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The University of Minnesota Duluth will engage in its final non-conference series of the 2018-19 season this Friday and Saturday (Oct. 26-27) when the Bulldogs pay a visit to South Bend, Ind., to face the University of Notre Dame in rematch of last April's NCAA Frozen Four title bout. The puck drops at 6 p.m. (CT) on Friday and 4 p.m. the following afternoon at Compton Family Ice Arena (5,022) on the Notre Dame campus.

THE RECORDS: The defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are off to a 4-1-1 start this fall and have won four straight games while Notre Dame, which will make its 2018-19 regular season home debut on Friday, is 3-0-1 overall.

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

	USHCO.com	USA Today
UMD	No. 3	No. 2
ND	No. 1	No. 1

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Notre Dame clashes this weekend will carried on KDAL-Radio (610 AM and 103.9 FM) with Bruce Ciskie on the call. The broadcast can also be heard at: kdal610.com.

Friday's series opener will be televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network with Steve Schlanger and Anson Carter serving as the on-air talent.

Saturday's rematch will be aired locally on My9, which has been the Bulldogs' television home for the last 11 seasons.

The two telecasts are available at: NBCSports.com.

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Notre Dame have met 45 times previously, including at least once in each of the past eight seasons. The Irish hold a 22-17-6 lead in the all-time series, which began in Duluth on Feb. 12, 1971 when both clubs were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Irish departed that circuit after the 1980-81 season and UMD is 9-6-4 versus Notre Dame since then. The two clubs last squared off on April 7, 2018 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul where the Bulldogs prevailed 2-1 to claim their second NCAA championship in program history.
In their most recent series (Oct. 23-24, 2015 in South Bend, Ind.) the Bulldogs and Irish played to back-to-back 3-3 deadlocks.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs closed out the non-conference portion of their 2018-19 home schedule by taking down the University of Maine twice. UMD got goals from eight different players and four-point nights frrom defensemen Scott Perunovich and Nick Wolff in a 8-2 throttling of the Black Bears on Friday. In the rematch, UMD built a 3-2 second-period lead and held on for a 3-2 triumph. Junior right winger Riley Tufte and freshmen left wingers Noah Cates and Kole Koepke (the eventual game winner) accounted for the Bulldog goals. UMD outshout Maine 90-38 on the weekend.

Notre Dame swept the University of Nebraska Omaha, defeating the hosts 4-1 and 8-2 on Friday and Saturday on the Mavericks' home ice.

WELL DONE!: For their exemplary play in last weekend's series sweep of Maine, Scott Perunovich and his defensive partner, Nick Wolff, both received citations from the NCHC. Perunovich was chosen the league's Offensive Player of the Week while Wolff landed Defenseman of the Week honors.

Perunovich, a sophomore All-American from Hibbing, Minn., amassed a nation-leading six points, put eight shots on net, and was a +4 in the two outings against the Black Bears. He turned in the first, four-point night of his collegiate career (one goal and three assists) on Friday as the Bulldogs upended Maine 8-2 and then help set up UMD's first two goals the following evening (a 3-2 triumph).

Wolff, a junior assistant team captain from Eagan, Minn., closed out the non-conference series with five points and was a NCHC-high +6 to boot. He racked up a personal-best four points (one goal and three assists) in the opener and had the primary assist on the game-winner Saturday.

This marks the first NCHC Offensive Player of the Week award for Perunovich (he was selected the NCHC Rookie of the Week twice last season and the NCHC Defenseman of the Week three times) and the first league award of any kind for Wollf.

TO BE THE BEST, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST: Going back to the 2014-15 season opener, the Bulldogs are 6-5-0 in 11 confrontations against No. 1 ranked teams (per the USCHO.com Poll):

Date       Team                  Result    Site
12/1/17    Denver               L, 1-0    Duluth, Minn.
12/2/17    Denver               L, 1-2    Duluth, Minn.
4/8/17      Denver               L, 3-2    Chicago, Ill.
10/29/16   North Dakota    W, 3-0    Duluth, Minn.
10/28/16   North Dakota    W, 5-2    Duluth, Minn.
3/18/16     North Dakota    W, 4-2    Minneapolis, Minn.
2/10/15     North Dakota    L, 5-2    Grand Forks, N.D.
2/9/15       North Dakota    W, 4-1    Grand Forks, N.D.
11/15/14   Minnesota         W, 2-1    Duluth, MInn.
11/14/14   Minnesota         W, 3-0    Minneapolis, Minn.
10/10/14   Minnesota          L, 3-4    South Bend, Ind.

POWER SURGE: UMD has struck on the power play at least once in all six games to date and is connecting at 25.0 percent with the man advantage. The Bulldogs currently are tied for third nationally in power play goals with seven and for 11th in power play efficiency. On the flip side, UMD's penalty kill (.895) is the ninth best figure in country thus far.

POWER SURGE II: The Bulldogs' seven power play goals to date have been generated by five different players, including junior left winger Riley Tufte, who has a nation-leading three tallies.

POWER SURGE III: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, UMD is 18-1-2 when scoring multiple times with the man advantage. That lone loss came earlier this yea (Oct. 7) at Minnesota when UMD went 2-for-5 with the man advantage in a 7-4 home victory.

GREAT SCOTT!: Scott Perunovich will come into the weekend owning a share of the NCAA scoring lead (with Notre Dame's Bobby Nardella) with 10 points. He has also leads the NCAA I ranks in assists (9). Last winter, Perunovich became just the second UMD freshman to ever collar All-American first team honors last year (center Murray Keogan was the other in 1969-70) and was the recipient of the 2017-18 Tim Taylor Award (Hockey Commissioner's Association National Rookie of the Year) as well as both NCHC Rookie of the Year and NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year honors (both UMD program firsts). The Hibbing, Minn., product and All-NCHC first team pick also became the second defenseman to ever lead UMD in scoring and the first rookie to do it in 15 years. He racked up 36 points (a record for a first-year Bulldog blueliner and the most of any freshman defenseman in the country) on 11 goals and a team-leading 25 assists in 42 games. Among NCAA rookies, Perunovich ranked first in plus-minus rating (+22) and third in both points and assists.

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 14-4 in the second period this season.  Those 14 goals are tops among all NCAA clubs.

A PLUSS FOR WOLFF: Nick Wolff, who has taken shifts in a team-high 79 straight games, is a +7 on the year -- a figure unsurpassed by any NCAA skater.

GETTING A LITTLE OFFENSIVE: The eight goals the Bulldogs racked up in last Friday's 8-2 win over Maine were their most at home since downing Omaha 8-2 on March 7, 2014. It also marked the first time UMD got goals from eight different players since Dec. 7, 2002 when that same number of Bulldogs scored in a 12-0 throttling of host Bemidji State University.

ON A ROLL: Senior team captain Parker Mackay will bring a career-high five-game scoring streak into Friday's series opener at Notre Dame.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 59-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They were 23-0-1 in that situation one year ago and are 4-0-0 this season).

PUCK HUNTER: Junior Hunter Shepard, a 2017-18 All-NCHC second team selection and semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award (most outstanding NCAA goaltender), has now made 45 consecutive starts -- a run that began on Oct. 21, 2017. Shepard, who came into 2017-18 with just two collegiate appearances to his name, finished the year with a 1.91 goals against average, a .925 saves percentage and eight shutouts (all program single-season bests) while going 25-14-1 in 41 outings. That last victory came at the expense of Notre Dame -- a 19-save, 2-1 decision at the NCAA Frozen Four title bout.

Shepard and Arizona State University's Joey Daccord are the nation's lone two goalies with six starts this season.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: The Bulldogs are averaging 38.83 shots per game this season. Among NCAA schools, only Penn State has more (45.25 spg).

IT'S MILLER TIME: Jade Miller is the only 2018-19 Bulldog who has ever marked in the points column against Notre Dame. The junior center did so last April in the NCAA Frozen Four championship, picking up the lone assist on the game's opening goal.

SOME CLOSE SHAVES: Going back to the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs have won each of their last six one-goal games.

LIFE OF RILEY: Junior right left winger Riley Tufte, one of seven NHL draftees on the UMD 2018-19 roster and one of just four first-round picks in program history, tops all current Bulldogs in career goals (28) and power play scores (9).

TAKING CARE OF NON-CONFERENCE BUSINESS: The last time the Bulldogs dropped two non-conference games on back-to-back nights was to Bemidji State University on Jan. 22-23, 2010 (4-1 in Bemidji, Minn. and 5-4 in overtime in Duluth). UMD also has not been swept at home by a non-league opponent since Oct. 7-8, 2005 when those same Beavers prevailed 3-2 and 5-1.

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY: The 2018-19 Bulldog roster includes only three seniors -- right wingers Billy Exell and Parker Mackay and center Peter Krieger, who transferred to UMD two years ago from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. That's UMD's smallest senior class since it moved to the NCAA I ranks in 1961-62. It also ties the Bulldogs for the NCAA I lead with nine other schools: American International College, Boston University, Clarkson University, the University of Connecticut, Denver, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, St. Lawrence University and the University of Vermont.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS: The Bulldogs are unbeaten in the last 19 games that have gone into overtime, going 8-0-11 since falling 2-1 to host North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016. Just one current Bulldog -- senior Parker Mackay -- has an overtime goal to his collegiate credit. Mackay has two, striking in the 2017-18 season opener against Minnesota and in the 2018 NCAA West Regional semifinals versus Minnesota State.

MY, HOW TIME FLIES: This marks Scott Sandelin's 19th season of presiding over the Bulldog hockey program, making him the longest-serving bench boss in team history (UMD Athletic Hall of Famer Mike Sertich spent 18 years in that role). Sandelin, whose tenure is also the second longest of any NCHC head coach. (Enrico Blassi is in his 20th year at Miami), currently ranks 12th among all active NCAA I coaches in career victories (he's 344-301-86 overall and now needs six more wins to tie Sertich, UMD's all-time leader in that department).

TOURNAMENT TOUGH: Scott Sandelin's career winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament (.739 off a 17-6 record) is the best among any active head coach (minimum eight games) and trails only the late Herb Brooks (.889 at Minnesota), Vic Heyliger (.800 at Michigan) and Gino Gasparini (.789 at North Dakota) among all NCAA head coaches.

GET SHORTIE: Senior right winger Parker Mackay (one -- on Jan. 26, 2018 against St. Cloud State), and sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson (in the 2018 NCHC Frozen Faceoff against North Dakota) are the only two active Bulldogs who have ever scored while a man down as a collegian.

THREE OF A KIND: Freshmen defensemen Hunter Lellig (Iowa) and Jake Rosenbaum (California), and sophomore center Justin Richards (Ohio) all hold the distinction of being the first individuals from their respective states to enlist their services with the Bulldog hockey program.

UP NEXT: UMD won't return to the ice until it hosts Colorado College on Nov. 9-10 in the Bulldogs' NCHC opener.