HOWIE HANSON: BULLDOG HOCKEY AND BASKETBALL THIS WEEKEND

The No. 4 UMD Men's Hockey Bulldogs will meet No. 6 St. Cloud State in back-to-back, two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference weekend series starting Saturday-Sunday at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

Two-time defending NCAA champion UMD (5-2-2 overall and in the NCHC) and St. Cloud State (6-3-0, 6-3-0) are tied for third place in the conference with 18 points, two points behind leader North Dakota and a point south of Omaha, who have played 10 games each and a game more than the Bulldogs and Huskies.

UMD and St. Cloud State, who figure to finish in the top four in the eight-team NCHC, will meet again Jan. 8-9 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.

The Bulldogs are strong defensively and have relied on timely scoring from forward and points leader Nick Swaney, who has three goals and 12 points, and linemates Noah Cates (3-5-8) and Kobe Roth (5-2-7).

Forward Cole Koepke has a team-high five goals and seven points, and linemate Jackson Cates leads with three power-play goals.

Freshman defenseman Wyatt Kaiser (0-4-4) has been an impact player, while skating a regular shift and helping to quarterback the first power play.

Louie Roehl (0-1-1) has been the Bulldogs' steadiest and most physical defenseman.

Goaltender Ryan Fanti (4-2-2, 2.20 goals-against, .916 saves percentage) was arguably UMD's MVP at NCHC Pod in Omaha, NE.

Of concern: the Bulldogs went 0-2-1 down the stretch in Omaha, losing to Colorado College 4-1, tying Omaha 2-2 in OT and losing to North Dakota 2-1 on a late third-period goal.

How will UMD respond?

St. Cloud is led by 6-foot-4 junior defenseman Nick Perbix (4-5-9), freshman forward Veeti Miettinen (4-4-8) and senior goaltender David Hrenak (4-2-0, 2.68, .910).

. . .

Winona State -- and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South preseason player of the year selection Kevion Taylor, in particular – will be a difficult matchup for the relatively young and experienced Bulldogs in season-opening men's basketball games Saturday and Sunday afternoons at Romano Gym.

Taylor, a 6-foot-5 senior guard who averaged 19.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game a year ago, is a handful to stop, especially from three-point range.

UMD defeated the Warriors 76-72 in an NSIC quarterfinal last season.

The Bulldogs will counter offensively with sophomore guard Drew Blair, an All-NSIC second-team selection who averaged 15.9 points per game last season.

"We won't back down from anybody," Bulldogs coach Justin Wieck said. "We'll be really solid in the half-court, from a defensive standpoint. And then offensively, hopefully, we're versatile and unselfish. We shoot a lot at three-point shots, and other guys can get to the rim and play in the post. I think it's a fun brand of basketball to watch. We expect to compete in the league, year in and year out."

*Guest column from Howie Hanson, Editor & Publisher, The Duluth Times

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