Two red-hot teams will faceoff this weekend as the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs take on the No. 1 Golden Gophers. The winners of three straight, the Bulldogs will look to pull the upset of their biggest instate rival.
PREGAME NOTES
No. 13/15 Minnesota Duluth (6-4-0 overall, 4-2-0 NCHC) vs. No. 1 Minnesota (7-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 Big Ten)
Friday, 7:05 p.m. CT on FSN PLUS – Mariucci Arena (10,000)
Saturday, 7:07 p.m. CT on FSN PLUS – Amsoil Arena (6,600)
Series History
In the series that dates back to 1952, the Gophers and Bulldogs have faced each other 224 times with Minnesota holding the 134-73-17 advantage. The last meeting between the two storied programs took place this season in South Bend, as Minnesota clung on to win, 4-3. In that game, the Gophers jumped out to a 3-0 lead but allowed the Bulldogs to battle back, scoring one goal in the second and two in the third. Kyle Rau led the way for Minnesota with a goal and two assists. The Gophers are looking forward to playing their instate rival for a second time this season.
“This game is on our calendar so you know it’s circled for us,” said Mike Reilly. “It’s an instate rival and we always look forward to playing them. I haven’t been able to play up in Duluth at all. I’ve heard a lot of great things…They compete hard against us night in and night out.”
With a combined 42 players from the state of Minnesota, these two teams are very familiar with each other.
“Anytime you play an instate opponent, the battle intensifies quickly,” said Ben Marshall. “It’s always a fun matchup when we play Duluth…We know a lot of kids, or at least we grew up with a lot of those guys on that team so it makes the rivalry a little better.”
Home Ice Advantage
The Gophers will enter the weekend with the nation’s longest home winning streak of 17 games. The Bulldogs will only have one chance to end the streak, and, coincidently, were the last team to top Minnesota at home, a 6-2 victory in November of last year.
“We never want to lose in front of our home fans,” said Reilly. “The run’s been great…We’ve been great at home so we want to keep that up. I think we get momentum off the crowd and just them being involved in the game.”
Season to Date
The Bulldogs have had an up-and-down season thus far. After a season-opening loss to Minnesota, UMD rallied to shutout Notre Dame, 3-0, in the Icebreaker Tournament. The Bulldogs then split their next three series, a home-and-home against Minnesota State, and home series against Denver and Miami. In their first four weekends of the season, UMD lost the Friday game and were able to rally for the victory in the rematch. Last weekend, the Bulldogs went in to enemy territory, earning a sweep over St. Cloud State while playing at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
“They’re a good team; they’ve got good depth,” said Don Lucia of the Bulldogs. “They’re a veteran team. You see what they’ve done the last three games; winning at Mankato and at St. Cloud last weekend.”
Coaching Preview
Scott Sandelin is in his 14th season as the head coach of the Bulldogs. Sandelin’s storied career at UMD is highlighted by winning the 2011 NCAA Championship, the programs first. As a head coach, Sandelin has compiled a 253-249-67 overall record. His Bulldogs have won 22 or more games in four of the last six seasons while advancing to four NCAA tournaments and two Frozen Fours. Sandelin has coached two Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners—Jack Connolly and Junior Lessard—six NCAA All-Americans, and 17 different All-WCHA selections.
Bulldogs to Watch
No. 19 Dominic Toninato – The sophomore is off to a sensational start, leading the Bulldogs with 11 points (7g, 4a) in seven games. Toninato opened the season scoring two goals against the Gophers in the first round of the Icebreaker Tournament. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has notched nine of his points on the road this season.
No. 21 Carson Soucy – Soucy, a fifth-round draft selection by the Wild, is tied for in scoring among NCHC defensemen with six points (2g, 4a). The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from Alberta, Canada is tied for the league lead in power play points with four. Soucy owns the best career plus-minus rating (+13) of any active Bulldog.
Background
Location: Duluth, Minnesota
Enrollment: 10,380
Conference: NCHC
Mascot: Bulldogs
Colors: Maroon and Gold
Coach: Scott Sandelin (14th Season)