THE MATCHUP The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will head back to St. Cloud for the first round of the NCHC playoffs. UMD will go into the NCHC quarterfinals seeded as the No. 5 team and SCSU No. 4. In the all-time record against the Huskies UMD trails 62-79-11. Although recently UMD has been quite successful over the Huskies. The Bulldogs just had their longest win streak over SCSU. The streak started in the playoffs last year and UMD won five straight. The Huskies broke the streak last weekend during Saturday's contest. 
LAST TIME OUT UMD just saw the Huskies last weekend to close out the regular season, where the Bulldogs walked away with a split. The 'Dogs took Friday's game 4-3. With Quinn Olson's back-to-back goals, UMD had a 2-0 lead entering the second. Going into the third the game was tied up 2-2, but Carter Loney and Cole Spicer each netted one, making it a two-goal game once again. After SCSU pulled their goalie and had an extra attacker they scored their third. The Bulldogs showed strong defense and held the Huskies off for the remaining 30 seconds. The Bulldogs had a strong start again on Saturday with three unanswered goals in the first. St. Cloud came back in the latter half of the game and tied it up and took it to overtime. With 15 seconds remaining in overtime SCSU netted the game winner. 
DEJA VU This year's schedule and playoff seeding is almost identical to last season. UMD saw the Huskies in early February. They saw each other again for the regular season final where the series was split with UMD taking the win Friday in a one goal game. The Bulldogs then took the road to St. Cloud for the quarterfinals where they swept them. 
BULLDOGS ON THE PP UMD has shown they are a powerhouse with the man-advantage. Their 28 power play goals accounts for roughly a third of their total goals. With a .248 conversion rate the Bulldogs are ranked ninth in the nation and fourth in the NCHC. 
CONSISTENCY IS KEY In the last ten games, Quinn Olson has recorded nine points, with five goals and four assists. The senior currently has 15 assist, the second most on the team, behind Dominic James with 16. 
THAT'S A PLUS Freshman Aiden Dubinsky continues to lead the plus minus category for the Bulldogs with a +4 rating. 
TOP LINE PERFORMANCE Center Dominic James has been another consistent player for the Bulldogs this season. In the face-off circle this season he has gone 307-235, making him the team leader in wins. On the power play he's recorded two goals and eight assists for a .222 scoring percent. James has seen some of his best results against the Huskies this season. In the first series he recorded four points over one goal and three assists and last weekend he recorded another three assists. Even going back to last season he recorded a goal and an assist in the playoff games against SCSU. 
CAN'T STOP STEEVES Freshman Ben Steeves continues to lead the team in multiple categories including goals, power play goals, game winning goals, points, and shots on goal. The freshman scored his 20th goal last weekend making him the first freshman since Brett Hull in 1984-85 to have 20+ goals in a season. His goal came while UMD had the man-advantage, making 12 power play goals this season for the rookie and continues to be the nation's leading power play goal scorer. 
NCHC HONORS Rookie Ben Steeves was named to the NCHC All-Rookie team as announced by the conference Tuesday afternoon. Potting 17 tallies in 24 NCHC games to tie for the lead among all players in conference play. The 17 goals are the second-most ever by a rookie in NCHC play. He also dished out five assists for 22 points in NCHC games. Overall, Steeves has 20 goals in 32 games this season, tops among NCHC freshmen, second among NCAA freshmen and tied for third among all NCHC players. The four-time NCHC Rookie of the Week has a team-best 26 points overall this season.
NCHC HONORS II Blueline Wyatt Kaiser received the Second-Team All-NCHC Honors, along with Ben Steeves receiving Honorable Mention All-NCHC recognition. Kaiser, the two-time NCHC Defenseman of the Week, has tallied four goals and 15 assists for 19 points. A native to Ham Lake, Minn., Kaiser has been a key component on the blueline this season. He's recorded a plus minus rating of +2 and made 29 blocks.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN The Bulldogs have struggled on the road this season with a 5-9-1 record. Although the last nine games UMD has played in St. Cloud, they have gone 4-3-2. 
POTENTIAL ON THE POWER PLAY UMD, a top-10 ranked power play team, will be going head-to-head with SCSU who has struggles on the penalty kill. The Huskies are ranked 55th in the nation and seventh in the conference with their .759 penalty kill percent. Although the Bulldogs have had success with the man-advantage, SCSU has scored eight short-handed goals, ranking them second in the nation. 
STAYING OUT OF THE BOX Reversing the roles, the Huskies have the nation's fourth-best and conference's second-best power play unit. With 140 opportunities, SCSU has scored 37 goals with the man-advantage for a .264 conversion percentage.  As the Bulldogs are ranked 45th with a .779 penalty kill percent, it will be crucial for UMD to minimize their time in the box. 
SCSU GOALTENDING The Huskies have continued their pattern of switching off their two goalies. Both Dominic Basse and Jaxon Castor have started in 17 games. Castor, with a .915 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average, has gone 10-7-1 with two shutouts. Where Basse, with a .913 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average, has gone 10-4-2 with three shutouts. Castor's and Basse's goals against average ranks them 17th and 19th in the nation, respectively. 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES St. Cloud State will enter the weekend ranked eighth in the nation with their 20-11-3 overall record and 12-9-3 conference record. SCSU averages 3.4 goals per game. While averaging just 2.4 goals against they are ranked 13th nationally for scoring defense. Grant Cruikshank, with 20, leads their team in goals. Their assist leader is Jack Pear with 21, and Jami Krannila leads in points with 37. 

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.