THE MATCHUP The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs are back to NCHC conference play this weekend. UMD will take the road for a series against the Omaha Mavericks. The Bulldogs saw the Mavericks earlier this season at home. The series was split with UNO taking a 3-2 win in the opening game, but UMD bounced back Saturday night for a 3-2 overtime win. During the last series against Omaha, Owen Gallatin had a three point weekend and was then named the NCHC defenseman of the week. In Saturday's game, Quinn Olson netted the overtime goal with an assist from goalie Matthew Thiessen. That goal marked Olson's first goal of the season and Thiessen's first point as a Bulldog. Dating back to 1997, UMD has gone 28-13-4 against the Mavericks. At Baxter Arena, the Bulldogs have a record of 12-9.  
LAST TIME OUT Last weekend, UMD played a non-conference series against Bemidji State. Friday's game in Bemidji concluded in a 1-1 tie that went to a shoot-out. In the shoot-out Zach Stejskal denied all of the Beavers shots. Dominic James was the only shooter to make a goal, and secured the shoot-out win for UMD. The Bulldogs were then back at home Saturday to close out the series. UMD scored twice in the first period to give them a 2-1 lead at the end of the period. They then kept their momentum going through the second by netting two power play goals. BSU closed the gap to 4-2 with seconds left in the period. Luke Loheit then polished off the game with an empty net goal, giving UMD a 5-2 win. 
CAN'T STOP STEEVES Freshman forward Ben Steeves has recorded 15 points over 12 goals and three assists, and leads the team in both goals and points. With 69 total shots on goal Steeves has a shot percentage of .174. Having scored six, Steeves ranks second in the NCHC and fourth in the nation for power play goals. He also ranks seventh in the country and fourth in the conference for goals per game, as he averages .67 per game.
IN THE CREASE Senior Matthew Thiessen has now seen action in 13 games. He holds a save percentage of .918 and a 2.21 goals against average. Thiessen has made a total of 280 saves this season, while only allowing 25 goals. Thiessen ranks third in the conference and 17th nationally for his goals against average. In the last series against the Mavericks, Thiessen had a .934 save percentage and only allowed five goals. 
DYNAMIC DEFENSE Back on defense, Derek Daschke has been blocking shots and putting up points. Daschke leads the team in assists with 10 and is second on the team with 12 points. Daschke also leads in blocked shots with a total of 28 shots. 
NEARING A MILESTONE Defenseman Derek Daschke is nearing his 100 career point milestone. Daschke has played in 153 games up until this point in his collegiate career where he has recorded 26 goals and 71 assists. Daschke will head into this weekend with 97 career points.  
STAYING OUT OF THE BOX The Mavericks have had 71 man-advantage opportunities this season, capitalizing on 20 of them. With a .282 conversion percentage, Omaha is second in the NCHC and third in the nation on the power play. Last time the Bulldogs saw the Mavericks, UNO scored two power play goals that lead to their win. 
OMAHA GOALTENDING Jake Kucharski has played in 14 of the 20 games for the Mavericks. Kucharski averages 2.80 goals against and has a .904 save percentage this season, having saved 369 shots, while allowing 39 goals. 
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS Going into this weekend, the Mavericks have a 9-9-2 overall record and a 4-5-1 conference record. Omaha sits fourth in the conference with 15 points. At home, the Mavericks have gone 4-5-1. In their last conference match-up UNO was in Colorado Springs playing the Tigers. The Mavericks were swept with a 6-4 loss Friday and 1-0 shutout Saturday. Omaha averages 3.1 goals per game and 29.7 shots. Having only allowed 56 goals this season, they average 2.8 goals against. Although the Mavericks are in the Top 5 on the power play, they struggle on the penalty kill. Over 66 penalty kills, they have allowed 16 power play goals against, ranking them 51 in the nation. So far this season Jake Randl leads the Mavericks in goals and points, having 15 and 22 respectively.