The University of Minnesota Duluth will begin its NCAA national title defense this Saturday afternoon (March 30) when the Bulldogs pay a visit to Allentown, Pa., to take on Bowling Green State University in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. The puck drops at 3:00 p.m. (CT) at the PPL Center (8,420) and will precede another first round matchup between Quinnipiac University and Arizona State University at 6:30 p.m. The Regional championship is set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

THE RECORDS: The recently-minted 2018-19 National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoff champion Bulldogs are 25-11-2 overall and finished second in the final NCHC standings at 14-9-1-0. The Falcons own a 25-10-5 record in all games to go with a 16-8-4-3 WCHA mark (third place).

THE SEEDS: UMD is the No. 1 seed, followed by Quinnipiac (No. 2) of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, NCAA Division I independent Arizona State (No. 3) and Bowling Green (No. 4)

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Bowling Green 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. 2	No. 2	No. 2
BGSU	No. 5	No. 15	No. 15

         
ON THE AIR: All UMD games this weekend 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.

UMD's semifinal bout with Bowling Green -- as well as the title matchup on Saturday -- will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Kevin Brown (play-by-play) and Fred Pletsch (analyst) serving as the on-air talent. The entire Midwest Regional will be available online as well at: WatchESPN.

THE SERIES: UMD and Bowling Green have met only five times previously, with the last of those coming in the third place game of the Ohio Hockey Classic in Columbus, Ohio -- a 4-3 Bulldog triumph. UMD is 4-1-0 all-time against the Falcons with the sole blemish being an historic 5-4 four-overtime setback in the 1984 NCAA national title game in Lake Placid, N.Y.

LAST WEEKEND: UMD hoisted the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship trophy for the second time in three years after taking down top-ranked St. Cloud State in two overtimes Saturday at St. Paul's Excel Energy Center. in Friday's semifinals, UMD got a pair of unassisted goals from freshman left winger Cole Koepke and a perfect puckstopping performance from junior netminder Hunter Shepard (25 saves) in a 3-0 triumph over the University of Denver. The following night, senior right winger Billy Exell's shorthanded goal with 4:41 to go in regulation forced overtime and sophomore right winger winger Nick Swaney then sealed the deal 7:29 into the second sudden death session. Freshman right winger Tanner Laderoute assisted on both of UMD's final two scores while Shepard made a season-high 37 saves en route to being named the Frozen Faceoff's Most Valuable Player. He joined sophomore defenseman Mike Anderson on the six-member All-Tournament team.

Bowling Green held a 2-0 lead over Minnesota State University-Mankato in the WCHA playoff championship title bout Saturday before the host Mavericks struck twice (with an extra attacker) in the final 1:44 of the third period and again 1:37 into overtime.

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE: This year's NCAA Tournament berth is the 13th ever for UMD and marks the first time the Bulldogs have qualified for that event five years in a row. UMD has now made seven NCAA playoff appearances in the past nine seasons.

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE II: The Bulldogs qualified for NCAA postseason play one year ago and claimed the school's second national title (and a second straight NCAA West Regional crown), in 2016-17 (advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four championship game), in 2015-16 (quarterfinal round in Worcester, Mass.), 2014-15 (quarterfinal round in Manchester, N.H.), 2012-13 (quarterfinal round in Worcester), 2010-11(won their first NCAA championship), 2008-09 (quarterfinal round in Minneapolis, Minn.) and 2003-04 (Frozen Four semifinal) under current head coach Scott Sandelin as well as in 1992-93 (quarterfinal round in Detroit), 1984-85 (Frozen Four third place in 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 23-12 lifetime record in the NCAA Tournament and a 17-6 mark since Scott Sandelin took over the UMD head coaching duties in 2000-01.

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE IV: The Bulldogs, who reigned as West Regional champions in both 2017 and 2018, are looking to become the first club since North Dakota (2014-16) to advance to three NCAA Frozen Fours in a row.

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE V: Since the NCAA went to a regional format in 1987-88, The Bulldogs are a perfect 9-0 in first-round games.

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE VI: With a program-record five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, UMD sports the nation's third longest such streak:
 

1.	Denver	12
2.	Providence College	6
3.	UMD	5
4.	Notre Dame	4

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE VII: The Bulldogs were also the NCAA Tournament's overall No. 2 seed in 2017.

THIS ISN'T THEIR FIRST RODEO: Some 16 current Bulldogs have NCAA postseason experience on their collegiate resumes. That includes senior team captain Parker Mackay, who is looking to become just the third Bulldog ever (joining 2017-18 seniors Karson Kuhlman and Jared Thomas) to compete in the NCAA postseason four consecutive years.

PUCK HUNTER: Junior Hunter Shepard, the 2018-19 NCHC Goaltender of the Year award recipient, has been selected as a Top 10 semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award (most outstanding NCAA I goalie) for a second straight season. A 2018-19 All-NCHC first team honoree and HCA National Goaltender of the Month for January this season, Shepard currently ranks sixth nationally in goals against average (1.87), is tied for second in wins (25) and for third in shutouts (6).

PUCK HUNTER II: Hunter Shepard became a part of UMD history last Saturday night in St. Paul when he made his 77th consecutive start. That eclipsed the program record of 76 set by current UMD volunteer goalie coach Brant Nicklin between Oct. 12, 1996 and March 15, 1998. Shepard began his ironman run on Oct. 21, 2017.

PUCK HUNTER III: Hunter Shepard is one of five NCAA I goaltenders who has appeared in (and started) all of his team's game this winter. One of the others is Arizona State's Joey Daccord.

PUCK HUNTER IV: Hunter Shepard owns UMD records for shutouts in both a season (eight in 2017-18 when he earned All-NCHC second team honors) and a career (14). His 50 wins as a Bulldog puts him in a tie with Isaac Reichmuth (2002-06) at the No. 5 spot on UMD's all-time charts.
 

	Career Goalie Wins	GP	W-L-T
1.	Taras Lendzyk (1992-96)	126	60-56-6
	Rick Kosti (1983-85)	93	60-18-5
3.	Brant Nicklin (1996-00)	137	55-70-8
4.	Kenny Reiter (2008-12)	94	52-26-11
5.	Hunter Shepard (2016- )	81	50-27-3
	Isaac Reichmuth (2002-06)	127	50-32-11

PUCK HUNTER V: Hunter Shepard enters the weekend with the most NCAA Tournament wins of any active netminder in the country (he's a perfect 4-0) and is the only current NCAA goalie to backstop his team to a national title.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS: UMD is unbeaten in 24 of the last 25 games that have required overtime, going 12-1-12, since falling 2-1 to host North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016. That lone setback was inflicted by St. Cloud State two weeks ago (March 8).

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS II: Just three current Bulldogs -- Nick Swaney, Parker Mackay and Cole Koepke -- have an overtime goal as a collegian. Swaney has three (all in 2018-19, which ties him for the NCAA lead) doing his damage in the double-over time triumph over St. Cloud State in the CHC Frozen Four title bout, in UMD's 4-3 takedown of Minnesota State-Mankato in the 2018 Desert Hockey Classic semifinals and its 2-1 victory over Omaha on March 15. 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 shortie in a 4-3 win at Denver on Nov. 17, 2018.

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

LIFE OF RILEY: Junior left winger Riley Tufte paces all Bulldogs in career NCAA Tournament scoring with four points on one goal and three assists in eight games. Earlier this month (March 16) , Tuft had his four-game goal scoring streak snapped in UMD's 4-1 win over Omaha. That was the longest such run by a Bulldog since Dominic Toninato struck in five straight games during the 2016-17 season. Tufte is one of seven NHL draftees on the UMD 2018-19 roster and one of four first-round NHL draft picks in program history.

SOME CLOSE SHAVES: Each of UMD's last 11 NCAA Tournament game have been one-goal affairs.

SOME CLOSE SHAVES II: Going back to the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs have won 13 of the last 17 games decided by one goal.

BACK END BOOSTER: Sophomore Scott Perunovich, a two-time All-NCHC first team honoree, landed the NCHC's Offensive Defenseman of the Year Award for a second straight time in 2018-19.

Perunovich's 28 overall points this season take a backseat to only two other NCHC defenseman (St. Cloud State's Jimmy Schuldt and Jack Ahcan each have 34) while his 25 assists are the second-most of any league point man (Ahcan has 28).

Last winter, Perunovich became just the second UMD freshman to ever collar All-American first team honors (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 the NCHC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year honors (both UMD program firsts).Perunovich also became the second defenseman to ever lead UMD in scoring and the first rookie to do so 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 all NCAA newcomers, Perunovich ranked first in plus-minus rating (+22) and third in both points and assists.

BACK END BOOSTER II: Sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson has marked on the scoresheet in seven of the past eight games and has accumulate 11 points (all assists) during that stretch.

YOU'RE KILLING ME: Since the start of the postseason, Bulldog opponents have cashed in on just one of their 14 power play chances.

YOU'RE KILLING ME II: On March 2, the Bulldogs paced the country in penalty killing efficiency at 90.7 percent but they head into the NCAA Midwest Regional ranking 12th nationally at 86.0 percent. Opponents are 11-for-34 (32.3 percent) on the power play over the last nine games after connecting at 7.8 percent (8-for-102) the first 29 outings of the season.

YOU'RE KILLING ME III: 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 on March 2, 2019 against visiting Miami and at Colorado College on Jan. 12, 2018.

YOU'RE KILLING ME  IV: The Bulldogs' penalty kill of 87.2 percent (68-of-78) on the road is the fifth-best figure in the country while its .845 mark at home (49-of-58) ranks 23rd nationally.

WELL DONE: Senior right winger Parker Mackay, junior defenseman Nick Wollf and sophomore defenseman Dylan Samberg were all members of the 2018 NCAA All-West Regional Team.

NEW TERRITORY: UMD has paid a visit to 22 different states during its 75-year history, but Pennsylvania is not one of them.

NEW TERRITORY II: The Bulldogs have never faced either Arizona State or Quinnipiac.

TOP 'DOG: Although he's been held without a goal or an assist in 10 of the last 11 games, sophomore center Justin Richards continues to hold down the No. 1 spot on the UMD scoring charts (he shares the top billing with sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich) with 10 goals and 18 assists. Richards, a 2018-19 All-NCHC second team pick and the reigning NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year, has taken shifts in all 82 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.

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 73-1-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They were 23-0-1 in that situation one year ago and are 18-1-0 this season). The only loss during that stretch was inflicted by Western Michigan -- 3-2 on Dec. 7, 2018 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

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

GET SHORTIE II: All three of UMD's shorthanded goals this season have been registered on the road.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: UMD's shots differential (+11.45) continue to lead the country. while its shot allowed per game average (23.21) ranks third. The Bulldogs are averaging 34.64 shots per game to trail only Penn State (40.00 spg), the University of Michigan (35.58 spg) and the University of Massachusetts (35.38 spg) among NCAA I schools.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT II: UMD has been outshot in only five of its 38 games this winter.

SECOND-HALF SPURT: Of sophomore Nick Swaney's team-leading 15 goals, 11 have come in the 22 games since Dec. 28 -- including a hat trick on Jan. 26 against Omaha). Only one other league skater (St. Cloud State's Robby Jackson with 13) has 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 (93 -- 15 more than the next closest league combatant).

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN: The Bulldogs are 21-2-0 when they've drawn first blood this season and have won 25 of the last 27 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, 2019 and Jan. 12, 2019.

FOR PETE'S SAKE: Senior center Peter Krieger has racked up more collegiate points (86 in team-high 150 games) than any other Bulldog, with 53 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).

POWER SURGE: The Bulldogs' 31 power play goals to date have been generated by 12 different players, including junior left winger Riley Tufte, who has a team-leading seven man advantage tallies (which ties him for the NCHC lead with Omaha's Mason Morelli).

POWER SURGE II: 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).

FLEXING SOME SOPHOMORE MUSCLE: UMD possesses the fourth-highest scoring sophomore class in the country (153 points on 51 goals and 102 assists) and that group has accounted for 47.8 percent of the Bulldogs' entire point production thus far and 42.1 percent of their goals.

GREAT SCOTT: Over the past five seasons, only three NCAA I head coaches have generated more victories than UMD's Scott Sandelin:
 

Name	School	W	L	T	Pct.
Mike Hastings	Minnesota  State	133	51	17	.704
Nate Leaman	Providence	121	55	21	.668
Rand Pecknold	Quinnipiac	119	58	19	.656
Scott Sandelin	UMD	118	66	20	.627
Chris Bergeron	BGSU	114	65	24	.621
Bob Motzko	SCSU/Minn.	110	72	13	.597
Norm Bazin	UMass-Lowell	109	65	19	.614

GREAT SCOTT II: 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.

GREAT SCOTT III: Earlier this winter Scott Sandelin became the NCHC's all-time winningest coach (league games only). Here are the top six individuals on that list through the 2018-19 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.

GREAT SCOTT IV: Even though he wasn't in Glendale, Ariz. to witness it, Scott Sandelin became the winningest coach in program history on Dec. 28 when the Bulldogs defeated Minnesota State University-Mankato 4-3 in overtime at the Desert Hockey Classic. That gave Sandelin, who was in Victoria, British Columbia that night assistant coaching the U.S. at the IIHF World Junior Championships, his 351st career victory with the Bulldogs (he's now 363-311-86 during his 18-plus seasons). Sandelin's predecessor, UMD Athletic Hall of Famer Mike Sertich, was the previous kingpin, having amassed a 350-328-44 record from 1982-2000.

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

Player	Yr.	Pts.	Previous High
Justin Richards	So.	28	9 (2017-18)
Parker Mackay	Sr.	27	19 (2017-18)
Mikey Anderson	So.	24	23 (2017-18)
Nick Swaney	So.	24	22 (2017-18)
Nick Wolff	Jr.	18	13 (2017-18)
Dylan Samberg	So.	17	13 (2017-18)
Kobe Roth	So.	13	9 (2017-18)
Louie Roehl	So.	10	9 (2017-18)
Koby Bender	Fr.	4	1 (2017-18)

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

Player	Yr.	Pts.	Previous High
Matt Anderson	So.	5	6 (2017-18)
Jade Miller	Jr.	10	13 (2017-18)

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 53-22 in the second period this season. UMD's +31 second-period goal differential tops all NCAA I schools while its goals per game average (1.39) ranks second. In addition, 43.8 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 32-30 in the first period thus far and has generated 24.8 percent of its goals in the opening 20 minutes of play (to rank 50th nationally).

CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT: The Bulldogs (25-11-2 overall) have reached the 20-win plateau for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFFMAN: Junior Nick Wolff, who has taken shifts in a team-high 110 straight games, is a own's the best career plus-minus rating (+39) of any current Bulldog.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFFMAN II: Nick Wolff tops the NCHC in overall penalty minutes with 78.

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 Wolff

FROZEN IN TIME: With Saturday night's 3-2 double overtime victory over St. Cloud State, UMD became the league's second two-time NCHC Frozen Faceoff title winner (joining which also has won two crowns).

LOCKDOWN: UMD has allowed the fewest third-period goals (21) of any NCAA I club in the country.

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

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.

LIKE A PRO: Last week (March 21) Adam Johnson made his National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Penguins and became the program-record 13th hockey alum to do time in the NHL this season. He joined  Joey Anderson (New Jersey Devils), J.T. Brown (Minnesota Wild), Justin Faulk (Carolina Hurricane), Jason Garrison (Edmonton Oilers), Alex Iafallo (Los Angeles Kings), Karson Kuhlman (Boston Bruins), Hunter Miska (Arizona Coyotes), Matt Niskanen (Washington Capitals), Neal Pionk (New York Rangers), Alex Stalock (Minnesota Wild), Andy Welinski (Anaheim Ducks) and Dominic Toninato (Colorado Avalanche).  In addition, goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this season, but did not see any crease minutes.

MOVING TO THE BIG DANCE: The champion from each of the four regionals will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four, which is set for April 11 and 13 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.