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Coming off a bye week, the University of Minnesota Duluth returns to the ice this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 9-10) to open its sixth season of National Collegiate Hockey Conference activity with a two-game series against Colorado College. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both nights at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.  

THE RECORDS: The defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are off to a 6-1-1 start this fall and have won six straight games while Colorado College is 4-3-1 overall and 0-2-0-0 in NCHC play.

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

	USCHO.com	USA Today
UMD	No. 1	No. 1
CC	RV	RV

ON THE AIR: The two UMD-Colorado College clashes this weekend will be carried on KDAL-Radio (610 AM and 103.9 FM) with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play responsibilities and Bulldog hockey alumnus Kraig Karakas the color commentary. The broadcast can also be heard at: kdal610.com.

Both ends of this weekend's series will be aired locally on My9, which has been the Bulldogs' television home for the last 11 seasons. 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 at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Colorado College have collided on 190 previous occasions in a rivalry which began on Jan. 4, 1961 at the old Duluth Curling Club. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 99-81-10 and swept the Tigers in the two clubs' only two meetings one year ago (6-5 and 5-1 on Jan. 12-13 in Colorado Springs, Colo.).

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs have been idle since taking down then top-ranked  University of Notre Dame twice on Oct. 26 and 27. UMD rallied for a 3-2 victory in the opener (after trailing 2-1 with less than eight minutes to go in regulation) before topplIng the Irish 3-1 the following night to complete the road sweep. Sophomore right winger Nick Swaney scored once and assisted on another goal in the 3-2 triumph while the freshmae forward brother tandem of Jackson and Noah Cates did likewise 24 hours later.

Colorado College was swept at home by St. Cloud State University in its 2018-19 NCHC debuts, falling  5-3 on Friday and 2-1 in the rematch.

MEDIA FAVORITES: UMD has yet to lay claim to a NCHC regular season championship, but the media who cover the league see that changing in 2018-19. In the annual NCHC Preseason Media poll, the defending NCAA champion Bulldogs were picked as the favorites to capture the Penrose Cup this winter. UMD received 20 of a possible 27 first-place votes and 209 points while St. Cloud State came in second with 182 points and six first-place votes. The Huskies were followed by North Dakota (150 pts.), Western Michigan (121 pts.), Denver (115 pts. and the remaining first-place vote), Colorado College (98 pts.), Omaha (61 pts.) and Miami (36 pts.). A total of 27 ballots were submitted by local media members from each school, as well as select national media.

This marks the second time in the sixth-year history of the NCHC that UMD held down the No. 1 spot in the media preseason poll. The other top billing came in 2015-16. The Bulldogs were slotted 6th in 2013-14, 5th in 2014-15, 3rd in 2016-17 and 4th one year ago.

TIGER TAMERS: The Bulldogs have registered more wins at Colorado College's expense (they are 99-81-10 all-time against the Tigers) than any opponent in their 75-year history.

TIGER TAMERS II: UMD has endured just one loss in its last 15 bouts with the Tigers, going 11-1-3 with the lone setback (2-1) during that stretch coming on Jan. 7, 2017 in Duluth.

TIGER TAMERS III: The Bulldogs are 6-0-1 at Colorado Springs' Broadmoor World Arena since falling 3-1 to the host Tigers in their first-ever NCHC assignment on Oct. 18, 2013).

THE LIFE OF RILEY: Current junior left winger Riley Tufte leads all-current Bulldogs in lifetime scoring against Colorado College (two goals and three assists in six games). He collected his first collegiate point (an assist) at the Tigers' expense on Jan. 6, 2017 at  AMSOIL Arena) which put the skids on a 14-game scoring drought to start his career.

LIFE OF RILEY II: 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), plus-minus rating  (+30) power play scores (9).

ON A ROLL: UMD's nation-leading six-game winning streak is its longest since the Bulldogs reeled off  eight straight victories between March 4 and April 6, 2017. That run ended with a 3-2 setback to Denver in the 2017 Frozen Four title game.

LUCK OF THE IRISH: Senior right winger and team captain Parker Mackay had his career-high six-game scoring streak terminated by Notre Dame in UMD's most recent outing (Oct. 27).  The last Bulldog to assemble a longer such run was All-American left winger Alex Iafallo, who picked up at least one point in the final 15 games of his collegiate playing days in 2016-17.

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

NOT SO SWEEP: UMD has been swept only three times in its last 35 regular season series overall (going back to Feb. 19-20, 2016) and all three of those occurred last 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 and 1-0 and 4-3 on Feb. 2-3).

GREAT SCOTT!:  Sophomore All-American Scott Perunovich will come into the weekend owning a share of ninth place on NCAA scoring charts with 11 points (the second best total of any defenseman) while his 10 assists ranks in a tie for first nationally.

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.

YOUTH IS SERVED: UMD sports the third highest scoring sophomore class in the country (36 points on nine goals and 29 assist) while the Bulldog rookies rank 10th nationally (a NCAA-leading 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points).

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 60-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They were 23-0-1 in that situation one year ago and are 5-0-0 this season).

A PLUSS FOR WOLFF: Nick Wolff, who has taken shifts in a team-high 81 straight games, is a +8 on the year -- a figure unsurpassed by only four NCHC combatants.

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.

POWER SURGE: UMD has struck on the power play at least once in seven of its eight games to date and is connecting at 25.0 percent with the man advantage. The Bulldogs currently are tied for 13th nationally in power play goals with eight and for 10th in power play efficiency. On the flip side, UMD's penalty kill (.897) is the seventh best mark 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 year (Oct. 7) at Minnesota when UMD went 2-for-5 with the man advantage in a 7-4 home victory.

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 16-6 in the second period this season.  Those 16 second-period goals are tops among all NCAA schools.

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 marks the first time UMD has sat atop the USCHO.com rankings on back-to-back occasions (Oct. 29 and Nov. 4) since a three-week run between Jan. 30-Feb. 13, 2017.

GOOD TIMES: The last time the Bulldogs and Colorado College butted heads (Jan. 13, 2018 in Colorado Springs, Colo.),  current UMD sophomore left winger Kobe Roth scored twice in a 5-1 victory for the first multi-goal night of his career. He also had a goal in the series opener the previous evening.

THREE'S A CHARM: UMD is 2-3-2 in seven lifetimes  3-on-3 NCHC overtimes. That includes a 1-0-1 mark against Colorado College (all in 2016-17). The Bulldogs' last 3-on-3 overtime was contested against Miami on Feb. 24, 2017 in Duluth (where the RedHawks prevailed).

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 47 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.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: The Bulldogs are averaging 36.88 shots per game, a figure surpassed by onoy two other NCAA clubs -- Penn State University(42.57 spg) and Harvard University (38.00 spg).

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 -- 1982-99 -- 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 346-301-86 overall and now needs four 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 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: 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.

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.

GETTING A LITTLE OFFENSIVE: The eight goals the Bulldogs racked up in their 8-2 win over Maine earlier this season 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 takedown of host Bemidji State University.

UP NEXT: UMD will hit the road next weekend (Nov. 16-17) for a two-game NCHC series against Denver, which has defeated the Bulldogs six straight times.