The 2005-06 college hockey season officially drew to a close Saturday night when the University of Wisconsin defeated Boston College 2-1 for the NCAA championship. The title game victory was the fifth in as many years for a Western Collegiate Hockey Association team.

The University of Minnesota Duluth concluded its 62nd year of intercollegiate men's hockey by bowing out to St. Cloud State 5-1 at the WCHA Final Five on March 16. The Bulldogs, who were making their third trip to the WCHA Final Five event in four years, wound up with a 11-25-4 overall record and placed ninth in the WCHA standings with a 6-19-3 mark.

The following are some \"Bulldog Bits\" from the 2005-06 season:



•This season marked the second time in three years UMD eliminated a two-time defending NCAA champion during the post-season. In 2004, the Bulldogs ended the University of Minnesota’s bid for a third straight national title by besting the Gophers 3-1 in the NCAA Midwest Regional final. UMD did likewise this past March when they dashed Denver’s NCAA three-peat hopes by ousting the Pioneers in the WCHA playoffs.

•The Bulldogs will lose the services of just five seniors -- center Tim Stapleton, right wing Justin Williams, defenseman Steve Czech and Ryan Swanson, and goaltender Isaac Reichmuth. Stapleton and Czech are the only two Bulldogs to ever participate in three WCHA Final Five tourneys.

•For the second time in four seasons, Tim Stapleton reigned as the Bulldogs’ top point producer. The senior center racked up 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points (those 30 points are the fewest by a UMD scoring leader since the 1968-69 season). Stapleton, who topped the Bulldogs in points as a freshman as well, concluded his career occupying the the 18th spot on the school’s all-time scoring charts with 152 points (63 goals and 89 assists) in 162 games.

•In his last six appearances (all on the road against four nationally ranked opponents -- North Dakota, Minnesota, Denver and St. Cloud State), sophomore goaltender Nate Ziegelmann posted a 2-4-0 record to go with an impressive 2.68 goals against average and a .912 saves percentage..Ziegelmann, who transferred to UMD one year ago from North Dakota (where he had seen only 21:08 of work during the 2003-04 season), started each of UMD’s final five outings of 2005-06. He registered his first collegiate victory by stopping 27 of 29 shots in a 3-2 overtime win over Denver in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs on March 10 and followed that up with a career-high 33-save performance for a 5-2 triumph two nights later.

•The WCHA maintained its recent stranglehold on the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as University of Denver defenseman Matt Carle became the 26th winner of the coveted honor. The past five recipients of the award, which recognizes the most outstanding player in college hockey, have come from the WCHA. That includes UMD'sJunior Lessard, the 2003-04 winner. The Bulldogs, incidentally, have produced as many lifetime Hobey Baker Memorial Award honorees (four) as seven other WCHA schools (North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Wisconsin, St. Cloud State, Michigan Tech, Alaska Anchorage and Minnesota State-Mankato) combined and no other school in the entire country has turned out more.



•Freshman left wing and 2005-06 WCHA All-Rookie Team selection Mason Raymond, who enjoyed a prolonged, three-month stay atop the UMD scoring charts before giving way to Tim Stapleton, was held without a point in nine of the last 10 games. One of seven Bulldogs to skate in all 40 games this winter, finished third among WCHA rookies in league points (23) and second in assists (15). He also put more shots on goal (152) than any other 2005-06 Bulldog.

Nearly 58 percent (146 of 255) of UMD’s point production and 63 percent of its goal harvest (61 of 97) this winter has come from the team’s 10 freshmen. Of the top 23 current WCHA rookie scoring leaders (overall), no less than seven are Bulldogs -- Mason Raymond (No. 5), left wing Andrew Carroll (No. 8), left wing Michael Gergen (No. 9), center MacGregor Sharp (No. 16-tie), defensemen Matt Niskanen (No. 16-tie) right wing Nick Kemp (19-tie), and defensemen Jason Garrison (No. 23). Another first-year Bulldog, Josh Meyers amassed the third highest scoring average (0.42 points per game) in league play among all WCHA rookie blueliners.

•In the 14 games it won or tied in 2005-06, UMD registered a 25.3 percent efficiency rate (18 of 71) on the power play, but connected at a mere 10.4 percent clip (14 of 134) with the extra man in its 25 losses.

•Matt Niskanen became the first rookie in seven years to lead all UMD defensemen in scoring. Only the second Bulldog to ever be selected in the first round of the National Hockey League draft (28th pick overall by the Dallas Stars), Niskanen was credited with one goal and 13 assists for 14 points this winter. He was the only UMD skater to bag at least one point in all three playoff games against Denver (he had one assist each night)

•The injury bug has been relatively kind to UMD in 2005-06. In fact, only four Bulldogs missed games this winter due to injuries or illnesses. They include freshman defenseman Josh Meyers (13 games from Nov. 18 to Dec. 28 and Feb. 3; wrist), sophomore defenseman Travis Gawryletz (seven games from Jan. 27-Feb. 17 and Feb. 24-25; illness), freshman defenseman Adam Davis (two games at Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 18-19; hip) and junior goaltender Josh Johnson (two games at Minnesota on March 3-4; knee).

•The Bulldogs did not lose a game this season when leading (8-0-0) at the second intermission, but were winless (0-23-0) when theyheaded into the third period behind in 2005-06. The last time UMD rallied to post a victory in that situation was on Nov. 27, 2004 when it scored three times in the third period to overcome a 1-0 deficit and defeat host St. Cloud State University 3-1. Since then, the Bulldogs are 0-32-0 in games in which they have trailed after 40 minutes of play.

•Sophomore center Matt McKnight, who trailed only Tim Stapleton and Mason Raymond in scoring among 2005-06 Bulldogs, established a career high for goals (nine), assists (16) and points (25), but collected just five points in his last 21 outings.

•UMD was able to muster a mere 4-13-1 home record (.250) in 2005-06 but was 7-12-3 away from the DECC.

•Senior defenseman and 2005-06 team captain Steve Czech, who was plus-30 as a collegian, skated in 164 of a possible 165 games during his four-year tenure with the Bulldogs -- including the last 118 in a row.

•UMD was shut out on five occasions this winter (equalling a club mark set in both 1999-2000 and 1997-98) after coming into the 2005-06 season having been held scoreless only once in its previous 165 games.

•Although the Bulldogs were outscored in all three periods this season, they still outshot the opposition in each of those three frames (plus overtime).

•Senior goaltender Isaac Reichmuth departed the Bulldog hockey program as its all-time leader in both goals against average (2.91) and saves percentage (.898). The two-time All-WCHA honoree (second team in 2003-04 and third team in 2002-03) was also third in career wins, compiling a 56-47-15 mark in 127 appearances.

•The Bulldogs wound last in the WCHA in penalty killing efficiency (75.5 percent vs. league competition). Opponents cashed in on 12 of their 47 power play opportunities (25.5 percent) over the last 10 games..

•UMD compiled a .932 saves percentage in the 15 games it won or tied this winter and a mere .841 mark in its 25 setbacks



•UMD has not held an opponent scoreless at the DECC since Brant Nicklin turned the trick back on Feb. 28, 1998 (7-0 over North Dakota) -- a stretch of some 157 outings. Over basically that same period of time, the Bulldogs have posted six shutouts on the road -- including three by senior Isaac Reichmuth and one by junior Josh Johnson.



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