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NO. 3 BULLDOGS TO BATTLE NO. 4 BADGERS FOR WCHA SUPREMACY IN MADISON THIS WEEKEND

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 4:49 PM

The last time the No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team took to the ice against the No. 4 University of Wisconsin, it was for the 2007 NCAA national title. The stakes won't be quite as high this weekend when the Bulldogs head to the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisc., but the all-important Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown for first place will certainly not be missing any action. UMD will put its WCHA league-leading status on the line Friday and Saturday afternoon against the third place Badgers, with the puck dropping at 2:07 p.m. both days.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 17-14-6 all-time against Wisconsin, including a 8-4-4 record against the Badgers in Madison. UMD has split with Wisconsin on their home ice in every meeting but two. The Bullldogs played the Badgers to two ties on Feb. 3-4 in 2001, and UMD earned a 1-1 tie on Feb 17, 2004 to stave off a series sweep. The Bulldogs have never been swept in Madison.

UMD was the only team a season ago to beat then No. 1 Wisconsin when they upended the Badgers 2-0 on Nov. 24, 2006 in the Kohl Center, and the win snapped Wisconsin's 26-game unbeaten streak. The Badgers rallied and won three of their next four meetings against the Bulldogs, including a 4-1 win in the 2007 NCAA championship game on March 18, 2007 in Lake Placid, NY.

LAST WEEK: WCHA-leading UMD extended its hold on the conference by completing its fourth conference sweep of the season against Minnesota State last weekend (Nov. 23-24). The Bulldogs defeated the Mavericks 3-1 last Friday night at the DECC without scoring a single goal at even-strength. UMD used its then ranked No. 1 penalty-kill to not only successfully defuse five MSU power-plays, but tied the game at 1-1 when the Bulldogs notched their second short-handed goal of the year.

UMD topped the Mavericks last Saturday night 10-4, scoring the most goals the Bulldogs have tallied in a single-contest since Feb. 23, 2003 when the Maroon and Gold beat Bemidji State, 11-3. 12 players racked up at least a point in the scoring spree for a second time this season, including four players who registered three or more points.

The Badgers took three out of four points during WCHA play against Bemidji State last weekend in Bemidji, Minn. Wisconsin handed the Beavers a 7-0 bruising Friday before settling for a 0-0 tie on Saturday. The Badgers out-shot BSU 50-14 in Saturday's surprising level outcome.

THE COACHES: Shannon Miller, who currently is the only coach in the WCHA to have racked-up 210 wins, is in her ninth season behind the Bulldog bench.

As the only head coach UMD has ever employed, Miller has amassed an impressive overall record of 210-60-25 and has led the Bulldogs to six NCAA playoff appearances and three straight NCAA Championship titles (2001, 2002 and 2003). She has led UMD into four NCAA Frozen Four berths, including the 2007 NCAA Championship game. No other hockey program in the country has won three consecutive NCAA titles.

For her efforts, Miller was named the 2000 and 2003 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year and the 2003 American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Women’s Division I Coach of the Year. Along with the incredible NCAA runs, her Bulldogs have captured two WCHA regular season titles (2000 and 2003) and three WCHA playoff titles (2000, 2001 and 2003).

During Miller’s time at the Bulldog helm, UMD has produced eight first-team All-Americans, 11 Patty Kazmaier Award Finalists, two WCHA Players of the Year, three WCHA Student-Athletes of the year and one CoSIDA Academic All-American.

The Badgers are led by head coach Mark Johnson, who is in his fifth season with Wisconsin. Johnson has guided the Badgers to two NCAA titles and was named the ACHA Division I Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

IRWIN DOUBLES HER EARNINGS: Freshman forward Haley Irwin earned her second WCHA Rookie of the Week honor Tuesday just 21 days after she picked up her first.

The native of Thunder Bay, Ontario recorded her first collegiate hat trick last Saturday against Minnesota State when she netted three goals and added an assist in UMD's 10-4 victory over the Mavericks. Irwin also had an assist the night before in the Bulldogs 3-1 win over MSU, scoring five points in the two contests.

12 games into her first season in a Maroon and Gold jersey, Irwin has notched 16 points (7-9=16), which ranks her fourth in the nation among rookie scorers with a 1.33 points per game average.

KILLING THEM SOFTLY...AND OFTEN: UMD now ranks second in the nation behind Wisconsin in penalty kills after the Bulldogs gave up three power-goals in last Saturday's win over the Mavericks. The only other time UMD has allowed that many power-play goals in program history was on Dec. 12, 2006, when Harvard (and current Bulldog assistant Julie Chu) found the net three times with a Bulldog in the box.

UMD has a 91.6% penalty kill rate after having challenged 76-of-83 infractions successfully. The Bulldogs have recorded the second most penalties in the NCAA, having logged 215 minutes through 14 games for an average game incarceration rate of 15.4 minutes. The Badgers check in at 93.8% with 60-of-64 violations battled without a red light.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Both the Bulldogs and Badgers sport first-year players with big-time ablity. UMD's Haley Irwin and Wisconsin's Mallory Deluce have both been named WCHA Rookies of the Week twice so far this year. Irwin's third on the Bulldogs squad with 16 points, while Deluce has scored eight goals for a total of 12 points. The Badgers are led by Hilary Knight, who has dished out 11 assists in addition to scoring six goals to give her a team-best 17 points 16 games into her first season. UMD's Iya Gavrilova has posted almost identical numbers, ranking second on the Bulldogs scoring chart with four goals and an impressive 13 assists for 17 points through just 14 games.

NET DETECTORS: As the highest scoring offense in the WCHA (3.71 goals per game), it's no wonder the Bulldogs boast some of the leading point-getters. Sophomore forward Saara Tuominen ranks No. 1 in point scoring after combining eight goals and 14 assists for 22 total points. Tuominen also ranks first in assist scoring with an assist a game. Freshman forward Haley Irwin leads the conference with seven power-play goals in 12 contests, while freshman forward Iya Gavrilova is ahead of all freshman in scoring with 17 points (4-13=17). Four of the top 11 point scoring leaders in the WCHA are also, ironically enough, Bulldogs.

GOALTENDING WARS: Recent two-time WCHA Player of the Week sophomore netminder Kim Martin is following the career path of Wisconsin's No. 1 pipe-cleaner. Junior Goaltender Jessie Vetter has won 41 games in just 51 games played over her career, and has recorded 21 shutouts, six of them this season. Martin has played in 28 career games, winning 18 of them, and has recorded six clean-sheets in those outings.

BULLDOG NOTES: UMD is in first place in the WCHA, having played two more conference games than the Badgers...Wisconsin has played more overall games (16) than UMD (14)...UMD is currently four points ahead of the Badgers in the league standings...The Bulldogs are now 6-1-1 in the DECC (.812) this season after last weekend's sweep...Five UMD defensmen tallied points in last Saturday's blow-out of MSU (3 goals, 7 assists), the most this season for the blueliners.