Feb. 2, 2010

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MADISON, Wis. - The University of Minnesota, voted as the nation's top-ranked women's team for the first time this season on Feb. 1 by U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO.com), will try to wrap up its second straight Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title this weekend when it travels north to take on streaking second place Minnesota Duluth at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center (DECC) this Friday (Feb. 5) and Saturday (Feb. 6) night. Face-offs are set for 7:07 pm CT each night.

The Golden Gophers, who are unbeaten in 11 games (8-0-3), need four points this weekend to clinch the league title, while No. 5-ranked Minnesota Duluth, sporing a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) of its own, looks to close the gap in the WCHA standings. Minnesota, with 40 points, enters the weekend series with a seven-point lead in the race for the 2009-10 WCHA championship, while the Bulldogs have 33 points and rank second with six games left in the regular season. In the first series played between the two rivals back on Oct. 16-17, host Minnesota swept UMD by 3-1 and 3-0 scores.

In a historic game this weekend involving two teams battling for third place and home ice for the playoffs, defending national champion Wisconsin will host Bemidji State at Camp Randall Stadium in the first outdoor game in women's WCHA history. This Saturday's (Feb. 6) game between the No. 10-ranked Badgers and Beavers will be part of the Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic and is the second-ever U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Classic. It will be televised Saturday night at 8 p.m. CT on a tape delayed basis on the Big Ten Network. The series finale between the third place Badgers and fourth place Beavers will be played Sunday, Feb. 7 at the Kohl Center. BSU and the UW split their season-opening series back on Oct. 10-11, with the host Beavers winning 1-0 and the Badgers prevailing 3-1.

In two other WCHA series this weekend, Ohio State plays host to North Dakota on Friday at 7:07 pm ET and Saturday at 4:07 pm ET at the OSU Ice Rink while St. Cloud State and Minnesota State play a home-and-home set. The Huskies and Mavericks will play at 2:07 pm on Friday at SCSU's National Hockey Center and then at 12:07 pm CT on Sunday at All Seasons Arena in Mankato. Ohio State and North Dakota split their first two-game set of the season back on Nov. 6-7 in Grand Forks, with the Sioux winning 5-4 on that Friday and the Buckeyes winning 3-1 on that Saturday. And St. Cloud State holds a 1-0-1 advantage in their regular season series vs Minnesota State, after a 4-4 (ot) tie in Mankato on Dec. 4 and a 1-0 triumph in St. Cloud on Dec. 5.

With 22 conference games played in the 28 WCHA games per team regular season, defending WCHA champion Minnesota (21-3-4, 17-2-3-3 WCHA) holds first place with 40 points, Minnesota Duluth (19-7-2, 15-5-2-1 WCHA) is second with 33, Wisconsin (15-10-3, 12-9-1 WCHA) is third with 25 points, Bemidji State (8-13-7, 7-8-7-3 WCHA) is in fourth place with 24, St. Cloud State (11-11-6, 8-10-4-3 WCHA) is fifth with 23, Ohio State (13-11-4, 10-10-2 WCHA) is sixth with 22 points, Minnesota State (4-17-5, 2-15-5-3 WCHA) is seventh with 12 and North Dakota (5-17-4, 4-16-2 WCHA) is eighth with 10 points.

Aside from the derby for the top spot, there is battle for a spot in the top four in the final regular season standings which assures home ice for the opening round of WCHA playoffs. In that race four teams - from third place Wisconsin to sixth place Ohio State - are separated by just three points. The teams that finish in the top four of the final regular season standings will host a first round, on-campus, best-of-three playoff series. The winners of those series advance to the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF at Ridder Arena March 6-7.

In WCHA play last weekend (Jan. 29-31), both Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth recorded sweeps. The Gophers won twice over visiting Minnesota State, 4-2 and 4-1, while the Bulldogs swept at North Dakota, 4-3 (ot) and 5-0. St. Cloud State managed to earn four points from visiting Bemidji State with a 3-2 victory last Friday and a 3-3 (ot) tie last Saturday (SCSU won the shootout). And host Ohio State split with Wisconsin, with the Buckeyes capturing a 5-4 decision on Jan. 29 and the Badgers prevailing 3-2 on Jan. 30.

Looking ahead to the weekend of February 12, there will again be a full slate of four WCHA series on the docket. Minnesota and St. Cloud State will engage in a home-and-home set, Minnesota Duluth entertains Ohio State, Wisconsin hosts Minnesota State, and North Dakota travels to Bemidji State.

In this week's (Feb. 1) USCHO.com Division 1 Women's College Hockey Poll Minnesota is ranked No. 1, Minnesota Duluth is No. 5 and Wisconsin is at No. 10. Ohio State also received votes.

In non-conference play so far this season, WCHA-member teams are a collective 21-14-9 (.580) overall.

 

This Week in the WCHA

Games for Friday, February 5: Minnesota State at St. Cloud State (WCHA), 2:07 pm CT; North Dakota at Ohio State (WCHA), 7:07 pm ET; Minnesota at Minnesota Duluth (WCHA), 7:07 pm CT.

Games for Saturday, February 6: * Bemidji State at Wisconsin (WCHA), 2:07 pm CT; North Dakota at Ohio State (WCHA), 4:07 pm CT; Minnesota at Minnesota Duluth (WCHA), 7:07 pm CT. * Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic.

Games for Sunday, February 7: St. Cloud State at Minnesota State (WCHA), 12:07 pm CT; Bemidji State at Wisconsin (WCHA), 2:07 pm CT.

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