2016-17 WCHA WEEKLY RELEASE Week Nineteen (Feb
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R 2016-17 WCHA WEEKLY RELEASE WEEK NINETEEN (FEB. 6-12, 2017) / wcha.com @wcha_whockey @wcha_whockey /WCHAWomensHockey Matt Hodson ● o: 952-818-8872 ● c: 612-801-2808 ● [email protected] WESTERN COLLEGIATE OPENING FACE-OFF • Topping the Polls: The women's Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) has three of the top-five teams in the USCHO.com and USA Today / USA HOCKEY ASSOCIATION Hockey Magazine polls. Wisconsin remains the unanimous No. 1 in both, followed by No. 2 Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota, which is ranked fifth in the • FOUNDED 1999 • former and fourth in the latter. North Dakota is receiving votes in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine poll. Minnesota State Univ., Mankato at Edina • Badgers Closing in on Crown: Top-ranked Wisconsin is poised to repeat as WCHA regular season champions, as the Badgers have a magic number of 7700 France Avenue South, Suite 360C three points vs. third-place Minnesota Duluth (combination of UW points earned and/or Bulldogs points lost) and four points against second-place Edina, MN 55435 Minnesota (again, combo of UW points earned and/or Gophers points lost). 952-818-8869 • The defending league champs can clinch their second-straight crown as early as Saturday afternoon. Wisconsin, which has won five WCHA regular season titles overall, have repeated twice before in program history. The Badgers won back-to-back championships following the 2005- 06 and 2006-07 seasons, and again after the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns. MEMBER TEAMS • A Look at the Standings: The top four teams, which will all host a quarterfinal round series in the 2017 WCHA Playoffs, are set. North Dakota is locked Bemidji State University into the fourth seed, while Wisconsin, Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth -- in some order -- will also be home the weekend of Feb. 24-26. University of Minnesota • The rest of the playoff field is more unsettled, as just four points separate the current fifth- through seventh-place teams (St. Cloud State, Ohio State and Bemidji State). Minnesota State is currently in eighth place, but can still finish in a higher slot. University of Minnesota Duluth • Stalder Wins WHCA Award: Minnesota Duluth senior forward Lara Stalder is the inaugural Women’s Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Minnesota State University, Mankato Division I Player of the Month, earning the historic honor for January 2017 after producing an NCAA-best 2.67 points-per-game and +16 rating. University of North Dakota • Stalder ranked among the WCHA and NCAA leaders in several offensive categories last month, propelling the Bulldogs to an undefeated, 5-0-1 Ohio State University mark and a climb to No. 2 in the national polls – the program’s highest ranking since October 2010. St. Cloud State University • Every Game, Every Rink: Between a challenging nonconference slate and the gauntlet of arguably the nation's premier conference, WCHA teams are playing some of D-I's toughest schedules, per the RPI Strength-of-Schedule ledger. University of Wisconsin • As of Feb. 8, seven of the country's top-eight toughest schedules belong to WCHA teams, while the entire membership is in the top-20. • Bemidji State has played D-I's toughest schedule to date, while Minnesota Duluth ranks second, St. Cloud State is third, Wisconsin is fourth, 16 National Championships North Dakota is sixth, Ohio State is seventh, Minnesota is eighth and Minnesota State is 14th. 86 All-Americans • Winning Hockey: Despite these tough schedules, five WCHA teams have reached double-digit win totals, while half of league membership is at .500-or- better entering the weekend. 100+ Olympians and • Wisconsin has the nation's top winning percentage at .914 (26-2-1). Minnesota Duluth is fourth at .786 (20-4-4), Minnesota is sixth at .776 (21- National Team Members 5-3) and North Dakota is tied for 14th at .533 (13-11-6). • We Are WCHA: Once again, the top-four teams in NCAA D-I women's hockey for average and total attendance are WCHA schools. 2016-17 IMPORTANT DATES • Wisconsin leads the country with an average of 3,146 fans per game (including 13 dates at LaBahn Arena and one home contest at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.); Minnesota is second by welcoming 1,733 each night (including 11 dates at Ridder Arena and one home contest at Braemar Arena in Edina, Minn.); Minnesota Duluth ranks third by hosting 1,239 per contest at AMSOIL Arena; and, North Dakota is fourth with Date Event an average of 911 per game at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. Feb. 17-19 Final weekend of the BY THE NUMBERS regular season • 3 (by 20): WCHA teams to reach the 20-win mark: Wisconsin (26), Minnesota (21) and Minnesota Duluth (20). UMD has bettered its 2015-16 win total Feb. 24-26 2017 WCHA Quarterfinals (15-21-1) by five, while the Badgers reached 20 for the seventh-straight year. The Gophers have recorded 20+ victories all 20 seasons in program history. Host sites; top four seeds • 5a: Categories in which Wisconsin senior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens leads the country: wins (22), winning percentage (.938), goals-against average (0.79), save percentage (.956) and shutouts (11). March 4-5 2017 WCHA Final Face-Off • 5b: Consecutive games with a goal by Bemidji State sophomore Emily Bergland from Jan. 20 to Feb. 3. The streak, which tied for the second-longest in Ridder Arena program history, came in games against No. 2 Minnesota Duluth (two contests), North Dakota (two) and No. 1 Wisconsin (one). Minneapolis, MN • 19: Current point streak by Minnesota Duluth senior forward Ashleigh Brykaliuk, the second-longest in program history (10g-16a=26pts). Only Finnish Olympian Hanne Sikio recorded a longer scoring spree as Bulldog, posting a 23-game run during the 1999-2000 season (17g-31a=48pts). March 10-12 2017 NCAA Quarterfinals • 55: NCAA-leading points total by Minnesota forward Kelly Pannek, on 16 goals and 39 assists. The junior also leads the country in points-per-game Host sites; top four seeds (1.90), assists, assists-per-game (1.34) and face-offs won (403). She has tallied a point in 26 of the Gophers' 28 contests thus far. March 17-19 2017 NCAA Frozen Four • 501: All-time wins by the Wisconsin Badgers. UW became the 10th program in NCAA Division I women's hockey history to reach the 500-victory plateau (and second WCHA school) with a 6-1 triumph last Friday at Bemidji State. Family Arena • 934: NCAA-best saves by Ohio State's Kassidy Sauve, 139 more than the next-highest goaltender and 191 more than the second-place WCHA netminder. St. Charles, MO The redshirt-sophomore ranks third nationally with a .944 save percentage and tied for third with six shutouts. THE WEEK AHEAD THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA • Top-Two Showdown in Madison: Top-ranked Wisconsin, winners of 12-straight, look to clinch the WCHA regular season title when hosting No. 2 Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs, who sit a point out of second place in the WCHA, are undefeated in their last seven contests (7-0-1). Friday, February 10 • FOX Sports North to Showcase BSU at SCSU: St. Cloud State will host Bemidji State this weekend, with Friday's game televised live on FOX Sports North Bemidji State at St. Cloud State, 3:07 p.m. CT*1 and Saturday's contest broadcast live on FOX Sports North PLUS. The seventh-place Beavers sit four points behind the fifth-place Huskies. • Rivalry Renewed at Ridder: The latest installment of the Minnesota vs. North Dakota rivalry takes place at Ridder Arena. The teams played to a pair of Minnesota State at Ohio State, 6:07 p.m. ET* 2-2 ties in November at the Ralph, with the Gophers winning both shootouts. North Dakota at (5/4) Minnesota, 7:07 p.m. CT* • Key Points on the Line in Columbus: Sixth-place Ohio State, which is just two points out of fifth and two points clear of seventh, hosts Minnesota State. The Mavericks, who split with the Buckeyes when the teams played Nov. 18-19 in Mankato, can still climb out of eighth place. Saturday, February 11 Minnesota State at Ohio State, 1:07 p.m. ET * 2016-17 WCHA STANDINGS (2) Minnesota Duluth at (1) Wisconsin, 2:07 p.m. CT* Conference Overall Bemidji State at St. Cloud State, 3:07 p.m. CT*2 Rk (Natl Rank) Team Pts GP W L T SW Win % GF GA GP W L T Win % GF GA North Dakota at (5/4) Minnesota, 4:07 p.m. CT* 1 (1) Wisconsin* 65 24 21 2 1 1 .896 100 22 29 26 2 1 .914 120 28 2 (5/4) Minnesota* 56 24 17 4 3 2 .771 77 41 29 21 5 3 .776 101 53 Sunday, February 12 3 (2) Minnesota Duluth* 55 24 17 4 3 1 .771 75 36 28 20 4 4 .786 89 43 (2) Minnesota Duluth at (1) Wisconsin, 2:07 p.m. CT*3 4 North Dakota* 38 24 10 9 5 3 .521 53 41 30 13 11 6 .533 66 50 5 St. Cloud State 23 24 6 15 3 2 .312 35 71 30 8 18 4 .333 51 91 6 Ohio State 21 24 5 15 4 2 .292 29 65 30 11 15 4 .433 53 66 * - WCHA game 7 Bemidji State 19 24 5 16 3 1 .271 37 70 28 9 16 3 .375 50 73 1 - FOX Sports North 8 Minnesota State 11 24 3 19 2 0 .167 26 86 31 6 22 3 .242 38 102 2 - FOX Sports North PLUS * - denotes clinched home ice for the 2017 WCHA Quarterfinals 3 - Wisconsin Channel (Wisconsin Public Television) (shootout win = 1 additional point; rankings listed by USCHO.com first, followed by USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine) HOME TO A RECORD 16 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 •2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2015 • 2016 TRADITION STARTS HERE THE WEEK IN REVIEW - GAMES OF FEB.