THE MATCHUP The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will resume conference play this weekend against the No. 3 Denver Pioneers. After seeing the Pioneer in Duluth earlier this season, the Bulldogs will take the road for the second series. When UMD last saw DU in December, the Pioneers were the top-ranked team in the country. In Friday's 3-2 game, Dominic James and Ben Steeves both recorded power play goals in the first period to give UMD an early 2-0 lead. The Pioneers closed the gap and took UMD to overtime and took game one. The following night, James scored another power play goal to close out the first period 1-1. Later in the game, Tanner Laderoute and Luke Mylymok both added goals for a 3-2 lead in the third. The Pioneers responded back with a late game-tying goal and took the game to overtime where they completed their sweep. Since the first meeting in 1961, UMD has an all-time record of 88-131-13 against DU.  
LAST TIME OUT Prior to the Bulldogs weekend off, they had a tough series against Western Michigan. In the opening game against WMU, UMD was down by one as the game was coming to a close. Quinn Olson scored the game-tying goal with just a minute left and took the teams to overtime. Though the Bulldogs fought for the win, the Broncos found the back of the net to finish game one 3-2. During Saturday's game, UMD had a slower start to the game and it was not until late in the third period that Olson would get the Bulldogs on the board. The final decision of Saturday's game was 4-1 in favor of WMU. 
UMD IN CONFERENCE PLAY After taking the Friday game against WMU to overtime, the Bulldogs picked up one conference point. With 23 points, UMD is tied for fifth with Colorado College. So far this season, the Bulldogs have gone 7-11-0 in the NCHC play. 
BULLDOGS ON THE PP Going into the weekend UMD is ranked sixth in the country and third in the NCHC with the man-advantage. After netting 23 power play goals, the Bulldogs have a .256 power play percentage. 
OLSON IS HEATING UP Senior forward Quinn Olson will head into the series against DU on a four game point streak. In the last four games, Olson has tagged five points over two goals and three assists. After recording 14 assists this season, Olson is now the team assist leader.   
YOUNG GUNS This year's freshman class has proven to Bulldog Country what they can do. In last weekend's series, over the 11 goals, 29 points were given out to various Bulldogs. Of the 29 points, the rookies on the team recorded 12 of them. The freshmen to record points were Steeves, Isaac Howard, Kyle Bettens, and Cole Spicer.
THAT'S A PLUS Freshman Aiden Dubinsky leads the plus minus category for the Bulldogs with a +5 rating. 
STEEVES IS ON A ROLL Freshman Ben Steeves continues to put pucks in the back of the net for UMD. In the last five games Steeves has recorded seven points. Steeves, the team leader in goals and points, is now at a season total of 22 points over 17 goals and five assists. The freshman is ranked second in the country and conference for his 10 power play goals, along with being ranked sixth in the nation for his goals per game percentage of .65.
TIM TAYLOR AWARD WATCH LIST As Steeves leads the team in multiple categories, he was recently one of 27 rookies in D1 hockey named to the Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year Watch List. 
TOP 10 OFFENSE Coming into this weekend, Denver is the sixth-best offense in the nation, averaging 3.73 goals per game.
STAYING OUT OF THE BOX Staying out of the box will be crucial for the Bulldogs this weekend. With a .245 power play percentage, the Pioneers are ranked 10th in the nation and fourth in the NCHC. DU has scored 34 goals with the man-advantage ranking them second in the nation for team power play goals.
DU GOALTENDING The Pioneers leading goaltender has been Magnus Chrona. While in the crease, Chrona has posted a 19-7-0 winning record during his 26 games played. The senior has also recorded four shutouts against Miami and Colorado College. He holds a .916 save  percentage and a 2.14 goals against average.   
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS The Pioneers, having gone 23-7-0, will host UMD as the third-best team in the nation and the NCHC conference leader. Last weekend Denver swept North Dakota 5-3 and 5-2, respectively. DU averages 3.7 goals per game and holds their opponents to just 2.2 per game. The team's leading goal scorer is sophomore Carter Mazur, with 19. Rizzo Massimo leads the Pioneers in assists (25), points (37), and plus minus rating (+20). 

HOBEY NOMINEES Three Bulldogs have been named as nominees for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. The Bulldogs include freshman Ben Steeves, sophomore Dominic James, and junior Wyatt Kaiser. Voting can be done daily at https://hobeybaker.com/awards/vote-for-hobey/ till March 26.