University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
11-4-1, 8-3-1-0WCHA
St. Cloud State
2-12-0, 1-9-0-0WCHA
Minnesota Completes WCHA Sweep
11/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 6 Golden Gopher women's hockey team scored three goals in the third period on the way to a 4-3 win over St. Cloud State on Saturday. Nicole Schammel scored two goals, and Alex Gulstene made 18 saves as Minnesota earned a WCHA series sweep at Ridder Arena.
"Another great win at home and a big sweep for us -- we needed those six points," head coach Brad Frost said. "We wanted to stay on a little bit of a run here this weekend, and we were able to do that."
The Gophers and Huskies combined for six third-period goals after Minnesota took a 1-0 lead into the final stanza. The Maroon & Gold led 4-1 with 90 seconds remaining and then held on for the win when St. Cloud State scored two late goals, including one with an extra attacker with 18 seconds to go.
"Things got a little hairy at the end there, but when you do a great job building that lead in the third period, you can afford it -- not that we wanted to give those up, but we still found a way to close it out there in the end," Frost said.
"We're really happy overall with the weekend, Schammel with a couple big goals and Brown with her first one, which was awesome to see. I'm proud of the team and we're looking forward to next week."
Minnesota (11-4-1, 8-3-1-0 WCHA) got two goals from the blue line as defensemen Sydney Baldwin and Emily Brown found the back of the net, along with Schammel's two-goal effort. Baldwin added an assist for a two-point game, and Grace Zumwinkle recorded a pair of helpers.
St. Cloud State (2-12-0, 1-9-0-0 WCHA) received goals from Emma Bigham, Alyssa Erickson, and Laura Kluge along with 28 saves from netminder Janine Alder as Minnesota outshot the Huskies, 32-21.
After a scoreless first period, Baldwin put Minnesota on the board midway through the second period. The Gophers then extended the lead to three on Brown's first career goal at the 6:04 mark of the third period and Schammel's first of the night at the 8:40 mark.
Bingham scored with just inside 10 minutes remaining to put SCSU on the board and snap a 128:19 shutout streak for Minnesota. Schammel answered on the power play with 6:02 remaining, burying a feed from Zumwinkle and Taylor Wente to regain the three-goal lead.
The Huskies got two late goals as Erickson scored with 1:17 on the clock before Kluge capitalized with the extra attacker and made it a one-goal game with 18 seconds remaining. Minnesota extended its current winning streak to six games with the 4-3 win after winning 3-0 in game one of the series.
The Gophers went one-for-two on the power play while holding St. Cloud State scoreless on two opportunities.
Up next for Minnesota is a non-conference road trip to St. Charles, Mo., to face Lindenwood next Saturday, Nov. 25 and Sunday, Nov. 26.
Watch: Coach @FrostBrad shares his thoughts on tonight's 4-3 win over St. Cloud State to secure another WCHA sweep. pic.twitter.com/0Mn6qMps3f
-- Minnesota W Hockey (@GopherWHockey) November 19, 2017
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