WCHA Notebook: Minnesotans score their first collegiate points

Multiple players from the state of Minnesota impressed in the WCHA and earned conference honors in mid-October.

All teams in the conference now have at least two games under their belt and five of the eight teams made appearances on the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's Division I polls.

OHIO STATE (#1), 4-0 Overall, 4-0 Conference

The Buckeyes asserted their dominance once again by sweeping conference opponent St. Cloud State by scores of 5-2 and 6-2.

Former Wayzata standout Sloane Matthews scored her first two collegiate goals. Sydney Morrow (Shattuck-St. Mary's) also netted her first goal as well in the series.

After the demanding wins, two different OSU players earned conference honors. Sophie Jaques is WCHA Defender of the Week after scoring three power play goals, while Paetyn Levis is WCHA Forward of Week after posting six points in the two-game series.

The Buckeyes will attempt to keep their win streak, and number one ranking, alive this weekend as they take on Bemidji State (unranked) on the road. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. CT on Saturday and 2 p.m. CT on Sunday.

ST. THOMAS, 0-2 Overall, 0-2 Conference:

The Tommies had a tough pair of games last weekend, getting swept by #4/5 Wisconsin on the road by scores of 0-5 and 1-9.

UST's lone goal of the series came from Dartmouth transfer and Corcoran, Minnesota, native Gabby Billing .

Three different goalies got to see action on the ice for the Tommies this weekend, including 2022 Minnesota High School Senior Goaltender of the Year, Maggie Malecha of Northfield.

St. Thomas will see some non-conference play this weekend as they will play a home series against Franklin Pierce of the . The Ravens are 0-1 after losing to Boston College, 4-1. Puck drop is set for Friday at 3 p.m. CT and Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.

MINNESOTA DULUTH (#4/5), 6-0 Overall, 2-0 Conference

The Bulldogs have improved to 6-0 overall after sweeping Minnesota State this past weekend, but the Mavericks weren't an easy out.

The Bulldogs won game one in overtime after Ashton Bell netted the game-winner, while the second game was won by a final score of 2-0.

Emma Soderberg earned her 15th career shutout for UMD , which ties for fourth all-time at the school — tied with Maddie Rooney . For her performance, she has earned back to back WCHA Goaltender of the Week honors.

Duluth has an off week this weekend, but will be back in action Oct. 21-22 where they will take on #1 Ohio State on the road.

ST. CLOUD STATE, 2-2 Overall, 0-2 Conference:

The Huskies had a good weekend on special teams, but it wasn't enough to uproot the #1 team in the nation, Ohio State.

The Buckeyes swept the Huskies by scores of 5-2 and 6-2.

Sanni Ahola played most of weekend in net, but JoJo Chobak saw a frame of action at the end of game two. Lind , Gentry , Nylund , and Hymlarova , have all been playing well, but Ohio State just overpowered the team in most aspects of play over the weekend.

St. Cloud has another tough task to take on this weekend, as they host #4/5 Wisconsin at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at 6 p.m. CT on Friday and 3 p.m. CT on Saturday.

MINNESOTA (#2), 2-0 Overall, 2-0 Conference:

The Gophers played their first two official games of the 2022-23 season and showed why they are the number two team in the nation by outscoring Bemidji State 10-1 over the two game series.

Hemp , Murphy and Boreen , each had two goals a piece in game one, while Minnesota had four different goal scorers the next night.

The Beavers took double the penalties than the Gophers did over the series, so Minnesota had plenty of time to work on the power play.

Minnesota will play a home-and-home series with Minnesota State (RV) this weekend. Friday's game will be in Mankato at 3 p.m. CT and Saturday's game will be in Minneapolis at 2 p.m. CT.

WISCONSIN (#4/5), 5-1 Overall, 2-0 Conference:

Wisconsin asserted their dominance as they swept St. Thomas by scores of 5-0 and 9-1 over the weekend.

The Badgers had a big weekend from former Lakeville South high school standout Claire Enright. The Minnesota native posted one goal and three assists, and was a plus-7 over two games. For her performance, Enright earned WCHA Rookie of Week and Howie's Hockey Tape Performance of the Week honors.

Wisconsin will look to keep up their five game win streak as hit the road to take on St. Cloud State. Puck drop on Friday is set for 6 p.m. CT and Saturday at 3 p.m. CT at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

MINNESOTA STATE (RV), 0-4 Overall, 0-4 Conference:

Despite MSU's 0-4 record, there are a lot of positives to take away from the weekend that the Maverick's had, hence why they are still receiving votes in the national polls.

Minnesota State took Minnesota Duluth (#4/5) to overtime in night one, and only lost 2-0 the next night.

The Mavericks have proved that they can keep up with some of the best teams in the country, they just haven't been able to pull off the upset quite yet.

Kennedy Bobyck scored the lone goal for Minnesota State, while both Barbro (stopped 40/42) and Berg (stopped 38/40) got action in net.

The Mavericks have another tough weekend ahead, as they will play a home-and-home series with Minnesota. Game one is in Mankato at 3 p.m. CT and game two will be in Minneapolis at 2 p.m. CT.

BEMIDJI STATE, 2-3 Overall, 0-2 Conference:

The Beavers were swept by Minnesota and were outscored 10-1 throughout the two-game series.

Bemidji's lone goal came from Minnesota native Kate Boland .

The Beavers took eight penalties over the weekend (double that of Minnesota), which may be why the games were so lopsided as the team had to be on the penalty kill for a large portion of the games. A key to the success of BSU will be to clean up their penalty troubles so that the team can retain their energy to create offensive chances.

BSU will have another hard series ahead, as they are destined to take on top-ranked Ohio State at home. The games will played on Saturday and Sunday with puck drops at 3 p.m. CT and 2 p.m. CT., respectively.