Mankato, Minn.--- The Minnesota State women’s hockey team will host the Ohio State Buckeyes in their final home series of 2012 Friday and Saturday at All Seasons Arena.  Both programs are coming off a series split last weekend and have yet to play each other this season.  The Maverick offense broke out with seven goals a week ago against Bemidji State en route to snapping a seven-game losing streak as senior Lauren Smith amassed four goals and two assists on the weekend.

Buckeyes (11-5-0)	vs.	Mavericks (5-9-2)
16-of-79 (20.3%)	Power-Play	12-of-59 (20.3%)
63-of-74 (85.1%)	Penalty-Kill	61-of-74 (82.4%)
3.4	Goals/Game	1.8
32.6	Shots/Game	24.2
11.6	Penalty Minutes/Game	11.2
Paige Semenza (10G, 7A) Taylor Kuehl (11G, 5A) Hokey Langan (2G, 13A)	Scoring Leaders	Lauren Smith (11G, 4A) Tracy McCann (7G, 6A) Emilia Andersson (2G, 8A)
Chelsea Knapp (2.27 GAA)	Goaltending Leader	Danielle Butters (2.91 GAA)

Inside the MSU/OSU Series:  

• Minnesota State is 9-45-4 all-time against Ohio State in a series dating back to 1999.  
• MSU was unable to grab a win against the Buckeyes last season in a hotly contested series where all four contests where decided by one or two goals.
• Four different Mavericks found twine last year against OSU as seniors Lauren Zrust and Emilia Andersson and juniors Kari Lundberg and Tracy McCann each tallied a goal for the Purple and Gold.
• Junior forward Ally Tarr led all Buckeyes with three markers against the Mavericks in 2011-12.
• Junior goaltender Danielle Butters started back-to-back matches versus Ohio State last season stopping a combined 64 shots while allowing only three goals.
• Conversely, Buckeye netminder Chelsea Knapp did not have an appearance vs MSU.
• The Maverick power-play converted 2-of-11 opportunites last year against OSU, while the Buckeyes ended 3-of-12 on the advantage.
• Minnesota State has not defeated Ohio State in Mankato since Nov. 11, 2007 and its largest margin of victory  in the series was an 8-3 home win just a day earlier, while the Buckeyes’ came on Feb. 18th, 2000 in the form of a 7-0 victory in Columbus.

A Little Bit More On the Buckeyes:

• Ohio State owns a 11-5-0 overall record and 8-4-0 mark in the WCHA to date, including a 5-3-0 record away from the OSU Ice Rink.
• The Buckeyes spilt a non-conference affair at Princeton last weekend garnering a 4-2 victory and 2-1 defeat..
• Ohio State boasts 10 skaters with double-digit points led by senior Paige Semenza (10-7--17) and sophomore Taylor Kuehl (11-5--16).
• Junior Chelsea Knapp has started all but one match for OSU posting a 2.27 GAA and .922 save percentage for the country’s 15-rated scoring defense.
• The Buckeyes are the fourth-most penalized team in the nation as they average 11.6 penalty/minutes/game.
• Ohio State is tied for the nation’s 8th-highest scoring offense at 3.44 goals/game with the 10th-best penalty-kill unit and 11th-ranked power-play.

Mavericks vs. the Nation: Four Mavericks can be found in the top-25 nationally in a variety of statistical categories led by senior forward Lauren Smith who stands 19th in goals/game (0.69), 13th in game-winning goals (2), 10th in power-play goals (4), and 5th in short-handed goals (1). Meanwhile, junior forward Tracy McCann is also 13th in game-winners (2) and 10th in power-play goals (4), while senior defense Emilia Andersson rates 24th in points/game as a defenseman (0.62). Junior netminder Danielle Butters sits 22nd in save percentage (.915) and her two shutouts tie her for 7th.

Special Team Success: Team-wise, Minnesota State boasts the nation’s 10th-best power-play (20.3%) and 17th-rated penalty-kill (82.2%). The Mavericks are 8th in the country in combined special teams at 54.5%.

Standing Out: Minnesota State sits sixth in the WCHA standings and poised for a strong first-half finish.  The Mavericks are just one point shy of fifth-place Minnesota-Duluth and 10 points away from the top half of the league with two series remaining before Christmas break.

Offensive Outburst:  After scoring only three goals in their previous six contests, the Maverick offense exploded for seven markers last weekend in a series split with Bemidji State. It was the highest scoring series for MSU since it found the back of the net seven times in a home sweep of Lindenwood (10/12-13).

Senior Lauren Smith amassed four goals and two assists to factor on six of the seven  MSU goals for the weekend, including her first career hat trick and the first time a Maverick had accomplished the feat since Sept. 30th, 2011.

Meanwhile, senior Emilia Andersson and sophomore Kathleen Rogan each added two helpers on the weekend, and freshman forward Lindsay Nagel earned her first collegiate point with an assist in Saturday’s 4-1 win.

Setting a New Standard:  This year’s Minnesota State squad has already equalled last year’s WCHA win total of 3 and is on pace for 12 overall victories, five more than 2011-12.

Individually, Andersson (2-8--10), Rogan (1-7--8), and junior forward Melissa Klippenstein (2-2--4) (left) have already eclipsed their point totals from a year ago, while Smith (11-4--15) and McCann (7-6--13) remain a mere four and two points away, respectively.

Score Early, Score Often:  Whoever scores first could indicate the eventual winner this weekend as the Mavericks stand 4-0-1 to date when tallying the first goal and conversely, 1-9-1 when their opponents score first. Additionally, Minnesota State is 4-2-2 when scoring two or more goals in 2012-13.


Third Period Magic:  MSU has made a habit of scoring late as 18 of its 29 goals (62.1%) have come in the third period, including three of its last seven.  The Mavericks are outscoring opponents 18-17 in the third period through sixteen contests this season.

Carrying the Load: Top-line forwards Lauren Smith and Tracy McCann have netted 18 of the Mavericks’ 29 goals (62.1%) this season along with four of the squad’s five game-winners.  The duo also leads Minnesota State in shots on goal with 62 and 46 respectively, while accounting for eight of MSU’s 12 power-play markers (66.7%).

Changing the Tide: En route to her first career hat trick, senior Lauren Smith tallied the first Maverick short-handed goal in nearly two years last Saturday against Bemidji State. The last MSU shortie came on Feb. 11th, 2011 when sophomore Kathleen Rogan scored a man down versus St. Cloud State. Smith leads all active Mavericks with four career short-handed markers.

What’s Trending: Keeping the contest close through two periods will be crucial for the Mavericks who boast a 3-0-0 record when leading after the first and second period and stand 1-0-1 when tied after two frames.  Additionally, Minnesota State is 5-1-1 when allowing two goals or fewer and has finished 2-2-0 in one-goal games this season.

Climbing the Ranks: Senior Lauren Smith ranks sixth all-time at MSU with 41 career assists.  She needs 11 to tie the all-time record of 52 shared by Christina Lee and Maggie  Fischer.  Smith is also fourth in career shots on goal (377) and fifth in points (72) with the MSU career marks sitting at 483 and 109 respectively.

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