The University of Minnesota Duluth will take its show on the road this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 31-Feb. 1) when the Bulldogs pay a visit to Denver, Colo., for a two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference series with the University of Denver. The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. (MT) both nights at Magness Arena (6,206) on the Denver campus.

THE RECORDS: The two-time defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are 13-9-2 overall and 8-4-2-0 in NCHC play (third place) while Denver, riding an 11-game unbeaten streak (8-0-3), sports an 17-4-5 record in all outings and a 7-3-4-3 league mark (second place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Denver 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. 10	No. 10	No. 12
DU	No. 4	No. 4	No.4

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. The broadcast can also be heard at: kdal610.com.

Both ends of this weekend's series will also be streamed at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE SERIES: UMD and Denver have collided on 220 occasions previously, mostly (191 times) while both were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Pioneers hold a 126-81-13 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 28, 1961 in Denver.

• The Bulldogs are unbeaten in five of their last six matchups with the Pioneers, going 4-1-1 since Nov. 17, 2018 (and 2-0-1 since posting a 3-0 triumph in the 2019 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals.

• UMD took four of a possible six points from Denver in a two-game set earlier this season in Duluth (Nov. 8-9), handing the then-No. 1 Pioneers their first loss of the season (5-2) in the series finales after the two long-time rivals played to a 3-3 overtime tie the previous evening (Denver snared the extra NCHC point by winning the shoot out).

LAST WEEKEND: In a battle of NCHC heavyweights, UMD and North Dakota traded wins in a pair of bouts in Duluth, with the host Bulldogs prevailing in the opener, 7-4, before falling 3-2 on Saturday night.  In the 7-4 triumph, UMD struck for five straight goals after being down 3-1 a little under six minutes into the second period to all but put the game away. Junior left winger Kobe Roth opened and closed the scoring for UMD and also added an assist while sophomore defenseman Dylan Samberg (two assists on his 21st birthday), sophomore right winger Tanner Laderoute (one goal and one assist) and junior right winger Nick Swaney (one goal and one assist) also turned in two points nights. On Saturday before a record AMSOIL Arena crowd, rookie right winger Luke Loheit and junior defenseman Scott Perunovich scored exactly four minutes apart  to put the Bulldogs up 2-1 midway through the third period only to see the No. 2 Fighting Hawks answer with two goals of their own in a span of 94 seconds to secure the win. The two clubs combined for just 47 shots on goal in the series' finale after putting up 72 shots the previous night.

CRAM THE AM: Saturday's Bulldog-Fighting Hawk matchup drew a record crowd of 7,711 to AMSOIL Arena. The previous single-game attendance high for that downtown Duluth facility, which opened its doors for business on Dec. 30, 2010, was 7,569 which saw UMD take down the University of Minnesota 3-0 on Oct. 17, 2015. Last weekend's two-game attendance total was 14,727 -- an AMSOIL Arena series record.

PUCK HUNTER: Senior All-American Hunter Shepard established a NCAA record for goaltenders this past Saturday when he made his 105th straight start (which was one more than the previous mark set by Cornell University's Ben Scrivens from 2007-10). Shepherd's ironman streak dates back to Oct. 21, 2017.

The NCAA record for consecutive appearances by a goalie is 122 held by Dan Murphy of Clarkson (1994-98).

PUCK HUNTER II: Hunter Shepard, the reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Year, 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 and his lone shutout against Denver (3-0) came in semifinals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff last March.

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 67-36-5 lifetime record as a Bulldog and those 67 triumphs trail one other current NCAA goaltender (Penn State University's Peyton Jones with 73).

PUCK HUNTER IV: Hunter Shepard has been bestowed with the NCHC Goaltender of the Week award a league-high five times times this season (Jan. 13, Jan. 6, Nov. 25, Nov. 1 and Oct. 28) and on 14 occasions as a collegian.

PUCK HUNTER V: Denver (4-7-1) and St. Cloud State (3-8-0) are the only two NCHC foes Hunter Shepard does not have a winning lifetime record against. Despite being three games below the .500 mark against the Pioneers, Shepard has still posted an impressive  1.85 goals against average and a .926 saves percentage in his 12 career games versus Denver.

A REAL SCORING SPREE: The seven goals the Bulldogs generated last Friday night were their most in nearly a year (7-2 over visiting Omaha on Jan. 25, 2019) and the most at the expense of North Dakota since Feb. 28, 1998 (7-0 in Duluth).

GREAT SCOTT: Two-time All-American junior Scott Perunovich is currently tied for the NCAA defenseman scoring lead (a UMD-best 28 points) while his 24 assists and 17 power play points rank third and second, respectively, among all NCAA skaters. Of Perunovich's 28 total points, well over half (16) have been registered in the third period which places him at No. 1 nationally.

GREAT SCOTT II: Scott Perunovich, the two-time NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, now occupies the No. 9 spot on UMD's all-time scoring list for blueliners. Perunovich's 93 career points are the sixth most of any current NCAA defenseman while his 0.89 points per game average is tops among the nation's rearguards.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE: The Bulldogs currently sit fifth nationally in power play efficiency (.268) and in power play goals (26). UMD has collected more of its total goals on the power play this season -- 34.7 percent -- than all but five NCAA I clubs in the country.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE II: UMD has scored at least once with the man advantage in all but six of their 24 games to date, but are 4-2-0 in those six outings.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE III: The Bulldogs' 26 power play goals thus far have been generated by nine different players, including sophomore center Jackson Cates and junior left winger Kobe Roth, who both have 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.

ON A ROLL: Sophomore left winger Noah Cates, who tops the 2019-20 Bulldogs in goals with a career-high 12, has collected at least one point in eight of the past eight games (picking up five goals and six assists over stretch).

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.

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN II: The opposition has drawn first blood in each of the last five games and are 3-1-1 in those five outings. The last time UMD went five straight games without scoring first was between Oct. 31-Nov. 14, 2015.

RALLY TIME: In its last visit to Denver (Nov. 17, 2018), UMD upended the Pioneers 4-3 in overtime after trailing 3-0 in the third period. That marked the first time a Bulldog club had overcome a three-goal deficit to win since Feb. 21, 2004 (5-3 over Colorado College) and the first time it had done so after being three goals down in the third period since rallying to beat Minnesota 5-4  in the 1998 WCHA playoff quarterfinals. (The Gophers led 4-0 with 13:46 remaining in regulation).

HE KEEPS GOING, AND GOING AND ...: Junior center Justin Richards, the reigning NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year, has skated in all 110 outings since joining the UMD program two years ago while sophomore left winger Cole Koepke also has yet to miss a game as a Bulldog (66).

SAVING THEIR BEST FOR LAST: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 37-22 in the third period so far in 2019-20 (but have been outscored 14-11 on the road).  A total of 49.3 percent of UMD's goals have been produced in the final 20 minutes of regulation, a figure unmatched by an NCAA I club this season.

UMD'S RESIDENT GOOD LUCK CHARM: Since Kobe Roth signed on with the Bulldogs in 2016-17, UMD is undefeated in 17 of the 20 games in which he has collected a goal (16-3-1).

MAKING HIS GOALS COUNT: Of Kobe Roth's 23 career goals, eight have been game-winners.

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 came at the hands of Western Michigan -- 3-2 on Dec. 7, 2018 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

A MEMORABLE NIGHT: Freshman right winger Luke Loheit scored his first collegiate goal (which turned out to be the eventual game-winner) the last time UMD and Denver butted heads (a 5-2 Bulldog win on Nov. 9. 2019 at AMSOIL Arena).

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLFF: Nick Wolff, who has taken part in more lifetime games (146) than all but three players in the country (one of whom is Denver's Michael Davies), 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.

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 (4-3) 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 right 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

STACKED IN THE MIDDLE: UMD possesses the country's second-highest scoring junior class (102 points) and 10th-highest sophomore unit (76 pts.) while the senior (12 pts.) and rookie (14 pts.) groups rank 59th and 56th, respectively, out of 60 NCAA schools.

HE HAS HIS NUMBER: Freshman forward and former Austin Bruin (North American Hockey League) star 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.

YOU'RE KILLING ME: The Bulldogs have killed off 20 of their opponent's last 22 power plays stretching back six games.

NO WALK IN THE PARK: UMD ranked first nationally in regular season strength of schedule in 2018-19 and currently holds down the No. 4 spot this season.

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 (two, both in 2019-20) are the only three current Bulldogs with a shorthanded goal to their collegiate credit. UMD has already equaled its entire 2018-19 harvest for shorthanded goals with  five this winter.

NOT SO SWEEP: UMD has been swept only seven times in its last 70 regular season series overall (going back to Feb. 19-20, 2016) -- three times to St. Cloud State twice to Denver and once each (earlier this year) to both the University of Wisconsin and to Minnesota State.

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.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs will  return to AMSOIL Arena to take on Omaha in  pair of NCHC bouts on Feb. 7-8.