Coming off of its final bye week of the 2012-13 season, the University of Minnesota Duluth is back at home for first time in five weeks this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 11-12) to host Michigan Tech University in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both nights at AMSOIL Arena (6,737) in downtown Duluth.
THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 7-10-3 overall and hold down seventh place in the Western Collegiate Conference standings at 5-6-3 while Michigan Tech sports a 6-10-3 mark in all games and a 3-8-3 WCHA record (11th place).
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HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the UMD and Michigan Tech stacked up in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls as well as the PairWise Rankings:
USCHO.com USA Today PairWise
UMD NR NR NR
MTU NR NR NR
ON THE AIR: Both of UMD's bouts against the Huskies 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 is available 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 talent. My9, which is scheduled to carry at least 21 games during the 2012-13 regular season, is also available locally on Charter and Mediacom cable. The telecast will be videostreammed as well and can be viewed for a fee: americaonesports.com.
THE COACHES: The runnerup for the 2010-11 Spencer Penrose Award (American Hockey Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coach of the Year) and recipient of that honor in 2003-04, Scott Sandelin is in his 13th season behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 224-220-61 overall record -- including a 102-60-24 mark (for a .613 winning percentage). Besides capturing the school's first NCAA championship two years ago, his Bulldogs have posted four consecutive 22-win seasons while advancing to four NCAA tournaments (2004, 2009, 2011 and 2012), two Frozen Fours (2004 and 2011) and seven of the past 10 WCHA Final Five playoff events. During the course of the 2011-12 season, the Bulldogs set a club record by going unbeaten in 17 straight games and were ranked first in both major weekly polls (USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine for a program-best nine consecutive weeks. In March 2009, UMD became the first play-in game participant to ever claim the Final Five title and, later that spring, strung together a school-record six-game postseason winning streak before it fell to Miami University 2-1 in the NCAA West Regional final. Nine years ago, Sandelin, 48, 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) since 1992-93. 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 charges 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 member 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 with the Bulldogs on March 31, 2000 following six years of assistant coaching deployment at North Dakota (which won two NCAA titles during his tenure). Prior to that, 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 active WCHA coaches to do time in the NHL, 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, directing that club to a fourth-place finish, and was an assistant coach for the U.S. entry at that same event last winter.
Mel Pearson (Michigan Tech, 1982) took over as the head coach at his alma mater in May 2011 after spending the previous 23 seasons in an assistant coaching role with the University of Michigan. His 2011-12 Huskies turned in a 16-19-4 overall record (after going 4-30-4 one year earlier) and made a WCHA Final Five tournament appearance, earning Pearson the WCHA Coach of the Year award. The former Edina (Minn.) High School star played four years with the Huskies under legendary head coach John MacInnes (1977-81). Pearson, who is 1-3-2 lifetime versus UMD, went on to serve as a Michigan Tech assistant for six seasons before enlisting with Michigan.
THE RIVALRY:This weekend's series will mark the 223rd and 224th meetings ever between UMD and Michigan Tech. The Huskies hold a 119-83-20 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 31, 1952 at the old Duluth Curling Club. Earlier this year (Nov. 30-Dec. 1), UMD took three of four points from the Huskies in Houghton, Mich., prevailing 7-3 in the opener and then settling for a 4-4 draw the following night.
LAST WEEK: UMD has been idle since it fell twice at the Florida College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla., getting stymied 1-0 by the University of Maine in the semifinal round on Dec. 28 and then succumbing 7-3 to Ferris State in the third place game. UMD outshot Maine 31-22, but went 0-of-5 on the power play and surrendered the game's lone goal while it was a man up. Sophomore forwards Adam Krause and Caleb Herbert accounted for the two Bulldog scores against Ferris State, which helped stake UMD to a 2-1 first-period lead before Ferris State erupted for five unanswered goals. The loss was UMD first-ever to Ferris State in six lifetime meetings (4-1-1).
In its latest activity, Michigan Tech closed out 2012 in memorable fashion by capturing its first Great Lakes Invitational championship in 32 years. The Huskies opened tourney play with a 4-0 throttling of the University of Michigan on Dec. 29 (snapping a seven-game winless skid) before shutting down Western Michigan University by that same score 24 hours later at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich. Huskies goaltender Pheonix Copley turned away all 70 shots he faced over the weekend en route to landing the John MacInnes Award as the tourney's Most Valuable Player.
AYE, AYE CAPTAIN: Left winger Cody Danberg has been entrusted with the team captaincy duties for the 69th edition of Bulldog hockey while a pair of fellow seniors -- right winger Keegan Flaherty and defenseman Drew Olson -- are serving as assistant team captains.
THEY'VE HAD THEIR NUMBER: The Bulldogs are unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 meetings with the Huskies, going 8-1-2 since dropping a 3-1 decision on Feb. 5, 2010 in Houghton. They had reeled off seven straight victories at Michigan Tech's expense before battling to a 4-4 tie last Jan. 27 at AMSOIL Arena. (That seven-game winning streak is the Bulldogs' second longest ever against any WCHA club, bettered only by the 12 consecutive triumphs they posted over Wisconsin during the mid-1980s.) What's more, UMD has been derailed by Michigan Tech just three times in the two club's last 19 confrontations (12-3-4).
ON THE OTHER HAND: The last time Michigan Tech paid a visit to AMSOIL Arena (Jan. 28, 2012), it blanked the then-No. 1 ranked Bulldogs 5-0, scoring the weekend's final nine goals in the process.
YOU AGAIN?: The Bulldogs have butted heads with both Michigan Tech on more occasions (222) than any other opponent in their 69-year history. (North Dakota and Minnesota are next on that list at 220 and 218 times, respectively). The Bulldogs have also met the Huskies and Minnesota on an annual basis since the 1961-62 season, making each UMD's longest continuous rivalry.
THAT'S ALL FOLKS: UMD, along with current WCHA colleagues Colorado College, the University of Denver, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota and St. Cloud State University, will join forces with Miami University and Western Michigan of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in the new eight-team National Collegiate Hockey Conference next fall. The Bulldogs have been members of the WCHA since the 1965-66 season.
SAVING SOME OF THEIR BEST HOCKEY FOR LAST: Mike Seidel, who has picked up at least one point in 15 of UMD's 20 outings to date, continues to pace the Bulldogs in goals with 11 and is tied for the team scoring lead (with rookie center Tony Cameranesi) with 19 points. Seidel's 11 goals thus far are bettered by only five other NCAA II skaters while his six power play scores are the third most in the nation. Back on the blueline, senior Wade Bergman has accumulated 14 points -- four shy of his career high which he set last season and the ninth most of any WCHA defenseman.
MORE POWER TO THEM: The Bulldogs have struck at least once with the man advantage in all but five games this season and now possess the WCHA's second best power play percentage at 22.1 percent. Only three other NCAA clubs -- Union College (23), Minnesota State University-Mankato (23) and Minnesota (22) -- have racked up more power play goals than UMD (21) to date.
ROOKIES ON THE RISE: UMD's freshmen class is the sixth highest-scoring group in the country at the moment, amassing 49 points on 18 goals and 31 assists. Tony Cameranesi, who like co-UMD scoring leader Mike Seidel was blanked both nights at the Florida College Hockey Classic, ranks second among all NCAA newcomers in points with 19 -- three back of Miami University's Riley Barber -- while left winger Austin Farley, who has gone pointless in the last four outings, is tied for fifth nationally (16). Cameranesi's 10 power play points to date put him in a tie for third in the WCHA (with six other players, including Seidel) and his 3.70 shots per game is the sixth best figure of any league combatant. In addition, Andy Welinski is second among all WCHA first-year defensemen in point production with two goals and nine assists.
TIME TO RALLY THE TROOPS: The last time the Bulldogs overcame a second-intermission deficit to win was on Nov. 10, 2010 when they erased a 2-1 Michigan Tech advantage by scoring four times in the final 20 minutes of regulation on their way to a 5-3 triumph at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. UMD is 0-22-2 (0-7-0) in that situation since then.
ON THE HOME FRONT: The Bulldogs are 22-13-4 in 39 lifetime engagements at AMSOIL Arena, which opened its doors for business on Dec. 30, 2010. That includes a 3-4-1 record this season and a 0-1-1 mark against Michigan Tech. UMD is currently averaging the sixth best home attendance (6,200 a night) of any team in the nation at the moment.
THE SHORT END OF THE STICK: UMD has given up three shorthanded goals this winter -- including one each in both of its Florida College Hockey Classic bouts -- after allowing just two during all of 2011-12. On the flip side, The Bulldogs have collected just two shorthanded goals over the past two seasons -- by sophomore center/wing Adam Krause (his first collegiate tally) i at Michigan Tech on Nov. 30 of this year and Keegan Flaherty (also at Michigan Tech on Dec. 2, 2011).
BULLDOG BITS: Going back to Feb. 26, 2010, the Bulldogs have lost two or more games in a row only five times and the longest losing streak they've had to endure during that stretch is three outings (Oct. 8-16, 2011) ... In his last six starts, rookie goaltender Matt McNeely is 4-2-0 with a 2.12 goals against average and a .907 saves percentage. During that stretch he has not allowed a power play goal ... Prior to this year's Florida College Hockey Classic, UMD had never been beaten in back-to-back games in any of its 31 lifetime regular season tournaments ... Junior defenseman Tim Smith (+4), and rookie forwards Tony Cameranesi (+2) and Austin Farley (+2) are the only three UMD skaters who currently sport positive plus-minus numbers. Sophomore defenseman Chris Casto is an impressive +21 for his career while senior defenseman Wade Bergman is right behind at a +20 ... After putting the clamps on a nine-game scoring drought (the longest of his somewhat young collegiate career) on Nov. 30, forward Caleb Herbert has averaged just under a point a game since then (four goals and three assists in eight outings). Herbert, the reigning UMD Rookie of the Year Award winner, closed out 2010-11 with 31 points -- the largest scoring harvest by a Bulldog newcomer in nine years ... The 1-0 loss to Maine at the Florida College Hockey Classic two weeks ago marked the first time the Bulldogs were shut out on the road during the regular season in almost six years (2-0 vs. Bemidji State University on Jan. 5, 2007) ... Right winger and 2012-13 alternate team captain Keegan Flaherty has now skated in 101 consecutive games, the longest ironman streak among active Bulldogs while two other seniors -- defenseman Wade Bergman and Jake Hendrickson -- have both made 85 appearances in a row dating back to Dec. 30, 2010 ... The Bulldogs are unbeaten in 38 of their last 43 overtime games (15-5-23; 0-1-3 in 2012-13) stretching back to the 2008-09 season opener. Among active Bulldogs, only two have an overtime goal to their collegiate credit -- senior forwards Cody Danberg (Jan. 11, 2008 vs. Minnesota State-Mankato) and Mike Seidel (March 10, 2012 in UMD's 3-2 double-overtime victory over visiting Minnesota State-Mankato in the WCHA playoffs) ... The Bulldogs, who have outshot the opposition in all but four of their 20 engagements to date, are averaging 32.4 shots on goal per night, which ranks 16th nationally. At the same time, they are giving up 25.5 shots to the opposition, the sixth lowest figure in the country ... Senior team captain Cody Danberg, who because of injuries had taken part in only one game over the previous two seasons (the 2011-12 opener with the University of Notre Dame at AMSOIL Arena), is the first sixth-year senior to ever play at UMD ... With an average of 16.6 minutes of infraction time per night, the Bulldogs are the nation's third-most penalized team. Their opponents, haven't fared any better in this department, accruing 125 penalties (four more than UMD) for a 17.4 minutes per game clip ... In UMD's series with the Michigan Tech earlier this season, freshman left winger Austin Farley emerged from the weekend with three goals and two assists on his way to being named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week ... Since suffering a 3-2 setback to Bemidji State in the opening round of the 2011 WCHA Final Five, UMD is 22-1-4 when taking a lead into the third period (4-1-2 in 2012-13) ... Scott Sandelin has rolled up more career coaching wins against Michigan Tech (25) than any other opponent ... UMD is 6-2-1 in series openers this season but a mere 1-6-2 in rematch games with that lone win coming on Dec. 15 at Alaska Anchorage ... The Bulldogs have scored the second-most first-period goals (25) of any WCHA club thus far.
ON TAP: The Bulldogs will pay a visit to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a pair of WCHA matchups with Colorado College on Jan. 18-19.
