The University of Minnesota Duluth will put the finishing touches on the 2016 calendar year by taking on Bemidji State University in a home-and-home non-conference series this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 16-17). Opening faceoff is set for 7:07 p.m. Friday at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth and at that same time the following night at the Sanford Center (4,373) in Bemidji, Minn.

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THE RECORDS: UMD is 11-3-2 overall and leads the NCHC at 8-2-0-0 while Bemidji State sports a 13-5-2 record in all games to go with league-leading 13-1-2-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association mark.

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

           uscho.com    USA Today    PairWise
UMD    No. 1            No. 1            No. 1    
BSU    No. 15           No. 15          No. 18(t)
            
ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Bemidji State clashes will be carried live on 92.1 FM The Fan with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play responsibilities and Bulldog hockey alumnus Kraig Karakas doing color commentary. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing, Minn. and KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia, Minn., as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and at: 921thefan.com or free via the iHeartRadio app.

Both ends of this weekend's series will also be televised locally -- by My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) on Friday and WDSE-TV (PBS North) on Saturday. KBJR-TV sports director Zach Schneider and former UMD standout forward Judd Medak will serve as the on-air talent for My9, which has been the Bulldogs' television home for the last nine seasons,  Those two telecasts are available on-line for a fee at: nchc.tv/umd (Friday) and wcha.tv (Saturday).

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Bemidji State will meet for the 40th time ever on Friday. The Bulldogs hold a 22-15-2 lead in the all-time series, which began back on Feb. 8, 1948 and are 17-15-2 against Bemidji State since it joined the NCAA I ranks in 1999-2000. The two clubs last squared off on Feb. 9, 2016 in Duluth where the Beavers won 2-1. That game had originally been scheduled as UMD's 2015-16 season opener on Oct. 9, but postponed due to a power outage at AMSOIL Arena. The back end of that home-and-home series took place as scheduled on Oct. 10 and Bemidji State came out on top of that one as well, 3-2, at the Sanford Center.  

LAST WEEKEND: UMD returned from a 19-day layoff and traded NCHA victories with No. 2 Denver. On Friday, the host Pioneers struck three times in a span of 4:46 midway through the second period and never looked back en route to a 4-3 victory. Senior left winger Alex Iafallo, rookie Joey Anderson and junior center Sammy Spurrell accounted for the Bulldog goals in the series opener. UMD, buoyed by a 38-save performance from rookie Hunter Miska, prevailed 3-1 the next night. Senior left winger Kyle Osterberg scored once and assisted on another goal while Anderson and sophomore right winger Billy Exell  also tallied.

Bemidji State corralled five of a possible six WCHA points in a two-game home set with Lake Superior State. After skating to a 1-1 deadlock with the Lakers (but winning the shoot out) on Friday, the Beavers skated off with a 3-2 triumph in the rematch 24 hours later.

FOR A JOB WELL DONE ...: For his spirited play last weekend in Denver (like having a hand in three of UMD's six goals), sophomore Neal Pionk earned himself the latest NCHC Defenseman of the Week citation. Pionk assisted on UMD's second goal in Friday's 4-3 setback and then helped set up a pair of scores the ensuing evening as the Bulldogs upended Denver 3-1 and put the clamps on its 15-game unbeaten streak. For the weekend, the Hermantown, Minn., product, racked up three points and blocked six shots -- both UMD bests -- while going a +2.

Seven different Bulldogs have been bestowed with NCHC weekly award thus far in 2016-17, but Pionk is the only one to do it twice. On Oct. 10, following the University of Massachusetts-Lowell series, he was cited as the NCHC Defenseman of the Week. This also marks the fourth time Pionk has been so honored by the NCHC (he was the Defenseman of the Week on Oct. 26, 2015 and Rookie of the Week on March 7, 2016).

THE WAIT IS OVER: After having to sit out two full semesters following his transfer from the University of Nebraska Omaha, junior center Avery Peterson is eligible to make his UMD debut this Saturday. Peterson, who once he hits the ice will become the 19th Grand Rapids, Minn., native to play for the Bulldogs, had one assist (in his final appearance ever with Omaha on Dec. 5 at St. Cloud State ) while putting 20 shots on target in 14 games last winter with the Mavericks. The former Minnesota Mr. Hockey racked up 21 points (11 goals and 10 assists) during a stellar rookie season and skated a regular shift on a Maverick club that advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time ever.

SHUFFLING OFF TO BUFFALO: Right winger Joey Anderson, the reigning NCHC Rookie of the Month, will miss both end of thie weekend's series as he will be in Buffalo, N.Y., attending training camp for the 2017 U.S. National Junior Team. Anderson and 26 other hopefuls group are auditioning for a spot on the final 23-man roster that will represent the United States in the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship from Dec. 26, 2016 - Jan. 5, 2017, in Montreal and Toronto, Canada.

Anderson currently ranks seventh nationally and is second among NCHC newcomers in scoring with 17 points on six goals and a conference-leading 11 assists in 16 games. The Roseville, Minn., native trails only senior left winger Alex Iafallo on the Bulldog scoring charts and leads the club in even-strength points (16).

BULLDOG BUSTERS: UMD is winless in its last six bouts with Bemidji State, going 0-5-1 since a 4-2 WCHA victory on Dec. 7, 2012 in Duluth. That six-game drought is the Bulldogs' longest against any current opponent (they are also 0-5-1 vs. Boston College dating back to Dec. 28, 1989).

STILL THE LEAD 'DOG: Alex Iafallo, who had his career-high nine-game scoring streak terminated last Saturday night in Denver, continues to top the Bulldogs in both points (20, the third-highest harvest in the NCHC) and goals (10, which ranks fourth in the NCHC and is one goal shy of his career high set during the 2013-14 season). Iafallo is also one of seven NCHC combatants with a hat trick on his 2016-17 resume. In fact, by scoring three times in UMD's 5-2 home win over North Dakota on Oct. 28, Iafallo became the first Bulldog to record a hat trick since current Tampa Bay Lightning winger J.T. Brown struck for four goals at Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 3, 2012.

HOMEWARD BOUND: The Bulldogs' last outing at AMSOIL Arena was against Western Michigan on Nov. 12 -- nearly five weeks ago. UMD has compiled a 6-2-0 home record this season, outscoring the opposition 28-15 in the process (including 12-4 in the second period).

ROAD SHOW: UMD is unbeaten in nine of its last 10 regular season road matchups, going 7-1-2 since being shaded 2-1 by North Dakota on Feb. 20, 2016. Thus far in 2016-17, the Bulldogs are 5-1-2 away from AMSOIL Arena and that includes sweeps over St. Cloud State (by identical 5-3 counts on Nov. 4-5) and Omaha (6-4 and 3-2 on Nov. 18-19). The Bulldogs penalty killing efficiency is 72.5 percent on the road this season (29 of 40) compared to 88.6 percent at home (39 of 44). UMD held Denver scoreless on all eight of its man advantage opportunities last weekend.

THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Rookie goaltender Hunter Miska, who has now made 10 consecutive starts, owns the NCHC's second-best saves percentage (.917) and third-best goals against average (2.40). Miska, the first Bulldog puckstopper to ever start out his career 6-0-0, has already set a UMD record for shutouts by a freshman (he has three -- all at AMSOIL Arena -- in just 11 career starts.) Miska is 10-2-0 on the year and that .833 winning percentage takes a backseat nationally to only three other puckstoppers. In six home starts this season, Miska has gone 6-1-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .940 saves percentage.

AND THEY'RE OFF ... : The last time the Bulldogs were unbeaten in 13 of their opening 16 games (11-3-2) of the season was in 2010-11 when they compiled an 12-2-2 mark at the juncture before eventually going on to win the school's first NCAA title.

THAT'S A PLUS: Of the NCHC's top eight plus-minus leaders, five are Bulldogs -- sophomore defenseman Neil Pionk (first at +13), senior center Dominic Toninato (tied for second at +12), senior left winger Alex Iafallo (tied for fourth at +11) and junior right winger Karson Kuhlman and senior defenseman Brenden Kotyk (both tied for seventh at +10).

THEY JUST KEEP COMING: UMD has yet to face a club this season that was not ranked or received votes in the USCHO.com Poll at the time they played them. Then-No. 17 Michigan Tech paid a visit to AMSOIL Arena for the 2016-17 season openers back on Oct. 1-2 while No. 8 UMass Lowell hosted UMD the ensuing weekend. On Oct. 15-16, it was No. 5 Notre Dame's turn to take on UMD in Duluth and No. 1 North Dakota followed suit on Oct. 28-29. UMD then took on No. 8 St. Cloud State, Western Michigan (receiving votes), and Omaha (receiving votes) the ensuing three weekends and No. 2 Denver last Friday and Saturday night.

CLOSING IN ON 300: 17th-year UMD head coach Scott Sandelin needs just two more wins to hit the the 300 milestone for his career. Of all-time Bulldog bench bosses, only Mike Sertich (18 years between 1982-2000) served longer and has rolled up more victories than Sandelin (he closed out his UMD career with a 350-328-44 lifetime record). Sandelin's 17 seasons is the second longest continuous tenure of any NCHC head coach. (Enrico Blassi is in his 18th year at Miami).

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY: Last year, UMD finished fifth nationally in shots on goal average (34.52 -- the fourth best output in program history). In 2016-17, that number has dropped to 31.38, but the goals output and shooting percentage have both increased:

Year            Shots/Game    Shot%    Goals/Game
2015-16         34.52             .077        2.67
2016-17         31.38              .116       3.62

A SENIOR MOMENT: UMD sports the country's second-highest scoring senior class as that seven-member ensemble has combined to rack up 56 points on a nation-best 29 goals and 43 assists. The Bulldogs' 2016-17 senior class is their second largest since the 2004-05 season, eclipsed only by last year's group (eight) during that stretch.

BLOCK PARTY: UMD has blocked more shots this season (14.81 per game) than any NCHC club and all but 10 teams in the entire country. They ranked 54th out of 60 NCAA I squads one year ago (10.9 bpg). Senior defensemen Brenden Kotyk paces the Bulldogs in the blocks department (2.00 a night -- the fifth-highest figure in the NCHC at the moment).

MAKING A POINT ON THE POINT: UMD has more senior defensemen (four) on its 2016-17 roster than any other program in the country (It shares that distinction with Princeton University and St. Lawrence University). Overall, the Bulldog blueline crew has collectively generated 44 points (which ranks third in the NCHC) on a NCHC-best 10 goals and 33 assists. They also are second nationally in power play goals with seven -- one behind the University of Alaska.

BULLDOG BITS: This weekend will be the final non-conference series for the Bulldogs in 2016-17. UMD, which is 3-1-2 outside of NCHC play thus far, could meet Bemidji State again on the second day of the North Star College Cup in late January.

• Junior right winger Karson Kuhlman has skated in all 96 games over the last three seasons -- a claim no other Bulldog can make.

•This Friday will mark the first time since Jan. 30, 2016 (when the WCHA's Minnesota State University-Mankato and St. Cloud State met in the opening round of the North Star College Cup) that the NCHC's leader will face off with another league's No. 1 team.

• Denver remains the only league club UMD has not swept since the NCHC began play in 2013-14.

• Going back to a 5-4 loss to visiting Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in 70 of the 71 games they've struck for more than three goals (64-1-6). The sole setback during that stretch was inflicted by Minnesota State University-Mankato on Oct. 17, 2014 in Duluth (5-4 in overtime).

• Senior Alex Iafallo has been credited with five of UMD's last 10 empty net goals (dating back to the 2014-15 season) while freshman Joey Anderson has two during that stretch.

• Since falling to host Miami 4-3 in overtime on Feb. 21, 2015, the Bulldogs are 24-0-0 when taking a lead into the third period. They were 14-0-0 in that situation last winter and 8-0-0 so far in 2016-17.

• Earlier this season (Oct. 29) against visiting North Dakota, UMD equaled a program single-game record by scoring two shorthanded goals with junior right winger Karson Kuhlman (the second of his career) and senior left winger Kyle Osterberg (his third) doing the honors. Senior center Dominic Toninato picked up UMD's third shortie of the year (his fifth as a Bulldog) in its most recent outing -- a 3-2 takedown of Omaha on Nov. 19. North Dakota is last team to collect a shorthanded goal against UMD, doing so on Dec. 12, 2015 after the host Bulldogs had pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.

• Second-year defenseman Neal Pionk has already scored as many goals this season (four) as he did during his entire 40-game rookie campaign. Those four goals place him second among NCHC defenseman while his 14 points rank third.

• The Bulldogs have prevailed in their last 28 games that have required overtime, going 4-6-18. Only three active Bulldogs -- senior left wingers Alex Iafallo and Kyle Osterberg and junior right winger Karson Kuhlman -- have an overtime goal on their collegiate resume.

• Prior to this year, the last time UMD sported only freshmen goaltenders on its roster was in 1985-86. That was also the last time three different Bulldogs goalies all made their collegiate netminder debuts in the same season.

• Senior center Dominic Toninato is the second straight Duluth East High School alumnus to serve as the Bulldogs' team captain. Defenseman Andy Welinski handled that responsibility in 2015-16.

•There is almost seven years age difference separating the oldest (senior Brenden Kotyk, who turned 25 last Aug. 27 and is the oldest player in NCAA I hockey) and youngest (freshman Joey Anderson, whose 19th birthday doesn't come up until June 19) 2016-17 Bulldog. Kotyk also holds the distinction of being only former NCAA Division III player (he transferred to UMD in September 2013 after a one-season stint at the College of St. Scholastica) who is competing in the NCAA I ranks this season.

• There have been 11 father-son combination who have done time with the Bulldogs, with the most latest addition being sophomore center Adam Johnson, whose dad (Davey Johnson), was a four-year letterman and captained the Bulldogs as a senior center in 1980-81. Senior center Dominic Toninato also followed in his father's footsteps to UMD (Jim Toninato, 1982-86) as did assistant coach and former Bulldog defenseman Brett Larson (Robert Larson, 1968-69).

UP NEXT: UMD will break for the Christmas Holidays before returning to the ice on Jan. 6-7 for a two-game NCHC home series against Colorado College.