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2017–18 Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season

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2017–18 Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs
men's ice hockey season
NCAA Division I champion
2017 Ledyard Bank Classic, champion
2018 NCAA Tournament, champion
Conference3rd NCHC
Home iceAMSOIL Arena
Rankings
#1USA Today[1]
#1USCHO.com[2]
Record
Overall25–16–3
Conference13–11–0
Home12–6–2
Road8–8–1
Neutral5–2
Coaches and captains
Head coachScott Sandelin
Captain(s)Karson Kuhlman
Alternate captain(s)Parker Mackay
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey seasons
« 2016–17 2018–19 »

The 2017–18 Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represented the University of Minnesota Duluth in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Scott Sandelin and the team captain was Karson Kuhlman. The team won the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The team's leading scorer was Scott Perunovich, who was only the fourth defencemen to lead a championship team in scoring (Bob Heathcott, 1952; Dan Lodboa, 1970; Craig Norwich, 1977).

Season

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Minnesota–Duluth was coming off a very successful season where they won the NCHC Tournament and finished as the National Runner-up. Unfortunately, the team lost five of its top six scorers in the offseason as well as their starting goaltender, Hunter Miska.[3] Despite the roster turnover, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll and opened their season by hosting the Ice Breaker Tournament. After winning against preseason No. 3 Minnesota Duluth stumbled, going 0–2–2 over its next four games. UMD was still trying to find its starting goaltender and after a 0–0 tie against Bemidji State it looked like Nick Deery had claimed the job but after surrendering 5 goals to the woeful Merrimack Warriors in the very next game Hunter Sheppard got the starting job once more. Sheppard would allow only 3 goals in the next three games (all Bulldog wins) and stake his claim in goal.

With the goaltending seemingly settled head coach Scott Sandelin now had to get his team to score. Over a five-week period in November and December, once the Bulldogs began their conference schedule, Minnesota–Duluth never scored more than three goals in a game and were shut out three times. UMD's record dipped below .500 and they were floundering at the bottom of their conference. Just before they went on winter break the Bulldogs exploded for 11 goals in two games against Omaha and, though they lost one of the games when Sheppard had his worst match of the year, the sudden offensive burst game the Bulldogs something to build on.

Just before the new year Minnesota–Duluth played in the Ledyard Bank Classic and after dropping Yale in the first game they faced host Dartmouth in the title match. Both teams fired over 40 shots at one another but the game ended in a 2–2 tie. A shootout was held to decide the champion (but did not count for official standings due to the NCAA not sanctioning shootouts) and the Bulldogs skated away with the title. Hunter Sheppard was named as the tournament MVP[4] and used the mid-season championship as a springboard to help the team get back into playoff contention. UMD returned to their conference schedule in the second week of January and took two road games against Colorado College before hosting No. 7 North Dakota. The Bulldogs' power play came up big, notching three goals in each contest to help the team sweep the weekend and send UMD into the top ten for the first time since early November.

The success was short-lived, however, and Minnesota–Duluth lost four of their next five, including their fifth-straight to Denver. The team was shut out twice more over that stretch but recovered swiftly when they played Miami and Western Michigan, outscoring their opposition 21–1 over those four games. After splitting two games with Omaha Minnesota–Duluth ended the season with a 13–11 record in the NCHC, earning them the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. UMD met Western Michigan in the quarterfinal and continued their recent dominance over the Broncos by shutting them out in both games to comfortably take the series. The Bulldogs headed to Saint Paul for the final four and promptly lost their fifth game of the year to Denver. The team followed that up with yet another loss in the Third place Game to North Dakota. Despite the disappointing finish Minnesota–Duluth finished 12th in the pairwise rankings, .0001 ahead of Minnesota,[5] and received the final at-large bid in the NCAA tournament.

The Bulldogs got the No. 3 seed in the West Regional and were set against Minnesota State for a rubber match. The Mavericks scored twice early and appeared to be cruising to their first tournament win but the Bulldog defense clamped down thereafter, preventing Minnesota State from recording a shot in the second period while slowly chipping away at the lead. UMD tied the game late in the third on the power play and then won the game in overtime on a shot from Parker Mackay.[6] Duluth continued its defensive play in the Regional Final against Air Force, outshooting the airmen 14–0 in the first while taking a 2–0 lead. The Falcons would eventually score late but the UMD would win the match 2–1.[7]

The Bulldogs began their second straight frozen four against No. 5 Ohio State and continued their stingy defense. For the second time in as many games UMD scored twice in the first and then played back to halt the Buckeye attack. Ohio State could only manage 20 shots in the game with their lone goal coming in the third period on the power play.[8] With only Notre Dame left in their way, the Bulldogs followed virtually the same script that had won them their previous two games; score twice in the first period then hold on for dear life. This time the opposing power play was able to score in the second period but even the No. 2 overall seed Fighting Irish couldn't manage more than 20 shots in the contest. The two teams played a clean third period and the Bulldogs skated away with their second national title.[9]

Leading scorer Scott Perunovich won the Tim Taylor Award as the national rookie of the year while Karson Kuhlman was named as the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 St. Cloud State 24 16 4 4 1 53 93 59 40 25 9 6 144 101
#5 Denver* 24 12 6 6 4 46 76 53 41 23 10 8 135 86
#1 Minnesota–Duluth 24 13 11 0 0 39 79 56 42 25 16 3 132 92
#17 North Dakota 24 8 10 6 3 33 71 68 40 17 13 10 117 95
Omaha 24 10 13 1 0 31 75 97 36 17 17 2 121 134
Western Michigan 24 10 13 1 0 31 82 94 36 15 19 2 115 129
Colorado College 24 8 12 4 3 31 63 85 37 15 17 5 99 121
Miami 24 6 14 4 2 24 62 89 37 12 20 5 103 128
Championship: March 17, 2018
† indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 5, 2018

Schedule

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
September 30 7:00 pm Alberta* #6 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota (Exhibition) Patt L 3–4  5,704
Regular Season
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 6 7:30 pm vs. #3 Minnesota* #6 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota (IceBreaker) Shepard W 4–3 OT 7,203 1–0–0 (0–0–0)
October 7 7:30 pm vs. Michigan Tech* #6 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota (IceBreaker) Deery L 3–4  5,880 1–1–0 (0–0–0)
October 13 7:00 pm at Bemidji State* #5 Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota Shepard L 2–5  3,661 1–2–0 (0–0–0)
October 14 7:00 pm vs. Bemidji State* #5 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Deery T 0–0 OT 5,615 1–2–1 (0–0–0)
October 20 7:30 pm vs. Merrimack* #9 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Deery T 5–5 OT 5,152 1–2–2 (0–0–0)
October 21 7:30 pm vs. Merrimack* #9 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 7–2  5,642 2–2–2 (0–0–0)
October 27 8:27 pm† at vs. Maine* #10 Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine Shepard W 2–1  3,483 3–2–2 (0–0–0)
October 28 7:30 pm at vs. Maine* #10 Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine Shepard W 2–0  3,506 4–2–2 (0–0–0)
November 3 7:30 pm at #2 St. Cloud State #8 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Shepard L 3–5  3,652 4–3–2 (0–1–0)
November 4 7:30 pm at #2 St. Cloud State #8 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Shepard L 0–5  4,208 4–4–2 (0–2–0)
November 10 7:00 pm vs. #18 Western Michigan #12 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 3–0  5,422 5–4–2 (1–2–0)
November 11 7:00 pm vs. #18 Western Michigan #12 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard L 0–5  5,810 5–5–2 (1–3–0)
November 17 7:30 pm at Miami #14 Goggin Ice CenterOxford, Ohio Shepard W 3–1  2,348 6–5–2 (2–3–0)
November 18 7:00 pm at Miami #14 Goggin Ice CenterOxford, Ohio Shepard L 2–3  2,552 6–6–2 (2–4–0)
November 25 7:00 pm vs. #8 Minnesota State* #16 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 3–1  5,536 7–6–2 (2–4–0)
December 1 7:00 pm vs. #1 Denver #16 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard L 0–1  6,207 7–7–2 (2–5–0)
December 2 7:00 pm vs. #1 Denver #16 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard L 1–2  5,838 7–8–2 (2–6–0)
December 8 7:00 pm at Omaha #17 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska Deery L 5–7  6,067 7–9–2 (2–7–0)
December 9 7:00 pm at Omaha #17 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska Shepard W 6–2  6,121 8–9–2 (3–7–0)
Ledyard Bank Classic
December 29 4:00 pm vs. Yale* #17 Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank) Shepard W 5–0  3,376 9–9–2 (3–7–0)
December 30 7:00 pm vs. Dartmouth* #17 Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank) Shepard T 2–2 SO (2-1 UMD) 9–9–3 (3–7–0)
January 12 7:30 pm at Colorado College #15 World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado Shepard W 6–5  4,473 10–9–3 (4–7–0)
January 13 6:00 pm at Colorado College #15 World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado Shepard W 5–1  4,651 11–9–3 (5–7–0)
January 19 8:00 pm vs. #7 North Dakota #14 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 5–3  6,372 12–9–3 (6–7–0)
January 20 7:00 pm vs. #7 North Dakota #14 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 5–2  6,903 13–9–3 (7–7–0)
January 23 7:00 pm at #7 Minnesota State* #9 Verizon CenterMankato, Minnesota Shepard L 0–1  3,907 13–10–3 (7–7–0)
January 26 7:00 pm vs. #5 St. Cloud State #9 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 5–1  6,210 14–10–3 (8–7–0)
January 27 7:00 pm vs. #5 St. Cloud State #9 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard L 1–2  7,149 14–11–3 (8–8–0)
February 2 7:00 pm at #4 Denver #9 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Shepard L 0–1  5,564 14–12–3 (8–9–0)
February 3 7:00 pm at #4 Denver #9 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Shepard L 3–4  6,200 14–13–3 (8–10–0)
February 16 7:00 pm vs. Miami #11 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 4–0  5,545 15–13–3 (9–10–0)
February 17 7:00 pm vs. Miami #11 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 3–0  6,543 16–13–3 (10–10–0)
February 23 7:00 pm at #17 Western Michigan #9 Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan Shepard W 8–0  2,888 17–13–3 (11–10–0)
February 24 7:00 pm at #17 Western Michigan #9 Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan Shepard W 6–1  3,535 18–13–3 (12–10–0)
March 2 7:00 pm vs. #14 Omaha #7 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard L 1–4  5,287 18–14–3 (12–11–0)
March 3 7:00 pm vs. #14 Omaha #7 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota Shepard W 4–1  5,160 19–14–3 (13–11–0)
NCHC Tournament
March 9 7:00 pm vs. Western Michigan* #8 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota (NCHC Quarterfinal) Shepard W 5–0  4,359 20–14–3 (13–11–0)
March 10 7:00 pm vs. Western Michigan* #8 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota (NCHC Quarterfinal) Shepard W 2–0  4,391 21–14–3 (13–11–0)
March 16 7:30 pm vs. #4 Denver* #8 Xcel Energy CenterSaint Paul, Minnesota (NCHC Semi-final) Shepard L 1–3  11,983 21–15–3 (13–11–0)
March 17 3:30 pm vs. #12 North Dakota* #8 Xcel Energy CenterSaint Paul, Minnesota (NCHC Third place) Shepard L 1–4  11,372 21–16–3 (13–11–0)
NCAA Division I Tournament
March 23 6:30 pm vs. #6 Minnesota State* #11 Denny Sanford Premier CenterSioux Falls, South Dakota (West Regional Semi-final) Shepard W 3–2 OT 7,992 22–16–3 (13–11–0)
March 24 8:00 pm vs. Air Force* #11 Denny Sanford Premier CenterSioux Falls, South Dakota (West Regional Final) Shepard W 2–1  8,015 23–16–3 (13–11–0)
April 5 5:00 pm vs. #5 Ohio State* #11 Xcel Energy CenterSaint Paul, Minnesota (National Semi-final) Shepard W 2–1  18,026 24–16–3 (13–11–0)
April 7 6:30 pm vs. #2 Notre Dame* #11 Xcel Energy CenterSaint Paul, Minnesota (National championship) Shepard W 2–1  18,303 25–16–3 (13–11–0)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[10]

† start delayed due to a power outage.[11]

Roster and scoring statistics

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No. Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Pts PIM
7 Scott Perunovich Freshman D Hibbing, MN Minnesota 42 11 25 39 36
25 Peter Krieger Junior F Oakdale, MN Minnesota 44 11 19 30 44
27 Riley Tufte Sophomore LW Blaine, MN Minnesota 42 16 13 29 36
13 Joey Anderson Sophomore RW Roseville, MN Minnesota 36 11 16 27 20
22 Jared Thomas Senior LW Hermantown, MN Minnesota 43 11 15 26 16
3 Mikey Anderson Freshman D Roseville, MN Minnesota 39 5 18 23 18
23 Nick Swaney Freshman RW Lakeville, MN Minnesota 35 6 16 22 6
20 Karson Kuhlman Senior C Duluth, MN Minnesota 44 13 7 20 18
39 Parker Mackey Junior RW Irma, AB Alberta 35 9 10 19 6
5 Nick Wolff Sophomore D Eagan, MN Minnesota 44 7 6 13 81
26 Jade Miller Sophomore F Minto, ND North Dakota 38 3 10 13 20
4 Dylan Samberg Freshman D Hermantown, MN Minnesota 42 1 12 13 43
17 Blake Young Senior LW Battleford, SK Saskatchewan 44 7 5 12 28
11 Avery Peterson Senior C Grand Rapids, MN Minnesota 30 6 5 11 29
16 Billy Exell Junior RW Thunder Bay, ON Ontario 40 5 6 11 8
10 Kobe Roth Freshman F Warroad, MN Minnesota 30 4 5 9 4
6 Louie Roehl Freshman D Eden Prairie, MN Minnesota 38 3 6 9 16
19 Justin Richards Freshman C Columbus, OH Ohio 44 0 9 9 6
12 Jarod Hilderman Sophomore D Yorkton, SK Saskatchewan 15 1 5 6 6
21 Matt Anderson Freshman D Shakopee, MN Minnesota 35 1 5 6 12
32 Hunter Shepard Sophomore G Grand Rapids, MI Michigan 41 0 2 2 0
28 Sammy Spurrell Senior C Sherwood Park, AB Alberta 15 1 0 1 6
8 Kobe Bender Freshman F Cloquet, MN Minnesota 9 0 1 1 0
37 Nick Deery Sophomore G La Crosse, WI Wisconsin 5 0 0 0 0
18 Nick McCormack Senior D Ramsey, MN Minnesota 7 0 0 0 17
Total 132 216 351 476

Goaltending statistics

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No. Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
32 Hunter Shepard 41 2392 25 14 1 76 936 8 .925 1.91
37 Nick Deery 5 242 0 2 2 12 87 1 .879 2.97
open net 24 4
Total 44 2659 25 16 3 92 1023 9 .917 2.08

2018 national championship

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(E1) Notre Dame vs. (W3) Minnesota–Duluth

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April 7[12] Notre Dame 1 – 2 Minnesota–Duluth Xcel Energy Center Recap


Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st UMD Karson Kuhlman (13) Miller 9:06 1–0 UMD
UMD Jared Thomas (11) – GW Kuhlman 18:39 2–0 UMD
2nd ND Andrew Oglevie (15) – PP Morrison and Evans 27:40 2–1 UMD
3rd None
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st ND Mike O'Leary Hooking 19:42 2:00
2nd ND Jordan Gross Tripping 22:19 2:00
UMD Louie Roehl Interference 24:35 2:00
UMD Scott Perunovich Interference 27:08 2:00
ND Colin Theisen Kneeing 30:02 2:00

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll - April 9, 2018". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "College men's hockey: Miska one and done at UMD, signs with Arizona Coyotes". Duluth News Tribune. April 15, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "Home Holiday Tournament Results". Dartmouth Big Green. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  5. ^ "NCAA Tournament Pairwise Comparison Ratings". College Hockey news. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Minnesota Duluth beats Minnesota State in OT 3-2". NCAA. March 23, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  7. ^ "Minnesota Duluth flies over Air Force to advance to Frozen Four". NCAA. March 24, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  8. ^ "Minnesota Duluth going back to the Championship for the second straight year". NCAA. April 5, 2018. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "Notre Dame No. 1 vs Minnesota Duluth No. 4 Highlights - 2018 NCAA Men's Hockey Championship". YouTube. April 8, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  10. ^ "Minnesota Duluth Men's Hockey 2017-2018 Schedule and Results". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  11. ^ "Minnesota Duluth 2, Maine 1". College Hockey Stats.net. October 27, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  12. ^ "Last in, last standing: Minnesota Duluth defeats Notre Dame for second title". USCHO.com. April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.