What's On Tap:  The Minnesota State women's hockey team will take its game outdoors this weekend when the Mavericks battle No. 1 Minnesota Friday (4:37 p.m.) at TCF Bank Stadium as part of the Hockey City Classic, before the two teams conclude the home-and-home conference series Sunday (1:07 p.m.) at All Seasons Arena.
 
Minnesota State (9-15-0, 4-14-0 WCHA) had won six of its last 10 contests before suffering a pair of two-goal losses to host Minnesota Duluth last weekend. Minnesota (20-1-1, 14-1-1 WCHA) enters the series as the conference leader and nation's top-ranked team after besting Ohio State, 6-0, and battling to a 2-2 draw with the Buckeyes where OSU claimed a 1-0 shootout victory a week ago.
 
Last Time on the Ice:  Minnesota State pounced on the host Bulldogs in the series opener last Friday in Duluth. Senior Tracy McCann (Lakewood, Ohio) netted her eighth goal of the year exactly 10 minutes into the contest to give MSU a 1-0 lead after the first period. However, UMD answered back in the second period by scoring a trio of power-play goals from three different juniors in Zoe Hickel, Tea Villila, and Meghan Huertas. The Mavericks applied heavy pressure to UMD sophomore Kayla Black in the third period outshooting the Bulldogs 17-14 in the period but could not find the second goal and fell by a 3-1 final.
 
Last Saturday's affair saw MSU once again claim a 1-0 first-period lead. Junior Kathleen Rogan (Vancouver, B.C.) connected with senior Nicole Germaine (Mississauga, Ont.) for a pretty two-on-one marker 13:38 into the game, but two UMD second-period goals would bookend Germaine's second of the contest, also on the power-play, to produce a 2-2 tie after 40 minutes. Bulldog senior Jamie Kenyon scored the eventual game-winner on the power-play 3:05 into the third, before Hickel tacked on an empty-net goal to solidify the 4-2 UMD win.
 
Scouting the Golden Gophers:  Minnesota has owned the nation's No. 1 ranking each week this season and sports a 20-1-1 overall record with a 14-1-1 showing in the WCHA, good for 43 points and first-place. Offensively, UM averages a blistering 4.82 goals and 40.9 shots per game, while Minnesota surrenders just 1.27 goals and 23.0 shot per game to its opponents. The Golden Gopher special team units have played a significant role as the power-play owns a 27.9% (24/86) conversion rate and the penalty-kill a 91.0% (71/78) success rate.
 
Head coach Brad Frost is in his seventh season leading the Golden Gophers and has amassed a 206-37-17 career record with UM. Four Golden Gophers have tallied double-digit points and assists thus far led by sophomore Hannah Brandt (F, 5-6, Vadnais Heights, Minn.) with 13-23=36. Junior Rachel Bona (F, 5-5, Coon Rapids, Minn.) is right behind with 12-23=35 and followed by a pair of seniors, Kelly Terry (F, 5-6, Whitby, Ont.) and Sarah Davis (F, 5-4, Paradise, NFLD), who have totaled 12-18=30 and 12-17=29, respectively. In 22 starts between the pipes, sophomore Amanda Leveille (G, 5-7, Kingston, Ont.) owns a .944 saves pecentage and 1.30 goals against average including six shutouts.
 
Inside the MSU-UM Series: Minnesota State stands 3-59-3 all-time against Minnesota. The Mavericks dropped both contests in a home-and-home with the Golden Gophers earlier this season and will try to capture their first win over UM under head coach Eric Means this weekend.
 
Minnesota State All-Time: The MSU women's hockey program - started in 1998-99 - is currently in its 16th season of competition and has compiled a 154-351-46 (.321) record in 551 total games played.  The Mavericks are in their 15th year as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and hold an 86-266-38 (.269) mark in 390 league contests.

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