OPENING DRAW The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey program takes to the road this weekend, heading to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on Western Michigan University for the third and fourth games this season. The Bulldogs took the first two meetings when the Broncos came to town just a few weekends ago.

WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY AT A GLANCE The Broncos are coming off of a split weekend with St. Cloud State University. WMU lost on Friday night by a score of 5-1, but came back the next night to win 5-4, riding off of defenseman Michael Joyaux's hat trick. The Broncos currently sit 6-11-3 on the season and are in sixth in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Standings. Drew Worrad has been a big part to WMU's success this season. He currently leads the team with 15 assists, which sits second in the NCHC this season. Ethan Frank has also had a solid season, grabbing 16 points on the year (10g, 6a). 10 goals is tied for third in the NCHC.
Joyaux was named NCHC Defenseman of the Week this week. Joyaux made NCHC history in Western Michigan's split at St. Cloud State, becoming the first defenseman in the conference to record a hat trick. After WMU fell to SCSU in Friday's opener, the Broncos bounced back for a 5-4 overtime win Saturday, led by Joyaux. He scored the Broncos' first and third goals in the game, then potted the game-tying goal with an extra attacker with 18 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and complete his hat trick. Joyaux fired six shots on goal in Saturday's win, after none Friday, and scored on half his shots. He had only one goal all season entering the game and now has four goals and 10 points in 20 games this season.

LAST TIME OUT The Bulldogs played their third and fourth straight games against the Miami University RedHawks, taking the weekends and season series sweep. The Bulldogs beat MU on Friday night by a score of 8-1, with junior forward Cole Koepke netting a hat trick and junior forward Jackson Cates dishing out five assists. UMD continued on their win streak, beating the RedHawks the next night, 3-1 while outshooting them 58-31. That 58 shots was an NCHC record. The Bulldogs are currently riding a six-game win-streak heading into this weekend.
Koepke had five points on the weekend with four goals and an assist, while J. Cates finished the weekend with six assists. Senior forward Nick Swaney finished with two goals on the weekend, bringing his season point total to 23 points in 19 games. Both Swaney and Koepke are riding six game point streaks, with Koepke scoring eight goals in the last five games.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK After a pair of wins on the weekend, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team had two players honored as National Collegiate Hockey Conference Players of the Week.
Koepke was named the NCHC's Forward of the week and freshman goalie Zach Stejskal was named the NCHC's Goalie of the Week.
Koepke had a five-point, four-goal weekend to power Minnesota Duluth to a second straight sweep of Miami. In Friday's opener, the Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick recorded his first career hat trick to lead UMD to an 8-1 win. The next night, Koepke added another two points in a 3-1 victory. He scored the game-winning goal to break a 1-1 tie in the third period on the power play, then added an assist on an empty-net goal to seal the victory. Koepke fired an NCHC single-game record 15 shots on goal in Saturday's win and finished the series with 19 shots on goal, scoring four goals and assisting on another. He ended +3 on the weekend with two of his goals coming on the power play. Koepke is now tied for the NCHC lead with 11 goals this season and has 18 points overall. He sits on a six-game point streak, scoring eight goals in his last five contests.
In his only start of the weekend and fourth career start, Stejskal backstopped Minnesota Duluth to a 3-1 win over Miami on Saturday, completing a series sweep for UMD. He made a career-high 30 saves in the victory, including 13 in the decisive third period, while allowing only one goal. Stejskal posted a .968 save percentage in Saturday's win (30 saves on 31 shots) and a 1.01 goals-against average. On the season, he has a .951 save percentage and a 1.23 GAA with a 3-1-0 record.

HOBEY WATCH Three Bulldogs were named to the Hobey Baker watch list. Junior forwards Noah Cates & Cole Koepke and senior forward Nick Swaney are all listed on the list. Fan voting can be found here HobeyBaker

RICHTER WATCH So. Goalie Ryan Fanti was named to the Mike Richter Award watch list last week. The full list can be found here MikeRichterAward

BULLDOGS IN THE POLLS UMD moved up a spot in the last national polls, claiming the No. 4 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 were ranked 5/6 in the previous polls. UMD has cracked every USCHO.com weekly poll since March 7, 2016.

THE RIVALRY Since 2013, UMD has fared well against the Broncos, holding an 18-10-3 record. The Bulldogs have won the past three contests between the two teams, with two of them coming earlier in the year. In the first of two, UMD handled WMU by a score of 5-1, carried by junior forward Jackson Cates' natural hat trick. He finished the night with four points, while senior forward Kobe Roth netted one and dished an assist. Senior forward Nick Swaney also scored in the contest. The second night saw a 4-1 win in favor of UMD. The Bulldogs had four different scorers, with two of them being career firsts. Sophomore forward Ben Almquist and freshman defenseman Connor Kelley each netted their first collegiate goals in the victory. Junior forwards Noah Cates and Cole Koepke both scored as well.
UMD holds a 22-10-3 all-time record against WMU.

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.

GOALS COMING AT A PREMEIUM The Bulldogs are currently the best when it comes to goals against per game in the NCHC. UMD is only giving up 2.05 goals per game, which sits just above the University of North Dakota's 2.11.

STARTING STRONG, STAYING STRONG The Bulldogs have produced points this year left and right. Senior forward Nick Swaney is at the forefront, leading the charge for UMD and sitting tied for first in the NCHC with 23 points (9g, 14a) on the season up to this point. His 14 assists on the season is tied for third in the NCHC.

STARTING STRONG, STAYING STRONG II Sophomore goalie Ryan Fanti has had a stellar start to the season and his career thus far, sitting with nine wins under his belt (second in the NCHC). He's been a rock-solid back stop for the Bulldogs with a .911 save percentage (fourth in the NCHC) and a 2.24 goals against average (second in the NCHC).

STARTING STRONG, STAYING STRONG III Junior forward Cole Koepke is tied for the NCHC's lead in goals, sitting with 11 on the season. He also has seven assists on the year for 18 points, seventh in the NCHC.

STARTING STRONG, STAYING STRONG IV Senior forward Kobe Roth has 10 goals on the season, which is tied for third in the NCHC on the season. He also has six assists on the year, good for 16 points overall.

SPECIAL TEAMS ARE INDEED SPECIAL UMD started the strong on the special teams, and have continued to dominate on the man advantage. The Bulldogs are currently clipping at an 21.3% (16-75) on the season. The penalty kill has been running at an 80.0% (60-75) on the season and will look to continue to improve.

SPECIAL TEAMS ARE INDEED SPECIAL II Junior forward Jackson Cates leads the way with five power play goals on the year (tied for second in the NCHC) and five power play assists. His brother, junior forward Noah Cates, and has three power play tallies and four assists while on the man advantage. Senior forward Nick Swaney also has three power play goals on the year, with eight assists on the man advantage (second in the NCHC). His 11 power play points is best in the NCHC and tied for third in NCAA.
Junior forward Cole Koepke also has three power play tallies while senior forward Kobe Roth has the other power play goals.

SPECIAL TEAMS ARE INDEED SPECIAL III The Bulldogs have two shorthanded goals on the season, tied for first in the NCHC.
Senior forward Nick Swaney and junior defenseman Hunter Lellig have the two shorties on the season, with Lellig's being his first collegiate career goal.

STRONG FINISH UMD has scored 48.5 percent of its goals (17-of-35) of its team goals in the third period. Only Canisius has a higher percentage in the final frame of regulation. Scott Perunovich leads the nation with his 12 third-period points.

SURPASSING 400 Head Coach Scott Sandelin became just the 33rd active head coach to reach the 400 win milestone on Jan. 29, 2021 when the Bulldogs beat Miami University, 2-1. He currently owns 403 wins.

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 (130) and Louie Roehl (133), forwards Kobe Roth (125) and Nick Swaney  (125) all passing the mark last season. Four Juniors, forwards Jackson Cates (87), Noah Cates (93), Cole Koepke (95) and Tanner Laderoute (88) all have the milestone within reach.

HITTING THE CENTURY Senior forward Nick Swaney is on the verge of becoming the 59th Bulldog men's hockey player to reach the 100th point milestone. He sits with 96 in his career.

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.
So far this season, the Bulldogs have snagged five player of the week's. Sophomore goalie Ryan Fanti was the NCHC's first Goalie of the Week (Dec. 7) and has two on the year (Dec. 7 & Feb. 1). Freshman defenseman was named Rookie of the Week (Feb. 1), junior forward Cole Koepke was named Forward of the Week (Feb. 8) and freshman goaltender Zach Stejskal was named Goalie of the Week (Feb. 8)

CAPTAIN CATES Noah Cates (5g, 10a) 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 71 (28g, 43a) points.

'A' FOR EFFORT After a stellar sophomore season, Cole Koepke (11g, 7a) will be one of three captains. He comes into his junior year with a career mark of 70 (34g, 36a) points, while finishing last year with a team second best 33 (16g, 17a) points.

'A' FOR EFFORT II 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 133 games. Roehl has 26 (7g, 19a) points in his career as a Bulldog and has a +34 rating for his career.

'A' FOR EFFORT III Senior Nick Swaney (9g, 14a) 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, producing at a 0.77 points per game pace for his career. in 125 games, Swaney has put up 96 points (40g, 54a) points while sporting a solid +45 rating. He's produced seven game winners in his career with the Bulldogs.