Top line is making UMD the top Dogs

There are five Division I men's hockey teams in Minnesota.

The Gophers, not so long ago, were indisputably the best. They won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2002 and '03 and kept hanging banners of some sort annually through 2007, when they were WCHA Final Five champions.

This season, though, the top dog clearly is Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are first in the WCHA and ranked No. 2 nationally going into this weekend's series against the Gophers at Mariucci Arena.

UMD's top line of Connolly, Connolly and Fontaine sounds like the name for a law firm.

"I am biased, but they are pretty darn good," Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said.

"We are not too worried about [UMD's] goalies," Gophers defenseman Cade Fairchild said. "We worry about that top scoring line."

A telling quote, considering Fairchild's team scored only three goals last weekend getting swept at Minnesota State.

Mike Connolly, no relation to Jack, is the top-line left winger. He is an inch taller, five pounds heavier than Jack. The junior from Calgary, Alberta, accumulated 82 points his first two seasons at UMD.

The right winger is Justin Fontaine, 5-11 and 175. Fontaine, from Bonnyville, Alberta, had 94 points the past two seasons.

"Jack is the playmaker. He's very intelligent but won't overpower you," Sandelin said. "He makes a lot of guys miss. He sees the ice so well. Mike is obviously grittier; he's great along the wall. He has probably been one of our best players in the last month. Justin is more the goal-scorer when he shoots the puck. Sometimes he gets a little too fancy."

Jack Connolly leads the Bulldogs in scoring (23 points) and assists (17), while Mike has a team-high 11 goals and 11 assists, and Fontaine has nine goals and 12 assists.

Jack is easy to play with because he eludes opponents so well, Fontaine said, while Mike is the strongest of the three on the puck.

"They got off to a good start and the team got off to a good start," Sandelin said, "so I have not had to switch them. Even in games where they do not show up on the scoresheet, they are a threat every shift. If Jack wasn't 5-8 and Mike 5-9, they probably would not be here."

Sandelin still expects the Connollys to play professional hockey somewhere after college, and Fontaine to have a chance at an NHL career.

Fontaine was at the Wild's development camp last summer. Sometimes it's easier to display skating and passing skills when surrounded by better players, Sandelin said.

The Gophers saw what the Connollys and Fontaine can do last season when UMD won three of four meetings. Jack Connolly scored three goals as the Bulldogs rallied to sweep the Gophers 4-3 in overtime and 3-2 at Mariucci. Minnesota led 2-0 in each game. Fontaine had two goals in the Bulldogs' 3-0 victory over Minnesota in Duluth.

"Every time we play [the Gophers], they give us a battle," Fontaine said. "It's always nice to win. We're [called] the Gophers rejects, we're not the main 'U'."