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Mavericks Ready to Tangle with Top-Rated Golden Gophers

11/13/2012 12:52:00 PM

Mankato, Minn.--- The Minnesota State women’s hockey team looks to return to its winning ways this weekend as it makes the short trip to Ridder Arena for a faceoff with No. 1 ranked and undefeated University of Minnesota.  The Mavericks were off last weekend as they prepare for the first of four conference series in four straight weekends to close out the first half of the regular season.

Golden Gophers (12-0-0) vs. Mavericks (4-6-2)
23-of-59 (39.0%) Power-Play 8-of-41 (19.5%)
48-of-50 (96.0%) Penalty-Kill 48-of-55 (87.2%)
6.0 Goals/Game 1.8
37.7 Shots/Game 24.2
10.4 Penalty Minutes/Game 12.0
Hannah Brandt (12G, 21A)
Amanda Kessel (15G, 17A)
Megan Bozek (6G, 12A)		 Scoring Leaders Tracy McCann (6G, 6A)
Lauren Smith (6G, 2A)
Emila Andersson (2G, 5A)
Noora Raty (0.68 GAA) Goaltending Leader Danielle Butters (2.47 GAA)

Inside the MSU/UM Series:  
  • Minnesota State is 3-53-3 all-time against Minnesota in a series dating back to 1998.MSU dropped all four contests to the Golden Gophers a year ago, with three of them coming by three goals or less.
  • Junior forward Tracy McCann tallied two goals last season against UM, while senior Lauren Zrust and junior Kari Lundberg each added a marker of their own.
  • The Golden Golphers were led on offense by Kelly Terry’s three goals with Megan Bozek right behind with two of her own.
  • Junior goaltender Danielle Butters stopped 36 shots in two appearances, starting one, against Minnesota last season.
  • UM netminder Noora Raty started three of four contests against Minnesota State last year making 55 saves and allowing four goals.
  • The Maverick power-play was limited to 1-of-10, while the Golden Gophers fired off at 7-of-17 on the advantage.
  • Minnesota State’s largest margin of victory was a 4-3 victory in Mankato on Jan. 20, 2007, and Minnesota’s came on March 2, 2000 in the form of a 10-0 win in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs.
A Little Bit More On the Golden Gophers:
  • Minnesota boasts a 12-0-0 overall record and 8-0-0 mark in the WCHA, including 6-0-0 at home.
  • The Golden Gophers were also off last weekend, but they did sweep the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth, 4-1 & 4-0, two weeks ago at AMSOIL Arena.
  • Minnesota is led offensively by freshman Hannah Brandt (12-21--33) and junior Amanda Kessel (15-17-32) who are two of the top-five scorers in the country.
  • Besides Brandt and Kessel, UM has seven additional skaters with double-digit points to date.
  • Golden Gopher netminder Noora Raty has started 11 of 12 games for Minnesota posting a sparkling 0.68 goals against average and .967 save percentage in that span.
  • UM’s offense ranks first nationally at 6.40 goals/game with the second-best scoring defense at 0.60 goals/game.
  • The Golden Gopher power-play is clicking at 20-of-53 (37.7%) good for second in the country, while their penalty-kill sits third at 43-of-45 (95.6%).
MSU vs. the Rest of the Nation:  Individually, junior Tracy McCann sits 45th in points/game (1.00), 39th in goals/game (0.50), and 11th in power-play goals (3)...Senior Lauren Smith also stands tied for 39th in goals/game (0.50), while ranking ninth in game-winners (2)...Senior Emilia Andersson rates 27th in points/game for defensemen (0.58)...Junior Danielle Butters stacks up 21st in goals against average (2.47), 16th in save percentage (.926), and seventh in shutouts (2).  

Strong Special Teams: Team-wise, Minnesota State boasts the nation’s 11th-best power-play (19.5%) and ninth-best penalty-kill (87.3%). The Mavericks are fourth in the country in combined special teams at 58.3%.

Standing Out: Minnesota State sits fifth in the WCHA standings four points behind third-place Wisconsin and three points shy of fourth-place North Dakota.  MSU will face the top-two and bottom-two teams in the conference over the course of the next four weeks.

What Lies Ahead:  Minnesota State returns home next weekend as it embarks on a four-game homestand while battling for position in the WCHA standings.  The Mavericks will play host to Bemidji State and Ohio State before traveling to St. Cloud to conclude the first half of the season.

Leading the Way: Junior forward Tracy McCann leads all Maverick skaters with twelve points this year having been on the scoresheet in seven of 12 games for Minnesota State. The top-line left winger also has team-highs in goals, assists, and shots at this point in the season.

How We Stack Up Against the Rest:  Minnesota State cracked the USCHO.com poll for the first time in nearly seven years three weeks ago as it debuted with a No. 10 national ranking.  MSU also received votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll.

Climbing the Ranks: Senior Lauren Smith is sixth all-time at MSU with 39 career assists.  She needs 13 to tie the all-time record of 52 shared by Christina Lee and Maggie  Fischer.  Smith is also sixth all-time shots (352) and seventh in points (65) with the MSU career marks sitting at 483 and 109 respectively.

Third Period Magic:  MSU has made a habit of scoring late as 15 of its 21 (71%) goals have come in the third period, including five of its last six.  The Mavericks have tallied three goals each in the first and second periods this year, respectively.

What’s Trending: The Mavericks boast a 2-0-0 record when leading after the first and second period and stand 3-0-1 when scoring the first goal.  Additionally, Minnesota State is 3-1-2 when scoring two or more goals and 4-1-1 when allowing two goals or fewer.  Inside All Seasons Arena, the Mavericks are 3-1-2, while standing 1-5-0 away from Mankato.  Finally, MSU has finished 2-1-0 in one-goal games this season.

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