THE MATCHUP Minnesota Duluth will host Colorado College this weekend in their NCHC home-opener from AMSOIL Arena in Duluth. The Bulldogs own the all-time series lead against the Tigers with a 105-84-10 record, which dates back to the winter for 1961. When these two teams met a season ago, Colorado College took both games with 4-1 and 2-1 victories over the Bulldogs.
LAST TIME OUT Last weekend, the Bulldogs earned a split at No. 9 Western Michigan. After dropping Friday night's game 4-3, UMD responded with an impressive 3-0 victory in game two. Additionally, the Bulldogs went into Lawson Ice Arena and outshot the Broncos on both nights.
FANTI STEPS UP On Saturday night against the Broncos, junior goaltender Ryan Fanti made 35 saves, and notched his first career collegiate shutout. The win improves Fanti to a 5-1 overall record on the season. Through six games, Fanti holds a 1.84 goals against average, which is good enough for 15th in the nation. Additionally, Fanti's .928 save percentage also ranks him in the top 20 at 17th in the country.
CLIMB THE LADDER UMD senior forward Tanner Laderoute had a fantastic weekend performance at Western Michigan. During the two-game series, the senior tallied a total of four goals, while also securing a +3 rating. The big weekend for Laderoute earned him NCHC Forward of the Week honors, and also pushed him into a tie for the team-lead in points with six on the season.
BULLDOG DEPTH SHINES Against the Broncos, UMD's forward depth had a solid weekend. Junior forward Ben Almquist got the call against Western and tallied a goal and two assists during the two-game series. Almquist's freshmen linemates also came up big. Carter Loney turned in three assists on the weekend, including the primary assist on Tanner Laderoute's shorthanded goal in game two. Loney's impressive showing at Western gives him a +4 rating on the season. Additionally, Fellow freshman Kyler Kleven scored the first goal of his collegiate career on Friday night in Kalamazoo.
PENALTY KILL SUCCESS Western Michigan, who entered last weekend with the 23rd best power play in the country, could only muster one power play goal in ten attempts against the UMD penalty kill during the series. The Bulldogs impressive penalty killing weekend improves their PK percentage to 85.7% on the season.
CHECK THE PAIRWISE UMD currently sits No. 1 in the latest NCAA Pairwise Rankings. The Bulldogs have a 6-2 overall record on the season with all eight games coming against ranked opponents. Additionally, both of UMD's losses were at the hands of team ranked in the top 10 nationally (Michigan and Western Michigan).
NCHC CONTINUES TO LEAD For the fourth week in a row, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) had six teams ranked in the national top 20. No. 1 St. Cloud, No. 7 North Dakota, No. 9 Western Michigan, No. 11 Omaha, and No. 14 Denver all join the Bulldogs in the national rankings.
NO NIGHT OFF IN THE NCHC Though Colorado College enters the weekend with just a 2-6-2 record on the season, the Tigers are a much better team than their record would suggest. Last weekend against No. 1 St. Cloud State, the Tigers held a late third period lead before falling in overtime to the Huskies on Friday night. Additionally, on Saturday night, Colorado College held St. Cloud to a one-goal lead in the third period.
UMD'S POWER PLAY The Bulldogs currently rank last in the NCHC and 47th in the nation when it comes to power play percentage.
STAYING DISCIPLINED Through eight games on the season, the Bulldogs have the second fewest penalties of any team in the NCHC. Out of the entire country, UMD has committed the 14th least penalties.
HOME COOKING The Bulldogs are 3-1 when playing at AMSOIL Arena this season. UMD sold the most student tickets ever prior to the 2021-22 campaign. Additionally, their game against Minnesota on Saturday, Oct. 23, was the second highest attended game of all-time at 7,596 spectators.
CC STRUGGLES ON THE ROAD Colorado College holds a 1-3-1 record on the road this season.
NCHC STANDINGS Following the first weekend of the NCHC season, No. 8 North Dakota currently occupies first place after a home sweep of No. 14 Denver. The Bulldogs sit in a tie for third with Western Michigan, while this weekend's opponent Colorado College is in seventh.
INJURY BUG UMD has played most of their season without a couple of key pieces. Luke Loheit, Luke Mylymok, and Zach Stejskal have all missed portions of the season due to injury.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS Coming off of two losses at the hands of No. 1 St. Cloud, Colorado College enters Duluth with a 2-6-2 overall record. The Tigers have played a range of teams this season including Boston College, Northeastern, St. Lawrence, and Air Force. Colorado College is both 1-3-1 at home and on the road. Up front, the Tigers are led by sophomore forward Matthew Gleason. In ten games this season, Gleason has tallied three goals and six assists for nine points. Fellow sophomore forward Jordan Biro leads the team in goals with five in nine games. On the blueline, senior defenseman Bryan Yoon serves as team captain and has registered four assists in ten games this year. In net, all ten starts have gone to sophomore goaltender Dominic Basse. In those ten starts, Basse is 2-6-2 with a 2.48 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
