The University of Minnesota Duluth will enter the final third of its 2019-20 National Collegiate Hockey Conference schedule this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 7-8) when the Bulldogs play host to the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Opening faceoff is set for 7:07 p.m. both nights at AMSOIL Arena (6,756) in downtown Duluth.

THE RECORDS: The two-time defending NCAA champion Bulldogs are 15-9-2 overall and 10-4-2-0 in NCHC play (second place) while Omaha sports an 12-11-5 record in all outings and a 6-7-3-0 league mark (tied for fifth place with St. Cloud State University).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Omaha 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. 6	No. 7	No. 6
UNO	RV	NR	No. 25 (t)

      
ON THE AIR: The two Bulldog-Maverick 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 televised -- Friday on My 9 (locally)and Saturday on Fox 9+ (Twin Cites metro area) and KTTC-TV (Rochester, Minn.-La Crosse, Wis.). Zach Schneider, former UMD team captain Judd Medak and KDLH-TV Sports Director Kelly Hinseth (rinkside) will serve as the on-air talent both nights. The two telecasts are available on-line at: nchc.tv/umd.

THE SERIES: UMD and Omaha will collide for the 38th and 39th times ever this weekend. The Bulldogs hold a commanding 23-11-3 lead in the all-time series, which began on Dec. 5, 1997 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.

•The Bulldogs have reeled off seven straight victories at the Mavericks' expense, a run that began on March 3, 2018 (one day after the Omaha pulled out a 4-1 triumph in Duluth).

• UMD went 4-0-0 against Omaha one year ago  -- all at AMSOIL Arena -- and earlier this season (Dec. 6-7) defeated the Mavericks twice on their home ice (6-3 and 4-3) for its first road sweep of 2019-20.

• The Bulldogs are 12-3-3 lifetime versus Omaha in Duluth.

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs exited Magness Arena on a Rocky Mountain high last Saturday night after completing a weekend sweep of the University of Denver. UMD struck three times on the power play en route to derailing the then-No. 4 Pioneers, 3-2, in the series opener. Sophomore right winger Cole Koepke, who assisted on the second Bulldog goal, potted the game winner with 5:31 to go in the third period and senior goaltender Hunter Shepard turned aside 39 of 41 shots as UMD  put the clamps on Denver's nation-leading 11-game winning streak.The following evening, junior right winger Nick Swaney scored twice and junior defenseman Scott Perunovich collected three assists for the Bulldogs, who also got goals from Koepke and sophomore center Jackson Cates in a 4-1 triumph.

MAN OF THE MONTH: Senior All-American Hunter Shepard got recognized for his spirited start to the new year buy being selected the National Collegiate Hockey Conference for January.

During that 31-game stretch, Shepard made more saves (209) than any league netminder while posting a 2.57 goals against average, a .921 saves percentage and a 3-3-1 record in seven appearances. Three of those starts came againsts Top 4 opponents in No. 2 University of North Dakota (Jan. 24-25) and No. 4 University of Denver (Jan. 31).

This marks the fifth time in the Shepard has collared a NCHC Goaltender of the Month honor with the others coming last April/March, January and November and February 2018.

MAN OF THE WEEK: Junior Scott Perunovich, who played a key part in UMD's  twin takedowns of Denver last Friday and Saturday, was chosen the NCHC of the Week. The Hibbing, Minn., native paced all league blueliners in scoring over the weekend, figuring in on four of the Bulldogs' seven goals (one assist in a 3-2 win in the series opener and three assists in a 4-1 triumph 24 hours later.) Perunovich finished the weekend a +1 and blocked eight shots.

Perunovich has secured an NCHC Defenseman of the Week citation four times in 2019-20  (with the others coming on Oct. 28, Nov. 18 and Nov. 25) and has secured some kind of NCHC weekly honor on 10 different occasions over the course of his career.

MAKING THEIR SHOTS COUNT: UMD attempted only 81 shots during its two-game series at Denver (including a season-low 40 shots on Friday), but still managed to score seven goals.
 
PUCK HUNTER: Senior All-American Hunter Shepard has made a NCAA-record 107 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 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.

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 69-36-5 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.

BLOCK PARTY: The Bulldogs blocked 21 shots in Saturday's 3-2 win at Denver -- their most since Jan. 11, 2019 (22 vs. St.. Cloud State). That came just one night after UMD registered 21 blocks against the Pioneers.

GREAT SCOTT: Two-time All-American junior Scott Perunovich is currently tied for the NCAA defenseman scoring lead (a UMD-best 32 points) while his 28 assists and 19 power play points both rank second among all NCAA skaters. Of Perunovich's 32 total points, well over half (18) 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. 7 spot on UMD's all-time scoring list for blueliners. His 97 career points are the fifth most of any current NCAA defenseman (Duluth native and Northern Michigan senior Phil Beaulieu is first with 117) while his 0.91 points per game average is tops among the nation's point men.

GREAT SCOTT III: Perunovich needs just three points to become the 58th member of the UMD Century Club. The last Bulldog to crack the 100-point plateau for a career was All-American winger Alex Iafallo in 2016-17 while the last UMD defenseman to so was three-time All-American Norm Maciver in 1984-85.

He followed that up by setting a personal high for assists (26, which was the eighth highest total by a NCAA I defenseman) as a sophomore and also secured a spot on both the All-NCHC and NCAA All-Midwest Regional teams.

A FAMILIAR FACE: Only one UMD opponent (St. Cloud State) has paid more lifetime visits to AMSOIL Arena than Omaha, which is 3-10-3 in its 16 appearances there.

OH, BROTHER: 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 10 of the past 12 games (picking up five goals and eight assists over that stretch). His older brother, Jackson, also has also marked in the scoring column in 10 of the last 12 outings, registering three goals and eight assists.

OH, BROTHER II: 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 was the top vote getter on the 2018-19 NCHC All-Rookie Team.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE: The Bulldogs currently sit second nationally in power play efficiency (.280) and fourth in power play goals (30). UMD has collected more of its total goals on the power play this season -- 36.6 percent -- than all but three 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 its 26 games to date, but are 4-2-0 in those six outings.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE III: The Bulldogs' 30 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 the NCHC lead.

NO POWER SHORTAGE HERE IV: Going back to Dec. 4, 2015, UMD is 29-3-2 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.

GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT: Both junior right winger Nick Swaney and sophomore right winger Cole Koepke are tied for fourth nationally in shots with 108. Swaney's 4.70 shots per game average trails on Colorado College's Chris Wilkie (5.29) on the NCAA charts.

THE EARLY GOAL GETS THE WIN: Going back to March 6, 2018, the Bulldogs have won 38 of the last 40 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 11-0-0 when it has taken a 1-0 lead in 2019-20.

HE KEEPS GOING, AND GOING AND ...: Junior center Justin Richards, the reigning NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year, has skated in all 112 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 (68).

SAVING THEIR BEST FOR LAST: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 40-23 in the third period so far in 2019-20. At home that advantage is a whopping  26-8.  A total of 48.8 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 87-1-3 when taking a lead into the third period. (They are 13-0-0 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.

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

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLFF: Senior defenseman Nick Wolff, who has taken part in more lifetime games (148) 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.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLFF II: Nick Wolff is currently tied for second in the NCHC in blocks with 53 while his blueline partner, Scott Perunovich is seventh with 43.

STACKED IN THE MIDDLE: UMD possesses the country's second-highest scoring junior class (110 points) and 10th-highest sophomore unit (83 pts.) while the senior (13 pts.) and rookie (15 pts.) groups rank 58th (tie) and 58th (tie), respectively, out of 60 NCAA schools.

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.

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 71 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.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs will engage in its final bye week of the 2019-20 season before resuming play on Feb. 21-22 at Western Michigan University.