MANKATO, Minn.--- Minnesota State (10-21-0, 4-20-0 WCHA) will host seventh-seed Bemidji State (4-24-2, 3-20-1 WCHA) as it looks to snap a nine-game losing streak dating back to January 13th. The action is set to start at 6 p.m. on Friday from the Mayo Clinic HSEC.
Last Time Out:
No. 1 Ohio State swept Minnesota State in finals 3-0 and 6-2 at the Mayo Clinic HSEC.
On Friday, all three OSU tallies registered came in the first 20 minutes of play as the Buckeyes jumped on the Mavericks early outshooting MSU 17-5 in the opening period.
MSU settled down for the remaining 40 minutes generating 15 shots on goal compared to top-ranked Ohio State's 16. Freshman
Jenessa Gazdik led the Mavericks' efforts in shutting down OSU's scoring ability accumulating half of MSU's 12 blocks. The Gazdik duo was responsible for eight blocks on the day.
On Saturday, the Mavericks came prepared for battle as Minnesota State jumped out to the early lead in the opening minutes of the first period. Senior
Charlotte Akervik's rocket from the point just 4:21 into regulation was mishandled by OSU's goaltender allowing sophomore
Whitney Tuttle to hammer home her tenth tally of the season.
After MSU took a one-goal lead into the first intermission, OSU found their footing collecting six goals over the remaining 40 minutes of play while also outshooting Minnesota State 28-14. The Mavericks answered back in the final minutes of regulation on the power play seeing junior
Claire Vekich notch her sixth tally of the season. On the goal, senior
Madison Mashuga and freshman
Jenessa Gazdik registered assists on the play.
Taking on BSU:
Bemidji State (4-24-2, 3-20-1 WCHA) sits behind Minnesota State by three points in the WCHA standings with ten. BSU's only WCHA victories this season came against Minnesota State on November 11th and St.Thomas on January 27th.
In the last four games, BSU has given up 37 goals to Ohio State and Wisconsin averaging 9.25 goals against per game. As a result, the Beavers drop to the bottom of D1 Women's Hockey (44th) with a -3.57 scoring margin per game. Bemidji State has accumulated 4.77 goals allowed per game ranking last in the WCHA.
Despite the number of goals against, BSU leads the WCHA in blocked shots averaging 17.90 blocks per game. Minnesota State is second in the conference in blocks averaging 13.32 blocks per game. Freshman defender Riley Reeves leads the team in blocks with 80 through 28 games played. As a team, BSU has registered 537 blocks this season compared to the Mavericks' 413.
BSU is second in the WCHA in penalties (101) /penalty minutes per game (7:50) behind Minnesota. As a result, Bemidji State's penalty kill ranks at the bottom of the conference. Minnesota State has been the most disciplined team in the WCHA this season ranking last in penalty minutes per game at (5:54).
Bemidji State's offensive is led by senior Taylor Nelson and freshman Hailey Armstrong combining for 16 goals on the season. In net, BSU relies on its duo of Abbie Thompson and freshman Eva Filippova who have combined for a 4.66 goals-against average and a .877 save percentage. Filippova is responsible for all four BSU victories as well as the only BSU shutout this season.
