The No. 17 University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team will open the 2023-24 season at AMSOIL Arena this weekend, hosting No. 10/11 Michigan Tech. UMD and MTU will drop the puck Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
THE MATCHUP: The Huskies rank 6-7 spots ahead of the Bulldogs in the national preseason polls. The programs most recently faced off in the 2021-22 postseason, when UMD shutout MTU 3-0 to advance to the NCAA West Region Final. They last played in the regular season on Oct. 13, 2018, when the Bulldogs swept the Huskies in a two-game weekend series. The last season they opened against each other was 2016-17, another sweep by UMD. The following season was the last time the programs played in a stand-alone regular season game, which MTU won 4-3.
US HOCKEY HALL OF FAME GAME: Along with being the season opener, the team is hosting the US Hockey Hall of Fame Game. This tradition honors the ground-layers and legends of hockey in the United States. The Bulldogs have four USHHOF inductees: Keith Christiansen, John Pleban, Dave Langevin, and Brett Hull. During the first intermission, former UMD men's hockey head coach Mike Sertich will be honored with the US Hockey Hall of Fame Spirit of Life Award. There will also be a ceremony postgame for both teams, including a trophy presentation.
NEW 'DOGS: The Bulldogs welcomed six new faces this fall, including four freshmen and two transfers. Aaron Pionk is the only defenseman of the freshman class. Pionk was a 5th round pick by the Minnesota Wild in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and grew up playing in Hermantown, Minn. He's joined by Braden Fischer, A Winnipeg product who spent the 2022-23 season with the Minot Minotauros (NAHL). Fellow forward Anthony Menghini joins the ranks of Minnesota-born players on UMD's roster. Menghini scored 36 points in 58 regular season games with the Fargo Force (USHL) last season. Rounding out the freshman class is another 2023 NHL Entry Draft pick, Matthew Perkins. The forward from Balgonie, Saskatchewan was drafted in the 4th round by the Vancouver Canucks and played for the Youngstown Phantoms (USHL). Connor McMenamin joined the team as a graduate transfer after spending the past four seasons with Penn State. A Pennsylvania-native, McMenamin previously played in Minnesota for Shattuck's St. Mary's (2013-16). He's joined by junior defenseman Luke Bast. The Red Deer, Alberta product transferred from NCHC rival North Dakota.
LITTLE LEADERSHIP CHANGES: Two of the 2022-23 captains returned for a fifth year as Bulldogs, Luke Loheit and Quinn Olson. Loheit swapped in his 'A' for the 'C', while Olson returns for his second season as an alternate captain. The pair are joined by junior forward Dominic James, who put together impressive freshman and sophomore year campaigns. UMD's leadership group features both experienced leaders and skillful players, making them assets on and off the ice.
EARLY RANKINGS: Both the USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live national polls ranked the Bulldog's 17th, ahead of Providence, Northeastern, and Notre Dame. UMD trails Penn State by 107 points in the USCHO poll. Last season, the Bulldogs were ranked fifth in both national preseason polls, but were unranked at the end of the season. In the NCHC Preseason Poll, UMD ranked fifth, behind Western Michigan by only two points. The Bulldogs begin conference play in a month against North Dakota.
SIGHTS ON STEEVES: Sophomore Ben Steeves led the team in goals (21) and tied his teammate Dominic James for first in points (28) last season. The Eden Praire-native impressed as a freshman, leading all NCHC rookies in goals, second in rookie goals across the NCAA, and tying for third in goals among all NCHC players. He kept scoring on the power play, leading the team with twelve PP goals, second in the NCAA. Additionally, Steeves is the only player in program history to score two natural hat tricks in his rookie season. Anticipation has been building all offseason around Steeves, as he returns for his second Bulldog hockey season.
NICKLIN ELEVATED AHEAD OF SEASON: Long-time volunteer goaltender coach Brant Nicklin was elevated to assistant coach prior to the first game of the season. Nicklin has worked with UMD men's hockey since 2014-15 and was the women's goaltender coaching from 2009-2014. Before that, he worked in a similar capacity at the College of St. Scholastica.
MILESTONE APPROACHES: As Head Coach Scott Sandelin enters his 23rd season as bench boss for the Bulldogs, he is also 6 wins away from his 450th win as a NCAA DI head coach. Only seven active head coaches have longer tenures than Sandelin, with even fewer holding more wins.
GOTZ GOES FOR 100: Senior Darian Gotz is soon to be the next member of the 100 Game Club, entering the season with 98 under his belt. Only three current Bulldogs have skated in more games. McMenamin begins the season with 129 games played with his former team, Penn State. Captains Luke Loheit and Quinn Olson both breached the 130 mark last season. Loheit just hit 130 games and Olson is good for eight more, both wearing the Bulldog sweater for all NCAA appearances.
SALES SOAR UMD: student season tickets are at top-5 all time with 800 tickets sold. In addition, general season ticket sales and renewals have been strong, with over 4,300 renewals. Individual game suites and the Hall of Fame Suite are sold out for this season.
