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NO. 9 UMD AND NO. 2 WISCONSIN TO LOCK UP IN PAIR OF WEEKEND WCHA SHOWDOWNS AT THE DECC

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Justin Fontaine, shown here in in last November's clash with the Badgers, tops the nation in power play goals with 12

The University of Minnesota Duluth will put its five-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association winning streak on the line this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 29-30) when the Bulldogs play host to the University of Wisconsin. Faceoff time for both ends of the weekend series is set for 7:07 p.m. at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (5,294 seating capacity; 190’ x 85’).

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THE RECORDS: The defending WCHA playoff champion Bulldogs sport a 16-9-1 mark in all games and a 12-5-1 league mark (first place). Wisconsin, which is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games, is currently 14-6-4 overall and 10-5-3 in WCHA play (tied for fourth place with Colorado College).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Wisconsin stack up in the latest uscho.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls as well as the uscho.com PairWise rankings:

uscho.com USA Today PairWise
UMD 9th 9th 8th(t)
UW 2nd 2nd 3rd(t)

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 can be accessed on the internet at: www.fan1490.com.

The two Bulldog-Badger clashes will also be televised live by Charter Communications. Mark Fleischer and former UMD hockey standout Judd Medak are serving as the on-air talent for Charter Communications, which is slated to air 13 regular season outings in 2009-10. The series will be carried on Charter Communication’s state-wide system of networks, including the Duluth-Superior (Channel 15), Brainerd, Bemidji, St. Cloud, Rochester, Mankato, and Albert Lea/Austin markets. Mediacom cable, which serves the Cloquet/Hermantown/Esko/Proctor (Channel 10), Moose Lake (Channel 13), North Shore (Channel 5), Iron Range (Channel 22) and Mankato (Channel 10) areas, as well as Comcast Cable in the Twin Cities, will air those same games.

In addition, both games will be webstreamed live and be available on a pay-per-view basis through B2Networks at: www.b2livetv.com.

THE COACH: 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 160-182-46 overall record -- including a 38-22-9 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 National Hockey League, 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 RIVALRY: This weekend’s series the 156th and 157th meeting between UMD and Wisconsin. The Badgers hold a 86-56-13 lead in the all-time series which began on Jan. 6, 1968 in Madison, Wis. and have posted a 35-33-8 all-time record at the DECC. UMD was 1-2-1 one year ago against Wisconsin with the lone win -- a 1-0 shutout by junior goaltender Alex Stalock -- coming on Jan. 31 in Madison.

LAST WEEKEND: The Bulldogs were swept for the first time in 2009-10, dropping both ends of a home-and home series with then No. 14 Bemidji State University (a 4-1 road setback on Friday and a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss the following evening at the DECC.)

Sophomore center Jack Connolly’s power play goal late in the third period was all the offense UMD could muster in the opener. UMD got goals from four different players -- junior defenseman Chad Huttel, senior left winger Jordan Fulton, sophomore center Travis Oleksuk and freshman right winger Mike Seidel (a highlight-reel shot from his knees) -- and outshot the Beavers 35-24 on Saturday, only to have the visitors score with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.

Wisconsin skated off with three of a possible four points in a WCHA home set with the University of Denver, following up a 3-3 tie Friday with a 4-3 triumph one night later.

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.

LIGHT ‘EM UP: This weekend’s series not only will feature the WCHA’s two most potent two offensive clubs (Wisconsin is averaging a league-best 4.00 overall goals a game while UMD is next at 3.46) and the top eight individual league scorers in UMD’s Jack Connolly (No. 1), Justin Fontaine (No. 2), Mike Connolly (No. 3) and Rob Bordson (No. 5) and Wisconsin’s Blake Geoffrion (No. 4), Brendan Smith (No. 5) and Derek Stepan (No. 5).

POWER SURGE: The Bulldogs have cashed in on 24.2 percent of its power play attempts -- the third best average in the NCAA. They’ve also scored at least one man advantage goal in 22 of their 26 games this season (they went 0-of-8 against Northern Michigan University on Oct. 11, 0-of-5 vs. Clarkson University on Oct. 30, 0-of-4 vs. North Dakota on Dec. 4 -- all at home -- and 0-of-4 vs. Mercyhurst College on Jan. 2). UMD led the WCHA in overall power play efficiency one year ago (21.5 percent).

ONE FONT-ASTIC FORWARD: Junior left right winger Justin Fontaine continues to lead the nation in power play goals with 12 and his tied for third in overall goals (16) while his 1.48 points per game average is third among NCAA pucksters. The 2008-09 All-WCHA second team pick needs just six more points to become the 51st Bulldog to crack the century mark for his career.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END: Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss to Bemidji State marked the first time in almost three years UMD was upended when taking a lead into the third period (the Bulldogs had been 36-0-3 in that situation going back to a 3-2 setback at St. Cloud State in three overtimes in the third, and decisive, game of the 2007 WCHA playoffs). It was also UMD’s first loss in its last 15 overtime outings (5-1-9) and just its second in the last 24 contests which have required an extra session (6-2-16). The other defeat during that stretch was inflicted by North Dakota on March 2, 2008 at the DECC (2-1).

THAT’S A FACT, JACK: Sophomore center Jack Connolly holds down the No. 3 spot on the NCAA scoring charts with a career-high 16 goals and 20 assists. A team-leading 25 of his 36 points this season have been registered at home and 31 have contributed to UMDwins. Connolly has not gone more than one game this season without picking up at least a goal or an assist -- the only Bulldog who can make that claim.

THE SWEEP SMELL OF SUCCESS: The Bulldogs have already posted five regular season sweeps this winter (Minnesota State University-Mankato on Jan. 15-16 and Oct. 16-17, Clarkson on Oct. 30-31, the University of Minnesota on Nov. 20-21 and Colorado College on Jan. 12. 8-9) -- their most since 2003-04 (8).

OH, WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Junior left winger Rob Bordson, who will bring a 2009-10 team-high nine-game scoring streak into Friday’s bout with Wisconsin, has racked up five goals and a WCHA-leading 26 assists (the second most in the country) in 26 outings this season after coming into year having mustered seven points in 42 career engagements. He also has 18 power play points to his credit thus far, which trails only Jack Connolly (21) in that department among WCHA combatants.

SAY GOOD NIGHT, DECC: This marks the final full season the Bulldogs will call the DECC home as they will move to a new $70 million, 6,600-seat facility a few hundred feet away next December. UMD’s first series in the new arena will be against Wisconsin on Jan. 14-15, 2011.

JUST LIKE MIKE: Left winger Mike Connolly, a member of the 2008-09 WCHA All-Rookie Team, had marked in the points column in five straight contests before being blanked Saturday by Bemidji State. He remains the only current Bulldog who is averaging a point a game or better for his career (69 points in 67 outings).

BULLDOG BITS: This will be the only two times UMD and Wisconsin will butt heads during the 2009-10 regular season ... UMD has used a 9-2-0 league run to vault into sole possession of first place in the WCHA standings -- the latest a Bulldog club has occupied the league’s No. 1 spot since Feb. 28, 2004 when they shared that honor with North Dakota ... Sophomore goaltender Kenny Reiter had his five-game winning streak snapped last Friday night in Bemidji. Reiter, who was redshirted two years ago and did not see any intercollegiate action last winter, currently ranks sixth in the WCHA in overall goals against average (2.28) and owns the nation’s ninth best winning percentage (.667 off an 8-4-0 record). ... The Bulldogs are a whopping15-1-1 (with the lone loss coming to Bemidji State this past Saturday) when they’ve scored three or more times this winter and are just 1-8-1 when they’ve failed to do so ...Junior left winger Kyle Schmidt, who has been shelved with a injury (pinched nerve) the past three games, has scored a goal in seven of his last 10 outings and now has 10 goals on the season. That’s third best among Bulldogs and six more goals than he potted his first two years at UMD combined. Schmidt tops UMD in shot percentage (.227) this winter and has scored more even strength goals (all 10 of his tallies have come in that fashion) than any other Bulldog ... UMD has outscored the opposition 57-37 at home this winter while rolling up a 10-5-0 record ... Sophomore Brady Lamb, one of six Bulldogs who has skated in all 26 games to date, is tied for seventh among WCHA defensemen in scoring with 14 points while Dylan Olsen has amassed the third highest scoring yield (11 points) of any league rookie blueliner ... UMD’s Scott Sandelin and Wisconsin’s Mike Eaves (Minnesota North Stars and Calgary) are the only two WCHA head coaches with any NHL playing experience ... Junior defenseman Chad Huttel and senior left winger Jordan Fulton both netted their first goals of 2009-10 Saturday night against Bemidji State ... The Bulldogs have scored more third period goals (33) than any other WCHA club ... Each of Cody Danberg’s six points this season have come in Bulldog wins, although the junior left winger has been held off the scoresheet in seven straight games and 12 of the last 13 contests ... Going back to the opening of the 2009 postseason, UMD has amassed a 22-10-1 record ... The Bulldogs have come back from a two-goal deficit to post wins four times this winter. They turned the trick twice during their series sweep at Minnesota (4-3 and 3-2 on Nov. 20-21), against North Dakota (3-2 in OT on Dec. 5) and Minnesota State (3-2 on Oct. 17) ... UMD's current five-game WCHA winning streak is its longest since the 2003-04 season.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs, who won’t be back at the DECC again for another month, will pay a visit to Houghton, MIch., next Friday and Saturday to face WCHA rival Michigan Tech University.

COACHES LUNCHEON: The Bulldog Coaches’ Luncheon will be held this Friday at 12 p.m. at Grandma’s Sports Garden. The event costs $8.00 for an all-you-can eat buffet and features a live radio show on The FAN 1490 with UMD head coach Scott Sandelin.

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