This Week
North Dakota resumes conference action, traveling to Columbus, Ohio this weekend, Jan. 16-17, for a two-game series against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The two teams met earlier this season at Ralph Engelstad Arena, Nov. 21-22, tying the first contest, 2-2, with UND winning the second, 4-3. In the opening game, UND held a 2-0 lead into the third period, but OSU scored twice in the closing minutes, including an extra-attacker goal with two seconds left to force the tie. The Buckeyes won the ensuing shootout 1-0. In the second game, Ohio State scored first and held a 2-1 advantage after two periods, but three-straight goals in the third helped UND secure a 4-3 win.

Media Coverage
Webcasts for both games this weekend will be available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Live stats for both games will also be on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

Social Media
Receive real-time updates during all UND women's hockey games by following @UNDWHockey. Additional coverage can be found at @UNDSports and @RLaDue.

Fans can also follow the action via live chat at UNDSports.com, hosted by UND Media Relations assistant director Ross LaDue.

The North Dakota women's hockey team is also on Instagram (UNDWHockey) and has its own Tumblr account (undwhockey.tumblr.com).

Last Time Out
UND returned from winter break hosting Syracuse for a nonconference series at Ralph Engelstad Arena, Jan. 10-11. It was the first time the two teams had met in program history.

North Dakota scored three-straight goals, one each period, to open a 3-0 lead in the first game of the series. With a short lineup due to illness, defensemen Gracen Hirschy and Tori Williams played up as forwards for the weekend and Hirschy opened the scoring with her sixth goal of the season with just under a minute remaining in the first period. The halfway through the second period while on the power play, Layla Marvin scored her first of the season to put UND up 2-0. Just after the halfway point in the third, Kayla Gardner added a third for UND. Unfortunately, two minutes later, Syracuse scored its first of the weekend to cut its deficit to two. In the final minute of play, Marvin added an empty-netter to secure the win for UND.

On Sunday, Syracuse was led by its goaltender Jenn Gilligan, as she posted a career-high 44 saves to backstop the Orange to a 2-1 win over UND. Syracuse opened the scoring while on the power play just under seven minutes into the first period. The Orange then extended its lead to 2-0 off a scramble in front of the UND net within the first minute of the second period. Hirschy scored her second of the weekend, to cut UND's deficit in half before the close of the second period. In the final period of play, neither side was able to find the back of the net, as Gilligan turned away 14 UND shots in the third.

100 WCHA Wins
North Dakota is one win away from picking up its 100th all-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory. The weekend sweep against St. Cloud State (Nov. 29-30) gave UND its 98th and 99th WCHA victories. Head coach Brian Idalski has recorded 88 of UND's 99 conference wins.

Quick Glance: Ohio State
The Buckeyes earned their seventh shutout of the season in a 4-0 blanking of St. Cloud State last Saturday in St. Cloud, Minn. With the victory, the Buckeyes completed the series sweep of the Huskies, also recording a 3-1 win the day before.

Rookie goalie Kassidy Sauve has started in 15 games in goal for Ohio State and holds a record of 8-7-0. The Whitby, Ontario, native retains a save percentage of .920 and a goals against average of 2.06. She was credited with 17 stops in 59:57 against SCSU in game two, recording her fifth shutout.

Sauve's total of five shutouts ranks fifth nationally and third in the WCHA. Among her freshmen peers, Sauve leads the nation.

Redshirt junior Stacy Danczak has suited up in 11 games this season, earning a save percentage of .933 and a goals against average of 1.38. In game one vs. the Huskies, Danczak recorded 15 stops overall. She is 6-1-2 overall.

Ohio State is led in scoring by Kepler, who has contributed a line of 9-10-16. A total of 21 players have recorded one of more points for the Buckeyes this season.

Ohio State holds a record of 8-1-0 when leading after the first period of play and a 12-1-1 standing when ahead after two periods.

The Scarlet and Gray have scored first in 17 games and are 13-3-1 with the opening goal.

International Winter Update
Junior forwards Meghan Dufault and Becca Kohler helped the Canadian National Women's Development Team claim gold at the 2015 Nations Cup in Füssen, Germany. Kohler scored the game-winning goal in the gold-medal game against Sweden on Jan. 6. She also scored her team's fourth goal in a 5-1 win against Russia, Jan. 4. Dufault finished the tournament chipping in two assists, one on the power play, and recorded a +3 plus/minus rating over the three-game span.

Defenseman Johanna Fallman and Tanja Eisenschmid skated with Sweden and Germany, respectively. Eisenschmid recorded two assists in Germany's 3-1 against Switzerland, Jan. 5, including one assist on the power play, before ending the tournament with a +1 plus/minus rating. Fallman helped Sweden to silver, recording a +2 plus/minus rating from the blue line.

Additionally, forward and captain Andrea Dalen played with Team Norway in the Female Four Nations Tournament hosted by Hockey France in Amiens, France, Dec. 17-21. Norway went 2-1-0, losing to Switzerland 3-0 and defeating both the Czech Republic and France by a score of 2-1. Dalen scored the game-winner against the Czechs and scored the opening goal against France.

Already on the Board
All of UND's 19 skaters have recorded a point this season, including 16 goal scorers. Becca Kohler leads UND in five major scoring categories, points (21), goals (8), assists (13), power-play goals (3) and game-winning goals (2).

Magic Number
North Dakota is undefeated (8-0-1) this season when scoring three or more goals in a game.

Not So Junior
North Dakota's junior class is currently seventh in the nation in offensive production having registered 69 points (24g, 45a). Boston College's junior class leads the nation with 152 points.

Special Teams
UND has scored a total of 12 goals on 64 power-play opportunities so far this season, and its .208 power-play efficiency ranks third in the WCHA. UND has also scored a total of two shorthanded goals so far this season.

North Dakota is undefeated when scoring on the power play (8-0-0) and has scored more than one power-play goal in four games this season. On the flip side, UND has a 2-10-2 record when unable to convert on the man advantage.

With a .888 efficiency rate while shorthanded, UND has the nation's sixth best penalty-kill unit in the nation and third in the WCHA. North Dakota has only conceded 10 power-play goals in 89 opportunities.

Among the Nation's Best
In the nation, senior forward Josefine Jakobsen is tied for ninth among all skaters, first among forwards, with a total of 42 blocked shots, averaging 1.91 blocks per game. Jakobsen tallied 86 blocked shots (2.38 b/gm) last season.

Both Jakobsen and junior Becca Kohler are tied for 22nd in the nation with three power-play goals on the year. Additionally, with 22 points through 20 games, Kohler is 28th in the nation averaging 1.05 points per game.