Less than a week after meeting in the last regular season series of 2016-17, the No. 2 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will host St. Cloud State University again, this time in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.  The best of three series will get underway at 3:07 p.m. Thursday, and will continue at 3:07 p.m. Friday.  If a third game is needed, it will be played Sunday, with a 3:07 p.m. start. 

USCHO RANKING:  UMD-- No. 2, St. Cloud State-- N/R
USA TODAY/USA HOCKEY MAG: UMD-- No. 2, St. Cloud State- N/R

THE SERIES:   All-time, UMD is 60-11-5 against the Huskies after sweeping SCSU last weekend at AMSOIL Arena by scores of 2-1 and 4-1.  The Bulldogs went 4-0 against SCSU in the regular season, outscoring the Huskies 12-4 in those four skates.

The Bulldogs scored two goals Friday night, including one from Katherine McGovern 4:18 into the first period.  Freshman Sydney Brodt added a power play goal 6:40 into the third period for a 2-0 lead that the Huskies cut in half after pulling their goalie with 26 seconds remaining in the contest.

Saturday afternoon, UMD scored four goals, with Brodt again scoring her 10th goal of the year 3:55 into the opening period.  Ashleigh Brykaliuk and McGovern added goals in the second period, while senior forward Demi Crossman netted the Bulldogs fourth goal at 3:09 of the third period.

THE BULLDOG -- HUSKIES PLAYOFF HISTORY:  UMD and St. Cloud have met only once in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, back on Feb. 23, 24 and 25, 2007.  The series, played at Mars-Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn. due to DECC conflicts, went three games, with UMD winning the first game 4-3.  The Huskes drew the series even on Feb. 24 with a 3-1 win before the Bulldogs advanced out of the series on Feb. 25 with a 5-1 triumph.

All-time, the Bulldogs are 3-1 in the WCHA playoffs against SCSU, having also played the Huskies on March 8, 2008 at the DECC in a WCHA Final Face-Off semifinal 9-0 blowout.  Five UMD players had three or more points in that game, with 10 recording two or more.  The Bulldogs went on to win the WCHA Playoff title and NCAA title that season.

UMD IN THE WCHA PLAYOFFS:  The Bulldog program is 21-6 all-time in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, including an upset sweep last season of Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minn. by scores of 5-1 and an overtime win of 2-1.  Overall, UMD is 33-16 in WCHA postseason play in all games.

Since the WCHA went to a quarterfinal game (2005) or series (since 2006), UMD has advanced 10-out-of-12 times.  From the 2005-06 season until present, the Bulldogs have hosted 11 of a possible 12 first round playoff series.  (The 2005 quarterfinal game was held in Minneapolis, Minn., a neutral site.)  In all, UMD owns five WCHA Playoff crowns (2010, 2008, 2003, 2001 and 2000).

NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES:  The Huskies are one of four teams UMD stayed unbeaten against over the regular season.  The University of North Dakota, Bemidji State University and Ohio State University all were winless against the Bulldogs this year.

--UMD allowed just 13 SCSU shots last Saturday -- a season low (and Bulldog defensive best) for the year.

--For a sixth series this season, the Bulldogs held the Huskies scoreless on the power play in both games.  SCSU had four man advantages over the weekend.

--The Bulldogs remain the second least penalized team in the NCAA, tied with St. Cloud State with just 6.2 penalty minutes a game.  

A SEASON OF SUCCESS:  The Bulldogs haven't played a single minute of the postseason yet, but UMD has already turned in a multitude of impressive stats so far this season.

Notably:  UMD's third place finish in the WCHA is the program's highest since 2010-11 when the Bulldogs tied for second.

--The Bulldogs 19 league wins is the most since the 2009-10 season.

--UMD has scored the most regular season goals (96) since the 2011-12 regular season when that UMD squad recorded 111.

--The Bulldogs had a program record 10 WCHA Scholar Athletes in 2016-17.

--With a home record of 13-1-2, the Bulldogs have the best home regular season record in Duluth, Minn. since the program posted a 13-2-1 record in 2007-08.  In fact, those 13 regular season home wins ranks (along with the 2007-08 season), as the third most regular season home wins ever.  UMD posted a record of 17-1-2 at the DECC over the 2000-01 season, and a regular season 14-3-1 at home during the NCAA title season of 2002-03.

--Lara Stalder has scored 47 points so far this season, the most by a Bulldog heading into the playoffs since Emmanuelle Blais ran up 49 points on 13 goals and 36 assists in 34 regular season skates back in 2009-10.  While Blais posted an impressive 49 points, she did so with four more games than Stalder, who has just 30 games under her belt so far this season.

--Senior forward Ashleigh Brykaliuk ran up the program's second-longest scoring streak ever -- 19 games -- with an incredible 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points between Oct. 29, 2016 through Feb. 12, 2017. Only Hanne Sikio has recorded a longer scoring spree as Bulldog.  Sikio set her record during the 1999-00 season, a 23-game streak where the Finnish Olympian tallied 17 goals and 31 assists for 48 points.

--Both Brykaliuk's streak and Stalder's current 11 game, 21 point stretch are career bests scoring streaks for the seniors.

PLENTY OF TWENTY:  For the 15th time in the program's 18 year history, the Bulldogs have hit the 20-game win mark.  UMD reached the milestone in their 2-1 win against North Dakota on Feb. 4.  The Bulldogs now have 22 wins after their sweep of SCSU last weekend.

UMD has surpassed the 20 win mark in all but two of those 15 seasons, and have earned 24 or more wins nine of those years.

The Bulldogs have had three seasons reach the 30 or more win rung. 

TOP DOGS: Lara Stalder has a career-long 11 game scoring streak intact, complete with  11 goals and 10 assists over that span for 21 points.  She has turned in multiple-point games in six of those eleven skates. 

Stalder ranks fourth in the NCAA in points per game at 1.57, ninth in goals per game with 19 in 30 games, and sixth in assists per game with 28 in 30 skates.  The senior forward also owns the nation's most game-winning goals (7), and ranks second in the WCHA for points (47), goals (20) and third in the league with 28 assists.

Maddie Rooney sits fourth in the NCAA with a .939 saves percentage and ninth with a .766 winning percentage.  No other goaltender in the nation has logged more minutes than Rooney, who in 32 games has logged 1919:56 minutes.

CAREER CLIMBERS:  With 47 points this season, Lara Stalder joins Katherine McGovern, Sidney Morin, Maria Lindh, Demi Crossman and Linnea Hedin with career-best offensive seasons.  Stalder's 19 goals, 28 assists surpasses her junior output of 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points.

McGovern has almost doubled her entire previous three-years offensive production this season along, having recorded 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points in 32 games.  Over her four-year career, McGovern has compiled 47 points on 23 goals and 24 assists.

Morin's 20 points on a career-best seven goals and career-tying high of 13 assists marks her most offensive season from the blueline.  Lindh now has 14 points on five goals and nine assists -- surpassing her previous two seasons of seven goals and six assists for 13 points combined.

Crossman owns a career-high four goals and career-tying best of seven assists for the most successful offensive season of her career, while Hedin's two goals, five assists for seven points is better than her two previous seasons total of a goal and four assists.

BY THE (RECORD) BOOK:  In the Bulldog record books, Lara Stalder and Ashleigh Brykaliuk now ranks as the 12th highest scorers in UMD program history with 139 points.  Stalder has hit the mark in 129 games, compiling 50 goals and 89 assists, while Brykaliuk has registered 61 goals and 79 assists in 141 games.  Stalder also ranks No. 9 all-time for assists in a career.

Blueliner Sidney Morin has moved into tie for eighth all-time among defensemen in scoring with 66 points (18g, 48a) in 142 games.  Morin, who has never missed a game in her collegiate career, also now owns UMD's consecutive games-played record.  The senior blueliner has played in a program-best 142 consecutive games for the Bulldogs.

Goaltender Maddie Rooney has the sixth most career saves with 1,312 in 51 appearances.  Rooney also sits seventh with 27 career wins (overall record of 27-17-5), as well as seventh with 51 games played on 2819:04 minutes.

In a single season, Rooney currently has the eigth most minutes (1919:56) and games (32). 

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