The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will finish up the 2015 portion of its season this weekend when the Bulldogs head to Columbus, Ohio to face Ohio State University.  The Western Collegiate Hockey Association clash will get underway Friday night at the OSU Ice Rink at 7:07 p.m. before wrapping up Saturday afternoon at 4:07 p.m.  All time are Eastern Daylight Time.

A BULLDOG ON THE BENCH:  UMD fans will recognize a familar face on the Buckeye bench this week -- first year head coach and former three-time UMD All-American Jenny Potter.  Potter still owns the Bulldogs record for points (108-148=256 in 102 games) and assists (148).  Potter and UMD head coach Maura Crowell are the only women head coaches in the WCHA.

THE SERIES: All-time, UMD is 60-14-3 against the Buckeyes and went 3-0-1 last season against OSU, outscoring the Buckeyes 14-6 in the process.  The Bulldogs are unbeaten against OSU in their last five contests, and have gone 7-2-3 in their last 12 skates.

UMD and the Buckeyes last skated back on Feb. 20 and 22, a sweep for the Bulldogs at AMSOIL. Current Bulldogs Michela Cava and Jessica Healey both scored goals in UMD's 3-1 win on Feb. 20. 

On Feb. 22, the Bulldogs went down 2-0 before starting a comeback with 17 seconds remaining in the second period.  Healey scored her second-straight goal of the series to knot the game at 2-2 at 8:59 of the third period, and UMD rolled from there with three more unaswered goals, including an empty-netter from Lara Stalder to knock off OSU 5-2.

Healey was named the WCHA's Rookie of the Week for her two-goal, including one game-winning -- game performance.

LAST TIME OUT:  UMD surrendered a chance to overtake St. Cloud State in the WCHA race after settling for a 2-2 tie last Friday before blanking the Huskies 4-0 Saturday.  The Bulldogs grabbed four points but allowed two for the Huskies, which keeps UMD exactly three back having played 12 WCHA games to SCSU's 14.

UMD forced the 2-2 tie Friday after surrendering two power play goals to the Huskies in the second period.  Demi Crossman netted the equalizer 8:35 into the third period, but despite outshooting SCSU 13-2 in the third period, UMD settled for the tie and then lost the shootout.

Saturday the Bulldogs flexed some offensive muscle with four goals by four different scorers and relied on the goaltending of senior Kayla Black in the net.  Black backstopped UMD to her 20th career shutout (Black already owned the Bulldog record for career shutouts) with 20 saves.  Both Michela Cava (1g, 1a) and Lara Stalder (2a) had multiple point games for UMD.

NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD SERIES:  UMD:  The Bulldogs are now 55-10-5 all-time against the Huskies and are now unbeaten against SCSU in their last nine outings, dating back to Dec. 2013.

The 4-0 SCSU win repeats a season-high mark that UMD reached on Oct. 17 against Minnesota State.  UMD outshot SCSU 32-28 Friday and 29-20 Saturday for a series total of 61-48.

--UMD points leader Ashley Brykaliuk has now recorded a point in her last four games, having compiled three goals and two assists for five points in those four skates.  It marks the third longest-scoring streak for the captain of her three year career.

--Senior forward Michela Cava is now tied with Lara Stalder for the most UMD goals, with eight, including three in her last four games.  Cava's current three-game scoring streak (2g, 1a) is a UMD career-long for the senior.

--Rookie goaltender Maddie Rooney missed the series due to injury.

BREAK-OUT BULLDOGS:  A number of UMD players have already posted career-high numbers this season in just the first 16 games.  

Most notably, junior forward Katherine McGovern has more than doubled her point total from her first two seasons already this year, posting a goal and five assists.  Senior Michela Cava, a first line staple now, has netted eight goals and five assists for 13 points in 18 games, eclipsing her 2014-15 point total of six points (3g, 3a) over 32 games.

Second year players Maria Lindh and blueliner Catherine Daoust have also posted higher numbers than their rookie campaigns.  Lindh, who was only available for 15 games a season ago, has netted five goals and dished three assists for eight points after registering just a goal and an assist in 15 skates in 2014-15.

Daoust posted two assists in all of last year, while this year, through 16 skates, has already netted three goals and three assits for six points.

BULLDOG NOTES:  Ashleigh Brykaliuk continues to lead UMD with 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists in 18 games.  Lara Stalder has recorded 14 points on a team-high tied eight goals and six assists, while Michela Cava sits in third with 13 points on eight goals and five assists.

--UMD is 0-7-1 when its opponents have scored first, but have faired far better at 7-3-1 when they have taken the games first lead.  The Bulldogs are 5-0-0 when they have the lead after two periods of play, but fall to 0-7-1 when trailing affter the first 40 minutes.

--12 of UMD's first 18 games have been against top-eight opponents, including six games against teams ranked first or second in the NCAA in the national polls.

To watch Head Coach Maura Crowell's weekly press conference, click here.

Full PDF version of this release: Here

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