DULUTH, Minn. -- The first game of a Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal playoff series between Minnesota State Mavericks and No. 5-rated Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs concluded with the Bulldogs holding on for 5-4 victory, Friday at AMSOIL Arena.

With the loss, Minnesota State falls to 14-18-1 overall while Minnesota Duluth improves to 23-9-1 with the win. MSU faces elimination from the WCHA Playoffs with another loss to UMD.

Scoring came early and often in Friday's affair. Maverick forward Kelsey King struck first 1:57 into the contest when she beat UMD netminder Emma Soderberg with a five-hole shot on a breakaway. At the 4:29 mark, the Bulldogs tied the game, 1-1, when Elizabeth Giguere ripped a shot past Chantal Burke's trapper, off the right post and into the goal. Thirty seconds later at the 4:59 mark, Kylie Hanley put the Bulldogs up 2-1. After King scored again to tie the game 2-2 at 13:35, Brooke Bryant tapped in a backdoor pass from Maddie Mashuga to give MSU a 3-2 lead with 40 seconds remaining in the first period. After 20 minutes of play, MSU led UMD by one goal while UMD had the upperhand in shots, 15-5. 

The second period saw UMD's Naomi Rogge score three consecutive times in the second period (at 2:04, 9:01 and 16:58) to earn a natural hattrick, which gave the Bulldogs a 5-3 advantage after two periods of play. UMD also carried a 29-23 lead in shots at the second intermission.

In the final period, senior forward Brittyn Fleming scored her 17th goal of the season with 47.2 seconds remaining when she whipped a turnaround-backhand shot from the slot that slid through the five-hole of Jojo Chobak to shrink the deficit to 5-4. However, the Mavericks were unable to score a fifth goal to tie the game as UMD held on to win game one in the best-of-three series, 5-4. The Mavericks had a strong third period, which saw them outshoot the Bulldogs 14-11. In total, UMD came out on top in shots, 40-37.

Fleming, who registered a pair of points with a goal and an assist, broke MSU's all-time record for points when she assisted on King's second goal of the game in the first period. Fleming's 110th and 111th career points set her apart from Maggie Fisher (109 points from 2005-09).

While on the power play, UMD scored the game's only goal and went 1-1 with the player advantage. MSU finished the game 0-2 on the power play.

The Mavericks and Bulldogs rematch Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Mavericks must win the game to stave off elimination from the WCHA Playoffs.

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