The defending national champion University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will make their third NCAA Frozen Four appearance in as many years this Thursday (April 11) when they take on Providence College in the semifinals at 4 p.m. (CT) at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The University of Massachusetts and the University of Denver will hit the ice later that night (7:30 p.m.) in the other first round matchup with the two winners meeting for college hockey's top prize on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, who have reeled off six straight victories, are 27-11-2 overall and finished second in the final National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings at 14-9-1-0 before going on to capture the league playoff title. Providence sports a 24-11-6 record in all games to go with a 14-7-3- Hockey East mark (tied for second place with Northeastern University).

HOW THEY RANK: This is how this year's NCAA Frozen Four participants stacked up in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls as well as the PairWise rankings:
 

	uscho.com	USA Today	PairWise
UMD	No. 2	No. 4	No. 2
PC	No. 11	No. 15	No. 9
UMass	No. 4	No. 2	No. 3
DU	No. 6	No. 3	No. 5

        
ON THE AIR: All of UMD's Frozen Four games 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.

ESPN2 will air the entire Frozen Four tourney. John Buccigross (play-by-play), Barry Melrose (analyst), Quint Kessenich (rinkside) and Colby Cohen (rinkside) are the on-air talent. All three telecasts are also available live on WatchESPN.
 
In addition, Westwood One Radio will provide a feed to over 130 affiliates around the country, on Sirius/XM, College Sports Nation-channel 84, Tune In Radio and streamed live on westwoodonesports.com/Frozen Four. Its broadcast team will consist of Brian Tripp (play-by-play), Pat Micheletti (analyst) and Shireen Saski (rinkside).

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Providence have met 25 times previously with the last of those coming on March 25, 2016 in Worcester, Mass., where the Bulldogs pulled out a heart-pounding 2-1 double-overtime victory over the defending national champion Friars in the semifinal round of the NCAA Northeast Regional. UMD holds a 16-7-2 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 12, 1965 at the Brown University Tournament in Providence, and is 1-2-0 versus the Friars in the NCAA Tournament.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: UMD secured a trip to Buffalo and the 2019 Frozen Four by taking down Quinnipiac University 3-1 in the NCAA Midwest Regional title game on March 31 in Allentown, Pa. That came one night after the No. 1-seeded Bulldogs rallied for a 2-1 overtime triumph over No. 4 seed Bowling Green State University. In the semifinal clash with the Falcons, senior team captain Parker Mackay forced overtime by scoring with 3:01 to play in regulation then struck again 8:15 into sudden death. Freshman left winger Cole Koepke had a pair of assists for the Bulldogs, who outshot Bowling Green 32-21. The following evening, goals from senior center Peter Krieger and sophomore left winger Kobe Roth put UMD up 2-0 before Quinnipiac, with its goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, cut the deficit in half with a power play score at the 17:57 mark of the third. Mackay,iced the victory 66 second later with an empty net goal

Providence reigned supreme in the NCAA East Regional,rallying for a 6-3 win over No. 1 seeded Minnesota State University-Mankato in Saturday's semifinals and then blanking No. 3 seed Cornell University 4-0 on Sunday for the tournament title.

COMMON OPPONENTS: UMD and Providence had five common opponents in 2018-19-- Denver, the University of Maine, Miami University Minnesota State and the University of Notre Dame. Here is how each school fared against that quintet.
 

UMD	Opponent	PC
3-2-0	Denver	0-1-1
2-0-0	Maine	1-1-0
4-0-0	Miami	2-0-1
1-0-0	Minnesota State	1-0-0
2-0-0	Notre Dame	0-1-0
12-2-0	Totals	4-3-2

THE FIRST ONE IS ALWAYS SPECIAL: Besides the 2016 Northeast Regional semifinal bout, the Bulldogs' only other postseason meetings with Providence College came in UMD's NCAA Tournament debuts -- a two-game, total-goal quarterfinal round series loss to the host Friars on March 18-19,1983.

FROZEN IN TIME: The Bulldogs have now appeared in six previous NCAA Frozen Fours (going 7-4-0), including the 2018 event in St. Paul, where the Bulldogs took down Notre Dame 2-1 to claim the school's second national title ever. The other championship conquest also took place at that same venue (the Xcel Energy Center) seven years earlier.  

FROZEN IN TIME II: UMD is making its program-record third straight trip to the NCAA Frozen Four.

FROZEN IN TIME III: Sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich and junior goaltender Hunter Shpeard were both members of the 2018 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE I: This year's NCAA Tournament berth is the 13th ever for UMD and marks the first time the Bulldogs have made that event five seasons in a row. UMD has now appeared in the NCAA postseason in seven of the past nine years and eight of the past 11 winters.

UMD IN THE BIG DANCE II: UMD owns the best all-time NCAA Tournament career winning percentage (.676 off a 25-12 record) of any school in the country.

ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT WINNING PERCENTAGE*

	Team	W	L	T	.Pct
1.	UMD	25	12	0	.676
2.	North Dakota	52	26	0	.667
3.	Lake Superior State	20	11	1	.641
4.	Michigan	53	30	0	.639
5.	Union	7	4	0	.636
6.	Wisconsin	37	21	2	.633
7.	Denver	36	23	0	.610
8.	Maine	30	20	0	.600
9.	Ferris State	6	4	0	.600
10.	Minnesota	55	38	0	.591

BACK-TO-BACK: The Bulldogs are the first club since 2005 (Denver) to return to the Frozen Four after winning the previous year's national title. UMD is attempting to become the first repeat NCAA champion since that Denver unit did it in 2004 and 2005.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK: With a win over Providence Thursday, the Bulldogs would become the first team since Boston College (2006-08) to take part in three straight NCAA Frozen Four title games.  

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK: UMD is the first club since North Dakota (2014-16) to advance to three NCAA Frozen Fours in a row.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-BACK: With a program-best 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

NO "ONE-AND-DONE" FOR THESE GUYS: Since the NCAA went to a regional format in 1987-88, The Bulldogs are a perfect 10-0 in first-round tournament games.

THIS ISN'T THEIR FIRST RODEO: Some 14 current Bulldogs have NCAA Frozen Four experience on their collegiate resumes. That includes senior right wigners Parker Mackay and Bill Exell, junior left winger Riley Tufte and junior defenseman Nick Wolff, who are looking to become the first Bulldogs to ever play in three separate Frozen Fours.   

THIS ISN'T THEIR FIRST RODEO II: Sophomore left winger Kobe Roth was among the 14 current Bulldogs who took part in last year's NCAA Frozen Four event in St. Paul,  but left the championship bout in the first period after suffering a lower body injury.

THIS ISN'T THEIR FIRST RODEO III: Senior right winger Parker Mackay one assist), junior center Jade Miller (one assist), junior left winger Riley Tufte (one assist), and sophomore defensemen Matt Anderson (one assist) and Louie Roehl (one goal -- in the 2018 semifinals against Ohio State) are the only five Bulldogs to collect a point in an NCAA Frozen Four.

PUCK HUNTER: Junior Hunter Shepard, the 2018-19 NCHC Goaltender of the Year award recipient, has been chosen as a Top 5 Finalist for the Mike Richter Award (most outstanding NCAA I goalie). A 2018-19 All-NCHC first team honoree and HCA National Goaltender of the Month for January this season, Shepard currently ranks first nationally in wins (27), third in shutout (6) and fifth in goals against average (1.82).

    UMD Single-Season Goalie Wins

	Goalie	GP	W-L-T
1.	Rick Kosti (1984-85)	45	33-9-3
2.	Hunter Shepard (2018-19)	40	27-11-2
3.	Hunter Miska (2016-17)	39	27-5-5
4.	Rick Kosti (1983-84)	38	27-9-2
5.	Bob Mason (1982-83)	43	26-16-1

PUCK HUNTER II: In six lifetime NCAA Tournament appearances, Hunter Shepard is a perfect 6-0 while compiling a 1.13 goals against average and a .944 saves percentage.

PUCK HUNTER III: Hunter Shepard has now made a school-record 79 consecutive starts (an ironman run that began on Oct. 21, 2017). The previous mark of 76 starts was held by current UMD volunteer goaltending coach Brant Nicklin.

PUCK HUNTER IV: Hunter Shepard is one of six NCAA I goaltenders who has appeared in (and started) all of his team's games this winter. The last Bulldog to accomplish that feat was Alex Stalock, now a member of the Minnesota Wild, in 2007-08.

PUCK HUNTER V: During UMD's current six-game postseason winning streak, Shepard has given up just six goals (for an 0.87 goals against average). He's also posted one shut out and a .963 saves percentage.

PUCK HUNTER VI: 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 52 wins as a Bulldog puts him in the No. 4 spot on UMD's all-time charts.
 

	Goalie	GP	W-L-T
1.	Taras Lendzyk (1992-96)	126	60-56-6
	Rick Kosti (1983-85)	83	60-18-5
3.	Brant Nicklin (1996-00)	137	55-70-8
4.	Hunter Shepard (2016- )	83	52-27-3
	Kenny Reiter (2008-12)	94	52-26-11
6.	Isaac Reichmuth (2002-06)	127	50-32-11

PUCK HUNTER VII: Hunter Shepard enters the the final weekend of the 2018-19 college hockey season with the most NCAA Tournament wins of any active netminder in the country (he's a perfect 6-0) and is the only current NCAA I goalie to backstop his team to a national title.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS: UMD is unbeaten in 25 of the last 26 games that have required overtime, going 13-1-12 since falling 2-1 to host North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2016. The lone setback was inflicted by St. Cloud State last month (March 8).

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS II: The Bulldogs have now reeled off eight straight overtime wins in the NCAA postseason since falling 6-5 to Rensselaer Polytechnic institute (RPI) in the 1985 national semis.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS III: The Bulldogs' five overtime triumphs this year (5-1-2) are bettered nationally by only Northeastern University (with siix).

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS IV: 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 NCHC 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 also has three, striking in the 2017-18 season opener against Minnesota, in the 2018 NCAA West Regional semifinals versus Minnesota State and in the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal takedown of Bowling Green. 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

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 74-1-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They were 23-0-1 in that situation one year ago and are 19-1-0 this season). The only loss during that stretch was inflicted by Western Michigan -- 3-2 on Dec. 7, 2018 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST: Parker Mackay turned in the first multi-goal evening of his collegiate career in UMD's 2-1 overtime victory over Bowling Green in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. Prior to that weekend, the senior team captain had scored once in 33 different lifetime games with the Bulldogs.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST II: For his spirited play at the NCAA Midwest Regionals, Parker Mackay was voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He is the second UMD team captain in as many years to receive that honor at an NCAA Regional (Karson Kuhlman in 2018). Mackay was also bestowed with Regional All-Tournament team honors for the second consecutive season.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST III: Parker Mackay, who now has taken over the UMD scoring lead with 30 points on 15 goals and 15 assists (all career highs), is just the third Bulldog to compete in four NCAA Tournaments, joining 2017-18 Frozen Four MVP Karson Kuhlman and Jared Thomas.

SOME CLOSE SHAVES: Twelve of UMD's last 13 NCAA Tournament games have been decided by one goal. The lone exception during that time was a 3-1 Bulldog victory over Quinnipiac in the NCAA Midwest Regional championship in which UMD scored a late empty-net goal.

SOME CLOSE SHAVES II: Going back to the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs have won 14 of the last 19 games decided by one goal.

LIFE OF RILEY: Junior left winger Riley Tufte paces all Bulldogs in career power play goals with 13 -- including a team-leading seven this season. The Ham Lake, Minn., product is one of seven NHL draftees on the UMD 2018-19 roster and one of four first-round NHL draft picks in program history.

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

Perunovich, who landed a spot on the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team, has set a personal high for assists this season with a team-leading 26.

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.

YOU'RE KILLING ME: On March 2, the Bulldogs paced the country in penalty killing efficiency at 90.7 percent but they now head into the NCAA Frozen Four ranking 10th nationally at 85.7 percent. Opponents are 12-for-38 (31.5 percent) on the power play over the last 11 games after connecting at 7.8 percent (8-for-102) the first 29 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 on March 2, 2019 against visiting Miami and at Colorado College on Jan. 12, 2018.

YOU'RE KILLING ME III: The Bulldogs' penalty kill of 86.6 percent (71-of-82) on the road is the eighth-best figure in the country while its .845 mark at home (49-of-58) ranks 23rd nationally. .

HE CAME TO PLAY: Sophomore center Justin Richards, a 2018-19 All-NCHC second team pick and the reigning NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year, has taken shifts in all 84 games since joining the Bulldogs one year ago (when he went without a goal). He currently occupies a share of the No. 2 spot (with sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich) on the UMD scoring charts  with 10 goals and 19 assists., but has accumulated just two points in his last 13 outings.

GET SHORTIE: Sophomore right winger Nick Swaney has two of UMD's three shorthanded goals in 2018-19 (at Miami on Jan. 18 and at Notre Dame on Oct. 26) while senior right winger Billy Exell (against St. Cloud State in the 2019 NCHC Frozen Faceoff title bout) 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 shot differential (+11.25) continue to lead the country while its shots allowed per game average (23.38) ranks fourth. The Bulldogs are averaging 34.62 shots per game to trail only Penn State (40.00 spg), the University of Michigan (35.58 spg) and Massachusetts (35.36 spg) among NCAA I schools.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT II: UMD has been outshot in only five of its 40 games to date.

SECOND-HALF SPURT: Of sophomore Nick Swaney's team-leading 15 goals, 11 have come in the 24 games since Dec. 28 -- including a hat trick on Jan. 26 against Omaha. Only one other NCHC 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 (97 -- the fourth most in the nation.

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 (87 in 152 games) than any other Bulldog, with 54 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).

NEW TERRITORY: In its 75-year history, the Bulldogs have never faced Massachusetts.

POWER SURGE: UMD is connecting at 22.0 percent with man advantage -- the 14th best average in the country  -- but is just 1-for-21 on the power play over the past six games (or since the start of the postseason).
 
POWER SURGE II: The Bulldogs' 31 power play goals to date have been generated by 12 different players.

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).

FLEXING SOME SOPHOMORE MUSCLE: UMD possesses the third-highest scoring sophomore class in the country (157 points on 52 goals and 105 assists) and that group has accounted for 47.2 percent of the Bulldogs' entire point production thus far and 41.2 percent of their goals.

PLAYOFF KINGPINS: UMD is the lone 2019 NCAA Frozen Four entrant that won their respective league playoff title this spring. The Bulldogs, with their 3-2 double overtime victory over St. Cloud State in the NCHC Froazen Faceoff title game three weeks ago (March 23), became the conference's second two-time playoff champion (joining Denver).

GREAT SCOTT: Scott Sandelin's career winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament (.760 off a 19-6 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 John "Gino" Gasparini (.789 at North Dakota) among all NCAA head coaches.
 

Name	School	W	L	T	.Pct
Herb Brooks	Minnesota	8	1	0	.889
Vic Heyliger	Michigan	16	4	0	.800
Gino Gasparini	North Dakota	15	4	0	.789
Scott Sandelin*	UMD	19	6	0	.760
Rick Bennett	Union	7	3	0	.700
Murray Armstrong	Denver	14	6	0	.700
Bob Johnson	Wisconsin	12	5	1	.694
Jim Montgomery	Denver	8	4	0	.667
Ned Harkness	Cornell/RPI	9	5	0	.643
Jerry York*	BGSU/BC	41	23	1	.638

*Active

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

Name	School	W	L	T	.Pct
Mike Hastings	Minnesota State	133	52	17	.694
Nate Leaman	Providence	123	55	21	.671
Scott Sandelin	UMD	120	66	20	.631
Rand Pecknold	Quinnipiac	120	59	19	.654
Chris Bergeron	BGSU	114	66	24	.618
Bob Motzko	SCSU/Minnesota	110	72	13	.597
Norm Bazin	UML	109	65	19	.614

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 assumed the title as 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 367-311-86 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.

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 54-23 in the second period this season. UMD's +31 second-period goal differential tops all NCAA I schools while its goals per game average (1.35) ranks third. In addition, 42.9 percent of the Bulldogs' goal scoring has taken place in the second period -- the second-highest figure in the nation (Michigan Tech is the NCAA leader at 43.3 percent).

In contrast, UMD has been outscored 32-30 in the first period thus far and has generated 23.8 percent of its goals in the opening 20 minutes of play (to rank 54th nationally).

LOCKDOWN: The Bulldogs have allowed the fewest third-period goals of any NCAA I club in the country (21 for a nation-leading 0.54 goals per night average) as well as the fewest shots (6.97 per game).

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

Player	Yr.	Pts.	Previous High
Parker Mackay	Sr.	30	19 (2017-18)
Justin Richards	So.	29	9 (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.	14	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.	11	13 (2017-18)

CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT: The Bulldogs (27-11-2 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 112 straight games, possesses 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.

ROAD SHOW: Nick Swaney has generated a team-high 17 points in 21 road games this season.

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.

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

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).

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.

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 the 1998 WCHA playoffs in Duluth. (The Gophers led 4-0 with 13:46 remaining in regulation only to fall 5-4 in overtime.).

THREE OF A KIND: Freshmen defensemen Hunter Lellig (Iowa) and Jake Rosenbaum (California), and sophomore center Justin Richards (Ohio) all hold the distinction of being the first individuals from their respective states to ever play for the Bulldogs.

LIKE A PRO: Last month (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 Oilwea), 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.

In all, 59 former Bulldogs have gone on to play in the NHL, with first-round draft pick Larry Wright being the first (Philadelphia in 1970-72). Eleven of those UMD alums did so during the 1994-95 season and that had been the program record prior to this year.

LIKE A PRO II: Scott Sandelin is one of just six curent NCAA I bench bosses who counts himself as an National Hockey League alum -- doing time with the Montreal Canadiens (1986-88), Philadelphia Flyers (1990-91) and Minnesota North Stars (1991-92).

RELATIVELY SPEAKING: Senior right winger Billy Exell's uncle, Tom Milani, is the Bulldogs' all-time goal scoring leader and a member of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame (Class of 2010).

• Junior left winger Riley Tufte's brother, Gavin, played hockey for Gustavus Adolphus College. His uncles, Ross and Todd Dahl, did likewise at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, while another uncle, Craig Dahl, was the men's head hockey coach at St. Cloud State for 18 seasons before stepping down in 2005. Tufte's father, Jamie, was a member of the UMD football team as a rookie offensive lineman in 1985.

• Sophomore center Justin Richards is the son of Todd Richards, a former University of Minnesota (1985-89) and National Hockey League (Hartford Whalers, 1990-92) defenseman who served as head coach with both the NHL's Minnesota Wild (2009-11) and Columbus Blue Jackets (2011-16) and is currently a Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach.

• Sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson's older brother, Joey, starred for two season with the Bulldogs before signing with the NHL's New Jersey Devils last spring while his grandfather, Tom Anderson, was a UMD forward during the early 1950s.

• Freshman forward Jesse Jacques is the nephew of Mike Jacques, a two-year UMD hockey letterman (1976-78).

• Senior right winger Parker Mackay's first cousin, fellow Irma, Alberta, native Carson Soucy, patrolled the UMD blueline for four seasons (2013-17) and made his NHL debut last March with the Minnesota Wild.

• Sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich is the nephew of Doug Torrel, who captained the hockey Bulldogs as a senior right winger in 1991-92.

• The latest brother tandem to sign on with the Bulldogs -- Jackson and Noah Cates -- are the nephews of former Minnesota hockey forward Jay Cates (1985-88). Their father, Jeff, is a former four-year hockey defenseman at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

• Sophomore defenseman Louie Roehl's dad (Dale) lettered four years in football (safety) at UMD and in 1990 attained All-Northern Intercollegiate Conference recognition. Dale also starred as a goaltender at Minnetonka High School and was the 12th round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1987 NHL draft.

• Junior defenseman Nick Wolff's dad (Ron) is a Duluth native and was the starting goaltender at Duluth Central High School during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.