After a weekend off from outside competition for all but four members of the University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team, the Bulldogs will jump back into to Western Collegiate Hockey Association action.  UMD will travel to St. Cloud, Minn. to face St. Cloud State University at 7:07 p.m. Friday night and 3:07 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

USCHO RANKING:  UMD-- 9th, St. Cloud State-- N/A
USA TODAY/USA HOCKEY MAG: UMD-- 9th, St. Cloud State-- N/A

THE SERIES:  UMD owns an assertive 50-10-4 record all-time against the Huskies after going 2-1-1 against SCSU last season.  The Bulldogs were actually outscored in those four games 6-7, however.

The two squads last tangled over a year ago on Dec. 13-14, 2013, a series sweep for UMD in St. Cloud by identical 2-1 scores.  On Dec. 13, the Bulldogs were guided by then senior forward Jamie Kenyon's two first period goals that came midway through the first period and were netted just 2:25 apart.  The Bulldogs logged just one more shot on goal than did SCSU (26-25) but were called for 12 minutes of penalties compared to just four minutes against the Huskies.  UMD was 1-of-6 on the penalty kill and goaltender Kayla Black made 24 saves in the skate.

On the afternoon of Dec. 14th, Kenyon again buried the first Bulldog goal 5:44 into play.  After a second period goal by St. Cloud, the game was tied at 1-1 until Jenna McParland went bar down with just 14 seconds remaining in the contest to seal the series sweep.  Black made 25 saves for UMD.

LAST TIME OUT:  UMD (6-4-2, 3-4-1-1) picked up its second-straight series sweep with 3-0 and 6-3 victories over Minnesota State on the weekend of Nov. 1-2.  Jenna McParland led the Bulldogs with two goals, netting the first and third goals in the Nov. 1, 3-0 win.  Senior Brienna Gillanders had the other UMD goal, while junior goaltender Kayla Black earned her 12th career shutout.

Sunday was the Ashleigh Brykaliuk and Katerina Mrázová show, with the two sophomores having a hand in the first five of UMD's six total goals.  Brykaliuk opened the scoring at 3:46 in the first period, and then scored the game-winning power play goal at 7:30 of the third period.  Brkaliuk finished with two goals and two assists, while Mrázovå finished with four assists.  In all, four player registered two or more points in the contest, including blueliners Tea Villila and Brigette Lacquette, who each contributed two assists.

NOTES FROM THE MINNESOTA STATE SERIES:  
The Bulldogs have now won six-straight games against MSU, dating back to the 2012-13 season.  All-time, UMD improved to 55-6-4 against the Mavericks.  

--UMD put 106 shots on net against MSU, while holding the Mavericks to 34.  62 of the Bulldogs shot came in the 3-0 win Saturday, the most shots on goal by a UMD squad since the Bulldogs romped Connecticut back on Oct. 23, 2010.  Prior to that, UMD had 64 shots in the NCAA championship against Cornell on March 21, 2010.

--The Bulldogs have now won their last their last five games and are 5-1-1 in their last seven outings.

BULLDOG NOTES:  Ashleigh Brykaliuk has now extended her current scoring streak to four games, having scored four goals and three assists for seven points.  Jenna McParland has a three-game scoring streak intact, with three goals and an assist for four points, while both Zoe Hickel (4g, 2a) and rookie forward Michelle Lowenhielm (3a) also have contributed points in their last three outings.

In fact, seven players have recorded points in at least the past two games, with four players on three game scoring streaks or longer.
--Both McParland and Brigette Lacquette moved up in Bulldog career lists on Nov. 2, with McParland moving into sole possession of the 17th spot now on 103 points (49g, 54a).  Lacquette now ranks the as the 10th all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 49 points (13g, 36).

--Zoe Hickel and Brykaliuk lead the Bulldogs in scoring with 11 points apiece, Hickel with seven goals and four assists and Brykaliuk with six goals and five assists.  McParland owns a team-high plus/minus rating of +7.  Rookie blueliner Catherine Daoust ranks second with a +6.

BULLDOGS AT FOUR NATIONS:  Haley Irwin and Jocelyne Larocque made sure that Canada's youth movement at the Four Nations Cup still meant a gold medal.

The two former UMD players were pivotal in Canada's shootout win over the United States last Sunday, securing Canada's 14th Four Nation Cup title, including back-to-back golds.  With 2014 Olympic Team captain Caroline Ouellette not participating in the tournament, Irwin picked up the "C" duties, one former Bulldog to another.

Irwin tied for fourth among all scorers with two goals and an asisst for three points in four games of the round robin tournament.
In the bronze medal game, former UMD All-American Kim Martin-Hasson made 27 saves to help current Bulldogs Linnea Hedin and Michelle Lowenhielm defeat Finland and their teammate Tea Villila 2-1 in overtime.  Bulldog alum Jenni Asserholt scored exactly nine minutes into overtime to seal the game for Sweden.

In all, seven players with current or past ties to UMD played in the tournament in Kamloops, B.C.

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