University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
18-3-4, 14-2-4WCHA
North Dakota
5-14-4, 4-13-2WCHA
Gophers Earn Second-Straight Shutout Over UND
1/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Laura May, Sarah Erickson and Chelsey Jones each scored a goal, while Noora Räty earned a shutout to help the No. 2 University of Minnesota women's hockey team to a 3-0 win over North Dakota, tonight at Ridder Arena. With the win, the Golden Gophers improve to 18-3-4 overall and 14-2-4 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The shutout marked the second time the Gophers have held North Dakota scoreless after a 5-0 shutout on Dec. 13th.
The Gophers got on the board early when Laura May scored at 3:58 in the first for her sixth goal of the year. May intercepted a North Dakota clearing attempt in the Minnesota zone. She skated to the other end and went across the front of the goalmouth and scored on her backhand. It was May's first goal since Oct. 30th when she scored against Wisconsin.
The two teams went scoreless in the second with Minnesota holding a slight lead in the shot category, 12-7. Sarah Erickson added a cushion to the Gophers' lead when she scored a power-play goal at 8:24 in the third. Megan Bozek carried the play into the zone and passed it to Erickson, who buried the puck for her 13th goal of the season. Like May, Erickson got the monkey off her back, scoring her first goal since Nov. 20th. With 2:55 remaining in the game, UND took a time out and pulled starting goalie Jorid Dagfinrud to add the extra attacker. However, Chelsey Jones scored the Gophers' first empty-net goal of the game when she scored her eighth goal of the season at 17:50 in the third with an assist coming to Becky Kortum.
Räty earned her sixth shutout of the season after stopping seven shots in the first, seven in the second and four in the third for 18 saves. She kept the Gophers in the game for a majority of the time, including stopping a short-handed breakaway attempt in the second period. Dagfinrud had 35 saves in the game, including 13 in the first period alone.
The Gophers and UND battle again tomorrow afternoon at 4:07 p.m.
