What's On Tap: Minnesota State women's hockey travels to face No. 2 Minnesota in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series this weekend in Minneapolis. The games are scheduled for Friday at 6:07 p.m., and Sunday at 2:07 p.m. 

Looking Back at Last Weekend: The Mavericks (2-7-1, 0-7-1-0 WCHA) faced No. 1 Wisconsin in a two-game set -- losing 3-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday.

Sophomore Surge: Sophomore forward Emily Antony recorded her second assist of 2016-17 -- the 12th of her collegiate career -- against No. 1 Wisconsin on Saturday at Verizon Wireless Center. The Plymouth, Minn., native garnered her assist on freshman forward Demi Gardner's second career goal. Antony has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 46 games for Minnesota State. Both of Antony's assists have come on goals by Gardner.  

Fierce Freshman: Freshman forward Demi Gardner has made an immediate impact on the Minnesota State offense. The winger has scored twice in the Mavericks' last four games, including scoring the lone goal against No. 1 Wisconsin on Saturday. Gardner's playing time has increased with her performance and she has seen playing time on the Mavericks' first line.

Pass it Like Davidson: Junior forward Hannah Davidson recorded her third assist of the season on freshman forward Demi Gardner's second career goal against No. 1 Wisconsin on Saturday. Davidson, who is the Maverick's active points leader with 36 career points on 21 assists and 15 goals, is tied with sophomore forward Emily Antony for the team lead in points (4). 

Assisting on the Play: The Mavericks have 19 assists on their 11 goals this season. Junior defenseman Anna Keys, sophomore forward Corbin Boyd and junior forward Hannah Davidson lead Minnesota State with three assists each. Sophomore forward Emily Antony is fourth on the team with two assists. 

Between the Pipes: Senior Brianna Quade (1-6-1) has made 223 saves over her eight starts for an average of 27.88 saves per game. Last weekend, Quade started both games against No. 1 Wisconsin -- collecting 68 saves over the two-game series. Quade enters the series against No. 2 Minnesota with 1,649 career saves -- the fifth most in Minnesota State history.

Shoot Away: Junior defenseman Anna Keys leads the Mavericks with 24 shots on goal, sophomore forward Emily Antony and junior forward Amanda Martin are tied for second with 19 each, Senior defender Anna Fiegert is fourth with 16, and sophomore forward Jordan McLaughlin is fifth with 15 shots.

Contributions Across Classes: The Mavericks have received offensive contributions from each class in 2016-17. The seniors have garnered one goal and three assists for four points, the juniors have tallied two goals and eight assists for 10 points, the sophomores have contributed five goals and seven assists for 12 points, and the freshmen have recorded three goals and one assist for four points. 

On the Penalty Kill: Minnesota State is 25-of-30 (.833) on the penalty kill in 2016-17. The Mavericks rank sixth in  the WCHA in penalty kill percentage.   

Scouting Minnesota: The second-ranked Golden Gophers (9-1-0, 7-1-0-0 WCHA) enter the series with the Mavericks on a six-game winning streak, including a two-game series sweep against St. Cloud State on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28. Minnesota won 5-2 on Oct. 27 and 3-0 on Oct. 28. 

Minnesota, which ranks third in the WCHA with 3.20  goals scored per game, is led on offense by sophomore forward Sarah Potomak, who leads the team in goals (9) and points (18). Potomak is also  second on the team with nine assists. 

The Golden Gophers top playmaker is junior forward Kelly Pannek, who leads the team with 11 assists.

In net, junior Sidney Peters (9-1-0) has recorded a .918 save percentage and a 1.24 goals against average.

Last Time Around: Last season, The Mavericks lost all four meetings with the Golden Gophers. When the two teams met in Minneapolis, the Mavericks lost 3-2 and 2-1 on Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, respectively.