With the 2018-19 regular season now in the review mirror, the University of Minnesota Duluth will shift its focus to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs and a best-of-three quarterfinal round home series against the University of Nebraska Omaha this weekend. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. on Friday (March 15), Saturday, and if necessary, Sunday at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

 The defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are 21-11-2 overall and finished second in the final NCHC standings at 14-9-1-0. The Mavericks, who are winless in their last seven outings (0-6-1), sport a 9-22-3 record in all games to go with a 5-17-2-1 league mark (tied for seventh place with Miami University).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Omaha 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
Omaha	NR	NR	No. 45

         
ON THE AIR: The entire UMD-Omaha playoff series 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.

All of the Bulldog-Maverick clashes will also be televise locally on KBJR-TV. 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 Omaha will collide for the 34th on Friday night The Bulldogs hold a commanding 19-11-3 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 5, 1997 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, and swept the Mavericks in the two clubs' only regular season meetings of 2018-19 (7-2 and 3-1 on Jan. 25 -26 in Duluth). UMD is 10-3-3 all-time versus Omaha in Duluth. and the last four games in the rivalry have been contested there.

LAST WEEKEND: UMD dropped a pair of 4-3 NCHC road decisions to St. Cloud State in a battle of NCAA I heavyweights. The top-ranked Huskies needed overtime to prevail in the series opener as they struck for their third power play goal of the night 3:16 into the extra session. Eight different Bulldogs collected points in the setback. In Saturday's regular season finale, UMD jumped out to a 2-0 second-period lead only to see the Huskies roar back with three straight goals. Jade Miller got the equalizer for the Bulldogs with his second tally of the weekend with 3:44 to go in regulation but St. Cloud State answered a little more than two minutes later to seal the win. Sophomore defensive partners Dylan Samberg and Mikey Anderson both were credited with a pair of assists while junior left winger Riley Tufte scored his second goal in as many nights.

Omaha was upended twice by NCHC rival North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D., falling 2-1 on Friday and 5-4 in the rematch.

THESE DOGS HAD THEIR DAY: A program-high five Bulldogs received some kind of All-NCHC honors for 2018-19. Sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich and junior goaltender Hunter Shepard were both named to the All-NCHC first team -- the first time UMD has had multiple first-teammers in the six-year history of the league -- while sophomore center Justin Richards attained second team recognition. In addition, sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson and sophomore left winger Nick Swaney were honorable mention picks.

 This marked the second straight all-league first team citation for Perunovich, a 2017-18 All-American who finished tied for third among NCHC defensemen in scoring for conference games with 16 points. Shepard, a 2017-18 All-NCHC second team selection, compiled the best goals against average (1.92) and most shutouts (five) of any conference puckstopper in league action. Shepard, who has twice been chosen the NCHC Goalie of the Month this season (November and January), is the first UMD netminder to secure first team all-conference status since Alex Stalock did so in 2008-09 when the Bulldogs were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Richards finished with 18 points (eight goals and 10 assists) in 24 league outings this winter and generated the second-most game-winners (three) among NCHC skaters.

Anderson shared the No. 3 spot with Perunovich on the league's defenseman scoring charts with two goals and 14 assists while Swaney amassed the third highest goal total (11) of any NCHC skater. He also was one of only four players to record a hat trick against NCHC competition.

THIS DOG HAD HIS DAY: Left winger oah Cates, who has made quite a splash during his debut season with the Bulldogs, secured himself a spot on the 2018-19 NCHC, which was voted on by league coaches. Cates, who was the top vote-getter on the All-Rookie Team with 19 points -- including six (of a possible seven) first-place votes, becomes the fifth Bulldog in the six-year history of the league to ever be so honored, joining current sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich (2017-18), right winger Joey Anderson (2016-17), goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo (2014-15) and left winger Alex Iafallo (2013-14).

Cates ranked third among all NCHC freshmen in league points (15), second in goals (6), fourth in shots (56) and sixth in plus-minus rating (+7) .

THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: UMD and Omaha have never met in the postseason.

HOME ICE IS NICE: UMD has secured a home playoff berth for the fifth time in the six-year existence of the NCHC (with the lone exception being in 2015).

FROZEN IN TIME: Two years ago, the Bulldogs captured their first NCHC Frozen Faceoff title -- and their first conference playoff crown of any kind since the 2008-09 season when they were members of the WCHA.

CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT: The Bulldogs (21-11-2 overall) have now reached the 20-win plateau for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons.

END OF THE LINE: UMD's three seniors -- forwards Billy Exell, Peter Krieger and Parker Mackay -- as well as fourth-year junior goaltender Nick Deery (who is graduating this May), will suit up at AMSOIL Arena this weekend for the final time as collegians. During that quartet's time at UMD, the Bulldogs have captured one NCAA national championship, appeared in two NCAA Frozen Four title games, made three NCAA Tournament appearances, claimed one NCHC Frozen Faceoff playoff crown and rolled up a 93-50-17 record.

NO WALK IN THE PARK: UMD ranked first in regular season strength of schedule in 2018-19. Here is how the Bulldogs have fared in that department since joining the NCHC:

Year            Rank
2018-19        1st
2017-18        3rd
2016-17        1st
2015-16        2nd
2014-15        1st
2013-14        1st

PUCK HUNTER: Junior Hunter Shepard has been selected as a Top 10 semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award (most outstanding NCAA I goaltender) for  second straight season. A 2018-19 All-NCHC first team honoree and NCHC Goaltender of the Month for both November and January this season, Shepard currently ranks ninth nationally in goals against average (2.02), is tied for second in wins (21) and for third in shutouts (5). He's now made 73 consecutive starts (an ironman run that began on Oct. 21, 2017), which is three 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 owns UMD records for shutouts in both a season (eight in 2017-18) and a career (13). His 46 wins as a Bulldogs puts him sixth on UMD's all-time charts -- four back of Isaac Reichmuth (2002-06), who occupies the No. 5 spot.

WELCOME BACK: Only one UMD opponent (St. Cloud State) has paid more lifetime visits to AMSOIL Arena than Omaha, which is 3-8-3 in its 14 appearances there.

IT'S MILLER TIME: Junior center Jade Miller will bring a career-high five-game scoring streak into Friday's bout with Omaha, having collected three goals and three assists (two thirds of his entire 2018-19 point harvest) during that stretch.

NOT MUCH HAPPENING HERE: In the past eight games, UMD opponents are averaging just 39.4 TOTAL shot attempts per night.

GREAT SCOTT!: Sophomore defenseman and two-time All-NCHC first team honoree Scott Perunovich has generated a team-leading eight points (three goals and five assists with one game-winner) in six lifetime outings against Omaha

Perunovich's 27 overall points this season take a backseat to only two other NCHC defenseman (St. Cloud State's Jimmy Schuldt with 31 and Jack Ahcan with 30) while his 24 assists are the second-most of any league point man (Ahcan has 26).

YOU'RE KILLING ME: On March 2, the Bulldogs paced the nation in penalty killing efficiency at 90.7 percent but they head into the postseason ranking 14th nationally at 85.5 percent. Opponents are 10-for-18 (55.5 percent) on the power play over the last six games after connecting at 7.8 percent (8-for-102) the first 28 outings of the season.

YOU'RE KILLING ME II: UMD has won only two of the last 12 games (2-9-1) in which it has given up multiple power play goals. Those triumphs came in March 2, 2019 against visiting Miami and last year -- a 6-5 triumph at Colorado College on Jan. 12, 2018.

YOU'RE KILLING ME III: The Bulldogs' penalty kill of 87.1 percent (61-of-70) on the road is the eighth-best figure in the country while its .820 mark at home (41-of-50) ranks 32nd nationally. In addition, both of UMD's two shorthanded goals this season have been registered away from AMSOIL Arena.

'TOP DOG: Although he's been held off the scoresheet the past seven games, sophomore center Justin Richards continues to own a share of the No. 1 spot (with sophomore All-American defenseman Scott Perunovich) on the UMD scoring charts with 10 goals and 17 assists. Richards, a 2018-18 All-NCHC second team pick, has taken shifts in all 78 games since joining the Bulldogs one year ago (when he went without a goal),

Earlier this season (Jan. 19) in a 3-0 win at Miami, Richards became the first Bulldog to successfully convert a penalty shot since Travis Oleksuk did so back on Oct. 15, 2010 against Providence College in Duluth.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS: UMD is unbeaten in 22 of the last 23 games that have required overtime, going 10-1-12, since falling 2-1 to host North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016. That lone setback was inflicted by St. Cloud State last Friday night in St. Cloud.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS II: The last time the Bulldogs succumbed to any opponent in overtime at home was Oct. 17, 2014 -- 5-4 to Minnesota State University-Mankato.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS III: 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. Koepke potted his in a 4-3 triumph at Denver on Nov. 17, 2018 and Swaney did his damage in UMD's 4-3 overtime takedown of Minnesota State-Mankato in the 2018 Desert Hockey Classic semifinals.

LIFE OF RILEY: Junior left winger Tufte, who has potted a goal in each of the past three games (the longest such streak by a Bulldog this season), is one of seven NHL draftees on the UMD 2018-19 roster and one of four first-round NHL draft picks in program history.

FLEXING SOME SOPHOMORE MUSCLE: UMD possesses the third-highest scoring sophomore class in the country (141 points on 46 goals and 95 assists) and that group has accounted for 47.6 percent of the Bulldogs' entire point production thus far and 42.0 percent of their goals.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: UMD's shot differential (+12.03) continues to lead the country as does its shots allowed per game average (22.68). The Bulldogs are averaging 34.71 shots per game to trail only Penn State (40.95 spg), the University of Michigan (35.58 spg) and the University of Massachusetts (35.15 spg) among NCAA I schools.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT II: UMD has been outshot in only four of its 34 games this winter.

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME: Eight UMD veterans have established or equaled career collegiate bests for points this winter:

Player                  Yr.    Pts.   Previous High
Justin Richards    So.    27      9 (2017-18)
Parker Mackay     Sr.     24    19 (2017-18)
Nick Swaney        So.    22    22 (2017-18)
Nick Wolff             Jr.     17    13 (2017-18)
Dylan Samberg    So.   15     13 (2017-18)
Kobe Roth            So.    12     9 (2017-18)
Louie Roehl          So.    9       9 (2017-18)
Koby Bender         Fr.    4       1 (2017-18)

... while two other Bulldogs are knocking on the door:

Player                   Yr.    Pts.    Previous High
Mikey Anderson    So.    20    23 (2017-18)
Matt Anderson      So.      5      6 (2017-18)

POWER SURGE: UMD is connecting at 25.0 percent with the man advantage -- the seventh best average in the country and highest figure in the NCHC.

POWER SURGE II: The Bulldogs' 30 power play goals to date have been generated by 12 different players, including junior left winger Riley Tufte, who has a team-leading seven tallies (which ties him for the NCHC lead with Omaha's Mason Morelli).

POWER SURGE III: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, UMD is 23-2-2 when scoring multiple times with the man advantage. The lone two losses came earlier this year -- on Oct. 7 at Minnesota when UMD went 2-for-5 with the man advantage in a 7-4 setback and March 9 (UMD was defeated 4-3 by host St. Cloud after going 2-for-4 on the power play.

SECOND-HALF SPURT: Of sophomore Nick Swaney's team-leading 13 goals, nine have come in the 18 games since Dec. 28 -- including a hat trick on Jan. 26 against the University of Nebraska Omaha). Only two other league skaters (Omaha's Mason Morelli and Western Michigan's Ethen Frank with 10 each) have scored more times during that stretch than Swaney, the NCHC Player of the Month for January, and no one has put more shots on target (71).

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN: The Bulldogs are 19-2-0 when they've drawn first blood this season and have won 23 of the last 25 games in which they have gotten on the scoreboard first (going back to March 9, 2018). Their two losses in that situation were inflicted by St. Cloud State on March 9, 2018 and Jan. 12, 2018.

FOR PETE'S SAKE: Senior center Peter Krieger has racked up more collegiate points (84 in team-high 146 games) than any other Bulldog, with 51 of those coming during his time at UMD (2017-present) and the rest while he was a member of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks program (2014-16).

CLAP FOR THE WOLFFMAN: Junior Nick Wolff, who has taken shifts in a team-high 107 straight games, is a +17 on the year. Wolff's career plus-minus rating (+39) tops all current Bulldogs.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFFMAN II: Nick Wolff is the NCHC overall leader in overall penalty minutes (76).

CLAP FOR THE WOLFFMAN III: No player in the country has scored more goals (two) or points (three) in the opening two minutes of play this year than Nick Wolf.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 71-1-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They were 23-0-1 in that situation one year ago and are 16-1-0 this season). The only loss during that stretch was inflicted by Western Michigan -- 3-2 on Dec. 7, 2018 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

A TWO-FER: Both senior center Peter Krieger (at North Dakota on Feb. 23) and sophomore right winger Kobe Roth (versus North Dakota on Nov. 30) have scored twice with the man advantage in games this season. Prior to this year, the last Bulldog to turn in a multiple-power play goal outing was Austin Farley against Western Michigan on Dec. 5, 2015.

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 50-22 in the second period this season. UMD's +28 second-period goal differential ranks second among all NCAA I schools as does its goals per game average (1.47). In addition, 45.9 percent of the Bulldogs' goal scoring has taken place in the second period, a figure unmatched in the country.

In contrast, UMD has been outscored 30-28 in the first period thus far and has generated 25.7 percent of its goals in the opening 20 minutes of play (to rank 45th nationally).

NOT SO SWEEP: UMD has been swept only four times in its last 58 regular season series overall (going back to Feb. 19-20, 2016) -- twice to both St. Cloud State(4-3 in overtime and 4-3 on March 8-9, 2019 and (5-3 and 5-0 on Nov. 3-4, 2017) and against Denver (1-0 and 2-1 on Dec. 1-2, 2017 and 1-0 and 4-3 on Feb. 2-3, 2018).

GET SHORTIE: Sophomore right winger Nick Swaney 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

LOCKDOWN: UMD has allowed the fewest third-period goals (19) of any NCAA I club in the country.

IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN: Earlier this season, Scott Sandelin became the NCHC's all-time winningest coach (league games only). Here are the top six individuals on that list through this season.

Name                   School    W-L-T        Pct.
Scott Sandelin      UMD       76-55-13    .573
Jim Montgomery   Denver   70-35-15    .646
Bob Motzko           SCSU     69-41-10    .617
Andy Murray         WMU      58- 74-12    .444
Brad Berry            UND       50-37- 9      .567
Enrico Blasi          Miami      45-84- 15   .364
Dean Blais           Omaha    42-45- 9    .484

Sandelin, incidentally, has never finished a season (there have been six) with a sub-.500 NCHC record.

VIEW FROM THE TOP: UMD has sat atop the USCHO.com Poll on four occasions this season and its three-week 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 Bulldogs have now cracked every USCHO.com Top 20 Poll since March 7, 2016.

TO THE WINNERS ...: The four, first-round playoff series winnes will advance to the NCHC Frozen Four, which is set for March 22-23 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.