UMDBulldogs.com Sioux Preview

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The No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will look to extend its program record of 12 straight wins in the confines of the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center this weekend when the Bulldogs host the University of North Dakota. UMD, which will return to its home ice for the first time since Dec. 9, 2007, will face the Sioux Friday and Saturday night with 7:07 p.m. starts each evening.

THE SERIES: UMD, which currently holds the NCAA's longest winning streak with 12 victories, owns a 18-1-0 advantage over the Sioux (4-18-4, 4-12-2), including a current nine-game winning streak against UND.

The Bulldogs swept the Sioux earlier this season in Grand Forks, N.D., by scores of 9-2 (Nov.3) and 3-2 (Nov. 4). Freshman forward Haley Irwin notched two goals and four assists in the series to earn WCHA Rookie of Week honors the following week, and classmate Iya Gavrilova earned her first career hat trick in the 9-2 rout of UND on Nov. 3.

The one and only time UMD has ever dropped a contest to the Sioux was in the DECC on Feb. 11, 2006 when North Dakota snapped a nine-game winless streak against the Bulldogs, handing them a 2-0 setback.

LAST WEEK: UMD (20-3-1, 17-3-0) kept their grasp on the WCHA lead and stayed seven points ahead of the rest of the field by earning their eighth conference sweep of the season against Bemidji State this past weekend. The Bulldogs bit the Beavers 5-1 Friday night behind Iya Gavrilova’s second career hat trick, and brought out the brooms Saturday afternoon in a 6-1 win in Bemidji, Minn. Sophomore forward Elin Holmlov had two goals and an assist in Saturday’s offensive outburst, while eight UMD players logged a point on the afternoon. The Bulldogs have scored 23 goals in four skates with BSU this season.

Saturday’s win set a new program record of 12-straight wins for the Bulldogs, while Gavrilova tied a UMD record Friday when she scored a goal in her ninth consecutive contest, a feat only Maroon and Gold alums Jenny Potter and Hanne Sikio have reached.

The Sioux hosted No. 4 Minnesota last weekend in Grand Forks, suffering two setbacks in the process. UND was defeated 4-1 Friday night and 2-1 Saturday for its third consecutive loss.

THE COACHES: Shannon Miller, who currently is the only coach in the WCHA to have racked-up 220 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 220-60-25 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.

North Dakota is guided by first year head coach Brian Idalski. Idalski was the head coach at UW-Stevens Point for five years prior to taking over the Sioux.

TWO FOR THE SHOW: 14 weeks, 14 Western Collegiate Hockey Association accolades.

Elin Holmlov and Iya Gavrilova were the latest UMD women's hockey players honored by the conference this past Tuesday, as Holmlov was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for second time this season, and Gavrilova reeled in WCHA Rookie of the Week honors, her third conference award this season.

STREAKING GAVRILOVA: Freshman forward Iya Gavrilova currently holds the Bulldogs longest scoring streak, dating back to Nov. 23 against Minnesota State. The Krasnoyarsk, Russia native has notched a point in UMD's last twelve games (13-12=25), games which have all been Bulldog wins, including six goals of which have been game-winning tallies. She ranks first in the WCHA and fourth in the NCAA in that category.

The WCHA's leading-point scorer with 37 (17-20=37), Gavrilova also tied a UMD record last Friday when she scored a goal in her ninth consecutive contest. The record was originally set by two former Bulldog Olympians, Jenny Potter (Dec. 7, 2002 - Jan. 25, 2003) and Hanne Sikio (Oct. 8, 1999 - Nov. 20, 1999), putting Gavrilova, an Olympian herself, in some fairly elite company.

The NCAA's leading rookie scorer by a gap of 12 points, Gavrilova now holds the No. 9 spot of UMD's Top-10 Rookie Scorers with 37 points through 24 outings, just three short of tying injured linemate Saara Tuominen, who racked up 40 points (12-28=40) in 39 games a season ago as a freshman.

NET DETECTORS: As the second highest scoring offense in the nation and first in the WCHA (3.92 goals per game), it's no wonder the Bulldogs boast some of the leading point-getters in the conference and country. Freshman forward Iya Gavrilova 17-20=37, 1.54) ranks No. 1 in the WCHA and eighth nationally, while sidelined sophomore Saara Tuominen (14-18=30, 1.50) still ranks No. 4, respectively, in the WCHA and tenth in the NCAA, despite not having worn a Bulldog jersey since Dec. 9, 2006.

Four Bulldogs have notched more than 20 points, with sophomore forward Elin Holmlov and freshman Haley Irwin rounding out UMD's top scorers with 25 points each. Holmlov and Irwin have identical scoring summaries, having recorded 11g and 14a in 22 games played.

Four of the top eight point scoring leaders in the WCHA are also, impressively enough, Bulldogs.

NET DEFLECTORS: Sophomore goaltender Kim Martin leads the NCAA and the WCHA with a .956 save percentage, having made 517 saves and allowing just 24 goals against. Martin also ranks third in the nation and first in the WCHA in goals against average (1.30 through 1109:31 minutes) and winning percentage (.833, 17-3-1).

The Bulldogs, who are fourth in the NCAA, allowing just 1.42 goals a game, rank second in the country in with their impressive penalty kill. UMD has successfully thwarted 118 of 127 man disadvantages for a 92.9 percentage.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Bulldogs, who have eleven players in the points column in double-digits (more than any other WCHA team), remain a team that has shared the offensive burden this season. Three players, Iya Gavrilova, Elin Holmlov and Saara Tuominen, have registered 99 points together, including 39 of UMD's 94 goals.

UMD has gotten some offensive firepower in some unsuspecting places. The Bulldogs boast six skating freshman who have posted 99 points as an underclass unit. The UMD blueliners have also chipped in, having added 54 total points.

MISSING CAPTAIN: UMD will be without the services of sophomore forward Saara Tuominen for a third straight series. Tuominen is recovering from an injury sustained in the European Air Canada Cup three weeks ago against Switzerland. The captain from Ylojarvi, Finland, had played in 59 straight games for the Bulldogs up until her injury, and was one of only two freshman to play every game of her first season a year ago.

A MATTER OF ROAD RECORD: UMD sports the WCHA's best road record, having racked up a 10-2-0 (.833) mark away from the DECC. The Bulldogs have played a conference-most 14 away contests, but still remain faithful to the DECC with a 8-1-1 (.850) standing on home ice heading into this weekends showdown with the Sioux.

BULLDOG NOTES: Along with Iya Gavrilova, two other Bulldogs are managing current scoring streaks...Senior forward Karine Demeule is in the midst of a career-best four-game scoring run, while freshman defenseman Jocelyne Larocque has tied her first-year high of three games with a point scored.

SIOUX NOTES: North Dakota is coming off a home sweep at the hands of Minnesota...Junior forward Melissa Jaques leads the Sioux with 16 points (9-7=16) in 26 skates so far this season...Sophomore Brittany Kirkham has stood between the pipes in all 26 contests for UND, collecting 1510:29 minutes of ice time in the process...Cassandra Flanagan, a sophomore defenseman, has committed 29 infractions for 58 penalty minutes.


DULUTH WELCOMES THE BEST OF WOMEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY: The DECC will be the site of the 2008 WCHA Final Face-off and 2008 NCAA Frozen Four. The WCHA Final Face-off will be held March 8-9, while the Frozen Four will get underway on March 20, with the Championship game held on March 22. Tickets for both events are now available by calling the UMD Athletic Ticket Office at 218/726-8595.