The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team returns to AMSOIL Arena for one regular season National Collegiate Hockey Conference series. The Bulldogs will take on St. Cloud State University for the third and fourth time this season, with puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m. on Friday and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday for Senior Night.
NCHC OUTLOOK This weekend's series could be a preview of UMD's NCHC quarterfinal. However, Bulldog fans will want to keep an eye on the series between Denver and Colorado College as well. Locked in at seventh place in the conference, UMD will play second — a spot still up for grabs. DU is currently second in the conference with 42 points, but followed closely by SCSU (40) and CC (38).
A YEAR OR TWO AGO The past two seasons, the Bulldogs have ended the regular season against the Huskies and then played them again in the NCHC quarterfinals. In 2022, they split the regular season series. UMD went on to sweep SCSU in the postseason. Last season, the programs once again split the regular season series. The quarterfinal series went to three games, but SCSU pulled out a Sunday win to advance.
LAST TIME OUT The mid-November 2023 series in St. Cloud featured two one-goal games. Both ended in the Huskies' favor. Junior defenseman Owen Gallatin had two goals and an assist on Saturday, his second highest scoring game this season.
SENIOR SATURDAY The program will honor three seniors, one fifth year, and three graduate students prior to the second game this weekend. All three graduate students, Luke Loheit, Quinn Olson, and Connor McMenamin, served as captains this season. Olson enters the weekend with 171 games played in the Bulldog sweater, leading the active team. He's followed by Luke Loheit, who has represented UMD in 162 competitions. McMenamin joined the Bulldogs this season and totals 160 games in his NCAA career. Fifth year Matthew Thiessen has spent the past two seasons at UMD. He'll be joined by fellow goaltender Zach Stejskal, as well as seniors Darian Gotz and Blake Biondi. All three seniors are Minnesotans, in addition to Loheit. Operations Assistant Caleb Johnson will also be recognized Saturday for his contributions to the program during his time as a Bulldog.
TANDEM GOALTENDING Thiessen and Stejskal have shared the net all season, trading weekends and splitting series. Both goaltenders have been named NCHC Goaltender of the Week this season (Stejskal: 10/9, 10/23; Thiessen: 11/6). In February, the two netminders split the series against Omaha, Denver, and North Dakota. Last weekend, Thiessen made both starts against CC. He made two saves in overtime to secure the extra point. He faced a total of 40 shots against the Tigers.
POWER PLAY PROWESS The Bulldogs are currently first in the NCHC in power play percentage (.260) On the man advantage, UMD ranks sixth in the NCAA. Steeves has been one of the keys to the Bulldog power play's success. He's second in power play goals (12).
STEEVES FOR HOBEY The sophomore forward is UMD's Hobey Baker Memorial Award for the second season in a row. He's tied for sixth in the country in goals per game (.67) with Michigan sophomore Gavin Brindley. Steeves is also tied for fifth in game winning goals (5).
