After closing the books on the 2014-15 regular season last Saturday night, the University of Minnesota Duluth will now shift its focus to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs and a first-round, best-for-three series this weekend. The puck drops at 8:37 p.m. (CT) Friday and 8:07 p.m. both Saturday and (if necessary) Sunday at Magness Arena (6,026) on the Denver campus.

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THE RECORDS: UMD is 20-13-3 overall and placed fifth in the final NCHC standings at 12-8-3-0. Denver will come into the weekend sporting a 20-12-2 record after going 13-10-1-1 in league play (fourth place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Pioneers 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. 6	No. 6	No. 3
Denver	No. 7	No. 8	No. 8

    
ON THE AIR: The entire UMD-Denver playoff series will be carried on 92.1 The Fan (WWAX-FM) with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play duties. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing; KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia; WXCX 105.7 FM in Pine City; and KKIN 930 AM in Atkin as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and on-line.

In addition, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) will air all of the weekend action as well. Those 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 267-258-70 overall record -- including a 145-98-33 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 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 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 Denver have collided on 197 occasions previously -- mostly while both were members of the WCHA. The Pioneers hold a 112-76-11 lead in the rivalry, which began on Dec. 28, 1961 in Denver. The two clubs split both of their series with one another this season, although the Bulldogs outscored their long-time rivals 13-9 in those four bouts.

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs traded wins with Western Michigan in their 2014-15 regular season finales, kicking off the two-game road set with a 6-3 triumph on Friday before being ambushed 3-0 the following night. In the series opener, UMD got goals from five different players, including sophomore center Dominic Toninato, who was also one of six Bulldogs to post a two-point night, joining junior center Tony Cameranesi, junior defenseman Willie Corrin, senior right winger Justin Crandall, junior left winger Austin Farley and freshman right winger Karson Kuhlman. After going scoreless for the opening 23-plus minutes, the two clubs let off some serious offensive steam in the second period, combining for seven goals -- including five in a two-minute stretch shortly before the intermission break. The Bulldogs mustered a season-low 18 shots on goal in the 3-0 setback -- their first loss in six lifetime visits to the Lawson Ice Arena (5-1-0)

Denver put the wraps on the regular season by dropping a 4-2 decision to St. Cloud State University on Saturday -- 24 hours after it had held off the host Huskies 3-2.

LET'S SEE HOW THEY DID: 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 University (167 pts.; nine first-place votes), 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.

A TIP OF THE HAT: Earlier this week, goaltender Kaskimir Kaskisuo was chosen to the 2014-15 NCHC All-Rookie Team while junior defenseman Andy Welinski received All-NCHC second team honors. In addition, sophomore center Dominic Toninato was an All-NCHC honorable mention selection.

PLAYOFFS PAST: UMD is 8-16-2 all-time versus Denver in conference postseason play. That includes a 4-14-2 mark on the Pioneers' home ice. The two clubs' most recent playoff collision came on March 16, 2012 in the WCHA Final Five semifinals in St. Paul, Minn., where Denver prevailed 4-3 in double overtime. The Buldlogs and Pioneers last met in Denver iin the postseason on March 14-15, 2008 (a two-game Pioneer sweep).

PLAYOFFS PAST: The Bulldogs have won only three conference road playoff series (all WCHA) in their program history and two of those came at the expense of Denver (2006 and 1988). The other was registered against Colorado College in 2009.

PLAYOFF PERFORMANCES: The top active Bulldog playoff (WCHA and NCAA) scoring leaders are as follows:
 

Name	GP	G	A	TP	+/-
Justin Crandall	9	1	2	3	-4
Dan Molenaar	2	0	2	2	+2
Willie Corrin	2	0	1	1	+3
Dominic Toninato	2	0	1	1	-1
Tony Cameranesi	4	1	0	1	-4
Cal Decowski	4	1	0	1	0
Austin Farley	4	0	1	1	+1
Andy Welinski	4	0	1	1	-4
Adam Krause	9	1	0	1	-3
Derik Johnson	3	0	0	0	-1
Alex Iafallo	2	0	0	0	-1
Carson Soucy	2	0	0	0	-2
Willie Raskob	2	0	0	0	+2
Kyle Osterberg	2	0	0	0	-1
Charlie Sampair	2	0	0	0	0
Sammy Spurrell	2	0	0	0	+1
Austyn Young	0	0	0	0	0

 

Name	GP/GS	W-L-T	GA	GAA	SVS	SVS%
Matt McNeely	2/0	0-0-0	1	1.18	28	.966
Alex Fons	0/0	0-0-0	0	0.00	0	.000

WELL PLAYED: UMD did something this 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.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROAD: UMD has rolled up 12 victories away from home this winter (going 12-8-0) -- a figure bettered nationally only by Boston University and Michigan Tech University (both with 13).

LIKE TWO PROS IN A POD: UMD's Scott Sandelin and Denver's Jim Montgomery are the only two NCHC head coaches to do time in the NHL. Sandelin took part in 25 NHL games with Montreal, Philadelphia and Minnesota (North Stars) before calling it quits in 1992 due to nagging injuries while Montgomery's NHL career spanned 121 outings between 1993-2003 with stops in St. Louis, Montreal, Philadelphia, San Jose and Dallas.

FREE HOCKEY: UMD has managed to win just three of its last 19 games that have gone beyond regulation, going 3-5-11. Those three victories came against Colorado College on Dec. 6, 2014, St. Cloud State on Nov. 7, 2014 and Minnesota State-Mankato (Jan. 24, 2014). Only three active Bulldogs --  sophomore forwards Alex Iafallo and Kyle Osterberg and junior center Cal Decowski -- have an overtime goal to their collegiate credit (one each).

THEIR BEST PERIOD, PERIOD: UMD has outscored the opposition 46-30 in the third period this season. Those 46 goals pace the NCHC and rank fourth nationally. The following is the Bulldogs' period-by-period breakdown and how they measure up against their league and NCAA I colleagues:
 

Period	Goals	NCHC Rank	NCAA Rank
1st	23	6th(t)	41st(t)
2nd	35	4th	27th(t)
3rd	46	1st(t)	5th(t)

DENVER OR BUST: This weekend will mark UMD's second series at Magness Arena in six weeks (Jan. 30-31, 2015) but just its third since the 2008-09 season. The Bulldogs also paid a visit to Denver on Nov. 4-5, 2011 when both clubs were members of the WCHA.

THIS DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: Minutes muncher Andy Welinski, a 2014-15 All-NCHC second team pick, has generated the second-most goals (a career-high eight) and shots (89) of any NCHC defenseman thus far. He and fellow junior Willie Corrin have both scored shorthanded once this season -- no other NCHC team has two pointmen who have done that.

A BOOST FROM THE BACK END: Collectively, UMD's eight-member blue line corps has combined for 21 goals this year -- after mustering just five (all of which came off the stick of Welinski) during the entire 2013-14 season -- and 67 points. Denver tops the NCHC in defensemen goal scoring with 23, followed by North Dakota (22) and UMD. The 21 goals are the most by a Bulldog back end crew since the 2006-07 season (24 goals in 39 games). Here is a breakdown of UMD's defenseman scoring output over the past four seasons
 

Year	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	PPG
2014-15	36	21	46	67	1.86
2013-14	36	5	48	53	1.47
2012-13	38	11	49	60	1.58
2011-12	41	19	79	98	2.39

THE MAGIC NUMBER: Going back to a 5-4 loss to visiting Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in 52 of the 53 games they've struck for more than three goals (47-1-5). The sole setback during that stretch was inflicted by Minnesota State-Mankato earlier this year (5-4 in overtime on Oct. 17 in Duluth).

THEIR BEST YET: Seven out of a possible 17 Bulldog veterans have established career bests for points this winter:
 

Player	Yr.	Pts.	Previous High
Alex Iafallo	So.	25	22 (2013-14)
Dominic Toninato	So.	24	15 (2013-14)
Adam Krause	Sr.	17	13 (2013-14)
Cal Decowski	Jr.	15	14 (2013-14)
Willie Raskob	So.	14	12 (2013-14)
Carson Soucy	So.	13	6 (2013-14)
Austyn Young	Jr.	5	2 (2013-14)

In addition, senior defenseman Derik Johnson and junior defensemen Willie Corrin and Andy Welinski are all one point away from matching their previous single-season bests for scoring.

THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Kasimir Kaskisuo, a member of the 2014-15 NCHC All-Rookie Team, was one of just two individuals to see crease time in all of his team's 24 league games this season (North Dakota's Zane McIntyre was the other). Among the nation's first-year netminders, he currently ranks second in victories (17), third in starts (32) and winning percentage (.597), fourth in goals against average (2.24) and eighth in saves percentage. Kaskisuo, the Hockey Commissioners' Association Rookie of the Month for November, also has one shutout (a 3-0 gem at the University of Minnesota on Nov. 14) and a nation-leading two assists to his 2014-15 credit while his 17 victories this season are the most by a Bulldog since Kenny Reiter went 23-9-6 as a senior in 2011-12. 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: Only 11 (Western Michigan both last weekend and on Jan. 16-17, St. Cloud State 6-7, Bemidji State University on Jan. 23, and Colorado College on Dec. 5-6) of UMD's 36 games thus far have been against unranked opponents. The Bulldogs are 14-9-2 against nationally-ranked clubs this winter (3-2-0 vs. No. 1s) and 6-4-1 versus the rest. This marks the second straight year UMD has finished the regular season ranking first among NCAA I schools in strength of schedule.

• UMD currently sports three of the NCHC's top eight plus-minus leaders in senior right winger Adam Krause (tied for fourth at +17) and sophomore forwards Alex Iafallo and Dominic Toninato (both tied for six at +16). Three Denver Pioneers -- Daniel Doremus (+22), Trevor Moore (+22) and Danton Heinen (+18) -- rank 1-2-3 in that department. Krause, who will miss this Friday clash at Denver while serving a one-game suspension stemming from a major penalty (kneeing) he incurred last Saturday night, has finished with a negative plus-minus rating in just three of his 28 outings this season while rookie defenseman Nick McCormack has yet to do so as a collegian (10 outings thus far).

• Dominic Toninato, who posted his third two-goal outing of the season (and his career) last Friday night in Kalamazaoo, leads the Bulldogs in goals with a personal-high 16. A NCHC-high twelve of those scores have come outside of Duluth as have 19 of his 24 points. Those 19 road points take a backseat in the NCHC only to the 20 accrued by the University of Denver's Danton Heinen. The All-NCHC honorable mention selection is one of seven league combatants with two shorthanded goals to his 2014-15 credit. Toninato, is part of the 10th father-son combination to skate for the Bulldogs (his dad, Jim Toninato, was a UMD forward between 1982-86). Senior defenseman Derik Johnson, the oldest player in the NCHC (he turned 25 last month), is the son of Jim Johnson, another UMD hockey alumnus (1981-85) and now an assistant coach with the NHL's San Jose Sharks.

• UMD is 10-3-2 when holding the opposition scoreless on the power play this season.

• After going without a goal in his first 58 games as a Bulldog, junior defenseman Willie Corrin has scored three times in the 10 outings since.

• Sophomore Carson Soucy, the only Bulldog to ever be drafted by the Minnesota Wild (fifth round in 2013), is tied for fourth in plus-minus rating among NCHC defensemen (+13). He's also a +20 for his career -- tops among all 2014-15 Bulldogs.

• The seven shorthanded goals UMD has amassed this year rank fifth among NCAA clubs and are three 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). Five Bulldogs have bagged their first collegiate shorthanded goals this season -- senior right winger Justin Crandall, junior defensemen Willie Corrin and Andy Welinski, junior center Tony Cameranesi and freshmen right winger Karson Kuhlman.

• Sophomore left winger Alex Iafallo, who's been sidelined the past four games with mononucleosis, has collected a career-best 25 points this season. A team-high 20 of those points have been registered in Bulldog victories.

• UMD's 20 overall victories (20-13-3) are three more than their entire 2013-14 total (16-6-4) while their 12 NCHC wins (12-9-3) were two more than they finished with last year (10-10-4). The Bulldogs have now reached the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

• Center Tony Cameranesi and defenseman Andy Welinski, who were both members of the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 2012-13, have taken a shift all 110 outings since joining the UMD program two years ago. Cameranesi took over sole possession of first place on the team scoring charts last Friday and has 27 points on the year.

• 90.9 percent (20 of 22) of Justin Crandall's regular season points this winter came in NCHC play. That's a figure unrivaled by any of the 37 league skaters with 20 or more points.

• The Bulldogs have drawn first blood in 28 of their 36 victories the last two seasons, going 28-8-4 in that situation -- 14-4-2 this winter). On the other hand, they are a mere 8-21-3 when the opposition has taken a 1-0 lead during that stretch (6-9-1 in 2014-15).

• Eight different Bulldogs have claimed NCHC Player of the Week honors so far in 2014-15 -- only North Dakota with nine, has more. UMD is the only program to have two goalies recognized this year (Kasimir Kaskisuo on Oct. 27 and Nov. 17 and Matt McNeely on Oct. 13).

• Among NCHC newcomers, right winger Karson Kuhlman is fourth in shots on goal (73), fifth in goals (eight) and eighth in scoring (17 points), and remains the only league rookie with a shorthanded goal on his 2014-15 stat line. Center Jared Thomas has won the second most faceoffs (160) of any league novice.

• Of the eight NCHC head coaches, only one (Miami's Enrico Blasi with 16 seasons) has been behind the bench at his current school longer than Scott Sandelin (15 years).

• Sophomore defenseman Willie Raskob turns 20 this Saturday while sophomore Dominic Toninato celebrated his 21st birthday this past Monday.

• The Bulldogs average home attendance of 6,411 this winter was not only a program record (eclipsing the previous full-season mark of 6,328 set in 2011-12), but is the fifth highest mark in the country at the moment.

TO THE VICTORS ...: The four, first-round playoff series winners will all advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff set for March 20-21 at the Target Center.The Bulldogs have never played at the downtown Minneapolis facility.