Last spring, current University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey head coach Maura Crowell was scheduling this weekend's series against Harvard University as the associate head coach of the Crimson.  Friday, Crowell will be at the helm of the newly ranked No. 10 Bulldogs bench when the two programs clash for the first time in 10 years.  Friday's game will get underway at 4:07 p.m., while Saturday's game-time is set for 1:07 p.m.  Saturday is also 'Cram the Am', and any Bulldog fan that brings a non perishable food item to AMSOIL that day will get a free ticket to the game.  All food items collected at the game will be delivered to Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank by the UMD hockey team.

USCHO RANKING:  UMD-- Receiving Votes, Harvard-- No. 8
USA TODAY/USA HOCKEY MAG: UMD-- No. 10, Harvard-- No. 8

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 9-4-1 all-time against the Crimson with a winning percentage of .679 and last faced-off on Dec.1-2, 2006 in Boston, a sweep for the Crimson by scores of 0-4 and 0-1.  

Notably, the Crimson share one of UMD's all-time great program moments, as it was Harvard the Bulldogs defeated on March 23, 2003 in the DECC after two overtimes to win the 2003 NCAA title by a score of 4-3.  

The two sides also met in the 2002 NCAA Frozen Four semifinals, where UMD also came out on top en route to the 2002 championship by a score of 6-3.

Crowell is not the only one on the Bulldog staff with Crimson ties --  assistant coach Laura Bellamy was also an assistant at Harvard last season, as well having played in net for Harvard.  Current assistant coach Samantha Reber also played for the Crimson and graduated in May from Harvard.

LAST TIME OUT:  The Bulldogs split on the weekend against then No. 7/8 North Dakota in Grand Forks by scores of 3-4 and 1-0. Saturday's win marked the first by the Bulldogs over a ranked team since UMD knocked off then No. 9/10 Bemidji State University last season 2-0 on Nov. 28, 2014.

Friday night, the Bulldogs led the Fighting Hawks on two occasions before surrendering the game-winning goal at 10:17 of the third period.  UMD's newly constructed first line each recorded a goal and an assist -- Ashleigh Brykaliuk, Lara Stalder and Michela Cava.  Freshman goaltender Maddie Rooney had 20 saves in the loss.

Saturday both teams were scoreless into the third period until sophomore forward Michelle Lowenhielm broke the stalemate at 9:46.  The goal was all the Bulldogs would need, with Rooney stopping all 32 shots she faced.  The shutout was the second for Rooney in her short collegiate career, and first over a ranked opponent.

NOTES FROM THE NORTH DAKOTA SERIES: The past weekend marks the first series that the Bulldogs and Fighting Hawks have not needed overtime in at least one game for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

--UMD, now 5-9-0 overall and 3-7-0 in the WCHA, owns an all-time record against North Dakota of 37-13-15.

--The Bulldogs have played 10 of their first 14 games teams ranked in the top-eight in the nation or higher.  That schedule puts UMD in sole ownership of the NCAA's toughest strength of schedule by a wide margin according to the latest KRACH rating.

RANK AND FILE:  Without question, the Bulldogs have played one of the top-three hardest schedules in the NCAA so far this season. 10 of UMD's last 14 games have come against teams ranked in the top-five or higher.  In fact four of their last six games alone have been against the No. 1 teams in the country (Minnesota and Wisconsin, respectively).  

UMD again faces a top-10 team this weekend in No. 8 Harvard, which will push the Bulldogs into 12 games in their first 16 against nationally ranked sides.  According to the latest KRACH poll, UMD ranks No. 1 in strength of schedule with 282.6 points, 6.6 points ahead of Yale in the second slot.  Harvard, by comparison, is ranked No. 17.

A key feature of KRACH is that strength of schedule is calculated directly from the ratings themselves, meaning that KRACH, unlike many ratings (including RPI) cannot easily be distorted by teams with strong records against weak opposition.

ROAD WARRIORS:  In addition to having one of the hardest schedules so far in all of college hockey, the Bulldogs have also been without the comforts of home for all but four games.

UMD, back at AMSOIL for back-to-back weeknds starting this weekend, spent the opening first three weeks of the season away from AMSOIL. 

BULLDOG NOTES:  Junior forward Ashleigh Brykaliuk continues to lead all UMD scorers with four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 14 games.  Junior Lara Stalder has netted a team-high seven goals to go with three assists for 10 points.

Rooney has manned the pipes for the Bulldogs in 10 games for a total of 499:34 minutes, owning a record of 3-5-0 and a GAA 2.40.  Senior netminder Kayla Black has played in eight games for 284 minutes with a record of 2-3-0 and a GAA 3.17.  Rooney's shutout Saturday was her second as a Bulldog and first against a ranked opponent.

COACH CROWELL'S CORNER: As Harvard's associate head coach last year, head coach Maura Crowell scheduled the Crimson-Bulldog series.  Fast forward to the 2015-16 season, and Crowell is at the helm of the UMD bench, facing off against her former team and coaching staff.  

"I think it's awesome for both programs to play against historically successful programs, reviving a series that hasn't existed since 2006-07," said Crowell when asked about the series.  "It's great our kids get to experience Ivy League and ECAC hockey, and the same for Harvard experiencing WCHA hockey.  I am all for the student athlete experience, and this is part of what makes it great."

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