The University of Minnesota Duluth will make its final two road appearances of the 2013-14 regular season this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 28-March 1) when the Bulldogs pay a first-ever visit to Oxford, Ohio, for a two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference series with Miami University. The puck drops at 6:35 p.m. (CT) on Friday and 6:05 p.m. the following night at Steve Cady Arena (3,642) on the Miami campus.

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THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, who have lost four straight, are an even 13-13-4 overall and 8-10-2-2 in NCHC play (sixth place) while Miami, which has produced just one win in its last six outings (1-5-0), sports a 11-16-3 record in all games to go with a 5-14-1-1 league mark (eighth place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Miami 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    RV    NR    No. 20(t)
MU    No. 11    No. 11    No. 36(t)

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Miami clashes will be carried locally on 94X (94.1/104.3 FM) with Bruce Ciskie on the call. 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 in Duluth (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is airing Friday's game. Both ends of this weekend's series will also be videostreammed and can be viewed for a fee at: MURedHawks.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 244-242-67 overall record -- including a 122-82-30 mark (for a .585 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 Western Collegiate Hockey Association 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 season (Minnesota Wild). 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, 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.

The winningest coach in Miami history, Enrico Blasi is winding down his 15th season at the helm of his alma mater and has a 322-212-56 record to show for it (1-0-0 vs. UMD). The five-time Central Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year selection and the 2005-06 Spencer-Penrose Award recipient has directed Miami to nine NCAA Tournaments, including two Frozen Four berths, and three CCHA regular season titles during his time in Oxford.

THE SERIES: UMD and Miami have met just once previously -- at the 2008 West Regional title game in Minneapolis, where the RedHawks put the clamps on the Bulldogs' school-record six-game postseason winning streak with a 2-1 victory. UMD, which had captured its first WCHA playoff championship in 24 years one week earlier, was the regional's No. 2 seed while Miami was seeded fourth.

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs were swept for the second time in as many weekends, dropping a 3-0 decision to the University of North Dakota on Friday before being bested 6-2 by their long-time rivals the ensuing evening. Freshman left winger Kyle Osterberg and junior center Caleb Herbert accounted for the two Bulldog goals in the series. Herbert's even-strength tally at the 13:37 mark of the first period gave UMD its only lead (2-1) of the weekend. North Dakota went on to score four times in the second period and wound up cashing in on three of four power plays in the rematch.

The RedHawks, behind a two-goal night from winger Blake Coleman, shaded then No. 4-ranked St. Cloud State University 4-3 on Friday, but then came up empty on Saturday night in a 3-0 setback to the visiting Huskies.

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 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 (99 pts. 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.

A TALE OF TWO TEAMS: The Bulldogs have compiled a 9-6-1 record (.594) away from Duluth so far this winter, compared with a 4-7-3 (.393) home record. The following are some statistical comparisons:
    
                              Home    Away
Goals Per Game    2.1            3.4
Goals Allowed Per Game    2.9     2.9
Power Play Pct.    14.3        17.6
Penalty Kill Pct.    86.8    81.8
Shorthanded Goals    0    2
Goals Against Avg.    2.79    2.71
Saves Pct.    .892    .903
Plus/Minus    -50    +39
Shots Per Game    30.6    34.1
Scoring 5-Plus Goals    0    5
First Period Goals    14    16
Second Period Goals    8    18
Third Period Goals    7    20
vs. NCHC    2-6-2    6-4-0
Overtime    0-1-3    1-0-1

TOP 'DOG: Junior center Caleb Herbert, who has picked up a goal and/or an assist in eight of the last nine outings (he had his career-high seven-game scoring streak terminated in last Friday's 3-0 loss to North Dakota), continues to top the Bulldog scoring charts with 26 points. He's currently tied for fourth among NCHC skaters in even strength goals with nine (all of his goals thus far have been scored in that situation) and for ninth in overall assists (17).

MONEY IN THE BANK: Going back to a 5-4 home loss to Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in the 41 games that they've struck for four or more goals (36-0-5). That includes a 7-0-1 record in 2013-14.

THEIR BEST YET: Junior right winger and team co-captain Adam Krause, who entered the year with two collegiate goals in 66 lifetime games, has scored five times already this season with three of those coming in UMD's two-game set at North Dakota in late October. Krause, a 2013-14 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award winner, has now seen ice time in 84 straight games -- the longest active ironman streak on the club. He is one of five Bulldogs to establish career bests for points this season, joining sophomore defenseman Willie Corrin,
junior right winger Justin Crandall, sophomore center/wing Cal Decowski and sophomore left winger Charlie Sampair.

Player    Yr.    Pts.    Previous High
Willie Corrin    So.    6    1 (2012-13)
Justin Crandall    Jr.    18    16 (2012-13)
Cal Decowski    So.    11    8 (2012-13)
Adam Krause    Jr.    10    4 (2012-13)
Charlie Sampair    So.    6    2 (2012-13)

In addition, sophomore defenseman Andy Welinski (16 points), senior right winger Joe Basaraba (15 pts.) and junior defenseman Derik Johnson (three pts.) all are within two points of matching their respective personal highs.
        
SHOOTOUT STATS: The Bulldogs have won both of their NCHC shootout to date, defeating visiting Denver 2-1 in four rounds on Jan. 18 and Colorado College 1-0 in three rounds on Feb. 8 at AMSOIL Arena. The following are UMD's individual shootout numbers:

Player    Att.    Made    Missed    Pct.
Caleb Herbert    2    2    0    1.000
Alex Iafallo    2    1    1    500
Cal Decowski    1    0    1    .000
Kyle Osterberg    1    0    1    .000
Andy Welinski    1    0    1    .000

Goalie    Att.    Saves    Pct.
Aaron Crandall    7    6    .857

BULLDOG BITS: The Bulldogs' strength of schedule (SOS) coming into this weekend takes a backseat to no other NCAA I club in the country.

 • The seven-member UMD freshmen class has collectively figured in on 31 goals and 42 assists for 73 points -- the best rookie output among any NCHC institution and the 11th highest total nationally. Four Bulldogs rank among the NCHC's top 16 point-producing newcomers -- forwards Alex Iafallo (third; 21 points), Kyle Osterberg (tied for fourth; 19 pts.) and Dominic Toninato (14th; 12 pts.) and defenseman Willie Raskob (15th-tie; 11 pts). Iafallo leads all NCHC rookies both in road scoring with 17 points and overall shots (90) while Osterberg, the NCHC Rookie of the Month for October, paces the entire league in unassisted goals with three and has scored the game's first goal an NCHC-best four times.

• Iafallo, the reigning NCHC Rookie of the Month, is the lone active Bulldog with an overtime goal to his collegiate credit. The Eden, N.Y., product tallied with 26.5 left in sudden death to seal a 3-2 semifinal-round win over Minnesota State-Mankato in the North Star College Cup on Jan. 24. Iafallo holds the distinction of being the first Bulldog to ever score in an NCHC shootout (vs. Denver on Jan. 18) and is the NCHC's only three-time Rookie of the Week award winner this season. Iafallo has accumulated 80.9 percent of his scoring away from Duluth this winter (17 of 21 points) --the fourth highest mark of any Bulldog. Here are the top six UMD leaders in that department:

Player            Pct.    Points
Dominic Toninato        83.3    10 of 12
Willie Corrin        83.3    5 of 6
Austin Farley        81.2    13 of 16
Alex Iafallo            80.9    17 of 21
Sammy Spurrell        75.0    3 of 4
Willie Raskob        72.7     8 of 11
        
• The Bulldogs have drawn first blood in 12 of their 13 wins to date and are 12-3-2 overall when jumping out to a 1-0 lead (but a mere 1-10-2 when they opposition has done so).

• Junior right winger Justin Crandall, who skated in his 100th career game last Friday night against North Dakota, still paces the 2013-14 Bulldogs in power play goals with six even though he's hasn't scored with the man advantage since Dec. 14 vs. Western Michigan (a span of 14 games).

• UMD has put 33 or more shots on goal in 10 of its last 11 games.

UMD's eight defensemen have combined to score five goals (to go with 39 assists) in 2013-14 and sophomore Andy Welinski has all five of them. In fact, junior Derik Johnson (one) is the only current UMD blueliner besides Welinski (nine) with any career goals.
Welinski, a 2012-13 WCHA All-Rookie Team pick pieced together an eight-game scoring streak earlier in the year (the longest by any 2013-14 Bulldog).

•• 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 0-38-3 in that situation since then (0-12-0 in 2013-14).

• Sophomore center Tony Cameranesi, who has taken part in all 68 games since joining the Bulldog program one year ago, has put a team-high 95 shots on goal. That places the 2012-13 WCHA All-Rookie Team selection ninth among NCHC combatants.

• UMD has managed just one victory -- against Minnesota State University-Mankato in the North Star College Cup last month -- in its last 12 overtime bouts (1-3-8).
• Rookie center Dominic Toninato, one of 12 Bulldogs to reach the double-digit point mark this winter (five goals and seven assists), 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 NHL's San Jose Sharks. Derik Johnson ranks second only to Andy Welinski (44) among Bulldogs in blocked shots (41, including a UMD season-best eight against Western Michigan on Dec. 14).

• UMD has rolled up the third-most first-period goals of any NCHC club (30), trailing only St. Cloud Sate (37) and North Dakota (31).

• Defenseman Tim Smith, one of just four seniors on the 2013-14 Bulldog roster, is a team-leading +7 for his career while rookie point man Carson Soucy tops the 2013-14 Bulldogs in that statistical category at +6.

• UMD currently ranks 12th nationally and is second in the NCHC in penalty kill efficiency (84.0 percent), although Bulldog opponents have cashed in seven of 21 power play opportunities over the past five games.

• Senior goaltender Aaron Crandall, who had made 14 consecutive starts before sophomore Matt McNeely got the nod this past Saturday night, has established career-bests this season for appearances (25), starts (23) and victories (11). Crandall's career winning percentage of .555 (off a 27-21-6 record) is the third highest in program history at the moment, trailing only Rick Kosti (.753 between 1983-85) and Kenny Reiter (.657 from 2008-12).

• The Bulldogs are still in search of their first shorthanded goal at AMSOIL Arena, which opened its doors for business on Dec. 30, 2011 and has hosted 61 UMD games thus far. Overall, the Bulldogs have generated four shorties over the past three seasons with two of those being registered 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 others by Dominic Toninato in UMD's 6-2 thrashing of Minnesota on Nov. 24, 2013 and freshman left winger Kyle Osterberg against Minnesota State University-Mankato on Jan. 24. Over that same period, the Bulldogs have been scored on nine times while a man up, including thrice this season. Toninato and Osterberg are two of the three NCHC freshmen with a shorthanded goal on their stat line this season.

• UMD is 5-10-2 against nationally-ranked opponents in 2013-14 with those wins coming against No. 1 Minnesota (6-2 on Nov. 24 in Minneapolis, Minn.), No. 2 Notre Dame (5-1 on Oct. 26 in Duluth), No. 13 North Dakota (6-3 on Nov. 16 in Grand Forks, N.D.) and No. 20 Western Michigan (5-2 and 3-1 on Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Kalamazoo, Mich.).

• Left winger Kyle Osterberg has twice been cited as the NCHC's Rookie of the Week this season and received that conference's Rookie of the Month honor for October. All but three of his  12 goals to date have come in UMD triumphs.

• UMD's home attendance thus far (6,358 per night) is the seventh highest in the country. The Bulldogs played before two sellout crowds last weekend, including a gathering of 7,009 on Saturday -- the largest to ever take in a UMD home game.

• Freshman right winger Sammy Spurrell leads UMD in shooting percentage this winter, scoring on three of the 15 shots he's put on net (a .200 mark).

• The Bulldogs are 11-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period this season.

ON DECK: UMD will return to AMSOIL Arena on March 7-8 for its 2013-14 regular season finales against Nebraska-Omaha.