Mankato, Minn.---Minnesota State (7-26-1, 3-24-1WCHA) faces the No. 1 University of Wisconsin (29-3-2, 23-3-2-1 WCHA) in the first round of the WCHA playoffs for a best-of-three series in hopes to advance to the 2012 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF. The Mavericks and Badgers are scheduled to play Friday and Saturday at 7:07 p.m. at the Eagles Nest in Verona, Wis. If the teams split the first two games, the schools will meet Sunday at 4:07 p.m. at the Eagles Nest.
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Badgers
(29-3-2)
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VS.
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Mavericks
(7-26-1)
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38-of-149 (25%)
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Power-Play
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18-of-107 (17%)
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109-of-123 (88%)
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Penalty Kill
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108-of-138 (79%)
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158
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Goals
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64
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1330
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Shots
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949
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303
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Penalty Minutes
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356
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Brianna Decker (32G, 40A)
Brooke Ammerman (27G, 41A)
Hillary Knight (28G, 26A)
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Scoring Leaders
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Lauren Smith (9G, 10A)
Lauren Zrust (6G, 13A)
Lauren Barnes (4G, 14A)
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Alex Rigsby (1.42 GAA)
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Goaltender
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Alli Altmann (3.52 GAA)
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Wisconsin and MSU History:
- Wisconsin is 4-0 this season against the Mavericks with 4-0, 5-1, 5-2 and 6-0 wins against Minnesota State.
- Lauren Smith has scored two of the three goals MSU has scored against the Badgers.
- In the last nine games between the two teams, Wisconsin has shutout Minnesota State five times, and only twice in that span has MSU scored more than one goal in a game (Nov. 29, 2010 and Feb. 3, 2012).
- The all-time series sits at 1-51-2 in favor of Wisconsin in the 54 games played between the schools.
- Last season the Mavericks lost 3-2 in the first meeting, then lost 6-1, 4-0 and 9-1 against the Badgers.
- MSU’s only win against the Badgers came in the 2009-10 season, earning a 5-3 victory.
- The Mavericks scored four goals last season against UW as senior Emmi Leinonen, junior Lauren Smith, sophomore Tracy McCann and sophomore Kathleen Rogan scored the lamp-lighters.
- The Mavericks are 1-9 in the last ten games against Wisconsin.
- Senior Badger forward Hillary Knight scored five goals and three assists in the four-game series during the 2010-11 season. This season she has six goals and four assists against MSU.
- Brittany Ammerman has tallied four goals and six assists in the four games played against MSU this season.
- UW junior forward Brianna Decker scored five goals and seven assists in the four games against the Mavericks last season, including a hat trick on Feb. 18 at All Seasons Arena.
- The Badgers have peppered the Mavericks 352-to-157 in the shots on goal category, as well as scored 11 power-play goals and three short-handers in the past eight games played.
- The Mavericks have been shutout in the overall series 19 times. Six games have been decided by one goal or less and 14 games the teams have been within two goals or less.
- Wisconsin have beat the Mavericks by four goals or more in 26 games, including an 8-0 romp in 2008 and a 9-1 game on Feb. 19, 2011.
In the WCHA: Lauren Smith and Lauren Zrust has 19 points this season and sits tied in 36rd for points in the WCHA. Lauren Barnes has 18 points and is tied for 38th in the WCHA for points. Barnes is ranked 30th in assists with 14.
Senior Jackie Otto is currently 11th in scoring for defenseman. Otto ranks tied in 24th in power play points with nine (3-7--10).
University of Wisconsin Notes:
- Brianna Decker is second in the nation in goals with 32 and has the second most points in the country (72).
- Decker’s linemate Brooke Ammerman is third in the nation for points with 68 points, marking 27 goals and 41 assists.
- Alex Rigsby leads the nation with a .950 save percentage and is second in the country with a 1.41 goals-against average. She also is tied for the second-most shutouts on the year with seven.
- The Badgers wrapped up the regular season on Feb. 17-18 with a weekend split against Ohio State, winning last Friday’s game, 7-1, and dropping Saturday’s contest, 4-2.
- Decker, Carolyne Prévost and Ammerman led the way on Friday as they combined for
13 points in the 7-1 win.
- Last Saturday, the Buckeyes scored three goals on their first four shots on the UW tender to build an early lead. Wisconsin regained its footing after the stumble, but could only cut the deficit to one, before the Buckeyes scored in an empty-net to seal a 4-2 win over the Badgers.
-A total of 30 players were nominated for the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Among those nominated were Wisconsin’s Decker, Rigsby
and Hilary Knight.
- The group of Prévost, Decker, Ammerman and Knight have combined for a total of 111 goals and 134 assists this season. The four account for over half (.593) of the team’s
point production and have scored more than two-thirds (.702) of the team’s goals so far this season.
- Wisconsin has the best power-play and penalty-kill units in the conference. The 25.5% on the power-play also ranks second nationally, while the 88.6% on the penalty-kill ranks third.
- Knight has tied the program mark for most shorthanded goals in a season with three. Her seven career shorthanders is also tied for the program’s most.
- With 1,330 total shots on goal so far this season, the Badgers are averaging 39 shots on goal per game, the third most in the nation.
- Ammerman became the fourth Badger in program history to reach 200 career points, scoring on the power-play against St. Cloud State on Feb. 11. The senior is nine goals shy of becoming just the third player in program history to record both 100 career goals and assists.
- Wisconsin leads the nation in women’s hockey attendance, averaging 1,905 fans per game in 34 games.
- Wisconsin players have posted eight hat
tricks this season, coming from three different players.
She’s Heating Up: Sophomore forward Tracy McCann has had nine points in the last eight games she’s played, including one assist in each of the past four games. Junior forward Lauren Zrust has had two goals and an assist in the past three games.
Last Year at this Time: Minnesota State was 8-25-3 after the regular season last year. MSU was outscored 122-64 at that point. This season the Mavericks have been outscored 111-62.
First on the Board: The Mavericks are 6-5-1 after scoring the first goal and 6-1-1 when leading after two periods of action.
When Falling Behind: MSU had its only comeback win against Bemidji State
(1/6) as it stands 1-16 when trailing after the first period and 1-24 when trailing after the second period.
Takin’ the Advantage: The Mavericks have scored 18 power-play goals this season. Defensemen Jackie Otto and Emilia Andersson and winger Lauren Smith each have netted three goals on the advantage. Kari Lundberg and Kathleen Rogan have scored two goals on the power-play.
The Lauren’s Threat: Lauren Smith (9-10--19) co-leads the team in points as she scored in both games against UND two weeks ago. Lauren Zrust (6-13--19) shares the team-lead in points this season as she scored and marked a helper last weekend in Duluth. Sophomore Lauren Barnes leads the team in assists (4-14--18) as she stands one point behind Smith and Zrust.
The One-Two Punch: Sophomore Kathleen Rogan and junior Lauren Smith returned to the 2011-12 season as the top two players in points, assists and shots from a year ago. Rogan went 12-9--21 with 86 shots and Smith went 4-11--15 with a total of 104 shots a season ago. The duo started off where its left off last season as Smith earned eight points in the first three games of the season and Rogan scored five goals in the first two games of the season before she had a season-ending injury against the Gophers (10/8). With Rogan out for the season, sophomore Lauren Barnes (4-14--18) has stepped up her play in her first year as a Maverick and has the team-lead in assists with 14. Smith and Barnes each tallied two points last weekend. Barnes’ first goal was the deciding factor in MSU’s opener and marking four assists against LU (10/1). Rogan, Smith and Barnes each scored four points in the Saturday contest against LU (10/1), landing them tied for second at MSU in most points in a game. Barnes and Smith tied the school record for assists in a game (10/1) with four.
Power Play Tallies: The MSU power play ranks 17th in the nation this season as the Mavericks have gone 18-for-107 (16.8 percent) with 144 shots while on the advantage. Senior Jackie Otto, junior Emilia Andersson and junior Lauren Smith lead the Mavericks in power-play goals with three. Kari Lundberg, Lauren Zrust and Kathleen Rogan and each have scored two power-play goals as Ariel Mackley, Lauren Zrust and Emmi Leinonen have one. A year ago, the Mavericks scored power-play goals in eight different games. Of those games they scored a power-play goal in, they won five games. This season Minnesota State has scored power-play goals in 13 games, winning just four of those games and tied one.
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