What's On Tap: Minnesota State will face a familiar foe in #6/7 Minnesota Duluth this weekend at All Seasons Arena in Mankato. The Mavericks will look to stop a seven-game skid against the Bulldogs.
The Mavericks (2-19-1, 0-15-1 WCHA) and Bulldogs (15-6-3, 10-6-2 WCHA) will square off Friday at 7:07 p.m. before playing an afternoon game on Saturday at 3:07 p.m.
Last Time on the Ice: Minnesota State battled #2 Minnesota in a home-and-home series. The Mavericks lost Friday night at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis 7-3 before dropping the final game on Saturday at All Seasons Arena, 7-1.
The Gophers came out on Friday and scored the first three goals in the game. Senior
Kathleen Rogan recorded her third goal of the year to cut into the deficit, but the U of M answered back with two more goals to go up 5-1. Redshirt freshman
Sara Bustad netted her first career goal at 17:48 of the second period while senior
Casey Hirsch notched her second goal of the year off a rebound in front. The Gophers high-powered offense proved to be too much as they outshot MSU 61-19 in the win.
Minnesota tallied another seven goals on Saturday while the Mavericks lone goal came off the stick of freshman
Hannah Davidson, her fourth of the year, as the Gophers defeated the Mavericks 7-1.
Looking at the Bulldogs: Minnesota Duluth comes into the weekend with an overall record of 15-6-3 and a 10-6-2 record in WCHA play. The Bulldogs moved up to #6 in the USCHO.com poll and retained the #7 ranking in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll after sweeping St. Cloud State last weekend.
Minnesota Duluth is led by head coach Shannon Miller who has compiled a 378-138-48 record in 16 seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs program. Sophomore Ashleigh Brykaliuk (F, 5-7, Brandon, Man.) leads the team with 24 points after recording 11 goals and 13 assists in 24 games this season. Senior Zoe Hickel (F, 5-6, Anchorage, Ala.) has 13 goals ,which leads the team, and eight assists for 21 points while sophomore Lara Stalder (D, 5-6, Lucerne, Switz.) has recorded 6-14--20 in 24 games. Junior netminder Kayla Black (G, 5-8, Blyth, Ont.) has seen the majority of playing time in goal for the Bulldogs and owns a record of 14-6-3 with a goals against average of 1.73 and a save percentage of .932.
The Bulldogs are averaging 2.74 goals per game while allowing 1.88 goals per game. They are also outshooting their opponents averaging 33.3 shots per game while allowing 25.8.
Last Time Around: The Mavericks have lost seven straight games against the Bulldogs. This season UMD swept MSU at AMSOIL Arena by scores of 3-0 and 6-3, respectively
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 160-368-48 (.319) record in 576 total games played. The Mavericks are in their 16th year as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and boast an 89-289-40 (.262) mark in 416 league contests.
Freshman Impact: Eight different freshman have scored a point so for this season for the Purple and Gold.
Elin Johansson scored the Mavericks first goal of the season against UND.
Hannah Davidson has recorded six assists and five goals for 11 points.
Nicole Schammel leads the team in points (13), assists (9) and has four goals.
Anna Keys has two goals and two assists while
Lindsey Coleman,
Emma Wittchow,
Amanda Conway and
Amanda Martin each have totaled at least one assist on the season.
Schammel Leading the Way: Freshman
Nicole Schammel leads the Mavericks in scoring this season tallying 4-9--13 in 22 games this season. She also ranks fourth in the WCHA in scoring by freshman and was the only member of the team to record a point in each of the contests last weekend.
Climbing the Ranks: Senior
Kathleen Rogan continues to climb the career scoring list at MSU. She only needs five points to move up to fourth place on the list.
Maverick Career Scoring Leaders1. Maggie Fischer (05-09) 141 57 52 109
2. Christina Lee (06-10) 139 43 52 95
3. Lauren Smith (09-13) 139 44 50 94
4. Kristina Bunker (04-08) 140 31 47 78
5. Kala Buganski (06-10) 136 33 43 76
Ashley Young (05-10) 122 27 49 76
7. Kathleen Rogan (10-SA)121 38 36 74
8. Tracy McCann (10-14) 141 36 35 71
MSU vs. Opponents: Minnesota State is averaging 1.32 goals per game this season while allowing 4.14. They are also being outshot and are averaging 19.5 shots compared to their opponents 42.7 shots per game.
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 Minnesota. 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.
Protecting Our House: Minnesota State will play its next five games at home. MSU dropped its first series at home to start the season against North Dakota at all Seasons Arena and most recently lost to second-rated Minnesota. The Mavericks now stand 91-157-29 all-time at home. The Mavericks have called the arena home since their inception in 1998.
Road Warriors: The Purple and Gold are 2-11-1 on the road so far this season and most recently took two out of three games from Lindenwood. The Mavericks owned a 6-13-0 record on the road last season.
Beat the Best to Be the Best: Three teams in the WCHA are ranked in the top-ten of either the USCHO or USA Today/USA Hockey polls this week. Minnesota comes in at No. 2, Wisconsin is No. 3/4, Minnesota-Duluth comes in at No. 6/7. In addition Bemidji State, North Dakota and Ohio State are all receiving votes.
The Mavericks are 0-14-0 against top-ten ranked opponents this season losing a couple of games against North Dakota to start the season and dropping a pair of contests against Mercyhurst, Minnesota Duluth, Wisconsin, Minnesota and most recently Bemidji State.
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