Minnesota Duluth is the No. 4 team in the county and has reached the last four Frozen Fours, winning two of them.
Seldom do the Bulldogs see scoring as a huge chore.
Neither do other teams of that caliber, so what sets them apart from the rest are players who can do a bit of everything.
UMD senior Tanner Laderoute prides himself on playing such a role.
The Edmonton, Alberta, native bagged two goals in as many games two weeks ago in a road split against Western Michigan. Nov. 5-6 marked the second and third multi-goal games of his career, and his first since the third game of his freshman season.
Laderoute now has five goals and six points through 10 games this season, keeping him well on pace to surpass his 10-point total as a junior, when he scored three goals. His career-high season point total (16 in 31 games during the 2019-20 season) is also very much within reach.
He was held scoreless last weekend at home against Colorado College, as UMD won 5-0 on Friday and skated to a scoreless tie before the Bulldogs took the shootout.
He didn’t factor into the scoring against CC, but he did things away from the net that help separate good teams from great ones. His four blocked shots, including three on Friday, added up as UMD bumped its record on the season to 7-2-1.
“I’m able to play up and down the lineup, or wherever Coach (Scott) Sandelin needs to put me,” Laderoute said. “He calls me a little bit of a Swiss Army knife, so whatever he needs me to do, I’m willing and wanting to do that.”
Lateroute was more heavily relied upon as a scorer during his time in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He had a team-best 32 goals and 37 assists in his final season with Okotoks, helping the Oilers to the AJHL playoff finals, but his job changed after he moved stateside.
“When you’re around extremely good players, you change your game to do some things a little differently to get yourself into the lineup,” he said.
“When I got here, we had guys that already had that (offensive) burden on their shoulders, so I took a role of not getting scored on, gaining momentum, blocking shots and making hits. That has translated into how I play now, but I’m mixing in offense, too.”
It’s that ability for a forward to not stress over stats that makes Laderoute a difference-maker.
“This is so intangible, but it’s just about feeling good about how I’m playing,” he said. “I think it comes down to that more, and if I can finish a weekend feeling like I’ve played well, I’d rather have that.”
“I’m happy with my game. I feel pretty good about that, and it’s translated into a couple of goals, so that’s a cherry on top.”
