The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will have just 48 hour between its series sweep of St. Cloud State University to when it takes the ice against Bemidji State University Monday.  The Bulldogs and Beavers will meet at the David C. Johnson Civic Arena (Isanti County Arena) in Cambridge, Minn., where they will collide in part of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Face-Off Classic at 6:00 p.m.  
 

The game will be played in the rink where Matt Olson, a former Totino-Grace hockey player, grew up playing.  In February of 2015, Olson was playing for the Chicago Cougars of the U.S. Premier Hockey League when he tripped at full speed while chasing a puck behind the net. Olson hit the boards headfirst, and the injury left him paralyzed below the shoulders.

Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults, and will be available at the arena beginning at 5 p.m. on Nov. 6. The event will also feature specially designed T-shirts for sale, as well as a silent auction with items such as a signed TJ Oshie jersey, signed Xavier Rhodes jersey, free ice at the Schwans Super Rink and a chance to have a picture taken with Herb Brooks' 1980 Olympic Gold Medal.

After the UMD-BSU game, there will be a junior game with teams from the league Olson played in when he was injured featuring the Minnesota Moose and Bruce Budreau's Minnesota Blue Ox at 8:15 p.m.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 67-13-4 all-time against BSU, and split with the Beavers in Bemidji, Minn. on the weekend of Oct. 27-28, picking up the 3-2 win Friday, Oct. 27 before dropping a 2-1 decision on Saturday, Oct. 28.

For the first time all season, the Bulldogs were not only outshot in a single game but an entire series.  On Oct. 27, UMD got goals from Jalyn Elmes and Ashton Bell in the first period, and a goal from Naomi Rogge 31 seconds into the second period to build a 3-0 lead.  BSU netted two tallies in the second period, but senior goaltender Jessica Convery made a UMD career-high 43 saves for the Bulldogs to preserve the win.

Saturday, Oct. 28, the Beavers got out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Rogge netted her second goal of the series.  UMD would come no closer than 2-1, however, and BSU again outshot UMD in the skate (30-18).  The setback also marked the first loss for the Bulldogs against the Beavers in eight meetings, dating back to January of 2016.

LAST TIME OUT:  UMD hosted St. Cloud State over the weekend, picking up its second series sweep of the season against the Huskies with a 3-2 overtime win and a 4-2 triumph Saturday.

Friday night, the Bulldog rookie Ashton Bell scored just 3:21 into the first period.  The Huskies answered and then went up 2-1 at 12:10 of the second period off a UMD deflection.  Senior Michelle Lowenhielm, who manned the blueline in the series, netted the game-tying goal at 14:36.

The third period was scoreless despite an onslaught of offense by the Bulldogs, who outshot the Huskies 14-4 in the final stanza.  UMD's reward for outshooting SCSU 35-23 in the contest would come at 2:40 of extra time on a wrist shot from senior forward Katernina Mrázová.

The Bulldogs owned a 3-0 lead Saturday afternoon on SCUS by the end of the second period.  UMD got goals from Emma Yanko, Bell and Jessica Healey.  By 10:20 of the third period, the Huskie had closed the deficit to 3-2. With 2:06 left in skate, SCSU pulledits goaltender, but it was the Bulldogs that benefitted from the empty net.  With 37 seconds remaining, Naomi Rogge found the net from just past the blueline for her sixth goal of year.

Rogge led all scorers with a goal and an assist and had a team-high six shots on goal.  UMD outshot SCSU 31-24 overall, but the Huskies tipped the third period with a 13-8 shots on goal advantage.

NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES:  UMD is now 64-11-5 all-time against the Huskies and has won eight-straight games against SCSU in the past two seasons.

--Six of UMD's seven goals against St. Cloud came from different goal scorers.  Only Ashton Bell recorded two goals in the series -- one in each skate.

--UMD outshot the Huskies in both games by a 66-47 margin, and has now outshot its opponent in 10 of its 12 games so far this season.

--Three UMD players got their first goals of the season in the series -- seniors Katerina Mrázová and Michelle Lowenhielm, as well as junior Emma Yanko.  Yanko scored her first-ever goal as a Bulldog Saturday to open UMD's scoring.

--The six WCHA points secures fourth place in the league for UMD with nine in eight games.

GOING ROGGE:  The Bulldogs leading scorer, rookie Naomi Rogge, is currently on a team-high and career-best four game scoring streak.  The Eden Prairie, Minn. native has compiled three goals and two assists for five points in her last four outings, including a game-winning goal and assist over that span.  Rogge leads UMD with a team-high six goals and five assists for 11 points.

Rogge ranks third in the WCHA among all freshmen scorers and leads the league among all rookies with six goals.  Rogge ranks fifth in the NCAA in freshmen scoring

BULLDOGS ON THE OFFENSE:  UMD is led by freshman Naomi Rogge, who has six goals and five assists for 11 points in 12 games.  Rookie Ashton Bell is tied with Rogge with a team-high six goals, and ranks second for UMD in points with nine (6g, 3a).  Bell ranks fifth in the WCHA among freshmen in scoring and 10th in the NCAA.

Sophomore defenseman Jalyn Elmes is UMD's third-leading scorer and ranks sixth in the conference with three goals and five assists in 12 games.  Elmes also ranks 12th in the NCAA among defenseman, and third in the nation with two game-winning goals.

Senior goaltender Jessica Convery ranks fifth in the NCAA and third in the WCHA with two shutouts in 10 games.

DISCIPLINED DOGS:  UMD has the second fewest  penalty minutes per game of any team in the NCAA with just 4.5 a game.