The University of Minnesota Duluth will put the finishing touches on its 2019-20 regular season road schedule this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 28-29) when the Bulldogs take on Colorado College in a two-game National Collegiate Hockey Conference series. The puck drops at 8:37 p.m. (CT) on Friday and 7:07 p.m. the following night at the Broadmoor World Arena (7,380) in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

THE RECORDS: The two-time defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are 18-10-2 overall and 13-5-2-0 in NCHC play (second place) while Colorado College, unbeaten in four of its last five games (3-1-1), sports an 11-17-2 record in all outings and a 4-14-2-1 league mark (seventh place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Colorado College 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. 5	No. 5	No. 4(t)
CC	NR	NR	No. 41

ON THE AIR: The two Bulldog-Tiger 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 the series will be available on-line as well at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE SERIES: UMD and Colorado College have collided on 196 occasions in a rivalry which began on Jan. 4, 1961 at the old Duluth Curling Club. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 104-82-10 and swept their long-time rivals earlier this year at AMSOIL Arena (4-3 and 5-0 on Nov. 22-23).

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs traded NCHC wins with Western Michigan, opening up the weekend with a 5-3 loss before taking down the host Broncos 2-1 on Saturday. In Friday's series opener, UMD held a 3-2 lead midway through the third period before Western Michigan erupted for three goals in a span of 109 seconds. Junior defenseman Scott Perunovich scored once and helped set up another goal while junior right winger Nick Swaney had a pair assists for the Bulldogs in that defeat. The ensuing evening, UMD got a shorthanded goal from junior center Justin Richards 35 seconds in and then broke a 1-1 deadlock with 11:51 to go in the third period on rookie left winger Quinn Olson's fifth tally of the season. The Bulldogs outshot Western Michigan 33-21 on the night and 73-54 on the weekend.

TIGER TAMERS: UMD has endured just two losses in its last 21 bouts with the Tigers, going 16-2-3 with the lone two setbacks during that stretch coming on Jan. 7, 2017 in Duluth (2-1) and on Feb. 1, 2019 in Colorado Springs -- a 4-1 loss that snapped the Bulldogs' seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) against the Tigers.

TIGER TAMERS II: The Bulldogs are 7-1-1 at Colorado Springs' Broadmoor World Arena since falling 3-1 to the Tigers in UMD's first-ever NCHC assignment on Oct. 18, 2013.

TIGER TAMERS III: Junior All-American defenseman Scott Perunovich has amassed 15 points (all assists) in just eight career games with Colorado College. That's his highest lifetime scoring output against any foe (followed by Western Michigan at 13 points).

TIGER TAMERS IV: The last time the Bulldogs and Colorado College butted heads (this past Novermber in Duluth), Scott Perunovich and Hunter Shepard each received a weekly citation from the NCHC. Perunovich was selected the league's Defenseman of the Week after picking up seven points (all assists) in the Bulldogs' two-game sweep of the Tigers while Shepard turned aside 47 of 50 shots on the weekend and backstopped UMD to a 5-0 triumph in the series' finale.

TIGER TAMERS V: Scott Sandelin is 35-22-7 lifetime versus Colorado College and those 35 victories are his most against any opponent. Michigan Tech is next on that list (33-17-2).

TIGER TAMERS VI: The Bulldogs have registered more wins at Colorado College's expense (they are 104-82-10 all-time versus the Tigers) than any opposing club in their 76-year history.

TIGER TAMERS VII: Senior goaltender Hunter Shepard has made eight lifetime appearances against Colorado College and has a 7-1-0 record, a 1.75 goals against average, and .925 saves percentage and three shutouts to show for it.

GREAT SCOTT: Two-time All-American junior Scott Perunovich currently holds down the No. 3 spot on the NCAA defensemen scoring charts with a UMD-leading 35 points (which is one point shy of his career high set two years ago) while his 21 power play points are tied for first and third, respectively, among all NCAA skaters. Of Perunovich's 35 total points this season, 60.0 percent (18) have been registered in the third period, which places him first nationally in the department.

GREAT SCOTT II: Scott Perunovich, the two-time NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, now occupies a the No. 6 spot on UMD's all-time scoring list for blueliners. Perunovich's 100 career points are the sixth most of any 2019-20 NCAA defenseman (Duluth native and Northern Michigan University senior Phil Beaulieu is first with 119) while his lifetime 0.90 points per game average is tops among the nation's active point men.

GREAT SCOTT III: In last Friday's 5-3 loss to Western Michigan, Perunovich became the 58th member of the UMD Century Club and the first Bulldog to crack the 100-point plateau since All-American winger Alex Iafallo did it in 2016-17. The last defenseman to reach that milestone was three-time All-American Norm Maciver back in 1984-85.

GREAT SCOTT IV: Scott Perunovich has racked up more penalties (a NCHC-leading 20) and more penalty minutes (a NCHC-leading 62) than all but eight players in the entire country.

CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT: UMD is now guaranteed of finishing with a .500 or above record in NCHC play for a seventh consecutive season (which is the entire existence of that conference).

CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT II: The Bulldogs have already clinched home ice for the NCHC playoff quarterfinals. That makes it five straight years of hosting a first-round conference playoff series for UMD, which is a program best.

PUCK HUNTER: Senior All-American Hunter Shepard has made a NCAA-record 111 straight starts, an ironman streak that 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 2018-19 NCHC Goaltender of the Year, has a school-record 17 shutouts to his collegiate credit (more than all but one active NCAA puckstopper), including a pair this season. The only two NCHC clubs Shepard has yet to blank are Omaha and St. Cloud State. Shepard's last shut out came against Colorado College (a 5-0 takedown on Nov. 23, 2019 at AMSOIL Arena).

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 72-37-5 lifetime record as a Bulldog and those 72 triumphs trails two other current NCAA goaltenders (Penn State University's Peyton Jones with 76 and Clarkson University's Frank Marrotte with 73).

PUCK HUNTER IV: Hunter Shepard has been bestowed with the NCHC Goaltender of the Week award a league-high six times times this season (Feb. 10, Jan. 13, Jan. 6, Nov. 25, Nov. 1 and Oct. 28) and on 15 occasions as a collegian. He is also the reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Month (January).

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE: The Bulldogs currently rank fourth nationally -- and first in the NCHC -- in both power play efficiency (.268) and power play goals (33). UMD has collected more of its total goals with the man advantage this season -- 35.1 percent -- than all but four NCAA I teams.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE II: UMD has scored at least once with the man advantage in all but eight of its 30 games to date.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE III: The Bulldogs' 33 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. Those five goals tie them for third in the NCHC.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE IV: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, UMD is 29-4-2 when scoring multiple times on the power play. Two of those losses occurred earlier this year -- on Oct. 18 at Wisconsin and on Feb. 21 at Western Michigan.

COLE'S ON A ROLL: Since Nov. 30, 2019, only one NCHC skater -- North Dakota's Jordan Kawaguchi with 22 points -- has generated a higher scoring yield than Cole Koepke. During that period, Koepke has 10 goals (including two shorties) and 10 assists in 17 games.

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN: The Bulldogs have won 40 of the last 43 games in which they have gotten on the scoreboard first. -- a run that dates back to March 6, 2018. Two of the setbacks in that situation were inflicted by St. Cloud State (on March 9, 2019 and Jan. 12, 2019) while the other came at Western Michigan on Feb. 21, 2020 (5-3). UMD is 14-1-0 when it has taken a 1-0 lead in 2019-20.

GET SHORTIE: Junior center Justin Richards is tied for the NCAA lead in shorthanded goals with three. That's the most shorties by a Bulldog since Mike Connolly struck four times while a man down in 2011-12 and two goals shy of the program record set by 1980 Olympic gold medalist John Harrington in both 1977-78 and 1978-79.

GET SHORTIE II: UMD tops the NCHC and is tied for second nationally in shorthanded goals with six. The last time a Bulldog team accumulated more shorties was in the 2014-15 (seven).

GET SHORTIE III: Junior right winger Nick Swaney (three, including one this season and two in 2018-19), junior center Justin Richards (three, all 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.

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, Minn. UMD is 0-0-2 in overtimes this season.

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) while Koepke potted his overtime winner in a 4-3 victory at Denver on Nov. 17, 2018.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: Junior right winger Nick Swaney (4.59) and sophomore right winger Cole Koepke (4.37) rank 2-3 nationally in shots per game average, trailing only Colorado College's Chris Wilkie (5.10).

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Since falling 4-3 at Denver in the NCHC playoff opener on March 13, 2015, the Bulldogs are 89-2-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They are 16-1-0 in that situation this season). The only two losses during that stretch came at the hands of Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, MIch. -- 3-2 on Dec. 7, 2018 and 5-3 on Feb. 21, 2020.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLFF: Senior defenseman Nick Wolff, who has taken part in more lifetime games (152) than all but four 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.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLFF II: Nick Wolff is currently third in the NCHC in blocks with 63 while his blueline partner, Scott Perunovich, is fourth with 54.

STACKED IN THE MIDDLE: UMD possesses the nation's fifth-highest scoring junior class (123 points) and 11th-highest sophomore unit (95 pts.) while the senior and rookie groups (18 pts. each) rank 57th and 58th respectively, out of 60 NCAA schools.

HE KEEPS GOING, AND GOING AND ...: Junior center Justin Richards, the reigning NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year, has skated in all 116 outings since joining the UMD program two years ago while sophomore right winger Cole Koepke also has yet to miss a game as a Bulldog (72).

A COUPLE OF GOOD LUCK CHARMS: Since Kobe Roth signed on with the Bulldogs in 2016-17, UMD is undefeated in 18 of the 21 games in which he has collected a goal (17-3-1). This season, the Bulldogs are 9-1-1 when Cole Koepke has scored.

OH, BROTHER: Sophomore left winger Noah Cates has collected at least one point in 13 of the past 16 games (accumulating up six goals and 10 assists over that stretch). He and sophomore right winger Cole Koepke top the 2019-20 Bulldogs in goals with 13 (which is a career high for both players).

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

Year            Rank
2019-20        1st
2018-19        1st
2017-18        3rd
2016-17        1st
2015-16        2nd
2014-15        1st
2013-14        1st

SAVING THEIR BEST FOR LAST: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 44-27 in the third period so far in 2019-20. (On the road, however, the opposition holds the upperhand, 18-15). A total of 46.8 percent of UMD's overall goals have been produced in the final 20 minutes of regulation, a figure bettered by only one NCAA I club (Ohio State at 47.7 percent) to date.

MAKING HIS GOALS COUNT: Of Kobe Roth's 24 career goals, exactly one third (eight) have been game-winners and 11 have come on the power play.

EVEN UP: The Bulldogs have registered 55 of their 94 goals in even-strength situations thus far. That figures out to be 58.5 percent, which ranks 59th among 60 NCAA  clubs (Princeton University is last at 53.6 percent).

NOT SO SWEEP: UMD has been swept only seven times in its last 73 regular season series overall (going back to Feb. 19-20, 2016) -- three times to St. Cloud State twice to Denver and once (earlier this year) to both the University of Wisconsin and to Minnesota State.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs will host St. Cloud State University in their 2019-20 regular season finales on March 6-7.