After a six-week absence, the University of Minnesota Duluth will return to AMSOIL Arena (6,756 capacity) this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 6-7) to face long-time rival St. Cloud State University in the Bulldogs' first-ever National Collegiate Hockey Association home engagements. The puck drops at 7:07 both nights.

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THE RECORDS: UMD is 6-5-1 overall and 2-2-0-0 in NCHC play this season while St. Cloud State sports a 9-1-2 record all games to go with a 4-1-1-0 league mark.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and St. Cloud State stacked up in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls:

        USCHO.com    USA Today    
UMD        No. 20    RV
SCSU        No. 2    No. 2

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-St. Cloud State matchups 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 Sports 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. Tom Hansen and former Bulldog hockey standout Judd Medak will serve as the on-air talent. My9, which is scheduled to carry 20 games during the 2013-14 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 at: 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 14th season behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 237-234-64 overall record -- including a 115-74-27 mark (for a .595 winning percentage) since the 2008-08 opener. Besides capturing the school's first NCAA championship three years ago, his Bulldogs have won 22 or more games in four of the last five seasons while advancing to four NCAA tournaments (2004, 2009, 2011 and 2012), two Frozen Fours (2004 and 2011) and seven of the past 11 WCHA Final Five playoff events. He has also helped produce a pair of Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners (Jack Connolly in 2011-12 and Junior Lessard in 2003-04), six NCAA All-Americans and 17 different All-WCHA selections. Sandelin has also seen 16 of his UMD pupils go on to do time in the National Hockey League, with the latest being winger Justin Fontaine earlier this month (Minnesota Wild). 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, 49, 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 National Collegiate Hockey Conference 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 in 2011-12.

Bob Motzko (St. Cloud State, 1987), a two-time WCHA Co-Coach of the Year honoree, is in his eighth season at his alma mater and has a 171-126-37 overall record -- including a 15-8-3 lifetime mark against UMD -- to show for it. The Huskies have captured one WCHA regular season title (2013-14), made six WCHA Final Five appearances and earned three NCAA playoff berths (including a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four last spring) 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 SERIES: UMD and St. Cloud State have collided on 104 previous occasions in a rivalry which stretches back to the 1946-47 season. The Huskies hold a 56-40-8 lead in the all-time series and are 53-36-7 versus the Bulldogs since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1987-88. The two clubs traded WCHA wins in their lone series of the 2012-13 season (Nov. 23-24) with the host Bulldogs taking the opener, 2-1 before St. Cloud State rebounded with a 5-1 decision the following night.

LAST WEEK: UMD has been idle since toppling the University of Minnesota 6-2 on Nov. 24 in Minneapolis to gain a series split with their former WCHA nemesis. The Bulldogs, who fell 6-1 to the No. 1 ranked Gophers two nights earlier, got a four-point outing (two goals and two assist) from junior right winger Justin Crandall in the rematch while freshman left winger Kyle Osterberg, sophomore left winger Austin Farley and sophomore center Tony Cameranesi each scored once and assisted on another goal. Junior center Caleb Herbert added three assists for the Bulldogs, who posted their most lopsided victory at Mariucci Arena in nearly 16 years (8-4 on Feb. 14, 1997).

St. Cloud State likewise had Thanksgiving weekend off. In their most recent activity, the Huskies took five of six NCHC points from visiting Colorado College via a 2-2 tie and a 6-2 triumph on Nov. 22-23.

NCHC FORECAST: In the inaugural NCHC Preseason Media Poll, UMD was projected for a sixth-place finish in the upstart league this winter while Miami University received top billing among the conference's eight schools with 115 points and seven first-place votes. The RedHawks were followed by North Dakota (109 pts., and five first-place votes), St. Cloud State University (99 and the remaining four first-place votes) the University of Denver (66 pts.), Western Michigan University (61 pts.), UMD (43), Colorado College (42 pts.) and the University of Nebraska-Omaha (41 pts.).
 
AYE, AYE CAPTAIN: Senior right winger Joe Basaraba and junior right winger Adam Krause have both been entrusted with team captaincy responsibilities for the Bulldogs in this, their 70th season of intercollegiate hockey. Krause is the first non-senior to serve as a UMD team captain since 2006-07.

BULLDOG BITS: Since dropping a 5-1 decision to Minnesota State University-Mankato on Feb. 9, 2013, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in seven of their eight home outings, going 6-1-1 with the lone loss occurring six weeks back (a 3-2 setback to the University of Notre Dame). During that stretch, UMD has outscored the visitors 29-12 while posting two shutouts.

• UMD's seven-member freshmen class is collectively averaging 3.0 points per game (14 goals and 22 assists in 12 outings) -- the sixth best figure in the country. Of UMD's top nine scoring leaders at the moment, four are rookies -- left wingers Alex Iafallo (5-5=10) and Kyle Osterberg (4-3=7), the NCHC Rookie of the Month for October, center Dominic Toninato (3-3=6) and defenseman Willie Raskob (0-6=6).

• UMD has lost but once in its six series rematch games this season (4-1-1) while averaging 4.0 goals per night in the process. In contrast, they are just 2-4-0 on Friday evenings and have scored at a 1.8 goals a game clip.

• Justin Crandall, who missed three games earlier last month with an upper body injury,  scored twice and added a pair of assists for a career-high four-point evening in UMD's series finale at Minnesota two weeks ago. Three of Crandall's five goals this season have been registered on the power play and three were game winners.

• UMD is still in search of its first shorthanded goal at AMSOIL Arena, which opened its doors for business on Dec. 30, 2011 and has hosted 53 Bulldog games thus far. Overall, UMD has generated three shorties over the past three seasons with two of those coming at Michigan Tech University (by current junior Adam Krause on Nov. 30, 2012 -- his first tally at UMD -- and by Keegan Flaherty on Dec. 2, 2011) and the other by Dominic Toninato in UMD's most recent activity (a 6-2 victory at the University of Minnesota on Nov. 24). Over that same period, the Bulldogs have been scored on seven times while a man up, including once this season.

• In the Bulldogs's 6-2 win at Minnesota two weeks ago, sophomore netminder Matt McNeely received his first start in goal in over a month (Oct. 16) and responded to the challenge by stopping 36 of 38 Gopher shots. The Burnsville, Minn., native currently ranks sixth in the nation --and second among NCHC puckstoppers -- in goals against average with a 1.78 mark. McNeely, who has never faced St. Cloud State, has given up only three even-strength goals in five appearances this year.

• This weekend marks the third time this season the Bulldogs will square off against a Top 2 nationally-ranked opponent. UMD already has wins over No. 1 Minnesota (6-2 on Nov. 24) and then No. 2 Notre Dame (4-1 on Oct. 26).

• All but one of rookie Alex Iafallo's team-leading 10 points this season have been registered away from AMSOIL Arena. That lone exception was an assist in a 4-1 triumph over Notre Dame on Oct. 26. Iafallo was blanked on both ends of the Minnesota series two weeks ago after entering that weekend with a five-game scoring streak in tow.

• Going back to a 5-4 home loss to Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in the 37 games that they've struck for four or more goals (33-0-4) That includes a 9-0-2 mark last winter and a 4-0-0 record in 2013-14.

• UMD (Jack Connolly in 2011-12) and St. Cloud State (Drew LeBlanc one year ago) have produced the last two Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners. Both of those two recipients, incidentally, were born in Duluth.

• The Bulldogs have gotten on the board first in eight of their 12 engagements thus far and are 6-1-1 when they've done so.

• St. Cloud State has been penalized only 43 times in 12 games so far while UMD has accrued 96 penalties (and nation-leading 19.0 minutes per game average) in that same amount of outings.

• Rookie right winger Sammy Spurrell has scored on two of his seven shots on net this season and both of those goals have turned out to be game winners.

• The Bulldogs own the country's eighth-best penalty killing efficiency rating (87.5 percent), but have given up six goals in 25 power play opportunities to the opposition over the past four games (24.5 percent).

• Junior right winger Adam Krause, who came into the year with two collegiate goals to his credit, has already scored three times this season with all coming in UMD's two-game set at North Dakota last month. Adam Krause has now skated in 66 straight games -- the longest active ironman streak on the club.

 • UMD ranks eighth nationally in shot margin (+6.67), having put an average of 32.17 pucks on goal per night while surrendering 25.50 shots to the opposition. That's the fifth fewest shots allowed in NCAA I hockey, taking a backseat only to Quinnipiac University 19.47 spg), Union College (21.85 spg), St. Cloud State (24.25 spg) and Clarkson University (25.07 spg). St. Cloud State's shot margin (+10.83) is the third highest in the country.

• After being kept off the scoresheet in the first four games of his collegiate career, rookie defenseman Willie Raskob has accumulated six points (all assists) in the seven outings since.

• 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 University advantage by scoring four goals in the final 20 minutes to upend the Huskies 5-3 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. UMD is 0-31-3 in that situation since then (0-5-0 in 2013-14).

• Senior defenseman Tim Smith is a team-leading +15 for his career and holds a share of the 2013-14 Bulldog lead (with freshman Willie Raskob) in that same department (+6).

• UMD is unbeaten in 42 of its last 48 overtime games (15-6-27; 0-1-5 in 2012-13 and 0-0-1 this season) dating back to the 2008-09 season opener, but hasn't won an extra session outing since the 2012 WCHA playoffs against Minnesota State-Mankato (3-2 in double overtime on March 10 in Duluth). No current Bulldog has ever scored in overtime as a collegian. North Dakota inflicted UMD's last overtime loss -- a 4-3 decision on Nov. 17, 2012).

• Rookie center Dominic Toninato is part of the 10th father-son combination to skate for the Bulldogs. Dominic's dad, Jim Toninato, was a four-year winger/center (1982-86) at UMD. Junior defenseman Derik Johnson's father, Jim Johnson, is also a UMD hockey alumnus (1981-85) and now an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks.

• Senior winger Max Tardy has not picked up a point since Jan. 12, 2013. That 11-game pointless drought is the longest of any active Bulldog.

ON DECK: The Bulldogs will make their final two appearances of 2013 next Friday and Saturday night at AMSOIL Arena by taking on Western Michigan University in a pair of NCHC confrontations.

SPREADING SOME CHRISTMAS CHEER:  This Saturday, UMD is partnering with the 148th Fighter Wing and the Salvation Army for the annual Toyland Express Toy Drive. Fans are encouraged to bring a unwrapped toy to AMSOIL Arena that night.