For the fifth time in program history, the No. 2 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team and the No. 4/5 University of Minnesota will tangle in the semifinals of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Final Face-Off.  The third-seed Bulldogs and second-seed Gophers will meet up at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. this Saturday in the second game of the semifinals. Game-time is set for 5:07 p.m., following the 2:07 p.m. semifinal game between the No. 1 University of Wisconsin and North Dakota.

USCHO RANKING:  UMD-- No. 2, Minnesota-- No. 5
USA TODAY/USA HOCKEY MAG: UMD-- No. 2, Minnesota-- No. 4 

THE SERIES:  UMD is 26-51-7 all-time against the Gophers, and snapped a five-year winless streak against Minnesota back on Jan. 13 in 3-2 win before sweeping the Gophers with a 5-3 triumph on Jan. 14.  The series sweep was also the first by UMD over Minnesota since Oct. 29-30, 2010.

In the first game (Jan. 13), UMD scored first and never fell behind, withstanding two Gopher attempts to equalize in the third period for the 3-2 win, the first by a Bulldog team since Jan. 13, 2012.  Katerina Mrázová, Lara Stalder and Katherine McGovern had the UMD goals, with McGovern netting the game-winner.  Stalder led the Bulldogs with a goal and two assists.

The following day, (Jan. 14) the Bulldogs equalized 9:37 into the first period and never looked back, again led by Stalder who ran up two goals and an assist against the Gophers in a 5-3 triumph.  Stalder scored UMD last two goals -- including the game-winner.  In all, five players had two or more points against Minnesota.

The Bulldogs and Gophers each swept their home series over the course of the regular season, with Minnesota pocketing a 4-3 win on Oct. 14, followed by a 3-2 overtime  win on Oct. 15 at Ridder.  UMD had the slight edge in goals scored through those four games, netting 13 to the Gophers 12.

RIDDLE OF RIDDER:  UMD has another chance to right some history Saturday -- its relationship with Ridder Arena.  Since the Bulldogs defeated Cornell University in the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four championship 3-2 in triple overtime on March 21, 2010, UMD has been unable to win a regular season game against Minnesota in the building.  In 16 skates at Ridder, the Bulldogs are 0-15-1 against the Gophers since defeating them on March 19, 2010 in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals by a score of 3-2.  UMD is 1-16-1 in Ridder since winning the 2010 NCAA title, its lone triumph coming against Wisconsin in the semifinals of the 2012 WCHA Final Face-Off (a 3-1 win).

THE BULLDOG -- GOPHER WCHA PLAYOFF HISTORY:  In nine total WCHA postseason encounters, UMD is 3-6 all-time against Minnesota.  While the Bulldogs have a 3-2 advantage in the conference playoff finals, UMD is winless in four previous games against the Gophers in the semifinals (0-4).  

The two programs last met in the WCHA Final Face-Off semifinals on March 7, 2014, a 1-4 setback in Bemidji, Minn.

UMD IN THE WCHA PLAYOFFS:  Overall, UMD is 35-16 in WCHA postseason play in all games.  In the WCHA semifinal round, UMD is 7-8, with the Bulldogs last action last coming March 5, a 0-5 loss to Wisconsin at Ridder Arena.

After making 15-consecutive WCHA semifinal appearances, UMD's return will mark the first back-to-back WCHA Final Face-Off semifinal trips since the 2011-12 season.

In all, UMD owns five WCHA playoff crowns (2010, 2008, 2003, 2001 and 2000).  Only Minnesota and Wisconsin have won more league playoff titles, with both programs owning six.

LAST TIME OUT: The second-ranked Bulldogs earned their ninth and final series sweep of the season after defeating St. Cloud State 5-0 and 6-2 last Thursday and Friday in the quarterfinals of the WCHA playoffs.

Thursday, Lara Stalder (2g, 1a) and Ashleigh Brykaliuk (3a) led UMD with three points, while Demi Crossman had two goals for the Bulldogs.  In all, six players had two or more points for UMD, with a total of eight players inking the scoresheet.  Goaltender Maddie Rooney made 21 saves to pick up her sixth shutout of the season and the eighth of her career.  

After the Bulldogs were outshot in the first period Friday, UMD shelled the Huskies 21-3, resulting in three goals and a 4-1 advantage after 40 minutes.  Stalder again led the way with three points (1g, 2a), while three other players registered two points -- Katerina Mrázová (1g, 1a), Ashleigh Brykaliuk (1g, 1a), and Catherine Daoust (2a), and 13 players notched a point in the win.

NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD SERIES:  UMD went 6-0 against St. Cloud State over the season, outscoring the Huskies 23-6 in those six games.  Against UMD, St. Cloud was scoreless in 13 power play attempts.  All-time, the Bulldogs are now 62-11-5 versus SCSU.

--UMD's Friday win was the 24th of the season, and is the first time since 2009-10 and the tenth time the program has earned 24 or more wins in a season.

--The Bulldog program is now 23-6 all-time in the quarterfinal round and 35-16 overall in WCHA postseason play in all rounds.  Since the WCHA went to a quarterfinal game (2005) and then series (2006), UMD has advanced 11-out-of-13 times.  (The 2005 quarterfinal game was held in Minneapolis, Minn., a neutral site.)  

--UMD is 15-1-2 this season at AMSOIL Arena.

TOP DOGS:  After pacing UMD with six points on three goals and three assists against SCSU, Lara Stalder has now recorded a point in 13-consecutive games.  Over that span, Stalder has compiled 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.  UMD's leading scorer with 53 points (22g, 31a), Stalder also ranks second in the WCHA in scoring and goals and third in assists.  In the NCAA, Stalder is fifth in points and goals, sixth in assists and tied for first with seven game-winning goals.

Senior defenseman Sidney Morin is the highest-scoring WCHA backliner with 23 points on seven goals and 16 assists.  Nationally, Morin ranks 10th overall points by a defenseman and sixth in points per game average with a 0.68.  Morin is now in a tie for seventh among UMD scoring defensemen all-time with 69 points.  Morin ranks sixth in Bulldog history with 51 career assists from the back.

UMD ON THE OFFENSIVE:  UMD's 107 total goals in 34 games is the most goals the program has scored since the 2011-12 season.  

--In just 32 games, Lara Stalder has turned in 53 points -- the most by a Bulldog since Haley Irwin turned in 54 (16g, 38a) in the 2011-12 season over 34 skates.

---Ashleigh Brykaliuk's back-to-back 40+ point seasons is the first by a Bulldog since Irwin did it in 2010-11 (48 points, 24 games) and again in 2011-12 (54 points, 34 games).

--UMD has three players that have accumlated 30 or more points so far this season -- Stalder (53), Brykaliuk (44) and Katherine McGovern (34).  The last time a Bulldog squad has three players over 30+ points in a season was in 2011-12.  That season Irwin (54), Audrey Cournoyer (48 points) and Jenna McParland (32) all notched 30 or more points that season.

A REGULAR SEASON OF SUCCESS:  Prior to the quarterfinals, the Bulldogs had already reached a plethora of milestones during their regular 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 in the regular 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 had just 30 games over the 2016-17 regular 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 13 game, 27 point stretch are career bests scoring streaks for the seniors. 

STALDER NAMED KAZMAIER TOP-3 FINALIST: Lara Stalder is one step closer to the confirmation that the Bulldogs may just have the best women's hockey player in all of Division I NCAA hockey.

The UMD senior forward was named a Top-3 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Thursday, the award presented annually to the top player in the nation.  The No. 2 Bulldogs leading scorer with 53 points (22g, 31a) in 32 games, the Luzern, Switzerland native also ranks second in the WCHA in scoring and goals and third in assists.  In the NCAA, Stalder is second in points per game (1.66), third in goals per game, and fourth in assists. as well as tied for first with seven game-winning goals.  Stalder, currently in the midst of a 27 point, 13-game scoring streak, has had 16 multiple point games for the Bulldogs, including seven outings with three or more points.  In 12 games against top-10 opponents, Stalder had seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points.

Stalder also earned the first-ever Women's Hockey Association Player of the Month for January 2017, and was named the WCHA's Offensive Player of the Month for January 2017.  Five times the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week this season, Stalder won the weekly award on Jan. 31, Jan. 24, Jan. 17, Nov. 15 and Oct. 11.  Stalder was named a 2016-17 WCHA Scholar Athlete, and carries a 3.719 Cumulative GPA as a Retail Marketing Analytics major.

As a program, UMD has had a total of six top-3 finalists, with goaltender Kim Martin garnering the most recent honor prior to Stalder during the 2007-08 season.  In all, the Bulldog program has had ten top-10 Patty Kazmaier finalists.

UMD DOMINATES END OF YEAR WCHA AWARDS:  The second-ranked Bulldogs dominated the WCHA individual awards, as senior forward Lara Stalder was named the WCHA Player of the Year and WCHA Student Athlete of the Year, senior defenseman Sidney Morin was selected Defensive Player of the Year, and second-year UMD head coach Maura Crowell was named the WCHA's Coach of the Year.  The Bulldogs also had one 2016-17 All-WCHA First Team selection in Stalder, two All-WCHA Second Team honorees -- Morin and senior forward Ashleigh Brykaliuk, two All-WCHA Third Team members -- senior forward Katherine McGovern and sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney, and a WCHA All-Rookie Team selection -- freshman forward Sydney Brodt.  

Stalder becomes only the third WCHA Player of Year in program history, breaking an over 13-year drought for the heralded program.  UMD's leading scorer with 53 points (22g, 31a) in 32 games, the Luzern, Switzerland native also ranks second in the WCHA in scoring and goals and third in assists.  In the NCAA, Stalder is second in points per game (1.66), third in goals per game and fourth in assists per game, as well as tied for first with seven game-winning goals.  The WHCA National Division I Player of the Month for January, Stalder was also the WCHA's Player of the Month for January, and pocketed a league-high five WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.  A Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalist, Stalder, currently in the midst of a 27 point, 13-game scoring streak, had 16 multiple point games for the Bulldogs, including seven outings with three or more points.  In 12 games against top-10 opponents, Stalder had seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points.  Stalder follows in the footsteps of former Bulldog and three-time All-American Jenny Potter, who claimed the award in both 2002-03 and 1999-00 and stands as the only other player in program history to win it.

Already a 2016-17 WCHA Scholar Athlete for a second time, Stalder also becomes the first Bulldog since Jocelyne Larocque in 2010-11 to earn the WCHA's Student-Athlete of the Year honor.  Stalder, a Retail Marketing Analytics major, has a cumulative GPA of 3.719 over her four-year career.

In addition, Stalder is now UMD's 21st All-WCHA First Team selection, and first since Larocque in 2010-11.

Morin, a product of Minnetonka, Minn., is the highest-scoring WCHA blueliner with 23 points on seven goals and 16 assists.  Nationally, Morin ranks 10th in overall points by a defenseman and sixth in points per game average with a 0.68.  Morin is now in a tie for seventh among UMD scoring defensemen all-time with 69 points and ranks sixth in Bulldog history with 51 career assists from the back.  UMD's all-time record holder for consecutive-games played (144), Morin was also named a 2016-17 WCHA Scholar Athlete.  Morin joins Larocque as the only defenseman in Bulldog program history to land the award.  A two-time All-American, Larocque won the award in 2010-11.

The pair of Morin and Brykaliuk become the 22nd and 23rd All-WCHA Second Team members for the UMD program.

Crowell, in just her second season at the helm of the Bulldogs, has turned UMD around from a 15-21-1 record in 2015-16 to a stunning 24-5-5 and third place finish in the WCHA in 2016-17.  With a 4-1 record in the WCHA postseason in just five career games, Crowell has steered the Bulldogs to a No. 2 national ranking after guiding UMD to a 6-4-4 record against top-10 teams.  In fact, under Crowell this season, the Bulldogs are 3-3-1 against teams ranked in the top-two.  Off the ice, UMD netted a program-record 10 WCHA Scholar Athletes in 2016-17, as well as a program-high 16 WCHA All-Academic Team members this season.

Brykaliuk picks up her second All-WCHA Second Team honor after earning the award last season.  Hailing from Brandon, Manitoba, Brykaliuk, has now had back-to-back 40-plus point seasons.  With 44 points so far on 17 goals and 27 assists, she ranks 15th in the NCAA with a 1.29 points per game average and 13th with a 0.79 assist per game average.  Bryakliuk sits sixth in the WCHA in points, fifth in assists and seventh in goals.  The WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Oct. 5, Brykaliuk recorded the second-longest scoring streak in UMD history -- a 19-game, 26 point run that lasted from Oct. 29 through Feb. 11 this season.

UMD's first-ever Arizona native, McGovern lands on the All-WCHA Third Team after demolishing her previous offensive output of her past three season combined.  With 34 points on 17 goals and 17 assists, the senior forward has averaged 1.00 ppg this season, adding the second-most game-winning goals for UMD with four.  McGovern owns the eighth most points in the WCHA, as well as the seventh most goals and ranks 12th in assists.  Already a 2016-17 WCHA Scholar Athlete, she also earned 2016-17 WCHA All-Academic Team honors for a second-consecutive season.

All-WCHA Third Team selection Rooney earned a bevy of league honors over the regular season, including the Defensive Player of the Month for November, in addition to three WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors.  An Andover, Minn. product, Rooney has played the second-most minutes in the nation so far this season, currently registering 2039:41 minutes between the pipes.  Rooney ranks fifth in the NCAA and third in the WCHA with a .940 saves percentage, and the 873 saves she has posted this season ranks as the fourth-most in a single season by a Bulldog netminder.  With the sixth best winning percentage in the nation and second in the WCHA, Rooney has a .779 percentage and a record of 24-5-5.  Rooney also sits seventh in the NCAA and third in the WCHA with six shutouts, as well as second in the lead with a goals against average of 1.65.

Brodt follows in the footsteps of her current teammates Rooney and Stalder, who all previously earned WCHA All-Rookie Team accolades as freshmen.  Brodt, currently the reigning WCHA Rookie of the Month for February, has scored eight goals and added 13 assists for 21 points in 32 games.  The forward from North Oaks, Minn. ranks 14th among all NCAA rookies and third in the WCHA in points, and added a game-winning goal against St. Cloud State on Feb. 17.

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