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UMD TO HEAD WEST FOR WEEKEND SET WITH WCHA-LEADING COLORADO COLLEGE

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Brady Hjelle will be seeking his first career road win this weekend when the Bulldogs and Colorado College hook up

The University of Minnesota Duluth returns to Western Collegiate Hockey Association activity this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 6-7) when the Bulldogs head to Colorado Springs, Colo. for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series with Colorado College. The puck drops at 8:37 p.m. Friday and 8:07 p.m. the following night at the World Arena (7,434 capacity).

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THE RECORDS: The defending WCHA playoff champion Bulldogs, who are unbeaten in five of their last six games (4-1-1), are 5-2-1 overall this season and 2-1-1 in league play (tied for second place with the University of North Dakota, St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota). Colorado College sports a 4-1-1 record in all games and shares first place (with the University of Denver) in the WCHA standings at 3-0-1.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Colorado College stack up in the latest uscho.com/CBS College Sports and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls:

uscho.com USA Today

UMD 20th RV
CC 12th 11th

ON THE AIR: This weekend’s series will be carried locally on 1490 The Fan (KQDS-AM) with Bruce Ciskie handling the play-by-play assignment. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 in Grand Rapids/Hibbing and KQ 106.7 in Ely/Virginia as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and is available on the internet at: www.fan1490.com.

In addition, both Bulldog-Tiger games will be webstreamed live and be available on a pay-per-view basis through B2 Networks at: www.b2livetv.com.

THE COACHES: The 2003-04 American Hockey Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coach of the Year (Spencer Penrose Award), Scott Sandelin is in his 10th season behind the UMD bench where he has compiled a 147-175-46 overall record -- including a 27-15-9 mark the past two seasons. His Bulldogs have advanced to four of the past seven WCHA Final Five tournaments and last March became the first play-in game participant to win it all in the 17-year history of that event. UMD also strung together a school-record six-game postseason winning streak in 2008-09 until it fell to Miami University 2-1 in the NCAA West Regional final. Six years ago, Sandelin, 45, turned UMD into a NCAA Frozen Four participant for the first time in nearly a generation, marshaling his troops to their most victories (they were 28-13-4 overall) and highest WCHA finish (second place on a 19-7-2 mark) in 11 seasons. For his efforts, the Hibbing, Minn., native was chosen the WCHA Coach of the Year as well as the national coach of the year by both insidecollegehockey.com and uscho.com. In 2002-03, Sandelin’s Bulldogs went 22-15-5 overall and captured fifth place in the WCHA with a 14-10-4 mark while experiencing the greatest one-season turnaround of any league club that winter. One year earlier, he guided UMD to a 13-24-1 record in all games -- nearly doubling the number of victories from the previous season (7-28-4). Sandelin officially signed on as a member of the Bulldog staff on March 31, 2000 after six years of assistant coaching deployment at North Dakota. Prior to joining the Fighting Sioux (who won two NCAA titles during his tenure), Sandelin spent the 1993-94 season as the head coach of the Fargo-Moorhead Junior Kings of the Junior Elite Hockey League after working in that same capacity (and doubling as general manager) the previous winter with the American Hockey Association’s Fargo-Moorhead Express. He capped off his four-year playing career at North Dakota in 1985-86 by being named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. An All-WCHA first team pick and an All-American second team selection as a senior, Sandelin went on to play seven years of professional hockey, which included National Hockey League stints with the Montreal Canadiens (1986-88), Philadelphia Flyers (1990-91) and Minnesota North Stars (1991-92). Sandelin, one of just two current WCHA coaches to do time in the NHL, was the Montreal Canadiens’ second round pick in the 1982 NHL draft (40th choice overall). He served as Team USA’s head coach at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships and directed that club to a fourth-place finish.

The all-time winningest coach in Colorado College hockey history, Scott Owens (Colorado College, 1979) is in his 11th year with the Tigers and has a 243-134-36 record -- 17-13-3 versus UMD -- to show for it. He’s also directed the Tigers to a three WCHA regular season championships (2007-08, 2004-05 and 2002-03) and six NCAA post-season appearances (2007-08, 2005-06, 2004-05, 2002-03, 2001-02 and 2000-01). A four-time letterwinner as a Tiger goaltender, Owens was a member of the Colorado College coaching staff from 1991-95 and served as the Tigers’ associate head coach for the final two years of that stay. He left Colorado Springs in 1991 to take on the head coaching and general manager duties of the United States Hockey League’s Des Moines Buccaneers and in his four winters with that club, Owens posted an overall record of 179-76-9 for a .695 winning percentage. In 1998-99, his Buccaneers racked up a record-setting 62-12-1 mark and skated off with the USHL’s regular-season and playoff titles. They also took runnerup honors at the national Junior A championships after winning that crown the previous year. A native of Madison, Wis, Owens spent six years (1984-90) as the general manager of the USHL’s Madison Capitols, doubling as the team’s head coach his last four seasons.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Tigers have met on 161 previous occasions in a rivalry which began back on Jan. 4, 1961 at the old Duluth Curling Club. Colorado College holds an 81-74-6 lead, but went winless (0-3-1) against UMD one year ago. That includes a pair of losses (4-1 and 3-1) in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs last March in Colorado Springs. The two teams also squared off twice during the 2008-09 regular season with the visiting Bulldogs walking off with three of a possible four points (a 1-1 overtime tie and 7-4 win on Dec. 5-6).

LAST WEEKEND: UMD took a one-week respite from WCHA warfare and swept Clarkson University at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. Buoyed by sophomore center Jack Connolly’s two goals, the Bulldogs upended the Golden Knights 4-2 in the series opener before using a four-point night from junior center Rob Bordson on Saturday in a 4-2 triumph.
Colorado College has been idle since upending WCHA rival Michigan Tech University twice (4-1 and 8-5) at home on Nov. 6-7.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: Senior center Drew Akins has been entrusted with team captaincy responsibilities for the 2009-10 Bulldogs while senior left winger Jordan Fulton and junior defenseman Mike Montgomery are serving as alternate captains.

BULLDOGS BITS: UMD is unbeaten in its last four visits to the World Arena, going 3-0-1 since a 3-0 setback on Oct. 27, 2007 ... The Bulldogs currently sport the WCHA’s top three overall scorers in sophomore center Jack Connolly (six goals and eight assists for 14 points), junior right winger Justin Fontaine (7-5=12) and Rob Bordson (3-8=11). Connolly holds down the No. 1 spot on the NCAA points charts and has picked up at least one point in all but one of the Bulldogs’ eight games to date. Fontaine, an All-WCHA second team pick in 2008-09, shares the NCAA goal-scoring lead and tops the nation in power play goals with six. He has also marked in the scoring column in six of his seven outings thus far. The Fontaine-Jack Connolly tandem has teammed to score half of UMD’s 26 goals this season. Bordson, meanwhile, enjoyed his most productive night as a Bulldog Saturday against Clarkson as he scored once and helped set up UMD’s other three goals. Bordson, who also was credited with one assist in the series opener, now has racked up 11 points, including a team-leading eight assists, this season. That’s four more points than he managed during his first two seasons combined ... The Bulldogs are 29-0-3 when they’ve held a lead heading into the third period since falling 3-2 at St. Cloud State in three overtimes in the third, and decisive, game of the 2007 WCHA playoffs (March 11) ... Sophomore right winger Mike Connolly, a member of the 2008-09 All-Rookie Team, potted a goal in both ends of the Clarkson series and remains the only current Bulldogs who is averaging a least a point a game for career (he has amassed 17 goals and 32 assists in 47 lifetime outings). Going back to last March, Connolly’s name has appeared in the scoring summary in nine of the past 10 games ... UMD will come into this Friday night’s clash against Colorado College armed with the WCHA third most efficient power play. The Bulldogs have cashed in on 23.7 percent (14-of-59) of their man advantage opportunities and trails Colorado College (32.4) and North Dakota (24.3) in that department. UMD, which led the WCHA in overall power play efficiency one year ago (21.5 percent), has tallied at least one goal with the man advantage in six of its eight games to date (it went 0-of-8 against Northern Michigan and 0-of-5 last Friday vs. Clarkson). In Saturday’s 4-2 win over Clarkson, UMD scored four times on a school-record 15 power play opportunities. ... Sophomore goaltender Kenny Reiter received his second collegiate start last Friday night and turned back 16 of 17 shots to record his inaugural win as a Bulldog. The only goal he allowed came on the power play with 3:40 to play in regulation ... UMD is unbeaten (3-0-1) in weekend openers this year and own that same record when it has scored first ... Talk about a couple of good luck charms: UMD is 20-5-1 in games in which Jack Connolly has picked up a point during the past two seasons and 12-1-1 when senior left wing Jordan Fulton has done so ... UMD is the second most penalized team in the NCAA I ranks at the moment, averaging 22.9 minutes of penalty box time a games. Only Ferris State University (24.6) has accrued more ... ... Sophomore goaltender Brady Hjelle improved his career record to 5-1-1 (4-1-1 this season) in Saturday’s 4-2 triumph over Clarkson. All five of those wins have been registered at the DECC ... The Bulldogs were without the services of four injured players -- sophomore defenseman Scott Kishel, senior defenseman Trent Palm, junior right winger Justin Fontaine, and sophomore center Travis Oleksuk (who has been sidelined since the second game of the season) -- last Saturday night while another, rookie defenseman Dylan Olsen, was ill... UMD has been awarded a penalty shot in each of the past two Saturdays (Justin Fontaine did the honors at St. Cloud State and Drew Akins last weekend) and came up empty each time ... Twenty of the Bulldogs’ 87 games (23.0 percent) since the beginning of the 2007-08 season have required overtime. UMD has lost just one of those extra sessions affairs during that stretch, going 4-1-15 with the lone setback being inflicted by North Dakota on March 2, 2008 ... This weekend marks the only time UMD will leave Minnesota during the first half off the 2009-10 regular season schedule.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will return to the DECC on Nov. 13-14 for a two-game WCHA set with Michigan Tech.

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