Puck Drop Tour first stop: Minnesota Duluth

Good evening from Duluth's beautiful Canal Park, site of the first stop for the inaugural Puck Drop Tour of Minnesota.

Yep, I'm hitting the road to catch up with the state's men's and women's Division I college hockey programs for stories that will appear in upcoming Puck Drop newsletters to preview the 2019-20 season. Today, I made the drive to the Northland – it's easy to forget how scenic the trip can be, especially when the leaves start to turn -- and spent most of the day at AMSOIL Arena, interviewing Bulldogs players and coaches.

To say there's optimism in Duluth is an understatement. The men's team is the two-time defending NCAA champion and returns the bulk its talent from 2018-19, while a deep and veteran women's team has its sights on a return to the NCAA tournament.

Men's coach Scott Sandelin and his Bulldogs begin their title defense Oct. 11-12 at home against Massachusetts-Lowell. Their hope is to end the season in Detroit at the NCAA Frozen Four with a chance to become the first team since Michigan from 1951 to '53 to win three consecutive titles.

"When you have a good [locker] room, when those guys trust each other and have a belief, you can accomplish a lot of things,'' Sandelin said.

Talent, of course, helps, too. And the Bulldogs have a lot of it. Their deep blue line is led by senior captain Nick Wolff and silky-smooth junior Scott Perunovich, while senior goalie Hunter Shepard is 8-0 and has allowed only eight goals in NCAA tournament play.

"With the great season last year, we've got a target on our back,'' Wolff said. "… Three weeks in [into practice], we're looking pretty good.''

The Bulldogs women's team, which went 15-16-4 last season, expects big things, too. UMD was set to return 100 percent of its scoring from last season, but Naomi Rogge (12 goals, 11 assists) suffered a season-ending knee injury in August. Still, sophomore forward Gabbie Hughes, who had 19 goals and 18 assists in 33 games as a freshman, is a solid player upon which to build.

"We're excited with such a veteran group – just three freshmen,'' said UMD coach Maura Crowell, whose team is ranked No. 10 in the U.S. College Hockey Online preseason poll. "First time in my career here we've had a such a small freshman class. Last year, we had nine or 10 and the year before that another big class. … Our senior class in particular, they know what they want, and they're holding people accountable.''

Hughes, the former Centennial standout, credits her immediate success to "getting in the dirty areas.'' It doesn't hurt that in practice the Bulldogs can hone their offensive skills by facing a goalie with an Olympic gold medal to her credit. Maddie Rooney, a fifth-year senior from Andover, backstopped the United States to the 2018 Olympic championship.

"When we score on her,'' Hughes said, "we 'cele.' ''

Rooney is eager to return to action, which starts Saturday with an exhibition against the Minnesota Whitecaps at AMSOIL before the season-opening series against No. 3 Clarkson on Oct. 4-5 in Duluth.

Next stop: Bemidji State