There is no rest for the weary in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.  The University of Minnesota Duluth will travel to Grand Forks, ND to face the No. 8/10 University of North Dakota this weekend after hosting the nation's top two teams over the Bulldogs past two series.  Both games will be at Ralph Engelsted Arena on the UND campus, with Friday night set for a 7:07 p.m. start and Saturday slated for 4:07 p.m.

THE SERIES:  All-time, the Bulldogs own a 35-10-4 advantage over North Dakota.  Though UMD went just 0-2-2 against UND last season, both of the Bulldogs losses were by a single goal, and both were by score of 3-4.  Three of UMD's last five games against UND have gone into league madated shootouts, with both teams unable to claim a winner after 65 minutes of play.  In fact almost half of the Bulldogs last 10 games against North Dakota have gone into overtime (four).

The two teams last tangled back on Feb. 8-9 at AMSOIL, with UND picking up the 3-4 win on Feb. 8 before UMD grabbed the extra shootout point and both teams earned the 2-2 tie on Feb. 9.

In the first game (Feb. 8), the Bulldogs owned a three goal lead by 6:44 of the second period, powered by UMD senior forward Jamie Kenyon's two goals.  But the Bulldogs allowed North Dakota back into the game and were nursing a 2-2 tie after the second intermission.  The Bulldogs then allowed a power-play goal followed by an even strength goal 2:01 later, and despite outshooting UND 12-7 in the final period, suffered their second 3-4 loss to North Dakota over the 2013-14 season.

The following afternoon (Feb. 9) it was UMD that rallied from a 2-0 second period goal deficit to earn the tie.  A short-handed snipe by rookie Ashleigh Brykaliuk, who beat a 1-on-2 and survived a penalized hook to score, cut North Dakota's lead in half at 11:38 of the second period.  Hannah Bramm then tipped an Emma Stauber wrister from the point to equalize with just four minutes remaining in regulation.  While both teams went scoreless in the overtime, both Brykaliuk and Jenna McParland buried their shootout attempts to help the Bulldogs record the extra league point.

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA:  UND is 3-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the WCHA after sweeping Minnesota State last weekend in Mankato, Minn. by scores of 5-0 and 2-1.  Junior forward Becca Kohler leads North Dakota in scoring with four goals and five assists for nine points in four skates.  Classmate Meghan Dufault ranks second in scoring for UND with three goals and five assists for eight points.

North Dakota's goaltenders have so far played almost identical minutes, with junior Shelby Amsley-Benzie 2-0-0 with 120 minutes and 35 saves on 36 shooting attempts and sophomore Lexie Shaw 1-1-0 over 118:40 minutes with 27 saves on 31 shots.

North Dakota is led by Brian Idalski, who is in his eighth season with an overall record of 116-117-25.

LAST TIME OUT:   UMD (1-3-2, 0-3-1) responded from a 3-0 loss last Friday night at AMSOIL Arena to No. 1 Minnesota by picking up a 3-3 tie Saturday night before earning the extra shootout point in four skaters.

In Friday's 3-0 setback, Bulldog goaltender Kayla Black responded to stern accountability with 35 saves on 38 shots, and allowed just one even strength goal.

The following night the Bulldogs struck first on a quick trigger goal by senior Ema Stauber.  UMD doubled their lead 2:53 into the second period on Jenna McParland's finish of a a pretty passing play to take over the game at 2-0.  After Minnesota cut the lead to a single goal late in the second stanza, rookie Michelle Lowenhielm helped the Bulldogs cash in on the power play 3:46 into the third period.  The Gophers would add to more goals but neither team could break the stalemate.  Meghan Huertas and Katrina Mrázová both connected on their shootout attempts to secure the extra point for UMD. 

NOTES FROM THE MINNESOTA SERIES:  The Bulldogs are now 24-41-7 all-time against the Gophers.  The tie breaks UMD's 11-game winless streak against Minnesota and marks the first shootout win against the Gophers for the Bulldogs.

--UMD has now recorded four ties against teams ranked in the six or higher over the past two seasons.

--Kayla Black had 65 saves in 125 minutes of action against Minnesota, as well as two shootout saves.

--UMD is 7-3 in its last 10 shootouts dating back to the 2011-12 season.  The Bulldogs were 4-2 last season in league mandated tiebreakers.  Sophomore Katrina Mrázová is now 2-2 in her shootout goal attempts over her 22 game UMD career.

--The Bulldogs averaged 27 shots a game in the series after averaging just 19.5 the previous weekend against Wisconsin.  UMD is now averaging 31 shots a skate through its first six games.

--Jenna McParland now has five goals and two assists for seven points in 15 career outings against the Gophers.

LOWENHIELM NETS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:  Michelle Lowenhielm, a freshman from Sollentuna, Sweden, had one goal and one assist for UMD in Saturday's 3-3 tie with top-ranked Minnesota. The forward now leads the Bulldogs with five points (2g, 3a) in six games, good for fourth-best among all NCAA rookies and second in the WCHA.

MCPARLAND EYES UMD'S 100-POINT CLUB:  Jenna McParland is now just three points shy from becoming the 19th player to join UMD's 100 career point club after scoring against the Gophers last Saturday. McParland is sitting at 97 points with 45 goals and 52 assists.

LACQUETTE ON THE  RISE: With an assist in last weekend's series against Wisconsin, senior defenseman Brigette Lacquette is now sitting at 45 career points — just three shy of cracking into UMD's top-10 all-time scoring defenseman. Lacquette was already ranked ninth among all Bulldog blueliners with 13 career goals prior to the season starting. 

It should be noted Lacquette broke into the top-10 scoring defenseman as a sophomore and having played just 70 games.  Only Brittny Ralph, who nettted 19 goals in a 70 game career, found a place in the top-10 in fewer skates.

Friday Live Stats: http://www.undsports.com/liveStats/v2/icehockey/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=1635633&db_oem_id=13500
Saturday Live Stats: http://www.undsports.com/liveStats/v2/icehockey/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=1635634&db_oem_id=13500
 
Video and Audio links: http://www.undsports.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?SPID=6403&db_oem_id=13500
(like always, Video costs money, Audio is free but requires a free registration)

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