The University of Minnesota-Duluth will make its return to the NCAA Frozen Four after a 19-year absence Thursday (April 8) when it faces off with Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival University of Denver. Game time is set for 11:07 a.m. (CST) at the sold-out FleetCenter (17,565) in Boston. A pair of Hockey East colleagues -- Boston College and the University of Maine will collide in the other seminfinal round matchup at 5:07 p.m. that same day. The two winners will advance to the Frozen Four championship on Saturday (April 10) at 6:07 p.m.

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, who are unbeaten in 21 of their last 25 games (19-4-2), are 28-12-4 overall and finished second in the 2003-04 WCHA regular season standings with a 19-7-2 mark. Denver, which has lost just twice in its last 13 outings (9-2-2), owns a 25-12-5 record in all games and was 13-10-5 in WCHA play, good for a fourth place tie (with the University of Minnesota).

Boston College is 29-8-4 and captured the Hockey East regular season crown with a 17-4-3 record while Maine placed second in that same circuit at 17-5-2 and is 32-7-3 overall.

ON THE AIR: All Bulldog games at the Frozen Four will be carried live by KDAL-Radio (610 AM). Kerry Rodd handles the station's play-by-play duties for the Duluth-based station, which is in its 44th consecutive year of airing UMD hockey. The broadcast can also be heard via the internet at: www.umdbulldogs.com.

THE COACHES: The 2003-04 WCHA Coach of the Year, Scott Sandelin (University of North Dakota, 1987) is winding down his fourth year at UMD where has compiled a 70-79-16 record -- including a 50-27-9 mark (for a .634 winning percentage) since the start of the 2002-03 season. Last winter, Sandelin's Bulldogs racked up their best overall record (22-15-5) and WCHA finish (fifth place on a 14-10-4 mark) in a decade while experiencing the greatest one-season turnaround of any WCHA club. One year earlier, he directed the Bulldogs to a 13-24-1 record in all games-- nearly doubling the number of victories from the previous season (7-28-4) -- while going 6-19-3 in the WCHA. Sandelin officially became a member of the Bulldog staff on March 31, 2000 after six years of assistant coaching duty at North Dakota. Prior to joining the Fighting Sioux (who won two NCAA titles during his tenure), Sandelin, 39, spent the 1993-94 season as the head coach of the Fargo-Moorhead Junior Kings of the Junior Elite Hockey League after working in that same capacity (and doubling as general manager) the previous winter with the American Hockey Association's Fargo-Moorhead Express. A native of Hibbing, MN, Sandelin capped off his four-year playing career at North Dakota in 1985-86 by being named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. An All-WCHA first team pick and an All-American second team selection, Sandelin went on to play seven years of professional hockey, which included National Hockey League stints with the Montreal Canadiens (1986-88), Philadelphia Flyers (1990-91) and Minnesota North Stars (1991-92). Sandelin, one of just two current WCHA coaches to do time in the NHL, was the second round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1982 NHL draft (40th choice overall).



Sandelin lifetime versus ...

Denver 5-7-2 Maine 0-0-0

Boston College 0-1-1

George Gwozdecky (University of Wisconsin, 1978) is in his ninth season at Denver and has a 221-158-34 record to show for it. The recipient of the WCHA Coach of the Year award in both 2001-2002 and 1994-95, Gwozdecky directed the Pioneers to the WCHA regular season and playoff championships two years ago as well as a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA tournament (a feat he also accomplished in 1995 and 1997). Prior to his arrival in Denver, Gwozdecky spent five years as the head coach at Miami University (OH). A two-time Central Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year honoree, he was 83-94-10 at Miami and coached his troops to their first, and only, CCHA regular season title in 1992-93 as well as their inaugural NCAA post-season berth. Gwozdecky, whose hockey resume includes a five-season assistant coaching stint at Michigan State University (1984-89) and a three-year head coaching stay at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (1981-84), owns a 14-13-3 career mark against UMD.

THE SERIES: Thursday afternoon’s clash will mark the 162nd meeting ever between UMD and Denver. The Pioneers hold a 90-63 lead (with eight ties) in the series, which began on Dec. 28, 1961, but have managed just one win in their last seven confrontations with the Bulldogs (1-5-1).

EARLIER THIS YEAR: UMD swept the Pioneers on Jan. 9-10 in Denver in the two clubs’ only two regular season matchups this winter. Sophomore goaltender Isaac Reichmuth turned aside all 32 shots the Pioneers sent his way and senior right wing Junior Lessard provided the Bulldogs with the only goal they would need in a 1-0 Friday night victory. The following evening, UMD rallied from a 3-2 late second- period deficit to upend the host Pioneers 6-3. The Bulldogs got goals from six different players, including sophomore center Tim Stapleton, who was credited with a pair of assists.

UMD-DENVER PLAYOFF PASTS: The Bulldogs and Denver have met 11 previous times in post-season play -- all in the WCHA playoffs. Denver is unbeaten in those 11 engagements (going 9-0-2) which includes a sweep (4-1 and 7-3) on March 7-8, 1997 in Denver in the two clubs’ last postseason matchups.

LAST WEEKEND: UMD ambushed intrastate rival Minnesota 3-1 Sunday (March 28) to capture the NCAA Midwest Regional championship in Grand Rapids, MN. The Bulldogs, who had handed Michigan State University a 5-0 setback the previous afternoon in the semifinal round, got goals from junior center Evan Schwabe, junior right wing Luke Stauffacher and senior left wing Jesse Unklesbay en route to defeating their WCHA mates for the fifth time in six meetings this season and the sixth time in seven outings going back to last year. Friday afternoon, sophomore goaltender Isaac Reichmuth rejected all 23 shots Michigan State sent his way while senior right wing Junior Lessard (two goals) and Schwabe (one goal and two assists) sparked UMD offensively.

Denver earned its first trip to the NCAA Frozen Four since 1986 by skating past Miami University 3-2 Friday and No. 1 seeded University of North Dakota 1-0 the ensuing evening at the West Regional in Colorado Springs, CO. In the Regional final, Denver left wing Luke Fulghum scored the game’s only goal with 2:29 remaining in regulation while senior goaltender Adam Berkhoel finished the 33 saves on the night.

MIDWEST REGIONAL HONORS GO TO THE ‘DOGS: After stopping all but one of the 46 shots he faced over the weekend, Isaac Reichmuth received the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional’s Most Valuable Player award and was joined on the six member All-Tournament team by Evan Schwabe (who had Regional-leading four points during the two-day event) and Junior Lessard.

NCAA PLAYOFF HISTORY: UMD, which has appeared in five NCAA playoff championships (1983, 1984, 1985, 1993 and 2004), has compiled an 8-6-0 record in national post season play. That includes an even 2-2 mark in the NCAA Frozen Four.

OHHHHHH-VERTIME: Each of the Bulldogs four NCAA Frozen Four games to date have required at an overtime session -- or in a couple of cases, several. The historical 1984 championship clash was in the fourth extra period when Bowling Green finally outlasted UMD 5-4. That came just one night after the Bulldogs had edged North Dakota 2-1 in one overtime. The following year in Detroit, UMD dropped a 6-5 decision to Rensselaer Poly Institute (RPI) in the third overtime of their Frozen Four semifinal before rebounding to best Boston College 7-6 the next afternoon in the first extra session for third place honors.

AGAINST THE REST OF THE FROZEN FOUR PACK: UMD is unbeaten this winter in its three games with members of the 2004 NCAA Frozen Four field, going 2-0-0 versus Denver and 0-0-1 against Boston College (a 2-2 overtime tie on Oct. 10 in the opening round of the IceBreaker Invitational in East Lansing, MI). UMD has not faced Maine since Jan. 7, 1989 in the fourth, and final year of the WCHA’s interlocking schedule agreement with Hockey East.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: All three full-time members of the UMD coaching staff have had some type of direct exposure to the NCAA Frozen Four. Scott Sandelin took part in one NCAA Frozen Four as a player (in 1984 when North Dakota placed third in Lake Placid, NY) and two more while serving as a Fighting Sioux assistant coach (1997 and 2000). Steve Rohlik captained the University of Wisconsin to the 1990 NCAA title as a senior while Lee Davidson was a volunteer assistant coach at North Dakota for three years before enlisting with the Bulldogs and during two of those seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-01) the Fighting Sioux were Frozen Four participants.

MAYBE IT JUST SEEMS LONG: This year marks the earliest a UMD team has ever opened a season (Oct. 4) and the latest it’s ever ended one (the Bulldogs have never played in the month of April in their 60-year history).

WCHA AWARDS APLENTY: The Bulldogs were well represented, to say the least, at the 2003-04 WCHA Awards Banquet as senior right wing Junior Lessard landed the league’s Player of the Year award (the seventh Bulldog to ever be so honored) and Scott Sandelin was named the WCHA Coach of the Year. In addition, both Lessard and senior defenseman Beau Geisler were selected to the All-WCHA first team while a pair of Bulldogs -- sophomore goaltender Isaac Reichmuth and junior center Evan Schwabe -- corralled second team all-league recognition. The last time two Bulldogs both wound up on the All-WCHA first team was in 1992-93 when All-Americans Derek Plante and Brett Hauer turned the trick.



HIGH RENT DISTRICT: This season’s runnerup finish in the WCHA represents the Bulldogs’ fourth highest placing in the 39 years they’ve been aligned with that prestigious circuit. UMD has captured the WCHA regular season title three times (1983-84, 1984-85 and 1992-93), but, prior to this year, had placed higher than fourth on only one other occasion (it tied for third in 1978-79).

BYPASSING THE BLANKINGS: The Bulldogs haven’t been shut out in their last 126 outings -- their longest such streak in nearly 20 years (164 games from Jan. 10, 1981-Dec. 15, 1984) and the top active streak of any WCHA school. The last time UMD came up empty on the scoreboard was on March 11, 2001 (a 4-0 setback to North Dakota in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs in Grand Forks).

THIS JUNIOR IS QUITE THE SENIOR: 2003-04 Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist Junior Lessard will head into the this week’s Frozen Four maintaining the NCAA lead in both scoring and goals and ranking second nationally in power play tallies (a career-high 12). The senior right wing and alternate team captain has collected 30 goals and 31 assists for 61 points -- the largest offensive yield by a Bulldog since Chris Marinucci concluded his Hobey Baker Memorial Award-winning season (1993-94) also with 61 points in tow. Lessard, who has seven goals and six assists during the Bulldogs’ seven-game postseason run, shared WCHA scoring honors with North Dakota’s Brandon Bochenski (39 points in conference matchups) as well this winter and finished as the league's top goal producer (17). The last Bulldog to accomplish either of those two feats was Marinucci 10 years ago. Lessard, who has three hat tricks -- the most by a Bulldog since 1992-93 (Marinucci) -- and eight multiple-goal nights to his 2003-04 credit, also tied for second in the WCHA in power play markers with six. He is a +22 on the year (to rank second on the club) and paces UMD with 166 shots on goal. Lessard will carry an eight-game scoring streak into Thursday afternoon’s bout with Denver.

LIGHTING ‘EM UP: The Bulldogs are currently second to only North Dakota in scoring among all NCAA schools (4.14 goals per game) and placed second in the WCHA behind the Fighting Sioux in that same department (4.25 gpg). Four of the WCHA’s top 10 scorers this winter were Bulldogs -- Junior Lessard, junior center Evan Schwabe (fifth), junior left wing Tyler Brosz (tied for 8th) and sophomore center Tim Stapleton (10th).

BEAU KNOWS HOCKEY: Senior team captain and All-American candidate Beau Geisler, who has amassed 10 points (one goal and nine assists) in UMD’s seven postseason outings to date, continues to occupy the No. 3 position on the current NCAA scoring charts for defensemen (0.94 points per game) and is tied for second -- along with University of Massachusetts rearguard Thomas Pock and Minnesota’s Keith Ballard) in overall assists with 25. Geisler has moved into sixth place on UMD’s all-time scoring list for defenseman with 19 goals and 79 assists for 98 points in 156 career games and is within striking distance of becoming just the sixth Bulldog blueliner ever (and first in 18 years) to crack the century mark . The 2003-04 team captain and All-WCHA first team pick has scored six of his career-high nine goals this season while the Bulldogs have had the manpower advantage. Those six power play tallies are the fifth most produced by any NCAA blueliner this season. Geisler’s importance to the 2003-04 Bulldogs is evident in the fact that with him in the lineup this season, UMD is 25-9-4. Without him, the Bulldogs are a mere 3-3-0 (he missed the final six contests of 2003 with an injury).

POWER SURGE: UMD trails only Minnesota nationally in power play efficiency (25.7 percent) and posted a league-high 27.4 percent mark in WCHA play this winter. The Bulldogs have scored more times (58)

ON THE OTHER SIDE: Over the last 15 games, the Bulldogs have limited their opponents to just eight goals in 78 chances (10.2 percent) with the man advantage.

SCHWABE’S SIZZLING: Junior center Evan Schwabe, who earlier this season strung together a 14-game scoring streak -- the longest by a Bulldog in 11 years, has now collected at least one point in all but five of the past 32 outings. One of three UMD skaters who has hit the ice in all 44 games to date, Schwabe is second among Bulldogs in scoring with 55 points on 19 goals and a NCAA-best 36 assists. In WCHA play this winter, Schwabe was fifth in scoring (33 points) and tied for second in assists (22). The 2003-04 All-WCHA second team selection and his linemate, Junior Lessard, have given the Bulldogs their first set of 50-point scorers since the 1992-93 season (Derek Plante and Chris Marinucci). Schwabe’s 45-point improvement from a year ago is the third highest one-season scoring gain in team history, bettered only by Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners Chris Marinucci (19 points to 77 points between the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons) and Bill Watson (15 points to 86 points between 1982-83 and 1983-84).

ROAD TESTED: The Bulldogs have tasted defeat away from the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center on just one occasion (vs. Minnesota at the WCHA Final Five semifinals on March) since Dec. 13, going 9-1-2 during that 12-game stretch. UMD’s 13 road triumphs in 2003-04 eclipse the old record of 12 set in both 1983-84 and 1984-85.

THE “REICH” STUFF: Sophomore goaltender Isaac Reichmuth has been saddled with just four losses in his last 26 decisions stretching back to the middle of November (19-4-3). Reichmuth, the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week award winner on four occasions in 2003-04, maintained the second best winning percentage of any netminder against WCHA competition this winter (.818 off a 17-3-2 record). Overall, he is 23-8-4 in 2003-04 for a .714 winning percentage -- a figure surpassed at the moment by only six other NCAA puckstoppers. Those 23 victories are the fourth most ever accumulated by a Bulldog in a single season. With a 2.60 goals against average this winter, Reichmuth is on target to break the team record he forged one year ago (2.68) while his current .910 saves percentage is within a whisker of the school mark (.911 by Rob Anderson in 2002-03). And, talk about helping your own cause. Earlier this year (Oct. 31), Reichmuth collected a school-record (for goaltenders) two assists in UMD’s 8-1 home victory over Alaska Anchorage.

RANK AND FILE: UMD’s No. 3 standing in this week’s USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll represents its highest ranking in any national poll since the 1985-86 season.

DRAWING A CROWD: The Bulldogs’ had an average attendance of 4,690 for their 20 home engagements this winter which works out to be nearly 700 more spectators a night than what they drew a year ago. UMD was 15-5-0 at DECC in 2003-04 (its most home wins 11 years) and outscored the opposition 88-53 in the process.

IMPROVEMENTS SOME MAY FIND QUITE OFFENSIVE: During Scott Sandelin’s maiden head coaching season in 2000-01, the Bulldogs averaged 2.64 goals per game. The following season, that figure increased to 2.97 and, one year ago, it improved to 3.64. Heading into the 2005 Frozen Four, UMD is pumping in goals at a 4.14 per outing clip. Overall, the 182 goals the Bulldogs have netted to date are their most since 1992-93 (202 tallies in 40 games).

SEASONED ‘DOGS:The 26-man Bulldog roster contains four seniors, 12 juniors, seven sophomores and just three freshmen (the fewest number of collegiate novices UMD has carried since it became an NCAA I member in 1961-62).

TOUGH WITH A LEAD:The Bulldogs are now a whopping 25-0-1 when leading at the second intermission in 2003-04 and have lost only once (4-3 in overtime to Colorado College in the WCHA Final Five playoff semifinals on March 21, 2003) in the last 47 games they’ve led going into the third period (43-1-3). UMD is also 22-2-0 this season when it’s been ahead after 20 minutes of play.

SWEET SEASONS: Some 13 (of a possible 19) Bulldog veterans have equalled or established career highs for points this winter. They include: Previous

Player G-A=TP High (Year)

Junior Lessard 30-31=61 37 (2002-03)

Evan Schwabe 19-36=54 14 (2001-02)

Tyler Brosz 12-27=39 17 (2002-03)

Luke Stauffacher 17-18=35 22 (2002-03)

Beau Geisler 9-25=34 26 (2002-03)

T. J. Caig 12-20=32 25 (2002-03)

Marco Peluso 10-18=28 22 (2002-03)

Justin Williams 11-16=27 6 (2002-03)

Tim Hambly 5-19=24 11 (2001-02)

Neil Petruic 4-10=14 14 (2002-03)

Jay Hardwick 2-7=9 3 (2002-03)

Todd Smith 2-4=6 6 (2001-02)

Josh Miskovich 3-3=6 4 (2002-03)

END OF THE LINE FOR FOUR BULLDOGS: This week’s NCAA Frozen Four will mark the final collegiate appearances for a quartet of UMD seniors -- wings Junior Lessard and Jesse Unklesbay and defensemen Beau Geisler and Jay Hardwick.

BULLDOG BITS: Both junior left wing Tyler Brosz and junior defenseman Tim Hambly returned to the Bulldog lineup for the NCAA Midwest Regional after sitting out the previous two weekends while nursing injuries sustained at Wisconsin on March 6. Brosz, UMD’s fourth leading scorer in 2003-04, is 11th in the NCAA in assists per game (0.75) and wound up first in the WCHA in power play points (15). He’s accumulated almost 50 percent (20) of his entire scoring harvest (39 points) this season on the power play. Hambly, who tops the 2003-04 Bulldogs in plus-minus rating (+33), has established a career high for points this season (five goals and 19 assists) with over half of that output (16 points) being registered in his last 19 contests ... The Bulldogs have scored first in 21 of their 28 wins thus far and were 16-1-1 when they drew first blood in WCHA play. Six times during the course of the 2003-04 season sophomore center Tim Stapleton has netted the game’s initial goal ... Junior left wing Marco Peluso, who is tied for third among Bulldogs in playoff points this winter (two goals and eight assists) will head into Boston armed with a personal-high five-game scoring streak. Peluso has marked in the points column in eight of the past nine games. Six of his last seven goals have come on the power play -- including a school-record tying three tallies at Colorado College on Feb. 21 ... UMD swept nine series -- including three on the road -- this winter. The 1985-86 Bulldogs (also with nine) were the last UMD club to sweep that many opponents during the regular season .... Junior right wing Luke Stauffacher, who has scored five times in the in the past seven outings, is one of eight Bulldogs who has reached double figures for goals this season ... This winter, the Bulldogs were 0-4-0 against North Dakota in WCHA play (0-5-0 overall) and 0-2-0 versus St. Cloud State, but 19-1-2 against the rest of the league .... Freshman goaltender Josh Johnson has mustered just a 2-4-0 WCHA record in 2003-04 despite sporting an impressive 2.26 goals against average and a .923 saves percentage in those six appearances. Overall, he is 5-4-0 with a 2.39 goals against average and a .915 saves percentage mark ... Although they’re unbeaten in all but one of seven overtime affairs this season (2-1-4), the Bulldogs have still managed to win just three of their last 22 games (3-8-11) which have required an extra session. (Two of victories during that time have come at the expense of Minnesota -- 5-4 on Feb. 22, 2003 at the DECC and 4-3 on Oct. 24, 2003 in Minneapolis, MN -- while the other was turned in against MSU-Mankato on Nov. 29) ... Sophomore left wing Justin Williams, who is second among the 2003-04 Bulldogs in shooting percentage (.190), has skated alongside center Evan Schwabe and right wing Junior Lessard 23 times this winter. Lessard and Schwabe, who rank 1-2 on the current UMD scoring charts, have been paired together for all 44 Bulldog outings in 2003-04. Tyler Brosz (20 outings), Williams, and sophomore Dan Kronick (one game -- at Bemidji State University on Nov. 14) have all taken turns at the left wing slot on UMD’s so-called No. 1 line ... All but five of UMD’s 27 losses over the past two seasons have been by two or fewer goals ... Only three Bulldogs -- Lessard, Schwabe and junior defenseman Neil Petruic, -- have skated in all 44 games to date ... UMD has amassed the third most number of wins (28) in its 60-year history this winter, exceeded only by the 1984-85 (36) and 1983-84 (29) clubs.



TRAVEL PLANS: UMD will depart from the Duluth International Airport on Tuesday (April 6) at 12:53 p.m. (CST) and arrive in Boston at approximately 6:46 p.m. (EST).

PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Bulldogs are scheduled to practice from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. (EST) Wednesday at the FleetCenter and will follow that up with a news conference from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.