No other goaltender in the NCAA has seen more ice time so far this season than rookie Jennifer Harss, and the No. 5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team knows exactly why.

The freshman neminder, who has been a pillar between the pipes for the Bulldogs this season, was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Defensive Player of the Week Wednesday.  The first UMD goaltender to grab the award since Kim Martin earned the honor last season on Jan. 14, (after stonewalling the same Badgers), Harss made 73 saves on 77 shots for a .948 saves percentage in a two-game WCHA series at No. 7-ranked Wisconsin last weekend, including both shootout shots she faced on Sunday.

Harss, a native of Rieden, Germany, made her first appearance in the Kohl Center last Friday (Dec. 4), making 40 saves on 42 shots on goal in a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin (the third goal was an empty-netter with :04 seconds remaining). Harss then made 33 saves last Sunday (Dec. 6) afternoon in UMD's 2-2 overtime tie with the host Badgers. After keeping the Bulldogs in the contest for 65 minutes, Harss came up with two shootout stops to help UMD earn two league points from the outing.

The rookie goaltender leads not only the WCHA but also the nation in minutes played (1178:18) and saves (559), and ranks 10th in the NCAA with a .927 saves percentage.

Harss and the Bulldogs will usher out the last series of 2009 this weekend when they host Bemidji State University at the DECC.  Game-times are set for 3:07 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.