With five of the seven NCAA national championships split between them (3 for the Bulldogs, 2 for the Gophers), the historic rivalry between the unbeaten No. 1 University of Minnesota Duluth and the No. 10 University of Minnesota continues this weekend in Ridder Arena, in Minneapolis, Minn. The puck will drop in Friday's contest at 6:07 p.m., and again Saturday at 3:07 p.m.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs have played only one other team as many times as they have hit the ice against the Gophers (Ohio State is the other). UMD and Minnesota have faced-off 38 times, with the Gophers having a 15-19-4 all-time edge. Last season, each team exchanged home series sweeps, knotting at 2-2 in regular WCHA play.

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UMD Hockey Notes vs. Minnesota


After Minnesota swept UMD 5-3 and 1-0 in Ridder in early November, the Bulldogs bounced back in a preview of what was to come when they smoked the Gophers 7-1 and 5-1 in Mars Lakeview Arena Feb. 17 and 18. Minnesota upended UMD in overtime 3-2 at Ridder on March 3 in the second round of the WCHA playoffs, but it was the Bulldogs that would get a call from the NCAA to join the playoffs despite the loss a week later enroute to their fourth NCAA Final Four championship game appearance.

LAST WEEK: Unbeaten UMD (5-0-1, 4-0) knocked off No. 2 Mercyhurst College last Sunday 3-1, and tied the Lakers Saturday, 1-1. Sophomore goaltender Kim Martin made a career-tying 34 saves in the 1-1 draw, and turned away another 28 shots in the Bulldogs Sunday win for 62 saves overall on the weekend. Sophomore forward Elin Holmlov scored two goals and two assists in the series, and the Bulldogs, who came from behind in both contests, scored two power play goals on the weekend to double their season total (4).

Minnesota (3-2-1. 1-2-1) earned its fifth-straight split against Ohio State last weekend in Columbus, Ohio, winning 7-4 on Oct. 19, but falling 4-1 on Oct. 20 for the split. Seven different players scored for the Gophers in Friday's win over the Buckeyes.

THE COACHES: Shannon Miller, who currently is the only coach in the WCHA to have racked-up 205 wins, is in her ninth season behind the Bulldog bench.

As the only head coach UMD has ever employed, Miller has amassed an impressive overall record of 204-57-24 and has led the Bulldogs to six NCAA playoff appearances and three straight NCAA Championship titles (2001, 2002 and 2003). She has led UMD into four NCAA Frozen Four berths, including the 2007 NCAA Championship game. No other hockey program in the country has won three consecutive NCAA titles.

For her efforts, Miller was named the 2000 and 2003 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year and the 2003 American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Women’s Division I Coach of the Year. Along with the incredible NCAA runs, her Bulldogs have captured two WCHA regular season titles (2000 and 2003) and three WCHA playoff titles (2000, 2001 and 2003).

During Miller’s time at the Bulldog helm, UMD has produced eight first-team All-Americans, 11 Patty Kazmaier Award Finalists, two WCHA Players of the Year, three WCHA Student-Athletes of the year and one CoSIDA Academic All-American.

The Gophers are led by first-year head coach Brad Frost, who took over for former coach Laura Halldorson in August of 2007. Frost had been a Minnesota assistant coach for seven seasons prior to taking over the team.

RED-HOT HOLMLOV: Elin Holmlov became the third Bulldog in as many weeks to be named a WCHA Player of the Week. The sophomore forward from Knivista, Sweden nabbed WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring two goals and two assists for four points this weekend. Both of Holmlov's goals pulled UMD even with the Lakers, and she played a part in every goal the Bulldogs had on the weekend against No. 2 Mercyhurst. She is tied for fourth in overall scoring among WCHA players with nine points in six games, including three goals and six assists, and is fifth in the nation with an average of one assist an outing.

Holmlov follows teammate Karine Demeule, who was named last week's Offensive Player of the Week, and fellow Team Sweden member Kim Martin, who was named the Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 9.

EMPTY NET: The Bulldogs have only allowed two goals in their last six games (365 minutes), the fewest goals they have ever given up in program history at this point in a season. UMD went its first 262:42 minutes of action this season without allowing a single point.

LEADING LINE: UMD's first line, which consists of sophomores Saara Tuominen, Elin Holmlov and freshman Iya Gavrilova, has accounted for 29 of the Bulldogs 51 points. The three have tallied seven goals and 16 assists between them.

MISSING THE POINTS: Despite UMD's current six-game unbeaten streak, the Bulldogs have scored the fewest goals through six games since the 2001-02 season. The Maroon and Gold has scored just 20 goals, the secondest lowest output ever for UMD (they scored just 17 in 2001-02). Prior to this season, the Bulldogs have averaged 32 goals after their first six games. UMD scored a program-high 43 goals during the 1999-2000 season.

IF YOU PLAY, THEY WILL COME: The Bulldogs and Gophers have seldom, if ever, played against each other in front of an empty rink. Seven of UMD's top single-game attendance highs at the DECC have come against Minnesota, with the No. 3 spot through No. 9 Bulldog-Gopher games. Three of Minnesota's top-ten all-time highs have come against UMD, with two of the top three crowds ever in Ridder Arena coming against the Bulldogs.

BRUSING BULLDOGS: UMD is second in the nation in penalty minutes with 102, averaging 17.0 minutes in the box a game. The Bulldogs affection for infractions has led to a penalty kill unit which is 39-of-40, for 97.5 percent.

The Gophers, on the other hand, lead the nation is power play effectiveness, having scored nine goals in 27 power play chances (33.3 percent).

YOU FIRST: While UMD has scored only five of its 20 goals in the first period, Minnesota has scored half (11) of its 22 goals this season in the first stanza of play.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT: The Bulldogs will be without the services of junior forward Tawni Mattila and junior Samantha Hough this weekend due to injury.

BULLDOG BITS: The Bulldogs are 0-5 against the Gophers in Minneapolis since Oct. 29, 2005, when they trashed Minnesota 6-0...UMD last held the No. 1 spot in the national polls on Dec. 6, 2005...Netminder Kim Martin, who tied her career-best in saves last Saturday against Mercyhurst, reached the 34 save mark previously last Nov. 3 against Minnesota in the Bulldogs 5-3 loss....Saara Tuominen and Laura Fridfinnson are No. 2 and No.3 in the WCHA in point scoring with six points each...Martin is second in the nation and first in the WCHA in save percentage (.986) and goals against average (0.39).

GOPHER NOTES: Senior forward Erica McKenzie ranks third in the nation in goals per game, averaging 1.17 with seven goals in six games...Goaltender Kim Hanlon faced a career-high 34 shots against UMD last Feb. 17 in the Bulldogs 7-1 win over the Gophers...The seven goals was the most goals Hanlon has allowed in her career...Minnesota features former UMD defensemen Rachel Drazan, who is in her first full season of elgiblity with the Gophers.