Complete Release (pdf)

With a third of its 2017-18 regulation now in the books, the University of Minnesota Duluth will take its show on the road this weekend (Nov. 17-18) to Oxford, Ohio, for a two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference series with Miami University. The puck drops at 6:35 p.m. (CT) on Friday and 6:05 p.m. the following night at Cady Arena (3,019) on the Miami campus.

THE RECORDS: UMD is an even 5-5-2 overall and 1-2-0-0 in NCHC play while Miami sports a 4-5-1 record in all games to go with a 1-2-1-0 NCHC mark.

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

	USCHO.com	USA Today
UMD	No. 14	No. 15
Miami	NR	NR

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Miami clashes will be carried live on KDAL-Radio (610 AM and 103.9 FM) with Bruce Ciskie on the call. This marks the 50th year KDAL has been the radio home for Bulldog hockey. The broadcast can also be heard at: kdal610.com.

Both ends of this weekend's series will also be videostreamed and available for a fee at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Miami have butted heads on 17 occasions previously, including four times last year when the Bulldogs went unbeaten (3-0-1) against its NCHC rival.  The Bulldogs hold a commanding 12-3-2 lead in the all-time series which started at the NCAA West Regional title game in Minneapolis.

LAST WEEK: UMD made its 2017-18 NCHC home debut by taking down Western Michigan 3-0 last Friday only to have the Broncos turn the tables with a shutout victory of its own (5-0) one night later. In the series' opener, senior left winger Avery Peterson tallied twice (including once on the power play) after junior center Peter Krieger had given the Bulldogs all the scoring they would need with an even-strength goal midway through the first period. Sophomore goaltender Hunter Shepard took care of matters at the other end of the rink, stopping all 22 shots Western Michigan fired his way. Even though they were outshot 31-20, the Broncos kept UMD off the board the ensuing evening, thanks to the puckstopping heroics of Ben Blacker, who went on to be named the NCHC Goalie of the Week.

Miami mustered just one point in a two-game NCHC set at North Dakota and that came via a 1-1 overtime tie on Saturday (The Fighting Hawks won the ensuing shootout for the extra league point) after the hosts had skated away with a 4-1 triumph 24 hours earlier.

HAWKISH ON THE RED HAWKS: UMD is unbeaten in 12 of its last 13 meetings with Miami (10-1-2) and has gone 10 straight games without losing to the Red Hawks (8-0-2).

HAWKISH ON THE RED HAWKS: UMD head coach Scott Sandelin's lifetime winning percentage against Miami (.764 off a 12-3-2 record) is his best versus any NCHC foe.

BATTERED BULLDOGS: UMD was without the services of three of its regulars in both the ends of last weekend's series -- sophomore left winger Joey Anderson, rookie defenseman Mikey Anderson and freshman right winger Nick Swaney. Joey Anderson and Swaney have been sidelined for four games and were wingers on UMD's No. 1 line in their last appearances (vs. Merrimack College on Oct. 20-21 at AMSOIL Arena) while Mikey Anderson will return to the UMD lineup this weekend after a three-game stint on the injured list.

TOP 'DOGS: Junior center Peter Krieger, sophomore right winger Riley Tufte and freshman defenseman Scott Perunovich are share the 2017-18 Bulldog scoring lead with eight points. Perunovich and Mikey Anderson (seven points) are tied for fifth and seventh, respectively, in scoring among NCAA rookie blue liners and rank 1-2 among their NCHC peers in that department.
 
ROOKIES ON THE RISE: Even with injury bug that has recently bitten Mikey Anderson and Nick Swaney, UMD still possesses the nation's fifth-highest scoring freshmen class (the Bulldogs are tied for that spot with the University of Wisconsin) as that group has amassed 30 points on seven goals and 23 assists. The Bulldogs do lead all NCAA freshmen in power play goals (six), assists (10) and points (16) as well as blocked shots (68).

COMING UP EMPTY: Sophomore Hunter Shepard posted his second career shutout last Friday night against Western Michigan (3-0) in just his ninth collegiate start. The only Bulldog goaltender to ever record his first two shut outs any quicker was Hunter Miska, who took five starts to get his second shutout (and nine starts to get his third) one year ago.

COMING UP EMPTY II: After coming into the season having gone 66 straight games without being shut out, the Bulldogs have already been held scoreless by the opposition three times this season.

FIRE AWAY: UMD has outshot its opponents 430-285 this season and that +145 shot differential -- and the +12.08 per game average -- currently ranks second among all NCAA I schools. In addition, the Bulldogs are fourth nationally in shots taken (35.83 per game) and in shots allowed (23.31). UMD has held the upper hand in shots in 11 of its 12 games to date with the Nov. 3 bout at St. Cloud State being the one exception.

FIRE AWAY II: UMD sophomore left winger Riley Tufte has put 50 shots on net this year, which is the second most in NCAA I hockey and bettered only by Clarkson University forward Sheldon Rempal's 52.

IRONMAN KUHLMAN HAS CLASS: Senior team captain Karson Kuhlman, who leads all current Bulldogs in career goals (28), assists (36), points (64) and plus-minus rating (+35), has not missed a game since joining the Bulldog program in 2014-15. His active ironman streak of 134 consecutive appearances is the longest in NCAA I hockey at the moment. Earlier this month, Kuhlman was announced as one of 20 candidates for the 2017-18 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to an NCAA I athlete in 10 sports (men's hockey, baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's lacrosse, softball, football, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball) based on achievement in the "Four C's" -- classroom, character, community and competition.

Two weeks ago in St. Cloud (Nov. 3), Kuhlman potted UMD's first shorthanded goal of the season -- giving him three for his career. No other 2017-18 Bulldog has ever scored with a man down as a collegian.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Of the 23 non-goalies who have taken a shift this season, only two (freshman right winger Koby Bender and senior defenseman NIck McCormack) are still without a point.

SPREADING THE WEALTH II: Nine different Bulldogs have scored a power play goal in 2017-18, including both freshmen Mikey Anderson and Nick Swaney, who have a team-leading two.

A COUPLE OF GRIZZLED VETERANS: The 18 seasons Scott Sandelin has presided over the UMD puck program is the second longest tenure of any NCHC head coach. (Enrico Blassi is in his 19th year at Miami). It also ties him with Mike Sertich (1982-2000) as the longest-serving bench boss in Bulldog history. Sandelin currently ranks 15th among all active NCAA I coaches in career victories (he is 320-289-84 overall).

BLOCK PARTY: Defenseman Dylan Samberg, one of nine Bulldogs who has seen ice time in all 12 games thus far, has blocked 27 shots this season. That not only leads UMD, but it's second highest total of any NCAA rookie (University of Connecticut defenseman Adam Karashik has been credited with 30 blocks).

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 to host Miami in overtime on Feb. 21, 2015, the Bulldogs are 37-0-3
when taking a lead into the third period. They were 17-0-2 in that situation last season and 4-0-1 thus far in 2017-18.
 
NOT SO SWEEP:  The Bulldogs have been swept only once in their last 23 regular season series (going back to Feb. 19-20, 2016) and that came earlier this year at St. Cloud State (5-3 and 5-0 on Nov. 3-4).  Last winter marked just the third time 56 years of competing at the NCAA I level that UMD went through an entire regular season without being beaten on back-to-back nights by the same opponent. UMD also accomplished that feat in 2010-11 (when it won its first, and only, NCAA championship) and in 2014-15.

WORKING OVERTIME: The Bulldogs are unbeaten in the last 16 games that have gone beyond regulation, going 7-0-9 since falling 2-1 to North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016 in Grand Forks, N.D. That includes a 1-0-2 in three extra sessions this season (Only Quinnipiac University with four has played in more overtime games this season than UMD). Just two current Bulldogs -- senior team captain Karson Kuhlman and junior assistant team captain Parker Mackay (one each) -- have an overtime goal to his collegiate credit.

GET SHORTIE: The Bulldogs have allowed just two shorthanded goals in their last 77 games (at St. Cloud State on Nov. 4, 2017 and to Colorado College on Jan. 6, 2017).

FOUR'S A CHARM: Going back to a 5-4 loss to visiting Minnesota on Oct. 15, 2011, the Bulldogs are unbeaten in 83 of the 85 games in which they have scored more than three goals. The sole two setbacks during that stretch were inflicted by Minnesota State-Mankato on Oct. 17, 2014 in Duluth (5-4 in overtime) and Western Michigan on March 3, 2017 (7-4).

OH, SHOOT: UMD is 4-3 lifetime in NCHC shootouts, but no current Bulldog has ever participated in this post-overtime event.  

UMD went 1-1-2 in NCHC 3-on-3 overtimes one year ago with one of those losses coming against Miami on Feb. 24.

CLOSE SHAVES: The last seven matchups between UMD and Miami have been decided by two goals or less.

OOOPS: The Bulldogs have been outscored 14-7 in the second period this year.

COMEBACK KIDS: UMD has trailed the opposition 18 times at the second intermission since the 2016-17 opener and has suffered only eight losses in those outings (5-8-5).

UP NEXT: UMD will take a brief beak from NCHC warfare to host one-time WCHA rival Minnesota State University-Mankato on Nov. 25 in the front end of a prolonged home-and-home series, which will be completed on  Jan. 23, 2018 in Mankato.