What's On Tap: The Minnesota State women's hockey team will take a break from WCHA play as they travel to Erie, Pa., to take on No. 8/9 Mercyhurst on Friday at 2 p.m., before battling the Lakers in another afternoon contest on Saturday at 1 p.m.

MSU is searching for its first win of the season. The Mavericks have started 0-3-1 and are 0-3-1 in WCHA play.

Looking Back at Last Week: Minnesota State played a home-and-home series last weekend against the Huskies of St. Cloud State. The Mavericks dropped the first game at All Seasons Arena 5-1 but came back and tied the Huskies on their home ice by a score of 1-1. SCSU gained an extra point in the standings winning the shootout 1-0.

Sophomore Savannah Quandt scored the Mavericks lone goal on Friday night which was her first of the season and second career goal. The Mavericks fell behind 3-0 and could not recover from the slow start. Sophomore Brianna Quade's 49 saves weren't enough as she fell to 0-2-0 on the season.

Saturday night the Huskies and Mavericks skated to a scoreless first period. MSU would strike in the second period of play as senior Natalie Stoltz tallied a short-handed goal to give MSU a 1-0 lead. SCSU responded with a short-handed goal of its own in the third period to tie up the game. Neither team was able to score in overtime and the Mavericks went into their first shootout of the young season. In the shootout MSU was unable to get a shot past SCSU goaltender Katie Fitzgerald dropping the shootout 1-0.

Looking at the Lakers: Mercyhurst has jumped out to a fast start with a record of 4-1-1 and have yet to play a conference game this year. The Lakers moved up this week in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey polls coming in at No. 8 and 9 respecively.

The Lakers are guided by head coach Michael Sisti who is in his 16th year and has been with the program since its inception. Sisti holds a 391-109-35 record and has guided Mercyhurst to NCAA appearences the last 10 seasons including NCAA Frozen Four appearences the past two seasons. The Lakers are led by junior Emily Janiga (F, 5-10, East Aurora, N.Y.) who has four goals and three assists for seven points. Junior Jenna Dingeldein (F, 6-1, Toronto, Ont.) leads the team with five assists while adding one goal. Senior Amanda Makela (G, 5-9, Thunder Bay, Ont.) has started all six games in net for the Lakers and owns a goals against average of 1.16 and a save percentage of .944.

The Lakers are averageing two goals a game and outshooting their opponents 191-127. In addition they have been penalized 24 times for 48 minutes.
 
Last Time Around: Last season MSU defeated the Lakers, who were ranked No. 7/8, in its season opener 4-2 at All Seasons Arena before dropping game two 3-2. MU holds the all-time series lead with a record of 3-13-0.

Minnesota State All-Time: The MSU women's hockey program - started in 1998-99 - is currently in its 17th season of competition and has compiled a 158-352-48 (.326) record in 558 total games played. The Mavericks are in their 16th year as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and boast an 89-277-40 (.270) mark in 404 league contests.

Welcome to Mankato: The Mavericks bring in 12 freshman to this seasons squad including eight forwards, three defenseman, and one goalie. Five of the newcomers will continue to play in their home state of Minensota. Three other players come to the Mavericks from Arizona, Colorado and Illinois. The final four come from outside the United States with two coming from Ontario, Canada and the other two from Sweden and Norway.

Stoltz File: Senior Natalie Stoltz leads the Mavericks in scoring this season posting 1-1-2. She assisted in the Mavericks first goal of the season against North Dakota and scored the lone goal in a 1-1 tie with St. Cloud State this past Saturday.

Freshman Impact: Four different freshman have scored a point so for this season. Elin Johansson scored the Mavericks first goal of the season while Lindsey Coleman, Hannah Davidson and Nicole Schammel each have an assist on the season.

MSU vs. Opponents: The Mavericks are averaging 0.8 goals per game compared to allowing 3.2. They are also being outshot 172-73 so far and will need to keep the shots closer this weekend against a tough opponent in Mercyhurst who currently is outshooting its opponents 191-127.

Protecting Our House: MSU dropped its first series at home this weekend against North Dakota at all Seasons Arena. The Mavericks now stand 91-151-29 all-time at home.  The Mavericks  have called the arena home since their inception in 1998.

Road Warriors: The Purple and Gold are 0-0-1 on the road so far this season as they tied St. Cloud State last Saturday. The Mavericks owned a 6-13-0 record on the road last season and swept Lindenwood on Oct. 11-12 and North Dakota on Feb. 15-16.

Beat the Best to Be the Best:  Three teams in the WCHA are ranked in the top-ten of the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey polls this week. Minnesota comes in at No. 1, Wisconsin is No.2, and North Dakota is No. 8 in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll and No. 9 in the USCHO poll.

The Mavericks are 0-2-0 against top-ten ranked oppenents this season losing a couple of games against North Dakota to start the season.

To view the complete PDF release click HERE.