Bulldog Insider

The Bulldogs are headed to Allentown, Pa., this weekend to take on Bowling Green in the NCAA Midwest Regional, but we aren't going to be talking about that (well we do around minute 21).

We are talking about something bigger. The AHL. The Afternoon Hockey League.

UMD assistant coach Adam Krause, captain Parker Mackay and forward Kobe Roth, otherwise known as the "A" team, tell us about the four-on-four pickup game the team plays after practice most days and even during tournament time.

This week we're joined by Bulldogs junior center Jade Miller, namesake of what coach Scott Sandelin a few weeks ago dubbed the 'Miller Line.'

Miller, who makes up the fourth line with teammates Billy Exell and Kobe Roth, says it's not your typical fourth line. The line is fast and able to put pucks in the back of the net.

In this episode, we get to know Miller's "It doesn't matter how you help the team as long as you are helping the team" mentality. And because we like to learn about players' small hometowns, we get a lesson on Minto, not Minot, North Dakota, which is slightly larger than the hometown of Parker Mackay — Irma, Alberta.

The postseason gets underway this weekend.

As the Bulldogs enter the conference tournament, we ask sophomore defensemen Louie Roehl and Matt Anderson if they still feel like the defending national champions with the giant target on their backs or do they feel like the underdogs again?

We relive last year's Frozen Faceoff, the .0001 moment, and end the episode with the popular "How well do you know your D-partner" game.

Because we know our place in the hockey world this week, we are talking all things Minnesota high school boys state hockey tournament.

College hockey takes a backseat this week and our guests know all about that. UMD senior Peter Krieger won two Class A state championships at St. Thomas Academy in 2011 and 2012, while Bulldogs junior defenseman Nick Wolff captained Eagan to third place in the 2014 Class AA tournament.

The two reminisce about their high school days, test their Tourney knowledge with some trivia, and make their tournament picks.

This week on the podcast, we are joined by Bulldogs junior goaltender Nick Deery of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Academically he is a senior and will be graduating this spring with a mechanical engineering major.

Deery, who already has job interviews lined up, tells us about his career aspirations, his topsy-turvy ride in junior hockey and his role as the backup goalie for the Bulldogs.

We also learn about his lead foot grandmother, Jody, 94, who is the owner and operator of Rockford Speedway, a NASCAR sanctioned home track.

This week on the podcast, we are joined by the leading goal scorer for the UMD men's hockey team, sophomore wing Nick Swaney, a native of Lakeville, Minn.

He picked up his team-leading 12th goal of the season last Friday in the win over Denver, which doubles his total from a year ago when he was a freshman.

We talk goal scoring, being drafted by the hometown team Minnesota Wild, and playing juniors in Waterloo, a city that a number of Bulldogs have passed through before coming to Duluth.

Sure the title of this week's episode is a play on words, but UMD senior forward Emma Yanko actually forgot when and where she was when she scored her first goal. But don't worry, fellow seniors Reagan Haley and Shelby Brossart chimed in to help her out with the details.

From their first day on the ice, to long road trips, singing in Rookie Idol, to plans after school, we take a walk down memory lane with the three seniors before their final regular-season series at Amsoil Arena this weekend when they host Wisconsin.

This week on the podcast, we are joined by UMD men's sophomore center and co-leading scorer Justin Richards. He's got eight goals and 17 assists on the season.

Growing up, Justin lived in many places as his father played professional hockey and then became an NHL coach. Justin tells us what it was like to grow up around professional hockey, how hockey in Ohio compares to hockey in Minnesota and what brought him to Duluth.

This week on the podcast, we are joined by UMD women's sophomore forward Naomi Rogge and freshman forward Gabbie Hughes.

Rogge led the Bulldogs in scoring a year ago with 16 goals and eight assists. Hughes has taken over that role this year with 13 goals and 12 assists already in 25 games.

The two, who grew up as opponents in high school, tell us about their role on the team, how they adjusted their game to play at the college level and what they think of their other teammates with a little yearbook superlative game.

This week we are joined by Brant Nicklin, the former Bulldogs goalie who now serves as the team's goaltending coach. Unlike the UMD goaltenders he has coached to the NHL the last few years, Nicklin was a four-year starter in net for the Bulldogs from 1996-2000.

Still confident as ever, Nicklin shares his approach to coaching, what it takes to start in the net and how he feels about highlight reel saves. And as a challenge to the players he coaches, he would still put himself in net over them to stop a shot from anyone. Talk about confidence.