University of Minnesota Athletics
#3 WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM TO HOST BEMIDJI STATE
11/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Third-ranked Minnesota plays its final home game of 2000 this weekend when the Golden Gophers host Bemidji State. Minnesota returns home to face the Beavers for a pair of games, Friday and Saturday, at 7:05 p.m. at Mariucci Arena.
Gophers Extend League Lead to Three Points Over Badgers
Minnesota claimed three of four points over the weekend at Wisconsin to extend its WCHA lead over the Badgers by three points. The Gophers opened the weekend with a 5-2 victory Friday on the strength of a hat trick by senior Nadine Muzerall (Mississauga, Ontario/Kimball Union Academy) and a three-goal third period, which broke a 2-2 tie.
Muzerall and Wisconsin's Meghan Hunter traded goals through the first two periods. Hunter scored on the power play, five minutes, 48 seconds into the game to give her team a 1-0 lead. Muzerall answered with a power-play goal with 16 seconds remaining in the period and notched another at 14:22 of the second period to give her team a 2-1 lead.
Hunter's 23rd goal of the season, at 5:19 of the third period, tied the game again but Muzerall scored 26 seconds later and Minnesota put the game away as senior Ambria Thomas (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) and junior Laura Slominski (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville) added insurance markers. Frosh Bethany Petersen (Bloomington, Minn./ Bloomington Jefferson) assisted on all three third-period goals and senior Erica Killewald (Troy, Mich./Troy) turned in a 22-save effort for the win.
Saturday, the Gophers were unable to lead but Muzerall's fourth goal of the weekend, 5:55 into the final period, tied the game at 4-4. After Wisconsin jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the game's first eight minutes, senior Courtney Kennedy (Woburn, Mass./Buckingham, Browne & Nichols) scored late in the opening period and Thomas scored the first of her two goals early in the second to tie the game. Hunter and Karen Rickard, who scored Wisconsin's opening goal, sandwiched goals around Thomas' second goal to give the Badgers a 4-3 lead heading into the final period
Beavers Coming Off Weekend Rest After Losses to Wisconsin
Bemidji State had the weekend off after suffering 8-0 and 14-4 losses at home to Wisconsin, Nov. 17-18. In all, the Beavers were outshot 106-42 and allowed eight power-play goals on 12 chances.
However, Bemidji State closed the weekend with a three-goal third period in the 14-4 loss, including a power-play goal by Caesare Stimson. Amber Fryklund had two goals in the game and Jenna Grimsrud chipped in with a pair of assists.
Bicentennial Comes in Style
When Nadine Muzerall stole the puck in the Wisconsin zone in the third period Saturday, walked in from the right wing boards and beat Badger goalie Jackie MacMillan over her glove hand, she not only tied the game with a highlight-type goal, she became the first Gopher player to score 200 career points.
After recording a hat trick on Friday, the 12th of her career, Muzerall was one point shy of the bicentennial mark. Her 200th point came on her 119th career goal and gave Minnesota a 65-4-4 record all- time in games she has scored a goal.
Tommy Gun
One of the constants for Minnesota this season has been the scoring of Ambria Thomas. She scored three times over the weekend to give her a team-high 13 goals on the season.
Last season, Thomas set career bests by scoring 25 goals, 37 assists and 62 points along with a school-record five short-handed goals.
With 77 goals and 173 points in her career, Thomas is second in school history in both categories and is the school's all-time leader with 96 career assists. Her seven career short-handed goals are also a school record.
Clarke Continues to Top Gopher Scoring Chart
Frosh La Toya Clarke (Pickering, Ontario/Dunbarton Secondary) recorded an assist in each game against Wisconsin and continues to lead the team in scoring, amassing 22 points on the season.
Clarke has scored points in 11 of Minnesota's 12 games this season and leads the team with 17 assists along with her 22 points. She is also second on the team with 48 shots on goal.
Petersen Ties Assist Record
With her three third-period assists Friday, Bethany Petersen tied a school record, shared by eight other players, for assists in a period.
Petersen, who now has eight assists in 11 games, recorded the first assist on each of the Gophers' three goals in the period as Minnesota broke a 2-2 tie and went on to a 5-2 win.
Stability on the Blue Line
Courtney Kennedy has provided a steadying influence on a defensive unit that, for some games, has three rookies among its six members.
The team's Plus/Minus Award winner last year, Kennedy leads the team in that department once again at +17. In the Wisconsin series, she was on the ice for eight of Minnesota's nine goals and she led team Saturday with five shots on goal.
WCHA Honors Muzerall, Petersen
Nadine Muzerall and Bethany Petersen were honored by the WCHA for their play over the weekend. Muzerall, who had four goals and recorded her 200th career point, was named the WCHA Player of the Week, an honor she won twice last season. Petersen was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week. She tied a school record by recording three assists in the third period of the Gophers' 5-2 victory Friday.
Natural Born Killers
After giving up seven goals on 27 power-play opportunities to start the season, Minnesota has successfully killed 28 of its opponents' last 30 chances.
Facing a Wisconsin team that led the nation in power-play efficiency at 34.4 percent entering the weekend, the Gophers were 10- for-11 killings penalties over the weekend, including a 5-for-5 effort Saturday, which saw them limit the Badgers to just six shots in 11 minutes on the power play.
When Last We Met
Minnesota swept a two-game series at home from Bemidji State in the teams' last meeting, taking 6-1 and 10-0 wins Jan. 21-22, 2000.
Nadine Muzerall led the way for Minnesota, recording a hat trick in the series-opening 6-1 win before setting school records with five goals and seven points in the 10-0 victory.
In the first game of the series, Muzerall and Kristie Hofer traded goals to tie the score at 1-1 early in the second period. Ambria Thomas then scored a pair of goals before the second period was out and Muzerall sandwiched goals around a tally by senior Kris Scholz (Hugo, Minn./Stillwater Area) in the third period.
Game two saw Minnesota convert on 3-of-4 power-play chances for the second game in a row as the Gophers routed the Beavers 10-0. Besides Muzerall's scoring spree, Thomas had four assists and Laura Slominski added three goals and an assist.
The Series
Minnesota won all four meetings between the two teams last year and is 5-0-0 against Bemidji State, including a 10-0 win in the teams' first meeting, Nov. 14, 1998, in Bemidji. In that game, the Gophers limited the Beavers to just one shot on goal while racking up 68 shots themselves.
Last year, the teams met four times in a span of 13 days. The first of the four games was a nail-biter as Lisa Peters' goal at 17:18 of the third period cut Minnesota's lead to 3-2 but junior Tracy Engstrom (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) scored just 16 seconds later to put the game away.
Minnesota had little trouble in the teams' other three meetings, winning 11-1 in Bemidji before returning home to claim 6-1 and 10-1 victories.
Next Up
Minnesota closes out the 2000 portion of its schedule when the Gophers take to the road next weekend to face top-ranked Dartmouth. The two teams will meet Dec. 9-10 at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H., with both games slated for 1 p.m. EST starts.
