University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 5
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
29-7-1
5
vs
1
Minnesota Duluth
24-11-1
1
2
3
F
Minn. Duluth
0
0
1
1
Minnesota
2
1
2
5
Photo by: Eric Miller
Gophers Tame Bulldogs; Advance to WCHA Championship
3/5/2022 5:40:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Top-seeded Minnesota defeated four-seeded Minnesota Duluth, 4-1 in the WCHA Final Faceoff Semifinals.
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 1 Golden Gopher women's hockey team played a stellar game from start to finish to become the first team to secure a spot in the 2022 WCHA Final Faceoff championship game. The 'U' will face either Ohio State or Wisconsin for the title.Â
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Minnesota (29-7-1) shot out of the starting gate with a goal from senior Catie Skaja 51 seconds into the semifinal. The Gophers' first shot of the game provided a lead Minnesota Duluth (24-11-1) would not climb back from. Senior defender Crystalyn Hengler added a pivotal goal with 12 seconds left to give the Maroon and Gold a 2-0 lead after the opening period. The Gophers added an early goal in each of the following two periods to build a commanding 4-0 lead in the third. Abigail Boreen tapped in a backdoor feed from Madeline Wethington just over three minutes into the second, while Taylor Heise blasted home a slap shot 14 seconds into third for Minnesota's fastest goal in a period this season. Elizabeth Giguere got the Bulldogs on the board early in the third before Emily Brown sealed the deal with an empty-net goal.
Lauren Bench, who started in goal for the fourth consecutive game, stopped 21 shots to earn her 14th victory of the season. Jojo Chobak started in goal for the Bulldogs and stopped 34 of 38 shots faced in the defeat.
QuotableÂ
"I'm really proud of our group," said head coach Brad Frost. "When you get into the playoffs, you have to play 60 minutes of good hockey and I thought our team did a great job of that. Obviously, their first line is really dangerous and we left Giguere alone for a second and she got one. Overall, I thought our team did a nice job of playing our brand of hockey and competed for 60 minutes and beat a really good team today."
Notable
With her third period goal, Emily Brown moved into a tie with Lee Stecklein and Lyndsay Wahl for 10th in program history in career goals by a defender (20). Defender Madeline Wethington surpassed the 50 career points with a pair of assists. Minnesota will play in the tournament championship game for the first time since 2019.
Up Next
The Gophers advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game tomorrow at 1:00 pm at Ridder Arena. Minnesota will face either Ohio State or Wisconsin.
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Minnesota (29-7-1) shot out of the starting gate with a goal from senior Catie Skaja 51 seconds into the semifinal. The Gophers' first shot of the game provided a lead Minnesota Duluth (24-11-1) would not climb back from. Senior defender Crystalyn Hengler added a pivotal goal with 12 seconds left to give the Maroon and Gold a 2-0 lead after the opening period. The Gophers added an early goal in each of the following two periods to build a commanding 4-0 lead in the third. Abigail Boreen tapped in a backdoor feed from Madeline Wethington just over three minutes into the second, while Taylor Heise blasted home a slap shot 14 seconds into third for Minnesota's fastest goal in a period this season. Elizabeth Giguere got the Bulldogs on the board early in the third before Emily Brown sealed the deal with an empty-net goal.
Lauren Bench, who started in goal for the fourth consecutive game, stopped 21 shots to earn her 14th victory of the season. Jojo Chobak started in goal for the Bulldogs and stopped 34 of 38 shots faced in the defeat.
QuotableÂ
"I'm really proud of our group," said head coach Brad Frost. "When you get into the playoffs, you have to play 60 minutes of good hockey and I thought our team did a great job of that. Obviously, their first line is really dangerous and we left Giguere alone for a second and she got one. Overall, I thought our team did a nice job of playing our brand of hockey and competed for 60 minutes and beat a really good team today."
Notable
With her third period goal, Emily Brown moved into a tie with Lee Stecklein and Lyndsay Wahl for 10th in program history in career goals by a defender (20). Defender Madeline Wethington surpassed the 50 career points with a pair of assists. Minnesota will play in the tournament championship game for the first time since 2019.
Up Next
The Gophers advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game tomorrow at 1:00 pm at Ridder Arena. Minnesota will face either Ohio State or Wisconsin.
Team Stats
UMD
UMN
Shots
22
39
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
1
1
Penalty Mins
2
2
Faceoffs Won
25
35
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
3
Goals
1
Sh
6
A
1
+/-
4
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
3
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's HockeyF
/ Women's HockeyD
/ Women's Hockey
F
/ Women's Hockey
D
/ Women's HockeyF
/ Women's HockeyD
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