MANKATO, Minn.--- Minnesota State (2-8-0, 0-8-0) will take on the University of St. Thomas (4-8-0, 0-8-0 WCHA) in the Hall of Fame game at Maple Grove Ice Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Mavericks will play host to the Tommies as both teams are looking for their first WCHA win.

Last Time Out:
Minnesota State battled No. 4 Minnesota last weekend in its first home-and-home series of the season dropping both by finals of 3-1 and 2-1.

Similar to the previous series, the Mavericks jumped on their opponent each game notching the first scores. On Friday at Ridder Arena, sophomore Whitney Tuttle notched her third goal on the season off a loose rebound in the paint. Fellow sophomores Kianna Roeske and Taylor Otremba collected assists on the play.

Minnesota State kept up the pressure, outshooting the Gophers 22-20 through two periods of play. The Gophers would find their footing in the final period lighting the lamp twice on 14 shots.

Freshman Hailey Hansen stopped 16 of 17 shots in 35 minutes of play. After being lifted with an injury, junior Suzette Faucher took over the helm and stopped 14 of 16.

On Saturday, freshman Lauren Zawoyski notched her first career goal in a similar fashion to Tuttle's on Friday. Sophomore Lilie Ramirez and freshman Kamryn Van Batavia notched assists on the play. Van Batavia's assist was her first apple in the purple and gold.

Minnesota came storming back under seven minutes later to tie the game at one. The Gophers would notch the go-ahead goal at the 13:36 mark of the final period.

The Gazdik twins have solidified themselves as everyday defenders seeing first-line action in both games against Minnesota. On October 7th, Jenessa Gazdik found the back of the net for her first collegiate goal against Sacred Heart. Defensively, the Gazdik duo has combined for 42 blocked shots this season leading all MSU defensive pairings.

Freshman defender JuliAnna Gazdik leads the team in blocks with 26 which is the most blocks through the first nine games of a season since Anna Wilgren (32), McKenzie Sederberg (23), and Tristen Truax (22), in the 2019-20 season. All three players from the 2019-20 season are on the MSU all-time leaderboard in block shots.

Taking on St. Thomas:  
Headlining the Tommies offense are freshman Ella Boerger and Rylee Bartz who have combined for 20 points through 12 games. Boerger and Bartz both come into Thursday's matchup with 10 points on the season.

In nine previous matchups with the Tommies, the Mavericks own a perfect 9-0 record. In goal, UST relies on a platoon of seniors Calla Frank, Olivia King, and sophomore Maggie Malecha who combine for a 4.10 goals-against average and a .870 save percentage for a 4-8-0 record.