University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to Bulldogs in Rival Match-Up
10/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNESOTA FACES CONFERENCE RIVAL UMD
The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team travels to Duluth, Minn., to take on in-state and arch rival Minnesota Duluth, Friday and Saturday night. Both games are set for 7:07 p.m. at the DECC.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Both road games for this weekend can be found on gophersports.com via the Gold Zone package. Audio only will be made available. An in-game blog will also be featured on gophersports.com.
ON THE DOCKET
After a two-week hiatus, the Gophers return home, Nov. 5-6 as the Wisconsin Badgers come to town. A true border-battle with both the Wisconsin men and Wisconsin women visiting Ridder and Mariucci Arena. On the women’s side, next Friday’s game is set for 6:07 p.m., while Saturday’s tilt is at 4:07 p.m. Both men’s games will be at 7 p.m.
THE SERIES
Minnesota holds a slight edge in the all-time series, sitting at 26-21-5 since December of 1999. Last year, the Gophers started out the season strong against the Bulldogs, sweeping UMD, 3-1 and 3-0. However, the Bulldogs battled back and took the next four games. At the DECC last year, UMD won by the exact same scores (3-1, 3-0). They defeated the Gophers, 3-2 in the WCHA championship game, 3-2, and won another 3-2 game in the NCAA semifinal game en route to a national championship.
BIGGEST WOMEN’S RIVALRY?
Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth arguably have one of the longest rivalries in women’s hockey as the series are always physical and competitive. Since UMD started its program in 1999-2000 the two teams have participated in 22 regular season series. Minnesota has swept UMD seven times, been swept four times and split series six times.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Defending national champions, Minnesota Duluth enters the series with a 5-1-0 overall record and a 3-1-0 mark in the WCHA. UMD was selected to win the WCHA conference, picked by the coaches prior to the start of the season. After splitting the opening weekend with North Dakota, UMD has now won four straight as it swept Minnesota State and Connecticut last weekend. Bringing back some great talent from the Olympic teams, 15 players have tallied a point this season. Haley Irwin leads the team with 12, followed by Jessica Wong with 10 and Elin Holmlov with nine. The Bulldogs also return goalies Kim Martin, who was with the Swedish Olympic Team and Jennifer Harss, who played last year as a rookie. Martin has holds a .947 save percentage and a 3-1-0 record, while Harss is at 2-0-0 and is at a 0.93 goals against average.
THE LAST TIME IN THE RECORDBOOKS
Minnesota broke a couple records last weekend at St. Cloud State. Anne Schleper had six points against SCSU, including four on Friday night. Her four tied career-best points in a single game. The last time Schleper had four points in a game came on Feb. 27, 2010 against Minnesota State. The SCSU weekend marks the second time she’s tallied six points in a weekend, with her first coming Jan. 9-10, 2009.
The Gophers had 55 shots on goal in last Saturday’s game. The last time the Gophers accomplished over 50 shots on goal came on Jan. 10, 2009 against Ohio State.
FIRST OF THE YEAR
Last weekend, three Golden Gophers tallied their first point of the 2010-11 season. Mira Jalosuo assisted on Sarah Davis’ game-winning, power-play goal in the first period. Kelly Seeler scored her first point, when she assisted on Anne Schleper’s goal last Friday, while Sam Downey assisted on Megan Bozek’s power-play goal Saturday. With the three additions, the Gophers have 14 individuals with points.
BURST THE BUS FOR SECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND
The University of Minnesota Athletics department will be holding a “Burst the Bus” food drive on Saturday, Nov. 6. For the doubleheader for women’s and men’s hockey, the athletics department will have its M.A.G.I.C. bus (Maroon and Gold Impacting the Community) located between Mariucci and Ridder Arena. The Gophers are looking for canned or non-perishable food donations for Second Harvest Heartland.
BRUNCH WITH THE COACHES
Gopher coach Brad Frost and Wisconsin Badgers coach Mark Johnson, along with the Power Play Club, will host Brunch with the Coaches on Saturday, November 6 at 11:45 a.m. at Jax Café (1928 University Ave NE) in Minneapolis. A breakfast buffet will be served while both coaches speak to the group. The cost for the brunch is $25 for current Power Play Club members (and $30 for non-members). The registration form can be found on the Power Play Club website, www.powerplayclub.org. The registration deadline is Monday, November 1.
