Complete Release (pdf)
Back in the NCAA Tournament for a program-record fourth consecutive season, the University of Minnesota Duluth will pay a first-ever visit to Sioux Falls, S.D., where it will take on intrastate rival Minnesota State University-Mankato this Friday (March 23) in the semifinal round of the NCAA West Regional. The puck drops at 6:30 p.m. at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center (10,678) and will follow the other first-round matchup between Air Force and St. Cloud State University. The Regional championship is set for Saturday at 8 p.m.
THE RECORDS: Winners of seven of its last 10 games, UMD is 21-16-3 overall and finished third in the final National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings at 13-11-0-0 while Minnesota State own a 29-9-1 record in all games and captured the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title by going 22-5-1-0 in league play.
THE SEED: St. Cloud State of the NCHC is the West Regional's No. 1 seed followed by Minnesota State (No. 2), UMD (No. 3) and Atlantic Hockey Conference member Air Force (No. 4).
HOW THEY RANK: This is how the Bulldogs and Mavericks 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.11 |
No. 11 |
No. 12 |
| MSU |
No. 6 |
No. 6 |
No. 6 |
ON THE AIR: All of UMD's games this weekend will be carried live on KDAL-Radio (610 AM and 103.9 FM) with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play responsibilities. This marks the 50th year KDAL has been the radio home for Bulldog hockey. The broadcast can also be heard at:
kdal610.com.
The UMD-Minnesota State clash will be aired on
ESPN3 with ESPNU/
Watch ESPN televising the other semifinal as well as the championship game on Saturday. Clay Matvik (play-by-play) and Sean Ritchlin (analyst) are serving as the on-air talent.
LAST WEEK: UMD's quest for a second consecutive NCHC Frozen Faceoff title was squashed via a 3-1 semifinal round setback to Denver Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The following afternoon, the Bulldogs succumbed to North Dakota 4-1 in the third place game, putting an end to a program-best eight-game winning streak against the Fighting Hawks.
Scott Perunovich accounted for the lone UMD goal on Friday while fellow rookie defenseman
Mikey Anderson's third-period shorthanded goal was all the scoring the Bulldog could muster in the loss to North Dakota.
UMD IN THE BIG DANCE: This year's NCAA Tournament berth is the 12th ever for UMD and marks the first time the Bulldogs have ever qualified for that event four years in a row. UMD has now made six NCAA playoff appearances in the past eight years.
UMD IN THE BIG DANCE II: The Bulldogs took part in NCAA postseason play last spring (advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four championship game after claiming the West Regional title in Fargo, N.D.), in 2015-16 (quarterfinal round in Worcester, Mass.), 2014-15 (quarterfinal round in Manchester, N.H.), 2012-13 (quarterfinal round in Worcester), 2010-11(captured the school's first NCAA championship), 2008-09 (quarterfinal round in Minneapolis, Minn.) and 2003-04 (Frozen Four semifinal) under
Scott Sandelin as well as in 1992-93 (quarterfinal round in Detroit), 1984-85 (Frozen Four third placein Detroit), 1983-84 (Frozen Four runnerup in Lake Placid) and 1982-83 (quarterfinal round in Providence, R.I.).
UMD IN THE BIG DANCE III: UMD has compiled a 19-12 lifetime record in the NCAA Tournament and a 13-6 mark since
Scott Sandelin took over the UMD head coaching duties in 2000-01. Sandelin's career winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament (.684) is the third best among any active bench boss, trailing only Denver's Jim Montgomery and Union College's Rick Bennett (both .700 off 7-3 records).
UMD IN THE BIG DANCE IV: Since the NCAA went to a regional format in 1987-88, the Bulldogs are a perfect 8-0 in first-round games.
UMD IN THE BIG DANCE V: UMD has never faced Minnesota State, Air Force or St. Cloud State in the NCAA Tournament.
THIS ISN'T THEIR FIRST RODEO: Ten current Bulldogs have NCAA playoff experience on their respective resumes, including senior forwards
Karson Kuhlman and
Jared Thomas. That senior tandem is looking to become the first two Bulldogs to ever compete in the NCAA Tournament four consecutive years. Sophomore
Joey Anderson got his first taste of NCAA postseason competition one year ago in Fargo, and wound up landing a spot on the West Regional All-Tournament Team after racking four points (one goal and three assists) during the two-day event.
GREAT SCOTT!: Scott Perunovich, who this season became just the second Bulldog rookie to ever attain All-NCHC/WCHA first team honors (center Murray Keogan was the other -- in 1969-70 when the Bulldogs were aligned with the WCHA), has racked up a team-leading 35 points on the season. That is a UMD program single-season record for a freshman defenseman and two points more than the previous mark, which was set by current Carolina Hurricane team captain Justin Faulk in his first (and only) season with the Bulldogs in 2010-11.
Perunovich, the 2017-18 NCHC Rookie of the Year and its Offensive Defenseman of the Year (both Buldog firsts), will come into this weekend ranking third among all NCAA rookies with those 35 points (the highest total of any first-year defenseman in the country). He's also first in plus-minus rating (a Bulldog best +19), tied for third in assists (24) and tied for seventh in power play points (18).
TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 in overtime at Miami on Feb. 21, 2015, the Bulldogs are 53-0-3 when taking a lead into the third period. They are 20-0-1 in that situation this year and were 17-0-2 last winter. On the flip side, UMD is a mere 1-14-2 when it hasn't held a lead at the second intermission this season. That one win, incidentally, came in the 2017-18 opener against Minnesota, which was up on the Bulldogs 2-1 after two periods before falling 4-3.
MY, HOW TIME FLIES: This Friday's semifinal clash with Minnesota State will be
Scott Sandelin's 722nd game behind the Bulldogs' bench. That ties him with his predecessor, Mike Sertich, for most games coached in program history.
MY, HOW TIME FLIES II: The 18 seasons
Scott Sandelin has presided over the UMD puck program is the second longest tenure of any NCHC head coach. (Enrico Blasi completed his 19th year at Miami this past winter). Sandelin and Mike Sertich (1982-2000) both own the distinction of being the longest-serving bench bosses in Bulldog history.
MORE POWER TO THEM: After going just 1-for-18 on the power play in their previous seven outings, the Bulldogs have cashed in on 10 of their 34 opportunities with the man advantage the past four weekends.
MORE POWER TO THEM II: The Bulldogs are scoring at a 24.2 percent clip on the power play this season -- a figure bettered by only five other NCAA clubs (including Minnesota State, which is second at 27.4 percent)
MORE POWER TO THEM III: The last time UMD finished a season with a better power play percentage than the 2017-18 club currently owns (24.2 percent) was in 2003-04 when the NCAA Frozen Four semifinalist Bulldogs posted a 25.9 mark.
MORE POWER TO THEM IV: Some 16 different Bulldogs have scored a power play goal in 2017-18, including sophomore left winger
Riley Tufte, who has a team-leading and a personal-best five.
MORE POWER TO THEM V: The Bulldogs have struck for two or more power play goals 11 times this season. They are 10-0-1 in those 11 games and, going back to Dec. 4, 2015, are 18-0-2 when striking multiple times with the man advantage.
POWER OUTAGE: UMD (0-for-6) and Minnesota State (0-for-8) each failed to score on the power play during their two regular season meetings earlier this year.
PUCK HUNTER: Sophomore
Hunter Shepard, a 2017-18 All-NCHC second team selection and semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award (most outstanding NCAA goaltender), currently ranks second among the nation's puckstoppers in shutouts with a UMD-record eight (one behind the national leader, Cornell's Matthew Galajda), is seventh in wins (21), eighth in goals against average (1.98), 10th in saves percentage (.924) and third in starts (37). His 21-14-1 record this season is a bit deceiving in that in three of his losses he's allowed just one goal, including one to Minnesota State on Jan. 23. Shepard, who saw crease time in just two games one year ago while backing up rookie
Hunter Miska, has now made 35 consecutive starts, (a run that began on Oct. 21, 2017),
PUCK HUNTER II: In his two starts against Minnesota State this season,
Hunter Shepard has compiled a .966 saves percentage and a 1.02 goals against average while going an even 1-1-0.
BETTER THAN BEFORE: Nine (of a possible 14) UMD veterans have established or equaled career collegiate bests for points this winter:
*at Alaska
FIRST THINGS FIRST: UMD is 18-7-0 when it has scored first this season and just 3-9-3 when it hasn't done so.
FIRST THINGS FIRST II: No team in the country has drawn first blood on more occasions (25) this winter than UMD (it shares that spot with five other clubs while Minnesota State is next with 24).
FIRST THINGS FIRST III: The Bulldogs and Minnesota State have amassed the third-most first-period goals (41) in the nation this season. UMD's +17 goal differential during that period ranks third among all NCAA schools while Minnesota State is fourth (+15)
IRONMAN KUHLMAN: Senior right winger and team captain
Karson Kuhlman, who leads all current Bulldogs in career goals (37), assists (39), points (76) and plus-minus rating (+37), has not missed a game since joining the Bulldog program in 2014-15. His active ironman streak of 162 consecutive appearances is the longest in NCAA I hockey at the moment -- and four games shy of the program record set by Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Jack Connolly between 2008-12. Kuhlman is one of 10 finalists 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.
IRONMAN KUHLMAN II: Karson Kuhlman has a team-leading seven game-winning goals to his collegiate credit, but perhaps none was more memorable than the one he potted in the second overtime of UMD's 2-1 win over Providence College in the 2016 Northeast Regional semifinals in Worcester, Mass.
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
HITTING HIS STRIDE: After managing just two goals and three assists in his first 11 appearances of the season, right winger
Joey Anderson, a 2016-17 NCHC All-Rookie Team pick, has amassed 21 points (eight goals and 13 assists) in his 21 games since.
NOT THEIR BEST SHOT: The last time the UMD and Minnesota State butted heads (Jan. 23, 2018), UMD mustered its lowest single-game shot total (15) since Jan. 11, 2014. Connor LaCouvee registered 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 status in 1961-60).
OH, FOR PETE'S SAKE: 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, is currently tied for second among all NCAA combatants in game-winning goals with five. He also holds down the No. 2 spot on the UMD scoring charts with a career-high 30 points.
COMING UP EMPTY: The Bulldogs have posted nine shutouts this season, which is the most in program history (and four more than the previous record).
COMING UP EMPTY II: On the flip side, after entering the 2017-18 season having gone 66 straight games without being shut out, the Bulldogs have been held scoreless by the opposition on six occasions this year. That gives them a share (with the 2007-08 club) of the team record for most times shut out in a single season.
BLOCK PARTY: Defenseman
Dylan Samberg has blocked 66 shots to date. That not only leads UMD (he shares that top billing with sophomore defenseman
Nick Wolff), but it's the second highest total of any NCAA rookie.
NO WALK IN THE PARK: UMD ranked third in regular season strength of schedule this winter after placing first in that department last winter, second in 2015-16 and first in both 2014-15 and 2013-14.
YOU'RE KILLING ME: Prior to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, UMD's opponents were a mere 2-for-59 on the power play over the past 14 outings (3.4 percent).Even thoug Denver and North Dakota combined to connect on four of their nine man advantage opportunities over the weekend, UMD still sports the 13th best penalty killing mark in the country (83.7 percent).
LIFE OF RILEY: Of
Riley Tufte's UMD-best 16 goals this season. 13 have come in UMD wins as have all five of his power play scores.
MILLER TIME: Since Feb. 2, sophomore
Jade Miller has accumulated seven points -- which is more than half of his lifetime scoring harvest (12 points) -- in 10 outings. He reigned as the Bulldogs' leading point producer (one goal and five assists) during the month of February.
GET SHORTIE: The Bulldogs have allowed just three shorthanded goals in their last 105 games (at Denver on Feb. 3, 2018, at St. Cloud State on Nov. 4, 2017 and versus Colorado College on Jan. 6, 2017 in Duluth).
GET SHORTIE II: Senior right winger
Karson Kuhlman (four, including two this year), senior left winger
Blake Young (one -- last Friday night), junior right winger
Parker Mackay (one -- on Jan. 26, 2018 against St. Cloud State), and freshman defenseman
Mikey Anderson (last Saturday afternoon against North Dakota) are the only four 2017-18 Bulldogs who have ever scored while a man down as a collegian.
ROOKIES ON THE RISE: The Bulldogs continue to sport the NCHC's highest-scoring freshmen class as that ensemble has collectively amassed 120 points on 29 goals and 91 assists.
ROOKIES ON THE RISE II: In addition to amassing the fifth most points in the country, the UMD rookie class also ranks second nationally in blocked shots (5.53 per game) and power play points (46), third in power play goals (13) and fifth in shots (9.38 per game).
FIT TO BE TIED: For just the second time since the 1989-90 season -- and first time in 18 years -- the Bulldogs (13-11-0) went through their entire conference schedule without incurring at least one tie.
MOVING ON: The champion from each of the four regionals will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four, which is set for April 5 and 7 at the Xcel Energy Center. It's the first time that downtown St. Paul facility will host the Frozen Four since 2011 when UMD skated off with its first national championship.
