The No. 5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will begin a month-long road stretch against Western Collegiate Hockey Association foes this weekend at St. Cloud, Minn. The Bulldogs, who play their next three WCHA series away from AMSOIL Arena, will face St. Cloud State University at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Friday at 6:07 p.m. and Saturday at 3:07 p.m.s
USCHO.CO RANKING: UMD-- No. 5, St. Cloud State-- N/A
USA TODAY/USA Hockey Magazine: UMD--No. 5, St. Cloud State-- N/A
THE SERIES: UMD went 2-1-2 against the Huskies in 2017-18, and own a 64-12-6 all-time record against SCSU.
In their last action against the Huskies, the Bulldogs settled for a 1-1 overtime tie and shootout win with St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minn. on Jan. 31. The single game was counted as a WCHA game after the two squads played on Hockey Day Minnesota on Jan. 20, also a 1-1 tie, but kept it as non-conference outdoor skate.
The Bulldogs fell behind Huskies in their last outing on Jan. 31, something UMD had done in three-consecutive games against SCSU. This time, Alyssa Erickson gave St. Cloud a 1-0 at 15:14 of the second period, despite UMD having outshot SCSU 12-9 in that stanza.
UMD used its power play brilliance to even the score when then rookie forward Naomi Rogge buried her fourth goal in her last five games to draw the Bulldogs and Huskies into a 1-1 tie. The Bulldogs turned up the heat late in the period, but it was too little, too late for UMD, who has now outshot SCSU in four of five meetings this year, and did so again by a 34-26 margin.
Michelle Lowenhielm opened in the shootout and was the only player of six from the two teams that managed to beat the goaltender. UMD got strong goaltending from Jessica Convery, who turned away all three shootout shots she faced after making 25 saves in the skate.
UMD outshot the Huskies 182-116 in their five regular season battles, but only outscored SCSU 11-9.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE HUSKIES: SCSU are 3-5 overall and 1-3 in WCHA contests after splitting with Minnesota State University, Mankato in Mankato, Minn. last weekend by scores of a 1-3 loss Friday, and a 2-1 win Saturday.
Senior forward Julia Tylke leads SCSU with 10 points (1g, 9a), but junior Hallie Theodospoulos has a team-best six goals through the Huskie first eight games. Goaltenders junior Janine Alder (1-3-0, 2.71 GAA, .920%) and sophomore Emma Polusny (2-2-0, 3.27 GAA, .917%) have split time between the pipes so far for SCSU, each having played in four games.
Eric Rud is currently in his fifth season as the Huskies bench boss, and is 41-94-14 overall in that five year span.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs earned their second series sweep on the season over WCHA foe Bemidji State by scores 6-2 and 2-0 last weekend at AMSOIL.
UMD broke the Beavers with three third period goals to pick up its first WCHA win of the season, a 6-1 offensive showcase for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Naomi Rogge led the way with two goals and an assist for a game-high three points, but a total of six UMD players, including Rogge, turned in multiple-point performances. In all, UMD had five different scorers for six goals, and 10 different players on the scoresheet. Jet lag didn't seem to be an issue for goaltender Maddie Rooney, who made 27 saves for the Bulldogs.
UMD shutout BSU 2-0 Saturday, getting against two goals from Rogge. Sophomore forward Ashton Bell set up Rogge twice Saturday, chipping the puck from mid ice on both occasions to free her linemate up. Bell -- who had three assists on Rogge goals against BSU in the series -- found Rogge at the blueline for the game's first score at 3:42 of the first period. Then, with just 1:07 remaining in the same frame, Bell again chipped the puck up to Rogge, who collected it from the redline, skate into the zone and beat BSU goaltender Lauren Bench just over the pad for the 2-0 lead.
Two goals were more than enough for the Bulldogs, who got solid goaltending from Rooney in her first collegiate shutout since Feb. 23, 2017 (a 6-0 win over St. Cloud State University WCHA quarterfinals). Rooney -- who had her first career assist on UMD's second goal -- stopped all 24 shots she faced.
NOTES FROM THE BEMIDJI STATE SERIES: The Bulldogs as a program improve to 70-15-4 all-time against the Beavers.
--UMD's eight goal weekend was the most goals the Bulldogs have scored in a series since UMD dropped 11 on St. Cloud State in the WCHA quatrerfinals on Feb. 23-34, 2017
--UMD's 6-1 win Friday was the largest scoring outburst by a Bulldog squad since UMD netted six against St. Cloud State for a 6-2 win in the first round of the WCHA playoffs back on Feb. 24, 2017.
--Maddie Rooney's assist Saturday -- the first of her collegiate career -- was the first by a UMD goaltender since Kayla Black had a helper back on Jan. 24, 2015 against Connecticut
REPRIEVE FROM THE RANKED: The Bulldogs are coming off arguably the strongest start to a season and first three opponents in program history. After playing then No. 4 Boston College, No. 3 Minnesota and No. 2 Wisconsin, back-to-back-to-back, the Bulldogs did something they've never done before -- play six games in a row against squads ranked in the top-four of the nation.
ROGGE NAMED NCAA'S FIRST STAR: After leading the nation in goals over the weekend, Naomi Rogge has been named the NCAA's No. 1 Star.
UMD' sophomore exploded offensively in the Bulldogs home series with Bemdiji State University, scoring four goals and adding an assist for a whopping five points on the weekend. Rogge scored two goals in each game, earning her a 2.00 goals per game and a 2.50 points per game average, and added a +6 plus/minus rating. The Eden Prairie native netted her four goals on just nine shots, and added the game-winner on Saturday in UMD's 2-0 win over the Beavers. Rogge scored half (four) of the Bulldogs eight goals, more than enough to lead both the NCAA and WCHA in goals on the weekend.
Rogge is the first NCAA star for UMD since goaltender Jessica Convery nabbed the NCAA's No. 2 Star back on Jan. 30.
ROGGE AND NORTON PICK UP WEEKLY WCHA HONORS: The WCHA named a pair of UMD players -- Naomi Rogge and Lizi Norton -- weekly award winners Tuesday.
Rogge, who was also named the NCAA's No. 1 Star earlier Tuesday, was named the WCHA's Forward of the Week, while Norton was named the WCHA's Defenseman of the Week, Powered by GoodWoodHockey.
Orono, Minn. native Norton had two assists against the Beavers (including a game-winning assist Friday), and helped hold off BSU of the scoreboard in UMD's 6-1 and 2-0 wins. The blueliner led the nation and the league with a +7 plus/minus rating, and had a NCAA and NCAA-high seven shots from a defenseman.
Live Stats: https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/whockey/summary
Video: http://bit.ly/2OSWKEN
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