POD ON The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey program will open the 2020-21 season in the Omaha Pod. During the Pod portion of the schedule, the Bulldogs will be taking on the University of Omaha, Denver University, Miami University, the University of North Dakota and Colorado College. UMD will play all teams twice with the exception of Colorado, who will only be played once during the Pod and again during the travel portion of the season. The first game will take place Dec. 1 against UNO with broadcasting live on KDAL 610 AM/103.9 FM and online at nchc.tv/umd. All games will be avalible on NCHC.tv, with a majority of games broadcast on My9 Sports.
LAST TIME OUT The Bulldogs season last year was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UMD was on a five-game win streak, set to make noise in the NCHC tournament. UMD comes in the season being the last team to win the NCAA Championship.
BULLDOGS IN THE POLLS UMD has yet to move in each of the major national polls since the beginning of the NCAA hockey season, claiming the No. 3 in the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO.com) Division I Men's poll and No. 4 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs have cracked every USCHO.com weekly poll since March 7, 2017.
MORE FOR THE MANTLE The Bulldogs had some noteworthy accolades last season, with Scott Perunovich taking home the Hobey Baker award, the NCHC Player of the Year, the USA Hockey Jim Johannson College Player of the Year, the NCHC Three-Star award and the Offensive Defenseman award. Hunter Shepard was named NCHC Goaltender of the Year and Justin Richards was named NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year. UMD looks to continue their excellence this season.
THE RIVALRY In the past seven years, UMD has fared well against UNO, riding a nine-game win streak against the Mavericks and going 17-6-3 overall in that span. The last meeting between the two teams saw the Bulldogs skate away with a 4-1 victory on Feb. 8, 2020.  
UMD has not seen the same success over that time span with DU. The Pioneers have had the Bulldogs number for the past eight seasons, taking 17 of the past 29 games, with UMD holding a 9-17-3 record. The Bulldogs have done well in the more recent meetings however, with UMD riding a three-game win streak with the latest coming on Feb. 1, 2020 when the Bulldogs beat DU in a 4-1 victory in Denver, Colo.
When it comes to Miami, UMD has been on top for the better part of the past seven seasons, holding a 20-4-2 record when it comes to the Red Hawks. The Bulldogs won the last meeting between the two teams, taking the special teams battle 3-2, a game in which four out the five goals scored were powerplay goals, which took place on Nov. 16, 2019.
UMD and UND have been in a tight battle for the past seven seasons, with the Bulldogs slightly edging out  the Fighting Hawks by one win with UMD holding a 13-12 record. UND took the last meeting 3-2 on Jan. 25, 2020, however, and UMD is looking to strike back to grab a two game hold on the Fighting Hawks.
The final team that the Bulldogs will be taking on in the Pod is the Colorado College Tigers. In the recent seven seasons, UMD has had a hold on the Tigers, taking the last five meetings between the two teams. The Bulldogs handled CC last time the two teams squared off to a 6-1 win at CC.
GOALS? WE LIKE GOALS The Bulldogs have one of the top returning rosters in terms of goals. UMD is coming back with the fourth most goals on their roster with 90, with Bowling Green (96) sitting atop the charts, and North Dakota (96) right there with them and the University of Minnesota (93) just behind them. UMD returns seven of their top-10 from last season, with junior forward Cole Koepke being the majority holder with 16, and junior forward Noah Cates following with 14.
NCAA SUPERLATIVES UMD is hoping to keep the special teams lethal, finishing last season with the eighth best powerplay mark in the country. The Bulldogs finished with a 25.8% (34-132) mark.
UMD finished last season with the 12th best scoring defense in the NCAA, only giving up 77 goals on the year, an average of 2.26 goals per game.
The Bulldogs are also coming back with the sixth most power play goals scored on the year, potting 34 total. Junior forward Jackson Cates and senior forward Kobe Roth lead the way, each with five tallies.
Before the season ending abruptly, UMD was on a hot streak of winning five straight, leading them to finish with the sixth best winning percentage in the country with a .676 percentage on the season.
STRONG FINISH UMD scored 43.9 percent of its goals (50-of-114) in the third period.
KEEPING IT 100 There are a plethora of players on this years roster that are either past, or close to breaking the 100 game mark for their careers. Senior defense men Matt Anderson (111) and Louie Roehl (114), forwards Kobe Roth (106) and Nick Swaney  (106) all passing the mark last season. Four Juniors, forwards Jackson Cates (68), Noah Cates (74), Cole Koepke (76) and Tanner Laderoute (69) all have the milestone within reach.
NEAR THE TOP UMD came in third in the NCHC preseason media poll, sitting behind UND (223), who grabbed 27 out of a possible 28 first place votes, DU (185), who grabbed the last first place vote possible. The Bulldogs donned 173 points and were followed by SCSU (126), WMU (116), UNO (96), CC (45) and Miami (44)
BEST OF THE BEST a Pair of Bulldogs landed on the seven-man Preseason All-NCHC Team. Noah Cates and Cole Koepke were both named to the Preseason squad.
CAPTAIN CATES Noah Cates is stepping into the season with a 'C' on his chest. He looks to step into the roll with pride, taking over for the departed former captain Nick Wolff, who signed with the Boston Bruins. Cates returns as UMD's second top point getter, finishing last year with 33 (14g, 19a) points, and a career mark of 56 (23g, 33a) points.
'A' FOR EFFORT After a stellar sophomore season, Cole Koepke will be one of three captains. He comes into his junior year with a career mark of 52 (23g, 29a) points, while finishing last year with a team second best 33 (16g, 17a) points.
Senior Louie Roehl is another will also sport the 'A' this season. Roehl looks to have another productive year for UMD, as he's been with the Bulldogs for two championships and played in 114 games. Roehl has 24 (7g, 17a) points in his career as a Bulldog and has a +30 rating for his career).
Senior Nick Swaney is the final 'A' for the team this season. Swaney is another player who has been with UMD for two championships, He has been on a slow climb in points, prducing at a 0.69 points per game pace for his career. in 106 games, Swaney has put up 73 (33g, 40a) points while sporting a solid +37 rating. He's produced seven game winners in his career with the Bulldogs.
SERVING HIS COUNTRY UMD head coach Scott Sandelin served as the head coach of the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2019 - Jan. 5, 2020. Sandelin has been a part of three previous U.S. National Junior Team coaching staffs, including as head coach in 2005 and as an assistant coach in both 2012 and for 2018-19's silver medal-winning club.
HIT THE BOOKS Not just impressive on the ice, UMD saw 10 student athletes land on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team a year ago, including returners Matt Anderson, Koby Bender, Jackson and Noah Cates, Cole Koepke, Tanner Laderoute Ben Patt,, and Nick Swaney. Tanner Laderoute attained NCHC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors.
Fanti and Laderoute also earned ACHA All-American Scholars status. They both join Sammy Spurrel (16-17) and Mikey Anderson (18-19) as the four Bulldogs to attain such awards.
THE TEAM'S BEST  Scott Perunovich, who was named the 2020 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner this past April, was bestowed with the Keith "Huffer" Christiansen Award as UMD's Most Valuable Player for 2019-20. Perunovich, a native of Hibbing, Minn., attained All-American status for a third time in 2019-20, something only two other Bulldogs -- Connolly (2009-12) and defenseman Norm Maciver (1983-86) had ever done before. Perunovich concluded his junior year occupying the No. 2 spot on the NCAA defensemen scoring charts with a UMD-leading (and career-best) 40 points. His 22 power play points and 34 assists also ranked first and second, respectively, among all NCAA skaters.
In addition, sophomore Quinn Olson received the Jerry Chumola Rookie of the Year Award on the heels of a debut season in which he topped all Bulldog newcomers in goals (7), assists (8) and points (15).  The Goldie Wolfe Award (Most Inspirational Player) went to junior right winger and 2020-21 team captain Noah Cates, while junior forward Cole Koepke earned the Mike Sertich Award (Most Improved Player) after collecting 33 points -- a 15-point increase from his rookie season -- to rank tied for second on the club. Center Jade Miller was given the Pat Francisco Community Service Award.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN Along with a six-member senior class who are the last players (including redshirt junior Ben Patt) that were apart of the back-to-back NCAA Championship winning teams, the Bulldogs return nine juniors, eight who were apart of the 2018-19 championship winning team. The 15 upper classmen break down as five defensemen, nine forwards, and one goaltender. five return for a sophomore go-around with UMD,  two blue-liners, five forwards, and one goalie. The seven first-year Bulldogs are goalie Zach Stejskal, forwards Blake Biondi, Luke Mylymok and junior Jarrett Lee, and defensemen Darian Gotz, Wyatt Kaiser and senior Matt Cairns.
WHERE THEY'RE FROM 69.2  percent of the UMD roster hails from the Land of 10,000 Lakes with 18-of-26 student athletes growing up in Minnesota. Five cross the border from Canada, including three from Ontario and two from Alberta. The remaining three Bulldogs include one each from the states of California, Idaho and Iowa.
FEELING A DRAFT Incoming freshman Blake Biondi and Wyatt Kaiser became the 113th and 114th all-time Bulldogs to be selected in the NHL Entry draft in 2020, Kaiser by the Chicago Blackhawks (Rnd. 3, Pk 81) and Biondi to the Montreal Canadiens (Rnd. 4, Pk 109). They join Quinn Olson (Boston Bruins), Noah Cates (Philadelphia), Cole Koepke (Tampa Bay) Luke Loheit (Ottawa), and Nick Swaney (Minnesota) among current Bulldogs.