The University of Minnesota Duluth will engage in its final non-conference assignments of the 2014-15 season this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 6-7) when the Bulldogs host Northern Michigan University in a two-game set. The puck drops at 7:07 both nights at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

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Scott Sandelin's weekly press conference

THE RECORDS: UMD is 15-10-1 overall and 9-6-1-0 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (third place) while Northern Michigan comes into the weekend owning a 11-9-6 record in all games to go with an even 8-8-4 Western Collegiate Hockey Association mark (fourth place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Wildcats 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. 7    No. 7    No. 5
NMU    NR    NR    No. 29
    
ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Northern Michigan bouts 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.

Both ends of this weekend's series will be aired on My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) with Tom Hansen and former UMD standout forward Judd Medak serving as the on-air talent. The two telecasts are available on-line 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 15th season behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 262-255-68 overall record -- including a 140-95-31 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: This weekend's series will mark the 71st and 72nd meetings ever between UMD and Northern Michigan. The series, which is knotted at 33-33-4, began on Nov. 27, 1981 in Marquette, Mich. The two clubs last met The Wildcats and Bulldogs last met on Oct. 9, 2010 at Northern Michigan, where UMD skated off with a 3-2 Lake Superior Cup victory. One year earlier, the Wildcats invaded the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center on Oct. 11 and prevailed 3-2. That remains Northern Michigan head coach Walt Kyle's lone triumph over UMD in six lifetime meetings. Kyle and his troops were done in twice by the Bulldogs in a unique mid-week home-and-home series back in 2006-07 -- UMD won the "opener" 6-2 on Nov. 14 at the DECC and then completed the sweep two months later (Jan. 24) with a 4-2 victory in Marquette. UMD is unbeaten in all but eight of its 32 lifetime games against the Wildcats in Duluth (22-8-2).

LAST WEEKEND: UMD exchanged NCHC wins with then No. 11 Denver, falling 3-2 in the series opener before rebounding to upend the host Pioneers 4-2 on Saturday night. Six different Bulldogs scored over the weekend, including sophomore left winger Alex Iafallo and senior right winger Adam Krause, who each added one assist in the weekend split.

Northern Michigan ended a four-game winless drought (0-3-1) by sweeping WCHA rival University of Alaska Anchorage 5-3 and 3-2 in overtime last Friday and Saturday in Marquette, Mich.

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.

SOME TOUGH SLEDDING: Only five (Bemidij State last Friday night, Western Michigan on Jan. 16-17 and Colorado College on Dec. 5-6) of UMD's 26 games thus far have been against unranked opponents. The Bulldogs, who continue to lead the nation in strength of schedule, are 13-8-0 against nationally-ranked clubs this winter (3-2-0 vs. No. 1s) and an even 2-2-1 against the rest.

POWER SHORTAGE: UMD is 0-for-15 on the power play over the past five games and has connected on just four of its last 51 chances with the man advantage (7.8 percent) going back to the first period against Minnesota on Nov. 15.

LET'S KEEP IT THAT WAY: UMD is one of just three NCHC clubs (North Dakota and Omaha are the two other) that have not been swept in a series -- league or non-conference -- this season.

STILL THE TOP 'DOG: Sophomore center Dominic Toninato, who along with linemate Adam Krause was a +3 last weekend at Denver, continues to hold down the No. 1 spot on the UMD scoring charts with 22 points. His 14 goals this winter are a career-high and rank fourth among all NCHC combatants while his eight road tallies are a league best. In addition, the former Duluth East High School star is tied for second in the NCHC in both plus-minus rating (+16) and even-strength scores (nine) and is one of five league combatants with two shorthanded goals to his 2014-15 credit. Toninato, a two-time NCHC Offensive Player of the Week honoree in 2014-15, has also struck for a goal a league-high 12 times. In addition, a team-best 18 of his points (10 goals and eight assists) this season have been generated in Bulldog victories.

THEIR BEST YET: Dominic Toninato is among Bulldog veterans who have already established or matched career bests for points this winter:
 

Player	Yr.	Pts.	Previous High
Dominic Toninato	So.	22	15 (2013-14)
Cal Decowski	Jr.	14	14 (2013-14)
Carson Soucy	So.	8	6 (2013-14)
Austyn Young	Jr.	4	2 (2013-14)

Adam Krause, meanwhile, is one point away from equaling his career-high in that department (13 points one year ago).

ALL ALONE: UMD rookie Kasimir Kaskisuo, the Hockey Commissioners' Association Rookie of the Month who has started 22 of the past 23 games, and North Dakota junior Zane McIntyre are the only two NCHC netminders who have played in every minute of their team's conference outings thus far. Among the nation's first-year puckstoppers, Kaskisuo reigns as the leader in victories (13), is third in winning percentage (.614 off a 13-8-1 record), fifth in saves (535) and sixth in goals against average (2.35). 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 the first non-North American to play for 15th-year head coach Scott Sandelin.

BULLDOG BITS: Andy Welinski's seven goals this season are not only a collegiate high (two more than his previous best), but are the fifth most rolled up by any defenseman in the country. Collectively, UMD's eight-member blue line corps has combined for 14 goals this year -- after mustering just five (all of which came off the stick of Welinski) during the entire 2013-14 season -- and 47 points.

• The Bulldogs have drawn first blood in 25 of their 31 victories the last two seasons, going 25-7-2 in that situation -- 11-3-0 this winter). On the other hand, they are a mere 6-19-3 when the opposition has taken a 1-0 lead during that stretch (4-7-1 in 2014-15).

• Adam Krause has finished with a negative plus-minus rating in just one of his 18 games this season and is a +14 coming into this weekend. That's the second best mark of any Bulldog, trailing only Dominic Toninato (+16). Krause, UMD's first two-time team captain since 2008-09, is one of 20 NCAA I hockey players who have been chosen as candidates for the 2014-15 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and also is among 15 individuals up for this year's Hockey Humanitarian Award.

• UMD is 6-4-0 outside of NCHC play in 2014-15 (1-1-0 at AMSOL Arena).

• All but four of Dominic Toninato's 14 goals this winter have come at the expense of non-conference competition.

• UMD's average home attendance (6,286 per night) is bettered by only four other NCAA I schools at the moment.

• Both center Tony Cameranesi and defenseman Andy Welinski skated in their 100th collegiate games last Saturday night in Denver. That junior duo, who were both members of the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 2012-13, has taken a shift in every outing since joining the Bulldog program two years ago.

• The Bulldogs' 15 wins this season are one less than their entire 2013-14 harvest.

• Among NCHC newcomers, right winger Karson Kuhlman is tied for second in shots on goal (55), for fifth in goals (six) and for eighth in scoring (12 points), and remains the only league rookie with a shorthanded goal on his 2014-15 stat line

• The five shorthanded goals UMD has amassed this year are fifth only to North Dakota's nine and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell's, Union College's and the University of Massachusett's six 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 18 games (since Nov. 1 vs. visiting Miami) without scoring while a man down.

• Sophomore Carson Soucy, the only UMD skater ever to be drafted by the Minnesota Wild (fifth round in 2013), has the second best career plus-minus rating (+15) of any active Bulldog.

• The Bulldogs just completed a stretch in which they had been away from home for eight of their 10 previous regular season games and 10 of 12 outings overall (two exhibition clashes at Lakehead University). The Bulldogs have played at AMSOIL Arena just twice (vs. Western Michigan University three weekends ago) since Dec. 6.

• Going back to a 5-4 loss to visiting Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in 49 of the 50 games they've struck for more than three goals (44-1-5). The sole setback during that stretch was inflicted by Minnesota State-Mankato earlier this year (5-4 in overtime on Oct. 17 in Duluth).

• Thirteen (out of a possible 18) Bulldog skaters came away with at least one point in UMD's two-game series at Denver last weekend. That included sophomores left winger Alex Iafallo (one goal and one assist) and Austin Farley (two assists) and senior right winger Adam Krause (one goal and one assist) and Justin Crandall (one goal and one assists), who all had multi-point weekends.

• The Buldog have been outshot in just four of their 26 games to date and rank ninth nationally -- and second in the NCHC -- in shots on goal (33.27 per night).

• UMD possesses both the country's second-highest scoring junior and sophomore classes with 77 points a piece. The Bulldog senior and freshmen groups, meanwhile, are both tied for 45th nationally in scoring.

• 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).

•The Bulldogs have 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.

• Sophomore center Dominic Toninato is part of the 10th father-son combination to skate for the Bulldogs (his dad, Jim Toninato, was a UMD forward from 1982-86). Senior defenseman Derik Johnson, the oldest active player in the NCHC (he'll celebrated his 25th birthday this past  Sunday), is the son of Jim Johnson, another UMD hockey alumnus (1981-85) and now an assistant coach with the NHL's San Jose Sharks.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will stay put at AMSOIL Arena next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 13-14) to host St. Cloud State in a two-game NCHC series.