The University of Minnesota Duluth will make its final two road appearances of 2015 this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 20-21) when the Bulldogs pay a visit to Colorado Springs, Colo., for two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference series with Colorado College. The puck drops at 8:37 p.m. (CT) Friday and 8:07 p.m. the following night at the Broadmoor World Arena (7,380).

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THE RECORDS: UMD, which was ranked 17th in this week's USCHO.com poll, is 3-5-3 overall and 0-3-1-1 in the NCHC (seventh place) this season while Colorado College sports an 0-10-0 record in all games and a 0-4-0-0 NCHC mark (eighth place).
    
ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Colorado College bouts will be carried live on 92.1 FM The Fan with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play responsibilities. 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.

My 9 in Duluth (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) will air Friday's game and both ends of this weekend's series will be videostreammed 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 271-266-73 overall record -- including a 149-106-36 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 in 2014).

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Colorado College have collided on 180 previous occasions in a rivalry which began on Jan. 4, 1961 at the old Duluth Curling Club. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 92-80-8, and are unbeaten in 18 of their last 23 bouts with the Tigers (15-5-3). The two clubs met just twice during the 2014-15 season and UMD prevailed in that Dec. 5-6 series with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory in the opener and a 7-2 takedown of the Tigers the next night.

LAST WEEKEND: UMD managed two points against the University of Denver in its first home series of the young NCHC season. The Bulldogs fell 3-0 on Friday and then skated to a 1-1 deadlock with the Pioneers before winning the 3 x 3 shootout in the rematch. Evan Cowley posted his second straight shutout over the Bulldogs (his other came last March in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs) by turning aside all 27 shots UMD sent his way while his teammates cashed in on two of six power play opportunities. On Saturday, UMD outshot Denver 46-20, but only had senior center Tony Cameranesi's third-period goal to show for it through the end of regulation and five-minute overtime. Cameranesi struck 2:45 into the 3-on-3 extra session to give the Bulldogs the bonus point.

Colorado College has been idle since being ambushed twice by longtime intrastate rival Denver in its 2015-16 NCHC debuts, falling 5-3 on Nov. 6 in Denver and 3-1 some 24 hours later at home. Luc Gerdes accounted for two of Colorado College's three goals in the 5-3 loss and a pair of Bradleys -- Cody (Friday) and Trey (Saturday) -- added the other two weekend scores for the Tigers.

TIGER TAMERS: The Bulldogs will enter the weekend armed with a five-game unbeaten streak against the Tigers, having gone 4-0-1 during a run that began on Feb. 13, 2014.

TIGER TAMERS II: In his second visit ever to the Broadmoor World Arena (Oct. 19, 2013), then-rookie Alex Iafallo scored two goals and finished with three points  -- both single-game career bests -- in  5-1 besting of Colorado College.  Junior left winger Kyle Osterberg's first collegiate goal came at the expense of the Tigers on that same night while junior defenseman Brenden Kotyk registered his first point as a Bulldog against Colorado College on Dec. 6, 2014.

BUT HE DID IT FIRST: Senior center Tony Cameranesi, who returned to the Bulldog lineup last weekend after missing the previous two games with an upper body injury, scored the NCHC's first-ever 3 x 3 power play goal Saturday against Denver. Cameranesi, who also collected UMD's lone regulation goal that night -- and its only score on the weekend, continues to pace the Bulldogs in scoring with nine points in nine outings. He is one of just 12 NCHC skaters who is averaging a point or better per night thus far. The Bulldogs' leading scorer in two of the past three seasons, Cameranesi has racked up a 94 points as a collegian, which means he needs just six more to become the 55th member of UMD's Century Club. The last Bulldog to crack the 100-point career plateau was center Travis Oleksuk during the 2011-12 season.

FIRE AWAY: UMD is averaging 37.0 shots on goal per night -- the fourth highest average in the country and best mark at the moment, bettered only by Penn State University (47.1), University of Michigan (40.7) and Quinnipiac University (37.5). Junior center Dominic Toninato is tied for fifth nationally in total shots with 47 and ranks second among NCHC skaters in that department. The Bulldogs have held the upper hand in shots in eight of their 11 games this season and are 0-3-0 when they've not done so.

OHHHH-VERTIME: UMD has won just three of the last 22 games that have required overtime, going 3-5-14. Only three active Bulldogs -- junior right winger Alex Iafallo, junior left winger Kyle Osterberg and senior center Cal Decowski -- have an overtime goal on their collegiate resume. UMD's last extra-session victory came on Dec. 5, 2014 -- a 3-2 decision over Colorado College at AMSOIL Arena in which Osterberg scored the overtime winner.

ALL ALONE: Sophomore Kasimir Kaskisuo has tended goal for all of his team's NCHC games (28 thus far) since the start of the 2014-15 season -- the only individual who can make that claim. A member of the 2014-15 NCHC All-Rookie Team who last spring became just the third NCAA I-era (1961-present) freshman to be named UMD's Most Valuable Player, Kaskisuo has now made 23 consecutive starts going back to Feb. 13, 2015. A NCHC-leading 11 of those starts have been registered this season. In two lifetime appearances against Colorado College, the 2015-16 All-NCHC Preseason Team pick is 2-0-0 with a 1.94 goals against average.

MORE POWER TO HIM: Senior left winger Austin Farley ranks third in the NCHC lead in power play goals as three of his four scores this season have come with the man advantage. The Bulldogs, incidentally, are currently mired in an 0-for-12 power play funk dating back to Nov. 6 at Omaha.

THE SHORT END: On the other side of the coin, UMD has already given up two more shorthanded goals this season (three -- all on the road, including a pair on Nov. 7 in Omaha) than it did all of 2014-15 (in 40 games). Among all NCAA I clubs, only Bemidji State (with four) has been scored upon more times while on the power play than the Bulldogs in 2015-16.

THE SHORT END II: UMD senior team captain Andy Welinski, who has taken shifts in all 125 games since joining the Bulldog program in 2012-13, is one of two NCHC defensemen with a shorthanded goal to his credit this season. The other is Denver's Will Butcher, who scored a man down in a 5-3 home triumph over Colorado College on Nov. 6.

SOME TOUGH SLEDDING: The weekend will mark the first time this season the Bulldogs are going up against a club that was not ranked or received votes (at the time) in the USCHO.com poll. That slate has included Bemidji State University (received votes), the University of Minnesota (No. 15), the University of Notre Dame (received votes), UMass-Lowell (No. 7), Omaha (No. 8) and Denver (No. 8). UMD concluded each of the past two regular seasons ranking first in the country in strength of schedule.

THREE DOG NIGHTS ...: UMD has now gone 11 consecutive games (its entire 2015-16 schedule to date) without reaching the four-goal mark at least once. That is the longest such run in the 72-year history of the Bulldog hockey program.

... AND FOUR'S A CHARM: 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-Mankato on Oct. 17, 2014 in Duluth (5-4 in overtime).

HOW SWEEP IT IS: Four of UMD's five lifetime NCHC sweeps have been registered on the road -- St. Cloud State (Nov. 7-8, 2014), Miami (Feb. 28-March 1, 2014), Western Michigan (Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2014) and Omaha (Jan. 10-11, 2014). The other sweep turned in by the Bulldogs came on Dec. 5-6, 2014 against Colorado College in Duluth.

A SENIOR MOMENT: UMD currently sports the nation's 12th-highest scoring senior class. The eight, fourth-year Bulldogs have combined for 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points and includes forwards Tony Cameranesi, Cal Decowski, Austin Farley, Charlie Sampair and Austyn Young, defensemen Willie Corrin and Andy Welinski and goalie Matt McNeely. The last time a Bulldog roster was comprised of more seniors than the current one was in 2004-05 (11).

BULLDOG BITS: UMD has been outscored 7-5 in the opening period of play this year and 5-0 over the past four games. The Bulldogs have also collected just one first-period goal in their last seven outings.

• Senior left winger and Austin Farley is tied for second among 2015-16 Bulldogs in scoring with six points and all but one of those (a goal) has been registered away from AMSOIL Arena.

• The double 4-2 setbacks to Omaha two weeks ago were first time the Bulldogs had been swept in a regular season series since Feb. 21-22, 2014 (North Dakota at AMSOIL Arena). Last winter, UMD did something last winter it had done only one other time (2010-11) in 54 years of competing at the NCAA I level -- go through an entire regular season without being swept. North Dakota was the only other 2014-15 NCHC school to accomplish that feat.

• Senior center Cal Decowski leads all 2015-16 Bulldogs in lifetime scoring against Colorado College with six points.

• Senior center Tony Cameranesi currently paces all active Bulldogs in lifetime points (94) while senior left winger Austin Farley ranks first in both career goals (35) and power play scores (18). Junior defenseman Carson Soucy, the lone Bulldog to ever be drafted by the Minnesota Wild (fifth round in 2013), sports UMD'S  best plus-minus figure (+14).

• UMD's sophomore and freshmen classes (10 members excluding goalies) have collectively generated just one point -- an assist by winger Adam Johnson Saturday night against Denver -- over the past four games.

• 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). He and Neal Pionk are the lone two UMD defensemen to collect a goal thus far in 2015-16. Welinski has a pair, including the second shortie of his career against Bemidji State in the season opener, while Pionk (one) is the only UMD rookie -- defenseman or forward -- to score yet.

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

• Freshman left winger Adam 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).

• The Bulldogs were slotted second in the first USCHO.com poll of 2015-16 and that represented their highest preseason ranking in that poll's history (bettering the No. 5 position it occupied in 2004-05).

• 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).

• The Bulldogs rallied from a second-intermission deficit to win on three occasions in 2014-15 (4-2 on Feb. 13 at St. Cloud State, 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 6 vs. Colorado College in Duluth and 3-2 at Omaha on Nov. 21 and). Coming into last year, the Bulldogs hadn't accomplished that feat since Nov. 10, 2010, going 0-43-3 in that situation prior to the Nov. 21, 2014 matchup with Omaha. They were 3-11-1 when trailing at the start of the third period last winter and are 0-3-2 this season.

• Last month, UMD announced that it will host the 2017 Ice Breaker Tournament. Joining the Bulldogs in the four-team field at AMSOIL Arena will be Minnesota, long-time rival Michigan Tech and 2014 NCAA champion Union College.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will have Thanksgiving weekend off and then return to the ice on Dec. 4-5 for a two-game home series with NCHC rival Western Michigan.