The No. 7 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will jump right back into Western Collegiate Hockey Association play this weekend when it heads to Columbus, Ohio to face No. 1 Ohio State University. The Friday-Saturday series gets underway Friday at 5:00 p.m. and concludes at 2:00 p.m. Saturday

THE SERIES:  UMD and Ohio State have met 111 times over their rich histories, a all-time series that heavily favors the Bulldogs but that as of recently has tilted toward the Buckeyes.

All-Time Record: UMD leads 74-29-9

Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 2023 (0-2 Loss, Home)

Last Series: Oct. 13-14, 2023 (Swept, Home)

First Meeting: Oct. 20, 1999 (UMD won 4-2)

Last Season: 1-4-0

Last 10 Meetings: 2-8-0

Notables: Seven of the last 10 UMD-Buckeye games have been decided by a single point, including their 2022 NCAA title tilt, which went to OSU by a score of 3-2.

OSU swept UMD at AMSOIL early this season by scores of 5-2 and 2-0 on Oct. 13-14. In Friday's 5-2 setback, the Bulldogs opened up the game's scoring with a goal from Katie Davis at 3:07 for the opening lead.

OSU struck back with a pair of goals from Hadley Hartmetz 1:32 apart. Hartmetz's goals, which included a power play tally, put the Buckeyes out front 2-1, a lead OSU took into the first intermission.

 That OSU lead extended to 3-1 on a shorthanded goal by Jenna Buglioni 5:30 into the second period, but UMD again pulled within one on graduate senior forward Reece Hunt's second goal in as many games. Hunt took an errant puck from Thiele in the slot and buried it at 12:36 to make it a 3-2 game, a score that would hold up after 40 minutes of action.

 The lone two goals of the third period came from OSU, however, one at 3:57 and then an empty-netter with just 1:06 left to tilt game one of the series to the Buckeyes.

Rookie goaltender Ève Gascon had 31 saves in net. The Buckeyes were 1-of-2 on their power play, while UMD was held scoreless in six attempts. OSU outshot UMD 36-12 in the game.

In Saturday's 2-0 loss, power plays were once again the deciding factor.Just as the day before, the Buckeyes were able to use two power plays to get ahead of the Bulldogs.  A five-minute contact to the head penalty called on UMD at 17:57 of the first period finally resulted in an OSU breakthrough on Gascon by Buckeye Hannah Bilka at 1:10 of the second period. Just 1:41 later, OSU netted its fourth power play of the series and second of the game to take a 2-0 lead in the game.

A late push by the Bulldogs in the third period tested the Buckeyes, but goaltender Raygan Kirk stopped all 16 shots on goals she faced. Gascon made 40 saves in her third UMD start.

UMD vs. Ohio State - 74-29-8 All-Time

(Last 10 games)

Oct. 14, 2023 0-2 Loss Home

Oct. 13, 2023 2-5 Loss Home

March 3, 2023 1-2 Loss Neutral*

Dec. 3, 2022 5-4 OT Win Home

Dec. 2, 2022 1-2 Loss Home

Oct. 22, 2022 2-3 Loss Away

Oct. 21, 2022 2-3 OT Loss Awa

Mar. 20, 2022 2-3 Loss Neutral+

Jan. 22, 2022 1-3 Loss Away

Jan. 21, 2022 1-0 Win Away

Dec. 4, 2021 2-6 Loss Home

+NCAA Frozen Four Championship 

*WCHA Final Face-Off Semi

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs swept Bemidji State in their first action at AMSOIL of 2024 by scores of 2-0 and 7-0. 

Freshman Grace Sadura scored late in the first period and Hanna Baskin netted the empty netter late in the third to secure UMD's 2-0 win over the Beavers Friday night. The shutout was the third of the season for sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod, who made 21 saves.

On Saturday, Reece Hunt scored a natural hat trick, with two goals in the first and one in the second period that helped lead the Bulldogs to an offensive  explosion over the Beavers in the 7-0 games. Rookie netminder Ève Gascon made 18 saves for her fourth shutout of the season.

NOTES FROM THE BEMIDJI STATE SERIES: UMD has now won 13-straight games against the Beavers, and leads the all-time series 92-22-1. The Bulldogs have put up five or more goals in eight of those 13 consecutive wins against BSU.

--Reece Hunt's hat trick was the third of the season by a Bulldog. Both Mannon McMahon and Clara Van Wieren had back in UMD's series with Long Island University to start the season.

--UMD's penalty kill unit, currently ranked third in the country with a 91.9 success rate,  kept the Beavers scoreless on its power play in the game over the weekend (0-of-3).

PENALTY KILLERS: The Bulldogs have kept opponents scoreless on their last 29 power plays, a sum that includes three successful penalty kills against Bemidji State last weekend. In fact, the last power play goal scored against UMD was back on Nov. 17 -- 11 games ago.  That streak has come against six teams, five of which were ranked in the top-8.

The Bulldogs currently own the nation's third-best power play with a 91.59 success rate, which also sits UMD first in the WCHA.

The last time the Bulldogs ran a penalty kill streak this high? Over the 2007-08 season where UMD killed off 40 straight between Dec. 8, 2007 through Feb. 1, 2008.

MCMAHON FACES OFF: Graduate center Mannon McMahon ranks first in the WCHA and fourth in all of the NCAA with 300 face-off wins.

Overall, McMahon is 300-222, and has second fewest losses of the three players ahead of her in wins (and all but one has played at least two more games than McMahon.)

STRIKE FIRST: The Bulldogs are 12-2-2 when they score first, and unbeaten with the lead after the first period (9-0-1) and after two periods (11-0-2).

One of UMD's two losses with the game's first lead? Game one against Ohio State back on Oct. 13.

GOALTENDING GALORE: The Bulldogs have one of the best goaltending tandems in all of the NCAA between sophomore Hailey MacLeod and freshman Ève Gascon.

MacLeod, both a WCHA Goaltender of the Month and Week already, owns the NCAA's second-highest saves percentage of .957, and has the nation's third lowest GAA of 1.10. With three shutouts, MacLeod has a record of 7-2-2, and even more remarkably, over her career, owns just two losses. In two seasons at UMD, MacLeod now has a 12-2-2 record.

Gascon has earned both WCHA Goaltender and WCHA Rookie of the Week honors, and currently is tied for sixth in the NCAA with three shutouts. Gascon had a career-high 48 saves against Wisconsinon Dec. 2,  and owns a .950 saves percentage -- the fifth nighest in the NCAA.

Gascon is tied the second most shutouts recorded by a Bulldog freshman goaltender. With four shutouts, Gascon is in rare company, and trails only Jennifer Harss, who had five shutouts as a rookie in 2009-10.

Gascon has tied both Kim Martin (three shutouts in 2006-07) and Tuula Puputti (three in 1999-00), as well as Kayla Black (four in 2011-12). Martin piled up her three shutouts immediately -- the eventual All-American racked up three clean sheets in her first four starts at UMD.

THE 550 CLUB: The Bulldogs as a program are currently at 551 program wins after reaching win No. 550 Friday afternoon against Bemidji State.

MCMAHON STREAKS ON: Graduate senior Mannon McMahon has now played the third most consecutive games in program history. 

The forward has skated in 156 straight-games to date behind former teammates Ashton Bell at No. 2 with 164, and Anna Klein, who owns a program-best 165 consecutive games played. 

UMD's all-time games played record was set last season by Naomi Rogge, and stands at 168 games. McMahon is currently ranked ninth all-time -- 14 games behind Rogge.