University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
25-8-5, 18-6-4WCHA
Minnesota Duluth
28-8-2, 20-6-2WCHA
Gophers Fall, 3-2 in Championship Game
3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
The No. 3 University of Minnesota fell, 3-2 in the WCHA Championship game to No. 2 Minnesota Duluth, today in Ridder Arena. With the loss, the Golden Gophers drop to 25-8-5 on the season, while UMD improves to 28-8-2 on the season. It was UMD's fifth tournament championship and the sixth straight season the Gophers have competed in the WCHA Championship game.
UMD's Jessica Wong scored at 5:59 in the first when she capitalized on a turnover in the Minnesota zone and to give the Bulldogs an early 1-0 advantage. Emmanuelle Blais then put the game at 2-0 when she scored a power-play goal at 14:22 in the first when her shot went off a Minnesota stick and redirected high past Gopher goalie Noora Raty.
Sarah Erickson cut the lead to one when she scored at 17:06 in the first. Brittany Francis kept the puck in the zone and connected with Sarah Erickson at the back door. She buried the puck on her second attempt when she used her backhand for the goal.
UMD's Audrey Cournoyer put the Gopher deficit back to two when she scored an even-strength goal at 11:21 in the second as Wong held the single assist. For the second time in the game, Erickson kept the Gophers in it when she scored her second goal of the game at 16:28. Francis again assisted on the play.
Minnesota had two players on the all-tournament team. Erickson was named as one of the forwards, while Anne Schleper was named as one of the two defensemen.
Minnesota called a time out with 2:02 remaining in the third and then pulled Raty with 28 seconds remaining in the game, but the Gophers weren't able to tie the game as it resulted in a loss.
The Gophers will await to hear about NCAAs. Minnesota is currently third in the Pairwise rankings. With their win today, the Bulldogs will have an automatic bid.
WCHA Final Face-Off Championship Quotes
Minnesota Coach Brad Frost:
Opening Statement…
Obviously it wasn't the outcome that we were hoping for or preparing for. It's two very good hockey teams going back and forth, and obviously they ended up with one more goal than we did to win the game. I'm really proud of our players. I thought they gave everything they had. They competed, they battled, the intensity was there, the effort. I don't think they have one thing to hang their heads about.
On playing an afternoon game after double overtime Saturday night…
I think early (on it affected Minnesota). And then we got into penalty trouble as well, so that didn't help. We were playing the same group of kids there in some pretty tough situations…I think we got stronger in the second period.
Sophomore forward Sarah Erickson:
On the team's offensive strategy…
To get any shot on net, that's what we were hoping for. We knew pucks were going to go in if we got shots on net. That's what we talked about coming into the game – shoot, shoot, shoot and get your body to the net when you do. That's going to be our main focus here coming into the rest of playoffs.
Senior forward Brittany Francis:
On the mood of the team after going down 2-0 in the first period…
It's kind of hard when you go down two goals, but I think we battled back. We just kept saying, "Keep battling, keep fighting and keep getting pucks to the net because something has to go in."
On the energy of the team and early penalties…
It's a fine line that I think we need to figure out. We were pumped up and ready to go, but the first period we took it a little too far. We fought through it, we got through those penalties. We'll learn from that and come back next weekend.
Minnesota-Duluth Coach Shannon Miller:
Opening statement…
Well obviously it was a great game, two great teams going head to head and going end to end hockey. It was great hockey, a fast game, a physical game. I thought both goaltenders played well, and our special teams were good today…it was a close game. (We're) proud to be WCHA tournament champions with such a young team.
