University of Minnesota Athletics
WHK: Gophers Sweep Brown with a 5-0 Win
1/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The No. 1 Golden Gopher women's hockey team earned a non-conference sweep tonight, defeating the Brown University Bears, 5-0, at Ridder Arena. The Gophers earned an 8-2 win last night, earning their 18th and 19th wins on the season. On the weekend, the Gophers had 13 of 19 skaters earn a point.
The Maroon and Gold jumped out to an early lead, scoring three goals within the first 20 minutes of play. Ashley Albrecht scored what would later be the game-winning goal at 4:41 of the first period. Erica McKenzie and Bobbi Ross set up Albrecht for her first goal of the season. Krissy Wendell scored her first of two goals at 12:18 of the first period. Anya Miller passed the puck to Darwitz, who fired a pass to Wendell at the blue line. Wendell skated in and used her back hand to score the goal. McKenzie closed out the first-period scoring at 14:20 on the power-play. McKenzie's power-play tally was assisted by Becky Wacker and Andrea Nichols. The Gophers outshot the Bears, 15- 3 in the first stanza and were 1-for-3 on the power play.
After a scoreless second period, Minnesota tacked on two additional goals in the third period. Darwitz scored her third goal of the weekend at 13:36 of the third. Wendell and Kelly Stephens assisted on the play. Just :07 later, Wendell scored her 28th goal of the season at 13:43 of the third. Darwitz won the faceoff, dropping it to Wendell, who went down the slot for the goal. Minnesota was just one second off from tying the school record for the fastest consecutive goals, which was :06, set in 1999.
Brenda Reinen added her sixth win of the season, improving her record to a perfect 6-0-0. In her last two appearances, Reinen has earned back-to-back shutouts. The last time Reinen allowed a goal was in the 8-1 Northeastern win, Nov. 26.
The Golden Gophers return to WCHA action next weekend as they head to Ohio State, Jan. 21-22. Both games are 6:05 p.m. starts (CDT) in Columbus, Ohio. Saturday's game will feature a audio webcast on www.uscho.com.
