Their time has come.



Three years ago, they signed on as head coach Scott Sandelin’s first recruiting class. In the interim, they’ve helped take a struggling University of Minnesota Duluth program and plant it firmly among the college hockey heavyweights.



In 2004-05, these 11 individuals, who make up the largest senior class in the 61-year history of Bulldog hockey, will have the opportunity to do something truly special -- bring home the school’s first NCAA men’s hockey championship.



But the fact that UMD is heavily armed with such a sizeable group of fourth- (and fifth-) year veterans isn’t the only reason great expectations abound in the Twin Ports. The Bulldogs are coming off their most prodigious season in over a decade -- a year in which they paid their first visit to the NCAA Frozen Four since 1985. The outfit that rolled up a 28-15-4 record and placed second in the final Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings at 19-7-2, also have plenty of other things going in its favor. For instance, UMD will welcome back no fewer than 20 lettermen, including nine of its top 11 scorers, as well as its entire goaltending cast from a year ago.



UP FRONT: The high-octane Bulldogs sported the second highest scoring team in the country last season, averaging 4.1 goals per night and, yes, 2003-04 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Junior Lessard had a lot to do with that. The senior right winger did, after all, finish first among all NCAA skaters in both goals (32) and points (63) and shared first place on the WCHA scoring charts. Yet, his departure has hardly left the Bulldogs’ tank dry. Senior center Evan Schwabe, UMD’s 20004-05 team captain, is back after enjoying one of the greatest breakout years in club history. The WCHA’s top returning point producer, Schwabe finished second only to Lessard in scoring among Bulldogs last season with 19 goals and an NCAA-leading 38 assists for 57 points -- a 47-point increase over his sophomore year harvest. The 2003-04 All-WCHA second team pick also was UMD’s leading point producer during its eight-game post-season run. Senior Tyler Brosz, who skated alongside Schwabe and Lessard at left wing for a majority of the 2003-04 season, paced the WCHA in power play points and was one of 13 Bulldog veterans who established career bests for scoring last winter (41 points on 13 goals and 28 assists). UMD also retains the services of junior center Tim Stapleton, the first Bulldog to launch his career with back-to-back 40-point seasons (he collected 16 goals and 25 assists in 43 outings in 2003-04) since a fellow by the name of Brett Hull turned the trick nearly 20 years back, senior left wing and 2004-05 alternate team captain Luke Stauffacher, who placed fifth in the club scoring race with a personal-best 35 points last winter, and senior center T.J. Caig, who racked up 12 goals and added 21 assists for 32 points in his first full season in a Bulldog uniform one year ago. A quintet of proven collegiate commodities -- senior left wings Brett Hammond (7-9=16), who battled a nagging hip flexor injury for a sizeable chunk of the 2003-04 season, and Marco Peluso (10 18=28), arguably the Bulldogs’ most unheralded player, senior right wings Nick Anderson (8-5=13), a fifth-year senior, and Josh Miskovich (3-3=6), junior left wing Justin Williams (11-16=27) -- will be joined by promising sophomore forwards Bryan McGregor (4-5=9) and Jeff McFarland (2-2=4), both of whom were used in a limited capacity as rookies but are expected to play more expanded roles this time around.



ON THE BLUELINE: At first glance, the loss of All-American Beau Geisler -- as well as four-year regular Jay Hardwick -- would be basis enough to label defense as one of the Bulldogs’ areas of concern. However, six incumbents, headlined by the senior tandem of Tim Hambly and Neil Petruic, don’t feel that is the case. Hambly has steadily evolved into one of the top blueliners in the WCHA and came into his own last winter by racking up five goals and 19 assists for 24 points while topping the Bulldogs with in plus-minus rating at a +33. Petruic (4 10=14), who will serve as an alternate team captain, was one of just three Bulldogs to suit up in all 45 outings one year ago and became more of a factor offensively as is evident by the 82 shots -- tops among all UMD defensemen -- he put on goal. The return of hard-hitting senior Todd Smith (2-4=6), junior Steve Czech (3-9=12), who is a +41 during his two years with the Bulldogs, junior Ryan Swanson (0-3=3) and sophomore Ryan Geris, who was granted an extra year of eligibility as medical redshirt after incurring a season-ending concussion last November, gives UMD plenty of options to choose from at the point.



IN THE GOAL: UMD’s bottom line almost always depends upon the quality of its goaltenders. In other words, behind every successful Bulldog team has been a successful puckstopper. Junior Isaac Reichmuth’s arrival on the UMD campus in the fall of 2002 and UMD’s subsequent rise to college hockey prominence is no mere coincidence. Reichmuth followed up a fabulous freshman season (WCHA All-Rookie Team and all-league third team pick) by posting a 23-9-4 record and setting a team mark for goals against average (2.68) last winter. During the course of the year, he assembled a school-record 17-game unbeaten streak, was named the NCAA Midwest Regional Most Valuable Player and attained All-WCHA second team recognition. In addition, he maintained the second-best winning percentage of any netminder against WCHA competition (.818 off a 17-3-2 record) and recorded a pair of shutouts -- including a 5-0 blanking of Michigan State in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. His trusty backup, sophomore Josh Johnson, proved he’s ready to figure in the Bulldogs’ future goalie plans, going 5-4-0 in nine appearances with a 2.39 goals against average and .915 saves percentage. He also became the first UMD rookie to be credited with a shutout in seven years with a 4-0 gem at Michigan Tech in early December.



SPECIAL TEAMS: UMD’s special teams were indeed special in 2003-04 -- particularly when they had the man advantage. And, if adequate replacements can be found for Lessard and Geisler on the power play, there is no reason not to expect the Bulldogs to duplicate what they did last winter when they possessed the NCAA’s second-best conversion rate (25.9 percent efficiency) with the extra attacker.

UMD’s penalty killing unit, which ranked 18th in the nation one year ago (85.0 percent), should even be better with the likes of battled-tested holdovers Stapleton, Stauffacher, and Hammond returning to the fold.



NEW FACES: While quantity may be in short supply, quality won’t with the incoming Bulldog freshman class which is comprised of six individuals who all have the capabilities of making an immediate splash. That group includes four players who have been drafted by National Hockey League teams -- forwards Mike Curry (Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League) and Matt McKnight (Camrose Kodiaks/Alberta Junior Hockey League) and widebody defensemen Travis Gawryletz (Trail Smoke Eaters/British Columbia Hockey League) and Jay Rosehill (Olds Grizzlies/AJHL) -- as well as crafty left winger Blair Lefebvre (Nanaimo Clippers/BCHL). In addition, UMD reinforced its goaltending brigade by bringing in freshmen Dan Carlson, a standout at White Bear Lake High School who will bide his time as an understudy to Reichmuth and Johnson.



COACH SANDELIN SAYS: “I think our depth up front -- right through all five of our lines -- will be one of our strong suits. We have a lot of guys who have played together and have gotten a lot of ice time over the past two or three years. At defense, we are in pretty good shape as well with six regulars back and a couple of talented freshmen coming in. Obviously, goaltending is in good hands with Isaac and Josh and, as any hockey coach will tell you, it all starts back there.



“The only real worry I have at this point is the attitude we go into the season with. We have to make sure we work harder than our opponent every game. I don’t think there is any question we have the makings of a great team, but we have to go out and prove it night in and night out or we could be in for a very disappointing season.



“As for our incoming freshmen, we as a coaching staff thought we needed a bit more size and believe this group addresses that issue. Jay Rosehill and Travis Gawryletz are both big, yet mobile defensemen and give us a real physical presence back on the blueline. Up front, Matt McKnight, Mike Curry and Blair Lefebvre, are three, highly-skilled guys who, in time, could be impact forwards in this league. The nice thing is that our freshman no longer have to come in and be the difference. We have enough returning guys who can shoulder most of that responsibility. That wasn’t the case when I got here, but it is now.



“I know one thing for sure -- it’s going to be extremely competitive for playing spots on this team. It’s going to be tough each weekend for me to decide who’s in and who’s out and I hope it stays that way all year long.



\"Making it to the FrozenFour last spring was a huge step for this program and, hopefully, a great motivator for this year’s team. Looking back, there is no doubt that the nice run we had a the end of the 2002-03 season and at the Final Five made our guys hungrier last winter. I’ve said many times my goal with this hockey program is get to where we are consistently battling for WCHA titles and making trips to the NCAA playoffs and, ultimately, the Frozen Four.



“The WCHA race this season, in my opinion, is extremely hard to gauge. People will be looking at us and Wisconsin because of our experience, but I personally struggle with trying to predict who will finish in the top five. Minnesota and North Dakota, despite losing some marquee players, are still both going to be right up there and the same goes for Colorado College and Denver. You can’t overlook Michigan Tech, which may one of the WCHA’s most improved teams.”