I think they're in a very similar position to CC. They weren't picked to be very good this year but have started well. They were picked 6th in both the coaches' and media polls, and 9th in the USCHO preview due to the loss of 9 players in the off-season and their mediocre regular season last year (7th). However, they became the first team in league history to win 3 games at the Final 5, and won their first round NCAA game as well, so they played well in the playoffs.

They have 3 of the top 6 scorers in the country, including Jack Connolly at #1 (8gp, 6g, 8a, 14 points), Justin Fontaine at #3 (7, 7-5-12), and Rob Bordson who is tied for 4th (8, 3-8-11). Mike Connolly was their 2rd returning scorer from last year, and he has 4-3-7 in 6 games. The goaltenders are inexperienced, but both have been good statistically so far. The Bulldogs are 5-2-1. So they have a lot of positives coming in to Colorado Springs - scoring, goaltending, and wins.

However, they're also like CC in that their wins haven't been incredibly impressive. They just swept Clarkson, but it was at home and Clarkson was picked to finish between 8th and 11th in the 12 team ECAC. Their other sweep also came at home, this time against Minnesota State, who also was picked to finish in the bottom half of the WCHA and has struggled to start. They also have a very young and inexperienced defense in front of their inexperienced goaltenders. Their top 5 scorers have scored 22 of their 26 goals so far, so they really do not have much scoring depth.

On paper the job looks simple - especially when the Bulldogs are on the road and the home team has last change. Match up a great checking line and top defensive pair against UMD's top lines, and dominate their young defensemen when the third and fourth lines are out. However, that hasn't worked for the other teams so far - perhaps in part because they have been splitting up their top scorers among 3 lines in many games. If they end up playing the 4th line very sporadically, then they can have one of the top offensive players in the nation out at almost all times during the game.

It should be a tough weekend for CC. Obviously avoiding penalties is always important, but with UMD's top talent I think it far more important this week than most. 14 of UMD's 26 goals have been on the powerplay - a similar ratio to CC's 11 of 23. With the talent UMD can put on the ice in those situations, I think CC's penalty kill will have a very hard time.

http://www.uscho.com/preview/college-hockey/id,17234/200910MinnesotaDuluthSeasonPreview.html

http://www.uscho.com/stats/team-overall.php/minnesota-duluth-bulldogs/mens-college-hockey/season,20092010/team,umd/gender,m.html

CCtig wrote:

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If USCHO.com is correct the Bulldogs actually have two losses, and one tie to go with their five wins (5-2-1).

Go Tigers!!