The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will close the door on the 2018 portion of its current season this weekend when it hosts Minnesota State University at AMSOIL Arena on Friday and Saturday. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association series will get underway at 7:07 p.m. Friday night, which will also double as Ugly Sweater night at AMSOIL. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite Christmas sweater for a chance to win prizes, and the first 250 fans will also receive a gold medal in honor of Maddie Rooney and the USA Women's Hockey Team. The puck will drop Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., and it will also mark the first ever UMD women's hockey teddy bear toss. Fans are encourage to bring a new teddy bear/stuffed animal to be tossed onto the ice after the first Bulldog goal is scored. All bears /stuffed animals will be donated locally.
THE SERIES: UMD swept Minnesota State University last season, going 4-0 and outscoring MSU 10-5 in those outigs. The Bulldogs have won 13 of their last 14 games against the Mavericks. UMD is 66-7-4 all-time against MSU.
The Bulldogs swept their last series against Mavericks in Mankato, Minn. on Feb. 16-17 by scores of 3-0 and 3-2.
UMD got just the offense it needed on Feb. 16, and it started at 10:11 of the first period when Ryleigh Houston's shot went off Maverick goaltender Chloe Crosby and down from the crossbar to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
Outshot 11-10 in the first period, UMD struck again in the second period at 12:16, eight seconds in on its first power play of the game. Senior defenseman Jessica Healey backhanded home her fourth power play tally of the year to pad the Bulldogs lead to 2-0. From there, it was all Jessica Convery, who in addition to making 24 saves on all 24 shots she faced also helped UMD hold MSU scoreless on three Bulldog penalty kills.
The following day (Feb. 17), MSU went up 1-0 at 5:56 of the first period, but UMD and Katerina Mrázová responded less than two minutes later on a goal by then sophomore forward Sydney Brodt.
The Bulldogs power play — on the ice for more than seven minutes in the second period — paid off once again midway in the third period. UMD and Mrázová took the lead for good at 12:51 of the stanza when Mrázová buried her own rebound from one knee. Convery finished with 20 saves for the Bulldogs, who outshot the Mavericks 35-22 and went 2-of-5 on their power play.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE MAVERICKS: MSU one week removed from splitting with then No. 6 Ohio State by scores of 3-0 and 0-2. The 3-0 win is the lone triumph for the Mavericks so far this season over a team ranked in the top-10. In six games against ranked teams, MSU is 1-5.
The Mavericks are led by a trio of senior forwards -- Corbin Boyd (4g, 7a), Jordan McLaughlin (2g, 8a) and Rebekah Kolstad (5g, 4a). Rookie goaltender Abigail Levy is the only goaltender that has played so far this season for the Mavericks, posting a 1.36 GAA and .956 saves percentage.
John Harrington is in his fourth season behind the bench of the Mavericks, and owns an overall record of 23-89-11 record at MSU.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs were swept on Nov. 23-24 by No. 3 Clarkson University in Potsdame, N.Y. by scores of 4-2 and 4-1.
The defending NCAA champions outscored the Bulldogs by an 8-3 margin, but also effectively held UMD's offensive power play to just one goal in eight extra skater attempts.
Three players compiled two or more points in the series, including rookie forward Gabbie Hughes, who led all UMD players with two goals and an assist for three points, as well as rookie forward Anneke Linser (1g, 1a) and junior defenseman Jalyn Elmes (2a).
NOTES FROM THE CLARKSON SERIES:
UMD is now 0-2 all-time against Clarkson after meeting for the first time two weeks ago.
--All-time, UMD is now 34-13-4 against Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference members, the home of the Golden Knights.
--With two goals and an assist against the Golden Knights, Gabbie Hughes cemented her status as UMD's most consistent scorer against teams ranked in the top-10. Hughes has netted five of her six goals and four of her six assists against the nations top teams.
--After going just 1-of-8 against Clarkson, UMD's power play ranks 10th in the NCAA with a 21.4 conversion rate.
HUGHES TAKES THE BULLDOG SCORING REIGNS: Freshman Gabbie Hughes leads UMD with 12 points on six goals and six assists through 14 games. Hughes has notched four points (2g, 2a) in her last three games, tying her longest collegiate scoring streak, and also ranks seventh in the NCAA and second in the WCHA in rookie scorers with a 0.87 points per game average.
Freshman Anneke Linser -- Hughes' high school linemate at Centennial High School -- is now the Bulldogs second leading scorer with three goals and six assists so far this season. Sophomore Naomi Rogge has the second most goals for UMD (five), and is in a tie for third with eight total points.
BULLDOGS OWN STRONGEST SCHEDULE: UMD is towering over the rest of the NCAA in terms of its strength of schedule so far this season, leading the nation with a 0.5555 and a No. 1 rank, according to USCHO.com's Ratings Percentage Index. Six of the eight series that the Bulldogs have skated in have come against teams ranked in the top-seven, including four series and eight of its 14 skates against teams ranked fourth or higher.
So far this season, the Bulldogs are 2-7-1 against those ranked foes.
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Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/umd/whockey/xlive.htm
TV Saturday: Fox Sports North
