The University of Minnesota Duluth will continue on its diet of Western Collegiate Hockey Association competition this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 4-5) when the Bulldogs host Michigan Tech University in a two-game series at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (5,333). Opening faceoff time is set for 7:07 p.m. both nights.

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 11-12-5 overall and share fifth place (with the University of North Dakota) in the WCHA standings with a 9-10-3 mark. Michigan Tech comes into the weekend sporting a 5-19-1 record in all games and are 10th in the WCHA at 4-16-0.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and the Huskies stack up in this week’s USCHO.com/CSTV and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls as well as the most recent PairWise Rankings:



Team USCHO.com USA Today PairWise

UMD NR NR 20(t)

MTU NR NR NR

ON THE AIR: All Bulldog games during the 2004-05 season will be carried live by KDAL-Radio (610 AM). Veteran play-by-play announcer Kerry Rodd and color analyst Mike Sylvester will handle the broadcast responsibilities for the Duluth-based station, which is in its 45th consecutive year of airing UMD hockey. The broadcast can be heard as well via the internet at: www.umdbulldogs.com.

Saturday’s UMD-Michigan Tech clash will be televised by WDIO-TV (Channels 10 and 13). Steve Jezierski and former Bulldog left wing Kraig Karakas provide the on-air talent for the ABC-TV affiliate, which is slated to carry 16 regular season games in 2004-05. Those 16 telecasts will also be available on the internet at umd.tv on a pay-per-view basis.

THE COACHES: The 2003-04 American Hockey Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coach of the Year (Spencer Penrose Award), Scott Sandelin is in his fifth year at UMD where has compiled an 81-92-21 overall record -- including a 61-40-14 mark (for a .591 winning percentage) since the start of the 2002-03 season. Last winter, Sandelin, 40, turned UMD into a NCAA Frozen Four participant for the first time in nearly a generation while directing his troops to their most victories (they were 28-13-4 overall and highest WCHA finish (second place on a 19-7-2 mark) since the 1992-93 season. For his efforts, the Hibbing, Minn., native was chosen the WCHA Coach of the Year as well as the national coach of the year by both insidecollegehockey.com and uscho.com. In 2002-03, Sandelin's Bulldogs went 22-15-5 overall and captured fifth place in the WCHA with a 14-10-4 mark while experiencing the greatest one-season turnaround of any league club. One year earlier, he directed UMD to a 13-24-1 record in all games-- nearly doubling the number of victories from the previous season (7-28-4). 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 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. He 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). He served as Team USA’s head coach at the recent World Junior Hockey Championships in Grand Forks, N.D., where he directed that club to a fourth-place finish. In his 16 lifetime confrontations with Michigan Tech, Sandelin is 9-6-1.

Jamie Russell (Michigan Tech, 1989) is in his second season of head coaching responsibilities at his alma mater and has a 12-41-5 overall record to show for it (1-5-0 vs. UMD). He joined the Husky staff in 2003 after serving the previous four years as a Cornell University assistant coach. Prior to that, he spent five seasons in that same capacity at Ferris State University. A two-year letterwinner (defenseman) with the Huskies (1987-89), Russell played one year of professional hockey each in Sweden (Larjeveelan), the East Coast Hockey League (Winston-Salem) and the American Hockey League (Binghamton) before entering the coaching arena.

THE SERIES: This weekend’s series will mark the 189th and 190th meetings ever between UMD and Michigan Tech. The Huskies hold a 110-65-13 lead in the rivalry, which commenced on Dec. 31, 1952 at the old Duluth Curling Club. UMD opened up its 2004-05 WCHA schedule by sweeping the host Huskies 5-4 and 6-3 (after trailing 3-1 in the third period) on Oct. 15-16. Senior center Evan Schwabe collected two goals and an assist each night of that series en route to being named the WCHA’s Offensive Player of the Week.

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs got goals from three different seniors -- defenseman Tim Hambly and forwards Evan Schwabe and Nick Anderson -- and some spirited goaltending from junior Isaac Reichmuth (31 saves) en route to shading the University of Minnesota 3-2 Saturday night to gain a split in their two-game road series with the Gophers. One night earlier, UMD spotted Minnesota a 4-1 third period lead before eventually falling 4-3. Senior left wing Marco Peluso scored twice and assisted on the other goal (sophomore left wing Bryan McGregor’s) in the setback. UMD is now unbeaten in seven of its last 10 engagements with the Gophers -- its most successful run in the storied 52-year rivalry between the two clubs.

Michigan Tech made its first home appearances in nearly two months and proceeded to fall twice (4-2 and 5-1) to WCHA colleague Colorado College Friday and Saturday night.

THEY’VE GOT THEIR NUMBER: The Bulldogs have won five straight over Michigan Tech and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 meetings the Huskies.

WHAT’S MY LINE?: In its 28 outings to date, UMD has used 53 different forward line combinations and 16 different defensive pairings. The trio of senior left wing Marco Peluso, senior center Evan Schwabe and sophomore right wing Bryan McGregor have skated together a team-leading nine times in 2004-05 while freshman Jay Rosehill and junior Steve Czech, have been paired more times (21) than any other Bulldog defensive tandem.

RIGHT ON THE MARC-O: Senior left wing Marco Peluso received the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week award after figuring in on five of the Bulldogs’ six goals last weekend at Minnesota. He had three points (two goals and an assist) in Friday’s 4-3 loss and followed that up with a pair of assists the next evening -- a 3-2 Bulldog triumph. It marked the second time this season the Bovey, Minn., native has been so honored by the WCHA. Peluso, who celebrated his 24th birthday this past Wednesday (Feb. 2), has marked in the scoring column in all but three of the last 16 games since he sat out the Nov. 20 home clash with Brown University as a healthy scratch. He is tied for third in both scoring (27 points vs. league competition) and goals (13) among WCHA combatants. In addition, Peluso has established a career-high for scoring already this winter with 30 points, good for second place on the Bulldog charts.

THE FIRST GOAL’S A BIGGIE: They may not draw first blood often, but when the Bulldogs do, good things usually follow. Indeed, UMD has taken a 1-0 lead in only eight of its 28 games thus far, but has been defeated only once when it has done so (5-1-2).

FOR THE RECORD: The Bulldogs have compiled a better record on the road (6-6-2) than they have at home (5-6-3) thus far in 2004-05.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Senior center and 2004-05 team captain Evan Schwabe, who had a goal and two assists in UMD’s series split at Minnesota, continues to hold down the No. 2 spot on the WCHA scoring charts (29 points in conference play) in addition to ranking second in league power play points (16) and third in goals (13). The 2003-04 All-WCHA second team pick tops the Bulldogs in virtually every offensive category including goals (16), assists (20), points (36), power play goals (8) and game-winning tallies (3). Only four other NCAA skaters at the moment have accumulated more points this winter than Schwabe, who will take part in his 93rd straight game -- the longest such streak of any current Bulldog -- this Friday at the DECC. The last time the Bulldogs and Michigan Tech butted heads (Oct. 15-16, 2004 in Houghton, MI), Schwabe received the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week award after collecting two goals and four assists in the Bulldogs’ series sweep.

OOHHHHHHHHVERTIME: Since upending Minnesota State University-Mankato 5-4 on Nov. 29, 2003, the Bulldogs are winless in nine overtime games (0-2-7, including an 0-1-5 mark this winter) and have produced victories in just three of their last 28 contests which have required an extra session (3-9-16).

DRAWING A CROWD: UMD is averaging 4,899 spectators a night this season at the DECC -- about 200 more per game than it averaged last year and nearly 900 more than the Bulldogs did just two years ago.

BULLDOG BITS: Junior center Tim Stapleton was blanked in both ends of the two-game series at Minnesota after coming into the weekend with a five-game scoring streak in tow. He already has eight multiple-point nights to his 2004-05 credit, a figure surpassed by only one other Bulldog (Evan Schwabe with 10). Stapleton, who is looking to become just the second Bulldog ever to start off his career with three consecutive 40-point seasons, is currently third among his teammates in scoring this winter with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 28 games ... Nine of sophomore right wing Bryan McGregor’s career-high 10 points this winter have been registered over the past 11 games ... From the good omen department comes this tidbit: Over the last three seasons, UMD is a whopping 18-3-0 when fifth-year senior right wing Nick Anderson (the oldest player in the WCHA) scores a goal and, this winter, is unbeaten (7-0-1) in games in which junior right wing Justin Williams’ name has appeared on the scoring summary ... After experiencing the longest inactive spell of his collegiate career (four games), junior goaltender Isaac Reichmuth received the starting nod for Saturday’s clash at Minnesota and responded by turning away 31 of 33 shots in a 3-2 triumph. A two-time All-WCHA honoree, Reichmuth already ranks fourth among Bulldogs in all-time victories (he’s 46-27-10 in 89 games) and owns the school’s best lifetime goals against average (2.72) and saves percentage (.905) figures. In addition, his .614 career winning percentage is second only to the .753 mark two-time All-American Rick Kosti crafted from 1983-85. He’s also a perfect 5-0-0 in his six lifetime appearances against Michigan Tech. Reichmuth’s puckstopping partner, sophomore Josh Johnson, made his fourth straight start (a collegiate first for him) Friday night at Mariucci Arena and lost for just the fifth time in 19 career starting opportunities as a Bulldogs (9-5-1). Johnson’s lone shutout to date came at the expense of Michigan Tech (a 3-0 gem on Dec. 6, 2003) and he also was credited with one of his two lifetime assists in that same game ... Speaking of shutouts, the Bulldogs have not blanked an opponent at the DECC since Brant Nicklin turned the trick back on Feb. 28, 1998 (7-0 versus North Dakota) -- a stretch of some 134 games. During that same period, UMD has posted six shutouts on the road ... Senior defenseman Todd Smith, who is part of the largest senior class (11) in the 61-year history of the Bulldog hockey program, is one of three UMD veterans -- sophomore right wing Bryan McGregor and senior left wing Marco Peluso are the two others -- who has set a career-high for scoring this season (nine points). He’s gone pointless, however, in his last eight outings ... Freshman center Matt McKnight accompanied the Bulldogs to Minneapolis last weekend, but sat out both Friday and Saturday night with the flu ... No team has played more league games (22) or scored more second-period goals in WCHA play (24) thus far than UMD ... Senior defenseman Tim Hambly, who leads the Bulldogs’ in plus-minus rating (+11), has picked up five points over the past six games.

UP NEXT: Following this weekend’s activity with Michigan Tech, UMD will be off until it travels to the University of Denver for a Feb. 18-19 series with the defending NCAA champion Pioneers.

THE SCOTT SANDELIN SHOW: The Scott Sandelin Show airs every Wednesday at 6 p.m. throughout the 2004-05 season on KDAL-Radio. Longtime UMD play-by-play announcer Kerry Rodd hosts the one-hour program.