With a home National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoff berth at stake, the University of Minnesota Duluth will put the finishing touches on the 2013-14 regular season by hosting the University of Nebraska-Omaha this Friday and Saturday night (March 7-8). Both ends of the two-game series are scheduled for 7:07 p.m. starts at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

Complete Release (pdf)

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 15-13-4 overall and an even 10-10-2-2 in NCHC play (tied for fourth place with Western Michigan University) while UNO sports a 15-15-2 record in all games to go with a 12-8-2-1 league mark (third place and five points ahead of UMD).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and UNO 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. 19    NR    No. 17(t)
UNO    RV    NR    No. 28

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-UNO 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 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is airing the series opener this weekend while Saturday's game will be televised by KBJR-TV (Channel 6). 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 246-242-67 overall record -- including a 124-82-30 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.

Dean Blais (University of Minnesota, 1973) is in his fifth season of head coaching duty with the Mavericks and has an 89-83-18 record to show for it. Blais served in that same capacity for 10 years (1994-2004) at North Dakota where his troops captured two NCAA championships (1996-97 and 1999-2000) and five WCHA regular season crowns. He is 351-198-51 as a collegiate head coach, which includes a 32-15-2 mark against UMD. During Blais's first six years at North Dakota, one of his assistant coaches was current Bulldog bench boss Scott Sandelin.

THE SERIES: UMD and UNO will meet for just the 16th and 17th times ever this weekend. The Bulldogs hold a 10-5-0 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 5, 1997 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, and are 5-1-0 lifetime in Duluth. The Mavericks' last win in the rivlary came on Nov. 11, 2012 and since that time they dropped four straight to UMD, including a pair both two months ago (3-1 and 3-2 on Jan. 10-11 in Omaha) and in the 2012-13 regular season finales at AMSOIL Arena (5-4 and 6-0 on March 8-9).

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs closed out the road portion of their 2013-14 regular season schedule in style as they swept a two-game league set in their first ever visits to Miami University. On Friday night, UMD trailed 2-0 at the first intermission before scoring four times in the second period and then holding off the RedHawks for a 5-4 victory. Junior center Caleb Herbert collected  two goals while freshman left winger Kyle Osterberg added three assists for the Bulldogs, outshot Miami 27-17 over the final two periods of play and 33-24 on the night. In the series rematch, senior Aaron Crandall stopped all 30 RedHawk shots  and Osterberg provided UMD with all the scoring it would need with a second-period goal in a 1-0 triumph.

UNO, likewise, skated off with a NCHC series sweep, besting visiting Colorado College 6-0 Friday and 2-1 in overtime one night later.

SO HOW DID THE PROGNOSTICATORS FARE?: 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 SENIOR MOMENT: Saturday has been designated as UMD's annual Senior Night and the four Bulldog seniors -- right winger Joe Basaraba, goaltender Aaron Crandall, defenseman Tim Smith and center Max Tardy -- along with fourth-year junior defenseman Luke McManus (who is retiring at the conclusion of this season due to an injury) will be honored in a special pregame ceremony.

A WEEKEND FOR THE BOOKS: The last time UMD and UNO butted heads (Jan. 10-11, 2014), senior goaltender Aaron Crandall made what was then a career-high 38 saves in the series opener while preserving a 3-2 victory then bettered that mark with a 52-stop performance the following evening as Bulldogs subdued the hosts 3-1. The 52 saves were the most by a Bulldog since Josh Johnson finished with 62 in a 3-2 triple-overtime WCHA playoff loss at St. Cloud State on March 11, 2007. Crandall, who had never backstopped UMD to a series sweep prior to that weekend, also became the first Bulldog goalie to make 50 or more saves in a regulation win in almost 35 years (Bill Perkl had 51 stops in the Bulldogs' 8-7 road triumph over Wisconsin on Nov. 9, 1979).

TOP 'DOG: Junior center Caleb Herbert, who has picked up a goal and/or an assist in nine of the last 11 outings (a run that began on Jan. 25 in the North Star College Cup title game), continues to top the UMD scoring charts with 28 points. He's currently tied for third among NCHC skaters in even strength goals with 10 (all of but one of his goals have been scored in that situation) and for 15th in both points and assists (17).

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 4-7-3 (.393) home mark. 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    17.2
Penalty Kill Pct.    86.8    81.6
Shorthanded Goals    0    3
Goals Against Avg.    2.79    2.81
Saves Pct.    .892    .905
Plus/Minus    -50    +53
Shots Per Game    30.6    33.8
Scoring 5-Plus Goals    0    6
First Period Goals    14    16
Second Period Goals    8    23
Third Period Goals    7    16
vs. NCHC    2-6-2    8-4-0
Overtime    0-1-3    1-0-1

MONEY IN THE BANK: Going back to a 5-4 home loss to Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in the 42 games that they've struck for more than three goals (36-0-5). That includes a 8-0-1 record in 2013-14.

THREE'S A CHARM: Left wingers Kyle Osterberg and Alex Iafallo are the only three-time NCHC Rookie of the Week Award recipients while senior Aaron Crandall is one of just three individuals to land the NCHA Goalie of the Week citation on more than two occasions (he's done it three times). Osterberg's latest weekly award conquest came after he figured in on four of UMD's six goals in last weekend's road sweep over Miami.

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 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 seen ice time in 86 straight outings -- the longest active ironman streak on the club. He is one of five Bulldogs to establish career bests for points this winter, joining sophomore defenseman Willie Corrin,
junior right winger Justin Crandall, and sophomore wingers Cal Decowski and 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.    12    4 (2012-13)
Charlie Sampair    So.    6    2 (2012-13)

In addition, sophomore defenseman Andy Welinski (17 points) and senior right winger Joe Basaraba (16 pts.) both are within one point of matching their respective personal highs.

ROOKIES ON THE RISE:  The seven-member UMD freshmen class has collectively accumulated 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points -- the highest rookie output of any NCHC institution and the 11th best total nationally. Four Bulldogs rank among the NCHC's top 17 point-producing newcomers -- forwards Kyle Osterberg (third; 23 pts.), Alex Iafallo (fourth; 21 points), and Dominic Toninato (14th; 13 pts.) and defenseman Willie Raskob (17th; 11 pts). Osterberg paces NCHC freshmen in goals (13) and all league combatants in unassisted tallies (three -- he shares that distinction with North Dakota's Rocco Grimaldi). He's also scored the game's first goal a NCHC-best five times. Iafallo's  91 shots on goal this season take a backseat to no league rookie.  

YOU AGAIN?: This marks the second straight year  and the third time in the past four winters the Bulldogs will host UNO in their regular season finales.
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

POINTS FROM THE POINT: UMD's eight defensemen have combined to score five goals (to go with 41 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).

GETTING THE SHORT END: 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 five 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 versus Minnesota on Nov. 24, 2013, freshman left winger Kyle Osterberg against Minnesota State University-Mankato on Jan. 24, 2014 and Krause last Saturday night at Miami. Over that same period, the Bulldogs have been scored on nine times while a man up (five at AMSOIL Arena), including thrice this season. Toninato and Osterberg are two of the three NCHC freshmen with a shorthanded goal on their stat line this season.

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN:  The Bulldogs have drawn first blood in 13 of their 15 wins to date and are 13-3-2 overall when jumping out to a 1-0 lead (but a mere 2-10-2 when the opposition has done so).  UMD has also rolled up the third-most first-period goals of any NCHC club (30), trailing only St. Cloud State (39) and North Dakota (34).

BULLDOG BITS:  Alex Iafallo, the NCHC Rookie of the Month for February, 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). He's  accrued 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 five UMD leaders in that department:

Player            Pct.    Points
Willie Corrin        85.7    6 of 7
Dominic Toninato        84.6    11 of 13
Austin Farley        81.2    13 of 16
Alex Iafallo            80.9    17 of 21
Tony Cameranesi        76.5    13 of 17
        
On the flip side, here are the top five UMD leaders in home scoring percentage:

Player            Pct.    Points
Cal Decowski        72.7    8 of 11
Carson Soucy        60.0    3 of 5
Andy Welinski        52.9    9 of 17
Charlie Sampair        50.0    3 of 6
Kyle Osterberg        39.1    9 of 23

• The Bulldogs are 12-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period this season.

• Aaron Crandall, UMD's starting goalie in 16 of the last 17 games, has established personal bests this season for victories (13), appearances (27) and starts (25). Crandall's career winning percentage of .582 -- off a 29-20-8 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). Crandall, who posted one his five lifetime shutouts in UNO's last visit to AMSOIL Arena (6-0 on March 9, 2013), is 3-0-0 all-time against the Mavericks with a 1.00 goals against average and a .976 saves percentage.

• UMD's strength of schedule (SOS) ranks first among all NCAA schools entering the weekend.

• 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 16 games).

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

• Sophomore center Tony Cameranesi, who has taken part in all 70 games since joining the Bulldog program one year ago, has put a team-high 96 shots on goal. That places the 2012-13 WCHA All-Rookie Team selection 10th among NCHC combatants.

• 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).

• Bulldog sophomore defenseman Willie Corrin is the nephew of UNO head coach Dean Blais.

• UMD currently ranks third in the NCHC in penalty kill efficiency (83.7 percent), although Bulldog opponents have cashed in nine of 31 power play opportunities (29.0 percent) over the past seven games. UMD, meanwhile, has gone just 1-for-17 (5.9 percent) with the man advantage the last four outings.

• Nearly 30 percent of senior Joe Basaraba's career goals (8 of 27) have been registered against UNO

• Rookie center Dominic Toninato, who turns 20 his Sunday, 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 (47) among Bulldogs in blocked shots (44, including a UMD season-best eight against Western Michigan on Dec. 14).

• Ten of left winger Kyle Osterberg's 13 goals this season have come in Bulldog wins. Osterberg was the first-ever NCHC Rookie of the Month honoree (October).

• UMD's home attendance thus far (6,358 per night) is the seventh highest in the country. The Bulldogs played before two sellout crowds two weekends ago, including a gathering of 7,009 on Feb. 22 -- the largest to ever take in a UMD home game.

• Junior right winger Adam Krause  is expected to skate in his skate in his 100th collegiate game this Saturday night.