College Hockey Update:  Last week featured one top-ten matchup, and a visiting Mankato State moved up a couple of spots to #7 after getting the better of St. Cloud State Saturday night, knocking St. Cloud down a couple of pegs to #5.  Elsewhere, Notre Dame held at #1 after splitting with Wisconsin, hosting and beating them Friday night, and then losing to them, “hosting” them at the United Center in Chicago Sunday afternoon.  Cornell moved up two rungs to #2 after sweeping Colgate in a home-and-home series, and Clarkson edged down to #3 after hosting and tying Harvard Friday night, and hosting and losing to Dartmouth Saturday night.  Denver edged up to #4 after a convincing sweep of Nebraska-Omaha, and Northeastern held at #8 after they traveled to and lost to UMass-Amherst Friday night, then hosted and beat them on Saturday night.  Minnesota-Duluth flew up five notches into the top ten at #9 after they swept North Dakota, knocking the Hawks out of the top ten; Providence held at #10 after they traveled to and beat Connecticut Friday night, then hosted and lost to them Saturday night; an idle Ohio State held at #6.

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Last weekend Minnesota-Duluth had huge help from freshman defenseman Scott Perunovich, of Hibbing, MN., who tallied two assists in his team’s 5-3 win Friday night, and scored two goals in his team’s 5-2 win Saturday night, as they hosted and swept North Dakota. The 5’10” 170lb freshman is tied for fourth on his team in goals scored, with six, and is first on his team in assists, with seventeen.  He spent last season with the Cedar Rapid Roughriders of the USHL where he scored six goals and added fifteen assists in fifty-six games.  His hometown of Hibbing has 16,000 residents, and sits at an elevation of 1,500 feet.  The temperature there today at 1pm was 17 degrees and the low tonight is forecast to be 10 degrees.  Chilly.  Might want to put on a sweater or a jacket before proceeding outside.  Or just drive down and warm up in the sunbelt of Minneapolis where the 1pm temperature today was 24 degrees — they have it much, much easier down there.  Hibbing is the birthplace of the late Los Angles DA and Charles Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, former Boston Celtics star Kevin McHale, and of current Minn-Duluth coach Kevin Sandelin.

The University of Minnesota at Duluth was established in 1947 and has roots going back to 1902, originally as a teachers’ college.  It enrolls 9,200 undergraduates, 700 graduate students, and 1,300 other students on its 244 acre, fifty building campus.  UMD comprises eight schools and colleges and offers fourteen degrees in 85 majors, as well as twenty-six graduate programs.  1980 Olympic hockey players John Harrington and Mark Pavelich both played hockey at UMD, and both are credited with assists on Mike Eruzione’s winning goal against the Russians in those Olympics.  Brett Hull played for two years at UMD as well.  The UMD athletic teams are the Bulldogs, and the UMD Hockey head coach is Scott Sandelin, who is in his eighteenth season there, with a 328-293-85 record to date.  Sandelin played college hockey at North Dakota.  His UMD teams have made seven NCAA Tournament appearances including two times in the final championship game in 2011 and 2017, having won it all in 2011.  UMD is 13-9-3, is currently ranked #9, and plays tonight at #7 Mankato State, and will then host #5 St. Cloud State for two games this weekend.

Last Saturday night in Duluth it looked as though North Dakota would turn the tables on their 5-3 Friday night loss, as they scored two goals only thirty seconds apart, seven minutes into the first period; their second goal came with teams at even strength but both teams short one man.  UMD’s Jared Thomas got his team on the board three minutes later to make it 2-1 North Dakota, and the two teams skated through the rest of the period at a stalemate, with shots on goals pretty even, North Dakota with eight and UMD with seven.  In the second UMD took control of the game, badly out shooting North Dakota 17-3.  Scott Perunovich scored a power play goal on the double-shorthanded Hawks six minutes into the period and he was as relentless as he was merciless, coming back to score again only sixteen seconds later after North Dakota was allowed to add a player back on the ice, but were still shorthanded.  This guy is a power play maniac!  The two Perunovich goals made it 3-2, UMD, and they didn’t look back.  In the third North Dakota was fighting for its life and managed to keep the tempo more even as shots on goal were nine apiece, but they couldn’t stay out of trouble, giving up another man to give UMD a power play, and UMD was excellent at exploiting these opportunities Saturday night.  This time it was Parker McKay with the power play goal to put UMD up 4-2, nine minutes into the frame.  North Dakota added an extra attacker with four minutes remaining in the game but UMD repelled the effort, and it finally broke down with eleven seconds remaining, and Riley Tufte scored on the empty net to make the final 5-2, UMD.

This week and weekend present three top-ten matchups.  So, recapping first from above, tonight #7 Mankato State will host #9 Minnesota-Duluth for one game (starts in about seven hours); Friday and Saturday #5 St. Cloud State will travel to #9 Minnesota-Duluth for a two game series; and Friday night #8 Northeastern will host #10 Providence College, with the two meeting again Saturday night in Providence.

This provides the the top ten teams, rankings, records, and last week’s results:

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That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom