Mankato, Minn.---Minnesota State (6-12-0, 2-10-0 WCHA) returns home to face No. 9 Minnesota Duluth (9-8-1, 6-7-1 WCHA) in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association two-game series before heading into the holiday break. Friday is scheduled for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop. Saturday’s start is set for 3:07 p.m.
Minnesota Duluth Notes:
- The No. 9-ranked Bulldogs (9-8-1, 6-7-1-1 WCHA, 20 points) split with No. 6-ranked North Dakota in Grand Forks last weekend.
- Five UMD players are averaging over a point per game.
- Junior forward Audrey Cournoyer leads the team in points with 12 goals and 17 assists, marking her ninth in the WCHA in points.
- Senior forward Haley Irwin ranks sixth in the NCAA with an average of 1.25 assists per game. Irwin has 178 career points.
-Junior Jessica Wong is the third highest-scoring defenseman in the nation, with a 1.11 ppg average.
- Freshman forward Jenna McParland leads WCHA rookie scoring with 18 points (12-6--18) as teammate and freshman defenseman Brigette Lacquette (4-10-14) is in second.
- The Bulldogs are averaging 3.94 goals a game and lead the NCAA with an average of 14.4 penalty minutes a game.
- UMD is 19-of-89 (21 percent) on the power-play and 84-of-98 (86 percent) on the penalty kill.
- The Bulldogs have scored over half of their goals (36-of-71) in the second period.
MSU/UMD History:
- The all-time series sits at 4-44-3 in favor of Minnesota Duluth in the 51 games played between the schools.
- Last season the Bulldogs ended the Mavericks season in the first round of the WCHA playoffs in Duluth, winning 5-0 and 3-0.
- The Mavericks scored two goals last season against the Bulldogs with Emmi Leinonen and Kathleen Rogan lighting the lamp. Both goals were scored Oct. 16th.
- The Mavericks are 1-9 in the last ten games against Minnesota Duluth.
-The Bulldogs outscored the Mavericks 29-2 overall last season, owning five shut out wins.
- Senior Haley Irwin led the UMD attack collecting three goals and six assists last season.
- Junior Audrey Cournoyer scored three goals and two assists in the past six games against MSU.
- Minnesota State was just 1-of-17 (5 percent) on the power play during the 2010-11 season against UMD as the Bulldogs were 3-of-19 (16 percent) against the Mavericks.
- The schools have had just nine games decided by a goal or less and the Bulldogs have shut out Minnesota State 14 times in the 13 years the teams have been playing.
In the WCHA: Lauren Smith has 14 points this season and sits tied in 29th for points in the WCHA. Kari Lundberg and Lauren Barnes have 13 points and are currently tied in 32nd in the WCHA.
Sophomore Lauren Barnes is tied for 23rd in the WCHA for assists (11) through the first 18 games of the season. Senior Jackie Otto is currently thirteenth in scoring for defenseman (8).
First on the Board: The Mavericks are 6-4 after scoring the first goal and 6-1 when leading after two periods of action.
She’s Heating Up: In the past six games, junior Lauren Smith has found the back of the net five times on 24 shots. Lauren Barnes is becoming an assist machine, compiling four assists and a goal in the last six games. Lauren Zrust tallied three assists last weekend as senior Jackie Otto has three assists in the past three games. Sophomore Kari Lundberg has two goal and two assists in the last five games.
When Falling Behind: MSU is yet to have a comeback victory as it stands 0-7 when trailing after the first period and 0-11 when trailing after the second period.
Scoring in Two’s: The Mavericks have scored 12 power play goals and have four players that have scored two goals on the advantage (Lundberg, Otto, Rogan and Emilia Andersson). Overall Minnesota State is 20 percent (12-of-60) on the power play and have successfully killed 80 percent of opponents penalties.
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