DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's hockey team will have its final two home games of the regular season this weekend when Aurora University (Ill.) comes to town for a key Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) series when it comes to postseason seeding.
Where:
Mars Lakeview Arena – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Friday at 7 p.m.
Saturday at 4 p.m.
(Senior Day)
Live Video: https://csssaints.com/watch
Live Stats: https://csssaints.com/sidearmstats/whockey/summary
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSWHockey
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/saintswomenshockey
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/csssaints
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 10-8-3,
7-3-2 NCHA
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-St. Scholastica will be honoring its six seniors prior to Saturday's game.
-The Saints are coming off a sweep of Finlandia University (Mich.) over the weekend.
-The two wins over the weekend clinched a NCHA Slaats Cup playoff spot.
-CSS is currently in fourth in the standings, but is only one point behind third place Lake Forest College (Ill.) and two points behind second-place Aurora.
-Why this weekend is important is because the top three teams host first round playoff series.
-Lake Forest is at Marian this weekend and hosts Concordia University Wisconsin in the final series.
-Junior
Taylor Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) leads the team with eight goals and 19 points. (Both rank in the top 10 of the NCHA)
-Thompson is two points away from 70 in her career.
-Junior
Rachel Anderson (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) is fourth in the conference with 14 assists.
-Anderson is a point away from becoming the sixth player in program history to reach 80 career points.
-Senior
Sam Gorecki (Homer Glen, Ill./Providence Catholic (Chicago Fury)) is fourth in the NCHA among defensemen with 11 points.
-Senior
Greta Nundahl (New Brighton, Minn./Irondale HS) had four assists in the series sweep of Finlandia.
-First-year forward
Lauryn Hull (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly HS) is fourth among NCHA rookies with 11 points.
-Senior
Lexi Thomeczek (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph Academy (St. Louis AAA Blues)) continues to lead the conference with a .952 save percentage.
-Thomeczek is a victory away from her 40
th career win.
-The Saints have the second-best scoring defense in the league, allowing just 1.67 goals per game.
-CSS is 8-2-1 when scoring first this season.
What You Need to Know about Aurora:
Record: 15-6-0, 9-3-0 NCHA
-The Spartans controls the No. 2 seed for the NCHA playoffs.
-Aurora can clinch home ice for the first round with three points this weekend.
-The Spartans finish their season at St. Norbert College (Wis.) next weekend.
-The Spartans enter the weekend on a five-game win streak and are coming off a pair of 3-1 wins over Marian last week.
-Aurora swept Lake Forest early in the conference schedule.
-Junior Nicole McKernan leads the team with nine goals and 20 points.
-McKernan and fellow junior Olivia Matson both lead the team with 11 assists.
-Junior Chiara Pfosi has played every minute in net this season.
-Pfosi is second in the NCHA with a 1.70 goals-against-average.
-The Spartans lead the conference, averaging 10.3 penalty minutes per game.
-Aurora is 11-2 when scoring first this season.
Series Record: CSS leads 4-0-0
(Last Meeting: 8-2 CSS, 2/9/2019)
Series History: The Saints have scored at least six goals in three of the first four meetings … A 2-0 victory at Aurora last year was the closest margin in the first four games.
Looking Ahead: The Saints conclude the regular season next weekend with a two-game series at Marian University (Wis.).
