This weekend will mark the last regular season home series for six University of Minnesota Duluth seniors, and the No. 3/4 Bulldogs are looking to send their elders out on a winning note. UMD will host Ohio State University at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center on Friday and Saturday night at 7:07 p.m. both nights. The Bulldogs will have a special presentation for the seniors following Saturday night's contest, and invite all fans to remain in attendance for the red carpet celebration.
UMD VS OHIO STATE
THE SERIES: The No. 3/4 Bulldogs are 36-3-4 all-time against Ohio State, and enjoyed a series sweep in Columbus on Nov. 14-15 earlier this season.
UMD handed the Buckeyes a 3-0 loss on Nov. 14 and a 8-3 setback the following afternoon. Junior goaltender Kim Martin, who is currently injured, earned her first shutout of the season in the 3-0 triumph. Sophomore Haley Irwin tallied one goal in the win on Nov. 14, and then followed that up with a hat trick and two helpers in the Bulldogs big 8-3 victory the following day.
Overall, UMD is 16-2-1 against Ohio State in the confines of the DECC. The Bulldogs most recent loss to the Buckeyes came on Dec. 8, 2006, when then ranked No. 10 OSU stunned the Bulldogs 3-0. UMD responded the following day to drub the Buckeyes 9-1, and since then has gone 3-0 against OSU at home. Ohio State was one of six WCHA teams that UMD went 4-0 against overall in 2007-08.
LAST WEEK: UMD (19-7-4. 14-6-4) swept Bemidji State last weekend by the scores of 3-2 and 9-0. The Bulldogs remain unbeaten against the Beavers now in 44 skates (43-0-1). Senior forward Sara O'Toole had a goal and an assist in both games, while 12 players scored at least one point in Saturday's blow-out. Eight players recorded two or more points, and three Bulldogs scored two or more goals in the game, including Laura Fridffinson, Tawni Mattila and Emmanuelle Blais. Mattila and Fridfinnson also added an assist in that contest.
PELTTARI TAKES WCHA DEFENISVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Heidi Pelttari has played 22 of the Bulldogs' 30 games this season as a forward, but after stepping on the ice 20 consecutive games as an offensive threat, the UMD junior has been rewarded for stepping back last weekend.
Pelttari was named the WCHA's Defensive Player of the Week Wednesday after she stepped back into her previous role on the blueline in the Bulldogs' two-game conference road series sweep of Bemidji State.
A native of Tampere, Finland, Pelttari had one assist in last Friday's (Feb. 6) 3-2 win over the host Beavers, with her helper coming on teammate Laura Fridfinnson's game-winning goal at 5:22 of the second period. Then in game two of the weekend series last Saturday (Feb. 7), Pelttari dished out four assists to help propel the Bulldogs to a 9-0 shutout victory over Bemidji State. Pelttari's four assists in that game marks a career-high for the multi-positioned player, who played defenseman all weekend. In addition to her five-assist series, Pelttari also put three shots on goal and earned a +2 plus/minus rating as UMD blanked BSU on all 10 of their weekend power-play opportunities.
Through 30 games this season, Pelttari has two goals and 18 assists for 20 points, ranking her fourth in scoring overall among WCHA defensemen.
A SENIOR SALUTE: Six seniors grace the Bulldogs' roster this season, and Saturday night, following the game, will be a chance for UMD and its fans to honor their accomplishments.
As a group, these six players have accumulated an overall record of 99 wins, 31 losses and 12 ties during their tenure to this point. They have reached the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game twice, and last season were the WCHA Regular and WCHA Tournament Champions. Yet perhaps their greatest legacy now etched on the UMD program will be their contributions to the 2008 NCAA title they won in the glow of the DECC faithful last season.
Here is a closer look at those six special players:
# 15 ERIN OLSON, Forward -- Elk River, Minn. Easily the most enthusiastic player in a Bulldog jersey throughout her career, Olson has skated in 120 games over the course of four seasons. She is currently tied for a career-best three points this year, all assists, and has scored two goals and five assists during her time as a Bulldog. She skated in every UMD game as a sophomore and junior equaling 78 consecutive skates in those seasons.
# 1 JOHANNA ELLISON, Goaltender -- Cloquet, Minn. A UMD transfer just in time for her junior season, Ellison has come up huge this season in a starting role. With nine starts this year to date, she is holding down a 1.83 goals against average and has a record of 9-1-1 between the pipes. Overall, she is 12-1-1 as a Bulldog, which ranks her sixth in Bulldog history in career wins, and with a 1.79 goals against average, and is ranked No. 5 all-time in UMD program history with 326 saves.
# 26 HEIDI PELTTARI, Def/Forward -- Tampere, Finland A versatile player who despite being listed as a defenseman has played 22 games this season as a forward, Pelttari has scored two goals and dished out 18 assists so far this year, and was just this week named the WCHA's Defensive Player of the Week. With 49 points in her three-year career, she was named to the 2008 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament team for her play. A 2007-08 WCHA Scholar Athlete, in addition to the 2007-08 All-WCHA Academic Team, she has played in every UMD game for the past two seasons.
# 81 MYRIAM TREPANIER, Defense -- St. Michel-de-Bellechasse, Quebec Trepanier has a career plus/minus rating of +62 and has played in 133 games, the second most of any current Bulldog. UMD's leading scoring defenseman her sophomore and junior seasons, she currently has racked up 55 career points, the seventh most from a rear-guard in Bulldog program history. She captured 2008 Frozen Four All-Tournament Team and WCHA's Final Face-Off All-Tournament Team honors a season ago, and is the Bulldog's first-ever three-time WCHA Scholar Athlete, as well as a three-time All-WCHA Academic Team member.
# 21 SARA O'TOOLE, Forward -- Burton, New Brunswick A Bulldog assistant-captain, O'Toole has improved her offensive productivity every season, and is currently enjoying the biggest scoring numbers of her career. With 32 points, including nine goals this year, she is poised to become the tenth member of UMD's 100-point club with 97 career points (36g, 61a) to her credit. Selected to the 2008 Frozen Four All-Tournament Team after scoring two goals and adding an assist on women's college hockey's greatest stage, she is arguably the most underrated, but crucial player, on the Bulldog roster.
# 9 TAWNI MATTILA, Forward, Duluth, Minn. As the first-ever Duluth native to be named a captain, Mattila is perhaps the most recognizable Bulldog ever. She has played in a team-high 135 games, and has missed just eight games total over her UMD career. This blue-collar, fan-favorite has scored seven goals so far this season, a career best, and has recorded 47 points in four years, including 21 goals. A 2007-2008 WCHA Scholar Athlete and All-WCHA Academic Team member, she was also the 2007-2008 recipient of the Shjon Podein Community Service Award, an honor that so truly sums up her character.
O'TOOLE'S 100 POINT VERGE: With teammates Saara Tuominen and Elin Holmlov already in the books this season for cracking into the 100 career-point club (Holmlov now has 110, Tuominen 109), senior forward Sara O'Toole is just three career points away from joning them.
O'Toole is sitting at 97 points (36g, 61a) and is the No. 11 scorer all-time in UMD history. If she hits 100, she will become just the tenth player in Bulldog history to reach that mark.
Sophomore forward Haley Irwin is also waiting on-deck of the 100-point club with 94 points (41g, 53a). Irwin is the first UMD player since Caroline Ouellette to potentially reach the career point milestone in her second year. Ouellette did it during the 2003-04 season, collecting 140 points on 60 goals and 89 assists by the end of her second season --- in just 64 games.
If O'Toole and Irwin reach the mark this season, however, it will mark the first time in UMD programhistory that four players in the same season will hit the career 100-point mark.
CAUTION! BANNER SEASONS IN PROGRESS: Five Bulldogs are currently in the midst of career offensive seasons. UMD leading-scorer Elin Holmlov (19g, 24a) has topped her career-best set one season ago. While it took Holmlov 36 games a season ago to reach 41 (29g, 21a), the junior forward has now recorded 43 poiints in just 25 skates this year.
The NCAA's leading point-getter from the blueline, sophomore Jocelyne Larocque has bettered her rookie season output (4-22=26) already in 28 games. Larocque has served up 32 points (4g, 28a), including four games where the defenseman has picked up three or more points in the outing. With four dishes against Minnesota on Jan. 23, Larocque set a career-high of most assists and points in a game.
Senior forward Sara O'Toole, who has increased her productivity in every season of her Bulldog career, is making sure her senior year is the most productive. O'Toole topped her junior season mark of 25 points (9g, 16a) two weekends ago, and has now earned a current sum of 32 points (9g, 23a).
Junior defenseman Jaime Rasmussen and Sarah Murray have also bypassed previous season-highs. Rasmussen --- who has scored more goals this season (6) than in her first two seasons combined (3) --- has registered 16 points in 29 games. Murray has dished out five assists this season, a career-high, and also a season-point high.
BULLDOG NOTES: Junior goaltender Kim Martin remains out indefinitly with a knee injury sustained on Jan. 18 in Mankato...Jocelyne Larocque still leads the NCAA from the blueline with an avereage of 1.14 ppg...She is ranked sixth in assists with 28 in 28 skates...Elin Holmlov is No. 9 in the NCAA with 1.72 points an outing...UMD will be back at the DECC on Feb. 27-20 when it will host the first round of the WCHA Tournament.
A GLIMPSE OF THE BUCKEYES: Ohio State is coming off a home sweep of North Dakota last weekend. The wins ended an 11-game winless streak for the Buckeyes that dated back to Dec. 12.
Ohio State is led by two rookie forwards and a senior. Freshman Laura McIntosh has a team-high 33 points (8g, 25a), followed by fellow classmate Natalie Spooner with 29 (20g, 9a) and veteran Hayley Klassen 27 (12g, 15a). Spooner was just named the WCHA's Rookie of the Week for her three goals and an assist against the Sioux last weekend.
Jackie Barto is in her tenth season behind the Buckeye bench, where she is 147-179-34.
THE BULLDOGS HEAD COACH: No coach in NCAA women's hockey history has had more success in the NCAA Frozen Four than UMD head coach Shannon Miller, now in her tenth season behind the Bulldog bench in 2008-09 after winning a fourth NCAA title with UMD in 2008.
Miller has an NCAA-best nine Frozen Four wins to accompany her NCAA-record four national titles. Her coaching portfolio also boasts an NCAA-high of eleven tournament wins.
As the only head coach UMD has ever employed, Miller has amassed an impressive overall record of 253-67-28 and has led the Bulldogs to seven NCAA playoff appearances and four NCAA Championship titles, including three straight (2001, 2002 and 2003). She has led UMD into five NCAA Frozen Four berths, including the last two NCAA Championship games in both 2007 and 2008.
While no program has won four NCAA titles, let alone three consecutive, no coach has ever reached the 250 win-plateau faster than Miller. She is just the seventh coach ever to reach it, and only the fourth ever to reach it while coaching at a single school. Already the fourth winningest coach in NCAA Division I women's hockey history, she is also just the second coach to collect 200 wins in just eight seasons.
For her efforts, Miller was named the 2000 and 2003 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year and the 2003 American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Women's Division I Coach of the Year. Along with the incredible NCAA runs, her Bulldogs have captured three WCHA regular season titles (2008, 2003, 2000) and four WCHA playoff titles (2008, 2003, 2001, 2000).
During Miller's time at the Bulldog helm, UMD has produced nine first-team All-Americans, 12 Patty Kazmaier Award Finalists, two WCHA Players of the Year, three WCHA Student-Athletes of the year and one CoSIDA Academic All-American.
ON THE AIR: The Bulldogs will be on the air with play-by-play by Tom Hansen on KDAL 610 AM. Pre-game coverage will begin 15 minutes prior to the opening face-off. UMD can be watched over the internet through B2 Networks.
