After opening the season on the road, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team will open up AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. this Friday and Saturday with a nonconference series against Augustana University. Both nights will feature a taligate behind the DECC ahead of the game. Friday night's skate will get underway at 7:07 p.m., while Saturday is set to start at 6:07 p.m.



TAILGATE INFORMATION: The Bulldog home opener which will feature a pre-game tailgate behind AMSOIL Arena (next to the "I Love Duluth" sign on the new Lakewalk section) from 5:00 p.m. through 6:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night. A cash bar will be available from the DECC along with food available from Stokke's Meats. UMD will have music, photos with Champ and the UMD hockey cheerleaders along with a performance from the UMD Pep Band. All fans are welcome

 

October 8 Weekly Press Conference with head coach Scott Sandelin, Ty Hanson and Ryan Zaremba



OPEN IT UP: Since head coach Scott Sandelin took over the program ahead of the 1999-00 season, UMD is 11-7-8 in its first game of the season after sweeping Alaska Fairbanks last weekend.

UMD's road opening was its first road series opener for the first time since the 2021-22 season, and first return to the state of Alaska since the 2012-13 season. 

HOME OPENER OVERTIME: UMD's last three home openers have gone to overtime, with the Bulldogs 1-1-1 in those three skates. Last season, the Bulldogs fell 4-3 to Bemidji State University at AMSOIL Arena in extra time in its season/home opener on Oct. 5, 2024. Since the post COVID bubble season of 2020-21, UMD is 2-1-1 when it opens up AMSOIL's ice for the first time.

RIGHT ON THE RANKED EDGE: UMD is inching closer and closer to a top-20 ranking after receiving votes in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey national polls this week.

The Bulldogs received 25 votes in the USCHO.com poll, the fourth most, while they garnered 39 -- the highest of any team receiving votes -- in the USA Hockey national poll.

NINE FORMER BULLDOGS EARN NHL OPENING NIGHT ROSTER SPOTS: Nine former UMD men's hockey players in all landed NHL roster spots ahead of the 2025-26 opening Tuesday.

Three players return to the Winnipeg Jets, including former Hermantown natives and defenseman Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg, although Samberg will begin the season on the IR with a broken wrist. Winger Alex Iafallo rounds out the three returning Jets, while forward Cole Koepke -- another Hermantown, Minn. product -- will join Winnipeg to make it the NHL team with the most current Bulldogs for yet another season. Ironically, both Iafallo and Pionk were not drafted prior to their UMD careers and played their ways into the professional ranks as Bulldogs -- both signed as free agents in the spring of 2017.

Long-time NHL defenseman Justin Faulk -- who begins the season just 20 games shy of the 1,000 NHL games played mark at 980 -- will hit the ice with the St. Louis Blues for his 15th pro season and seventh with the Blues.  Four other former Bulldogs with roster spots around the league include forward Noah Cates with the Philadelphia Flyers, and a trio of defenseman -- Wyatt Kaiser with the Chicago Blackhawks, Mikey Anderson with the Los Angeles Kings and Cason Soucy with the New York Rangers.

UMD ranks ninth all-time in the NCAA for NHL alums (69). The Bulldogs have the second most alumni of any team in the National College Hockey Conference.

The Bulldogs are also represented on benches, in several front offices around the league, and even have an NHL linesman among alumni in the NHL. 

Former Hobey Baker Finalist Norm Maciver is the associate general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, while fellow Hobey Baker Finalist Derek Plante, also father to current Bulldogs Zam and Max Plante, is in his first full season as an Amateur Scout for the Ottawa Senators. Derik Johnson is in his third season as an assistant coach with the LA Kings, where he has been a part of the organization in some capacity since 2018.

Additional Bulldogs include: Jim Johnson (Anaheim Ducks Director of Player Development, third season), Parker Mackay (fifth season as a Boston Bruins Amateur and College Scout), and UMD alum Travis Gawryletz returns for his eighth season as an NHL linesman.

The Bulldogs have seven players on their current roster who have been drafted by NHL teams this season. 

PLANTE, HANSON AND GAJAN TRIPLE UP ON NCHC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: A trio of UMD men's hockey players earned National College Hockey Conference weekly honors Tuesday, including NCHC Forward of the Week Max Plante, NCHC Defenseman of the Week Ty Hanson and NCHC Goaltender of the Adam Gajan.

While all three were weekly conference award winners last season, the triple threat cleaned up on the league awards this week after sweeping the University of Alaska Fairbanks last weekend on the road by scores of 5-1 and 4-1.

Plante was one of two Bulldog players to record four points last weekend and one of two players to score two goals. The sophomore forward out of Hermantown, Minn. had two goals to go along with two assists and was +4 for on the series. With a three-point effort Friday, Plante tied his collegiate career high for points in a game and his two goals was the most in a single game of his short Bulldog career. Plante is now on a four-game point streak dating back to the first game of the NCHC First Round of last season. Over that span, he has compiled four goals and four assists for eight points -- a 2.00 points per game clip. The weekly award is the third of Plante's young tenure -- he was twice named the NCHC Rookie of the Week last season.

Hanson was tied for a team-high +5 plus/minus rating in addition to registering a goal and an assist in the series. The Hermantown, Minn. native and sophomore defenseman produced a point in back-to-back games for a fourth time, and defensively helped UMD keep the Nanooks scoreless on nine power play attempts. This marks Hanson's second weekly award as a Bulldog -- he was named the NCHC's Rookie of the Week last season on Feb. 17.

Gajan led the NCHC with a 1.00 goals against average and posted a .951 saves percentage -- another league high in two games against UAF last weekend. The sophomore goaltender from Poprad, Slovakia had 24 saves Saturday and helped UMD hold the Nanooks scoreless in nine power play attempts in the series that included 12 saves on the Bulldog penalty kill. Gajan is now a three-time weekly award honoree after picking up both an NCHC Goaltender of the Week nod on Nov. 18. 2024 and a NCHC Rookie of the Week award on March 3.

THE SERIES: UMD and AU have never met before in their program histories, and the Vikings have only been a NCAA Division I program for two previous seasons. 

Augustana is a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association conference, but last season UMD and the Vikings had a number of common opponents in the season. AU went 8-8 against the teams UMD also played, including 4-2 against NCHC teams. The Bulldogs skated in 12 games against teams that had played the Vikings, going 5-6-1 against those opponents.

AU was picked to finish fifth in the CCHA preseason poll and added seven new players to its 2025-26 roster.

LAST TIME OUT: UMD secured its first season opening sweep since the 2022-23 season last weekend, defeating Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks 5-1 and 4-1. 

The Bulldogs recorded back-to-back three goal first periods to grab leads in both games they would never relinquish. Sophomore Max Plante had two goals and an assist Friday night, while senior Scout Truman scored two goals Saturday to help UMD defeat the Vikings.

In all, 12 players logged at least a point, with Plante (2g, 2a) and Jayson Shaugabay (1g, 3a) leading the way with four points each. Six players registered two or more points against the Vikings.

Neither team was able to land a power play goal in the series -- UMD held UAF 0-of-9, while the Bulldogs were unable to score in 10 attempts.

NOTES ON THE FAIRBANKS SERIES: The Bulldogs are now 8-1-1 all-time against the Nanooks.

--It's been at least 65 years since UMD swept a season opening series on the road -- if ever. Historic records are inclusive on whether or not the Bulldogs sweep of the Fort William Bearcats to open the 1959-60 season was a home series or away, but it is the only series that could possibly have featured a road sweep before last weekend. While the Bulldogs have had many seasons with multiple wins against two different teams on a weekend or swept teams at home, the road sweep to start the season has been extremely elusive.

--Four players logged their first points as Bulldogs, including two that turned in multiple point games. Freshman forward Ryan Zaremba had two assists in his UMD debut, while rookie forward Hunter Anderson had a goal and freshman forward Daniel Shlaine dished an assist. Saturday night, Scout Truman scored two goals -- his first points as a new Bulldog.

--Captain Joey Pierce and senior Kyle Gaffney both skated in their 100th collegiate career games on Friday.