From Oct. 27 through November, Minn.-Duluth’s record was 0-7-1 and the Bulldogs were outscored, 29-13.
But December began somewhat better for UMD, which beat Omaha on Friday and lost to the Mavericks in the finale.
The Bulldogs have owned Miami all-time, but the RedHawks have actually won two of their last three games in the series, including a 4-0 MU victory in these team’s last meeting at Cady Arena in 2021-22.
VFTG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: Minn.-Duluth (4-8-3, 1-5 NCHC) at Miami RedHawks (5-8-1, 0-6).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Friday and Saturday — 7:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Minn.-Duluth leads, 29-7-3.
MINN.-DULUTH RADIO: Both nights — KDAL-FM (103.9) and KDAL-AM (610), Duluth, Minn.
MIAMI RADIO: Friday — WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.; Saturday — WMOH-AM (1450).
STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
NOTES: The most glaring stat among Minn.-Duluth’s team data is the number of shots it has allowed.
Opponents are averaging 31.9 SOG per game, so not surprisingly, 48 of them have gone into the Bulldogs’ net in their first 15 games, a 3.20 clip.
UMD is tied for the most goals against in the NCHC with, well, Miami.
Goalie Matthew Thiessen has logged 426 minutes — or seven full games — and has already faced 244 shots, a rate of over 34 per 60 minutes. He owns a 3.51 goals-against average and a save percentage of .898.
Fellow netminder Zach Stejskal started both ends of that Omaha series last weekend and was 49-for-52 (.942). He owns a 2.76 GAA and a .906 save percentage and may play all 120 minutes this weekend.
Despite its role in the team’s poor shots-against rate, the Minn.-Duluth defense corps has generated some offense.
Owen Gallatin has three goals and eight assists for 11 points, leading or tied for the lead among UMD defensemen in all three categories.
Freshman Aaron Pionk — younger brother of former Bulldogs and current Winnipeg Jets D-man Neal Pionk — is 1-8-9, tied with Gallatin for the team lead in blueliner assists.
Seniors Darian Gotz and Luke Bast and sophomores Aiden Dubinsky, Riley Bodnarchuk and Joey Pierce have held down Minn.-Duluth’s defensemen slots on the lineup card almost exclusively.
Up front, Ben Steeves leads the Bulldogs in goals (8) and points (6), and six of his markers have come on the power play.
Quinn Olsen has also been a major offensive threat for UMD, going 3-10-13.
No other Minn.-Duluth forward has reached double digits in points. Cole Spicer, Luke Loheit, Connor McMenamin, Blake Biondi and Kyle Bettens are all tied for third among this corps with seven apiece.
It sounds axiomatic to say that Miami needs to stay out of the penalty box, but this weekend it is even more critical. The Bulldogs are 17 of 56 (30.4 percent) on the power play, the third-best rate in Division I.
While the Bulldogs hosted Omaha last weekend, the RedHawks were off, and based on the triage unit that is their roster, it was much needed.
Fortunately for Miami, it sounds like F Ryan Sullivan and G Bruno Bruveris should be available this weekend after suffering earlier injuries.
Sullivan went 1-1-2 in seven games before going down and played outstanding defense. Bruveris, a freshman who is projected to take over a major role in net coming off a solid USHL career, has made one start and allowed six goals on 33 shots.
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