DULUTH, Minn. -- The Mavericks fell victim of a sweep after being handed a 5-3 loss in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game played against the No. 5-rated Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, Saturday afternoon at AMSOIL Arena.
MSU now stands 12-13-1 overall with an 8-13-1 record in the WCHA. UMD improved to 16-8-0 and 13-7-0 in the WCHA with the win.
The Mavericks offensive charge was led by defensemen Charlotte Akervik and Taylor Wemple, who each had a goal and an assist in the contest.
The Bulldogs owned the score column in the opening period thanks to a pair of goals near the top of each circle from Elizabeth Giguere at the 8:18 and 9:13 marks of the first period. After one period of play, MSU trailed UMD 2-0 while edging the Bulldogs 6-5 in shots on goal.
The Mavericks reversed the script in a similar manner during the middle period, scoring a pair of goals one minute apart. First, Alexis Paddington brought the Mavericks within one at 4:44 with a wrist shot from the left dasher that had eyes for the goal and beat UMD's Jojo Chobak over her glove into the top-left corner. Then, one minute later at 5:44, Wemple picked up a loose puck in the high slot and ripped a low five-hole shot which tied the game, 2-2. After 40 minutes, both sides were tied at two while MSU owned a 17-12 advantage in shots.
The Bulldogs pulled away from the Mavericks in the third period after scoring back-to-back goals roughly a minute apart for the second time in Saturday's contest. Gabbie Hughes drove the net from the right corner and beat MSU's Calla Frank five-hole for the go-ahead goal at 4:15 before Clara Van Wieren scored an insurance goal at 5:48 to put the Bulldogs up 4-2. At 15:09 of the third period, Akervik capitalized on a pass from King in the slot to bring MSU within one, 4-3. Then, Bulldogs' forward Anna Klein iced the game with an empty-net goal which put UMD up 5-3 with 44.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Klein's empty-net dagger helped UMD secure the 5-3 victory and the series sweep over MSU.
In goal for MSU, Frank, now 10-11-1 on the season following the loss, stopped 20 of the 24 UMD shots she faced in the contest.
After MSU led in shots throughout most of the contest, UMD came out on top late and won the shots battle 25-22. The Bulldogs were the only side to score with the advantage in Saturday's game. While UMD was 1-for-1 on the power play, MSU failed to score on three power-play chances.
In their next action, the Mavericks play host to the #3/2 Ohio State Buckeyes next Friday and Saturday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
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