Hoping to follow up its best series of hockey all season, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team wil continue on its National Collegiate Hockey Conference trek this weekend when it heads to Colorado Springs, Colo. to face No. 18/19 Colorado College at Ed Robson Arena. The series will get underway at 9:06 p.m. CT Friday night before concluding at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
PASSING POINTS BY PIONK: Sophomore defenseman Aaron Pionk has scored seven points (1g, 6a) over a six-game span, the longest active scoring streak among all UMD players (six games).
With 18 points, Pionk is currently UMD's second-highest scorer, and 17 of those points are assists, tying his rookie year mark of 17 helpers over 37 games. Just 20 games into the season, Pionk has already pulled even to that mark.
Pionk is one of just two other defenseman since the 2020-21 season to record 17 or more assists. Current senior Owen Gallatin had 23 helpers last season as a junior, and Wyatt Kaiser posted 18 assists in 2022-23 and 17 assists in 2021-22.
Pionk currently ranks third in the NCHC and sixth in the NCAA with 0.85 assists per game.
TO THE MAX (PLANTE): Less than a week back from winning the Junior World Championship gold medal with the U.S., Max Plante played a big part in helping the Bulldogs push back St. Cloud State last weekend.
Plante scored a goal in each game, including a game-winning goal Friday and added an assist Saturday for a three-point weekend against the Huskies-- his second-straight three point series.
Currently, Plante ranks third in the NCHC with a 1.29 ppg average (and would be tied for 8th if the NCAA recognized his stats). Despite missing 10 games to injury early in the season and three to U.S. Junior National Team duty, Plante has recorded nine points (4g, 5a) in just seven collegiate games. In fact, Plante has scored a goal in his past four games (and tallied a total of six points), and has logged points in six of his seven games as a Bulldog this season.
DON'T KNAPP ON HIM: Freshman goaltender Klayton Knapp, the reigning NCHC Rookie of the Week, is coming off the most successful weekend of his young career.
Knapp earned back-to-back wins against the then No. 10 Huskies -- his first wins against a top-10 team, and earned his first collegiate shutout Friday night in UMD's 2-0 win. Knapp made 48 saves on the weekend.
Friday's shutout was the first by a Bulldog goaltender in 53 games, dating back to Oct. 20, 2023. Zach Stejskal picked up the previous clean sheet for UMD against Bemidji State University at AMSOIL -- he made 23 saves in a 4-0 Bulldog win early last season.
THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Tigers have previously met 110 times, dating back to to their first head-to-head inside the Duluth Curling Club in Duluth, Minn. on Jan. 4, 1961 -- a 6-4 UMD win.
Since then, the Bulldogs have pulled ahead in the all-time series with a record of 110-88-12. Over the past 10 games between them, they two programs are knotted up at 4-4-2, including the Bulldogs with a 1-2-1 a season ago. Since the 2014-15 season, however, UMD is 9-3-2 in Colorado Springs.
In their last meeting on March 1-2, 2024 a season ago UMD and CC were fit to be tied at 2-2 in the opening skate. The Bulldogs, who won the eventual league shootout, scored first on a goal from Anthony Menghini (Kyle Bettens, Jack Smith) just 1:49 into the second period. But the Tigets scored two unanswered tallies in the frame, including a power play goal with 14 seconds left to make it a 2-1 game after 40 minutes. UMD equalized at 5:01 of the third period, an unassisted goal from Connor McMenamin. Matthew Thiessen made 18 saves for UMD, who picked up the extra point in the shootout win.
In game two, CC benefitted from a bevy of UMD penalties which gave the Tigers six power plays in the game , two of which resulted in goals. After CC scored in 2:22 into the first period on its power play, UMD equalized midway through the frame. But the Tigers scored three unanswered goals -- one in the second, a power play goal in the third and then buried an empty-netter at 17:25 to stake the 4-1 win. CC outshot UMD 28-18 -- 11 of which came from the Tiger's power play. Thiessen took the loss for the Bulldogs with 22 saves.
Top-7 Returning UMD Players vs CC
Owen Gallatin GP=10 G=3 A=2 P=5
Luke Bast GP=4 G=0 A=2 P=2
Dominic James GP=5 G=0 A=2 P=2
Kyle Bettens GP=8 G=1 A=1 P=2
Jack Smith GP=8 G=1 A=1 P=2
Matthew Perkins GP=4 G=1 A=1 P=2
Braden Fischer GP=4 G=0 A=2 P=2
Last 10 Games, UMD vs CC (4-4-2)
Mar. 2, 2024 UMD 1, CC 4
Mar. 1, 2024 UMD 2, CC 2 OT
Jan. 13, 2024 UMD 2, CC 3 OT
Jan. 12, 2024 UMD 3, CC 2 OT
Dec. 3, 2022 UMD 4, CC 0
Dec. 2, 2022 UMD 0, CC 3
Nov. 5, 2022 UMD 3, CC 1
Nov. 4, 2022 UMD 0, CC 5
Nov. 13, 2021 UMD 0, CC 0 OT
Nov. 12, 2021 UMD 5, CC 0
EXTRA NOTES ON UMD-CC: Aaron Pionk is the only returning player that skated in all four games against the Tigers last season that did not record a single point. Pionk did put up a third-most 10 shots in those four games.
--UMD's last scoreless 0-0 tie came against the Tigers back on on Nov. 13, 2021.
-- Last time the Bulldogs had two hat tricks in a game? Against CC on Feb. 13, 1993. The scorers were Rusty Fitzgerald and none other than current rookies Max and Zam Plante's dad, Derek Plante.
LAST TIME OUT: UMD swept St. Cloud State last weekend at AMSOIL by scores of 2-0 Friday night and 5-2 Saturday. Max Plante broke the scoreless stalemate 16:42 into the second period, a tipped down a shot from sophomore blueliner Aaron Pionk from the left point.
UMD – which outshot the Huskies in every period – withstood some late charges, in no short thanks to Klayton Knapp, who used every inch of his 6-2 frame to keep SCSU at bay. The Bulldogs finally got some breathing room in the final minute of the third period on a quick wrister from Owen Gallatin from the left boards that found the empty net, sealing the 2-0 win at 19:33.
Knapp made 28 saves and UMD outshot SCSU 34-28 overall in the contest.
In game two, UMD took the game's first lead 12:57 into the opening period and never surrounded it. Jayson Shaugabay buried a cross-slot pass from M. Plante for the first goal game. A slew of goals over a 10 minutes span upended the second period, and it began with Adam Kleber's first collegiate goal, a shot from the right point that hit traffic and fluttered up and in at 7:00.
Dominic James followed Kleber's tally with one of his own just 1:28 later, holding on to the puck on an odd man rush for his 10th goal of the season in what would eventually be the game-winning goal for UMD.
The Huskies finally broke through on Bulldog Knapp 12 seconds later, ending a shutout streak for Knapp that had lasted for 88:40 minutes to make it a 3-1 game. St. Cloud St. then struck again on its power play at 12:52, pulling within a single goal for what would be the final time on the night.
On its own power play at the 17:00 mark, the Bulldogs retook the two goal lead when Plante, from the extended goal line, banked it off the SCSU goaltender. It was Plante's second goal of the weekend and fourth-straight skate with a score.
Arguably the biggest moment of the entire weekend came 4:36 into the third period. Having moved up to forward to fill in for players who had left the game, junior alternate captain Joey Pierce finally scored his first UMD goal 83 games into his college career.
Knapp made 20 saves on 22 SCSU shots, while each team scored a power play goal – UMD was 1-of-6 in the game, while the Huskies were 1-of-4, and were held scoreless by the Bulldogs in three extra skater attempts in the third period.
NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD ST. SERIES: UMD is now 67-83-11 all-time against the Huskies and are unbeaten in its last six games against SCSUS at AMSOIL Arena.
--The Bulldogs have scored four or more goals against the Huskies in four of their last five games. Over the last five games, UMD is averaging 4.40 goals a game while SCSU has averaged 3.00.
--Max Plante and Aaron Pionk led all UMD scorers on the weekend with three points -- Plante had two goals and an assist, while Pionk had three assists).
--The Bulldogs two shutouts so far this season is the most a squad has posted since it put up seven over the 2021-22 season.
--Four of UMD's six goals on the weekend were scored by freshman, including two by M. Plante.
--Klayton Knapp's shutout streak of 88:40 minutes is the longest of the season so far for the Bulldogs.
--UMD had 12 players register at least a point in Saturday's contest.
YOUNG GUNS: The Bulldog freshmen class has currently contributed 25 of UMD's 59 goals so far this season through 20 games.
Jayson Shaugabay currently has the second most goals on the team (7), while Zam and Max Plante are two of three players with four goals.
