The University of Minnesota Duluth will return to National Collegiate Hockey Conference activity this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 6-7) when the two-time defending NCAA champion Bulldogs pay a visit to Omaha, Neb., for a two-game series with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both nights at Baxter Arena (7,898).

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 7-6-1 overall and 4-1-1-0 in NCHC play (second place) while Omaha sports a 6-4-1 record in all games and a 1-2-1-0 NCHC mark (seventh place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Omaha stacked up in the most recent USCH0.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll:
 

	uscho.com	USA Today
UMD	No.  14	No. 14
UNO	No. 18	RV

 
ON THE AIR: The two Bulldog-Maverick clashes 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.

Both ends of this weekend's series will also be televised on the My 9 Sports Network, which has been the Bulldogs' television home for the last 12 season, with Zach Schneider serving as the on-air talent.

This weekend's series will also be videostreammed at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Omaha will collide for the 36th and 37th times ever this weekend. The Bulldogs hold a 21-11-3 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 5, 1997 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. UMD went 4-0 against the Mavericks last winter, sweeping them in the two clubs' only regular season series (7-2 and 3-1 on Jan. 25-26 in Duluth) and again in the first round of the NCHC Playoffs at AMSOIL Arena (2-1 in overtime and 4-1 on March 15-16). In those four home triumphs, the Bulldogs outshot Omaha 187-98.

UMD is 9-8-0 all-time on the Mavericks' home ice.

LAST WEEKEND: For the second time already in this season, the Bulldogs played host to the nation's No. 1 team as Minnesota State University-Mankato invaded AMSOIL Arena and skated away with a pair of non-conference victories. On Friday night, the Mavericks erupted for three, second-period goals en route to a 4-1 triumph and then completed the sweep the following evening by derailing the Bulldogs 3-1, striking three times on the power play (after doing so twice in the opener). Junior right winger Kobe Roth accounted for UMD's lone goal on Friday while junior center Justin Richards did likewise in the series' finale -- with both of those scores coming with the man advantage.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE: UMD has collected more of its total goals on the power play this season -- 48.6 percent (18 of 37) -- than any other NCAA I club in the country. The Bulldogs currently rank second nationally in power play play goals and fourth in power play efficiency (29.5 percent). They've also scored at least once with the man advantage in 12 of their 14 games to date.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE II: The Bulldogs' 18 power play goals to date have been generated by eight different players.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE III: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, UMD is 27-3-2 when scoring multiple times with the man advantage. One of those losses occurred earlier this year -- on Oct. 18 at Wisconsin when UMD went 2-for-3 with the man advantage in a 6-2 setback.

HE KEEPS GOING, AND GOING AND ...: Junior center Justin Richard, the 2018-19 NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year, has skated in all 100 outings since joining the program two years ago. This past Saturday night, he became the third active Bulldog to reach the century mark joining senior center Jade Miller (106) and senior defenseman Nick Wolff (136).

HUNGRY LIKE A WOLFF: Nick Wolff had taken part in 136 games (the second most of any skater in the entire country) before being sidelined with an injury last Saturday. That ended a run of 127 consecutive appearances for the 2019-20 team co-captain, which started on Nov. 19, 2016 in Omaha.

HUNGRY LIKE A WOLFF II: Nick Wolff holds the distinction of being the only Bulldog in program history to play in three NCAA championship games. Goaltender Hunter Shepard dressed in all three of those title bouts, but did not see crease time in the 2017 Frozen Four.

SAVING THEIR BEST FOR LAST: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 19-12 in the third period so far in 2019-20. A total of 51.3 percent of UMD's goals have been generated in the final 20 minutes of regulation, a figure bettered nationally by only one other institution (Canisius College at 56.0 percent).

Junior defenseman Scott Perunovich is tied for the NCAA lead in third-period points with 12 (two goals and 10 assists).

PUCK HUNTER: Senior All-American goaltender Hunter Shepard is expected to make his 100th collegiate appearance this Friday night in Omaha. Shepard, the reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Year, has now made 95 consecutive starts (which is nine shy of the NCAA record held by Cornell University's Ben Shrivens from 2007-10). Shepherd's ironman streak dates back to Oct. 21, 2017.

PUCK HUNTER II: Hunter Shepard now has a school-record 17 shutouts to his collegiate credit (more than any active NCAA puckstopper), including a pair this season. The only two NCHC clubs Shepard has yet to blank are Omaha and St. Cloud State. He is, however, 6-1-0 in eight lifetime starts against the Omaha.

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN: Going back to March 6, 2018, the Bulldogs have won 33 of the last 35 games in which they have gotten on the scoreboard first. Their two losses in that situation were inflicted by St. Cloud State on March 9, 2019 and Jan. 12, 2019. UMD is 6-0 when it has taken a 1-0 lead in 2019-20.

GREAT SCOTT: Despite being held off the scoresheet in both ends of last weekend's series with Minnesota State, two-time All-American Scott Perunovich still holds down the No. 2 spot on the NCAA assist charts with 18 and leads all of the nation's defensemen in scoring with 20 points (the sixth highest total overall).

NOT SO SWEEP: Last weekend, Minnesota State became the first non-conference opponent in nearly 14 years to sweep a two-game series from the Bulldogs in Duluth. The last time that happened was on Oct. 7-8, 2005 when then- WCHA rival Bemidji State prevailed 3-2 and 5-1 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.

GET SHORTIE: Junior right winger Nick Swaney (two, both in 2018-19) and junior center Justin Richards (against UMass-Lowell on Oct. 12, 2019) are the only two Bulldogs with a man down goal to their collegiate credit.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS: UMD is unbeaten in 26 of the last 27 games that have required overtime, going 13-1-13 since falling 2-1 to host North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016. The lone setback was inflicted by St. Cloud State on March 8, 2019 in St. Cloud.

ROAD SHOW: Junior defenseman Scott Perunovich has generated a team-high seven points in five road games this season.

ROAD SHOW II: The Bulldogs are 2-3-0 away from AMSOIL Arena this season and have been outscored 16-12 (7-3 in the third period in contrast to holding a 16-5 edge in that department at home).

MAKING A POINT: Sophomore winger Cole Koepke, who had his career-high six-game scoring streak snapped in Friday's loss to Minnesota State, has picked up at least one point in seven of the past eight outings.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 76-1-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They are 6-0-0 in that situation this season). The only loss during that stretch was came at the hands of Western Michigan -- 3-2 on Dec. 7, 2018 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

SERVING HIS COUNTRY: UMD head coach Scott Sandelin will serve as the head coach of the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, which are set for Dec. 26, 2019 - Jan. 5, 2020. Sandelin has been a part of three previous U.S. National Junior Team coaching staffs, including as head coach in 2005 and as an assistant coach in both 2012 and for last year's silver medal-winning club.

POLL POSITION: The Bulldogs have now cracked every USCHO.com Top 20 Poll since March 7, 2016.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs won't return to the ice until Dec. 28-29 when they close out the 2019 calendar year with a first-ever trip to Merrimack College.