The No. 4/3 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will spend Thanksgiving en route to Cambridge, Mass., where the Bulldogs will step out of Western Collegiate Hockey Association action to face Harvard. The Bulldogs and Crimson will face-off Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center before wrapping up the series on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
USCHO RANKING: UMD-- No. 4, Harvard-- N/R
USA TODAY/USA HOCKEY MAG: UMD-- No. 3, Harvard-- N/R
THE SERIES: UMD will step out of WCHA play for only the second time this season to play Harvard. The Bulldogs are 10-5-1 all-time against Harvard after splitting a series with the Crimson last season in Duluth, Minn. The two programs met at AMSOIL Arena in the first series between the two historic programs since 2006-07 one year ago on Nov. 27-28, 2015.
On Nov. 27, 2015, the Bulldogs struck first and early on a goal by Ashleigh Brykaliuk just 31 seconds into the game. After Harvard netted two power play goals, including the second on a 5-on-3, UMD drew even on a goal by Michela Cava. Brykaliuk then netted one of two more UMD goals that would seal the 4-2 win over the Crimson. Maddie Rooney made 28 saves for the Bulldogs.
The following day (Nov. 28) Harvard found offense that UMD couldn't in a 4-1 loss to the Crimson. UMD outshot Harvard 31-26 but only Lara Stalder found the back of the net. The Bulldogs outshot the Crimson 68-56 in the series, but the Crimson netted the 6-5 goal advantage.
UMD is 31-11-4 all-time against teams in the ECAC, Harvard's conference.
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.
Head coach Maura 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.
LAST TIME OUT: UMD split over the weekend with the No. 1 University of Wisconsin at AMSOIL Arena with a 4-1 win Friday before suffering a 4-1 setback Saturday.
The Bulldogs had four different goal scorers Friday night, including Ashleigh Brykaliuk, Katerina Mrázová, Katherine McGovern and Michelle Lowenhielm. Rookie forward Sydney Brodt had a game-high two points on two assists.
Sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney made 45 saves on 46 shots, and helped hold UW scoreless in two power play attempts.
Saturday, the Badgers snapped the Bulldogs seven-game unbeaten streak with a 4-1 effort. Rooney made 43 stops in the skate.
NOTES FROM THE WISCONSIN SERIES: Friday's win was the first by a UMD squad over a No. 1 team since Jan. 13, 2012, when the Bulldogs beat then No. 1 Minnesota 4-2. It also marked the first win by UMD over Wisconsin since Oct. 14, 2012.
--UMD is now 30-40-12 all-time against the Badgers, and with the win Friday night, snapped a 15-game winless streak against Wisconsin.
--Overall, Maddie Rooney made 88 saves on 93 shots in the series for a saves percentage of .946 on the weekend.
--While both UMD and Wisconsin each scored five goals in the series, the Badgers outshot the Bulldogs 93-50.
--With the win Friday, UMD (8-3-3, 7-3-2) has its best record through 12 games since the 2010-11 season where the Bulldogs were 10-4-0 overall and 8-4-0 in the WCHA.
ROONEY AGAIN NAMED WCHA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Maddie Rooney garnered her second-consecutive WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honor Tuesday, the direct result of her NCAA-high 88 saves on 93 shots over the weekend in the Bulldogs split with the No. 1 Wisconsin. The sophomore from Andover, Minn. made 45 stops Friday night, including allowing UMD to successfully weather a 20-to-3 shots-on-goal onslaught in the first period.
Rooney then made 43 saves in UMD's loss Saturday, but finished the series with a WCHA-high .946 save percentage. This marks Rooney's second-straight WCHA weekly honor, after earning her first career award last week.
RANK AND FILE: After knocking off the top-ranked team in the country Friday and having played the most grueling schedule in the NCAA, UMD fell one spot from third to fourth in the latest USCHO.com poll released Monday. The Bulldogs remained in third in the latest USA TODAY/USA Hockey Magazine poll, tied with St. Lawerence University.
UMD has played 10 of its first 14 games against teams ranked in the top-10. Over that span, the Bulldogs have gone 4-3-3, including toppling the No. 1 Wisconsin 4-1 Friday.
Ashleigh Brykaliuk leads all scorers against ranked opponents, with six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 10 games. Lara Stalder has posted four goals and seven assists for 11 points in those same 10 games. Brykaliuk has recorded points in nine of UMD's 10 games against teams ranked in the top-10.
BULLDOG NOTES: UMD owns the nation's 11th best power play of 19.2, which is also ranks the Bulldogs second in the WCHA.
--Ashleigh Brykaliuk has now amassed seven points (2g, 5a) in her last five games. Overall, she owns 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists in 14 games. Only Lara Stalder has compiled more points for the Bulldogs this season, as Stalder leads all UMD-scorers with eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points through 14 games.
--UMD has five of the top-12 scorers currently right now in the WCHA, including Stalde(4th), Brykaliuk (5th), Katherine McGovern (7th - 8g, 8a), Sydney Brodt (10th - 3g, 9a) and Katerina Mrázová (12 - 6g, 5a).
--Brodt is currently tied for No. 1 among all rookie scorers in the WCHA with her three goals and nine assists in 14 games, just under a point a game average at 0.86.
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Friday Video: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/harvard/game/minnesotaduluth302-at-harvard-on-11252016-ihw
Saturday Video: https://www.facebook.com/HarvardCrimsonFan/
Live Stats: http://gocrimson.com/sports/wice/2016-17/boxscores/20161125_ylpz.xml
