The No. 18 University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team will open up the 2024-25 season this Saturday when it welcomes Bemidji State University to AMSOIL Arena. The game is scheduled to get underway at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, the Bulldogs will host the University of Manitoba in an exhibition game that will get underway at 2:00 p.m. Tickets to Sunday's game will be available to fans for just 10 dollars.
BULLDOGS AT BAYFRONT: Prior to the game on Saturday there will be a a "tailgate" at Bayfront Festival Park for to celebrate the start of the season with giveaways, food trucks, drink tents, and more.
REMEMBERING COACH SERTICH: UMD will have a short tribute to former head coach Mike Sertich, who passed away on August 8, before the game. This will include a video and moment of silence. The Bulldogs will wear Sertie patches on their uniforms this season.
GREAT SCOTT! SANDELIN ENTERS 25TH SEASON: UMD bench boss Scott Sandelin has begun his 25th season, the longest tenure of any Bulldog coach in program history and one of two active head D-I coaches with three or more NCAA titles. Already the winningest coach at UMD with a record of 456-388-101, Sandelin currently ranks eighth in wins among all active Division I men's hockey head coaches. Of the seven coaches ahead of him, Sandelin has coached fewer seasons than all seven coaches with more wins.
All-time, Sandelin owns the 21st most career wins. Of the 21 all-time coaches with more wins than Sandelin, only 12 earned all of those wins with the same program.
UMD as a program has had incredible stabiity from its head coach position for 50 seasons -- since the 1975-76 season, the Bulldogs have had just three head coaches -- Gus Henderickson (1975-76 to 1981-82, MIke Sertich (1982-83 to 1999-00 and Sandelin, who has been with UMD since the 2000-01 season.
OPEN IT UP: Since head coach Scott Sandelin took over the program ahead of the 1999-00 season, UMD is 10-6-8 in its first game of the season. The Bulldogs are averaging 3.33 goals a game over those previous 24 seasons, and have gone into overtime seven times.
UMD has twice opened up the season against the Beavers in the Sandelin era -- both losses. The most reason season opener between the two sides on Oct. 10, 2015 in Bemidji, Minn., a 3-2 overtime loss. Prior to that, UMD lost to BSU to open the 2005-06 season, also a 3-2 loss at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
BSU returns to AMSOIL for one game on Saturday, and the Bulldogs will visit the Sanford Center on New Year's Eve.
All-time, UMD leads the series 28-16-5, and enters Saturday game on a seven-game unbeaten streak against the Beavers. That streak dates baxk to Oct. 14, 2017, and over that span, the Bulldogs have outscored BSU 21-10.
Since 2015, UMD is 3-1-2 at AMSOIL and 6-1-3 over the past 10 overall games.
Last 10 Games Against BSU:
Oct. 21, 2023 UMD 5, BSU 4
Oct. 20, 2023 UMD 4, BSU 0
Jan. 7, 2023 UMD 5, BSU 2
Jan. 6, 2023 UMD 1, BSU 1 2OT SW
Oct. 9, 2021 UMD 2, BSU 1
Oct. 8, 2021 UMD 4, BSU 2
Oct. 14, 2017 UMD 0, BSU 0 OT
Oct. 13, 2017 UMD 2, BSU 5
Dec. 17, 2016 UMD 2, BSU 1
Dec. 16, 2016 UMD 1, BSU 1 OT
In their home and home series last October, UMD swept the Beavers with a 4-0 victory in AMSOIL on Oct. 20 behind three first period power play goals and a total of four different goal scorers. Matthew Perkins got the first power play tally just 3:23 into the game, and Luke Bast made it a 2-0 at 11:01. Aaron Pionk found the net at 14:50 and the Beavers never recovered from the early offensive overload. Perkins recorded a goal with two assists for three points, a team-high along with the three assists of Blake Biondi. In net, Zach Stejskal had a 23-save shutout for the Bulldogs.
In game two from Bemidji, Minn., went down 2-0 in the first period after two power play goals from Kyle Looft, but the Bulldogs scored four unanswered goals that started with Riley Bodnarchuk at 13:03. After taking Quinn Olson made it a 4-2 UMD lead at 9:37 of the third frame. the Beavers scored two goals of their own and at 17:54 of regulation, the contests was knotted at 4-4. Just 27 seonds into overtime, Cole Spicer broke the tie, pushing the Bulldogs past BSU 5-4. Stejskal had 26 stops for UMD in net. It was the second game over the past three that the Bulldogs were able to score five goals against BSU.
In all, three players registered three points against BSU last season, including the solo returner, then freshman forward Perkins. Both Olson (1g, 2a) and Biondi were the other two players to log three points. Seven players had two or more points, and UMD outshot BSU 65-53 in the series. The Bulldogs were an impressive 4-of-8 on the power play, while the Beavers went 2-of-12.
RANK AND FILE: The Bulldogs will open the season ranked No. 18 by both USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live national preseason polls.
BSU is not ranked in either poll.
THEY'RE BACK!: Senior defenseman Will Francis and forward Dominic James are back on the ice this season after each of them had health or injury setback a year ago. Francis was forced to miss the entire season after his cancer returned in August of 2023, while James skated in just two games in 2023-24 before suffering a season-ending injury.
James had a breakout sophomore campaign, compiling 28 points in 35 games on 10 goals and 18 assists. Over his 78 game UMD career, the Plymouth, Mich. native has rung up 47 points (16g, 31a), complete with three power play goals, two shorthanded tallies and three-game winners.
Francis returns to UMD's lineup having played 28 games as a sophomore and a total of 33 over his first two seasons. UMD's Maroon and Gold Award winner as a sophomore, the 6-5 blueliner will look to make an impact in 2024-25.
POINTS TAKEN, POINTS RETURNED: While the Bulldogs most notablly lost back-to-back goal scoring leader Ben Steeves to a contract with the Florida Panthers, as well as Luke Loheit to graduation, UMD does return a chunk of its offense to the 2024-25 squad.
Steeves took with him a 24 goal, 10 assist and 34 point season effort last season as a sophomore, which included an NCAA third-best 13 power play tallies. Loheit turned in 20 points in his last year with the Bulldogs on 10 goals and 10 assists.
But UMD returns senior defenseman Owen Gallatin, who broke through in his junior effort with 30 points on seven goals and 23 assists -- all collegiate career marks for the Hugo, Minn. native. The Bulldogs also retain the services of blueliner and Hermantown, Minn. native Aaron Pionk, who tallied 20 points (3g, 17a) last season as UMD's second leading scoring defenseman.
Junior forward Kyle Bettens made a big offensive jump from his freshman season to his sophomore campaign, contributing 18 points (8g, 12a), while both sophomore forward Matt Perkins (6g, 9a) and junior defenseman Aiden Dubinsky (3g, 12a) each added 15 points in 2023-24.
SAME PLACE, NEW FACES: While the Bulldogs return 15 players off their roster from a season ago, UMD will have 14 players either new to the program or who were unable to skate in 2023-24. The Bulldogs return seniors Dominic James and Will Francis, and also signed graduate forward Joe Molenaar from St. Cloud State University. Those three will join 11 rookies, making a total of 14 players who put on the Bulldog sweater that were unable or not in Duluth one year ago.
YOUTH IS SERVED: UMD, who lost 10 letterman from last season's squad, added 11 freshman to its 2024-25 roster -- the most by a Bulldog squad since it featured 11 during the 2005-06 season. While UMD has welcomed 10 rookies twice over that almost two decade timespan, and most recently in 2017-18, the Bulldog program has had 11 freshman a total of four times since the 1999-00 season. The other two times? In 2001-02 and 1999-00 -- the year before current head coach Scott Sandelin took over the helm.
FAMILY MATTERS: UMD will have brothers on the roster for the first time since Jackson and Noah Cates overlapped for three seasons, including most recently, the 2020-21 season. Zam and Max Plante will wear the Bulldog sweater this season as freshman after Zam Plante spent an extra season with the Fargo Force of the USHL and Max Plante jumps right into the maroon and gold as a true freshman after spending the past two years in the USNTDP.
The Plante brothers, out of Hermantown, Minn. will become the 13th father-son Bulldog combination, along with current freshman Ty Hanson, to follow their fathers to UMD for their collegiate hockey careers. Derek Plante played for the Bulldogs from 1989-93, and was 1993 Hobey Baker Finalist. Derek Plante is still tied for the second most points in program history, having racked up 219 points (96g,143a) in just 138 games for a 1.58 points per game average.
The family will have a unique distinction, however, within the UMD program. Max and Zam will become the first brothers to have a father who skated for the Bulldogs.
Hanson follows his father Greg Hanson, who was a defenseman for the Bulldogs from 1992-1996 and was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1990 in the eighth round with the 193rd pick.
The Plante brothers and Hanson aren't the only current family connections this season for UMD -- sophomore defenseman Aaron Pionk's brother Neal Pionk played for the Bulldogs from 2015-17 and currently plays for the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL. Graduate forward Joe Molenaar is also the cousin of former Bulldog defenseman Dan Molenaar, who played for UMD between 2013-17.
FEELING A DRAFT? The Bulldogs have 10 players on their roster who have been drafted by NHL teams this season. While five of those picks are rookies, UMD has five returners that heard their name called on the big day, including senior captain Dominic James (Chicago Blackhawks, Round 6, #173, 2022 Entry Draft) and Will Francis (Anaheim Ducks, Round 6, #163 2019 Entry Draft.) I
UMD has three players who were selected in the second round -- the Bulldog program in its entirety has had 11 total.
Adam Kleber, a 6-5 defenseman from Chaska, Minn., was taken 45th overall by the Buffalo Sabres this past June, while Max Plante, a 5-11 forward and native of Hermantown, Minn. was selected just two spots later at 47th by the Detroit Red Wings. The duo are also just the 10th and 11th ever second round UMD draft picks, and join freshman goalie Adam Gajan, who was also taken in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks with the 35th overall pick.
