"Can they do it again? Can they repeat?"

That';s a question asked of every championship team, even outside of hockey.
The question usually arises once the alcohol is flushed out of every fan';s
system and the festivities have ended. Eager are we to see if a team that
dominated a league can do it again. This time, the question is asked of the
University of Minnesota-Duluth.

In college hockey, the last team to win back-to-back national championships was
 Denver, in 2004-05. There';s reason to believe Duluth can do it in 2018-19.
After their second national championship in just eight years, the UMD
Bulldogs are in a good position to win a third and be back-to-back
champions.The Kids are Alright in Duluth

As it goes in college sports, you only win with the guys who stay there for
three or four years; the one-and-done';s never do it for you. Regardless of
your talent level, if you don';t have guys there and bought into the program
for a long time, it usually won';t work for you. But somehow, Duluth defied the
 odds and won with a roster that had an average age hovering right around 22
years of age, one of the youngest in the league.Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs pose
with the NCAA championship trophy celebrating the 2-1 win over Notre Dame in
the 2018 Frozen Four college hockey national championship game at Xcel Energy
Center. (Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports)

Sixteen out of the 27 players on UMD';s roster last season were underclassmen.
Ten of those players will still be underclassmen this season - two of which
are rising stars Mikey Anderson and Scott Perunovich. And there';s not enough
that can be said about those two staples on the blue line.

Perunovich was named the College Hockey News Rookie of the Year for his level
 of play; his points totals were best among freshman defensemen and fourth-best
 in all class levels.

"With a strong, seeing-eye shot from the point and the ability to generate
rebounds for his teammates, Perunovich can pound the puck on net or lead the
rush...Perunovich is a crafty passer and boasts the ability to thread the puck
through traffic and onto the sticks of his teammates," said THW';s own Brett
Slawson.

Then there';s Mikey Anderson, who cannot be compared to his older brother Joey
 since he';s a phenom all his own. He is continuing to grow into the not talked
 about enough, but highly important two-way defenseman role. Both him and
Perunovich are only getting better with more experience under their belts.

And don';t forget about the group of five talented recruits from the USHL
headed to Duluth this fall. With the way it';s looking, Duluth could change the
 game in how you build a championship roster.Weakened Conference

The only two teams that finished higher than Duluth in the NCHC conference
standings last year were St. Cloud State and Denver - both of which are on the
verge of dangerous declines. DU lost their two leading scorers and head coach,
and SCSU lost their head coach and are on the brink of losing key players to
graduation.CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 8: NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship
 at the United Center. The University of Denver Pioneers beat the University of
 Minnesota Duluth 3-2 in the final game (Photo by Patrick Green / University of
 Denver Athletics).

Duluth finished behind both DU and SCSU after an unusually rough season, so
their third-place finish is a product of bad luck more than anything else.
Injuries and the World Juniors plagued the team, sending them as low as no. 17
in the national USCHO rankings. For over half the season they placed at or
worse than no. 10.

Had the Bulldogs been healthy, they would have been, in hindsight, a favorite
to finish atop their conference. If they were, when they were healthy, better
than any in-conference competition last season, what will stop them from being
top dogs when their competition has gotten weaker?Culture Up North in Duluth

It wasn';t that long ago that Minnesota-Duluth had been a runner-up and lost to
 DU - that happened in the spring of 2017. One calendar year later and they';re
 the champions. A good portion of the roster that fell to Denver has moved on,
but the culture? After winning their first two titles in school history in the
span of eight years (2011 and 2018), you can bet there';s a winning culture
there.

And that';s likely more important than anything else - it';s intangible, and
hard to define. It';s a means for better recruits, better coaching staff, more
money and more resources. Not to say the Bulldogs have another national
championship falling in their laps, but they check the most important box when
it comes to winning another because of their culture.Not an Easy Road Ahead

UMD doesn';t have their first back-to-back national championship title in the
palm of their hand; they don';t get it just for showing up. Their greatest
competition could be a familiar foe.(Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports)

Notre Dame, after a remarkable season with a similarly young roster, has to
prove they';re not just a fluke. Some of their possession and special teams
numbers were uncharacteristic of a young up-and-coming program like the
Fighting Irish. If they can have a season that has anywhere near the same
success as last season, they';re going to be dangerous to UMD come March and
April.

But, since the puck drop is still a month away in the college realm, there';s
no way of saying who Notre Dame is and who they are not. All that can be said
is how good UMD was and how good UMD is - that is, of course, if they can get
the hockey gods on their side and avoid injury and bad puck luck.

The Bulldogs really could do it again.

The post Can the UMD Bulldogs Do It Again? appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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