59 Teams in 59 Days Minnesota-Duluth

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Duluth, Minnesota where the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs are featured

Head Coach Scott Sandelin, who signed a three year deal in July, was considered to be on the hot seat this year. However, with the Bulldogs pulling off a first round upset against Denver in the WCHA tournament, Sandelin got the three year deal and is considered to be off the hotseat for now.

This years squad will be looking to continue the momentum that they got from last year. With only four seniors gone from last years squad, Sandelin will have a veteran team to work with. True there are only four seniors on this years squad, but the recruting has been pretty good lately. Seven are coming for the class of 2010 and some of them will look to make a big impact.

On offense the Bulldogs return four out of their top five leading scorers from last year. Sophomores Mason Raymond, Andrew Carroll, and Michael Gergen combined to score 38 goals. Junior Matt McKnight will look to be an impact player this year. He is the second returning scorer coming back.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were young last year with only one Senior leading the defense, and Sandelin played up to four Freshman Defensemen in 2005-2006. Two Seniors will lead this years defense and those four Freshman Defensemen will have one year under their belt.

Goaltending wise the Bulldogs struggled all of last year. The once reliable Issac Reichmuth, only had six wins all of last year. And the other goaltenders not that much better. However, the Bulldogs are getting a goaltender who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL draft in Alex Stalock. Expect him to be the number one netminder going into the season.

Overall the Bulldogs have a lot of potential in them. Scott Sandelin knows how to recruit talent, the question is can those Freshman make an immediate impact? Expect the Bulldogs to improve from last year, and possibly make a run at the NCAA's come March.

The Predicted ceiling for Minnesota-Duluth is fourth in the WCHA, while their gutter is seventh.

Tommorrow we will continue with another Minnesota team, the Minnesota State Mavericks. A lot of controversy with the Mavericks in the off-season, the question is can they forget about it and move on? Find out tommorrow as we continue the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour in Mankato, Minnesota.