What's On Tap: The Minnesota State women's hockey team takes on the Lady Lions of Lindenwood University this coming Sunday and Monday in Mankato.

The 2-15-1 (0-14-0 WCHA) Mavericks and  the 4-12-4 Lady Lions (2-4-4 CHA), a team who are 1-2-2 in their last five matches, square off in Mankato January 8-9.  Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 2:07 p.m. at Verizon Wireless Center.

Last Time on the Ice:  Over one month ago (Nov. 27-28), the Mavericks lost a pair of WCHA games after hosting No. 3 Minnesota, being downed by a combined score or 13-2.

In Friday's match up, the Gophers were able to net five first-period goals and didn't let up afterwards.  

Minnesota's offense put up two more tallies before Minnesota State countered with a goal of their own at 10:28 of the second period when sophomore  Amanda Conway (Naperville, Ill.) scored her fourth marker of the season.

Minnesota went on the generate four more goals before the final horn sounded, ending the game at 11-1.  

Maverick goaltender, junior Brianna Quade (Newcastle, Ont.) took the loss in the game, stopping 11 shots and playing 30 minutes.  Sophomore, Katie Bidulka (Oakville, Ont.) took over the netminder duties for the second 30-minutes of the game, making 14 saves and allowing four goals.  The final shot count on the day was 36-17 in favor of Minnesota.

Game two played much differently than the first as Minnesota State allowed just two goals in the 60-minute match.  Minnesota jumped out to a 1-0 advantage at 11:05 of the first when Cara Piazza tallied her eighth goal of the season, scooting the puck past a screened Quade.  

Then at 10:33 of the second period, sophomore Hannah Davidson (Kincardine, Ont.) buried her fourth marker of the season in a skirmish in front of Gopher goaltender Sidney Peters.  The play was set up when junior Anna Fiegert (Landshut, Germany) bounced passed the puck from MSU's defensive end up to a streaking Savannah Quandt (Mankato, Minn.) who tapped the puck out front to Davidson to put home on the power play.  Just four minutes later, Minnesota's Dani Cameranesi put home her third goal of the series for what proved to be the game-winner at 14:32.  

As the final whistle blew, Quade had stopped 29 of Minnesota's 31 shots with Minnesota State ousting the Gophers on the man advantage by going 1-3 compared to Minnesota's 0-3.

Looking at the Lady Lions:  Lindenwood University has compiled a record of 4-12-4 and are 2-4-4 in College Hockey America action. Most recently the Lady Lions tied and lost to Robert Morris University on December 12th and 13th by scores of 3-3 and 4-1.

Lindenwood University is led by head coach Scott Spencer who is in his second year at the helm of the program and brings a 14-33-6 record to the table.  Senior Shara Jasper is the leading scorer for LU totaling 12-8--20.  Following Jasper is sophomore Sarah Bobrowski  and freshman Shannon Morris-Reade who have generated 15 and 14 points on the season, respectively.  Senior Nicole Hensley has played 16 games in goal for the Lady Lions and owns a record of 3-9-4. She boasts a 0.927 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.47.

The Lady Lions are averaging 1.90 goals per game while allowing 2.80 per game. They are also killing off penalties at a 73.5 percent clip and have gone 7 of 63 on the man advantage.

Last Time Around: The Mavericks own a 12-1-0 record against the Lady Lions in a series that dates back to 2011.  Last season, MSU defeated LU by scores of 4-1 and 3-2 before losing in the last game of a three-match series 3-1 in St. Charles, Mo.

Minnesota State All-Time: The MSU women's hockey program - started in 1998-99 - is currently in its 18th season of competition and has compiled a 163-386-49 (.314) record in 598 total games played. The Mavericks are in their 17th year as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and hold an 83-293-39 (.248) mark in 414 league contests.

Road Warriors:  The Mavericks have played 10 of their 16 road games thus far in the 2015-16 season, The road schedule features 14 WCHA games as well as a trip to the state of New York, where MSU split with RIT in Rochester, N.Y.  Oct. 2-3, 2015.  Minnesota State has compiled a 1-9-0 record on the road so far.

Looking Ahead:  After hosting Lindenwood University, Minnesota State will take on St. Cloud State in Mankato January 8-9 at Verizon Wireless Center.


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