What's On Tap: The Minnesota State women's hockey team will battle Bemidji State this weekend at All Seasons Arena. It will be the team's last home games of the season.

The Mavericks (3-25-1, 1-21-1 WCHA) and Beavers (16-13-1, 11-12-1 WCHA) will square off Friday night at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 3:07 p.m. The six senior's on this year's squad will be honored before Saturday's contest for their hard work and dedication they have put forth for the program.

Last Time on the Ice: Minnesota State took a trip out west to take on the Buckeyes of Ohio State in Columbus on Friday and Saturday. OSU took both games by scores of 3-2 and 6-0, respectively.

On Friday the Mavericks found themselves behind 2-0 after two periods of play but were able to come back and tie the game up late. MSU's top line of senior Kathleen Rogan, freshman Hannah Davidson and freshman Nicole Schammel hooked up for the first goal with Schammel marking her eighth of the year. With 15:53 to go in the final period, Schammel tied up the score with a short-handed goal. But the Buckeyes answered with a power-play goal less than a minute later to take the first game by a final score of 3-2.

On Saturday the Mavericks and Buckeyes were scoreless until 14:33 of the opening period when OSU finally got on the board. It was 31 seconds later when the Buckeyes tallied their second goal of the game. OSU netminder Kassidy Sauve was able to gobble up any scoring opportunity MSU had as the Buckeyes skated to a 6-0 win.

Looking at the Beavers: Bemidji State comes into the weekend the owner of an overall record of 16-13-1 and a 11-12-1 record in WCHA play. BSU sits in sixth place in the conference and just six points separates itself, Ohio State and North Dakota for the final home spot in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Beavers are coming off a weekend in which they swept St. Cloud State in Bemidji by scores of 3-1 and 1-0, respectively.

Bemidji State is led by head coach James Scanlan who is in his first season at the helm of the Beavers program. Junior Kaitlyn Tougas (F, 5-4, Thunder Bay, Ont.) is the leading scorer for BSU tallying 9-13--22 in 30 games played. Junior Ivana Bilic (D, 5-7, Coquitlam, B.C.) is second on the team in scoring tallying five goals and 14 assists. Sophomore goaltender Brittni Mowat has played 24 games in goal owning a 14-9-1 record for BSU. She has recorded a 1.57 goals against average and a save percentage of .947

The Beavers are averaging 2.27 goals per game while allowing 1.70 and  are averaging 27.8 shots per game while allowing 24.6.

Last Time Around: The Mavericks and Beavers faced off in Bemidji earlier this season. BSU swept MSU by scores of 7-4 and 2-0, 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 161-374-48 (.317) record in 583 total games played. The Mavericks are in their 16th year as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and boast an 90-295-40 (.260) mark in 423 league contests.

MSU vs. Opponents: Minnesota State is averaging 1.28 goals per game this season while allowing 4.31.  They are also being outshot and are averaging 18.7 shots compared  to their opponents 42.8 shots per game.

Freshman Impact: Nine 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 eight assists and six goals for 14 points. Nicole Schammel leads the team in points (19), assists (10) and has goals (9). Anna Keys has two goals and three assists while Lindsey Coleman, Emma Wittchow, Amanda Conway and Amanda Martin each have recorded at leas one point as well. Sara Bustad has recorded one goal and two assists this season.

Schammel's Hot Streak: Freshman Nicole Schammel continues to prove she is one of the best rookies in the WCHA. The two-time WCHA Rookie of the Week honoree leads the team in goals (9), assists (10) and points (19). In her last three games, she has compiled 14 shots, five goals, and one assist. She ranks fourth in the WCHA in scoring by freshman this season. She recorded both goals last weekend against Ohio State and recorded her first career hat trick against SCSU.

Climbing the Ranks: Senior Kathleen Rogan continues to climb the career scoring list at MSU. She recorded three assists against St. Cloud State on Monday and added another assist against Ohio State to move up to fourth all time.

Maverick Career Scoring Leaders
1. 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
    Kathleen Rogan (10-SA)    128    38    40    78
6. Kala Buganski (06-10)    136    33    43    76
    Ashley Young (05-10)    122    27    49    76
8. Tracy McCann (10-14)    141    36    35    71

In addition, senior Shelby Moteyunas continues to creep up the all-time scoring list by defenseman at MSU. Moteyunas has recorded 2-5--7 this season in 27 games including three points in the last three games. She now sits in fifth place all time in scoring by defenseman.

Maverick Defenseman Scoring Leaders
1. Emilia Anderson (08-13)    138    11    39    50
2. Holly Snyder (06-10)    135    10    37    47
3. Jackie Otto (08-12)    142    7    26    33
4. Amber Sharratt (02-06)    138    5    27    32
5. Shelby Moteyunas (11-SA)    121    7    19    26
6. Andreanne Thibault (04-08)    137    7    14    21

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 has two more games left at home this season. MSU picked up its first home win of the season against St. Cloud State on Monday. The Mavericks now stand 92-159-29 all-time at home.  The Mavericks  have called the arena home since their inception in 1998.

Road Warriors: The Purple and Gold are 2-13-1 on the road so far this season and most recently lost a couple of contests against Ohio State. The Mavericks owned a 6-13-0 record on the road last season.

Beat the Best to Be the Best:  Four 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 and Wisconsin is No. 3 in both polls. Minnesota-Duluth comes in at No. 6 in both polls. North Dakota is No. 8 in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll and No. 9 in the USCHO poll while Bemidji State and Ohio State are each receiving votes in the poll as well.

The Mavericks are 0-18-0 against top-ten ranked opponents this season losing a couple of games against North Dakota to start the season and dropping contests against Mercyhurst, Minnesota Duluth, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Bemidji State.

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