No. 1 Denver (7-3-2, 3-3 NCHC) at No. 15 Minnesota-Duluth (7-6-2, 4-2-2 NCHC)

Friday and Saturday, 6:05 p.m.

Radio / TV: AM 1600 / NCHC.tv (subscription)

Series: Denver leads, 1119-77-12 (and is 7-2-1 in the past 10 meetings).

Overview

When the teams last met it was for all the marbles at the United Center in Chicago. The Pioneers survived a late Bulldogs onslaught, particularly after defenseman Tariq Hammond sustained a gruesome lower-leg injury. Hammond returned, somewhat surprisingly, two weeks ago for the North Dakota series. He has a ways to go to get back to where he was, but having last week off no doubt helped. That break also should help fellow senior defenseman Adam Plant, who missed the first game vs. North Dakota only to get injured again on a huge hit in the second game. Plant has practiced this week and seems like a decent bet to play. Those are two key players for the Pioneers going forward this season. … The Bulldogs have a young team after graduations and early departures to the pros basically took their top line, most of their defense and excellent goalie Hunter Miska. That has been reflected in an up-and-down season so far, but remember it’s still Duluth. You know they will be well coached, you know they’ll skate well and you know they’re going to play a physical brand of hockey that doesn’t give up any easy shots. The Bulldogs have the look of a team that will get better and better as the season moves along.

DU update

What can Henrik Borgstrom do for an encore after being selected the NCHC’s player of the month for a November that included 14 points (eight goals) in six games. Half of the goals came on special teams (three on the power play and one shorthanded). He leads D-I in goals (13) and is tied for third in points (22). For good measure, he’s got a point in all 11 games he’s played. Junior Troy Terry is second in the nation in points (23, with 16 assists), and fellow junior assistant co-captain Dylan Gambrell has 17. It’s no wonder then that DU is second in scoring (4.17 goals per game). The nation’s top power play (30.5 percent) has a lot to do with that, and freshman defenseman Ian Mitchell has been a key component of it. Mitchell has an NCAA-best 10 power-play assists. His 11 total assists are second among D-I D-men. He has a seven-game point streak, while Terry’s on a nine-game heater. … Gambrell and Terry (7 points apiece) and Jarid Lukosevicius (six goals) have fared well vs. the Bulldogs the past two seasons, with Luko matching his coach with three title-game goals. … The Pioneers’ defense (2.83 goals against per game, 29th in D-1) has been solid most weekends, but it has its moments of lapses (see Western Michigan, first game vs. North Dakota). It got a reinforcement in Ryan Orgel, who joins DU after playing the first part of the season for Lone Star of the North American Hockey League. Orgel, as so many DU blue liners do, excels with the puck on his stick. … Tanner Jaillet has been solid for the most part and excellent at times. He is 6-2-2 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. More than half of his goals allowed (14 of 26) have come during his five road starts thus far. … One area for overall improvement for DU is the penalty kill, which is 47th out of 60 D-I teams (78 percent).

Minnesota Duluth update

The Bulldogs don’t score a lot (2.60 goals per game, T40th) but they don’t give up much either, just 2.67 goals on average (22nd). Befitting a young team, special teams are a bit of a struggle at the moment, particularly killing penalties (77.3 percent, 49th). … The Bulldogs have battled injuries, particularly up front, where freshman Nick Swaney (8 points in 9 games), sophomore Joey Anderson (4 in 9) and senior Avery Peterson (5 in 10) have missed multiple games. All three played last week in a victory over then No. 8 Minnesota State. … UMD usually ices balanced lines, with Anderson playing with juniors Peter Krieger and Parker Mackay last week, Swaney and Peterson with freshman Justin Richards, and captain Karson Kuhlman with fellow senior Jared Thomas and giant sophomore Riley Tufte, who has 9 points and goes 6-foot-6. Anderson (Devils), Tufte (Stars), Peterson (Wild) and Swaney (Wild) are NHL draft picks. … Don’t sleep on the Bulldogs’ defense. Freshman Scott Perunovich, the NCHC’s rookie of the month in Novembers, leads the team with 12 points, and Joey Anderson’s younger brother, Mikey, has 9 points. Mikey (Kings) also is an NHL draft pick. … Sophomore Hunter Shepard has played in 12 of the first 15 games for Duluth, and has a 2.44 goals-against average and .903 save percentage. Junior Nick Deery has 0-1-2, 2.78 and .877 numbers.

How it could go down

DU coach Jim Montgomery spoke this week of the Pioneers needing to assert themselves in the NCHC standings, and this would be a good place to start. The Bulldogs’ susceptibility on the penalty kill, especially, seems to play into DU’s hands. UMD is rarely a tough out, but DU is rested and should be closer to full strength. One thing to watch for is if DU gets a third period lead, can it hold it. That has been a struggle on the road thus far.

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