TRAVEL EAST, PLAY WEST The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team is back on the road to take on No. 11 Western Michigan. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference teams are scheduled to only meet for this two-game series in the regular season.

LAST TIME OUT Last season's February 3 & 4 series didn't end in UMD's favor. However, both games did feature goals from alternate captain Quinn Olson. Two other Bulldogs had two-point series, then freshman Ben Steeves (1-1-2) and defenseman Owen Gallatin (0-2-2). Prior that season, the teams split a high-scoring series. Steeves had two goals, joining Olson (1-1-2) and Gallatin (0-2-2) for another two point weekend. 

NCHC OUTLOOK After a three point weekend, UMD now has sole possession of sixth place in the conference. Omaha moved down to seventh, with one less point (11) and last weekend's opponent, Colorado College, is one ahead (13). WMU is tied for third with Denver. It would take a series sweep for the Bulldogs to move past the Broncos in the NCHC standings. 

STANDOUT SPECIAL TEAMS UMD has successfully killed off its past nine penalties, last giving up a  power play goal in the first period against Air Force. Last Saturday, penalty killer Carter Loney scored a short handed goal, assisted by Joey Pierce. That marked the Bulldogs' second short handed goal of the season. The other man down goal was scored by Cole Spicer in UMD's 8-5 victory over Northern Michigan on October 14. On the man advantage, Steeves continues to impress. He's tied for third nationally with eight power play goals and leads the NCHC. He's trailed by WMU leading goal scorer Dylan Wendt, who enters the weekend one goal behind.

GOALTENDING TANDEM Senior Zach Stejskal (.912) and Fifth Year Matthew Thiessen (.898) have split time between the pipes this season. Stejskal has backstopped UMD in six more games, 14 total. He earned all six starts in December, after Thiessen had six the month before. Last weekend, Stejskal was in net for both games versus CC. Between both overtime games, he made a total of 62 saves. Eight of his starts this season have gone into overtime (2-3-3).  

FIRST POINTS FOR FISCHER Freshman Braden Fischer scored his first goal in the exhibition game versus St. Thomas earlier this month, but would not be recognized for it in his official stats. However, the goal lit a spark for the forward. Last weekend, he averaged a point per game. On Friday, Fischer earned his first official collegiate point, with a secondary assist on Gallatin's third period goal. The next night, Fischer assisted on his linemate Kyle Bettens' goal, which gave the Bulldogs a second period lead.

STEEVES SCORES (A LOT) All good things must come to an end and that includes Steeves' scoring streak. The sophomore had goals in five straight games, starting December 8 against Miami. His streak ended last Saturday night, with his first game without points in over a month. During his five game scoring streak, Steeves had two two-goal performances, that first game at Miami and December 29 versus Air Force in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off. He also had a two point showing against Northeastern earlier in the tournament. 

NEW YEAR, NEW EXPECTATIONS Last weekend marked the first win over a ranked opponent for UMD this season. Prior to that, they had tied two ranked opponents in Minnesota and Michigan Tech. With a full NCHC slate in the 2024 portion of the regular season and a ranked opponent this weekend, the Bulldogs are looking for some major conference points.