The University of Minnesota Duluth will engage in its first National Collegiate Hockey Conference road activity of the 2018-19 season this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 16-17) when the Bulldogs pay a visit to Denver, Colo., for a two-game series against the University of Denver. The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. (CT) both nights at Magness Arena (6,206).

THE RECORDS: The defending NCAA champion Bulldogs,who have won eight straight, are 8-1-1 overall and 2-0-0-0 in NCHC play while Denver sports 5-2-1 record in all games to go with a 2-2-0-0 NCHC mark.

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

	USCHO.com	USA Today
UMD	No. 1	No. 1
Denver	No. 7	No. 7

ON THE AIR: The two Bulldog-Pioneer clashes this weekend will be 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 by TSN2 in Canada and both ends of this weekend's series will also be streamed at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Denver have collided on 213 occasions previously -- mostly (191 times) while both were members of the WCHA. The Pioneers hold a 124-77-12 lead in the rivalry, which began on Dec. 28, 1961 in Denver and went 5-0-0 against the Bulldogs during the 2018-19 regular season. That included a 3-1 triumph in NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals on March 16 at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs continued to roll and remained unbeaten at home by taking down Colorado College twice in their 2018-19 NCHC debuts. UMD scored once each period and junior goaltender Hunter Shepard took care of business at the other end of the ice in a 3-0 victory Friday. The following night, sophomore right winger Nick Swaney had two goals and junior left winger Riley Tufte chipped in three points as UMD toppled the Tigers 5-1. Both sophomore center Justin Richards and senior right winger Parker Mackay also scored -- their second goals in as many night.

Denver was ambushed twice on the road by NCHC rival St. Cloud State University, falling by identical 4-3 counts on Friday and Saturday.

A TIP OF THE HAT: For their exemplary play in UMD's sweep of the Colorado College last weekend, juniors Hunter Shepard and Nick Wolff each received a NCHC weekly award. Shepard was chosen the NCHC Goalie of the Week while Wolff landed Defenseman of the Week honors.

Shepard posted a 0.50 goals against average and a .971 saves percentage over the weekend. He stopped all 19 shots the Tigers sent his way Friday in a 3-0 victory.  He then made 15 saves in the rematch and only a second-period power play goal kept him from a second straight whitewash

Wolff generated three points (no NCHC defenseman had more), was a league-high +3, and blocked four shots in the two games. He scored once in the series opener and then assisted on two goals the following night.

This marks the second NCHC Defenseman Player of the Week award ever for Wolff (with the other coming earlier this year - Oct. 22) while Shepard has now been cited as the league's Goaltender of the Week seven times (including six times one year ago).

ON A ROLL: UMD's nation-leading eight-game winning streak is its longest since it reeled off eight straight triumphs between March 4 and April 6, 2017. That run ended with a 3-2 setback to Denver in the 2017 Frozen Four title game. The last time UMD pieced together a longer victory string was during the 2003-04 season (nine games).

ON A ROLL II: The Bulldogs have now swept four consecutive series -- that ties a regular season program record held by 2003-04, 1989-90 and 1984-85 clubs. The 1984-85 Bulldogs posted sweeps in their final four regular season series before winning two straight from Michigan Tech in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs.

ON A ROLL III: This marks just the fourth time in the NCAA I era of Bulldog hockey (1961-62 to present) that UMD has amassed eight or more wins in its opening 10 games of the season. The others were 1995-86 (8-2-0), 1989-90 (8-2-0) and 1982-83 (8-1-1).

THOSE PESKY PIONEERS:  Going back to the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four title game, the Pioneers have reeled off six straight wins at the Bulldogs' expense. -- and all but one those has been by a one-goal margin. Last winter, Denver became the first team in four years (St. Cloud State in 2013-14) to sweep UMD in a four-game regular season series. They were also the first club to post a 5-0 record against the Bulldogs in one year since Minnesota went 6-0 back in 1994-95.

GREAT SCOTT!: Sophomore All-American Scott Perunovich will come into the weekend with an NCAA-best 13 assists to his credit. He also is tied for fourth nationally in scoring with 14 points (tops among all defensemen).

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.

POWER SURGE: UMD has struck on the power play at least once in nine of its 10 games to date and is connecting at 27.0 percent with the man advantage -- the ninth best figure in the country. On the flip side, UMD's penalty kill (.886) ranks sixth among all NCAA I clubs at the moment.

POWER SURGE II: The Bulldogs' 10 power play goals to date have been generated by six different players, including junior left winger Riley Tufte, who has a NCHC-leading four 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 year (Oct. 7) at Minnesota when UMD went 2-for-5 with the man advantage in a 7-4 home victory

PUCK HUNTER: Junior Hunter Shepard turned aside all 19 shots Colorado College sent his way in last Friday's nights 3-0 win for his first shutout of the season -- and ninth of his career. That put him in a tie for the top spot (with Alex Stalock; 2006-09) on UMD's all-time charts for shutouts.

The 2017-18 All-NCHC second team selection and semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award (most outstanding NCAA goaltender), has now made 49 consecutive starts -- an ironman 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.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 62-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They were 23-0-1 in that situation one year ago and are 7-0-0 this season).

A PLUSS FOR WOLFF: Nick Wolff, who has taken shifts in a team-high 83 straight games, is a +11 on the year -- a figure bettered by only three NCAA I combatants.

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 20-7 in the second period this season. Those 20 second-period goals are tops among all NCAA schools.

LIFE OF RILEY: Junior 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 (29) and power play scores (10).

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: The Bulldogs are averaging 36.50 shots per game to trail only Penn State University (42.67 spg) among NCAA I schools. UMD's shot differential (+14.50) is tops in the country while it's 22.0 shots allowed per game average ranks fifth nationally.

MAKING HIS POINT: Senior right winger and team captain Parker Mackay has marked in the points column in eight of the 10 games to date -- a claim no other Bulldog can make.

YOUTH IS SERVED: UMD sports the 4th highest scoring sophomore class in the country (48 points on 13 goals and a nation-best 35 assist) while the Bulldog rookies rank 14th nationally (10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points).

"X " MARKS THE SPOT: Senior right winger and assistant team captain Billy Exell is expected to skate in his 100th career game this Saturday in Denver.

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

SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES: Prior to transferring to UMD in the fall of 2016, senior center Peter Krieger played two seasons at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks for then-head coach Dallas Ferguson, who is now a Denver assistant coach.

GET SHORTIE: Sophomore right winger Nick Swaney's shorthanded goal on Oct. 26 at Notre Dame was the first of his career and the first by a Bulldog since March 17, 2018 (current sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson vs. North Dakota in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals). Anderson, Swaney and Parker Mackay are the lone three Bulldogs with a shortie to their collegiate credit (one each).

TOP DOGS: This is the first time UMD has sat atop the USCHO.com rankings three straight times (Oct. 29-present) since a three-week run between Jan. 30-Feb. 13, 2017.

THREE'S A CHARM: UMD is 2-3-2 in seven lifetime 3-on-3 NCHC overtimes. The Bulldogs' last 3-on-3 overtime was contested against Miami on Feb. 24, 2017 in Duluth (where the RedHawks prevailed).

OH SHOOT(OUT)!: The Bulldogs are 4-3 lifetime in NCHC shootouts, but haven't competed in one since Feb. 18, 2017 (when they won 1-0 at Colorado College). No current Bulldog has ever participated in that post- overtime event.

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 -- 1982-2000 -- 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 11th among all active NCAA I coaches in career victories. He's 348-301-86 overall and now needs two more wins to tie Sertich (350-328-44), 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 of 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.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS: UMD is 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 as a collegian. Mackay has two, striking in the 2017-18 season opener against Minnesota and in the 2018 NCAA West Regional semifinals versus Minnesota State.

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, including Denver.

UP NEXT: UMD will be off for the Thanksgiving weekend holidays before returning to the AMSOIL Arena ice on Nov. 30 to start a two-game NCHC showdown series with North Dakota.

Scott Sandelin Press Conference