Feb. 7, 2005

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MADISON, Wisc. - Four teams recorded sweeps over the weekend as the WCHA heads into its final three weeks of play in the regular season. Two teams also reached the 20-win mark as Minnesota (25-12/20-0-2) earned two wins at St. Cloud State (7-14-4/5-14-3) while Minnesota Duluth (22-2-2/20-2-2) swept North Dakota (7-18-3/4-17-1) on the road.

Wisconsin (20-7-1/14-7-1) recorded a sweep of Minnesota State (8-14-6/7-12-3) at home and Ohio State (14-12-2/11-12-1) picked up four points with a road sweep of Bemidji State (6-20-2/2-19-1). Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth remain tied for first place in the standings with 42 points while Wisconsin is third with 29 points and Ohio State in fourth with 23. Minnesota State holds onto fifth place with 17 points followed by St. Cloud State (sixth, 13 points), North Dakota (seventh, nine points) and Bemidji State (eighth, five points).

Friday, Minnesota topped St. Cloud State 4-1 as Kelly Stephens and Krissy Wendell each had a goal and an assist and Natalie Darwitz dished out three helpers. Denelle Maguet scored for the Huskies. The Golden Gophers then earned their 20th victory on the season with a 5-1 win Saturday and marked just the second time in Gopher history they have earned 20 wins in WCHA play. Darwitz had a goal and an assist while Lyndsay Wall added two assists to lead the Gophers while Ashley Stewart tallied for St. Cloud State.

Minnesota Duluth topped North Dakota 5-1 Saturday and 4-1 Sunday. In the 5-1 win, Noemie Marin recorded her third hattrick of the season while Caroline Ouellette added a goal and three assists. Melissa Dianoski scored for the Fighting Sioux. Sunday, Ouellette recorded a hattrick and Karine Demeule scored a goal and two assists to lead the Bulldogs.

Wisconsin posted a 3-0 shutout Saturday against Minnesota State as Lindsay Macy had a power play goal and an assist and Meghan Horras made 14 saves to earn the shutout. Sunday, Sara Bauer led the Badgers to the 7-2 win and the sweep with a hattrick, with one goal coming shorthanded. Jinelle Zaugg and Jackie Friesen each scored twice. Jen Jonsson and Melanie Salatino tallied for the Mavericks.

Ohio State got back on the winning track Friday, topping Bemidji State 5-1. Jeni Creary led the way with two goals and an assist. Goaltender Melissa Glaser stopped 39 of the 40 shots she faced to pick up the win. Saturday, Meghan Mulvaney lit the lamp twice for the Buckeyes and Glaser made 30 saves to secure the victory. Nikki Eckebrecht had a goal and an assist for Bemidji State.

The teams head into the home stretch with just three league weekends remaining. Ohio State travels to Wisconsin, Minnesota Duluth is at St. Cloud State, Minnesota State hosts Bemidji State and Minnesota hosts North Dakota.

This Week in the WCHA
Games for Friday, February 11: Ohio State at Wisconsin, 7:05 p.m.; Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 7:05 p.m.; Bemidji State at Minnesota State, 7:05 p.m.; Games for Saturday, February 12: Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 2:05 p.m.; North Dakota at Minnesota, 2:05 p.m.; Bemidji State at Minnesota State, 3:05 p.m.; Ohio State at Wisconsin, 7:05 p.m.; Games for Sunday, February 13: North Dakota at Minnesota, 2:05 p.m.

Last Week in the WCHA

Results of Friday, February 4:
Ohio State 5 at Bemidji State 1
Minnesota 4 at St. Cloud State 1
Results of Saturday, February 5:
Ohio State 4 at Bemidji State 3
Minnesota Duluth 5 at North Dakota 1
Minnesota State 0 at Wisconsin 3
Minnesota 5 at St. Cloud State 1
Results of Sunday, February 6:
Minnesota Duluth 4 at North Dakota 1
Minnesota State 2 at Wisconsin 7

USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll
January 31 (first-place votes in parentheses)
Last Ranking Record 1. Minnesota, 146 (11) 1 23-1-2
2. Dartmouth, 139 (4) 2 19-1-0 139
3. Minnesota Duluth, 119 3 20-2-2
4. Wisconsin, 106 4 18-7-1
5. St. Lawrence, 83 5 19-4-3
6. Harvard, 75 6 11-6-2
7. Mercyhurst, 67 7 17-5-2
8. New Hampshire, 38 8 16-5-4
9. Princeton, 34 9 11-5-4
10. Providence, 18 NR 13-7-4
Others Receiving Votes: none

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll
February 1 (first-place votes in parentheses)
Last Ranking Record 1. Minnesota, 186(15) 1 23-1-2
2. Dartmouth, 175 (4) 2 19-1-0
3. Minnesota Duluth, 151 3 20-2-2
4. Wisconsin, 134 4 18-7-1
5. St. Lawrence, 108 5 19-4-3
6. Harvard, 95 6 11-6-2
7. Mercyhurst, 81 7 17-5-2
8. New Hampshire, 55 8 16-5-4
9. Princeton, 37 9 11-5-4
10. Providence, 23 NR 13-7-4
Others receiving votes: None.

BEMIDJI STATE BEAVERS
Bemidji State played host to Ohio State and dropped a pair of games with the latter of the two being a Saturday night thriller. The Buckeyes, sitting in fourth place in the WCHA, downed the Beavers 5-1 and 4-3 on Feb. 4-5....Bemidji State held a 1-0 lead through the end of the first period on Friday afternoon with the goal coming courtesy of Senior Jenny Schnickel. Nikki Eckebrecht gathered the assist. Two second period goals by the Buckeyes would proved to be the difference as the Beaver offense was held in check throughout the second and third periods. Ohio State, however, would add two third period goals to their total to finish the game with a 5-1 victory. Emily Brookshaw had 23 saves in the loss for BSU...Saturday afternoon started out much the same for the Beavers as Jenny Schnickel scored the only first period goal for either time on with a helper from Nikki Eckebrecht. Bemidji State couldn't contain the Buckeye offense in period two. Ohio State lit the scoreboard three times in the period with Meaghan Mulvaney notching two of the goals. The 3-1 Ohio State lead only made it 5:22 into the third period before the Beavers scored the second of their two third period goals with came within a span of 65 seconds. An unassisted slapshot by Carly Napier on a breakaway and a feed from Kelly Hart to Nikki Eckebrecht brought the score to 3-3. However, an unassisted goal by the Buckeyes' Amber Bowman with just 4:01 to play sealed the game 4-3...Nikki Eckebrecht racked up her fourth multi-point game of the 2004-05 campaign with a goal and an assist on Saturday afternoon...Jenny Schnickel and Eckebrecht each started a two-game point scoring streak...The Beavers have now lost five straight to the Buckeyes and saw their all-time series record drop to 7-14-3...Schnickel had a goal in each game on the weekend from her defense position and now has four of her 10 career goals versus Ohio State...The Beavers get back on the road to visit the Minnesota State Mavericks for a two-game weekend matchup. The WCHA conference games are slated for 7:05 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11 and 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12...Head Coach Bruce Olson holds a 1-6-3 record in his career versus Minnesota State University...Olson has posted a 12-55-9 record against current members of the WCHA...BSU owns a 31-113-18 record against current WCHA opponents...The all-time series record versus the Mavericks stands a 8-11-5. Last season the Beavers were only able to avoid a loss once in four games versus MSU. The tie came in a 2-2 game on Feb. 20, 2004. The Beavers lost the other three meetings of the two teams. Earlier this season, Minnesota State came to John S. Glas Fieldhouse in Bemidji and took two wins away from the Beavers, 5-3 and 4-2. Bemidji State holds a 3-6-4 home record and a 5-5-1 away record in games all-time versus Minnesota State. The two teams have never met on neutral ice.

Minnesota Golden Gophers
No. 1 Minnesota earned its ninth WCHA series sweep, defeating the St. Cloud State Huskies, Friday and Saturday night. With the win, the Gophers improve to 25-1-2 overall and 20-1-2 in the WCHA. In the Gophers' second win of the season, the Maroon and Gold accomplished its 20th conference win of the season. The last time the Gophers earned 20 conference wins dates back to the first year of the WCHA in 1999-2000. Minnesota held a 21-2-1 conference mark and a 32-6-1 record overall...The Golden Gophers scored two power-play goals in Friday's game, winning 4-1. Minnesota had six players score a point in the win. Natalie Darwitz had three assists, while Kelly Stephens and Krissy Wendell each had two points. Lyndsay Wall, Erica McKenzie and Andrea Nichols each tallied a point in the win. Jody Horak was in goal for the Gophers, earning her 17th win of the season. She allowed one goal in 16 shots for the game...Minnesota swept the Huskies, winning the second game by a score of 5-1. The Golden Gophers had two players score their first goals in a Gopher uniform, while another scored her second goal of her career. Maggie Souba scored her first career goal in the first period, which turned out to be the eventual game-winning goal. Anya Miller also scored her first goal as a Golden Gopher at 15:35 of the second period. Stacy Troumbly scored with one second remaining in the game on a power-play opportunity. It was her first power-play goal of her Gopher career. Brenda Reinen was in goal for the Gophers, stopping 25 of 26 Husky shots on goal...With Troumbly's goal, every Gopher skater has scored a point this season. Natalie Darwitz leads the team with 83 points, followed by Krissy Wendell with 75 and Kelly Stephens with 52. Darwitz and Wendell have the most points by a Division I hockey player, men's or women's. Colorado College's Marty Sertich leads Division I men with 54 points. Lyndsay Wall leads the defensemen in scoring with 38 points...Erica McKenzie scored her ninth goal of the season in Saturday's win. It was McKenzie's ninth goal of the season and 16th point of her career. The goal was also her ninth point in 10 games played...Minnesota has allowed one or no goals in 18 games this season. The most goals allowed was five in the Gophers' lone loss of the season. Minnesota has had nine shutouts in 28 games played this season. Of the nine, eight have come against WCHA competition...The Golden Gophers host North Dakota, Feb. 12-13. Both games are scheduled for 2:05 p.m. starts. Minnesota opened the 2004-05 season against UND, winning 8-0 and 7-1. It was UND's first weekend of WCHA competition.

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth earned its first series sweep of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. with 5-1 and 4-1 victories over the weekend. It was the first two meetings in the all-time series between the team in Grand Forks, N.D....The Bulldogs had played in Ralph Engelstad Arena when they won the 2003 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament Championship, but not against the Fighting Sioux, as they were not part of the league at that time...Sophomore Noemie Marin tallied her third hat-trick of the season on Saturday. Marin now has 47 points this campaign, well over double of last year's mark (20). Defenseman Krista McArthur garnered an assist on four of UMD's five goals in Saturday's victory and doubled her output for the season. Marin and McArthur left Grand Forks, N.D. earlier on Sunday morning to fly to Germany, where they will participate in a tournament with the Canadian Under-22 team...Senior Caroline Ouellette recorded eight points to push her season total over 60 for the third straight season. Ouellette is now just 18 points away from the No. 2 spot on the Bulldog Career Total Points chart and 21 assists away from the No. 1 spot on the all-time Assists boards...Riitta Schaublin made 19 saves for the Bulldogs on Saturday. She now has 1,055 career saves good for the No. 2 spot on the Career Saves list right above fellow netminder Patricia Elsmore (963). Schaublin needs only 255 more saves to take the lead from Tuula Puputti (1,309)...Julianne Vasichek now has a new career high 23 assists and 25 points in a single season...as a team UMD had a 75% power-play conversion (3-of-4) in Saturday's battle, the best rate during the 2004-05 campaign. The previous high was .600 (3-of-5) against Bemidji State University on Oct. 29, 2004...On Sunday the Bulldogs were lead by Ouellette who garnered her second hat-trick of the year and the seventh of her career and added an assist...Sunday's victory gave Head Coach Shannon Miller her 150th career coaching win...Patricia Elsmore started in her second game of the season and was just 2:20 from her second shutout before Cara Wooster scored the first goal on her in 117:40 minutes of play...The victory tied Elsmore for the No. 1 spot on the all-time Goaltending Wins charts with 43...She is tied with Tuula Puputti...Rookie Karin Demeule recorded her second goal of the year and added two assists for her first multiple point game of her career...The Bulldogs top line was responsible for eight of the nine goals scored during the series as Ouellette tallied four, Marin three, and Jessica Koizumi one...Up next for UMD is the last road series of the season at St. Cloud State University. Earlier this season the Bulldogs blanked the Huskies at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (3-0, 4-0). The six year series stands at 19-2-1, with a 9-1-0 record at the National Hockey Center...The Bulldogs are now on a seven game winning streak (Jan. 15, 2005-Feb. 6, 2005) and have won 15 of their last 16 games.

MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State dropped a pair of WCHA games to No. 4 Wisconsin in Madison on Saturday and Sunday. The Badgers blanked the Mavericks 3-0 on Saturday and outscored them 7-2 in the series finale. With the setbacks, MSU stands at 8-14-6 overall and 7-12-3 in conference play...The seven goals allowed were the most for the Mavericks this season and most since Feb. 28 of last season...Senior forward Melanie Salatino tallied her eighth goal of the season in the second period on Sunday. In doing so, she extended her career record for goals and moved into a tie for second place on the MSU charts with 60 career points...With two assists on Sunday, Kristina Bunker had her fifth multi-point effort of the season. She also moved into a second-place tie with Salatino on the team scoring charts with 4-12-16...By sliding a shot from the blue line under the pads of the UW goaltender, junior defenseman Jen Jonsson tallied her first goal since January 11, 2003...Freshman Amanda Stohr registered one assist on the weekend to remain atop the MSU scoring charts at 8-9-17...Minnesota State completes the season series with Bemidji State next weekend. It is also the final home action of the season. The Friday-Saturday series takes place at All Seasons Arena, with 7:05 p.m. and 3:05 p.m. starts, respectively.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux
UND takes to the road this weekend for a two-game against top-ranked Minnesota. The two teams last met on Oct. 8-9, which marked UND's first-ever conference games as a member of the WCHA. The Gophers left Grand Forks with a sweep, winning 8-0 and 7-1. Those were also the first meetings between the two teams in women's hockey...The Sioux were swept at home last weekend by Minnesota Duluth, losing 5-1 and 4-1. Sunday's 4-1 loss represented the closest game in the eight-game all-time series between the two teams...The Sioux outshot the Bulldogs 9-3 in the second period of Sunday's game, the first time UND had ever held a period edge in shots against UMD...Freshman F Melissa Dianoski scored UND's lone goal in Saturday's 5-1 loss, her second goal in as many games. Dianoski had previously gone eight consecutive games without a goal...Freshman F Cara Wooster scored UND's lone goal on Sunday, her ninth of the season. It also pushed her into the team scoring lead with 20 points. She had entered the weekend tied for the scoring lead with sister Cami Wooster...Junior F Liz Funk and junior D Devon Fingland each extended their consecutive games played streaks to 86 games against Minnesota Duluth. Funk and Fingland are the only two players to have played in all 86 games in team history...Sophomore F Alexia Gagnon Laplante returned to the lineup last weekend after a 13-game absence. Freshman D Stefanie Ubl returned after missing the previous two games. However, freshman F and team scoring leader Cami Wooster and sophomore D Rachel Cutcliffe missed both games against Minnesota Duluth.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State earned four conference points as the Buckeyes swept Bemidji State for the first time in program history. Despite being outshot 73 to 61, OSU downed BSU, 5-1, Friday and, 4-3, Saturday. The Buckeyes improved to 16-7-3 in the overall series and 5-5-2 in Bemidji, Minn....The Buckeyes' penalty-killing unit held Bemidji State scoreless on all seven power-play attempts on the weekend...Six of Ohio State's nine goals against Bemidji State were scored in the second period. The other three goals were scored in the third period...Three Buckeyes recorded four points each in the sweep over the Beavers. Senior captain Meaghan Mulvaney led the squad with three goals, including the game-winner Friday, and an assist. Senior Jeni Creary (2-2-4) and sophomore Amber Bowman (1-3-4) also tallied four points...Ten Buckeyes posted points in the sweep vs. BSU. Five players tallied two or more points....After recording two points vs. Bemidji State, Jana Harrigan extended her point streak to 12 games this season. During her stretch Harrigan has posted five goals and 13 assists for 18 points. Harrigan also recorded her 100th career point Friday and 101 point Saturday to move up to second in the OSU record books with 101 career points, two points ahead of former Buckeye Emma Laaksonen (2001-04)...Senior goalie Melissa Glaser held BSU on 69 of 73 shots. With the two wins, Glaser improved to 7-6-1 this season and a .902 save percentage...Junior forward Katie Sershen scored her first collegiate goal and her sixth career point...All three members of Buckeye junior class recorded points in game one vs. BSU Friday. Katie Sershen and Crystal Sayther both scored goals, while Jana Harrigan tallied an assist...Freshman Mallory Peckels led the rookie class with two assists on the weekend, improving to 11 points this season...Ohio State takes on No. 4 Wisconsin at 8:05 p.m. EST Feb. 11-12 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. The game Feb. 11 will be televised live nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV)...Wisconsin leads the all-time series 17-3-5 vs. OSU. Earlier this season, Ohio State split a two-game series with Wisconsin in Columbus.

St. Cloud State Huskies
Junior forward Kristy Oonincx continues to lead the Huskies in the scoring department in 2004-05. On the weekend with the Gophers, she had one assist in the Friday night game. For the season, she leads the team in goals with 12 and has 8 assists for 20 total points...Ashley Stewart, another junior forward, had the lone goal of Saturday night's game against the Gophers. On the season, she has 9 goals and 9 assists for 18 total points, which marks the second slot in scoring leaders for the Huskies...Sophomore forward, Hailey Clarkson, continues to lead the Huskies in the assist category, as she has 4 goals and 13 assists on the season. She tallied one assist in the Saturday night game against the Gophers...Senior captain Tina Ciraulo tallied on assist in the series against the Gophers. On the season, she has 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points. Senior assistant captain Carrie Holldorf also tallied one assist in the series against the Gophers, as she now has 2 goals and 9 assists on the season for 11 points...SCSU goaltender, Lauri St. Jacques, notched 81 saves in the weekend series with the Gophers. On the season, she has 435 saves, a GAA of 2.97, and a save percentage of .899. Her season record stands at 4-10-3...The Huskies outshot the Gophers in two of the six periods this weekend. In Friday's game, they outshot the Gophers 10-7 in the third period. In Saturday's game, they outshot the Gophers 10-8 in the second period...The Huskies fall to 7-17-4, 5-14-3 WCHA on the season as the No. 1 Gophers improve to 25-1-2, 20-0-2 WCHA. St. Jacques tallied 42 saves in tonight's game, as her season record stands at 4-10-3. SCSU plays host to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs next weekend to finish off their three-weekend home stretch. The puck is set to be dropped at 7:07 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11, and 2:07 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, in the National Hockey Center.

Wisconsin Badgers
No. 4 Wisconsin (20-7-1, 13-7-1 WCHA) completed a season sweep of Minnesota State (8-14-6, 7-12-3 WCHA) at the Kohl Center over the weekend. Wisconsin denied all Minnesota State attempts in a 3-0 shutout Saturday and commanded a 7-2 victory Sunday...Unless the teams meet in the WCHA tournament, the Badger victory also sealed another season unbeaten vs. the Mavericks. The all-time series stands at 23-0-1 in favor of Wisconsin...Friday night, the game-winner was scored at 16:15 in the second period after the teams had battled through over half the game, scoreless. Jackie Friesen flipped the puck over Brit Kehler's right shoulder while on the power play. In the third, Cyndy Kenyon lit the lamp just 1:41 into the final bracket. Sophomores Meaghan Mikkelson and Kristen Witting were credited with the helpers. Lindsay Macy put the game out of reach with a third goal at 11:08. Sara Bauer and Sharon Cole added the assists. In goal, Wisconsin's Meghan Horras made her eighth consecutive appearance and tallied her 12th win of the season. The blueliners in front of her, blocked 10 shots leaving Horras with just 14 to clean up as she gathered her seventh shutout of the season. For MSU Kehler turned away 32 shots on goal while allowing three in her seventh loss of the season...A reversal from Saturday's game, Wisconsin rocketed four goals in during the first period alone. Starting things off, newcomer Jinelle Zaugg notched one at 9:15 in the first. Lending a hand was Molly Engstrom and goaltender Horras. Stopping the puck behind her net, before handing it off to Engstrom, it was Horras' second assist of the season. Scoring again, just over a minute later on a power play at 10:44, Jackie Friesen inked her first goal of the day when she guided a shot from Nicole Uliasz over the MSU goalie's shoulder. Nikki Burish was also credited with an assist. Bauer closed out the period with goals at 16:33 and 18:54. In the second, MSU's Melanie Salatino spoiled a natural hat trick for Sara Bauer sneaking in a goal at 1:49 before Bauer could finish her last goal at 4:16. Rounding out the scoring for Wisconsin, Zaugg and Friesen each tallied goals at 7:49 and 15:28, respectively. The Badgers created several opportunities in the third period but could extend their lead and instead, conceded one final goal to the Maverick's Jen Jonsson at 7:27. It was her first goal of the season and since her freshman season. In net for the Badgers, Horras improved to 13-5-1 on the season and turned away 14 shots on goal. Laura Brennan shielded 29 shots from the MSU net, but dropped to 3-7-5 on the season...The Badgers were without the services of defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar and forward Mikkelson Sunday. The two sophomores will skate for their native Canada's U-22 team in the upcoming Air Canada Cup, Feb. 10-12 in Duisburg, Germany...Wisconsin will compete in its final home series of the regular season, Feb. 11-12 at the Kohl Center. The Badgers will host Ohio State at 7:05 p.m. both Friday and Saturday night. The teams split games in the last meeting, Oct. 22-23...OSU is on of just three teams to have defeated the Badgers this season...Friday night, CSTV will be providing live coverage of the game...Also, since the series will be the final home contests for the team's five seniors and they will be honored before the Feb. 12 game.

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