Gophers Face Huskies in a Home-and-Home Series This Weekend
Provided by the University of Minnesota

GOPHERS CONTINUE CONFERENCE ACTION THIS WEEKEND
Minnesota and St. Cloud State will compete in a home-and-home series this weekend. Friday’s action is set for 2:07 p.m. at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. Saturday’s contest will be held at 4:07 p.m. at Ridder Arena. Minnesota is 39-2-1 all time against the Huskies, dating back to January of 1999.

DID YOU KNOW?
Minnesota is on its best start of the season since the 2004-05 NCAA Championship season. In 2008-09, the Gophers lost their opener to Robert Morris (10/3). Prior to that, the Gophers fell to St. Cloud State (10/13/07), New Hampshire in October 2006 and to St. Lawrence in October of 2005. During the 2004-05 season, Minnesota’s first blemish on the record came on Nov. 20, 2004 when it tied Minnesota Duluth, 2-2.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State faces the Gophers after a week off from competition. The Huskies opened the season with a win over Niagara (10/2) and followed with a loss to the Purple Eagles and were swept by Minnesota Duluth Oct. 10-11. In four games played, senior Caitlin Hogan leads SCSU in scoring with six points (5-1—6), followed by Holly Roberts with three. Hogan, Roberts, Danielle Hirsch and Ashley Nixon all competed in the WCHA All-Star game. Nixon has played in two games between the pipes, while sophomore Tayler VanDenakker has started in the other two games.

THERE’S A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING
Two weeks ago, freshman goalie Noora Räty tallied two assists in one game (10/10 at Ohio State). Räty is the first Gopher goaltender to tally two assists in one game since the program started in 1997-98. In fact, Räty is the only Gopher goalie to have two assists in a single season and is already one behind Jody Horak in career points by a goalie. Horak, a Gopher goalie from 2001-05, had three assists during her career.

GETTING SCORING WHERE THEY NEED IT
In the series against Minnesota Duluth, nine Gophers earned a point in the sweep, with four earning multiple-point weekends. Terra Rasmussen had a goal and two assists, while Kelli Blankenship, Chelsey Jones and Kelly Seeler each earned two points. In six games played, Emily West has nine points, followed by Jones with eight, Erickson with six, Anne Schleper with five and Rasmussen and Seeler with four.

WHERE THEY RANK
Although it’s early in the season, Sarah Erickson and Emily West rank high in the WCHA conference scoring. Erickson, West and Ohio State’s Natalie Spooner are tied for league lead with six points. Erickson also leads the league in goal scoring (6) and power-play points (2). Noora Räty ranks second in the WCHA in goals against average (0.67) and save percentage (.976) and first in winning percentage (1.000).