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The University of Minnesota Duluth will make its first home appearances in seven weeks this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 19-20) by taking on the University of North Dakota in a two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference showdown series. The puck drops at 8:08 p.m. on Friday and 7:07 p.m. the following night at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

THE RECORDS: UMD, which is riding a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1), is 11-9-3 overall and 5-7-0-0 in NCHC play (tied for fifth place with the University of Nebraska Omaha) while North Dakota sports a 12-6-6 record in all games to go with a 6-4-2-2 NCHC mark (second place).

HOW THEY RANK: This is how the Bulldogs and North Dakota stacked up in 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. 14	No. 13	No. 14
UND	No. 7	No. 7	No. 10

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-North Dakota clashes will be carried live on KDAL-Radio (610 AM and 103.9 FM) with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play responsibilities and and Bulldog hockey alumnus Kraig Karakas the color commentary. This marks the 50th year KDAL has been the radio home for Bulldog hockey. The broadcast can also be heard at: kdal610.com.

Friday's series opener will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden, Dave Starman and Shireen Saski serving as the on-air talent.

 My9 (Channel 6.3; Channel 9 on Charter, Mediacom, and Dish Network and Channels 19 and 519 on Paul Bunyan Cable), which has been the Bulldogs' television home for the last 10 seasons, will air Saturday's matchup. KBJR-TV sports director Zach Schneider will serve as the on-air talent. Saturday's telecasts will be videostreamed at: nchc.tv/umd

THE RIVALRY: UMD will meet for the 237th time on Friday night. North Dakota holds a 144-83-9 lead in the all-time series, which began on Nov. 26, 1954 at the old Duluth Curling Club, but have dropped six straight games to the Bulldogs, including all five last year. On Oct. 28-29, 2016 at AMSOIL Arena, then No. 2 UMD followed up a 5-2 triumph in the series opener with a 3-0 takedown of the No. 1 Fighting Hawks the next night. Two months later (Jan. 19-20, 2017), the Bulldogs swept North Dakota in Grand Forks (5-3 and 4-0) before upending their long-time rivals 4-3 in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game at Minneapolis' Target Center on March 18.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs ushered in 2018 by sweeping NCHC colleague Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo. UMD got four-point nights (two goals and two assists) from both junior center Peter Krieger and sophomore left winger Riley Tufte in a 6-5 slugfest victory Friday night and then throttled the Tigers 5-1 in the rematch. Freshman left winger Kobe Roth scored twice and junior right winger Parker Mackay had a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs, who outshot the hosts, 45-19, on Saturday.
North Dakota and Bemidji State University battled to a 2-2 non-conference deadlock on Saturday in Grand Forks -- 24 hours after the Fighting Hawks had blasted the host Beavers 5-1.

FAMILIAR FOES: The Bulldogs have faced North Dakota on more occasions (236) than any other opponent in their 74-year history. Minnesota (232) is next on that list followed by Michigan Tech (230).

RUN WITH IT: UMD has reeled off six straight victories over North Dakota and that six-game winning streak is its longest against the Fighting Hawks in program history. That run, incidentally, began in the 2016 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals -- a 4-2 victory which turned out to be North Dakota's final setback of the year as they went on to capture the NCAA championship.

RUN WITH IT II: During its current five-game unbeaten run (4-0-1), UMD has outscored the opposition 24-10 and connected on 50 percent of its power play chances (8 of 16).

FOR PETE'S SAKE: Junior Peter Krieger, who is debuting with the Bulldogs this season after transferring from the University of Alaska Fairbanks one year ago and sitting out all of 2016-17, has racked up a team-leading nine points (three goals and six assists) during the Bulldogs' current five-game unbeaten streak.

FOR PETE'S SAKE II: Junior Peter Krieger paces UMD in game-winning goals with four, which also puts him first among his NCHC brethren.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE FIGHTING HAWKS: Of sophomore left winger Riley Tufte's 19 career goals, four (or 21.0 percent) have come at North Dakota's expense. In his five outings against the Fighting Hawks last season, Tufte has accumulated five points and was a +5 to boot.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 to host Miami in overtime on Feb. 21, 2015, the Bulldogs are 44-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period. They were 17-0-2 in that situation last season and 10-0-1 thus far in 2017-18.

GREAT SCOTT!: Scott Perunovich, the NCHC Rookie of the Month for November, currently ranks fifth among all NCAA freshmen in points (19 -- the highest total of any rookie defenseman), is third in plus-minus rating (a UMD-leading +12) and is fourth in assists (15).

BACK IN THE DAY: UMD bench boss Scott Sandelin and Fighting Hawks' head coach Brad Berry were teammates -- and fellow defensemen -- at North Dakota for three seasons (1983-86). Those two, along with Denver's Jim Montgomery, are the only three NCHC head coaches to do time in the National Hockey League. Bulldog seventh-year assistant coach Jason Herter is also a former North Dakota blueliner (1988-91).

PUCK HUNTER: Sophomore Hunter Shepard, a three-time NCHC Goalie of the Week Honoree in 2017-18, has received the starting nod in 18 consecutive games going back to Oct. 21. Three weeks ago at the Ledyard Classic opener, Shepard posted his NCHC-leading third shutout of the season in the Ledyard Classic opener against Yale (5-0 on Dec. 29) and the following night in a 2-2 overtime draw with Dartmouth, he racked up 41 saves (the most by a Bulldog since Kasimir Kaskisuo's 49 stops in a 4-1 triumph at St. Cloud State on Feb. 26, 2016). In his last five appearances, the one-time North American Hockey League Goaltender of the Year (2015-16) is 4-0-1 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .936 saves percentage.

PUCK HUNTER II: Last year, then-freshman (and since-departed) Hunter Miska did something that no other Bulldog goalie had ever done in program history -- shut out North Dakota twice in the same season.

WORKING OVERTIME: The Bulldogs are unbeaten in the last 17 games that have gone beyond regulation, going 7-0-10 since falling 2-1 to North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016 in Grand Forks, N.D. That includes a 1-0-3 in four extra sessions this season. 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.

MAKING THEMSELVES FEEL RIGHT AT HOME: North Dakota's lifetime winning percentage at AMSOIL Arena (.667 off a 6-3-0 record) is currently the second best of any NCHC club, trailing only Denver's .800 mark (7-1-2).

MAKING HIMSELF FEEL RIGHT AT HOME: Freshman winger Nick Swaney, who was injured and missed both ends of the Colorado College series, leads the 2017-18 Bulldogs in home scoring with eight points (three goals and five assists) in eight games.

MORE POWER TO THEM: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, the Bulldogs are 12-0-2 when scoring multiple times on the power play. They are 4-0-1 in that situation this winter.

IRONMAN KUHLMAN: Senior team captain Karson Kuhlman, who leads all current Bulldogs in career goals (30), assists (38), points (68) and plus-minus rating (+34), has not missed a game since joining the Bulldog program in 2014-15. His active ironman streak of 145 consecutive appearances is the longest in NCAA I hockey at the moment. Kuhlman is one of 20 candidates for the 2017-18 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to an NCAA I athlete in 10 different sports based on achievement in the "Four C's" -- classroom, character, community and competition.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Some 14 different Bulldogs have scored a power play goal in 2017-18, including senior Jared Thomas, junior Parker Mackay, sophomore Joey Anderson and Riley Tufte, and freshmen Mikey Anderson and Nick Swaney, all of whom have a Bulldog-best two.

AT THE HEAD OF THEIR CLASS: The Bulldogs sport the NCHC's highest-scoring freshmen class at the moment as that ensemble has collectively amassed 64 points on 14 goals and 50 assists.

AT THE HEAD OF THEIR CLASS II : In addition to amassing the sixth most points in the country, the UMD rookie class also rank third nationally in power play points (27) and blocked shots (122), fourth in shots (9.91 per game) and sixth in power play goals (seven).

BLOCK PARTY: Defenseman Dylan Samberg has blocked 37 shots this season. That not only leads UMD (and is eighth overall in the NCHC), but it's the fifth highest total of any NCAA rookie.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: UMD has struck for the game's first goal on 15 occasions this season, a number bettered by only one other NCAA I club -- the University of Notre Dame (17 times).

WAIT A SECOND: The Bulldogs have been outscored 25-18 in the second period thus far and that -7 goal differential is the lowest in the NCHC at the moment

LIFE OF RILEY: Last Friday night during his career-high four-point performance at Colorado College, sophomore left winger Riley Tufte became the first 2017-18 Bulldog to reach the double-digit mark for goals. He now has a team-high 10 tallies to go with a team-leading 69 shots on goal.

GET SHORTIE: The Bulldogs have allowed just two shorthanded goals in their last 88 games (at St. Cloud State on Nov. 4, 2017 and versus Colorado College on Jan. 6, 2017 in Duluth).

GET SHORTIE II: Earlier this year (Nov. 3) at St. Cloud State, Karson 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.

AIN'T THAT SWEEP: UMD has been swept only twice in their last 27 regular season series overall (going back to Feb. 19-20, 2016) and both of those have come this year -- at St. Cloud State (5-3 and 5-0 on Nov. 3-4) and against Denver (1-0 and 2-1 on Dec. 1-2). 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

MY, HOW TIME FLIES: The 18 seasons Scott Sandelin has presided over the UMD puck program is the second longest tenure of any NCHC head coach. (Enrico Blasi 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 326-293-85 overall).

COMING UP EMPTY: After entering the 2017-18 season having gone 66 straight games without being shut out, the Bulldogs have already been held scoreless by the opposition on four occasions this season (including last night). That's the most times a UMD club has been blanked since the 2007-08 season when the opposition posted a school-record seven shutouts.

SERTIE SALUTE: This Saturday afternoon, the room Scott Sandelin occupies at AMSOIL Arena will be officially dedicated as the Mike J. Sertich Bulldog Men's Hockey Head Coach's Office. In addition, the UMD Coach Mike Sertich Men's Hockey Scholarship Fund has also been established in honor of the legendary Bulldog bench boss, who guided UMD to its first two NCAA Frozen Four appearances (1984 and 1985) and three WCHA regular season championships (1983-84, 1984-85 and 1992-93) during an 18-year tenure (1982-2000).

THE NINE-DAY GRIND ROLLS ON: The Bulldogs will engage in their final non-conference activity of the 2017-18 regular season with a rare Tuesday night (Jan. 23) matchup at Minnesota State University-Mankato. That will complete a "home-and-home" series that opened on Nov. 25 at AMSOIL Arena (a 3-1 UMD victory). UMD will then return to Duluth to renew its intrastate rivalry with St. Cloud State on Jan. 26-27.