For the first time in more than a decade, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team and the No. 6 University of Minnesota will drop the puck on a series at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. The Interstate 35 rivalry will get underway Friday at 7:07 p.m. before concluding with a 6:07 p.m. puck drop on Saturday.
NEW POINTS ON THE BLOCK: Six freshman and one transfer Bulldog have already gotten on the score sheet just three official games into the season.
Callum Arnott's first collegiate goal last Friday and Blake Bechen's assist Saturday's against the University of Massachusetts Lowell marked the fifth and sixth Bulldog freshmen to log a point in UMD's first three official games. Arnott joins Jayson Shaugabay (2g), and Zam Plante (1g) as the third rookie to score a goal, while Bechen joins that trio plus Ty Hanson (2a) and Max Plante (2a) in the freshman point club.
Transfer forward Joe Molenaar also rung up his first point as a Bulldog in last Friday's win -- a shorthanded goal at that.
GAJAN CONTINUES UMD GOALTENDER'S RECENT FIRST START, FIRST WIN TREND: Adam Gajan, like his current teammate Zach Sandy before him last season, picked up his first career win in his first collegiate start last Friday night against UMass Lowell.
In fact, UMD's last four goaltenders before Gajan and Sandy earned wins in their first official starts, including Zach Stejskal, Matthew Thiessen, Ben Patt and Ryan Fanti.
The last goaltender not to pick up a win in his first career start? Hunter Shepard, who started two games as a freshman in 2016-17, including his debut to Notre Dame on Oct. 16, 2016. (Shepard did go on to set the UMD career win record at UMD of 119, in his defense.) While Shepard was not the only rookie goaltender on the 2016-17 NCAA national runner-up squad, Hunter Miska won his first game and went on to go 27-5-5 that season.
THE SERIES: For the first time in 13 seasons, Minnesota will visit the city of Duluth for a series instead of a single game. The two programs last played a series in the same location in Minneapolis on Nov. 22 and 24, 2013 (a series split). Since then, the Bulldogs have either played in single games, multiple home-and-home series, or met the Gophers in tournaments like the 2017 IceBreaker Tournament or the North Star College Cup -- or not had them on the schedule at all (2020-21).
No surprise, the Bulldogs and Gophers are a fan draw at AMSOIL. The top-five highest attended games at AMSOIL Arena (which opened December 30, 2010) have come against Minnesota, the No. 1 attended contest in program history, a whopping 7,596 on October 23, 2021. UMD's record against Minnesota at AMSOIL is 6-2-3, including 5-0-1 over that span. In fact, the Bulldogs haven't been defeated in AMSOIL since Oct. 15, 2011, a 5-4 setback.
While UMD trails Minnesota in the all-time series 95-136-19, a series that began Dec. 12, 1952 (14-2 UMD loss) and will see its 251th game Friday night, that series has flipped upright over the tenure of head coach Scott Sandelin.
Sandelin has led UMD to a 29-25-8 record against Minnesota since being appointed bench boss in 2000. Even more impressive, while UMD claimed three national titles over Sandelin's era (2011, 2018, 2019), Minnesota has won just two, in the beginning of Sandelin's career (2002, 2003). Additionally, UMD has beaten Minnesota both times they have met in NCAA tournament play, 3-1 in the Midwest Regional in 2004 and 4-1 in the Northeast Regional in 2015.
The Bulldogs have an even better winning percentage since the Gophers joined the Big Ten -- 13-4-2 since 2013.
Among the UMD returners, Carter Loney has played in the most games against Minnesota (four with one goal), but its defenseman Owen Gallatin who has the most points after recording a goal and two assists last season in two games.
Last season, UMD dropped game one of the home-and-home on Nov. 3, 2023 5-1 before settling for a 3-3 tie and shootout win on Nov. 4 at AMSOIL.
In the Friday night game, the Gophers ran off four unanswered goals -- two in the first and two in the fourth before UMD got on the board late in the third with a goal from Loney at 16:03. 25 seconds left Minnesota score on an empty net to seal the lopsided defeat.
At AMSOIL Saturday, UMD scored first on a goal from Jack Smith midway through the period, and the Gophers equalzied almost nine minutes into the second period. UMD answered that tally with a power play score from Cole Spicer, but Minnesota again drew even with a power play goal of its own at 15:26 of the frame. 23 seconds later, the Gophers took their first lead of the game, and went into the second intermission 3-2. But just 53 seconds into the third period, Ben Steeves scored on the power, and despite overtime, both sides finished the game knotted up at 3-3. Minnesota missed two ensuing shootout attempts, while Quinn Olson and Steves made their attempts for UMD to claim the shootout victory. Matthew Thiessen made 47 saves in net for the Bulldogs, who also went 2-of-4 on its power play on the night. On another note for game two -- Looney had a season-best 11-of-16 wins on face-offs.
UMD vs. Minnesota, Last 10 Games:
Nov. 4, 2023 3-3 Tie OT SW Home
Nov. 3, 2023 1-5 Loss Away
Oct. 23, 2021 2-1 Win Home
Oct. 22, 2021 5-3 Win Away
Oct. 26, 2019 2-0 Win Home
Oct. 25, 2019 5-2 Win Away
Oct. 7, 2018 4-7 Loss Away
Oct. 6, 2018 1-1 Tie OT Home
Oct. 6, 2017 4-3 Tie OT Home
Jan. 27, 2017 3-2 Win Neutral*
Oct. 17, 2015 3-0 Win Home
*North Star College Cup semifinals
RANK AND FILE: The Bulldogs fell out of the No. 18 spot they started the season with, but are receiving five votes in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll this week, and are also receiving votes (19) in this weeks USCHO.com national poll
The Gophers are currently ranked sixth in Monday's USCHO.com ranking, and sixth in the latest USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs are coming off a series split with UMass Lowell in Lowell, Mass. After knocking out the River Hawks 4-2 Friday night, UMD dropped a 4-1 decision Saturday.
The Bulldogs got goals from Joe Molenaar, Callum Arnott, Braden Fischer and Dominic James Friday night, while rookie goaltender Adam Gajan had 36 saves against 38 shots in his UMD netminding debut.
UMass Lowell scored the game's first goal 12:36 into the opening period, but just 49 seconds later, Molenaar scored his first goal as a Bulldog – a shorthand tally at that – after he intercepted a pass under the red line. Rookie forward Arnott then followed Molenaar's lead and netted his first collegiate goal after he popped in a rebound from a James drive to the net to give UMD's its first goal advantage of the game at 13:27 of the frame.
At the 10:09 mark of the second period, UMD stretched that upper hand to 3-1 behind Fischer's first goal of the season, burying the puck off a UML turnover. James then sharpened the Bulldogs edge on his opening goal of the season just 35 seconds into the third period. With a wrister from the slot, James scored his first official goal since missing almost all of the 2023-24 season due to injury, and was assisted by sophomore forward Matthew Perkins and senior defenseman Owen Gallatin.
The River Hawks added one last goal at the 11:18 mark to make it a 4-2 game, but they would come no closer in their season opening skate.
Gajan's 36 saves also came against four UNL power plays, but the freshman gloved his first win in his first official start between the pipes. As a team, UMD blocked nine shots to the River Hawks three, but were outshot 38-29 in the game.
Saturday night, the Bulldogs allowed a power play goal from the River Hawks at 11:50 of the first period, UML scored three unanswered tallies in the second period over an eight minute span to build an insurmountable lead for UMD. The Bulldogs did get on the board midway through the third on junior forward Jack's Smith's first goal of the season, after he turned and spun on a rebound in the low slot. Freshman defenseman Ty Hanson and Blake Bechen each earned assists on the goal – the first of Bechen's collegiate career.
For a second-straight night, the River Hawks outshot the Bulldogs, this time 36-21 in the contest. UNL was 2-of-3 on its power play, while UMD was scoreless on its one and only attempt. Gajan was tagged for the loss in his second collegiate start – the freshman goaltender made 32 saves in the game.
NOTES ON THE UNL SERIES: All-time, UMD is now 13-4-3 against the River Hawks.
--UNL outshot the Bulldogs 74-50 in the series, and added one more goal -- 6-5.
--Graduate Joe Molenaar's shorthanded goal Friday night was the first by a Bulldog since Carter Looney rang one up on Jan. 13, 2024 against Colorado College with just 11 seconds left in the first period at AMSOIL Arena.
--Freshman forward Max Plante missed the series due to an upper body injury that is expected to keep him out a few more weeks.
