasons it had dipped below seven. This year, it's
> 6.21. St. Cloud State is leading the league despite a
> power-play success rate of less than five percent.
>
> ``We lost a lot of the marquee players -- guys leaving early
> and guys graduating,'' said UMD coach Mike Sertich. ``A
> lot of teams have younger guys playing and it may take them
> a while to develop.
>
> ``Obviously, we haven't been scoring like we should. I
> would have thought Ken Dzikowski would have more than
> one goal, or Joe Rybar would have more than three, or
> Mike Peluso would have more than five. But I'm optimistic
> the scoring will come.''
>
> UMD hasn't lacked opportunities. The Bulldogs have 453
> shots on goal this season. Their opponents have 453 shots
> on goal. But UMD has been outscored 54-36 in the only
> statistic that really counts.
>
> ``I think everyone knows we have the talent to score more,''
> said sophomore goalie Brant Nicklin, who posted his third
> career shutout Saturday night. ``We're getting great chances
> -- they're just not going in. Our turn is going to come.''
>
> The Bulldogs had lost six straight home games before
> Saturday's win.
>
> ``They're frustrated, but the win last night helped relieve
> some of that,'' Sertich said Sunday. ``I was happy with the
> way we played all weekend. We really didn't have a bad
> period. We were fairly consistent.
>
> ``And the kids are buying into what we are doing, seeing
> that what they are doing works. That's what we're building
> on.''
>
> UMD plays Nebraska-Omaha in a non-conference series
> next weekend. Sophomore winger Colin Anderson
> aggravated an ankle sprain Friday night and sat out
> Saturday's game; he's doubtful for the coming weekend.
>
> The Bulldogs will have a week-long break after the Omaha
> series.
 
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