Eight days later than originally scheduled, the University of Minnesota Duluth will alas make its 2015-16 AMSOIL Arena debut this Saturday night (Oct. 17) when the Bulldogs host the University of Minnesota in the back end of a home-and-home series. Opening face off is set for 7:07 both Friday at Mariucci Arena (10,000) on the Minnesota campus and AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

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THE RECORDS: UMD and Minnesota are each off to 0-1-0 starts this season. The Bulldogs closed out 2014-15 at 22-16-3 overall, placed fifth in the NCHC standings at 12-9-3-0, advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA playoffs and held down the No. 6 slot in the final USCHO.com poll. Minnesota owned a 23-13-3 mark in all games one year ago and along the way won both the Big Ten regular season (12-5-3) and playoff titles and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Gophers stacked up in this week's USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls:

    USCHO.com    USA Today/USA Hockey
UMD    No.7    No. 7
UM    No. 15    No. 13
    
ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Minnesota bouts will be carried live locally on 92.1 FM The Fan with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play responsibilities and ex-Bulldog winger Kraig Karakas providing color commentary. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing, Minn.; KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia, Minn.; 105.7 FM The Fan Siren/Pine City, Minn., and Red Zone Sports Radio 930 in Aitkin, Minn., as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and at: 921thefan.com or free via the iHeartRadio app.

This weekend's series will also be televised on Fox Sports North with Doug McLeod and Ben Clymer serving as the on-air talent. In addition, Friday's telecast is available on-line at BTN2Go and Saturday's at : nchc.tv/umd.

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 16th season behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 268-262-70 overall record -- including a 146-102-33 mark since the 2008-09 opener. Besides capturing the school's first NCAA championship four years ago, his Bulldogs have won 20 or more games in five of the last seven seasons while advancing to five NCAA tournaments (2004, 2009, 2011,2012 and 2014), 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 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: Friday evening's clash will mark the 229th meeting ever between the Bulldogs and Gophers. Minnesota holds a 134-77-17 lead in the rivalry, which began back on Dec. 1, 1952 at the Hippodrome in Eveleth, Minn.
The Bulldogs went 4-1-0 against Minnesota in 2014-15, posting four straight victories (3-0 in Minneapolis on Nov. 14, 2-1 at AMSOIL Arena on Nov. 15, 2-1 at the North Star College Cup in St. Paul on Jan. 24 and 4-1 on March 27at the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinals in Manchester, N.H.) after dropping a 4-3 decision in the season-opening Ice Breaker Tournament in South Bend, Ind., on Oct. 10. Do the math and that's five different games at five different sites.

LAST WEEKEND: UMD's launching of its 72nd season of intercollegiate hockey was delayed one day when a power outage at AMSOIL Arena forced the postponement of Friday's home-and-home series opener with former Western Collegiate Hockey Association adversary Bemidji State University. The site shifted the following evening to the Sanford Center, where the host Beavers scored with 22.7 seconds remaining in regulation to stymie the Bulldogs 3-2. Following a scoreless first period in which UMD outshot its intrastate rivals 12-5, senior defenseman Andy Welinski pocketed the Bulldogs' first goal of the new season at 15:34 of the second period when he beat Beaver goaltender Michael Bitzer through the five hole with a wrister from the right face off dot. The Beavers struck a little under two minutes later on that same five-minute major power play and then grabbed their first lead of the night 5:28 into the third. It took UMD just 28 seconds to answer, however, as senior right winger Austyn Young pumped in a shot from down low after junior left winger Kyle Osterberg had forced a turnover in the Beaver zone. Sophomore goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo, finished with 30 saves while Bitzer made 28 stops for Bemidji State, which extended its unbeaten streak against UMD to five games (4-0-1).

Minnesota also made its 2015-16 debut and suffered a 3-0 home takedown at the hands of the University of Vermont Saturday night in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: Andy Welinski has been entrusted with the Bulldogs' team captaincy duties in 2015-16 after handling an assistant role as a junior last winter. The senior forward trio of Tony Cameranesi, Cal Decowski and Austin Farley are serving as assistant captains.

MEDIA PICK UMD AS NCHC'S TOP DOG IN 2015-16: Media that cover the NCHC collectively saw the Bulldogs as the team to beat in 2015-16. UMD received 17 of 30 first-place votes and totaled 208 points to place first in the NCHC Preseason Poll. The University of Denver was picked second with 187 points and seven first-place votes followed by the University of North Dakota, the defending Penrose Cup champions (183 points and four first-place votes), the University of Nebraska-Omaha (148 points.), Miami University (142 points and two first-place votes), last year's NCHC Frozen Faceoff titleholder, St. Cloud State University (117 points), Western Michigan University (60 points) and Colorado College (35 points).

This is the first time since the 2004-05 season that the Bulldogs have been picked first in any preseason league poll. UMD was at that time a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

YOU AGAIN? UMD has butted heads with Minnesota on more lifetime occasions (228) than any other opponent. The Bulldogs have also met the Gophers on an annual basis since the 1961-62 season, making it their longest continuous rivalry. (That honor is shared with Michigan Tech University, which, however, will not play UMD during 2015-16 regular season).

GOPH BUSTERS: Last year marked just the second time in program history the Bulldogs claimed four or more wins in a single season at Minnesota's expense (4-1-0) . The other occasion was in 2003-04 when UMD went 5-1-0 against its intrastate rival (4-0 during the regular season, 0-1 in the WCHA playoffs and 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament).

DANDY DEBUTS: The Bulldogs are unbeaten in eight of their last nine home openers (7-1-1) and had won seven consecutive home debuts before being upended 5-4 in overtime by Minnesota State University-Mankato last year (Oct. 17).

THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Both of UMD's two veteran goaltenders -- sophomore Kasimir Kaskisuo and senior Matt McNeely -- have put up some impressive lifetime numbers against Minnesota. Kaskisuo is 3-1-0 with a 1.51 goals against average and a .938 saves percentage. He also registered one of just two shutout road victories (the other came way back on Feb. 23, 1973) over Minnesota with a 3-0 gem on Nov. 14, 2014. McNeely is has compiled a 2-1-1 record in five appearances to go with a 2.20 goals against average and a .933 saves percentage.  In addition, his two highest single-game save outings (38 and 36 stops) have been registered in victories over Minnesota.

UMD AT A GLANCE: The Bulldogs retain 21 of 25 lettermen from last year's club and those 21 veterans accounted for 85 percent of UMD's scoring production (255 of 300 points) and 81.7 percent of its goal total (94 of 115). Eight of the Bulldogs' top10 point producers from a year ago are back, including senior center Tony Cameranesi, who finished atop the UMD scoring charts for the second time in three years with 30 points on nine goals and 21 assists. Junior center Dominic Toninato (a team-leading and career-high 16 goals) was next followed by junior left winger Alex Iafallo (8-17=25) and senior left winger Austin Farley (8-16=24). In addition, UMD returns its two netminders who did crease time last winter -- ironman Kasimir Kaskisuo, a member of the 2014-15 NCHC All-Rookie team, and senior Matt McNeely.

BULLDOG BITS: Both senior center Tony Cameranesi and senior defenseman Andy Welinski have taken shifts in all 115 games since the start of the 2012-13 season. Cameranesi paces all active Bulldogs in lifetime points (86) while senior left winger Austin Farley ranks first in both goals (31) and power play scores (15). Junior defenseman Carson Soucy, the lone Bulldog to ever be drafted by the Minnesota Wild (fifth round in 2013) sports the best plus-minus figure (+20).

• The last time Minnesota paid a visit to Duluth (Nov. 15, 2014), a record 7,424 spectators jammed AMSOIL Arena and were treated to a 2-1 UMD victory.

• Junior left winger Kyle Osterberg possesses UMD's longest active scoring streak at three games. In last Saturday's 3-2 setback to Bemidji State, both Osterberg and junior defenseman Carson Soucy were assessed five-minute penalties, marking the first time since Feb. 8, 2014 (vs. Colorado College) that two Bulldogs received a major in the same game. Soucy, who was also given a game disqualification penalty for contact to the head in Bemidii, will have to sit out Friday's matchup with Minnesota after being issued a one-game suspension by the NCHC in accordance with that league's supplemental discipline policy.

• Going back to a 5-4 loss to visiting Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in 53 of the 54 games they've struck for more than three goals (48-1-5). The sole setback during that stretch was inflicted by Minnesota State-University on Oct. 17, 2014 in Duluth (5-4 in overtime).

• Two of UMD's five 2015-16 rookies -- left winger Adam Johnson and defenseman Neal Pionk -- debuted with the Bulldogs last Saturday night. Johnson is part of the 11th father-son combinations that have been part of the UMD program. His dad, Davey Johnson, was a four-year letterman and captained the Bulldogs as a senior center in 1980-81. Junior center Dominic Toninato also followed in his father's footsteps (Jim Toninato, 1982-86).

• Of the eight NCHC head coaches, only one (Miami's Enrico Blasi with 17 seasons) has at his current school longer than Scott Sandelin (16 seasons).

• 2015-16 Preseason praise was heaped upon senior defenseman Andy Welinski (College Hockey News All-American Team and All-NCHC Team) as well as sophomore goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo (All-NCHC Team).

• UMD's eight-member senior class is its largest since the 2003-04 season (11).

• UMD did something last winter it had done only one other time in 54 years of competing at the NCAA I level -- go through an entire regular season without being swept. (The Bulldogs also accomplished that feat in 2010-11). North Dakota was the only other 2014-15 NCHC school to make that claim.

• The Bulldogs' eight defensemen finished with 25 goals in 2014-15 -- the seventh highest output in the nation. Those 25 goals were also the most by a UMD blue line ensemble since 2003-04 (also 25) and 20 more than the previous winter when all five scores came off the stick of Andy Welinski. Welinski became the first individual in 31 years to lead all Bulldog blueliners in scoring for a third straight winter. (Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Tom Kurvers did it four times from 1980-84).

• Excluding a season-ending injury to sophomore right winger Sammy Spurrell (which he incurred three weeks into the year and was granted an extra year of eligibility for it as a medical redshirt), injuries and illnesses to seven other Bulldogs cost UMD 53 man games in 2014-15. Topping that list was current junior defenseman Dan Molenaar (13 games) and sophomore pointman Nick McCormack (11).

• UMD was slotted second in the first USCHO.com poll and that represented its highest preseason ranking in that poll's history (bettering the No. 5 position it occupied in 2004-05).

UP NEXT: UMD will hit the road for a pair of non-conference engagements at the University of Notre Dame on Oct. 23-24.