The University of Minnesota Duluth will close out a four-game homestand this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 11-12) when the surging Bulldogs play host to the St. Cloud State University in a pair of Western Collegiate Hockey Association confrontations -- and the only two regular season meetings between the two clubs this year. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. (CST) both nights at AMSOIL Arena (6,764).
TICKETS: As off Wednesday afternoon, 450 tickets remained for Friday night's game and approximately 60 for Saturday. Tickets for all Bulldog home games can be purchased at either the UMD Athletic Ticket Office, the DECC Ticket Office or through Ticketmaster.com.
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THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, who are unbeaten in seven of eight games since the start of the New Year (6-1-1), are 18-5-4 overall this season and own a share of first place (with the University of Denver) in the WCHA standings at 13-4-3. St. Cloud State is 11-14-3 in all games and 7-11-2 in league play (tied for ninth place with Minnesota State University-Mankato).
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Huskies stack up in the latest uscho.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls and PairWise Rankings:
uscho.com USA Today PairWise
UMD 3rd 3rd 3rd
SCSU NR NR NR
ON THE AIR: The UMD-St. Cloud State clashes will be carried locally on 94X (94.1/104.3 FM) with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 in Grand Rapids/Hibbing and KQ 106.7 in Ely/Virginia as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and can be accessed on the internet at: 94xrocks.com.
In addition, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) will televise both ends of this weekend's series. Veteran sports anchor Tom Hansen and former Bulldog puck standout Judd Medak will serve as the on-air My9 talent. My9, which is slated to carry 15 Bulldog games during the 2010-11 regular season, is also available locally on Charter and Mediacom cable. The telecast will be videostreammed as well and is available for a fee through B2 Networks at: www.b2livetv.com
THE COACHES: The 2003-04 American Hockey Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coach of the Year (Spencer Penrose Award), Scott Sandelin is in his 11th year behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 184-195-50 overall record -- including a 62-35-13 mark (a .623 winning percentage) since the 2008-09 opener. In addition to posting back-to-back 22-win seasons, his Bulldogs have advanced to five of the past eight WCHA Final Five tournaments and, in March 2009, became the first play-in game participant to win it all in that event's history. UMD also strung together a school-record six-game postseason winning streak in 2008-09 until it fell to Miami University 2-1 in the NCAA West Regional final. Seven years ago, Sandelin, 46, turned UMD into a NCAA Frozen Four participant for the first time in nearly a generation, marshaling his troops to their most victories (they were 28-13-4 overall) and highest WCHA finish (second place on a 19-7-2 mark) in 11 seasons. 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 that winter. One year earlier, he guided 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 signed on as a member of the Bulldog staff on March 31, 2000 following six years of assistant coaching deployment 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 as a senior, 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 National Hockey League, was the Montreal Canadiens' second round pick in the 1982 NHL draft (40th choice overall). He served as Team USA's head coach at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships and directed that club to a fourth-place finish.
Bob Motzko (St. Cloud State, 1987), a two-time WCHA Co-Coach of the Year honoree, is in his sixth season behind the bench at his alma mater and has a 116-88-27 overall record -- including a 12-5-1 lifetime mark against UMD -- to show for it. The Huskies have made four WCHA Final Five appearances and earned three NCAA playoff berths during his tenure. Motzko, who skated with the Huskies for a pair of seasons (1983-85), joined the St. Cloud State staff in 2005-06 after spending the previous four winters serving as an assistant on the University of Minnesota staff. Prior to that, he was the head coach/general manager for the United States Hockey League's Sioux Falls Stampede from 1998-2001. His college coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant coach at Miami University (1991-93 and 1994-98), the University of Denver (1993-94) and St. Cloud State (1986-87), where he worked under the legendary Herb Brooks.
THE RIVALRY: UMD and St. Cloud State have met on 96 previous occasions in a rivalry which stretches back to the 1947-48 season. The Huskies hold a 53-37-6 lead in the all-time series and are 50-33-5 versus the Bulldogs since joining the NCAA I ranks in 1987-88. The two intrastate adversaries have not done battle since Oct. 23-24, 2009 in St. Cloud where the Huskies took three of four points (a 3-3 tie and 4-2 win) from UMD.
LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs outlasted the University of Minnesota 6-4 Saturday after the two clubs had battled to a 2-2 draw the previous evening. Junior left winger Mike Connolly scored five times in the rematch to equal a UMD single-game record, and was credited with the game-tying goal Friday. Junior All-American center Jack Connolly picked up five points - all assists (including four on Saturday) -- on the weekend while senior right winger Justin Fontaine had a hand in four scores (one goal and three assists) in the two-game series.
St. Cloud State was ambushed twice (3-0 and 4-3) by WCHA newcomer Nebraska Omaha last Friday and Saturday in Omaha. The Huskies held a 3-0 lead at the first intermission in the Saturday setback before surrendering four unanswered goals and wound up being outshot 55-27.
JUST LIKE MIKE: Mike Connolly was aptly rewarded for his scoring heroics against Minnesota last weekend by being named the Red Baron/Western Collegiate Hockey Association Offensive Player of the Week. Connolly's five-goal outburst in Saturday equaled the UMD single-game record set by Steve “Pokey” Trachsel on Nov. 17, 1972 against Lake Superior State University. He put 15 shots on goal over the weekend (including eight on Friday -- matching a 2010-11 Bulldog high) and was a +4 to boot. The last Bulldog to rack up six goals in a two-game series was Hockey Hall of Fame Brett Hull, who recorded back-to-back hat tricks against the University of Wisconsin on Feb. 8-9, 1985.
THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: Defenseman Mike Montgomery, one of six seniors on the 2010-11 Bulldog roster, has been entrusted with team captaincy responsibilities this year while All-American junior center Jack Connolly and junior left winger Mike Connolly are serving as alternate captains.
THEY LIKE THE VIEW FROM HERE: With its recent surge, UMD now finds itself sitting atop the WCHA leaderboard (along with the University of Denver) -- somewhere it hasn't been this late in a season since Feb. 28, 2004 when the Bulldogs shared the league's top position with North Dakota.
TOP 'DOGS: Three Bulldogs occupy the top five spots in the WCHA's overall scoring charts at the moment -- junior All-American center Jack Connolly is first with 40 points, senior right winger Justin Fontaine is third (37) and junior left winger Mike Connolly is tied for fourth (35 points). That trio was reunited for the rematch with Minnesota this past Saturday after skating together the first 21 games of the season Jack Connolly, who has played in all 110 games since joining the UMD program in 2008-09 -- the longest ironman streak of any current Bulldog, ranks sixth among all NCAA pucksters in points and is third in assists. The 2010-11 WCHA Preseason Player of the Year went over the 100-point mark this past December (he now has 118) and joined Fontaine (143) and Mike Connolly (117) in the Bulldog Century Club, which now contains 51 members. The last time UMD sported at least three players with 100 or more lifetime points to their credit was in 1997-98 when the line of Mike Peluso, Ken Dzikowski and Joe Rybar all eclipsed that milestone at some point during the season. Fontaine, a two-time All-WCHA second team selection who is a team-leading +21 this season, holds down the No. 22 position on UMD's all-time points list (one point behind Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull) and has a shot at becoming the first Bulldog in 17 years (Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Chris Marinucci in 1993-94) to crack the Top 15.
THE OLD ONE-TWO PUNCH: UMD currently ranks second among WCHA schools in both in scoring offense (3.52 goals per game) and scoring defense (2.33 gpg). Moreover, the Bulldogs also sport the WCHA's third most productive power play (20.6 percent) are second in penalty killing efficiency (84.8 percent).
SAVING THEIR BEST FOR LAST: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition by a hefty 69-41 margin from the second period on this season and have a NCAA-leading five overtime victories to their 2010-11 credit. In addition, the Bulldogs are 13-0-1 when they've taken a lead into the final period of play.
A ROOKIE ON THE RISE: Justin Faulk is currently the second highest scoring rookie defenseman in the country at the moment (0.75 points per game) and is second among all NCAA freshmen blueliners in goals as well. In 24 games this season the South St. Paul, Minn. product has collected six goals (five of which have come on the power play) and 12 assists for 18 points has the second best plus-minus rating (+16) of any 2010-11 Bulldog. Faulk competed with the U.S. at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships earlier this year in Buffalo, N.Y. and paced that team's defense in scoring.
NEVER GO AWAY EMPTY HANDED: The Bulldogs have not been shut out in 79 straight WCHA games since coming up empty against North Dakota (2-0) on March 1, 2008 in Duluth.
A REAL GOAL-GETTER: Travis Oleksuk's 11 goals this season (which is a career high) have come in a variety of ways and at some clutch times as well. The junior center, who has racked up a WCHA-best six game-winning goals this season, has scored twice on the power play, once while a man down, once on a penalty shot and once with the goaltender pulled. Two of his goals thus far have been registered in overtime.
FREE HOCKEY: 1The Bulldogs are now unbeaten in 24 of their last 26 overtime games (11-2-13, including a 5-1-4 mark this winter) -- a run which dates back to the start of the 2008-09 season. The five overtime victories already equals the club single-season record set in 1984-85. Mike Connolly shares the current Bulldog lead (with fellow junior forward Travis Oleksuk) in career overtime goals with three, including the memorable one that capped off a 5-4 comeback win over Princeton University in the 2009 NCAA West Regional semifinals in Minneapolis.
Player OT Goals
Mike Connolly 3
Travis Oleksuk 3
Justin Fontaine 2
J.T. Brown 1
Jack Connolly 1
Cody Danberg 1
HE'S GOT HIS GROOVE BACK: After putting the clamps on an eight-game pointless skid at Michigan Tech on Jan. 21, freshman right winger J.T. Brown has collected two goals and five assists in the four games since. Brown, the Hockey Commissioner's Association National Rookie of the Month for October, resides in the No. 4 spot on the WCHA rookie scoring list with 23 points (seven goals and 16 assists) in 27 games.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: UMD had its consecutive shutout minutes streak snapped at a school-record 168:39 midway through the first period last Friday when Minnesota's Cade Fairchild scored on the power play. Junior goaltender Kenny Reiter wound up making a UMD 2010-11 single-game high 36 saves on the night and was also credited with this third assist of the year on the team's first goal. In his last eight appearances, Reiter is 4-2-1 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .946 saves percentage with a pair of shutouts. He has assembled the second-best career winning percentage (.618 off a 22-13-3 record, including a 9-3-3 figure this winter) in team history. Only All-American Rick Kosti (60-18-2 for a .753 winning percentage between 1983-85) has been more prosperous in that statistical category. Reiter's trusty counterpart, redshirted freshman Aaron Crandall, turned aside 32 of 36 shots the following night against the Gophers to boost his 2010-11 record to 9-2-1 which translates into a .792 winning percentage -- the fourth best mark of any NCAA puckstopper. Neither Reiter nor Crandall has ever made a start against St. Cloud State.
IT'S BEEN A HECK OF A YEAR SO FAR: UMD has not only dropped just one of their eight games in 2011 (6-1-1), but it's allowed only 10 goals during that stretch. In addition, the opposition has also managed to cash in on just three of 41 power play opportunities as well (7.3 percent).
BULLDOG BITS: Senior left winger Kyle Schmidt returned to the Bulldog lineup last Friday night after being sidelined the previous seven games with a hand injury. Of the 18 goals the senior left winger has collected over the past two seasons (including seven in 2010-11), 16 have come in even-strength situations. Only two other Bulldogs (Mike Connolly with 19 and Jack Connolly with 17) has more ... UMD has amassed a 18-5-4 overall record for a .741 winning percentage, which is the third best third best mark in the nation. It also represents the school's second best start ever, trailing only the 1985-86 Bulldogs, who went 20-6-1 (. 744) in their opening 27 engagements. UMD was 19-6-2 at that same juncture the previous year, which also works out to be a .740 winning percentage ... Junior left winger Mike Connolly needs just five more points to become just the second Bulldog ever (NCAA I era) to open his career with three straight 40-point seasons. Dan Lempe, the school's all-time scoring leader, is the other UMD skater to accomplish that feat (he did it four times between 1976-80) since the Bulldogs joined the NCAA I ranks in 1961-62 ... UMD is 13-0-1 when it's taken a lead into the third period this winter ... Senior defenseman and team captain Mike Montgomery ended a personal 11-game pointless drought this past Saturday by assisting on a pair of goals in UMD's 6-4 triumph over Minnesota ... UMD has lost just once (3-2 to visiting Wisconsin on Jan. 15) in its 12 series rematch games this season, going a 9-1-2 ... In seven career road appearances, redshirted freshman goaltender Aaron Crandall is 5-1-1 with a 1.88 goals against average and a .928 saves percentage -- a noticeable contrast to his home numbers (4-1-0, 2.99 and .884 in six outings) ... UMD had held the No. 1 spot in the uscho.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls for three straight weeks before slipping to No. 2 in both rankings on Dec. 6. Prior to this year, the Bulldogs had never been ranked first in any national weekly poll for more than a week since the middle of the 1985-86 season (when they also enjoyed a three-week stay at the top) ... The seven Bulldog juniors (which includes goaltender Kenny Reiter) have scored more points (a nation-leading 114) than the 12-member senior and sophomore classes combined (103) ... UMD has outshot the opposition in 23 of 27 games thus far ... The Bulldogs and Huskies have not squared off in Duluth since Nov. 29, 2008 for one game (they played the other end of that series four weeks earlier at the Xcel Energy Center). UMD prevailed that night 5-1.
