What's On Tap: Minnesota State women's hockey travels east to participate in the D1 in D.C. Tournament at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va., over Thanksgiving weekend. Minnesota State is slated to face Boston University at 12:00 p.m. CST on Friday and Northeastern at 3:00 p.m. CST on Saturday. Both games are nonconference matchups.  
 
Last Time on the Ice: The Mavericks (2-11-1, 1-9-0-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) dropped a pair of one-goal games as they continued WCHA play against Minnesota Duluth at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. The Mavericks suffered a 2-1 setback on Friday and a 3-2 defeat on Saturday.

Fab Frosh: Freshman center Brittyn Fleming (2-7--9) led all WCHA freshmen with a .917 face-off win percentage after winning 11-of-12 face-offs last week. She tallied four shots on goal over the weekend and tallied her seventh assist of the season on sophomore forward Sofia Poinar's goal on Saturday, which pulled the Mavericks within one goal of the Bulldogs. In addition, Fleming blocked two shots.

Mighty McLaughlin: Junior forward Jordan McLaughlin (5-5--10) is on pace to have her best collegiate season. She scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday. At the time, McLaughlin's goal gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. McLaughlin – the team leader in points – has tied her collegiate highs for goals, assists and points in a single season. She had previously tallied five goals and 10 points in 2015-16. She garnered five assists in both 2015-16 and 2016-17.
 
Poinar's Offensive Surge: Sophomore forward Sofia Poinar (1-1--2) tallied her first two points of the season against Minnesota Duluth over the weekend. She tallied her first collegiate assist on the Mavericks' lone goal in Friday's game at Minnesota Duluth. She followed up Friday's performance with her first goal of the season on Saturday. With Minnesota State trailing 3-1 and the Maverick goaltender pulled for an extra attacked, Poinar scored at 19:20 of the third period of Saturday's game to pull Minnesota State within one goal of Minnesota Duluth. She also tallied a +2 rating, three shots on goal and two blocked shots during the weekend series.

Between the Pipes: Junior goaltender Katie Bidulka recorded 53 saves, a .914 save percentage and a 2.54 goals against average in two starts at Minnesota Duluth over the weekend. She finished the weekend ranked third in the WCHA in three statistical categories. They are: saves, goals against average and save percentage.
 
Balanced Attack: Fourteen different Mavericks have scored a goal this season, including eight who have scored at least two goals. Junior forward Jordan McLaughlin (5-5--10) leads the team with five goals, while senior forwards Lindsey Coleman (3-3--6) and Amanda Conway (3-2--5) are tied for second with three goals each.

Clogging the Shooting Lanes: The Mavericks finished last season second in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and fourth in the nation with 568 blocked shots. Minnesota State has picked up where it left off — leading the nation with 263 blocked shots. Senior defenseman and team captain Anna Keys enters the week second in the nation with 38 blocked shots, while freshman defenseman Jessica Kondas is tied for fifth with 33 and junior Emma Wittchow is tied for 10th with 30. Minnesota State's season high for blocked shots is 33, which was achieved against then-No. 9 ranked Robert Morris on Oct. 7. The 33 blocked shots is the highest total by the Mavericks since they recorded 34 blocked shots at Wisconsin on Feb. 26, 2016.
 
Scouting Boston University: The Terriers (4-6-2, 3-5-2 Women's Hockey East) are coming off a two-game series sweep over Vermont on Friday and Saturday. The Terriers won 7-1 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday.
 
Senior forward Victoria Bach (10-10--20) is Boston University's team leader in assists (10) and points (20), while tying for the team lead in goals (10). Senior forward Rebecca Leslie (10-9--19) is tied with Bach for the team lead in goals and is second on the team in both assists (9) and points (19).

The Mavericks and the Terriers are meeting on the ice for the first time.

Scouting Northeastern: Northeastern (7-7-2, 5-4-1 WHEA) last split a two-game WHEA home series with Maine on Saturday and Sunday. The Huskies won the first game 3-0 before losing the series finale 2-0.
 
Junior forward Kasidy Anderson (7-4--11) and senior forward McKenna Brand (7-3--10) are tied for the team lead in goals with seven each.  
 
Minnesota State has yet to face Northeastern in program history.
 
Looking Ahead: Minnesota State faces the Minnesota Whitecaps in a pair of exhibition games on Dec. 1-2 at Verizon Center.