For the first time since both programs faced-off in the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four Championship game on March 20, 2022, the No. 4/5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team and top-ranked Ohio State University take to the ice together.  The showdown between two of the nation's still unbeaten teams will take place in Columbus, Ohio at the OSU Ice Rink on Friday at 5:00 p.m. (CST) before wrapping up Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (CST).

Date:  October 21-22, 2022, Friday 5:00 pm, Saturday  2:00 PM (CT)

Site: OSU Ice Rink (6,600), Duluth, Minn.

UMD: 6-0-0 (2-0-0)
OSU: 6-0-0 (6-0-0)

Video: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/page/home

Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?gid=osu&sport=hkgame&gender=w

BATTLE OF THE UNBEATENS: The No. 4/5 Bulldogs and No. 1 Buckeyes will meet for the first time since OSU defeated UMD on March 20, 2022 in the NCAA National Championship.  Something will have to give in Columbus -- both teams enter Friday's game 6-0 and just two of six teams still undefeated in the NCAA.

JUMP START: UMD is off to a 6-0 to start to the season for the first time since 2006-07, and are also off to their second-longest winning-streak to start the season in program history.

OFFENDED DEFENSEMAN: The Bulldogs and Buckeyes each own one of arguably the most offensive blueliners in the NCAA.  UMD's Ashton Bell currently ranks second in points for the Bulldogs (5-3=8), but leads them with five goals scored through six skates.  OSU boasts Sophie Jaques, who leads the Buckeyes with 11 points and seven goals through six games. Both Bell and Jaques are tied for second in the NCAA with three power play goals.

Jaques, along with UMD leading scorer Gabbie Hughes (1-8=9), were both Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalists last March. (Bell won a gold medal with the Canadian Olympic Team and was away from collegiate hockey for the season).

Bell currently leads the WCHA's stingiest defense (and second in the NCAA), allowing just 0.60 goals a game.

SAVES BY SODERBERG:  Emma Soderberg has a 0.69 GAA average through UMD's first six games -- all wins -- helping the Bulldogs to their second most wins to start a season ever. Among goaltenders that have played at least five games, Soderberg leads the NCAA in GAA and is tied with the most shutouts (though Soderberg has participated in three shutout games for the Bulldogs).  In 347:52 of ice time, Soderberg has a saves percentage of .952.  Her GAA is the lowest in the WCHA among netminders that have played four or more games and she has made 80 saves on a total of 84 shots.

Soderberg ranks fourth among all active NCAA's goaltenders with 39 career wins -- just one shy of the second and third spot.  Her 13 shutouts also rank her in a tie for third among all active netminders and she sits third with a 0.933 career saves percentage.

THE SERIES: There are 104 all-time meetings between the Bulldogs and Buckeyes, but none greater than the two programs clashing last March for the national championship.  UMD owns a 73-23-8 all-time advantage, but over the last 10 meetings, the two programs have drawn perfectly even with the Bulldogs 5-5 against OSU.

Over last season, that parity was a trademark, with both series for UMD splits and neither team able to grab the sweep. The Bulldogs scored nine goals against the Buckeyes in those four games compared to OSU's 11, only a two goal difference despite the Buckeyes, on average, outshooting UMD 37.5 to 25.5.

In their last regular season series in Columbus, Ohio back on Jan. 21-22, UMD shutout the Buckeyes 1-0.  OSU then won the second skate 3-1 in the second game.

In the first game (Jan. 21), senior defenseman Kylie Hanley rang her fourth goal of the season from the blueline with just over 31 seconds remaining in the game to knock off the previously unbeaten at home Buckeyes 1-0.  UMD outshot OSU 28-27.

In game two Saturday, McKenzie Hewett was the lone Bulldog to get on the board, but UMD suffered a 3-1 setback for the series split.  OSU outshot UMD 41-19 in the contest.

Prior to January's series, OSU had been averaging 5.45 goals a game -- UMD held the Buckeyes to just a 1.50 goals per game average in the series.

TITLE TILT REWIND: Despite the even regular season of a year ago, the real game that will be on most college hockey fans when both sides take to the ice Friday was the one for all the marbles in March.

Top-seeded OSU held off the Bulldogs 3-2 to capture the Buckeyes first-ever NCAA title at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa in the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four Championship. The title game was the first for UMD since 2010, who was looking for its first title in 12 seasons after making back-to-back Frozen Four appearances for the first time in over a decade.

That title was never out of reach for the Bulldogs, who clawed back twice to draw even with OSU in the second and third period.  After a scoreless opening frame, OSU took advantage of the game's lone power play at 4:10 of the second period. Bulldog netminder Emma Soderberg attempted to clear the puck, but Paetyn Levis was there to put the Buckeyes up 1-0. UMD responded midway through the period, and Taylor Anderson's effort helped get the puck to then senior defenseman Kailee Skinner at the OSU point.  Skinner's shot was tipped down and in by Naomi Rogge, whose effort notched her second goal of the Frozen Four and equalized 1-1 at 12:42 of the second period.

The Buckeyes retook the lead on a wild sequence just 24 seconds into the final period, again getting behind Soderberg who was caught outside the crease.  But again, UMD counterpunched, this time in the form of Élizabeth Giguère, who added to her extensive Frozen Four resume on her fifth-ever career goal in the tournament 1:23 later. From the boards, Anna Klein found Giguère skating across the top of the circle, and the fifth-year senior casually sniped the puck over OSU goaltender Amanda Thiele's left shoulder to knot the game back up at 2-2.

OSU took the game's final lead at 13:20, after Kenzie Hauswirth's shot from the right point cleared UMD's crease but deflected off a defenseman's skate for the eventual game-winner, the final costly bounce for the Bulldogs in the contest.

Soderberg had 36 saves in the game to bring her total to 82 in the Frozen Four, and the senior goaltender had a total of 146 in four games in the NCAA Tournament – a new single tournament record. Soderberg, along with Rogge, were both named to the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team, the 21st and 22nd Bulldogs selected for the honor in program history.

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs swept Minnesota State, Mankato back on Oct. 7-8 at AMSOIL Arena by scores of 2-1 in overtime and 2-0 on Oct. 8.

In the first game, UMD's start to the game differed from its finish, and it was the Mavericks that found a way on to the AMSOIL scoreboard first.  MSU's Kennedy Bobyck scored a shorthanded goal at just 4:51 of the first period to give the Mavericks their first and only lead of the game.  UMD battled back at the 12:56, behind Gabbie Hughes' wrap around pass across the crease to Kylie Hanley on the doorstop.  Hanley shoveled the puck high and behind MSU goaltender Lauren Barbro for the 1-1 equalizer.

Despite a UMD shot-on-goal advantage of 42-15, the Bulldogs needed extra time to finally dispose of the Mavericks.  With another helper from Hughes, Ashton Bell skated through both the neutral zone and the MSU defensive zone before moving from left to right across the crease to tuck the puck past Barbro for the game-winner 14 seconds into overtime -- Bell's second game-winner of the young season.

UMD wasted no time getting on the board in game two, and buried two pucks in the net 23 seconds apart in the first period.  Taylor Anderson took a pass from Hanley at mid-ice and ripped it from the bottom of the left circle at 4:57 to put the Bulldogs up 1-0, her third goal of the season.  Less than a half a minute later, Mannon McMahon threaded a puck from behind the net to Gabby Krause, whose third goal of the season pushed UMD's lead to 2-0 at 5:20.

The Bulldogs never rested on offense, and peppered 40 shots on goal.  UMD's defense smothered the Mavericks from there, holding them to just 10 shots in the entire game.  For her 10-save effort, Emma Soderberg earned her 13th career shutout.

MINNESOTA STATE SERIES NOTES: Gabbie Hughes two assists in the series  lifted her past Erika Holst and into the sixth slot all-time for career assists with 105.

--Emma Soderberg's 13th career shutout against MSU tied the super senior with former goaltender Maddie Rooney with 13 career shutouts -- the fourth most in Bulldog program history.

--In just 41 career games as a defenseman, Ashton Bell has now scored 16 goals  -- the 10th most in UMD history from the blueline.

--Three of UMD's six game-winning goals so far this season have been scored by defenseman.

--Through six games, the Bulldogs have scored at least two goals a game and are averaging a whopping 4.00 an outing. For reference, UMD has averaged more than three goals a game for the previous past two seasons -- 3.43 in 2021 and 3.33 in 2022.

BULLDOGS GET DEFENSIVE: UMD has allowed the second lowest goals a game average in the NCAA so far at just 0.663 and the lowest in the WCHA.

While Emma Soderberg is tied for the fourth-most shutouts in the NCAA over the young season (2), she and freshman goaltender Hailey MacLeod combined for the team's third back on Sept. 25, 2022.

BULLDOG BITES: Ashton Bell ranks fourth in the WCHA among all blueliners in scoring with an 1.38 ppg average ... Bell is tied for second in the NCAA in power play goals with three ... Gabbie Hughes ranks sixth in the WCHA with a 1. 50 ppg average ... Hughes averaged 1.50 ppg last season over 40 games ... UMD has the fourth most power play goals so far this season with four ... the Bulldogs are 2-0 so far this season in overtime.

WATCH PARTY: Super senior Naomi Rogge has 96 career points (52g, 44a) over 135 games, just four shy of the UMD 100-point club.

Ashton Bell is right behind Rogge on the career climb.  The converted defenseman has 94 career points (36g, 58a) and 40 of them have come from the blueline over 60 games.

Maggie Flaherty sits in the 10th spot with 44 assists by defensemen in a career.

Gabbie Hughes, already the seventh-highest point getter in UMD history (72-105=177), will look to climb in career goals, where she sits one out of the 10th slot with 72. The Lino Lakes, Minn. native is sixth all-time for assists, tied with former Bulldog All-American  Erika Holst.