For the third time in four seasons, the No. 8 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will face No. 1 Ohio State University Friday afternoon at Ridder Arena in game one of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Final Face-Off. The puck is set to drop at 1:03 p.m.
 

UMD IN THE WCHA POSTSEASON: 

UMD is 49-26 in all WCHA postseason games and a dominant 34-10 in WCHA quarterfinal skates.

WCHA Quarterfinal games -- 36-10

WCHA Semifinal games -- 8-11

WCHA Third Place games -- 2-0

WCHA Championship games -- 5-3

In all, UMD owns five WCHA playoff crowns (2010, 2008, 2003, 2001, 2000).

Since the WCHA went to a quarterfinal game (2005) or series (since 2006), UMD has advanced to the semifinal game 21 times.  From the 2005-06 season until present, the Bulldogs have hosted 16 of a possible 18 first round playoff series.  (The 2005 quarterfinal game was held in Minneapolis, Minn., a neutral site, and there was no WCHA first round playoffs held during the COVID season of 2020-21.)

THE BULLDOG -- BUCKEYES PLAYOFF HISTORY: UMD has the advantage all-time in league postseason meetings.  The Bulldogs have a 12-5 overall record, which includes eight quarterfinal games, three WCHA Final Face-Off semifinals, two third place games, and one WCHA title tilt. 

The programs have met three times in the WCHA semifinals, including just one season ago, a 2-1 OSU win. 

In their semifinal showdown last March, the Bulldogs rallied late in the third period, but suffered a 2-1 setback to the top-ranked Buckeyes at Ridder Arena.

After a scoreless first period that UMD fought through two Buckeye power plays to maintain, the Bulldogs had a 7-2 shots on goal advantage early in the second period. UMD fended off its third OSU power play of the game until 7:36 of the second, but just over three minutes later, the Buckeyes finally broke through on goaltender Emma Soderberg. Brooke Bink capitalized on a rare UMD mishap in front of its own net at 10:50, and 1:04 later, Emma Maltais made it a 2-0 game.

UMD refused to go away however, and after pulling Soderberg at 16:13 of the third period, junior defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith broke through the Buckeye defense to cut the lead to 2-1 at 17:12. Skating from the top of the left circle to the slot, Jobst-Smith sniped it through the lane for her second goal against the Buckeyes in as many games and fifth of the season. But despite the Bulldogs late efforts and a 8-7 shots on goal advantage in the period, UMD would get no closer.

Soderberg capped off her award laden week with a brilliant 34 save performance.

On March 5, 2021, UMD and OSU also met in the semifinals, a 7-2 Bulldog loss to then No. 3 Ohio State. UMD has not give up more than five goals since this Buckeye breakout two seasons ago.

UMD took a 1-1 tie into the first intermission, courtesy of a breakaway goal from then freshman Katie Davis, the first of her career, but was overwhelmed offensively by the Buckeyes offense in the second frame.

The second period ice tipped entirely in the favor of the Buckeyes, however, and OSU used four goals over a 5:37 span to dig a hole the Bulldogs would not recover from.  It started with a power play goal from OSU's Jennifer Gardiner at the 2:20 mark, followed by another goal off a rebound at 3:40 to give the Buckeyes a 3-1 advantage.  OSU scored two more tallies  at 6:02 and 7:57, and when the dust settled, UMD found themselves trailing 5-1.  Then freshman Clara Van Wieren cut into the Buckeyes lead at 10:22 to make it a 5-2 game, but OSU added another goal in the period and a seventh in the third period to push the game out of reach.

In the only other semifinal showdown on March 3, 2000, UMD defeated OSU 7-1 in Bloomington, Minn. on the way to its first-ever (and the first ever) WCHA playoff crown.  

Here's the all-time breakdown of the Bulldogs and Buckeyes in the league postseason:

WCHA FF Semifinal (Ridder Arena)

March 3, 2023 OSU 2, UMD 1

WCHA FF Semifinal (Ridder Arena)

March 6, 2021 OSU 7, UMD 2

Quarterfinal (AMSOIL Arena)

March 2, 2014 UMD 5, OSU 1

March 1, 2021 OSU 3, UMD 2

Feb. 28, 2021 UMD 1, OSU 0

Quarterfinal (AMSOIL Arena)

March 2, 2013 OSU 3, UMD 0

March 1, 2013 OSU 4, UMD 2

Quarterfinal (AMSOIL Arena)            

Feb. 25, 2012 UMD 3, OSU 2 OT   

Feb. 24, 2012 UMD 4, OSU 3 
 

Third Place (Ridder Arena)

March 6, 2005 UMD 5, OSU 0

Quarterfinal (Grand Forks, N.D.)    

March 7, 2003 UMD 6, OSU 1

Third Place (Blaine, Minn.)

March 9, 2002 UMD 6, OSU 2

Championship (Rochester, Minn.)    

March 10, 2001 UMD 3, OSU 0

Semifinal (Bloomington, Minn.)

March 3, 2000 UMD 7, OSU 1

This is the third WCHA postseason meeting of UMD/OSU in the Maura Crowell era.

A BULLDOG AND BUCKEYES REGULAR SEASON SERIES BREAKDOWN: UMD is 74-31-9 all-time against OSU, but went winless against the Buckeyes over the regular season in four games. The Bulldogs struggled to score and were held scoreless in three of their four head-to-head matches. UMD averaged 0.50 goals against OSU this season, while holding the Buckeyes under half their season goals per game average (5.25), allowing them just 2.75 a game.

Four of the Buckeyes 11 goals against UMD this season came on the power play, while one was on an empty net.

In their last action in Columbus back in January, the Bulldogs were swept by top Ohio State by scores of 3-0 and 1-0. 

Friday night, UMD blocked a season-high 27 shots in 3-0 setback. Hailey MacLeod had 35 saves against OSU, who  outshot UMD 38-14 in the game.

Saturday the Buckeyes edged the Bulldogs in the final minutes of the third period on a power play goal to escape with a 1-0 win, but not before UMD pushed OSU to the brink. Ève Gascon made 32 stops for UMD, which again put their bodies in front of the puck and blocked 22 OSU shots.

ADDITIONAL UMD -- OSU NOTES FROM THE SEASON: Over the past 10 seasons, UMD has been 14-6-2 against the Buckeyes at AMSOIL, but is 8-10-2 on the road in Columbus.

--After UMD and OSU's 1-0 game on Jan. 20, seven of the last 10 games between them have been decided by a single goal. The Bulldogs are 1-9 against OSU in that span, which includes their 2022 NCAA title tilt went to OSU by a score of 3-2 (March 18, 2022). 

--Of the only 11 power play goals UMD has given up this season, four of them have been to the Buckeyes.

--While neither Mannon McMahon or Nina Jobst-Smith has scored against OSU this season, both led UMD against the Buckeyes a season ago. Jobst-Smith registered two goals and three assists for five points in five games, while McMahon had four points on one goal, three assists.

--Jobst-Smith, Clara Van Wieren and Katie Davis have all logged goals against OSU in the WCHA semifinals over their careers.

UMD vs. Ohio State -  71-30-9 All-Time

(Last 10 games, 1-9)

Jan. 20, 2024 0-1 Loss Away

Jan. 19, 2024 0-3 Loss Away

Oct. 14, 2023 0-2 Loss Home

Oct. 13, 2023 2-5 Loss Home

March 3, 2023 1-2 Loss Neutral*

Dec. 3, 2022 5-4 OT Win Home

Dec. 2, 2022 1-2 Loss Home

Oct. 22, 2022 2-3 Loss Away

Oct. 21, 2022 2-3 OT Loss Awa

Mar. 20, 2022 2-3 Loss Neutral+

Jan. 22, 2022 1-3 Loss Away

+NCAA Frozen Four Championship 

*WCHA Final Face-Off Semi

LAST TIME OUT: UMD swept No. 10 St. Cloud State University -- and shutout them out -- last weekend to advance to the WCHA Final Face-Off semifinals.

Friday night, the Bulldogs put up a 5-0 win over the Huskies. UMD exploded offensively in the second and third period and shut down the Huskies defensively in a statement 5-0 win to take game one of the best-of-three series. Behind five points from graduate forward Reece Hunt (1g, 4a), two point performances from new record holder Mannon McMahon (2a), Clara Van Wieren (1g,1a) and Olivia Wallin (1g,1a), UMD reached the five goal mark for the fifth time this season.

It was UMD's defense that helped shut out the Huskies, however, starting with sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod, who earned her sixth shutout of the season, turning away all 20 shots she faced, including 10 in the first period when SCSU had some early pressure. The Bulldogs defense took it from there, allowing just 10 more shots in the final 40 minutes and only four in the third period. UMD once again held the Huskies scoreless in three power play attempts.

In game two, the Bulldogs put up a 2-0 win with two goals from graduate center Mannon McMahon. McMahon scored at the end of the second period to make it a 1-0 game, and then added an insurance goal just 25 seconds into the third period to lock in UMD's trip to Ridder.

As has been the case repeatedly this season, UMD's defense stepped up – and how. The Bulldogs held SCSU scoreless on three power play attempts in the game, and were six-of-six on the series. Ève Gascon and UMD's blueliners also fought off 3:01 of an extra attacker to end the third period, but the rookie only bent, making all 27 saves she faced in the outing. Gascon also now owns the program record for most shutouts by a rookie in their first season. The Huskies outshot UMD 27-23 in the contest.

NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD SERIES: 

UMD is now 85-15-10 all-time against the Huskies and 9-1 in WCHA postseason play. The Bulldogs finish the season against SCSU 4-1-1.

--SCSU was scoreless by UMD for their past four games – 245 minutes of action. The Huskies also never scored a power play goal against the Bulldogs all season, going 19-of-19 against SCSU with an extra skater.

--Mannon McMahon has now recorded a point in her last three games (3g, 2a). The graduate center surpassed her former collegiate best of 29 points set last season Saturday. McMahon now has 30 points, as well as 13 goals, also a single season best for the Maple Grove, Minn. native.

--Reece Hunt figured in all five goals UMD scored Friday night for a UMD high (1g, 4a). It marks the third game this season Hunt has four or more points.

MACLEOD ATOP THE NCAA: Sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod   sits atop the NCAA with a .960 saves percentage, and currently ranks third with a 1.55 GAA. 

MacLeod isn't the only UMD netminder with high marks in the NCAA -- freshman goaltender Ève Gascon ranks fourth with a .951 saves percentage, and 13th with a GAA of 1.51.

Together the pair, who have six shutouts each, have the Bulldogs tied for in the NCAA with 12 total shutouts.

SHUTOUT SEASON: With its 12 shutouts, UMD joins its 2022-23 season (13 and the program record) and 2010-11 season (12 shutouts) as the only three teams in program history to record 12 or more shutouts. Both Ève Gascon and Hailey MacLeod are tied for the fourth most shutouts in a single season

GASCON SETS ROOKIE SHUTOUT  RECORD: UMD freshman goaltender Ève Gascon set the Bulldog rookie record last Saturday for goaltender shutouts, earning her sixth. Gascon surpassed former UMD great Jennifer Harss, who recorded five shutouts en route to leading the Bulldogs to a an NCAA title in 2009-10.

MACLEOD  NAMED HCA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH : The awards keeping rolling in for sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod, who was named Hockey Commissioners Association's Women's Goaltender of the Month for February after recording the most impressive month of her career. 

Already named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's February Goaltender of the Month, MacLeod led the WCHA with a league-low 0.49 goals against average and just two goals allowed in 106 shots faced. While the Abbotsford, B.C. product currently ranks third in the NCAA with a 1.55 GAA, she posted a .981 saves percentage in February and currently leads the NCAA with a .960. Undefeated in the month, MacLeod also posted two shutouts in four games and now has six over the season.

With a record this season of 11-4-3, this marks MacLeod's first national award. The goaltender has twice been the league's Goaltender of the Week, and has been the WCHA's Player of the Week two times. Named a 2023-24 All-WCHA Second Team member, MacLeod was also a finalist for 2023-24 WCHA Goaltender of the year.

20 WINS AND COUNTING FOR A THIRD-STRAIGHT SEASON: The Bulldogs have reached the 20 win mark for a third-straight season (Covid shortened their 2020-21 NCAA Frozen Four run season to just 19 games total).

UMD finished with 26 triumphs last season and 27 (and an NCAA runner-up finish) in 2021-22.