University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Ohio State
Gophers Win 2-1 Over Buckeyes
10/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Gophers Host St. Cloud State Thursday-Friday
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sarah Potomak scored her fourth-straight game-winning goal after Taylor Williamson scored the game-tying goal in a 2-1 come-from-behind win on the road at Ohio State on Saturday afternoon.
Minnesota (7-1-0, 5-1-0-0 WCHA) secured the win and series sweep behind late heroics from Potomak for the fourth-straight game as the sophomore forward gave the Gophers their first lead of the game with 13:18 remaining, breaking a 1-1 tie with her team-best eighth goal of the year.
The Gophers outshot the Buckeyes 57-19 for the game, marking the Minnesota's highest shot total of the season and the most since putting up 68 against Minnesota Duluth last February. Sidney Peters made 18 saves for the Maroon & Gold.
"It was just a grind and a battle here tonight," head coach Brad Frost said. "To outshoot a team 57-19, obviously we had our chances but Sauve was tremendous. They cleared the rebounds away from her and she did a really good job.
The win marked Frost's 300th career coaching win at the helm of the program. In his 10th season coaching the Gophers, Frost's coaching record now stands at 300-46-22. He is the 11th NCAA Division I women's coach to reach the milestone.
"I'm really proud of our team," Frost said. "We gave up the first goal again, which is getting old, but we found a way to get the equalizer there, Taylor Williamson on a nice goal, and then Sarah Potomak with her fourth game-winner in a row. It was great to find a way and get six points on the road here."
Ohio State (3-4-1, 1-4-1-0 WCHA) was led by goaltender Kassidy Sauve, who kept the Buckeyes in the game with 55 saves, and OSU received its lone goal from Dani Sadek.
The Gophers held the Buckeyes scoreless on their lone power play opportunity while going 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
The teams played a scoreless first period despite Minnesota outshooting the Buckeyes 26-3 over the opening 20 minutes. The Buckeyes then got on the board first when Sadek snuck one past Peters at the 7:56 mark of the second period.
The Gophers finally got a shot past Sauve on their 46th shot on goal of the game when Williamson netted her first goal of the season with 2:54 remaining in the middle frame. Rookies Alex Woken and Patti Marshall picked up assists on the play after Marshall fed Woken, who fired a shot on target. Sauve made the save, but the rebound found its way to Williamson's stick, and she one-timed it back on goal past Sauve on her glove side.
The teams began the third period locked in a 1-1 tie, but Potomak gave the Gophers their first lead of the game at the 6:42 mark of the period off a feed from Kelly Pannek and Marshall. OSU pulled Sauve for the extra attacker with 1:18 to go but took a penalty with 45 seconds to play. The Buckeyes still forced Peters to make two saves in the final 30 seconds, but Minnesota held on for the win.
Next up for Minnesota is a Thursday/Friday series with St. Cloud State at Ridder Arena next week. The Gophers and Huskies face off at 7:07 p.m. CT both nights. Thursday night is Student Night at Ridder Arena, and fans are invited to join the team for Halloween with the Gophers on Friday.
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