DULUTH – It’s one of those seasons for the Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey program as the Bulldogs can’t even escape the bye week without injuries.

UMD freshman and starting goaltender Adam Gajan is questionable for this weekend’s NCHC games on Friday and Saturday against Arizona State at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.

Also part of Scott Sandelin’s injury report on Wednesday were fifth-year senior winger Joe Molenaar and freshman winger Trevor Stachowiak. Molenaar is questionable to feature in the series due to a lower-body injury that he has struggled with for most of the season. Stachowiak – who only played in two games – is out long-term due to an injury in training.

Gajan, who is a guest on the News Tribune’s Bulldog Insider Podcast this week, said he injured his ankle during practice last Saturday.

Gajan, a second-round 2023 NHL draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks, has started UMD’s final 12 games after missing the season opener against Bemidji State due to an eligibility issue. The Slovakian posted a .882 save percentage and 3.50 goals against average with one shutout in his first college season.

Junior goaltender Zach Sandy started the Bulldogs’ season opener against Bemidji State and made 19 saves in a 4-3 overtime home loss. Freshman goaltender Klayton Knapp has relieved Gajan twice this season – both home losses to North Dakota – and stopped 26 of the 29 shots he’s faced so far in just under four periods of work.

“They compete, they both want the net, and that’s good,” Sandelin said of Sandy and Knapp. “Zach played the first game, Knapper was there a few times. If Adam can’t play, maybe you’ll see both of them. I don’t know in what order, but it’s a good opportunity to get both of them in there.”

Clint Austin / File / Duluth News Tribune

The Bulldogs travel to Mullett Arena and Tempe, Arizona for the first time this weekend to take on the NCHC’s newest member, the Sun Devils.

Arizona State made the jump from club to NCAA Division I in 2015 and originally applied to join the NCHC – along with Minnesota State – in the summer of 2016 after just a single season in the NCAA. The NCHC denied the Sun Devils’ – and the Mavericks’ – request, which ASU coach Greg Powers now admits was the right decision.

Clint Austin/Duluth Media Group

“The best thing that happened to our program was that we didn’t get into this league when we first applied because it allowed us to get our house in order,” Powers said back in September at the NCHC Media Day in St. Paul. “So we were able to get our system. It helped us get on our feet, some big wins and some big moments as a program that we can build into this moment.”

Powers has coached at ASU since the program’s club days and was named to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2019. ASU was in the same region this year at UMD in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and lost to Quinnipiac in the regional semifinals.

ASU would have made it to the 2019-20 NCAA Tournament had it not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bulldogs and Sun Devils met once before at the start of the 2022-23 season, with UMD winning the series at Amsoil Arena.

UMD also visited the Phoenix metropolitan area in December 2018 for the Arizona State Desert Hockey Classic, played at Gila River Arena in Glendale – the former home of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.

Clint Austin/Duluth Media Group

Back in September, Powers called this season the start of Chapter 2 for the ASU program in NCAA Division I after playing nine seasons as an independent.

The Sun Devils are 6-7-1 overall but 3-3 in the NCHC and are tied with Colorado College for second place in the league after beating then-ranked Denver two weeks ago at the home of the defending national champions had defeated.

Heading into the final series before the holiday break, the Bulldogs are 5-8 overall and tied for sixth place in the NCHC, while North Dakota is 2-4 in league play. UMD is four points behind the Sun Devils and CC Tigers, while bottom-place Miami is five points behind the Bulldogs and Fighting Hawks. The RedHawks host UND in Oxford, Ohio this weekend.