Mavericks Earn Seventh-Seed; Travel to Minnesota for First Round of WCHA Playoffs

2/24/2010 3:40:13 PM

MANKATO, Minn.--- The Minnesota State women’s hockey squad finished the regular season 7-20-5 overall and 5-18-5-3 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play giving them 18 conference points and the seventh spot in the conference. The seventh-seeded Mavericks will travel to Minneapolis, Minn. to take on the second seeded University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. The best of three series will start Friday 7:07 p.m. with game two coming Saturday afternoon at 4:07 p.m. A third game will take place on Sunday at 4:07 p.m. if necessary. All games will be played at Ridder Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

Program History: The 2009-10 season marks the 12th year of women’s hockey as a varsity sport at Minnesota State. The Mavericks currently hold a 120-250-37 (.340) all-time record. The Maverick earned their first-ever playoff and playoff series win last season in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs against the St. Cloud State Huskies.

Follow the Leader: Senior forward Kala Buganski is the Captain and senior forward Ashley Young is the Alternate Captain for the 2009-10 season.

About #2 Minnesota: The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers finished as co-champions of the WCHA, tied with the University of Minnesota Duluth and are ranked third in the nation. The Golden Gophers wrapped up the regular season with a 22-7-5 overall record and 18-6-4-3 in the WCHA. The Golden Gophers are lead by junior forward Emily West (18-20--38), sophomore forward Sarah Erickson (14-20--34) and senior forward Brittany Francis (9-21--30). The Golden Gophers sit #1 in nearly every WCHA team category including: scoring defense, power play, penalty kill and special teams.

MSU/UM History: Minnesota State is 3-47-3 all-time against the Golden Gophers. Earlier this season the Mavericks played host to the Gophers and traveled to Minneapolis, Minn. and finished the regular season 0-3-1 against the University of Minnesota. Against the Golden Gophers this season, senior forward Kala Buganski (0-3--3) owns the most points. Rookie forward Lauren Smith (2-0--2) and sophomore forward Emmi Leinonen (1-1--2) each own two points, while seven other Mavericks tallied one.

North Dakota Notes: The Minnesota State Mavericks played host to the University of North Dakota and split the series with the Fighting Sioux. MSU earned a 3-2 win on Friday, but suffered 1-0 loss on Saturday...The win marks the nineteenth win against North Dakota in program history...seventh of the season...fifth conference win of the year...Win number 120 in program history...66th WCHA win in program history...Senior forward Christina Lee (1-1--2) and senior forward Ashley Young (0-2--2) finished the weekend with two points, all of them coming in the Mavericks win on Friday...Four Mavericks finished the weekend with one point including sophomore blueliner Jackie Otto (1G), sophomore forward Emmi Leinonen (1A) senior forward Kala Buganski (1G) and junior forward Lisa Edman (1A)...Young continues to lead the Mavericks in scoring with 8-13--21, rookie freshman Lauren Smith (6-12--18) sits second and Leinonen (9-7--17) and Lee (4-13--17) are tied for third on the team...Leinonen’s nine goals rank first on the team, Young and Lee’s 13 assists are tied for first.

To view a complete version of these notes, click HERE.

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