The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will take on the No. 3/4 University of Wisconsin this weekend in Madison, Wisc. in what will be second and third game this week for the Bulldogs. The Friday-Saturday series in LaBahn Arena will get underway at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and finish up at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.
BULLDOG QUICK HITS
GIGUERE BECOMES SEVENTH PLAYER IN NCAA HISTORY TO REACH 275 POINTS: Only six players in NCAA history have recorded more points than Élizabeth Giguère, who rang up her career total to 275 points with a goal and two assists against St. Cloud State on Tuesday. Giguere is just three points from tying the No. 6 spot of 278 points, currently held by Boston College great Alex Carpenter. Giguere became the NCAA's third all-time assist leader Tuesday with 161 career assists.
HUGHES CONTINUES TO LEAD NATION IN POINTS PER GAME AND TOTAL POINTS -- Senior center Gabbie Hughes leads the nation with a 1.88 points per game average through 25 games. Senior forward Élizabeth Giguère sits fourth with a 1.72 ppg average, while Anna Klein ranks 8th at 1.52.
Hughes took over as the nation's leading scorer two weeks ago, and has now compiled 16 goals and 31 assists for 47 points. Hughes also leads the country with 31 assists. Giguere is tied for second in the NCAA with 28 assists, while Klein ranks six overall with 17 goals.
THE GREAT GIGUERE -- Élizabeth Giguère is currently first among all active players in the NCAA for career assists (161) and second in points (275). Giguère also ranks second in points per game (1.72), second in assists per game (0.99), second in goals (114) and first in game-winning goals (25).
RAISING IT AGAINST THE RANKED: UMD's top trio of Élizabeth Giguère, Gabbie Hughes and Anna Klein have raised their games against ranked teams. In 12 games, Klein leads all Bulldog scorers with seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points (1.75 ppg). Hughes has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points (1.58 ppg), while Giguere has rung up ranked teams for seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points (1.41 ppg) over those 12 elevated games.
THE SERIES: Wisconsin is one of two programs in the NCAA that UMD is upside down against with a all-time record of 32-55-15 against the Badgers. Wisconsin swept the the Bulldogs back on Oct. 15 and 17th by scores of 3-2 and a 5-4 overtime thriller.
In game one, UW used two power play goals to push ahead in the first 40 minutes. Wisconsin held UMD to 24 shots on goal while generating 37. With a 1-0 lead, the Badgers added a goal in the second period to push UW ahead 2-0 at 7:31. Wisconsin's third goal was its second power play goal of the day. Emma Soderberg made 34 saves for the Bulldogs in the setback.
The Bulldogs and Badgers battled to a 3-on-3 overtime skate in game two at AMSOIL Arena on Oct. 17 before UW scored to defeat UMD 5-4 in an instant classic.
UMD jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period behind two goals from senior winger Anna Klein, including a 1-0 boost 5:43 into the frame. It was Klein from Gabbie Hughes and Elizabeth Giguere late in the second period, giving UMD a 2-0 lead at the 18:14 mark.
Wisconsin fought back and drew the game to 2-2 into the second intermission, and would take the lead four minutes into the third period on a goal by Nicole LaMantia, Just 1:36 later, however, Giguere, with help from Klein and Hughes, knotted the game back up.
Wisconsin retook a 4-3 lead at 12:47, but again UMD -- and Giguere -- would answer. On the power play at 16:30, Giguere ripped a wrist shot to force the epic battle into a 4-4 tie and UMD's second overtime skate in its last three outings.
23 seconds was all it took for the Badgers to grab the extra league point, however, as Casey O'Brien finished off a 2-on-1 to land a 5-4 win over the Bulldogs in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Wisconsin ended up outshooting UMD 31-21. Soderberg had 28 saves for the Bulldogs.
MORE NOTES FROM THE FIRSTS WISCONSIN SERIES: UMD and UW have played into overtime in three of their last six games.
--Gabbie Hughes' four points against Wisconsin in game two was the most by a Bulldog against the Badgers since Jenny Potter and Erika Holst each put up four points in a 7-2 win back on Oct. 25, 2002. Hughes had four assists --- Potter recorded a goal and three assists and Holst two goals and two assists.
--Hughes figured in all four UMD goals in game two (four assists) and led all scorers. Two other Bulldogs finished with multiple point games -- both Elizabeth Giguere and Anna Klein had two goals and an assist for three points.
LAST TIME OUT: Behind a three-point game from Elizabeth Giguere, UMD defeated the St. Cloud State by a score of 5-1 on rare Tuesday game in St. Cloud, Minn.
On the afternoon, Kylie Hanley, Mannon McMahon, Taylor Anderson, Gabbie Hughes, and Giguere all found the back of the net. In addition to Giguere's third-point night, Hanley and McMahon each tallied a goal and an assist in the win. Sophomore goaltender Jojo Chobak got the start in net and made 17 saves off 18 St. Cloud shots for her fourth win of the season.
Prior to the Bulldogs midweek meeting with SCSU, UMD swept Minnesota State at AMSOIL over the weekend by scores for 4-2 and 5-3.
The Bulldogs upheld their new national ranking Friday with a 4-2 defeat of the Mavericks. Gabbie Hughes led all players with three assists, while her linemate, Anna Klein, chimed in for two assists. Both players reached career milestones in the contest.
Saturday, Elizabeth Giguere scored to first period goals 55 seconds apart to help the Bulldogs to a quick start against the MSU. Though the Mavericks scored two goals in the second to tie the game, goals by Hughes and Clara Van Wieren and an eventual empty-net tally by Klein kept MSU off an upset trail.
NOTES FROM THE SCSU GAME: The Bulldogs are now 3-0 against St. Cloud State this season with one more game left to play in St. Cloud, Minn. on Feb. 15.
--UMD is now 74-14-7 all-time against the Huskies and remains unbeaten in its last nine games against SCSU (8-0-1).
--Jojo Chobak notched the first assist of her career against the Huskies on UMD's third goal at 10:31. She's the first Bulldog goalie to record an assist since Maddie Rooney did it on Oct. 26, 2019.
NOTES FROM THE MSU SERIES: UMD is now 76-8-9 against the Mavericks, and wraps up the regular season 3-1. The Bulldogs outscored MSU 18-9 in those skates.
--Gabbie Hughes led all scorers with 10 points against MSU this season on three goals and seven assists in four games, while Anna Klein posed eight on two goals and six assists. Elizabeth Giguere had the most goals -- four -- to go with two assists for six points, while Naomi Rogge also had six points in four skates against the Mavericks (2g, 4a).
HUGHES ON A HAUL: Gabbie Hughes has led the NCAA in points per game for over two months, and currently has a 1.88 ppg game clip. Equally as impressive is Hughes assault on the career record books at UMD.
The assistant senior captain now has 156 career points (65g, 91a) in just 112 games, and is now tied in ninth all-time for points with Laura Fridfinnson and sits 10th in career assissts.
Hughes is also just one assist from landing in ninth spot all-time for assists, and three helpers away from Lara Stalder, who is currently in eighth place with 94 assists over her All-American career at UMD.
Hughes was the seventh-fastest player in program history to score 150 points.
POWERED PLAY: The Bulldogs rank fourth in the NCAA with a 25.7 conversion rate on 18-of-70 attempts.
HIGHLY OFFENSIVE BULLDOGS: UMD has had an abundance of offense so far this season, having now compiled 95 goals through its first 25 games. While their 95 goals are the fourth most scored this season in the NCAA, the Bulldogs rank sixth nationally with a 3.80 goals per game average --which only ranks them fourth in the WCHA.
A TRIO OF OFFENSIVE TROUBLE: UMD's line of Gabbie Hughes, Elizabeth Giguère, and Anna Klein, with three of the top-10 scorers in the nation, is the second-most offensively prolific line in the nation. The trio is averaging 1.92 goals per game -- UMD as a whole is averaging 3.80 goals per game. Only Wisconsin's first line of Daryl Watts, Casey O'Brien and Makenna Webster is averaging more goals a game (2.15).
FAST START, BEST START: UMD is 14-2 overall when it scores first and 9-3 with a lead after the first period. The Bulldogs are almost untouchable with a lead after two periods of play -- UMD is 13-1 in those games so far this season.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME: The Bulldogs are 10-4 this season outside the confines of AMSOIL Arena, and just 6-4 on home ice.
Six of the Bulldogs eight home games have been against teams ranked in the top-five, while four games have come against the No. 1 or No. 2 teams in the country.
