Maverick Weekend Spotlight
MSU women's hockey at Minnesota-Duluth Friday and Saturday
by Dan Myers
December 02, 2005
One could say the Minnesota State women's hockey program was truly born just over two years ago on a chilly October evening in Mankato. The No. 1 ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs came to town intending to take an easy pair of games from the hapless Mavericks. The year before, Duluth took both games at home by scores of 12-1 and 6-1. Near the end of the season, the 'Dogs came to Mankato and swept the Mavericks 8-1 and 6-1.
Since Minnesota State swept UMD to start the 2003-04 season, the teams have met on three different occasions. In that time, Duluth has re-established their dominance by posting a 5-0-1 record against MSU, including four shutouts.
The Mavericks will look to stem the tide this weekend when the two rivals meet in Duluth on Friday and Saturday. Although the Mavericks have experienced no success against UMD — other than the sweep in 2003 — this is the first time MSU has been ranked heading into a series against Duluth.
Minnesota State was last in action two weeks ago when it swept St. Cloud State at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. Sophomore netminder Brit Kehler was the star, posting a pair of shutouts and stopping a combined 56 shots on the weekend. Three Mavs posted multiple point weekends including forward Kristina Bunker and defensemen Autumn Conway and Jen Jonsson.
Minnesota-Duluth also enters action this weekend on the heels of a nonconference weekend sweep over No. 10 Harvard. The Bulldogs took both games from the Crimson by 6-1 finals. UMD's leading scorers — junior Noemie Marin and freshman Michaela Lanzl — each tallied a pair of goals in the series opener, with Marin also adding another pair in Saturday's finale. Junior goalie Riitta Schaublin earned the victory in both games stopping 53 total shots.
Friday's game will be the Mavericks' seventh game this season against a ranked opponent, with MSU holding a 2-3-1 record in such games. UMD carries a 6-2 record in 2005-06 against ranked opponents.
Dan Myers is a Reporter staff writer