With the 2013-14 regular season now in its rear view mirror,  the University of Minnesota Duluth will shift its focus on the National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs and a best-of-three first round series with Western Michigan University. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday (March 14), Saturday and, if necessary, Sunday at AMSOIL Arena (6,756).
(Complete Release- pdf)

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 16-14-4 overall and went an even 11-11-2-2 in their first year of NCHC play. That was good for a share of fourth place in the final league standings with Western Michigan, which posted the same NCHC record as UMD and is 17-14-5 in all games.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and WMU 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    No. 20    NR    No. 18(t)
WMU    RV    NR    No. 21

ON THE AIR: UMD's entire playoff series 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 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) will air all of this weekend's action. Veteran sports anchor Tom Hansen and former UMD standout forward Judd Medak will serve as the on-air talent. My9 is also available locally on Charter and Mediacom cable. The telecasts 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 14th season behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 247-243-67 overall record -- including a 125-83-30 mark (for a .588 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.

Andy Murray (Brandon University, 1972), a 10-year NHL bench boss, is 57-37-19 in his three seasons of head coaching duty at Western Michigan (1-5-0 vs. UMD) and directed the Broncos to a NCAA playoff berth in 2011-12. The Souris, Manitoba, native racked up a career NHL record of 333-278-58-71 while spending six seasons (1999-2006) with the Los Angeles Kings (where he is that franchise's all-time victory leader) and four more with the St. Louis Blues (2006-10). His coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant with the NHL's Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota North Stars and Philadelphia Flyers. Murray, who served as Brandon University's (Manitoba) head coach for three seasons, guided Team Canada to gold medals at the 2007, 2003 and 1997 World Hockey Championships. His daughter, Sarah, was a four-year UMD hockey letterwinner who patrolled the blue line for a pair of NCAA championship clubs (as a senior in 2010 and in 2008) while his two sons -- Brady (North Dakota) and Jordy (University of Wisconsin) -- are both WCHA alumni.

THE SERIES: UMD and Western Michigan have butted heads on only eight occasions previously, including twice six weeks ago in both Kalamazoo, Mich., and two times at AMSOIL Arena back in December. The Bulldogs are are 7-1-0 all-time against the Broncos.

Date    Score    Site    
Feb. 1, 2014    UMD 3, WMU 1    Kalamazoo, Mich.
Jan. 31, 2014    UMD 5, WMU 2    Kalamazoo, Mich.
Dec. 14, 2013    UMD 4, WMU 3    Duluth, Minn.
Dec. 13, 2013    WMU 5, UMD 4    Duluth, Minn.
Jan. 7, 2012    UMD 5, WMU 2    Kalamazoo, Mich.
Jan. 6, 2012    UMD 4, WMU 1    Kalamazoo, Mich.
Oct. 18, 2008    UMD 6, WMU 5 (OT)    Duluth, Minn.
Oct. 17, 2008    UMD 5, WMU 2    Duluth, Minn.

LAST WEEKEND: UMD traded wins with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, opening up the two-game set with a 8-2 throttling of the visiting Mavericks on Friday before falling 4-1 one night later in the regular season finale for both clubs. Sophomore center Tony Cameranesi and junior right winger Justin Crandall both scored twice in the series opener while Crandall and Kyle Osterberg (one goal and two assists) both paced the Bulldogs offensively with three points. Crandall accounted for the lone UMD goal on Saturday, scoring midway through the first period, which knotted the game at 1-1.

WMU, likewise, settled for a NCHC series split on its final activity of the regular season, besting North Dakota 2-1 in Grand Forks, N.D., on Saturday after being blanked (2-0) one night earlier.

PLAYOFF PASTS: UMD produced a 24-10-2 record in 36 lifetime WCHA home playoff clashes before leaving that league at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season. That included a 10-2-0 mark under Scott Sandelin. In addition, the Bulldogs won each of their last five playoff series in Duluth, doing so at the expense of the University of Minnesota (three games in 1998), St. Cloud State (three games in 2003 and two games in 2011), Minnesota State University-Mankato (three games in 2004 and two games in 2012) and Colorado College (three games in 2010). UMD took part in 14 home playoff series during its 48-year stay in the WCHA and was defeated in only one of those (1996 by Michigan Tech University in two games).

A TIP OF THE HAT: Left winger Alex Iafallo was chosen to the 2013-14 NCHC All-Rookie Team, which was unveiled earlier this week. Iafallo, January's NCHC rookie of the month, currently ranks third among all NCHC newcomers in goals (11) and is tied for fourth in both points (22) and power play scores (four). He has also put 97 shots on goal do date-- a number unsurpassed by any league rookie. Besides holding the distinction of being the first Bulldog to ever score in a NCHC shootout (vs. the University of Denver on Jan. 18), he's the lone active UMD skater with an overtime goal to his collegiate credit (he struck with 26.5 left in sudden death to seal a 3-2 semifinal-round win over Minnesota State University-Mankato in the North Star College Cup on Jan. 24).

THIS HAS BECOME OLD HAT FOR OSTERBERG: For the second straight week and a NCHC-high fourth time this season, Kyle Osterberg was bestowed with the league's Rookie of the Week award. The left winger out of Lakeville, Minn., secured that honor after having a hand in four of UMD's nine goals last weekend. He closed out the series with one goal and three assists, was a +4, and also unleashed a team-high nine shots. Osterberg, the NCHC's Rookie of the Month for October, was announced as the 2013-14 winner of the Stauber Brothers Fan Favorite Award last week.

AT THE HEAD OF THEIR CLASS: Some 14 Bulldogs earned NCHC All-Academic status in 2013-14 with one of those, junior Adam Krause, gaining a spot on the eight-member NCHC Scholar-Athlete team. Besides Krause, the group of honored Bulldogs included seniors Aaron Crandall and Tim Smith, junior Justin Crandall, Alex Fons, Caleb Herbert, and Luke McManus, sophomores Tony Cameranesi, Cal Decowski and Charlie Sampair and freshmen Alex Iafallo, Dan Molenaar, Willie Raskob and Dominic Toninato. The NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team consists of one student-athlete from each of the eight league institutions. Each school selected its recipient based on criteria that included maintaining at least a 3.25 grade point average, demonstrating athletic achievement on the ice, and engaging in community service. To be eligible, a student-athlete also must have completed a full year at their school. Academic All-Conference recognition was given to any rostered player who achieved a 3.00 cumulative grade point average or above.

PLAYOFF PERFORMANCES: The top active Bulldog playoff (WCHA and NCAA) scoring leaders are as follows:

Name    GP    G    A    TP    +/-
Caleb Herbert    7    1    3    4    -3
Joe Basaraba    13    0    3    3    -1
Andy Welinski    2    0    1    1    -1
Luke McManus    2    0    1    1    0
Justin Crandall    7    1    0    1    -4
Max Tardy    9    1    0    1    -2
Adam Krause    7    0    0    0    -3
Tim Smith    7    0    0    0    -2
Tony Cameranesi    2    0    0    0    -2
Cal Decowski    2    0    0    0    -1
Austin Farley    2    0    0    0    -1
Charlie Sampair    2    0    0    0    0
Derik Johnson    1    0    0    0    -2
Willie Corrin    1    0    0    0    +1
Austyn Young    0    0    0    0    -

Name    GP/GS    W-L-T    GA    GAA    SVS     SVS%
Aaron Crandall    2/2    0-2-0    5    4.53    33    .868
Matt McNeely    2/0    0-0-0    1    1.18    28    .966
Alex Fons    0/0    0-0-0    0    0.00    0    .000

END OF THE LINE: This weekend's series will mark the final AMSOIL Arena go-around ever for UMD's four Bulldog seniors -- right winger Joe Basaraba, goaltender Aaron Crandall, defenseman Tim Smith and center Max Tardy -- as well as fourth-year junior defenseman Luke McManus (who is retiring at the conclusion of this season due to a chronic shoulder injury).

TOP 'DOG: Junior center Caleb Herbert, who has picked up a goal and/or an assist in 10 of the last 13 outings (a run that began on Jan. 25 in the North Star College Cup title game), continues to top the UMD scoring charts with 30 points. He's currently tied for fourth among NCHC skaters in even strength goals with 11(all of but one of his goals this winter have been scored in that situation), for 13th in assists (18) and for 14th in points.

ROOKIES ON THE RISE: The seven-member UMD freshmen class has collectively accumulated 35 goals and 51 assists for 86 points -- the highest rookie output of any NCHC institution and the 8th best total nationally. Four Bulldogs rank among the NCHC's top 17 point-producing newcomers -- forwards Kyle Osterberg (third; 27 pts.), Alex Iafallo (fourth; 22 points), and Dominic Toninato (14th; 14 pts.) and defenseman Willie Raskob (17th; 12 pts). Osterberg paces NCHC freshmen in goals (14), power play tallies (five) and shooting percentage (.161). He's also scored the game's first goal a NCHC-best five times. Osterberg and defenseman Carson Soucy are tied for fourth in NCHC rookie plus-minus rating (+9).

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 six times 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 seen ice time in 88 straight outings -- the longest active ironman streak on the club. He is one of seven Bulldog veterans to establish or career bests for points this winter, joining senior right winger Joe Basaraba, sophomore defenseman Willie Corrin, junior right winger Justin Crandall, sophomore left wingers Cal Decowski and Charlie Sampair and sophomore defenseman Andy Welinski.

Player    Yr.    Pts.    Previous High
Joe Basaraba     Sr.    17    17 (2012-13)
Willie Corrin    So.    7    1 (2012-13)
Justin Crandall    Jr.    25    16 (2012-13)
Cal Decowski    So.    13    8 (2012-13)
Adam Krause    Jr.    12    4 (2012-13)
Charlie Sampair    So.    6    2 (2012-13)
Andy Welinski    So.    19    18 (2012-13)

In addition, junior center Caleb Herbert (30 pts.) is within three points of equaling his previous best, which he set as a rookie.

MONEY IN THE BANK: Going back to a 5-4 home loss to Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in the 43 games that they've struck for more than three goals (38-0-5). That includes a 9-0-1 record in 2013-14.

A TALE OF TWO TEAMS: The Bulldogs have compiled an 11-6-1 record (.638) away from Duluth so far this winter, compared with a 5-8-3 (.406) home mark. The following are some statistical comparisons:
    
    Home    Away
Goals Per Game    2.4    3.4
Goals Allowed Per Game    2.9     2.9
Power Play Pct.    15.4    17.2
Penalty Kill Pct.    84.0    81.6
Shorthanded Goals    1    3
Goals Against Avg.    2.82    2.81
Saves Pct.    .892    .905
Plus/Minus    -33    +53
Shots Per Game    30.8    33.8
Scoring 5-Plus Goals    1    6
First Period Goals    17    16
Second Period Goals    10    23
Third Period Goals    11    16
vs. NCHC    3-7-2    8-4-0
Overtime    0-1-3    1-0-1

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN: The Bulldogs have drawn first blood in 14 of their 16 victories to date and are 14-3-2 overall when going up 1-0 (but a mere 2-11-2 when the opposition has done so). UMD has also rolled up the second most first-period goals of any NCHC club (33) but has also given up the second most scores during that same 20-minute frame (30).

POINTS FROM THE POINT: UMD's eight defensemen have combined to score five goals (to go with 45 assists) in 2013-14 and sophomore Andy Welinski has all five of them. Only four other blue line corps in the country have collected fewer goals as a unit than UMD. Junior Derik Johnson (one) is the only current UMD point man 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).

BULLDOG BITS: UMD's strength of schedule (SOS) still ranks first among all NCAA schools entering the weekend ... Left wingers Kyle Osterberg (four) and Alex Iafallo (three) were the only two players to land the NCHC Rookie of the Week Award three or more times this winter while senior Aaron Crandall was one of just three individuals to be named NCHC Goalie of the Week on more than two occasions (he did it three times) ... Last Friday, rookie Dominic Toninato potted his second career shorthanded goal (the first by a Bulldog in the first 64 games ever contested at AMSOIL Arena). Toninato's two shorties are most by a UMD skater since Mike Connolly scored four times while the Bulldogs were a man down in 2010-11. Toninato and Osterberg are two of the three NCHC freshmen with a shorthanded goal thus far in 2013-14 ... The Bulldogs are 13-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period this winter and 17-0-3 since falling 4-2 to Minnesota State-Mankato on Feb. 2, 2013 (after UMD had been up 2-0 at the second intermission). On the flip side, 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 DECC. UMD is 0-39-3 in that situation since then (0-13-0 in 2013-14) ... Aaron Crandall, UMD's starting goalie in 18 of the last 19 games, has established personal bests this season for victories (14), appearances (29) and starts (27). Crandall's career winning percentage of .579 -- off a 30-21-6 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). In four career appearances against Western Michigan, Crandall is 3-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .926 saves percentage ... Center Tony Cameranesi, who, along with fellow sophomore Andy Welinski, has taken part in all 72 games since joining the UMD program one year ago, has put a team-high 104 shots on goal. That places the 2012-13 WCHA All-Rookie Team selection 10th among NCHC combatants ... UMD currently ranks fourth in the NCHC in penalty kill efficiency (82.7 percent), although Bulldog opponents have cashed in 11 of 32 power play opportunities (34.3 percent) over the past eight games. UMD, meanwhile, has gone just 2-for-26 (7.7 percent) with the man advantage the last six outings ... Junior right winger Justin Crandall still tops the 2013-14 Bulldogs -- and is third in the NCHC -- in power play goals with six despite the fact he hasn't scored with the man advantage since Dec. 14 vs. Western Michigan (a span of 18 games) ... UMD has managed only one victory -- against Minnesota State-Mankato in the North Star College Cup this past January -- in its last 12 overtime bouts (1-3-8) ... UMD's home attendance thus far (6,382 per night) is the seventh highest in the country ... 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 forward (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. Johnson ranks second only to Andy Welinski (49) among Bulldogs in blocked shots (45, including a UMD season-best eight vs. Western Michigan on Dec. 14) ... The eight goals the Bulldogs rolled up last Friday were their most since they routed Michigan Tech 8-1 on Nov. 14, 2009 at the DECC ... Eleven of left winger Kyle Osterberg's 14 goals this season have come in Bulldog wins ... Willie Raskob, turns 19 on this Friday, is third among NCHC rookie defensemen in assists with 12.

TO THE VICTORS...: The four, first-round playoff series winners will advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff set for March 21-22 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.  The Bulldogs have never played in that downtown Minneapolis facility.