What's On Tap: Minnesota State women's hockey returns home for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series with No. 10 North Dakota on Friday and Saturday at Verizon Wireless Center. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 2:07 p.m.

Looking Back at Last Weekend: The Mavericks (6-15-2, 3-12-1-0 WCHA) lost to No. 2 Minnesota 5-3 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women's Face-Off Classic at Braemar Arena on Sunday afternoon. The game was a nonconference meeting. In the game, the Mavericks tied their season high in goals. They also scored three goals against No. 10 ranked North Dakota on Oct. 15 and Bemidji State on Dec. 3.  

Boyd's Big Game: Sophomore forward Corbin Boyd (2-7--9) recorded a career-high two goals against No. 2 Minnesota on Sunday. Boyd, who is tied with sophomore forward Emily Antony (5-7--12) for the team lead in assists, recorded a +2 rating. For her performance, Boyd earned a WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention.  

Davidson's Day: Junior forward Hannah Davidson (2-5--7) scored her second goal of the season against No. 2 Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. Davidson is the Mavericks' active-career leader in goals (16), assists (23) and points (39). 

The Youth Movement: Freshmen defensemen Jordan Jackson (0-1--1) and McKenzie Sederberg (0-2--2) each garnered one assist in the Mavericks' game with No. 2 Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. Jackson's assist was the first of her career and it was also her first career point. Sederberg's assist was the second of her career and she leads all Maverick freshmen in both assists and points. Jackson and Sederberg earned WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and WCHA Rookie of the Week Honorable Mentions, respectively. 

The Bustad Blitz: Junior forward Sara Bustad (1-1--2) recorded her first assist of the season — the fifth of her career — against No. 2 Minnesota on Sunday. 
       
May I Assist?:  Sophomore forwards Emily Antony (5-7--12) and Corbin Boyd (2-7--9) are tied for the team lead in assists. 

The Quade Quadrant: Senior netminder Brianna Quade (3-10-2), who tied her career high in wins in a season with Minnesota State's 2-1 come-from-behind victory over former-No. 3 ranked Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 10, had a stellar December — leading the nation with 152 saves. In her first game of 2017 on Sunday against No. 2 Minnesota, Quade eclipsed 30 saves for the seventh time this season — stopping 32 shots. She has seen action in 64 career games and recorded 1,866 saves — the fifth-highest save total in Minnesota State history.

Watching AMC: The forward line of sophomores Emily Antony (5-7--12) and Jordan McLaughlin (2-4--6), and junior Lindsey Coleman (4-6--10) has established itself as a potent offensive combination. The trio has combined for seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points over its last 11 games.

Clogging the Shooting Lanes: The Mavericks lead the WCHA and are third in the nation with 349 blocked shots in 2016-17. Minnesota State has tallied a season-high 22 blocked shots twice: in its 2-1 come-from-behind win over former-No. 3 ranked Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 10, and at home against No. 1 Wisconsin on Oct. 28. Junior defenseman Anna Keys (2-3--5) leads the Mavericks with 42 blocked shots on the season — the sixth most in the WCHA.

Defense on Offense: Senior defenseman Anna Fiegert (1-1--2), sophomore defenseman Megan Hinze (4-0--4) — the WCHA Defensive Player of the Month for December — and junior defenseman Anna Keys (2-3--5) have scored the Mavericks last three game-winning goals. Fiegert, Hinze and Keys garnered the game-winning goals against Bemidji State on Dec. 3, former-No. 3 ranked Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 10 and Union on Dec. 17, respectively. 

Scouting North Dakota: No. 10 North Dakota (10-7-5, 7-5-4-2), which has won three of its last five games, is coming off of a series split at Lindenwood on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17 in Wentzville, Mo. The Fighting Hawks won the first game 5-0 before losing 4-1 in the series finale.  

The Fighting Hawks are led on offense by two forwards: senior Amy Menke (6-11--17) and freshman Ryleigh Houston (5-9--14). 

In net, senior Lexie Shaw (10-6-5) has tallied a .933 save percentage, a 1.44 goals against average, and six shutouts.    

Last Time Around: The Mavericks dropped both ends of a two-game set at North Dakota on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15. Minnesota State dropped the first game 6-0 and the second game 4-3 in overtime.

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