The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) women’s hockey team will be battling a familiar face across the bench this weekend. They’re hosting Bemidji State University (BSU), whose assistant coach Emma Sobieck served an assistant to the Bulldogs last season.

“I think they’re bringing a new flair to that program, new energy, and we’re super excited to play them,” UMD head coach Laura Schuler said. “We expect a really back and forth game, tough game against them. They have a really good goaltender right now, she’s [Kaitlin Groess] like at a .93 save percentage. So we’ve got to make sure we put puck’s to net to be able to find the back of the net.”

The Beavers are riding a sweep over St. Thomas University, while the Bulldogs will seek to shake off a tough series loss against the Gophers.

UMD and BSU’s series opener is Friday at 3 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena, and their finale is Saturday at 1 p.m.