The University of Minnesota Duluth will engage in its final non-conference road activity of the 2014-15 season this weekend beginning on Friday (Jan. 23) when the Bulldogs meet up with former Western Collegiate Hockey Association colleague Bemidji State University in the opening round of the second annual North Star College Cup. The puck drops at 4:05 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center (18,568) in St. Paul, Minn., and will precede the other semifinal clash between the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State University-Mankato. The North Star College Cup championship is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. the following evening with the third place game set to go at 4:05 p.m.

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THE RECORDS: UMD is 13-8-1 overall and 8-5-1-0 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (second place) while Bemidji State owns 7-12-3 record in all games to go with a 5-8-3 WCHA mark (seventh place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and the rest of the North Star College Cup field stacked up in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls as well as the PairWise rankings (as of Jan. 22):
 

	USCHO.com	USA Today	PairWise
UMD	No. 7	No. 7	No. 5
BSU	NR	NR	No. 38
UM	No. 17	RV	No. 19
MSU	No. 1	No. 1	No. 1

    
ON THE AIR: Both UMD clashes this weekend 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, the two North Star College Cup semifinals will be televised live by Fox Sports North PLUS while the third place and championship games will be aired on Fox Sports North. Only Minnesota's two games during the weekend are being videostreammed (BTN2Go.com).

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 260-253-68 overall record -- including a 138-93-31 mark 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: UMD and Bemidji State will meet for the 37th time ever Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs hold a 22-11-2 lead in the all-time series, which began back on Feb. 8, 1948 and are 17-12-2 against Bemidji State since it joined the NCAA I ranks in 1999-2000. The two clubs last squared off as WCHA rivals on Feb. 15-16, 2013 in Bemidji, where the Beavers followed up a 4-2 triumph with a 1-1 overtime tie.

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldog came away with just one of a possible six points in their two-game NCHC set with Western Michigan University at AMSOIL Arena. In its first home appearance in six weeks, UMD rallied for a 2-2 overtime tie with the Broncos on Friday, but lost the shootout (2-1), before falling 4-2 the following night. In the opener, the Bulldogs trailed 2-0 at the first intermission before forcing overtime on goals by sophomore defenseman Brenden Kotyk (5:01 of the second) and senior right winger Justin Crandall (4:57 of the third), who helped set up Kotyk's power play score. Crandall, Kotyk and Tony Cameranesi all turned in two point nights for UMD, which held the Broncos to just 16 shots while generating 26 of its own. On Saturday, Western Michigan used a three-goal third period to put the clamps on UMD's five-game home unbeaten streak before a sellout Hall of Fame Game crowd of 6,873. Six different Bulldogs marked in the points column, including the two goal scorers -- Cameranesi and sophomore left winger Alex Iafallo. Western Michigan went 2-for-4 on the power play while the Bulldogs were blanked on all five of their man advantage opportunities.

Bemidji State was upended twice (1-0 Friday and 4-2 Saturday) by Lake Superior State University in a pair of WCHA road bouts. Left winger Markus Gerbrandt and center Cory Ward accounted for the two Beaver goals over the weekend.


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.

TOURNEY TIDBITS: The Bulldogs have been beaten in back-to-back games only once in their 34 lifetime regular season tournaments. That occurred two years ago at the Florida College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla. (1-0 to the University of Maine and 6-2 to Ferris State on Dec. 28-29, 2012). UMD launched its 71st season of hockey this past October by claiming third place at the Ice Breaker Tournament on the University of Notre Dame campus (following up a 5-4 semifinal round loss to Minnesota by toppling the host club 3-0 two days later).

TOURNEY TIDBITS II: The last time UMD laid claim to a regular season tournament title was in 2001-02 when it launched that season with successive victories over host Nebraska-Omaha (5-2) and the University of Michigan (3-2) on is way to capturing the Maverick Stampede championship. The Bulldogs have taken part in nine tourneys since and have posted runnerup finishes five times -- at the 2014 North Star College Cup, the 2010 Sheraton/TD Bank Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vt., the 2009 Shillelagh Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill., the 2005 Florida College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla., and the 2001 Silverado Shootout in Duluth.

TOURNEY TIDBITS III: UMD has faced Bemidji State only once previously in a regular season tournament and that came in the first round of the 1973 Christmas City of the North Tournament at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center where the Bulldogs prevailed 10-2.

SOME TOUGH SLEDDING: Only four (Colorado College on Dec. 5-6 and Western Michigan last weekend) of UMD's 22 games thus far have been against unranked opponents. The Bulldogs have faced a No. 1 outfit five times in 2014-15, going 3-2-0 (2-1-0 versus Minnesota and 1-1-0 against North Dakota on Jan. 9-10).

ONE CLASSY GUY: Senior right winger Adam Krause is one of 20 NCAA I I hockey players who have been chosen as candidates for the 2014-15 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to an NCAA I athlete in 10 sports (men's hockey, baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's lacrosse, softball, football, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball) based on achievement in the "Four C's" -- classroom, character, community and competition.

From the list of 20 candidates (five of whom compete in the NCHC), a national committee will select 10 finalists later this winter. The 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media, and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four, which is set for April 9 and 11 in Boston, Mass..

Krause, a native of Hermantown, is the Bulldogs' first two-time team captain since the 2007-08 season. Although he was sidelined for eight games earlier this year with a wrist injury, Krause still has generated eight points and currently ranks second on the club in plus-minus rating (+9). A finance major who maintains a 3.75 cumulative grade point average, Krause was selected to the inaugural NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team as a junior after securing  a WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award the previous season. Away from the rink and the classroom, he's been involved in a host of volunteer endeavors over the past four years and was a finalist for UMD Athletic's Shjon Podein Community Service Award one year ago.

Hober Baker Memorial Award winner and three-time All-American center Jack Connolly earned the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in 2011-12 while another Bulldog alumnus, senior winger Andrew Carroll, was a finalist three years earlier.

ON A ROLL: Junior center Tony Cameranesi will enter this weekend's North Star College Cup armed with a career-high nine-game scoring streak. He has also picked up at least one point in 11 of the last 12 games and currently tops the Bulldogs in assists with 12. Both Cameranesi and junior defenseman Andy Welinski have taken shifts in all 96 games since joining the UMD program two years ago.

ROAD, SWEET ROAD: Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Bulldogs are an impressive 19-10-1 away from Duluth. They've gone 8-4-0 in someone else's building this winter while outscoring the opposition 37-26 (19-7 in the third period) in the process.

STILL THE TOP 'DOG: Sophomore center Dominic Toninato, who sat out last Saturday's 4-2 setback to Western Michigan while serving a one-game suspension stemming from a major penalty he incurred the previous evening, ranks second in the NCHC in goals with a career-high 13 (one back Omaha's Austin Ortega). Of Toninato's team-leading 19 points, 15 (nine goals and six assists) have been generated in Bulldog victories and 14 (a league-best nine goals and five assists) have come on the road. The Duluth East High School alumnus is also second among NCHC combatants  in even-strength goals (eight) and is tied for seventh in plus-minus (+11). Toninato, who has struck for a goal in a NCHC-high 11 different games this season and is one of 16 players in the country with two shorthanded goals to his credit, holds the distinction of being the only two-time recipient of the NCHC Offensive Player of the Week Award in 2014-15.

THEIR BEST YET: Toninato is one of three Bulldog veterans who have already established career bests for points this winter:
 

Player	Yr.	Pts.	Previous	High
Dominic Toninato	So.	19	15	2013-14
Carson Soucy	So.	7	6	2013-14
Austyn Young	Jr.	9	2	2013-14

    

SAVING THEIR BEST FOR LAST: UMD's 31 third-period goals are the most of any NCHC club and rank fifth nationally. The Bulldogs top the NCHC in overtime wins (two) this season and nationally only Air Force and Providence College (with three each) have more.

FREE HOCKEY: UMD has managed to win just three of its last 16 games that have gone beyond regulation, going 3-4-9. Those three three victories came at the expense of Colorado College on Dec. 6, 2014 (3-2), St. Cloud State on Nov. 7, 2014 (3-2) and Minnesota State-Mankato (5-4 in the opening round of the North Star College Cup in St. Paul on Jan. 24, 2014). Only three current Bulldogs -- sophomore left wingers Alex Iafallo and Kyle Osterberg and junior center Cal Decowski -- have an overtime goal to their collegiate credit (one each).
SOME CLOSE SHAVES: Nine of the last 15 bouts between UMD and Bemidji State have been decided by one goal or less and six have required overtime. The only game during that stretch that had a margin of victory greater than two goals was a 6-2 Bulldog triumph on Oct. 28, 2012.

FOUR'S A CHARM: Going back to a 5-4 loss to visiting Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in 48 of the 49 games they've struck for more than three goals (43-1-5). The sole setback during that stretch was inflicted by Minnesota State Mankato earlier this year (5-4 in overtime on Oct. 17 in Duluth).
    
BULLDOG BITS: UMD is one of just two NCHC clubs (North Dakota is the other) that has not lost back-to-back games this season.

 • Goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo, the Hockey Commissioners' Association Rookie of the Month for November, has now made 19 consecutive starts. The last time he faced Minnesota outside of Duluth (Nov. 14, 2014 at Mariucci Arena), he backstopped the Bulldogs to a 3-0 triumph -- UMD's first blanking of the Gophers in Minneapolis since Feb. 23, 1973. Among the nation's first-year netminders, Kaskisuo reigns as the leader in victories (12), is third in winning percentage (.658 off a 12-6-1 record), sixth in saves (456) and seventh in both goals against average (2.25) and saves percentage (.914). 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.

•UMD possesses both the NCHC's second-highest scoring sophomore and junior classes. The Bulldogs' eight, second-year players have combined for 66 points on 29 goals and 37 assists (only Omaha, with 79 points, has more) while the eight juniors have been credited with 71 points (four back of league leading St. Cloud State).

• In their opening 11 games of 2014-15, the Bulldogs cashed in on a nation-leading 15 of their 63 power play opportunities (.238) and in the 11 games since they have gone 5-for-43 (.116)

•The five shorthanded goals UMD has amassed this year are third only to North Dakota's eight and Union College's seven 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. That club was captained by current UMD assistant coach Derek Plante (who scored four times that year while his team was a man down). UMD has now gone 14 games (since Nov. 1 vs. visiting Miami) without scoring while a man down.

• The Bulldogs are 10-6-1 in 17 lifetime engagements at the Xcel Energy Center. One of those losses was inflicted by Bemidji State (3-2 in overtime) in the 2011 WCHA playoffs play-in game.

• Among NCHC newcomers, right winger Karson Kuhlman is tied for second in shots on goal (47), for sixth in goals (five) and for seventh in scoring (12 points), and is also the only league rookie with a shorthanded goal to his 2014-15 credit.

• UMD has been outshot in just three of its 22 games to date and hasn't wound up with fewer shots than the opposition in any of its last 13 outings. The Bulldogs's 33.86 shots per night average is the eighth best figure in the country at the moment.

•Junior Andy Welinski has the second most goals (six) and the seventh-best plus-minus rating (+7) of any NCHC defenseman to date. He's also one of just three league blueliners  with a shorthanded goal. Collectively, UMD's eight-member back end corps has combined for 13 goals this year -- after mustering just five (all of which were produced by Welinski) during the entire 2013-14 season -- and 43 points. Sophomore Brenden Kotyk, who spent his rookie collegiate season at the College of St. Scholastica, pumped in his first Bulldog goal last Friday night against Western Michigan and ultimately finished with a three-point weekend.

•Sophomore Carson Soucy, the only UMD skater ever to be drafted by the Minnesota Wild (fifth round in 2013), continues to sport the best career plus-minus rating (+13) of any active Bulldog.

•UMD has rallied from a second- intermission deficit to win twice in 2014-15 (3-2 at Omaha on Nov. 21 and 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 6 vs. Colorado College in Duluth). Coming into 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 DECC. UMD was 0-43-3 in that situation prior to the Nov. 21 matchup with Omaha.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will resume NCHC warfare with a two-game set at the University of Denver on Jan. 30-31.