At this time five seasons ago, Minn.-Duluth was chasing its third consecutive NCAA title, as it was just the second team since 1972 to win back-to-back Division I championships.
The Bulldogs went 22-10-2 in 2019-20, but the season ended after the regular season due to COVID.
UMD returned to the NCAA Tournament the following season but has seen its win total dwindle from 22 to 16 to 12 the past three campaigns, and the Bulldogs aren’t exactly dominating this fall.
VFG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (3-6) at Miami RedHawks (3-7-2).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Friday and Saturday — 7:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Minn.-Duluth leads, 32-7-4.
VIDEO STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
MINN.-DULUTH RADIO: KDAL-FM (103.9) and KDAL-AM (610), Duluth, Minn.
MIAMI RADIO: Saturday — WKBV-AM (1450), Richmond, Ind.
NOTES: Minn.-Duluth is coming off its worst season in 18 years, and the Bulldogs have just a .333 winning percentage this far in 2024-25, and two of their three wins have come against Division I newcomer Stonehill.
Scott Sandelin is one of the most respected coaches in college hockey, having headed UMD for 26 seasons and racking up 459 wins — ranking him 37th on the NCAA’s all-time list — but his team’s recent plummet has been an enigma.
Specifically this season, the Bulldogs haven’t been to keep the puck out of their own net. Opponents have scored 35 goals in nine games, a 3.89 average, the seventh-worst clip in Division I.
UMD foes are averaging 30.0 shots, well above the NCAA average.
In net, 2023 Chicago Blackhawks second-round pick Slovakian Adam Gajan has played in eight of the Bulldogs’ nine games, and his save percentage is .880 and his goals-against average 3.93.
That save percentage isn’t exactly intimidating for opponents, but his proportional GAA tells you he’s getting shelled.
Gajan — who is a freshman — played in both games vs. North Dakota last weekend and stopped just 19 of 27 shots.
Ohio native and fellow frosh Klayton Knapp made his debut in that series and impressed, going 26-for-29 (.897), and the Sylvania-born rookie may start at least one game in net this weekend.
The Minn.-Duluth D-corps is led by sophomore Aaron Pionk and senior Owen Gallatin.
Pionk, a sophomore and younger brother of NHL standout Neal Pionk, already has nine assists after going 3-17-20 last season.
Gallatin, a senior, has 72 points, including a goal and seven helpers in 2024-25.
Aiden Dubinsky has two goals and was named an alternate captain along with Gallatin. Junior Joey Pierce and freshmen Ty Hanson and Joey Kleber have all been regulars patrolling the UMD blue line.
Up front, Dominic James — another Blackhawks draft pick — leads the team in goals (6) and points (10), which is a great story because he was limited to two games in 2023-24 due to a shoulder injury last October.
The Bulldogs are expecting big things from Warroad native and Tampa Bay selection Jason Shaugabay, and the freshman is already 4-4-8.
Only James, Shaugabay, Pionk and Gallatin have tallied more than four points, so UMD has struggled with scoring depth.
The Bulldogs’ power play has been excellent, executing at a 25.6 percent clip, tied for 10th-best in Division I. However they are just 73.1 percent on the penalty kill, 53rd out of 64 in the NCAA.
Miami has earned points each of those teams’ last two meetings in Oxford, with the RedHawks splitting in 2022-23 and earning a point on a tie and shootout loss last season, but overall MU’s win percentage vs. Minn.-Duluth is .209.
MU finally announced its captains for this season earlier this week. Ryan Sullivan will wear the ‘C’ for the RedHawks and Dylan Moulton and Blake Mesenburg were named alternates.
Moulton and Sullivan are graduate seniors and Mesenburg is a junior.
Moulton has played all five seasons at Miami, dressing for 127 games and 11 goals and 15 assists.
Sullivan, a UMass transfer in his second season at Miami, is 7-6-13 in 41 games with the RedHawks after tallying just 11 in 90 games for the Minutemen.
Amazingly, Mesenburg is 2-1-3 for the third straight season, although this campaign is only 12 games old.
All three have been among the most consistently hard workers on the team every night, and those honors are well-deserved.
Also, Brian Silver has officially left the RedHawks, leaving them with a 29-man roster. Silver played in the opener at Ferris State but was a healthy scratch every game since.
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