Minnesota State-Mankato at Minnesota Duluth
What: WCHA series
When: 7 p.m. today/3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Amsoil Arena
Records: Mankato is 2-3-1 overall and 0-2-0 in WCHA; UMD is 2-4-0, 0-2-0
Rankings: Both teams are unranked, but UMD received a vote in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll
Series: The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 57-6-4 since 1999, including outscoring Mavericks 25-3 in four-game sweep last season
Coaches: John Harrington, in his first season in Mankato, is 2-3-1; Maura Crowell, in her first season at UMD, is 2-4-0 and 25-11-4 for her career
Internet:
http://www.nchc.tv/umd
(video)
Minnesota State-Mankato update: Harrington, who played forward for the UMD men’s hockey program from 1975-79, took over a Mavericks program in May that had just endured its second-worst season by finishing 3-32-1. Three weeks into the season, the Mavs already have two wins, something that didn’t happen until January last season. The Mavericks won only once in WCHA play last year - in February at home against St. Cloud State - and come to Duluth having lost their 10th and 11th straight WCHA contests in tight 2-1 and 4-2 games against North Dakota in Mankato. Sophomores Elin Johansson and Hannah Davidson lead the Mavericks in scoring. Davidson has a team-high eight points and seven assists, scoring in all six games. Johansson has a team-high four goals, all coming in the last four games. The Mavs have lost nine straight to UMD with their last win coming Feb. 9, 2013, in Duluth.
UMD update: After playing the first three weeks on the road, Crowell will coach her first game at Amsoil Arena as head coach of the Bulldogs tonight. UMD brings a four-game losing streak into its home opener after getting swept at Boston College and Bemidji State. The Beavers had never swept UMD in a weekend series prior to last week. Freshman goaltender Maddie Rooney of Andover, Minn., played five of the six periods in Bemidji after senior goaltender Kayla Black was pulled during the first intermission Friday due to an injury. Black (2.94 goals-against average, .896 save percentage) had stopped 11 of 13 shots at that point. Rooney (1.87, .935) stopped all 17 shots she faced in the 2-0 loss before stopping 26 of 28 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss the next night. Crowell said Wednesday that Black likely will be recovered for this weekend’s series. Junior forward Demi Crossman had the lone point on the team last week, scoring an unassisted goal. Junior forward and captain Ashleigh Brykaliuk continues to lead the team in scoring with two goals and four assists while junior forward Lara Stalder has four goals and one assist.
Quote: “We had a lot of offensive opportunities, we just came up against a good goalie there last weekend. We’re getting the chances. It’s just burying those goals, building confidence and getting used to putting the puck in the net. I have no concerns about goal-scoring.” - Crowell, whose team outshot the Beavers 31-30 on Friday and 32-28 on Saturday
