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The University of Minnesota Duluth will put its five-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference winning streak on the line this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 26-27) when it hosts intrastate rival St. Cloud State University. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both nights at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

THE RECORDS: UMD, which is unbeaten in seven of its last eight outings (6-1-1), is 13-10-3 overall and an even 7-7-0-0 in NCHC play (fifth place) while St. Cloud State sports a 14-5-3 record in all games to go with an 8-3-1-1 NCHC mark (second place).

HOW THEY RANK: This is how the Bulldogs and St. Cloud State 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. 9	No. 13	No. 11
SCSU	No. 5	No. 3	No. 3

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-St. Cloud State 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.

Both ends of this weekend's series will also be televised -- Friday on FSN Plus and Saturday on My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9), which has been the Bulldogs' television home for the last 10 seasons. KBJR-TV sports director Zach Schneider and former UMD standout forward Judd Medak will serve as the on-air talent both nights. The two telecasts are available on-line for a fee at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE RIVALRY: UMD and St. Cloud State have met on 124 previous occasions in a rivalry which stretches back to the 1946-47 season. The Huskies hold a 66-49-9 lead in the all-time series and are 63-44-8 versus the Bulldogs since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1987-88. Earlier this year (Nov. 3-4) in St. Cloud, Minn., UMD was upended twice by Huskeis in the NCHC debuts for the two clubs. St. Cloud State snapped a six-game home losing streak to the Bulldogs with a 5-3 triumph in the opener before completing the sweep by blanking their intrastate rivals 5-0 the following afternoon.

LAST WEEK: UMD took down then-No. 7 North Dakota on consecutive nights (5-3 on Friday and 5-2 in the rematch) before falling 1-0 at current No. 7 Minnesota State University-Mankato in a rare Tuesday evening non-conference clash. The Bulldogs got goals from five different players and went 3-for-5 on the power play in the 5-3 triumph over North Dakota and, after falling behind 2-0 seven minutes into the first period the next night, struck for five unanswered goals en route to posting their program-best eighth straight victory against the Fighting Hawks. On Tuesday night, UMD (15) and Minnesota State (24) combined for just 39 shot on net with Parker Tuomie's one-timer at 17:24 of the second period being the game's lone score.

GO FIGURE: Over the past few years, home ice advantage has been basically non-existent in the UMD-St. Cloud State series. The Bulldogs are just 2-5-1 in their last eight engagements with the Huskies at AMSOIL Arena but 6-2-0 in their last six appearances at St. Cloud State's Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

GREAT SCOTT!: UMD scoring leader Scott Perunovich is currently fourth among all NCAA freshmen in points (23 -- the highest total of any rookie defenseman in the country), tied for fourth in assists (17) and for eighth in plus-minus rating (a UMD-leading +10).

RECORD ALERT: UMD's current run of five consecutive NCHC victories is a program record. The previous mark was four set three different times.

PUCK HUNTER: Sophomore Hunter Shepard, a three-time NCHC Goalie of the Week Honoree in 2017-18, has now made 21 straight starts going back to Oct. 21. In his last eight appearances, the one-time North American Hockey League Goaltender of the Year (2015-16) is 6-1-1 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .932 saves percentage. Shepard's 13 overall victories this season (he is 13-9-1) puts him in a tie for first among NCHC puckstoppers with Denver's Tanner Jaillet (13-5-4).

NOT QUITE THE SAME BULLDOGS THIS TIME: The last time the Bulldogs squared off with St. Cloud State, they were without the services of four of their regulars in the opener due injury -- sophomore left winger Joey Anderson, sophomore defenseman Jarod Hilderman, senior left winger/center Avery Peterson, and freshman winger Nick Swaney. Rookie defenseman Mikey Anderson joined that foursome the following evening.

FOR PETE'S SAKE II: Junior center 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, paces UMD in game-winning goals with four, which also puts him first among his NCHC brethren (along with St. Cloud State's Easton Brodzinski).

MAKING THEMSELVES FEEL RIGHT AT HOME: St. Cloud State has paid more lifetime visits to AMSOIL Arena (14) than any other Bulldog opponent.

MAKING THEMSELVES FEEL RIGHT AT HOME II: Sophomore wingers Riley Tufte (six goals and four assists), Joey Andeson (three goals and seven assists) and rookie defenseman Scott Perunovich (three goals and seven assists) all have racked up a Bulldog-best 10 points at home this season.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 to host Miami in overtime on Feb. 21, 2015, the Bulldogs are 46-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period. They were 17-0-2 in that situation last season and 12-0-1 thus far in 2017-18.

MORE POWER TO THEM: Over the past eight games, UMD has cashed in on 14 of 31 power plays (a sizzling 45.2 percent). They went 6-for-11 with the man advantage last weekend in their two-game sweep of North Dakota.

MORE POWER TO THEM II: The Bulldogs have struck for two or more goals seven times this season. They are 6-0-1 in those seven games and, going back to Dec. 4, 2015, are 14-0-2 when striking multiple times with the man advantage.

AND LESS POWER TO THEM: UMD's opponents are just 2-for-11 with the extra man over the past four games. That includes an 0-for-5 effort turned in Tuesday by Minnesota State, which came into the night leading the nation in power play efficiency

IRONMAN KUHLMAN: Senior team captain Karson Kuhlman, who leads all current Bulldogs in career goals (31), assists (38), points (68) and plus-minus rating (+35), has not missed a game since joining the Bulldog program in 2014-15. His active ironman streak of 148 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.

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.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Some 14 different Bulldogs have scored a power play goal in 2017-18, including junior Parker Mackay, who has a UMD leading four.

IT WASN'T THERE BEST SHOT: In Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Minnesota State, UMD mustered its lowest single-game shot total (15) since Jan. 11, 2014. Connor LaCouvee made 15 saves that evening on his way to becoming the first Maverick to ever shut out UMD. Those 15 stops were the fewest any opposing goalie has ever had to make in posting a shutout win over the Bulldogs (dating back to when the program elevated to NCAA Division I in 1964-65).

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 five occasions this season (including this past Tuesday). 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.

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 16 goals and 56 assists.

AT THE HEAD OF THEIR CLASS II: In addition to amassing the fifth most points in the country, the UMD rookie class also rank third nationally in power play points (30) and blocked shots (5.19 per game) and fourth in shots (9.73 per game) and power play goals (nine).

BLOCK PARTY: Defenseman Dylan Samberg has blocked 43 shots this season. That not only leads UMD but it's the fourth highest total of any NCAA rookie.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: UMD has struck for the game's first goal on 16 occasions this season, a number bettered by only two other NCAA I clubs -- the University of Notre Dame (18 times) and Minnesota State (17).

LIFE OF RILEY: Sophomore left winger Riley Tufte, the only 2017-18 Bulldog to reach the double-digit mark for goals this season (12), is the nephew of Craig Dahl, who served as the men's head hockey coach at St. Cloud State for 18 seasons before stepping down in 2005.

GET SHORTIE: The Bulldogs have allowed just two shorthanded goals in their last 91 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 28 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 328-294-85 overall).

MY, HOW TIME FLIES II: This March will mark the 20th anniversary of one of UMD's greatest come-from-behind postseason wins ever. Basically left for dead and down 4-0 with less than 14 minutes remaining in regulation, the Bulldogs rallied to defeat Minnesota 5-4 in the third and deciding game of their best-of-three WCHA playoff series at the DECC. Mike Peluso's goal 10:49 into the extra session gave UMD its first-ever overtime victory over the Gophers. The 1997-98 Bulldogs will be UMD's guests of honor on Saturday.

IT DOESN'T GET ANY EASIER: Up next for UMD is a trip to the University of Denver on Feb. 2-3 and a two-game series with the defending national champion Pioneers, who currently hold down the No. 4 spot in the USCHO.com poll.