University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
16-5-2)(12-4-2WCHA
Minnesota Duluth
15-4-3)(12-4-2WCHA
Gophers Fall in Series Finale
1/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
DULUTH, Minn. - The Golden Gopher women's hockey team fell in this weekend's series finale on the road in Duluth, dropping a 5-3 decision to Minnesota Duluth at the Bulldogs' AMSOIL Arena Saturday afternoon.
No. 2 Minnesota (16-5-2, 12-4-2-2 WCHA) received two points each from Kelly Pannek (one goal, one assist) and Sarah Potomak (two assists) and Sidney Peters made 21 saves.
No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (15-4-3, 12-4-2-1 WCHA) was led by Lara Stalder's three-point effort (two goals, one assist). Katherine McGovern had two points with a goal and an assist, and Sidney Morin and Jalyn Elmes both tallied a pair of assists. UMD netminder Maddie Rooney made 29 saves.
"We are fighting for second place now in our conference with the sweep by Duluth," head coach Brad Frost said. "Nobody is feeling sorry for us after the success that we've had. We've got to move forward and be better. Giving up five makes it really tough to win a hockey game. We've just got to be better overall."
Both teams scored twice in the first period. Pannek gave the Gophers the 1-0 lead at the 6:47 mark before McGovern, who scored Friday's game-winning goal for UMD, tied the game less than three minutes later. The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead on Maria' Lindh's fourth goal of the season before Sophie Skarzynski netted her first tally of the season to tie the game at 2-2 with 3:47 remaining in the opening frame.
The Bulldogs scored back-to-back goals in the second period as Brykaliuk scored five minutes into the period before Stalder scored on a breakaway at the 14:11 mark. Kate Schipper then narrowed the UMD lead to one with her eighth goal of the season at the 17:32 mark of the middle stanza and the Gophers headed into the second intermission trailing, 4-3.
The third period saw the Bulldogs receive another goal from Stalder to extend their lead back to two at 5-3 with 11:42 remaining. Despite being outshot 32-26 for the game, the Bulldogs had a 9-6 advantage in shot on goal in the third period.
The Gophers had the opportunity to capitalize with the extra attacker in the game's final minutes. UMD's Brykaliuk was called for hooking with 2:38 remaining, and Peters headed to the bench for the six-on-four advantage with 2:02 to go. However, Schipper was called for slashing at the 18:11 mark and Wolfe took a holding penalty at 18:44 to negate the advantage for the Gophers.
Minnesota's NCAA-leading power play went 0-for-4, but the Gophers also held the Bulldogs scoreless on two power-play opportunities.
The Gophers return to Ridder Arena next weekend to host Ohio State under the direction of former Gophers assistant coach Nadine Muzerall. The series marks Minnesota's return to Ridder Arena after a stretch of 54 days between regular-season home games, dating back to Sunday, Nov. 24.
"It will be nice being back home in front of our fans in the friendly confines of Ridder Arena," Frost said. "It'll be a tough weekend with Ohio State coming up, they're a real good team. With Coach Muz coming back, we know they'll be motivated and playing with a lot of passion. We've got to figure things out and get better this week."
Puck drop between the Gophers and Buckeyes is set for 7:07 p.m. CT Friday and 2:07 p.m. CT Saturday. Minnesota is set to host its annual Skate with the Gophers event following Saturday's game.
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