A pair of Top 10 nationally-ranked clubs who currently lead their respective conferences -- the University of Minnesota Duluth of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and Michigan Tech University of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association -- will renew their longstanding rivalry this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 12-13) in Houghton, Mich. The puck drops at 6:07 p.m. (CT) each night at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena (4,466) on the Michigan Tech campus.

Scott Sandelin's Weekly Press Conference
Complete Release (pdf)

THE RECORDS: UMD is 11-5-0 overall and 7-3-0-0 in the NCHC (tied for first place with Miami University) while Michigan Tech owns a 12-2-0 record in all games -- for a nation-leading .857 winning percentage -- to go with a 10-2-0 WCHA mark (tied for first place with Minnesota State University-Mankato).

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

    USCHO.com    USA Today    
UMD    No. 9    No. 9    
MTU    No. 4    No. 4    

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Michigan Tech clashes will be carried on 94X (94.1/104.3 FM) with Bruce Ciskie on the call. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing; KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia; Red Zone Sports Radio 1350 AM in Pine City; and KKIN-AM 930 in Atkin as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and at: 94xrocks.com.

In addition, both ends of this weekend's series will be videostreammed at: wcha.tv

THE COACH: 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 15th season behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 258-250-67 overall record -- including a 136-90-30 mark (for a .590 winning percentage) since the 2008-09 opener. Besides capturing the school's first NCAA championship four years ago, his Bulldogs have won 22 or more games in four of the last six seasons while advancing to four NCAA tournaments (2004, 2009, 2011 and 2012), two Frozen Fours (2004 and 2011) and seven of 11 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five playoff events between 2002-13. 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. In addition, Sandelin has seen 16 of his UMD pupils go on to do time in the National Hockey League and one take part in the Winter Olympic Games (Justin Faulk for Team USA in last winter). During the course of the 2011-12 season, the Bulldogs set a team 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, 50, 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 head coaching the Junior Elite Hockey League's Fargo-Moorhead Junior Kings after working in that same capacity (and doubling as general manager) the previous winter with the Fargo-Moorhead Express of the American Hockey Association. 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-American second team selection and All-WCHA first team pick as a senior, Sandelin went on to play professionally for seven years, 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 NCHC coaches to do time in the NHL (Denver's Jim Montgomery is the other), 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.


THE RIVALRY: This weekend's series will mark the 226th and 227th meetings ever between UMD and Michigan Tech. The Huskies hold a 119-85-21 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 31, 1952 at the old Duluth Curling Club. The two clubs last collied in the 2013-14 season openers (Oct. 11-12) in Duluth where UMD went unbeaten via a 2-1 win and 1-1 overtime tie.

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs returned from their first bye week of the 2014-15 season and upended Colorado College twice in pair of NCHC engagements at AMSOIL Arena. On Friday night, sophomore left winger Kyle Osterberg backhanded in a rebound at 3:32 of overtime to cap off a 3-2 come-from-behind victory. After falling behind 2-0 early in the second period, UMD struck for three unanswered goals -- by junior center Tony Cameranesi in the second period, sophomore left winger Alex Iafallo with 2:53 to go in regulation and Osterberg. in the rematch, the Bulldogs built a 4-0 lead and went on to down the Tigers 7-2. UMD got goals from seven different players, including junior defenseman Andy Welinski, who scored once and added two assists while Senior right winger Adam Krause (one goal, one assist), junior left winger Austin Farley (one goal, one assist), rookie right winger Karson Kuhlman (two assists) and junior center Cal Decowski (two assists) all had two-point outings for the Bulldogs, who outshot Colorado College 22-6 in the third period and 43-18 on the night.

Michigan Tech has been idle since sweeping the University of Alabama-Huntsville (4-2 and 5-2) in a two-game WCHA road set on Nov. 28-29. Husky junior left winger Alex Petan had three points, figured in on both game-winning goals and was +5 over the weekend en route to being named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week.

NCHC FORECAST: In the 2014-15 NCHC Preseason Media Poll, UMD was projected for a fifth-place finish in the second-year circuit while North Dakota received top billing among the conference's eight schools with 181 points and 12 first-place votes. North Dakota was followed by Miami (167 pts.; nine first-place votes), defending NCHC regular season champion St. Cloud State (151 pts. and the remaining four first-place votes), Denver (117 pts.), UMD (112 pts.), the University of Nebraska-Omaha (73 pts.), Western Michigan University (67 pts.), and Colorado College (32 pts.).

AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN: For the second straight season, Adam Krause has been entrusted with the Bulldogs' captaincy duties (he shared that role with the since-graduated Joe Basaraba in 2013-14) while fellow senior right winger Justin Crandall and junior defenseman Andy Welinski are serving as assistant captains.

THEY'VE HAD THEIR NUMBER: The Bulldogs are unbeaten in their last six confrontations with Michigan Tech, going 4-0-2 since being blanked 5-0 on Jan. 28, 2012 at AMSOIL Arena. That is the only time UMD has been derailed by the Huskies in the last 15 meetings between the two clubs (11-1-3).

MAKING THEMSELVES FEEL RIGHT AT HOME: No current 2014-15 Bulldog has ever experienced a loss at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena as UMD is unbeaten in its last seven visits there (6-0-1). That run began with a 3-2 victory on Feb. 6, 2010 -- one day after the Huskies had turned back the Bulldogs 3-1.

A ROOKIE ON THE RISE: Right winger Karson Kuhlman, will bring a six-game scoring streak -- the longest this year by any Bulldog -- into Friday night's clash in Houghton, Mich.  Among NCHC freshmen, The Esko, Minn., product is tied for second in goals (five), is fourth in points (10), tied for fifth in plus-minus rating (+4) and first in shots on net (34). He's also the only league newcomer with a shorthanded goal to his 2014-15 credit.

FAMILIAR FOES: The Bulldogs have butted heads with Michigan Tech on more lifetime occasions (225) than all but one opponent -- the University of Minnesota (226). UMD has also met both Michigan Tech and Minnesota on an annual basis since the 1961-62 season, making each the Bulldogs' longest continuous rivalry.

THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Goaltender Kasimer Kaskisuo, the Hockey Commissioners' Association Rookie of the Month for November, is expected to make his 14th consecutive start this Friday night. In his last nine appearances, Kaskisuo has compiled an 8-1-0 record, a 1.76 goals against average and a .927 saves percentage with one shutout (a 3-0 gem at Minnesota on Nov. 14 -- UMD's first blanking of the Gophers in Minneapolis since Feb. 23, 1973). He's also allowed just nine even-strength goals during that stretch (opponents scored six times on the power play and once on a penalty shot) and will come into this weekend sporting both the NCHC's fifth best goals against average (2.07) and fourth best saves percentage (.922). The Vantaa, Finland, native and former Minnesota Wilderness (North American Hockey League) puckstopper is the sixth European to enlist his services with the Bulldogs and first non-North American to play for 15th-year head coach Scott Sandelin. The five previous Europeans include goalie Nicklas Axelsson (Sweden, 1993-95), winger Pasi Korhonen (Finland; 1999-2000), winger Sergei Petrov (Russia, 1993-97), defenseman Roman Sindelar (Czechoslovakia; 1984-86) and center Max Wikman (Sweden, 1995-97).

SUPER SOPHS: UMD possesses the NCHC's highest- scoring sophomore class (it ranks sixth nationally) as its eight, second-year players have combined for 21 goals and 31 assists for 52 points. That is the exact scoring total the UMD's eight juniors have produced thus far (eighth nationally and second in the NCHC).

AS DECOWSKI GOES, SO GOES THE BULLDOGS: UMD is 7-1-0 this season when Cal Decowski has marked in the points column. The junior center shares the 2014-15 Bulldog lead for game-winning goals (two) and ranks second in assists (eight).

WELCOME BACK: After being sidelined the previous eight games with a wrist injury, senior right winger Adam Krause returned to the Bulldog lineup last Friday and wound up with three points (one goal and two assists) over the weekend against Colorado College.Krause, who is UMD's ninth multi-year captain and first since 2008-09 (left winger Andrew Carroll), had taken shifts in each of the prior 94 games -- the longest active ironman streak on the club at the time -- before being knocked out of commission. The 2013-14 NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team honoree picked up both his first career goal (a shorthander on Nov. 30, 2012) and assist (Dec. 3, 2011) against Michigan Tech at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Those remain his lone lifetime points vs. the Huskies.

GET SHORTIE: The five shorthanded goals UMD has generated this year are currently second only to North Dakota's eight among NCAA schools and are one more than its entire 2013-14 output. The school single-season record for shorties is 12 set by the 1992-93 Bulldogs, who were captained by current UMD assistant coach Derek Plante (who scored four times that year while his team was a man down).

THE COMEBACK KIDS: UMD has rallied from a second- intermission deficit to win twice in 2014-15 (3-2 at Omaha on Nov. 21 and 3-2 last Friday night vs. Colorado College). Prior to this year, the Bulldogs hadn't accomplished that feat since Nov. 10, 2010 when they erased a 2-1 Michigan Tech advantage by scoring four goals in the final 20 minutes to upend the Huskies 5-3 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. UMD was 0-43-3 in that situation prior to the Omaha series three weeks ago.

NO WALK IN THE PARK: Last weekend marked UMD's first matchups of the year against an unranked opponent. Among the nation's 59 NCAA I institutions, the Bulldogs have undertaken the second toughest schedule, taking a backseat only to NCHC colleague Omaha.

DIFFERENT DAY, DIFFERENT RESULTS: UMD is 4-4-0 on Friday nights this season (with the four victories coming in the past four series openers with St. Cloud State, Minnesota, Omaha and Colorado College) and 7-1-0 in series/tournament finales. Here are is a statistical breakdown of the two:
 

	Fridays	Finales
Goals	22	32
Goals Per Game	2.75	4.00
Goals Allowed	21	14
Goals Allowed Per Gam	2.62	1.75
Power Play Goals	7	10
Power Play Pct.	17.1	243.4
Power Play Goals Allowed	11	3
Penalty Kill Pct.	78.3	90.6
Shorthanded Goals	1	4
Saves Pct.	.898	.934
Shots Per Game	31.5	35.4
Shot Percentage	.087	.113
+/-	+22	+55
Scoring 4-Plus Goals	1	4

STILL THE TOP 'DOG: Sophomore center Dominic Toninato continues to reside among the NCHC leaders in a bevy of statistical categories including goals (tied for first with a career-high 10), shooting percentage (second with a .250 mark), plus-minus rating (tied for 5th at +9) and scoring (tied for ninth with 15 points, which equals his entire rookie year harvest). Toninato, the first NCHC Offensive Player of the Week honoree for 2014-15, also is tied for second in the league in penalties with 14, is third in penalty minutes (39) and is one of just four league skaters to score shorthanded twice.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROAD: Since the start of the 2013-14 season, UMD is an impressive 17-8-1 away from Duluth. The Bulldogs have compiled a 6-2-0 record in someone else's building this winter and have outscored the opposition 25-15 in the process.

THE MAGIC NUMBER: Going back to a 5-4 home loss to Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in the 47 of the 48 games that they've struck for more than three goals (42-1-5). The sole setback during that stretch was inflicted by Minnesota State-Mankato earlier this season (5-4 in overtime on Oct. 17 in Duluth).
 
FREE HOCKEY: The Bulldogs have been victorious in just three of their last 15 games that have gone into overtime, going 3-4-8 with the three victories coming at the expense of Colorado College last Friday (3-2), St. Cloud State on Nov. 7, 2014 (3-2), Minnesota State University-Mankato (5-4 in the opening round of the North Star College Cup in St. Paul on Jan. 24, 2014). Sophomore left wingers Alex Iafallo and Kyle Osterberg and junior center Cal Decowski are the only three active Bulldogs with an overtime goal to their collegiate credit (each has one).

BULLDOG BITS: The seven goals, 11 assists, 18 points and 76 total shot attempts UMD generated in last Saturday's 7-2 takedown of Colorado College were all 2014-15 single-game bests.

• Junior Andy Welinski owns the second best plus-minus rating (+11) of any NCHC combatant and ranks 15th nationally in that department. Among league defensemen, the Duluth, Minn., product ranks first in goals (a career-high six), second in points (12), sixth in blocked shots (27) and is one of two NCHC blueliners to collect a shorthanded goal this season. Collectively, UMD's eight-member back end corps has combined to rack up nine goals this year -- after mustering just five (all of which were produced by Welinski) during the 2013-14 season -- and 31 points.

• The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 22-9 in the third period in its 16 outings to date and 12-3 on the road.

• Not only have all five of Willie Raskob's points (one goal and four assists) been registered on the power play, they've all come within the confines of AMSOIL Arena as well.

• Dominic Toninato, who has racked up a team-high 10 points away from AMSOIL Arena this season, is part of the 10th father-son combination to skate for the Bulldogs (his dad, Jim Toninato, was a UMD forward between 1982-86). Senior defenseman Derik Johnson, the oldest 2014-15 Bulldog (he'll celebrate his 25th birthday this February), is the son of Jim Johnson, another UMD hockey alumnus (1981-85) and now an assistant coach with the NHL's San Jose Sharks.

• Sophomore Carson Soucy, the only UMD skater ever to be drafted by the Minnesota Wild (fifth round in 2013), is mired in an eight-game pointless drought. Soucy currently leads all 2014-15 Bulldogs in career plus-minus (+14).

• Both junior center Tony Cameranesi and junior defenseman Andy Welinski have taken part in all 90 games since joining the UMD program two years ago.

• UMD is one of three NCHC schools with two shutouts this season (Miami and Denver are the two others).Junior Matt McNeely posted one of those Bulldog shutouts -- a 3-0 win at Notre Dame on Oct. 12. His other career blanking came against Michigan Tech (1-0 0m Jan. 11, 2013 in Duluth)

• Junior right winger Austyn Young's father, John, played four seasons at Michigan Tech (1989-93) and currently ranks fourth on the Huskies' all-time charts for scoring and second for assists.

• UMD is tied for fourth nationally in power play goals (17) and second in man advantage opportunities (82). I has also averaged the eighth most shots on goal (33.44 per night) of any NCAA I club.

• The 10 shots Austin Farley put on target against Denver earlier this season (Oct. 25) were the most by a Bulldog in a regulation game in over two years (J.T. Brown also had 10 vs. Colorado College on Feb. 25, 2012). Farley currently is tied for fourth in the NCHC in power play points with eight.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR: The Bulldogs will be off until Jan. 2-3, 2015 when they pay a visit to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for a pair of exhibition engagements with Lakehead University (which UMD defeated 4-2 earlier this season at AMSOIL Arena. It will mark the first trip to Canada for a Bulldog club since Dec. 26, 1964.