University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
22-3-0, 17-3-0WCHA
St. Cloud State
11-11-3, 7-10-3WCHA
Gophers Complete Road Sweep with 4-2 Win
1/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Jan. 23, 2016
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The No. 3 Golden Gophers scored three power-play goals en route to 4-2 win and road series sweep over St. Cloud State at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center Saturday afternoon.
Lee Stecklein, Kelly Pannek, and Hannah Brandt each recorded two assists, and Cara Piazza tallied one goal and one assist to lead Minnesota (22-3-0, 17-3-0 WCHA) with multiple points. Sidney Peters made 12 saves and improved to 6-0-0 on the year.
Minnesota was three-for-five on the power play while going one-for-two on the penalty kill. Peters also stopped a penalty shot by SCSU's Molly Illikainen midway through the first period when Megan Wolfe was called for holding.
The Gophers held a 3-0 lead going into the third period on goals by Milica McMillen, Piazza, and Taylor Williamson, but St. Cloud State (11-11-3, 7-10-3-3 WCHA) spoiled the shutout with a pair of third-period goals and Minnesota added one more tally in the final 20 minutes for the 4-2 win.
SCSU's Lauren Hespenheide put the Huskies on the board just 1:51 into the third stanza. Cameranesi then scored her 24th goal of the year 3:31 later to regain the three-goal lead for the Gophers. The Huskies made it a two-goal game with a power-play goal by Suvi Ollikainen with 7:29 remaining, but Minnesota did not allow a comeback.
"Well, it was a really good weekend up in St. Cloud on the road," head coach Brad Frost said. "It's great to see Taylor Williamson get that goal here today; she's had a lot of chances and really had that snipe. So, that was great to see."
The Gophers outshot the Huskies, 38-14, and Katie Fitzgerald made 34 saves in net for St. Cloud State.
With the win, Minnesota has clinched home ice for the first round of the WCHA postseason as the Gophers cannot finish lower than fourth in the regular season league standings.
"Coming away with six points is always great," Frost said. "St. Cloud had been playing really well so we are happy to get these two wins and look forward to next weekend heading up to Bemidji."
Next weekend, Minnesota travels to No. 7 Bemidji State for a national top-10 battle. The Gophers and Beavers face off at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Jan. 29 and 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30 at BSU's Sanford Center.
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