Jan. 23, 2005

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MADISON, Wisc. - Minnesota (21-1-2/16-0-2) and Minnesota Duluth (18-2-2/16-2-2) each earned four points in their weekend series to remain in a tie for first place with 34 points for a second straight week. Minnesota swept Ohio State (12-11-1/9-11-0) in Columbus while Minnesota Duluth took two from visiting Minnesota State (8-12-6/7-10-3). Wisconsin (18-5-1/12-5-1) maintained its hold on third place, earning four points with a sweep of North Dakota (7-16-3/4-15-1).

Friday, Minnesota posted a 4-1 win over Ohio State. Natalie Darwitz led the Gophers as she had a hand in all four tallies with a goal and three assists. The Gopher special teams were key as three of their goals came on the power play. Tessa Bonhomme scored for the Buckeyes. Minnesota goaltender Jody Horak tied the school record with her 73rd career victory. Minnesota capped the sweep with a 4-2 win on Saturday. Darwitz again set the pace with a goal and two assists while Brendan Reinen picked up the win in net. Ohio State's Jeni Creary scored both Buckeye goals on the power play.

Minnesota Duluth earned its fifth shutout of the season with a 4-0 victory over Minnesota State Friday. The Bulldogs' special teams were special as they score a power play goal and three short handed goals. Noemie Marin was credited with two of the short handed goals, tying the school record for the most short handed goals in a game and broke the records for the fastest two goals by a single player in a game and fastest two short-handed goals in a game. Saturday, Minnesota Duluth completed the sweep with a 4-1 win, led by Julianne Vashichek's two goals. Jodi Helminen lit the lamp for the Mavericks. The Badgers' defense continued to hold off its opponents as they posted an 8-0 shutout win Friday and a 6-2 win Saturday. Nikki Burish had two goals and an assist while Meghan Horras held off the Fighting Sioux in the 8-0 victory. Saturday, Burish added a goal and Sara Bauer and Molly Engstrom each had a goal and an assist while Horras earned her second straight victory. Marissa Hangsleben and Melissa Dianoski scored for North Dakota.

St. Cloud State (6-15-3/4-12-2) traveled to Niagara for a two-game non-conference series. Saturday, the Huskies fell 5-1 to the Purple Eagles. Ashley Stewart scored for St. Cloud State. Sunday, the Huskies rallied to earn a 3-3 overtime tie. Marie-Michel Lemieux, Kristy Oonincx and Carrie Holldorf tallied goals for the Huskies. Bemidji State (6-16-2/2-15-1) was off. This weekend, Ohio State travels to St. Cloud State for a Friday-Saturday series, while Minnesota hosts Wisconsin and Bemidji State travels to Minnesota Duluth for games Saturday and Sunday. North Dakota and Minnesota State have the weekend off.

This Week in the WCHA
Games for Friday, January 28: Ohio State at St. Cloud State, 2:05 p.m.
Games for Saturday, January 29: Ohio State at St. Cloud State, 2:05 p.m.; Wisconsin at Minnesota, 2:05 p.m.; Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth, 7:05 p.m.
Games for Sunday, January 30: Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth, 2:05 p.m.; Wisconsin at Minnesota, 2:05 p.m.

Last Week in the WCHA

Results of Friday, January 21:
Minnesota 4 at Ohio State 1
North Dakota 0 at Wisconsin 8
Minnesota State 0 at Minnesota Duluth 4

Results of Saturday, January 22:
Minnesota 4 at Ohio State 2
North Dakota 2 at Wisconsin 6
Minnesota State 1 at Minnesota Duluth 4
St. Cloud State 1 at Niagara 5 (nc)

Games for Sunday, January 23:
St. Cloud State 3 at Niagara 3 OT (nc)

BEMIDJI STATE BEAVERS
The Beavers were idle over the weekend...Their last time out, Bemidji State had an undefeated weekend at St. Cloud State with a 4-4 tie and a 2-0 shutout of the Huskies on January 14-15...The Beavers will look to keep the ball rolling with a two-game tilt against WCHA opponent Minnesota Duluth on Friday, January 29 and Saturday, January 30. The action will start at the DECC at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday night and continue at 2:05 p.m. Sunday...Head Coach Bruce Olson holds an 0-10-0 mark against Minnesota Duluth...Olson owns a 12-51-9 record agains current members of the WCHA Bemidji State vs. the WCHA BSU has posted a 31-109-18 (.262) record against current WCHA teams...The all-time record versus the Bulldogs stands at 0-19-1. Last season Minnesota Duluth recorded four shutouts against BSU. Also, the Bulldogs recorded two wins against the Beavers earlier this season on October 29-30 at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse, with a 6-0 shutout and a 2-1 win. Bemidji State owns an 0-10-0 record at home and an 0-9-1 away record against Minnesota Duluth.

Minnesota Golden Gophers
The No. 1 University of Minnesota women's hockey team salvaged four conference points, sweeping No. 10 Ohio State, Friday and Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio. In the first game of the series, Minnesota scored three power-play goals and an even-strength goal to win, 4-1. Krissy Wendell scored a power-play goal with Lyndsay Wall and Natalie Darwitz assisting on the play. With the assist, Natalie Darwitz broke the 200 career-point mark in just 82 games played. Two goals later, Wendell also entered the 200 career point mark, achieving her mark in 84 career games. Wall and Ashley Albrecht each netted goals in the win. For Albrecht, it was the second straight game in which she not only netted a goal, but two game-winning goals...The Gophers added their second win of the weekend, winning 4-2. Kelly Stephens scored a power-play goal, while Krissy Wendell scored a short-handed goal to put the Gophers up, 2-0. Darwitz added the game-winning goal, while Erica McKenzie scored an empty-netter for the final score...Natalie Darwitz finished the weekend with seven points, sitting at 206 career points. Darwitz moved into second on the school's all-time career scoring list, sitting at 206 points. Krissy Wendell is currently at 201, tied with former Gopher Ambria Thomas. Nadine Muzerall holds the school record with 235 career points...The goaltending spot was split for the third straight weekend. Jody Horak earned her 14th win of the season, sitting at 14-1-2. With her win, Horak tied former Gopher Erica Killewald's school win record of 73 career games...The No. 1 Gophers host No. 4 Wisconsin, Jan. 29-30 at Ridder Arena. Both games are slated for a 2:05 p.m. start. In the first border battle, the Gophers earned three WCHA points against the Badgers. Minnesota won, 2-0 in the first game and rallied to tie the game in the second game, finishing at a score of 3-3.

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
The No. 3 Bulldogs earned their eighth Western Collegiate Hockey Association sweep of the 2004-2005 campaign with 4-0 and 4-1 victories over Minnesota State University, Mankato at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center...Friday's shut-out was the fifth of the season for UMD and the third straight against the Mavericks when playing in Duluth, Minn...None of Friday's tallies came at even strength...The Bulldogs set a team and NCAA Division I Women's Hockey record for the most short-handed goals in a single game as they recorded three...Sophomore Noemie Marin set several records of her own as she garnered two of the three short-handed tallies of the evening in just 27 seconds...Marin tied the school record for the most goals while on the penalty kill by a single player in a game and broke the records for the fastest two goals by a single player in a game, fastest two short-handed goals in a game, and by a single player...Senior Caroline Ouellette recorded the third short-handed goal for the Bulldogs and added an assist which moved her to the number two spot on the all-time assist charts at UMD...Ouellette is now just one point away from her 200th career point after missing the second game of the series for a camp with Team Canada...UMD tripled the number of shots that the Mavericks recorded in Friday's contest, out-shooting Minnesota State 42-14...On Saturday it was more about defense was there were a total of 97 minutes of penalties, 77 of which were called in the third period...The 35 penalties set an NCAA Division I Women's Hockey record for the most penalties by both teams in a game...The previous high was 31 set by the Bulldogs and the University of Minnesota on Feb. 29, 2004...MSU's 21 sets the single team high in a game, the previous high as 16 by Maine and UMD...The 97 minutes also sets a high for a team combined high in a game...The previous high was set on Dec. 14, 2003 by the Bulldogs and the Gophers at 83 minutes...The 61 minutes of penalties by the Mavericks also displaces a high set on Jan. 31, 2003 by Ohio State University while they were playing UMD...The Bulldogs tied an all-time high for the most number of penalties in a single game with 14 of the 35 penalties called in the game...In the first period senior defenseman Julianne Vasichek recorded a career high two goals, with both being shot from just inside the blueline...Vasichek's first goal at 5:21 in the first was the first shot on goal for either team in the game...Blueliner Krista McArthur garnered her first point of the season on Saturday with an assist on Vasichek's first goal and added a second on the fourth goal of the game...This weekend marked the first time all season that the Bulldogs were forced to sit healthy players because they had a full linechart...Senior netminder Patricia Elsmore (Sautter) was cleared by the NCAA on Thursday and dressed for the first time since the 2003 National Championship game against Harvard...With the two victories this weekend, the Bulldogs remained a perfect 10-0-0 at home for the 2004-05 campaign...UMD has never finished a season with a perfect home record...The closest the Bulldogs have come was the 2000-01 season when they finished 17-1-2 at the DECC...UMD has not lost at home since Feb. 6, 2003, now a 12 game streak...Up next for the Bulldogs is a home series against Bemidji State...The teams meet once already this season in Bemidji, Minn where UMD took the series with 6-0 and 2-1 victories...The Bulldogs hold a 21-0-1 all-time advantage over the Beavers, including a 9-0-1 record at the DECC...The lone tie came during the 2001-02 season...Head coach Shannon Miller is just five wins away from recording her 150th career victory.

MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State fell to 8-12-6 on the season and 7-10-3 in WCHA play after dropping a pair to #3 Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated the Mavericks 4-0 and 4-1 at the DECC in Duluth, Minn....Sophomore goaltender Laura Brennan turned aside 38 of 42 shots faced in net on Friday while freshman Brit Kehler stopped 32 of 36 on Saturday. The duo has seen nearly equal time in net all season with Brennan leading the team with a .918 save percentage and a 2.50 goals against average in 14 games. Kehler leads the team with five wins and three shutouts in 12 games played...Senior forward Kristina Koga is just two games shy of cracking the top-five in Minnesota State history for career games played. The Cypress, Calif., native has seen ice time in 127 contests. With eight regular-season games remaining, she is within striking distance of the career record of 135, set by Amanda Osborn last season. In her career, Koga has scored 9-7-16...Freshman forward Jodi Helminen did not register a point in her first nine games played but has put up three goals and four assists for seven points in the twelve games sinced then. Currently fifth on the team in scoring, Helminen tallied the lone Maverick goal on the weekend at the 16:57 mark of the second period on Saturday...With an assist on the Helminen goal, sophomore Shera Vis snapped a 13-game scoring drought. She is one of six Mavericks to see action in all 26 games this season after missing six games at the end of last season with a broken leg...On Saturday, Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State combined for 97 penalty minutes, including 73 minutes in the third period alone. The game took 2:20 to complete, longer than any of MSU's six overtime games this season. The Mavericks, with 488 penalty minutes on the season, are nearing the team record in that category. Last season, MSU accumulated 511 minutes on 243 infractions to lead the WCHA...The Mavericks will enjoy a weekend off before returning to WCHA play against Wisconsin on Feb. 5-6. The games, played at the Kohl Center, are both set for 2:35 p.m. starts.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux
The Fighting Sioux (7-16-3, 4-15-1 WCHA) are idle this weekend and return to action Feb. 5-6 when they host Minnesota Duluth at Engelstad Arena...UND suffered a conference sweep at the hands of fourth-ranked Wisconsin last weekend, losing 8-0 and 6-2. The Badgers swept all four regular season games between the two teams...Seven different Badgers scored in Friday's 8-0 UND loss and the Sioux suffered their third consecutive shutout loss, a first in program history...The Sioux gave the Badgers all they could handle for two periods on Saturday and trailed 3-2 as late as the second intermission. But a three-goal third period lifted UW to the 6-2 win...UND acquitted itself well in Saturday's rematch, outshooting the Badgers 13-11 in the second period while outscoring them 2-1...When freshman F Melissa Dianoski scored a second-period goal Saturday at UW, it snapped a UND goal-scoring drought that spanned 203 minutes and 32 seconds, or 10-plus periods. The goal also put an end to Dianoski's personal eight-game goal scoring skid...UND's 16 losses this season represent the most in the young history of the program. The Sioux dropped 14 games in each of their first two seasons as a Division I program...The Sioux registered just eight shots on goal in Friday's 8-0 loss, a season-low. UND managed just one shot in each of the first two periods...Junior F Liz Funk and junior D Devon Fingland each extended their school-record consecutive games played streaks to 84 at Wisconsin last weekend. Funk and Fingland are the only two players to have played in every game in Fighting Sioux women's hockey history...With a goal and an assist on Saturday, senior captain Marissa Hangsleben notched the second two-point outing of her career (both this season)...Cara Wooster's second-period assist on Saturday snapped a seven-game point-scoring drought, the longest of the freshman's young career.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State dropped a home series vs. Minnesota last weekend in the OSU Ice Rink. Minnesota topped OSU 4-1 Friday and 4-2 Saturday. The Buckeyes held the Golden Gophers to a one-point lead Saturday until the final three minutes of the game...Ohio State sophomore goalie Erika Vanderveer tied her career-high 39 saves in game one of the series vs. Minnesota Friday. Earlier this season, Vanderveer recorded 39 saves against Minnesota Nov. 6, 2004...OSU's leading scorer Jeni Creary scored both Buckeye goals Saturday, increasing her total goals to 17 this season. Her two-goal game, marked the fourth contest this season she has posted two goals and her ninth multiple-point game. Creary is second on the squad with 27 points. She is on a three-game point streak (3-2-5)...Recording assists in both games last weekend, junior Jana Harrigan extended her point streak to eight games this season. During her stretch Harrigan has posted four goals and 10 assists for 14 points. This season, Harrigan leads the squad with 38 points and 25 assists...Game two of a series could be the difference maker for the Buckeyes this season. OSU is 8-4-0 in the second game of a series. In the first game of the series OSU is 4-7-1...Ohio State has posted a 6-2-1 record in games starting before 5 p.m. this season. The Buckeyes are 6-9-0 in late games...Ohio State hits the road to take on St. Cloud State for the beginning of an eight-game road stretch at 2:05 p.m. Jan. 28-29 in St. Cloud, Minn....In their first series of the season, the Buckeyes split a two-game home series vs. the Huskies. OSU leads SCSU 15-8-1 in the all-time series.

St. Cloud State Huskies
SCSU head coach Jason Lesteberg currently has 49 career wins. He looks to earn his 50th career win next weekend against Ohio State University as they Huskies return home to their National Hockey Center for a WCHA weekend series with the Buckeyes. Earlier this season, the Huskies split with the Buckeyes on October 8-9 as they defeated OSU 2-1 on Oct. 8, 2004...Sophomore transfer forward Hailey Clarkson currently leads the Huskies in the assist category. On the season, she has 11 assists, along with three goals for 14 season points...Kristy Oonincx, a junior transfer from Minnesota, continues to lead the Huskies in overall scoring in 2004-05. After her goal in Sunday afternoon's game against NU, she has 11 goals and six assists on the season for 17 total points...It was a memorable weekend for a few SCSU women's hockey players. Freshman forward Marie-Michel Lemieux connected on a power play goal from at 17:49 in the second period of Sunday afternoon's game against NU. This goal marks her first of the season and of her career as she tipped in the puck in the low slot. In the same game, freshman defense player Brittni Kuyper earned her first collegiate point as she assisted senior assistant captain Carrie Holldorf at 10:32 in the third period...The Huskies were led by assistant captain and senior forward Carrie Holldorf this weekend against Niagara University. On the weekend she had one goal and two assists, which puts her at eight total points on the season...SCSU sophomore goaltender, Lauri St. Jacques, tallied 36 saves on the weekend against NU. She has 302 saves, a .893 save percentage, a 2.90 GAA, and a record of 3-8-2 in 2004-05...The Huskies will return to the always rugged WCHA play this weekend against the Ohio State University Buckeyes. Since their winter break, the Huskies are 0-4-2. They look to get back on the winning streak as they return home on Friday and Saturday. The pucks are set to be dropped at 2:05 p.m. both days.

Wisconsin Badgers The No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers (18-5-1, 12-5-1 WCHA) completed its weekend series vs. North Dakota (7-16-3, 4-15-1 WCHA) with a 6-2 win Saturday night at the Kohl Center to complement its Friday night 8-0 triumph...The victory sealed a season sweep for the Badgers and set team's regular season record vs. the Sioux at 4-0...Friday, Wisconsin took its time waiting nearly nine minutes to score, but after Amy Vermeulen scored what would become the game-winner at 8:48 the flood gates opened up. Freshman defender Emily Morris notched her third career goal at 12.47 in the first...Taking a penalty just 14 seconds into the second stanza, North Dakota conceded its third goal at 1:10 when Cyndy Kenyon finished a power play shot from Nicole Uliasz at the circle. Nikki Burish scored back-to-back goals at 10:32 and 15:11 and sophomore transfer Vicki Davis inked her first goal as a Badger at 15:45. With Davis' score, all 20 Wisconsin skaters have now scored a goal this season...In the third, senior Jackie Friesen notched her 10th goal of the season at 5:52 with help from Burish. Sophomore Meaghan Mikkelson closed out the Badger scoring with a goal 13:04. Kenyon was credited with the assist...Five Badgers finished the night with multi-point games. Seniors Vermeulen and Friesen each notched a goal and an assist, as did Kenyon and Davis. Marking three points, Burish scored two goals and an assist...Though it was her slowest night this season, Meghan Horras started in the Badger net and collected eight saves in the shutout and her 10th win of the season. For the Sioux, Margaret-Ann Hinkley started the night making 22 saves in just under 37 minutes. After allowing six goals, UND switched Hinkley out for sophomore Jenna Burdy. Burdy collected nine saves and allowed two more goals in her 23 minutes of play. Hinkley was assessed the loss...Saturday, Bauer starting the action at 7:43 in the first, just under a minute into the period's only power-play opportunity...Phoebe Monteleone marked her third goal of the season after firing one past the goalie at 14:56...Credited with the assists were defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar and goaltender Horras. It was Horras' first career assist...In the second, UND grabbed an even-strength goal at 3:32 and a power-play goal later at 11:41...Vicki Davis notched the game-winner between the Sioux goals, unassisted at 8:46...Her goal was her second of the season and her second unassisted...Heading into the third period with just a one-goal lead, Wisconsin pounded in three insurance goals to seal the win...Molly Engstrom scored her eighth power-play goal of the season at 1:07 with help from Bauer...Engstrom is ranked third nationally among defensemen in points per game...Mikkelson and Burish waited until later in the period to score their goals at 10:14 and 15:20, respectively. Mikkelsen had help from Kenyon and Slusar, but Burish went it alone with her fourth unassisted goal of the season...After this series, five Badgers boast point scoring streaks, leading the way is Burish on a five-game streak while Kenyon Mikkelson, Davis and Slusar have tallied at least one point in each of the last two games...In goal, besides her assist, Wisconsin's Horras marked 17 saves and the third Sioux netminder to see action in the series, Amber Hasbargen collected 33 saves...Horras now owns an 11-3-1 record and a 1.52 goals-against average. Her GAA ranks fifth among the nation's goaltenders...The Badgers will gear up this week to face No. 1 Minnesota (21-1-2, 16-0-2 WCHA) in the teams' second and final series of the regular season. After being shut out in their first meeting, 2-0 on Dec. 4, the Badgers battled the Gophers to a 3-3 tie on Dec. 5. Wisconsin scored first and led Minnesota until a late goal pushed the game to a draw in overtime. The Saturday-Sunday series will begin at 2:05 p.m. both days at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.

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