Mankato, Minn.--- Minnesota State (4-2-0) travels north 80 miles to Minneapolis to face the second-ranked University of Minnesota (5-1-0) in a Thursday-Friday series at Ridder Arena. Thursday the puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m., while Friday is slated for a 6:07 p.m. start.

Maverick and Gopher History:
- Minnesota State is 3-53-3 against Minnesota, in a series which dates back to 1998-99.
- The Maverick last win against the Gophers came in 2007 when the MSU swept the series at All Seasons Arena.
- MSU has never won a game on the road against Minnesota.
- Minnesota State’s Moira O’Connor, Kathleen Rogan and Lauren Zrust each scored against the Gophers last season as Lauren Smith has two assists in the four games.
- Minnesota’s Sarah Erickson tallied four goals and an assist, Sarah Davis had two goals and Laura may had three goals and one assist in the four game last season.
- There has been four overtime games between the schools.
- The Golden Gophers have shut out the Mavericks 16 times in the 59 games.

Minnesota Golden Gopher Notes:
- The Golden Gophers moved up to the No. 2 national rank in the USCHO.com Women’s Div. 1 College Hockey Poll this week after splitting 3-2 WCHA road decisions with top-rated Wisconsin.
champion, at the Kohl Center in Madison Oct. 14 and Oct 16.
- The Gophers have outscored their opponents 29-6 in six games this season.
- The Gophers next take on Minnesota State at Ridder Arena in a rare
- Thursday-Friday night WCHA series this weekend, game time is 7:07 pm on Thursday evening and 6:07 pm on Friday.
- Minnesota is 53-3-3 all-time against Minnesota State.
- Sophomore forward Amanda Kessel, who had the game-winning goal against Wisconsin in the series finale last Sunday, leads in the team in points with 13.
- Freshman forward Rachael Bona scored her first career goal against Wisconsin.
- Freshman Rachel Ramsey is leading the team in plus/minus rating this season with a +11
- Minnesota is 27-of-28 on the penalty-kill so far this season, and has successfully killed every penalty in the last five games.

Close, but No Cigar: Last season the Mavericks played in 12 games decided by one goal or less. In those games, MSU owned a 2-7-3 record. MSU is 2-2-0 in one-goal games this season.

Shots, Shots and more Shots: Minnesota State combined for 115 shots opening weekend against Lindenwood, with 63 coming on the Saturday contest. Minnesota State had at least 20 shots in 25 games, took 25 or more shots in 15 games and 30-plus shots in eight games last season. This season MSU has had more than 25 shots in all six games, and more than 40 shots in three of the four games.

Streaking: The Mavericks had a three-game winning streak after its first three games this season, but fell 5-4 to Mercyhurst. The 2010-11 team had its  season-best four-game winning streak as it swept SCSU and Ohio State in back-to-back weekends. The longest winning streak in program history came during the 2006-07 season as MSU swept Minnesota, North Dakota, Vermont and beat Bemidji State one game to go 7-0.

The Rogan Factor: Sophomore forward Kathleen Rogan tied the school record for goals in a game  when she scored four against Lindenwood (10/1). The feat has been accomplished five times with the last time by Melanie Salatino vs. North Dakota Oct. 17, 2003.

Leanin’ on Leinonen: Minnesota State senior Emmi Leinonen is leading the Mavericks in shots as she had blistered 32 shots.

For full game notes, click HERE.