This Weekend
North Dakota starts the 2016-17 season with a nonconference road series against Mercyhurst this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Friday's game is slated for a 6 p.m. (CT) start, while Saturday's game will begin at noon (CT).

The series against the Lakers will be the first ever games played between the two teams.

Media Coverage
Live stats for the weekend's games will be available through Mercyhurt's website, HurstAthletics.com. A video stream will also be available for both games at portal.stretchinternet.com/mercyhurstwhockey

Social Media
Receive real-time updates during all UND women's hockey games by following @UNDWHockey. Additional in-game updates and commentary is provided by junior goaltender Annie Chipman via her gameday twitter account @Chips_Corner.

Looking Back
The Fighting Hawks played in their sixth-consecutive WCHA Final Face-Off at the end of the 2015-16 season. The year came to a close after UND suffered a 2-0 defeat to eventual national champion Minnesota in the tournament's semifinal.

North Dakota strung together an 18-12-5 record last year, which included two wins over No. 1-ranked teams. The 12 losses tied the program record for fewest losses in a season, while the five ties was a program record.

Making Her Return
Junior forward Lisa Marvin returns to the ice after missing the last two seasons. Marvin suffered season ending injuries after a car accident during the fall of 2014. After numerous surgeries and nearly a year and a half of rehab, she was medically cleared and pass the student-athlete physicals this summer. Marvin has played in 41 games and totaled seven points. Her last game played was on Nov. 15, 2014.

Who We Lost
UND graduated three of its top-five point getters from last season; Meghan Dufault, Becca Kohler and Layla Marvin. Dufault ended her career as the program's fourth all-time leading scorer with 135 career points. Also graduated at forward was Shannon Kaiser.

The biggest loss to graduation was in goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie. During her four-year career, Amsley-Benzie set every single goaltending record in program history and was the school's first three-time Academic All-American.

On the blue line, UND graudated Sam Hanson, Sam LaShomb and Tanja Eisenschmid. Eisenschmid ended her career as the program's fifth all-time scoring defenseman with 39 points, while LaShomb finished sixth with 37 career points.

Who's Back
Last year's leading scorer, Amy Menke, returns for her senior season. She led UND with 19 goals and 21 points last year and earned All-WCHA Second Team honors. Through her first three years, Menke has tallied 81 points and is looking to become the program's seventh student-athlete to record 100 career points. Also returning on offense is Kayla Garder (108gp, 6g, 11a), Charly Dahlquist (29gp, 1g, 6a), Vilma Tanskanen (33gp, 4g, 2a), Marissa Salo (92gp, 3g, 1a), Rebekah Kolstad (35gp, 0g, 2a), Dorci Medgyes (20gp, 1g, 0a) and Breanna Berndsen (16gp). Redshirt freshman Abbey Stanley, who joined the team in the spring, is set to make her debut this season.

On the blue line, UND's veteran D-corps will be anchored by Canadian National Team member Halli Krzyzaniak, who returns for her senior season. Joining her are classmates Gracen Hirschy and Jordan Hampton. Krzyzniak currently sits fourth all-time for defenseman points with 40, while Hirschy is second in program history with 48. Also returning on defense is Anna Kilponen (35gp, 0g, 9a) and Taylor Flaherty (24gp).

In net, Lexie Shaw returns for her senior season. She has compiled a .910 save percentage and a 2.08 goals-against average over her first three years. Also in net, Annie Chipman enters her junior season, while Kristen Campbell is set to make her debut in the green and white after redshirting last season.

Who's New
North Dakota brings in eight new faces for the 2016-17 season; five forwards, one defenseman, one goaltender and one forward/defenseman.

Kennedy Blair is a 5-6 goaltender from Bismarck, N.D. She played her prep hockey with the Minnesota Revolution and earned an invite to the U.S. Women's National Team Goaltending camp in 2016.

Ryleigh Houston is a 5-4 forward from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She played four years at Balmoral Hall and was a two-time member of the Canadian U-18 team.

Sarah Lecavalier is a 5-4 forward from Strathmore, Alberta. She played her prep hockey with Pursuit of Excellence and was invited to the Canadian U-18 summer camp in 2015.

Alyssa MacMillan is a 5-9 forward from Penticton, Manitoba. She played four years with the Okanagan Hockey Academy, and she is the younger sister of Mark and Mitch MacMillan, who both played for the men's team at UND.

Emma Nuutinen is a 5-9 forward from Vantaa, Finland. She made her international debut with the Finnish National Team at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Annelise Rice is a 5-7 forward from Excelsior, Minn. She was a four-year letterwinner at Minnetonka HS.

Abby Thiessen is a 5-9 defenseman from Red Deer, Alberta. She played four years of boys hockey with the Red Deer Chiefs Midget AAA team and earned an invite to the Canadian U-18 selection camp.

Hallie Theodosopoulos is a 5-6 forward/defenseman from Brookings, S.D. She played her prep hockey with the St. Louis Blues AAA team and the Minnesota Revolution.

National Polls
North Dakota earned 60 points for the No. 6 spot in the preseason USCHO.com women's hockey poll, and also earned sixth place with 84 points in the preseason USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

(see page 5 for complete poll information)

United Nations
The 2016-17 roster features players from four different countries. Four players hail from outside of North America: Anna Kilponen (Finland), Dorci Medgyes (Hungary) Emma Nuutinen (Finland) and Vilma Tanskanen (Finland).

Century Club
Senior forward Amy Menke the top-10 scoring list at UND, and sits in eighth place with 81 career points. She is 19 points shy of becoming the seventh 100-point scorer in program history.

Overtime Warriors
North Dakota has only lost twice in its last 13 games (3-2-8) that have gone into overtime. The last overtime game that UND lost was on Oct. 17, 2014 to No. 8 Bemidji State.

Special Teams (2015-16)
North Dakota had the eighth-best penalty kill in the country last season, second best in the WCHA, averaging a .875 shorthanded efficiency. UND killed off a total of 91 penalties, while only conceding 13 goals while on the kill.

The Nov. 14 game against Ohio State marked the first time since 2003 that North Dakota did not concede a single power-play opportunity to its opponent. UND was only assessed one minor penalty in the contest, which came after the end of regulation, which did not result in a power play for the Buckeyes.

Among the Nation's Best (2015-16)
Amy Menke's 40 points ranked 22nd in the NCAA and her 1.18 points-per-game average also ranks 22nd in the nation. Among the WCHA, Menke was ninth in points.

With 553 blocked shots last season, North Dakota was third in the NCAA for most blocked shots by a team, but was second in the nation with an average of 15.80 per game. UND blocked a season-high 29 shots in the 4-3 win over Minnesota on Oct. 30.

(Please click on the PDF link under 'Related Links' to view a complete version of this week's game notes)