Minnesota Duluth forward Riley Tufte took 15 games to record his first collegiate point and 17 games to score his first goal last season as a freshman.

Now a sophomore, Tufte is off to a much quicker start this season.

The 2017 first-round NHL draft pick of the Dallas Stars only needed three periods on Friday against Minnesota to get that first goal of the season. Then he struck again 39 seconds into Saturday’s game against Michigan Tech to give himself a pair of goals going into this weekend’s nonconference home-and-home series with Bemidji State.

The Beavers host the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Friday at Sanford Center. The series shifts to Amsoil Arena for a 7:07 p.m. game Saturday.

“Any time you get two goals like that, your confidence just goes up, as long as you play well. That was my main focus going into those two games last weekend,” Tufte said. “I got two goals on the weekend, they were pretty big goals. I’m looking forward to getting more.”

Tufte said he already came into the 2017-18 season confident he could up his scoring after the way he finished last season. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound left wing finished with nine goals and seven assists as a freshman. He scored in both the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship and NCAA championship, totaling four goals and two assists during the postseason.

Tufte played most of last season on the Bulldogs’ third line. This year he’s played the first two regular-season games (and the exhibition two weeks ago) on the top line centered by junior transfer Peter Krieger, with sophomore Joey Anderson at right wing.

Tufte said he and his new linemates have had good chemistry to start.

“Those guys are great,” Tufte said. “They are really hard on pucks and can get me the puck. Our chemistry is good on and off the ice. They’re two great guys and two great teammates.”

So far, Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin has kept his promise of a lineup of moving parts.

After a single exhibition game and two regular-season games, just the top line of Tufte, Krieger and Anderson and top defensive pairing of sophomore Nick Wolff and freshman Scott Perunovich have stuck for all three games.

“We’re tinkering with lineups, we’re trying to get guys in there, trying to see who can do what,” Sandelin said after Saturday’s loss to Tech. “Some guys we know, some guys are still battling. That’s the way it should be.”

Sandelin said Wednesday he liked what he saw out of his top two lines - Krieger’s line and the trio of Kuhlman and freshmen Justin Richards and Nick Swaney - last weekend, and also was pleased with the line he put together Saturday of freshman wing Kobe Roth, sophomore center Jade Miller and junior wing Billy Exell.

Sandelin played eight out of his 10 freshmen last weekend, leaving goaltender Ben Patt and forward Koby Bender of Cloquet still waiting for their collegiate debuts. Defensemen Nick McCormack, a senior, and Will Campion, a sophomore, also didn’t play.

Both sophomore goaltenders started with Hunter Shepard of Cohasset stopping 18 of 21 shots (.857 save percentage, 2.91 goals-against average) in Friday’s 4-3 win over Minnesota and Nick Deery stopping 13 of 17 shots (.765/4.03) in the 4-3 loss to Tech on Saturday.

Sandelin called Shepard’s play “solid” and credited the former Grand Rapids Thunderhawk for doing his job and getting the win. On Saturday, Sandelin was a little more critical of Deery, saying “he needs to be better just like some of our other guys.”

Sandelin said Wednesday both will get chances again in goal, but didn’t say when.

“The games were different, the emotion in the building was different,” Sandelin said comparing both starts. “Nick, as the game went on, settled in a little bit better. He’ll get another opportunity. Hopefully Shep can build off his game.”

While the configuration hasn’t always been the same, UMD women’s coach Maura Crowell has stuck with the same 18 skaters in her first four regular-season games - a pair of home wins vs. Penn State and a pair of road losses at Boston College.

Like Sandelin, Crowell has 10 freshmen on her roster. So far she’s played seven, leaving forwards Monique Aanenson and Megan Pardy and goaltender Hanna Markel still waiting for their debuts.

Senior transfer goaltender Jessica Convery started UMD’s first three games, giving up four goals on 60 shots (.933/1.34) with sophomore Catherine Johnson getting her chance Friday in a 4-1 loss at BC. She stopped 22 of 26 shots (.846/4.00).

Crowell said she plans to continue rotating the two moving forward.

“She earned the right to get a start and there were a lot of good things she did in the game,” Crowell said of Johnson’s season debut. “Firing our new goalies up against BC, who will be a very good team this year, I think was a great test. Why not give them both some experience?”