THE MATCHUP This weekend, No. 8 Minnesota Duluth and No. 4 St. Cloud State meet for the first time since the 2021 NCHC Frozen Faceoff in Grand Forks, N.D. During their last meeting a season ago, a short handed goal from Chase Brand would break a 2-2 second period tie and give the Huskies a 3-2 victory. Though they have both played eight conference games, UMD enters the weekend with a two point edge over St. Cloud in the NCHC standings. Last weekend, the Huskies used 4-1 and 5-2 wins to post a series sweep of (RV) Bemidji State.

LAST TIME OUT The Bulldogs dropped both of their games last weekend to No. 1 Minnesota State. UMD nearly dropped a 2-1 overtime decision at No. 1 Minnesota State on Thursday evening in Mankato. Jesse Jacques's third period game-tying goal wasn't enough as UMD would fall in the extra frame. They then dropped a 3-0 decision to the Mavericks on Saturday night in Duluth.

ST. CLOUD POWER PLAY The Huskies enter the weekend with the number one power play unit in the entire country. Through 18 games on the season, St. Cloud's power play unit is clicking at 35.9%. During last weekend's home-and-home series with Bemidji State, St. Cloud scored a total of five power play goals on the weekend, including four in Saturday nights win alone. Huskies forward Zach Okabe has six power play goals on the year, good enough for fifth in the nation. 

TOP 10 DEFENSIVE MATCHUP Both the Bulldogs and Huskies rank top 10 in the country in goals against per game. St. Cloud sits first in the NCHC and seventh in the country with an average of 2.06 goals against per game. UMD ranks third in the conference and tenth in the NCAA with a mark of 2.20 goals against per game. 

BRICK WALLS The probable goaltender matchup for this weekend's series features two of the nation's best. Minnesota Duluth junior goaltender Ryan Fanti enters with a goals against average of 1.61 and a save percentage of .934. Fanti's numbers are good enough for first in the NCHC and sixth in the country for both statistics. SCSU  graduate netminder David Hrenak holds a 1.93 goals against average and a save percentage of .925. Hrenak's numbers rank tenth and 14th in the NCAA, respectfully. 

SHUTTING THE DOOR UMD goaltender Ryan Fanti is tied for the NCHC lead in shutouts with four on the season. Nebraska Omaha's Isaiah Saville also have four on the campaign. 

POINTS FROM THE BACK END UMD defenseman Owen Gallatin and SCSU's Nick Perbix and Jack Peart all rank top 10 in the NCHC when it comes to points from defenseman. Perbix and Peart rank eighth and ninth in the conference with twelve and eleven points, respectfully. Gallatin's ten points on the season ranks him tenth in the NCHC. Gallatin also ranks fifth in the conference in plus/minus with a +13 rating through 20 games this season. 

JACQUES STEPS UP Bulldogs senior forward Jesse Jacques has three goals over his past four games. Jacques has played alongside fifth-year seniors Kobe Roth and Koby Bender the last two weekends. 

OLYMPIC ICE ADVANTAGE? St. Cloud State's Herb Brooks National Hockey Center features an Olympic sized ice sheet. On the season, the Huskies hold a 6-3-0 record while playing on home-ice. The Bulldogs have played three games on Olympic ice this year, and have a 1-2 record while playing on the bigger ice surface. 

ABOUT LAST SEASON The Bulldogs and Huskies met a total of seven times during the shortened 2020-21 season. During their seven matchups a season ago, St. Cloud took five games from Minnesota Duluth, including a 3-2 victory during the 2021 NCHC Frozen Faceoff. 

FITZGERALD LEADS THE WAY Huskies senior forward Kevin Fitgerald leads the team in points with 22 on the season (8G-14A). Fitzgerald's performance ranks him fifth in the NCHC and seventh in the NCAA in points. Additionally, Fitzgerald is one of just seven NCHC players to record a hat trick on the year. 

NOT THEIR FINAL MEETING Following their meeting this weekend, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State will meet on the final weekend of the NCHC regular season in Duluth. The two sides will battle March  4-5 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth. 

PENALTY-KILL ATTACK Both Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud both feature top 20 penalty kill units. On the season, the Huskies hold a penalty kill percentage of 85.7%, which is good enough for second in the NCHC and 14th in the nation. Similarly, the Bulldogs PK unit is clicking at 85.3%, ranking them fourth in the conference and 16th in the NCAA. Additionally, St. Cloud ranks first in the nation in short-handed goals with five on the campaign. SCSU forward Micah Millar is tied for the NCAA-lead with two short-handed markers this season. 

A LOOK AT THE PAIRWISE St. Cloud currently holds down the fourth spot in the NCAA's Pairwise rankings with a total of 55 pairwise points. UMD sits in eighth with 51 points. 

THE NCHC CONTINUES In the latest USCHO.com National Poll, five NCHC teams ranked within the top 10, and six within the national top 20. The Bulldogs received a total of 646 rank points to retain their slot in the national top 10 for a twelfth consecutive week. UMD is joined by fellow National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) team's No. 3 Western Michigan, No. 4 St. Cloud, No. 5 North Dakota, No. 7 Denver, and No. 15 Omaha. Down the stretch, the Bulldogs will play all five NCHC ranked opponents at least twice.