The University of Minnesota Duluth will put its six-game unbeaten streak on the line this Friday (Jan. 17) when the Bulldogs open a two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference eires at St. Cloud State University. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:37 p.m. Friday and 4:07 p.m. the following afternoon at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (5,371) on the St. Cloud State campus.

THE RECORDS: The two-time defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are 12-6-2 overall and 7-1-2-0 in NCHC play (second place) while St. Cloud State sports a 6-10-4 record in all outings and a 3-7-0-0 NCHC mark (eighth place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and St. Cloud State stacked up in the most recent USCH0.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls as well as the PairWise rankings:
 

	uscho.com	USA Today	PairWise
UMD	No. 8	No. 8	No. 9
SCSU	NR	NR	No. 37(t)

       
ON THE AIR: The two UMD-St. Cloud State clashes 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.

Fox 9+ (Twin Cities metro area) is set to carry Friday's series opener. Jim Rich will handle the play-by-play responsibilities and Pat Micheletti the color commentary. The series finale will be televised on Fox Sports North Plus with Mark Parrish teaming up with Rich. Both telecast are available on-line at: nchc.tv/umd

THE SERIES: UMD and St. Cloud State have met on 131 previous occasions in a rivalry which stretches back to the 1946-47 season. The Huskies hold a 70-52-9 lead in the all-time series and are 67-48-8 versus the Bulldogs since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1987-88.
The Huskies went 3-1-0 against the Bulldogs during the 2018-29 regular season, but UMD got the proverbial last laugh, taking down St. Cloud State 3-2 in double overtime in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game on March 23.

LAST WEEKEND: UMD skated away with four of a possible six points in a two-game NCHC home set with Western Michigan, prevailing 6-3 over the Broncos on Friday night before rallying for a 3-3 overtime tie the following evening (Western Michigan won the sudden death shootout to claim the extra league point).

In the opener, the Bulldogs broke open a 3-3 second intermission deadlock by erupting for three unanswered third-period goals. Two of those were provided by junior right winger Nick Swaney (a shortie and empty netter), who also picked up one assist in the triumph. On Saturday, junior defenseman Scott Perunovich and junior center Justin Richards each scored once and assisted on another goal for UMD, which trailed 3-1 midway through the third period. The Bulldogs were outshot (44-35) for just the third time in 20 games this season.

HATS OFF TO HUNTER: For the second straight week and fifth time in 2019-20, the NCHC chose Hunter Shepard as the Bauer Goaltender of the Week.

Shepard, a native of Cohassett, Minn., collared the latest honor after backstopping the Bulldogs to a 6-3 victory and 3-3 overtime tie against visiting Western Michigan this past weekend. He stopped 76 of 82 shots in the two-game NCHC series (a .927 saves percentage), including 41 in the finale on Saturday. He also was a key component on a Bulldog penalty killing unit that held the Broncos to just one power play goal in 10 chances over the two games as he made 20 of his 76 saves while the Bulldogs were shorthanded.

Shepard, has now earned the NCHC Goaltender of the Week award a league-high five times times this season (Jan. 6, Nov. 25, Nov. 1 and Oct. 28 were the others) and on 14 occasions as a collegian.

THEY'RE OFF AND RUNNING: At 7-1-2, UMD is enjoying its best start ever in NCHC play, equaling the 8-2-0 mark turned in by the 2016-17 Bulldogs.

COLE IS ON A ROLL: Sophomore right winger Cole Koepke, who will carry a career-high seven-game scoring streak into Friday's matchup at St. Cloud State, has marked in the points column in 13 of the last 14 outings. He has accumulated eight goals and 10 assists during that 14-game stretch.

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE ROAD: The Bulldogs, who are 6-3-0 on the road in 2019-20, have reeled off five straight wins away from Duluth since being upended by Miami University 3-1 on Nov. 15.

PUCK HUNTER: Senior All-American Hunter Shepard Shepard, the reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Year, has now made 101 consecutive starts (which is three shy of the NCAA record set by Cornell University's Ben Scrivens from 2007-10). Shepherd's ironman streak dates back to Oct. 21, 2017.

PUCK HUNTER II: Hunter Shepard, who tied a career-high with his 41-save performance last Saturday night, 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.

PUCK HUNTER III: This past November, Hunter Shepard became UMD's career leader in victories (the old mark was 60 wins, held by both Rick Kosti, 1983-85, and Taras Lendzyk, 1992-96). Shepard now sports a 66-33-5 lifetime record as a Bulldog and those 66 triumphs trail one other current NCAA goaltender (Penn State University's Peyton Jones with 72).

'HOT DOGS: The Bulldogs' current six-game winning streak (5-0-1) is their longest since they closed out the NCAA national championship-winning 2018-19 season with eight straight victories.

'HOT DOGS II: During its current six-game run, UMD has outscored the opposition 28-14.

GREAT SCOTT: Two-time All-American junior Scott Perunovich ranks second in the country in scoring among defensemen with 25 points while his 22 assists and 16 power play points are the second-most generated by any skater in the country. Of Perunovich's 25 total points points, more than half (14) have been registered in the third period which places him at No. 2 nationally.

GREAT SCOTT II: Scott Perunovich, the two-time NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, now occupies a share of the No. 9 spot on UMD's all-time scoring list for blueliners. His  90 career points are the sixth most of any current NCAA defenseman.

GETTING A BIT OFFENSIVE: In last Friday's 6-3 victory over Western Michigan, the Bulldogs equaled a 2019-20 single-game best for goals (six) while setting highs for assists (11), points (17) and blocked shots (20).

HE KEEPS GOING, AND GOING AND ...: Junior center Justin Richards, the reigning NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year, has skated in all 106 outings since joining the UMD program two years ago. Richards is the currently owner of a five-game winning streak, which is three outings shy of his career best.

SAVING THEIR BEST FOR LAST: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 32-17 in the third period so far in 2019-20. A total of 49.2 percent of UMD's goals have been produced in the final 20 minutes of regulation, a figure bettered nationally by only two other institutions (Canisius College at 52.1 percent and Northern Michigan University at 49.4 percent).

A MEMORABLE PLACE: UMD junior defenseman Matt Anderson scored his lone collegiate goal to date at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in a 5-3 loss to St. Cloud State on Nov. 3, 2017.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE: The Bulldogs currently are fourth nationally in power play efficiency (.280) and sixth in power play goals (23). UMD has collected more of its total goals on the power play this season -- 35.6 percent -- than all but four NCAA I clubs in the country, trailing only Mercyhurst College (40.0), Bowling Green (39.7 percent), Canisius College (39.6 percent) and Ohio State University (36.5).

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE II: UMD has scored at least once with the man advantage in all but five of their 20 games to date, but are an impressive 4-1-0 in those five outings.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE III: The Bulldogs' 23 power play goals to date have been generated by eight different players, including sophomore center Jackson Cates, who has struck a team- and career-high five times with the man advantage.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE IV: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, UMD is 28-3-2 when scoring multiple times on the power play. 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.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE V: UMD is an impressive -- and a league best -- 14-of-43 (32.6 percent) with the man advantage in NCHC play this season.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS: UMD is unbeaten in 27 of the last 28 games that have required overtime, going 13-1-14 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.

BONUS HOCKEY HAS BEEN A BONUS II: Just two 2019-20 Bulldogs -- junior right winger Nick Swaney and sophomore left winger Cole Koepke -- have scored an overtime goal as a collegian. Swaney has three (all coming in 2018-19, which tied him for the NCAA lead) doing his damage in the double-over time triumph over St. Cloud State in the NCHC Frozen Four championship 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. Koepke potted his OT winner in a 4-3 win at Denver on Nov. 17, 2018.

MAKING HIS GOALS COUNT: Of junior left winger Kobe Roth's 20 career goals, eight have been game-winners.

AND A GOOD LUCK CHARM TO BOOT: Over the last two seasons, UMD is undefeated in 14 of the 15 games in which Kobe Roth has collected a goal (13-1-1).

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 80-1-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They are 10-0-0 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.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLFF: Nick Wolff, who has taken part in more lifetime games (142) than all but three players in the country, had his streak of 127 consecutive appearances snapped when he sat out the Nov. 30 home clash against Minnesota State-Mankato with an upper body injury. That ironman run started on Nov. 19, 2016 in Omaha.

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN: Going back to March 6, 2018, the Bulldogs have won 36 of the last 38 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 9-0-0 when it has taken a 1-0 lead in 2019-20.

HE HAS HIS NUMBER: Freshman center and former Austin Bruin star (North American Hockey League) Ben Almquist, who joined the UMD program for the Spring Semester and made his debut in the two-game Holiday break series at Merrimack College. Minn., holds the distinction of being the first Bulldog in program history to don the No. 38 sweater.

STACKED IN THE MIDDLE: UMD possesses the country's third-highest scoring junior class (90 points) and seventh-highest sophomore unit (67 pts.) while the senior (nine pts.) and rookie (12 pts.) groups rank 59th and 55th nationally, respectively.

NO WALK IN THE PARK: UMD ranked first nationally in regular season strength of schedule in 2018-19 and holds down the No. 6 spot this season. Here is how the Bulldogs have fared in that department since joining the NCHC:

GET SHORTIE: Junior right winger Nick Swaney (three, including one this season and two in 2018-19), junior center Justin Richards (two, both in 2019-20) and sophomore right winger Cole Koepke (one in 2019-20) are the only three current Bulldogs with a shorthanded goal to their collegiate credit.

NOT SO SWEEP: UMD has been swept only six times in its last 68 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) and once earlier this year to the University of Wisconsin (6-2 and 3-1 on Oct. 18-19) and to Minnesota State (Nov. 29-30).

OH, BROTHER: The sophomore brother duo of Jackson and Noah Cates struck for goals in the same game three times last season and have done it once thus far in 2019-20. Noah Cates, who this year has eclipsed his career high for goals (a team-leading 11), was the top vote getter on the 2018-19 NCHC All-Rookie Team.

THREE'S A CHARM: UMD is 2-3-5 in 10 lifetime 3-on-3 NCHC overtimes (0-0-2 in 2019-20). The Bulldogs' last league 3-on-3 overtime victory came on Jan. 6, 2017 against visiting Colorado College.

POLL POSITION: UMD has cracked every USCHO.com Top 20 Poll since March 7, 2016 and spent the opening week of the 2019-20 season at No. 1.

HEY, WE KNOW THAT GUY: Brett Larson, who spent six successful seasons -- in two separate tours of duty -- serving as UMD assistant men's hockey coach, is in his second season at the helm of the St. Cloud State program. During Larson's tenure at UMD (2008-2011 and 2015-18), the Bulldogs rolled up a 142-79-30 overall record (for a .625 winning percentage), captured the school's only two NCAA national championships (2011 and 2018), made five NCAA Tournament appearances (2008, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017), and laid claim to one NCHC playoff title (2017) and another WCHA playoff crown (2009) while qualifying for the WCHA Final Five/NCHC Frozen Four tournament six times.

BULLDOG BLOODLINES: Brett Larson and Mike Sertich are the only two UMD hockey alums to face their alma mater as head coach. Larsom did it five times during the course of the 2018-19 season while Sertich and his Michigan Tech Huskies squard off against the Bulldogs on 10 occasisions during his three-year tenure in Houghton, Mich. The first of those came in Duluth on Nov. 10-11, 2000 (then-UMD rookie head coach Scott Sandelin collected his first collegiate victory on the second night of that WCHA series).

ON TAP: The Bulldogs will return to AMSOIL Arena next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 24-25) to host North Dakota in the two long-time rivals' lone series of the 2019-20 regular season.