Coming off its final bye weekend of the 2018-19 regular season, the University of Minnesota Duluth returns to the ice -- and National Collegiate Hockey Conference warfare -- this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 15-16) to host the University of Denver in a key two-game series. The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. Friday and 7:07 p.m. the following night at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

THE RECORDS: The defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are 17-7-2 overall and 10-5-1-0 in NCHC play (second place) while Denver sports a 15-6-4 record in all games to go with a 7-6-2-2 NCHC mark (fourth place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Denver stacked up in the most recent USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls as well as the PairWise rankings:
 

	USCHO.com	USA Today	PairWise
UMD	No. 4	No. 4	No. 4
Denver	No. 7	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 handling the play-by-play responsibilities and Bulldog hockey alumnus Kraig Karakas the color commentary. The broadcast can also be heard at: kdal610.com.

Friday's series opener will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden, Dave Starman and Shireen Saski serving as the on-air talent.

My9, which has been the Bulldogs' television home for the last 11 seasons, will air Saturday's bout. Zach Schneider and former UMD standout forward Judd Medak will serve as the on-air talent . That telecast are available on-line at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Denver have collided on 215 occasions previously -- mostly (191 times) while both were members of the WCHA. The Pioneers hold a 125-78-12 lead in the rivalry, which began on Dec. 28, 1961 in Denver. The two clubs traded win earlier this season (Nov. 16-17) with the host Pioneers, despite being outshot 38-14, prevailing 2-0 in the opener (and putting the skids on the Bulldogs' eight-game wining streak) before UMD rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory the following night.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs have been idle since splitting a two-game NCHC road series with Colorado College (a 4-1 setback and 6-0 victory on Feb. 1-2).

Likewise, Denver has been off since Feb. 2, having skated to a 2-2 home tie with league rival North Dakota that evening after winning 2-1 one day day earlier.

THOSE PESKY PIONEERS: Going back to the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four title game, the Pioneers are 7-1-0 against UMD (with all eight of those outings have been decided by two goals or less). In 2017-18, Denver became the first opponent to post a 5-0 record against the Bulldogs in season since Minnesota went 6-0 back in 1994-95.

RALLY TIME: UMD's 4-3 overtime takedown of Denver on Nov. 17, 2018 not only snapped a six-game losing skid to the Pioneers, but it marked the first time a Bulldog club had overcome a three-goal deficit to win since Feb. 21, 2004 (5-3 over host Colorado College, which had jumped to a 3-0 first-period lead). It also was the first time UMD won after trailing by three goals in the third period since they turned that trick on Minnesota in 1998 WCHA playoffs in Duluth. (The Gophers led 4-0 with 13:46 remaining in regulation only to fall 5-4 in overtime.)

A REAL BUZZ KILL: UMD continues to rank first in the nation in penalty kill efficiency at .916. The Bulldogs have given up just three power play goals in their last 15 games and the last 55 times they've been a man down. Omaha is the only opponent that has struck on the power play in both ends of a weekend series this season (Jan. 25-26). Bulldog foes are a mere 8-for-95 on the power play this season, with those eight goals spread over eight different games.

A REAL BUZZ KILL II: UMD has won only one of the last nine games (1-7-1) in which it has given up multiple power play goals. That came last year -- a 6-5 triumph at Colorado College on Jan. 12, 2018, when the Tigers struck twice with the man advantage.

A REAL BUZZ KILL III: The Bulldogs' penalty kill on the road is a NCAA-leading .945 (52-of-55) while its .857 mark at home (35-of-40) ranks 14th nationally.

PUCK HUNTER: Hunter Shepard, the reigning Hockey Commissioner's National Goaltender of the Month and a two-time NCHC Goaltender of the Month award recipient in 2018-19 (November and January), ranks third among NCAA puckstoppers in goals against average (1.75), wins (17) shutouts (5). He's now made 65 consecutive starts (an ironman run that began on Oct. 21, 2017), which is 11 starts shy of the team record set by current UMD volunteer goalie coach Brant Nicklin between Oct. 12, 1996 and March 15, 1998.

Shepard, a 2017-18 All-NCHC second team selection and Mike Richter Award semifinalist (most outstanding NCAA goalie), owns UMD records for shutouts in both a season (eight in 2017-18) and a career (13).

MAKING THEMSELVES FEEEL RIGHT AT HOME: Denver's lifetime winning percentage at AMSOIL Arena (.800 off a 7-1-2 record) is the best of any NCHC club at the moment.

FLEXING SOME SOPHOMORE MUSCLE: UMD possesses the third-highest scoring sophomore class in the country (115 points on 40 goals and 75 assists) and that group has accounted for 51.1 percent of the Bulldogs' entire point production thus far and 47.6 percent of their goals.

'TOP DOG: Sophomore center Justin Richards holds down the No. 1 spot on the UMD scoring charts with 25 points (eight goals and 17 assists). Richards, who has taken shifts in all 70 games since joining the Bulldogs one year ago (when he went without a goal), has collected a point in nine of his last 10 games.

Prior to Jan. 18, 2019, the last time someone other than sophomore Scott Perunovich topped the Bulldogs in points entering a weekend was on Nov. 9, 2017.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN JUST THAT: UMD is now unbeaten in the last 22 games that have gone into overtime, going 10-0-12, since falling 2-1 to host North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016. Just three current Bulldogs -- Parker Mackay, Cole Koepke and Nick Swaney -- have 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. Keopke did his in a 4-3 triumph at Denver on Nov. 17, 2018 and Swaney his damage in UMD's 4-3 overtime takedown of Minnesota State-Mankato in the 2018 Desert Hockey Classic semifinals.

NOT SO SWEEP: UMD has been swept only three times in its last 54 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!: Since the start of the 2017-18 season, no other defenseman in the country has generated a higher plus-minus rating (+29) than Scott Perunovich. Here is how the Hibbing, Minn., native ranks among his NCAA I blue line brethren in scoring during that stretch:

        Player (Team)                                  G    A    TP    +/-
1.    Phil Beaulieu (No. Michigan)           16    54    70    +25
2.    Joseph Duszak(Mercyhurst)           23    47    70    +15
3.    Jimmy Schuldt (St. Cloud State)     18    45    63    +27
4.    Scott Perunovich (UMD)              14    46    60    +29
5.    Chase Priskie (Quinnipiac)             22    35    50    +20

Perunovich ranks second among NCHC defensemen in both points (24) and assists (21) this season.

POWER SURGE: UMD is connecting at 24.0 percent with the man advantage -- the ninth best average in the country and second best in the NCHC.

POWER SURGE II: The Bulldogs' 23 power play goals to date have been generated by 12 different players, including junior left winger Riley Tufte and sophomore right winger Kobe Roth, who both have a team-leading four tallies.

POWER SURGE III: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, UMD is 21-1-2 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 setback.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: The Bulldogs are averaging 36.96 shots per game to trail only Penn State (39.68 spg) among NCAA I schools. UMD's shot differential (+13.81) continues to lead the country while its 23.15 shots allowed per game average ranks third nationally behind North Dakota (22.67 spg) and St. Cloud State (22.96 spg).

GIVING IT HIS BEST SHOT: The 12 shots Nick Swaney racked up earlier this month against Omaha (Jan. 25) were the most by a Bulldog since current UMD television color analyst Judd Medak lit up Wisconsin for a dozen back on March 2, 2002.

FOR PETE'S SAKE: Senior center Peter Krieger has racked up more collegiate points (79) than any other Bulldog, with 46 of those coming during his time with at UMD (2017-present) and the rest while he was a member of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks program (2014-16).

FOR PETE'S SAKE II: During his two seasons at Alaska-Fairbanks, Peter Krieger played for then-head coach Dallas Ferguson, who is now a Denver assistant coach.

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 42-16 in the second period this season. UMD's +26 second-period goal differential is tops among all NCAA I schools while its goals per game average (1.62) ranks second nationally. In addition, an even 50.0 percent of the Bulldogs' goal scoring has taken place in the second period, a figure unmatched in the country.

OH, BROTHER: The rookie brother tandem of Jackson and Noah Cates have both struck for goals in the same game three times this season.

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN: The Bulldogs are 16-1-0 when they've drawn first blood this season and have won 20 of the last 21 games in which they have gotten on the scoreboard first (going back to March 9, 2018). Their one loss in that situation was inflicted by St. Cloud State on Jan. 12, 2018.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFFMAN: Junior Nick Wolff, who has taken shifts in a team-high 99 straight games, is a +15 on the year -- the fourth best mark among NCHC blueliners. Wolff is also the NCHC overall leader in both penalties (19) and penalty minutes (68) and ranks 10th in blocked shots (39). Wolff's career plus-minus rating (+37) tops all current Bulldogs.

GET SHORTIE: Sophomore right winger Nick Swaney, the NCHC Player of the Month for January, has both of UMD's two shorthanded goals in 2018-19 (at Miami on Jan. 18 and at Notre Dame on Oct. 26. Swaney, sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson (one) and senior right winger Parker Mackay (one) are the only other two Bulldogs with a man down goal to their collegiate credit.

LIFE OF RILEY: Riley Tufte, who paces the 2018-19 Bulldogs in lifetime power play scores (10), is one of seven NHL draftees on the UMD 2018-19 roster and one of four first-round NHL draft picks in program history.

VIEW FROM THE TOP: UMD has sat atop the USCHO.com Poll on four occasions this season and its threeweek stay at the No. 1 position (Oct. 29-Nov. 12) was the program's longest since piecing together another three-week run between Jan. 30-Feb. 13, 2017. The last time the 2018-19 Bulldogs entered a weekend as the nation's top-ranked team was on Nov. 16 when they took on Denver.

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

THREE'S A CHARM: UMD is 2-3-3 in eight lifetime 3-on-3 NCHC overtimes. The Bulldogs' last 3-on-3 overtime victory came on Jan. 6, 2017 against visiting Colorado College.

OH SHOOT(OUT)!: The Bulldogs are 4-4 all-time in NCHC shootouts, but only three UMD shooters -- Cole Koepke (0-for-1), Scott Perunovich (0-for-1) and Kobe Roth (0-for-1) -- have ever participated in that post-overtime event (and all did so this season). Hunter Shepard has stopped two of the three shootout attempts he's faced (all coming in 2018-19 as well).

THEY ALL GOT THE CALL FROM THE HALL: During Saturday's first intermission, the four newly-minted members of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame will be recognized in an on-ice ceremony. That distinguished group includes two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association II National Player of the Year Vicky (Braegelmann) Goeser, three-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference soccer forward Beth Byers-Koehnen, hockey All-American Mike DeAngelis, and men's tennis standout Chris Janowiec. DeAngelis, who patrolled UMD blueline for four seasons (1984-88) holds the distinction of being the only Bulldog men's hockey alum to play in more than two Olympic as he competed for Italy in the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Games.

ON TAP: UMD will hit the road for a pair of NCHC bouts against North Dakota on Feb. 22-23.