UMD Wins 5th NCAA Championship

Wong Scores Winner in 3OT Victory over Cornell

3/21/2010 –UMD 3, Cornell 2 - 3OT

Jessica Wong deflected a Tara Gray shot by Cornell goalie Amanda Mazzotta at 19:26 of the third overtime to give Minnesota-Duluth their fifth NCAA National Collegiate Championship in ten years.

At 119:26, the game was the longest in championship game history.

“It was a great game,” Cornell Coach Doug Derraugh said. “I want to congratulate [UMD coach] Shannon [Miller] and Minnesota-Duluth. They went out, and they took it. They deserved to win.”

The Bulldogs (31-8-2, 20-6-2 WCHA) went 17-1 in the second half of the season, after being only 13-7-2 at the break.

“My strength coach told me that these guys listened and that they had a great work ethic and if you have that in the beginning, you know you're going to accomplish some great things through the course of the season and it'll just take some time,” Miller said.

The winning goal came just six seconds after the end of a Bulldog powerplay, the first penalty called since each team was assessed one early in the first overtime. Lauriane Rougeau came out of the penalty box and challenged Gray’s shot from behind, but she was not able to fully tie up the UMD defenseman’s stick.

“She took a shot and there was traffic in front of the net,” Big Red defenseman Laura Fortino said. “There’s not much you can do about that. We just tried clearing sticks, and it went in.”

Fortino wound up on the ice for the entire penalty kill and beyond, not having the legs to get to the bench even when Cornell managed to clear the puck after logging a ton of ice time.

Mariia Posa also had an assist on Wong’s goal.

“I just went in front of the net,” Wong said. “Coach always says get two in front of the net and double screen.”

Melanie Jue tied the game for Cornell (21-9-6, 14-2-6 ECAC) at 2-2, making the equivalent of a second game necessary, when she scored at 16:30 of the final period with Fortino and Karlee Overguard picking up assists.

"She's somebody who has come up with a lot of big goals for us all year long,” Derraugh said.

Trailing 1-0 coming into the third period, the Bulldogs forged a 2-1 lead on the strength of two powerplay goals. Emmanuelle Blais picked up her own blocked shot and got a shot over Mazzotta just 18 seconds into the period for her 32nd goal of the season.

“I think that this year, we’ve had to come back in a lot of games,” Blais said.

Blais, playing her final game for the ‘Dogs, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

When Jaime Rasmussen got open on the weak side and found the net with just over five minutes to go, it looked like UMD had all the goals that they were going to need.

The Big Red got on the board first with a power play goal with 6:36 remaining in the second period. Rougeau got off a slap shot that Jue deflected past Jennifer Harss after UMD had survived a 5-on-3 skater disadvantage. Fortino earned the second assist.

Cornell played in their first NCAA tournament after not having a winning season since 1998.

“The group of seniors that we have, they're four people that you can't replace,” Mazzotta said. “They did amazing things for us this year. When you see where they came from their freshman year to where we got them to now, it's too bad we couldn't get the win tonight, but it's been an incredible team and an incredible season.”

Mazzotta, who finished with 61 saves, was named to the All-Tournament Team along with Big Red teammates Fortino and Rougeau. All of the forwards on the team came from UMD, as Laura Fridfinnson and Wong joined Blais.

Jennifer Harss earned her 29th win in her rookie campaign by turning aside 49 shots.

For Saara Touminen, the game capped a month-long stretch in which she led Team Finland to a bronze medal at the Olympics, then returned to Duluth to captain UMD to WCHA and NCAA titles.

“This year is a like a dream coming true,” she said. “It’s been a busy month, but it’s been an amazing year.”

Gophers Season Ends in National Semifinal

Bulldogs Bounce Minnesota for 4th Straight Time

3/19/10 – Minnesota-Duluth 3, Minnesota 2

The line between winning and losing can be very fine and hard to distinguish. Apparently when Minnesota faces Minnesota-Duluth, that divide is also very real, because the Gophers (26-9-5, 18-6-4 WCHA) keep winding up on the wrong side of the score.

All six head-to-head meetings between the two branches of the University of Minnesota became races to three goals, and the Bulldogs (30-8-2, 20-6-2 WCHA) won the last four of those races. UMD triumphed 3-2 Friday night in the national semifinal before 2,070 fans.

“I think getting the first goal was huge, but we started the game with a lot of confidence,” Coach Shannon Miller said.

The Bulldogs were able to get on the board first despite being out shot 13-7 in the opening period.

“It was a wraparound,” Laura Fridfinnson said. “[Emmanuelle Blais] shot it on net, and the goalie came out to play her, so I just took it behind the net and wrapped it around and got it in.”

Just as key was the goal that enabled UMD to take a 3-1 lead into the locker room for the second intermission. Blais scored off of a pass from Fridfinnson at 19:15, less than two minutes after Sarah Erickson got the Gophers on the scoreboard and halved Duluth’s 2-0 lead.

“It was a great pass,” Blais said. “Obviously, it was good for us to just come back right away after their goal, and especially just at the end of the second.”

Blais, who also scored UMD’s second goal, finished with two goals and an assist. Line mate Fridfinnson added a goal and two helpers.

The Gophers spent the entire final period trying to close the gap once more. They finally pulled their goalie in the final minute and got an extra-attacker goal from Emily West. West batted the puck out of midair and past Jennifer Harss with 55 seconds to go. Harss prevented any additional offense by Minnesota as she did most of the night in saving 27 shots, and the clock ran out on a 3-2 win for UMD.

“I thought [Harss] was remarkable tonight,” Miller said. “She’s gotten better and better through the course of the season.”

So have the Bulldogs.

“Their transition game is second to none,” Erickson said.

Those quick transition strikes often forced Minnesota to pay on the scoreboard for the smallest of miscues.

“There was no doubt in our mind we could win this game; we just didn’t,” Erickson said.

Minnesota Coach Brad Frost said that the hardest part of losing is that “the season comes to an abrupt ending.”

They bow out knowing they fought to the end.

“From a player’s point of view, I think they played amazing the whole game,” Blais said of her opponent. “It’s very hard; I’m absolutely exhausted right now.”

For the ‘Dogs, it continues against Cornell on Sunday at noon in Ridder Arena.

“We haven’t played against them, so it’s kind of exciting to have a new opponent,” Fridfinnson said.

Despite the Big Red’s brief NCAA history, Miller expects a battle on Sunday.

“Anybody that’s here is a great team,” she said. “I’m not worried about a letdown at all. It doesn’t matter who we play, we have to bring our absolute best game, and that’s the bottom line.”

Cornell Defeats Mercyhurst to Reach the Championship

White’s Goal in OT Is the Difference

3/19/2010 – Cornell 3, Mercyhurst 2 - OT

Catherine White scored Cornell’s third rebound goal of the game at 13:14 of over time to get the Big Red (21-8-6, 14-2-6 ECAC) into their first NCAA championship game.

“I just put it right through her legs,” White said.

The sophomore center said, she knew the puck was going into the net, but she added a little prayer just in case.

This was the fourth time that Mercyhurst (30-3-3, 14-1-1 CHA) saw an NCAA tournament run end in overtime.

Karlee Overguard made the overtime necessary when she deposited a rebound of a Jess Martino shot Pattenden at 7:06 of the third period to draw Cornell even at 2-2.

First year defenseman Lauriane Rougeau said the goal gave her team a huge lift, and she was screaming in celebration on the bench.

The Lakers had grabbed a 2-1 lead at 10:38 of the second period as Kylie Rosler and Meghan Corbett scored goals less than two minutes apart. Rosler chipped the puck over Amanda Mazzotta’s attempted poke check for the first tally, then fed a wide-open Corbett on the weak side for the second.

The Big Red surprised Mercyhurst in the opening frame and had a number of quality scoring chances, but only Laura Fortino on a rebound was able to convert.

Coach Doug Derraugh said the Lakers are very similar to Harvard, the opponent Cornell defeated in its NCAA quarterfinal by a 6-2 score. Against both team’s the Big Red’s plan was to get the puck behind their aggressive forecheck to generate offensive chances.

“Got to give our team credit,” Derraugh said. “They managed to keep coming and coming.”

Gophers Set to Compete For National Title
Provided by the University of Minnesota

MINNESOTA SET TO COMPETE FOR A NATIONAL TITLE
The No. 3 Gopher women’s hockey team will compete in its home rink as the University of Minnesota is set to host the 2010 Frozen Four, this weekend at Ridder Arena. Semifinal games are at 5 p.m./8 p.m. Friday, while the championship is at noon on Sunday. The Golden Gophers earned a 3-2 overtime win against Clarkson to advance to their seventh NCAA Frozen Four appearance.

FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
The semifinal games can be found on NCAA.com via video stream. USCHO’s Brian Schulz will provide the play-by-play, while former Gopher coach Laura Halldorson and Gopher alum Winny Brodt Brown will assist with color. Also assisting is Harvard alum, Caitlin Cahow. An audio stream will be available from the Gold Zone on gophersports.com this weekend as well as on the radio, KLBB 1220 AM (if advancing on Sunday). Live results for the game can also be found on gophersports.com as well as on NCAA.com

2010 FROZEN FOUR IS HERE
The 2010 tournament marks the third time in 10 years the Golden Gophers will host the Women's Frozen Four and the first time in Ridder Arena. Minnesota hosted the inaugural Women's Frozen Four in 2001 and again in 2006 in Mariucci Arena. In the two-day championship in 2006, Minnesota drew 7,577 fans. The university opened the doors to Ridder Arena at the start of the 2002-03 season. Ridder Arena, which seats approximately 3,400 people, has been host to a variety of events, including six WCHA conference championships and the Minnesota state girls’ tournament in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The only arena in the nation built solely for a women’s hockey team, Minnesota’s largest single-game attendance came on January 6, 2007, when 3,251 fans entered the doors.

FROZEN FOUR TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets are available for the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four, which can be purchased through the Gopher ticket office. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 612-624-8080 (1-800 UGOPHER) or on the gopher website: gophersports.com. Game times for the semifinals are at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on March 19 and the championship game is set for noon on Sunday.

WE MEET AGAIN
Friday’s match-up is the sixth time this season the Gophers and the Bulldogs have tangled this year. The two teams have been very similar throughout the season. Minnesota won the first series when UMD came to Ridder Arena and defeated the Bulldogs, 3-1 and 3-0 on October 16-17. Minnesota then visited the DECC on Feb. 5-6 and fell by the exact same scores in the series, 3-1 and 3-0. Minnesota and UMD both tied for the regular season title with 43 conference points. In their fifth meeting in the WCHA Championship game, the Bulldogs earned a 3-2 victory over the Gophers.

ABOUT THE UMD BULLDOGS
UMD enters the NCAA Frozen Four with a 29-8-2 overall record and finished the WCHA conference season with a 20-6-2 mark. Boasting one of the most potent offensive lines in the country is their three top scorers. The Bulldogs are led in scoring by first-team All-WCHA honoree Emmanuelle Blais, who has 29 goals and 32 assists for 61 points. She is followed by Laura Fridfinnson with 51 points and Katherine Wilson with 43 points. In net for UMD is freshman goaltender Jennifer Harss. She has played in 37 games this season and holds a .933 save percentage and a 2.07 goals against average.

NO LOVE LOST
Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth has one of the best rivalries in women’s Division I hockey. Dating back to when UMD started its program in 1999-2000, the Gophers hold a slight lead in the all-time series at 26-20-5. This weekend also marks the seventh NCAA Frozen Four appearance for UMD.

ABOUT THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst has held the No. 1 ranking for a majority of the season and enter the NCAA Frozen Four with a 30-2-3 overall record and a College Hockey America conference record of 14-1-1. The Lakers defeated Boston University, 4-1, to advance to the Frozen Four. Mercyhurst had three named as top-10 Patty Kazmaier finalists in Vicki Bendus, Jesse Scanzano and Bailey Bram with Bendus being a top-three finalist. Bendus and Scanzano are tied for the team lead with 65 points, while Bram has 56 points. The Lakers average 4.74 goals per game and have only allowed 1.60 goals per game. Laker goaltender Hillary Pattenden holds a save percentage of .922 and a GAA of 1.57.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is riding an 11-game unbeaten streak and a 10-game win streak entering the Frozen Four. After a 4-3 overtime win against Clarkson in the ECAC championship, the Big Red had a convincing 6-2 win over Harvard last Friday. Cornell enters the Frozen Four with 20-8-6 overall record and a 14-2-6 mark in the ECAC. Catherine White leads the Big Red in scoring with 41 points, while Chelsea Karpenko and Laura Fortino rank second with 31 points.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA COMPETITION
The 2010 Frozen Four marks Minnesota's seventh trip to the big dance. The Gophers’ first trek came in 2002 to New Hampshire and continued to go to the Frozen Four five-straight years. After a two-year hiatus in 2007 and 2008, the Gophers returned to the Frozen Four last year and fell to Mercyhurst, 5-4, in Boston. Minnesota’s record in the NCAA Frozen Four is 5-5-1. Minnesota has three national championships to its name with two being NCAA-sanctioned titles in 2004 and 2005.

THE LAST FROZEN FOUR IN MINNEAPOLIS
The University of Minnesota hosted the Frozen Four in 2006 and was the national runner up. Minnesota competed in one of its most memorable Frozen Four games when Bobbi Ross had an NCAA record four-goal game to help the Gophers upend the No. 1 seed New Hampshire. The Gophers, however, fell to Wisconsin, 3-0, in the championship game.

FROST A FINALIST FOR NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Minnesota head coach Brad Frost is one of eight coaches to be named finalists for the AHCA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Award. The award will be presented during the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Convention on Friday, April 30, in Naples, FL. To be a finalist for this award, you must either be voted Coach of the Year in your conference, or take your team to the NCAA Frozen Four. The winner will be announced this weekend during the NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Frozen Four in Minneapolis. Among the list is Providence’s Bob Deraney, Cornell’s Doug Derraugh, Syracuse’s Paul Flanagan, UMD’s Shannon Miller, Quinnipiac’s Rick Seeley, Bemidji State’s Steve Sertich and Mercyhurst’s Michael Sisti.

West OT Goal Advances Gophers to Frozen Four

Minnesota Survives Loss of 2-Goal Lead in the 3rd

When playing in the NCAA tournament, it is win or go home. For the Gophers this season, it became a case of winning so they could stay at home. They accomplished that task, but not without some drama.

“This team has had a lot over their heads from the day that it was announced that we would be hosting the Frozen Four,” Coach Brad Frost said. “I think all of us as a staff and our players look at it as a real privilege and a real opportunity to be able to host it, and now to be able to play in it.”

Everything was going according to plan for Minnesota (26-8-5, 18-6-4 WCHA), the team making their 8th NCAA tournament appearance versus an opponent in Clarkson getting a first taste of the Dance. The Gophers led 2-0 as the third period neared its halfway point and looked to be on their way to a comfortable victory.

Not so fast. The Golden Knights (23-11-5, 14-5-3 ECAC) wanted to prolong the experience, storming back with two goals to force sudden death.

“It seems like we’re in the entertainment business and continue to give our ticketholders extra hockey,” Frost said.

For the fifth consecutive weekend, Minnesota played an overtime game.

Unfortunately for Clarkson, it was the Knights’ season that ended abruptly when junior captain Emily West grabbed a turnover, marched in on goalie Lauren Dahm, and tucked the puck inside the post.
“I picked up the puck and saw more space than I wanted, and I just tried to take advantage of it,” West said. “I knew that I had been shooting all night low left, and thought maybe she would bite on that and just try and sneak it in.”

Brittany Francis, the other wing on Minnesota’s top line, forced the turnover with an aggressive forecheck.

Frost wasn’t surprised that it was West who sealed the deal.

“Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior,” he said.

The goal was West’s national-best tenth gamewinner.

Clarkson tied the contest at 2-2 at 18:16 of the third period, on a Juana Baribeau blast from center ice that found the top corner on Noora Räty. It was the kind of shot nobody expects to go in, especially against a goalie of Räty’s caliber.

“There’s nobody in the rink that felt worse than her,” Frost said of is star frosh.

“If there’s one player who doesn’t ever have to say ‘sorry’, it’s her.”

The Knight’s had gained the position to tie the game on one shot when Melissa Waldie converted a feed from Britney Selina after a Gopher defenseman got caught up ice. Carlee Eusepi also earned an assist.

“Brit Selina picked it up and I came off the bench,” Waldie said. “It was a 2-on-1 and she made a good play, a pass right on the tape.”

The outcome was suddenly in doubt, and both teams knew it.

“It got us going; everyone was excited,” Waldie said. “I think it gave us momentum.”

Francis opened the scoring on a first-period powerplay. She was carrying the puck toward the net, Courtney Olson of the Knights went down to block her pass, and deflected it in on the short side. West and Megan Bozek assisted.

“It was somewhat of a gift,” Francis said of the bounce, but she pointed to the hard work that set up the play.

Clarkson looked to have tied the game at 1-1 on their own power play in the second period, but after review, the goal was waved off.

“The referee was pretty adamant that it was pretty clear that it was kicked in,” Clarkson co-head coach Matt Desrosiers said.

Instead, West upped the lead to 2-0 when Sarah Erickson’s shot bounced to her off of Dahm’s pad, and West slid the rebound into the open goal. It was one of the few times the Gophers had a good look at the net.

“In November we just stood around and almost gave them too much respect,” co-head coach Shannon Desrosiers said. “This time, we talked about being aggressive, get in their face, get on them, play our style of game, and I think it threw them off a little bit.”

West was the player for which the Knights had no solution, particularly in OT.

“She definitely made a good play,” Shannon Desrosiers said. “She’s a solid player, probably one of the top in the country.”

Clarkson took some satisfaction from advancing to the tournament for the first time and giving a good battle.

“I think it is going to prepare us for next year,” Waldie said. “It got a lot of us ready. We’re losing a bunch of really great seniors, but I think we have a good group coming in. We’ll come in on a high note next year.”

But before thinking of next year, Clarkson can reflect on a wonderful season.

“It’s definitely a huge step for the program,” Matt Desrosiers said. “It’s come a long way in a pretty short time.”

Minnesota prepares for the program’s seventh trip to the Frozen Four and a semifinal date with the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth.

“There’s nothing better than an opportunity to play for a national championship in your own building,” West said.

Gophers Host Clarkson in a One-And-Done NCAA Regional Game
Provided by the University of Minnesota

MINNESOTA SET FOR NCAA REGIONAL COMPETITION
The No. 3 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team hosts No. 6 Clarkson in a NCAA Regional game, Saturday, March 13, at 4 p.m. The Golden Gophers and Golden Knights met for a series earlier this year, the only meeting in school history between the two teams.

FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Fans can follow the Gophers through gophersports.com as Brian Schulz and Laura Halldorson provide the color and play-by-play. An audio stream from the Gold Zone on gophersports.com this weekend as well as on the radio, KLBB 1220 AM. Live results for the game can also be found on gophersports.com.

WIN OR GO HOME
Saturday’s game is a one-and-done event. The winner of the game will compete at the 2010 Frozen Four, while the other ends its season on Saturday.

MINNESOTA SET TO HOST 2010 FROZEN FOUR
The NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Committee selected the University of Minnesota and Ridder Arena as the site of the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four. The 2010 tournament marks the third time in 10 years the Golden Gophers will host the Women's Frozen Four and the first time in Ridder Arena. Minnesota hosted the inaugural Women's Frozen Four in 2001 and again in 2006 in Mariucci Arena. Mariucci Arena was the site of the 2001 and the 2006 Frozen Fours. In the two-day championship in 2006, Minnesota drew 7,577 fans. The university opened the doors to Ridder Arena at the start of the 2002-03 season. Ridder Arena, which seats approximately 3,400 people, has been host to a variety of events, including six WCHA conference championships and the Minnesota state girls’ tournament in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The only arena in the nation built solely for a women’s hockey team, Minnesota’s largest single-game attendance came on January 6, 2007, when 3,251 fans entered the doors.

FROZEN FOUR TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets are available for the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four, which can be purchased through the Gopher ticket office. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 612-624-8080 (1-800 UGOPHER) or on the gopher website: gophersports.com. Game times for the semifinals are at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on March 19 and the championship game is set for noon on Sunday.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Rewarded for its 23-11-5 record, Clarkson earned an at-large bid into the 2010 NCAA Women’s Hockey Tournament. The Golden Knights, guided by second-year co-head coaches Shannon and Matt Desrosiers, will play in the first NCAA postseason game in the program’s seven-year history. Dominique Thibault leads the Golden Knights in scoring with 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points, while Juana Baribeau ranks second on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points. Clarkson earned conference awards as Britney Selina was named the ECAC’s best defensive forward; she ranks third in scoring with 35 points. Senior defenseman Carlee Eusepi was named the ECAC’s best defensive defenseman. Goaltender Lauren Dahm has played in 38 of 39 games for Clarkson and holds nine shutouts with a record of 23-10-5. She ranks eighth in the nation in goals against average (1.56), seventh in save percentage (.933) and 10th in winning percentage (.671).

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Clarkson started its trek to the NCAA quarterfinal with a three-game series win over St. Lawerence, Feb. 26-28. The Golden Knights defeated the Saints 5-0 in the first game, fell in a 2-1 decision the second game, and won 4-1 in the third to advance to the ECAC semifinals. Clarkson then earned a 3-2 win over No. 4 Harvard last Friday, but fell to Cornell 4-3 in overtime last Saturday for the tournament championship.

Minnesota found its way to the NCAA quarterfinal with a two-game series sweep over Minnesota State University, Mankato, Feb. 26-27. The Gophers then defeated Ohio State, 5-4 in double overtime to advance to the WCHA Championship game last Saturday, where they fell 3-2 to Minnesota Duluth.

THE LAST TIME OUT
Clarkson and Minnesota competed in their first-ever meeting earlier this year over Thanksgiving weekend (11/27-28). Minnesota earned a series sweep over Clarkson with 4-0 and 2-0 wins. In the first game, Minnesota and Clarkson were scoreless after one. Terra Rasmussen ended the game’s scoreless drought when she scored at 11:53 in the second. Kelly Seeler, Brittany Francis and Emily West all scored in the third period to put the game at 4-0. In the Saturday game, West scored back-to-back goals in the first period (a game-winner and a short-handed goal) to give the Gophers a 2-0 win. Noora Räty played in both games and earned back-to-back shutouts, facing 41 shots on goal.

Bulldogs Drop Gophers, Take WCHA Title

Early Hole Proves Too Deep in 3-2 Defeat

Minnesota knew that they had to maintain their composure heading into Sunday’s WCHA championship game versus Minnesota-Duluth. That proved easier said than done, as the Gophers (25-8-5, 18-6-4 WCHA) took three penalties in the first two minutes, lost the momentum, and spent much of the opening period pinned in their own end and being outshot 13-5.

The Bulldogs (28-8-2, 20-6-2 WCHA) jumped to a 2-0 lead on an unassisted goal by Jessica Wong and an Emmanuelle Blais powerplay goal.

“We got in that penalty trouble, and that didn’t help, so we were playing the same group of kids there in some pretty tough situations four-on-threes, five-on-threes,” Coach Brad Frost said. “I looked up at the clock at least halfway through the period, I don’t think we had a shot yet, and we were on the PK for most of it.”

Coming off the emotional high of a double-overtime win the day before, Minnesota wanted to be the team that got off to a fast start.

“That’s a fine line that we kind of need to figure out, because we were pumped up, we were ready to go,” captain Brittany Francis said. “The first period, I guess we took it a little too far.”

Francis helped the Gophers climb back into the contest when she set up Sarah Erickson with a goal-mouth feed. Erickson scored both Minnesota goals on the day with Francis assisting both times.

“We knew pucks were going to go in if we get shots on net,” Erickson said. “That’s what we talked about coming into the game – shoot, shoot, shoot, and get your bodies to the net while you do. That’s going to be our main focus here coming into the rest of the playoffs is get the puck to the net.”

Erickson’s goals twice halved two-goal deficits, pulling the Gophers within 3-2 late in the second period, but they couldn’t find the net once more to gain a tie.

Audrey Cornoyer scored a pivotal goal to put UMD ahead 3-1 at 11:21 of the middle frame.

“We just let them gain the zone too easily, and she takes a nice, quick shot from the hash marks, it ramps off our D’s stick, and Noora [Räty] doesn’t have time to react,” Frost said.

UMD claimed their fourth WCHA tournament title.

“Well obviously, it was a great game,” Bulldog coach Shannon Miller said. “Two very good teams going head to head, and going end to end hockey. It was great hockey, it was a fast game, a physical game.”

Minnesota now looks ahead to the start of the NCAA tournament. They will host Clarkson at 4 P.M. on Saturday. The Golden Gophers and Golden Knights met in a series earlier this season, with Minnesota taking 4-0 and 2-0 decisions.

“I’m looking forward to next week,” Erickson said. “I’d like to obviously see us advance and win a national championship, and that’s all I’m worried about right now.”

Minnesota Advances to WCHA Championship Game

May Provides Latest Sudden Victory

Perhaps it should have surprised no one that the Gophers and Buckeyes needed more than 60 minutes to resolve their WCHA semifinal game.

Minnesota (25-7-5, 18-6-4 WCHA) had played an overtime game in each of its previous three series. Ohio State (17-15-5, 12-13-3 WCHA) required bonus hockey for its last three games. There is no time-and-a-half pay for extra work, so these people must love their jobs.

Laura May ended the proceedings in the Gophers’ favor at 3:31 of the second overtime session, providing the final lead change in her team’s 5-4 victory.

“That whole play is just a blur right now,” May said. “I believe [Becky] Kortum put it on net for the first shot; (OSU goalie Chelsea Knapp) made a great save. [Chelsey] Jones was right there for the rebound; again she made a great save. I was lucky enough to be standing in front of an empty net, and I put it away.”

At numerous points in the first OT, the game seemed on the verge of ending. Laura McIntosh hit the pipe for the Buckeyes; Jones clanked a shot off the crossbar at the other end. Jones even floated the puck over Knapp and into the net at one point, but video review indicated that the puck was directed into the net with a hand, nullifying the goal.

The extra hockey came on the heels of a tumultuous final 8:05 of regulation. Kelli Blankenship scored off a blocked shot to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead, only to have Raelyn LaRocque answer back a scant 12 seconds later.

Natalie Spooner put the Buckeyes up 3-2 at 16:45 on a brilliant solo effort while shorthanded.

“She was turning our D inside out at times,” Gopher coach Brad Frost said. “She’s a great player; there’s a reason she was on the (All-WCHA) First team.”

Another Buckeye was sent to the penalty box, and Brittany Francis converted at 17:25.

“It was a 5-on-3, so it’s my spot to be in the middle,” Francis said. “We do practice that quite a bit, going down to [Emily West] and up to me or across to Sarah [Erickson].”

It was the senior captain’s second goal of the game, having scored Minnesota’s first goal on a second-period power play.

With the teams skating 4-on-4, Anne Schleper sniped a wrist shot under the crossbar for a 4-3 Minnesota lead with under a minute and a half remaining.

“Sometimes it’s tough to just look past all of those players in front of you, but I knew I had a lane, and I knew that (Knapp’s) habit was to go down,” Schleper said. “So I just kept that in mind, and knew that I had players if there was a rebound.”

But OSU pulled their goalie while on a final power play and scored with a 6-on-4 skater advantage at 19:42 to tie the game at 4-4.

“After a couple periods of not many goals, the floodgates opened both ways in the third,” Frost said. “We had an opportunity to win that game in regulation and penalty problems got to us a little bit.”

It’s not the first time that penalties have proven costly to the Gophers, and it’s something that they need to consider as they face Minnesota-Duluth for the WCHA Final Face-Off championship.

“If we’re stupid and take penalties that we shouldn’t, like we did (in Dulth) at times after the incident, then we’re probably not going to win the hockey game,” Frost said. “So it’s about getting out and two very good teams playing their best hockey, and I imagine no player is going to want to put their team in a bad spot in a championship game.”

The Buckeyes saw their season come to a heartbreaking end. Spooner and Paige Semenza credited senior captains LaRocque and Rachel Davis with inspiring the team to keep battling back in this game and throughout the season. With 20 players returning, Coach Jackie Barto expects good things ahead for her team.

UMD and Minnesota don’t have to wait long for their future, as face off for the championship game is scheduled for 12:07 P.M. at Ridder Arena.

“I think it’s exciting every time we play Duluth, and it’s just going to make it that much more exciting because we’re playing for a championship,” Francis said.

Gophers Set to Host WCHA's Best This Weekend At Ridder
Provided by the University of Minnesota

MINNESOTA SET TO HOST WCHA FINAL FACEOFF
The No. 3 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team will compete at the 2010 WCHA FINAL FACEOFF Championships, this weekend at Ridder Arena. The No. 2 seed Golden Gophers (24-7-5) will play No. 5 seed Ohio State at 3 p.m., Saturday while the first game will have No. 1 seed Minnesota Duluth and the No. 6 seed Bemidji State at noon. The winner of each semifinal game will advance to the WCHA championship game Sunday at noon.

FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Fans can follow the Gophers through an audio stream from the Gold Zone on gophersports.com this weekend. Live results for all games can also be found on gophersports.com. All WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF games will be streamed live by When We Were Young Productions (http://www.wcha.com) and telecast on tape delay on FSN North and FSN Wisconsin. The first semifinal will be televised on both networks March 14 at 8:00 p.m., the second semifinal will air March 17 at 7:00 p.m. on FSN Wisconsin and March 19 at noon at FSN North. The title game will be televised on both networks March 25 at 9:00 p.m. Jack Swanson and Laura Halldorson will provide play by play and color.

WCHA FACEOFF AND FROZEN FOUR TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets are now available for the 2010 WCHA FINAL FACEOFF and the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four, both of which can be purchased through the Gopher ticket office. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 612-624-8080 (1-800 UGOPHER) or on the gopher website: gophersports.com. Game times for the semifinals on March 6 is noon and 3 p.m. with the championship game at noon on March 7.

WHO’S IN AND WHO’S OUT
The NCAA will announce the eight-team field on Sunday, March, 7 at 6:30 p.m. on a streamed show on its website, ncaa.com. The WCHA, ECAC and Hockey East all have automatic bids going to the winner of the conference tournament championship. The rest of the field will be at-large bids.

HISTORY OF THE WCHA CHAMPIONSHIP
Since the start of the WCHA in 1999-2000, the conference playoff championship has seen several different variations. In 2000 and 2001, all teams competed in the WCHA Championships. In 2002, the WCHA advanced just the top five teams and followed the format of the men’s WCHA Final Five until 2004. When the NCAA established an eight-team post-season field, the WCHA had all eight teams compete in the championship in one weekend in 2005. Then in 2006, the women’s teams followed the men’s format, playing the first round at the top seeds, while the winners advance to the championship. Including this year, Minnesota has hosted the WCHA Championship tournament six times, dating back to 2004. Prior to the 2004 year, the tournament was played at neutral locations.

DID YOU KNOW?
Showing the strength and the narrow comparison between teams this year, the 2010 FINAL FACEOFF will not have the 2009 champion defend its title. Wisconsin, who defeated Minnesota 5-3 last year, was defeated by Ohio State last weekend. Although OSU has advanced to the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF, the 2010 championship also marks the first time Bemidji State has made it to the tournament semifinal.

GOPHERS IN THE WCHA CHAMPIONSHIP
Minnesota will look to add its fourth playoff championship in school history this weekend. The Golden Gophers won their first in 2002, defeating Wisconsin by a score of 3-2. The Gophers added their second and third title in back-to-back years in 2004 and 2005. Since the Gophers have hosted the conference championships in 2004, Minnesota has finished as the champion or runner-up in the previous five years.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Minnesota Duluth defeated No. 8 seeded and visiting North Dakota 6-2 on Friday (Feb. 26) and 4-1 on Saturday (Feb. 27) at Heritage Center in Duluth, Minn. Hosting institution Minnesota, won 8-5 and 4-3 (3 ot) over No. 7 seeded Minnesota State at Ridder Arena. Ohio State upended host Wisconsin 3-2 (ot) and 4-3 (ot) at Eagles’ Nest in Verona, Wis. Bemidji State was the last to advance to the FINAL FACEOFF with a three-game decision. After falling, 3-0 on Friday, BSU earned a 2-1 win on Saturday night and a convincing 4-1 win Sunday to advance to the championship.

Minnesota Endures Longest Game in Program History

West Notches Gamewinner in Third Overtime

Minnesota State-Mankato fought to extend their season another day. The Gophers were equally determined to end the quarterfinal series in two games and advance to the WCHA Final Face-Off.

When the teams faced off on Saturday, nobody could have guessed that it would take over one hundred minutes of hockey to decide which team would ultimately get their way.

Emily West fired in a wrist shot at 1:16 of the third OT to gain a 4-3 win for Minnesota (24-7-5, 18-6-4 WCHA).

“Just threw it low left and it went in,” West said. “Pretty happy to have that one over with after three overtimes.”

West had picked up the puck after Anne Schleper’s shot rebounded off of the endboards, one of four assists Schleper had on the day.

“I think if anything, my legs were happy to have it done,” Schleper said.

Long before, Moira O’Connor had scored her second goal of the game at 2:47 of the third period to lift the Mavericks (7-22-5, 5-18-5 WCHA) into a 3-3 tie.

Then Minnesota’s Noora Räty and MSU’s Alli Altmann matched save for save for over 58 minutes as their offenses searched for a decisive goal.

“I thought we carried the play often times in the overtimes and had some great chances, but it just took a long time to have that one finally go in,” Coach Brad Frost said. “Noora made some great saves as we needed her to in overtime.”

Räty finished with 41 saves, a career high, in improving to 16-2-4 on the year. She also garnered her third assist of the season, a new high-water mark for Minnesota goalies.

Kelli Blankenship had broken clear to give the Gophers a short-lived 3-2 lead in the final seconds of the second period. Minnesota also got powerplay goals from Megan Bozek on a 5-on-3 onetimer and Brittany Francis.

Early on, the game seemed to lack playoff intensity.

“I felt like we had more jump as the game went on versus at the beginning,” Frost said.

“Positive talk on the bench helped us,” Schleper said. “I think that kept our motivation going and our energy and our drive to just keep going out there every shift.”

Extra motivation came from the knowledge that a win on Saturday would earn the team a day off on Sunday.

“That’s what we were saying – we don’t want to be here tomorrow, we shouldn’t be here tomorrow,” West said. “I think that really paid off for us.”

Frost is hoping that the nail-biting finish will pay dividends down the road.

“I don’t think it hurts us in any way, since especially we came out with the win,” he said. “They’ve now been in a situation where they’re in an overtime game, or two, or three overtimes, and not many teams have that same experience. If we ever get to it again, we’ll have that to lean on.”

Minnesota next hosts the Final Face-Off at Ridder, with the first semifinal starting at noon on Saturday.

Offense Rules in First Playoff Win

Strong Third Period Offsets Spotty Defense

The postseason is all about winning. In their postseason opener, Minnesota (23-7-5, 18-6-4 WCHA) accomplished that mission with a 8-5 victory over Minnesota State-Mankato (7-21-5, 5-18-5 WCHA).

“Maybe not the way that we had planned on having our first game of playoffs, but we came out with a ‘W’, so that’s what matters,” junior wing Laura May said.

May and her center, Becky Kortum, led the way with a goal and two assists apiece, while line mate Chelsey Jones added the gamewinner.

Having squandered several leads along the way, the Gophers came out for the final period with the score knotted at 5-5. Jones volleyed Michelle Maunu’s shot out of the air and into the Maverick net with 3:32 elapsed. It was the senior’s second consecutive game-winning goal.

“We’ve been talking a lot about how we need to improve, being the only line that really got to stay together throughout the whole year,” May said.

Their improvement has frequently bettered the Minnesota fortunes as well of late. Kortum picked up the puck off a face off in the Mankato end 4 minutes later and beat Paige Thunder on the short side for some insurance.

“Today I felt like I had my legs; I thought I was moving pretty good,” Kortum said. “My line as a whole, we played really well together. We just tried to set the tempo for the team, and kept going hard to the net.”

Alexandra Zebro put the game out of reach with her first goal of the year with Jones providing a screen in front for the final 8-5 margin.

“We’ve just been keeping at it, and I think it’s starting to go for us,” May said.

Minnesota appeared to have things going their way earlier, but 2-0, 3-1, 4-2, and 5-3 leads all proved short lived. Inspired play by MSU and sloppy defense by the hosts made for a doubtful welcome back from the Olympics for goaltender Noora Räty.

A day after backstopping Team Finland to a bronze medal, Räty found herself besieged throughout a second period she described as “brutal”, as the Gophers were outscored 4-2.

“We gave up tap-ins that we haven’t given up in quite some time,” Coach Brad Frost said.

Räty routinely denies such quality scoring chances, but fresh off the emotional highs of the Olympics and with her father viewing a game in Ridder for the first time all season, the contest was far from routine.

“I felt bad for her,” Frost said. “I wouldn’t consider any of those goals fault on her.”

“It was so hard to prepare mentally,” Räty said. “I just want to go there and play and give the team a chance for a win. Just have fun out there.”

“This is just like a family for me, and I just love to play here. I was so pumped to get back and see all those girls.”

Luckily, Minnesota brought some jump on the offensive end, especially Kortum’s line.

“I thought it was her best game of the year,” Frost said. “Not just because she scored that goal in the third, but on May’s goal, she was the reason, driving to the net, taking two players, screening.”

With each game, the freshman center is looking more like the player who won the state’s Ms. Hockey award as a high school senior last year.

“I think she got through the first half, and now she’s really opening up, and we’re loving what we’re getting out of her now,” May said.

Mira Jalosuo fired in her first goal of the season. Sam Downey, Emily West, and Sarah Erickson also found the back of the net.

The Gophers are a win away from reaching the WCHA Final Face-Off.

“One game down, and another one to go, and hopefully, we can advance tomorrow,” Frost said.

Game two of the series is at 4:07 P.M. on Saturday in Ridder Arena.

Women's Hockey Starts Second Season This Weekend at Ridder
Provided by the University of Minnesota

The No. 3 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team starts it second season this weekend as the Golden Gophers take on Minnesota State in the first round of the WCHA Championships. Friday’s game is set for 7:07 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday games (if necessary) will be at 4:07 p.m. The winner of the best two-out-of-three series will advance to the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF, held March 6-7 at Ridder Arena. The Gophers are the No. 2 seed, while Minnesota State is the No. 7 seed.

WCHA FACEOFF AND FROZEN FOUR TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets are now available for the 2010 WCHA FINAL FACEOFF and the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four, both of which can be purchased through the Gopher ticket office. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 612-624-8080 (1-800 UGOPHER) or on the Gopher website: gophersports.com. Game times for the semifinals on March 6 are noon and 3 p.m. with the championship game at noon on March 7.

GOPHERS ARE CO-CHAMPIONS
Minnesota earned a 3-2 come-from-behind win last Saturday night. With the win, the Golden Gophers (22-7-5, 18-6-4 in the WCHA) earned the title of Co-WCHA regular season champions, an honor they share with Minnesota Duluth. The title marks the second-straight regular season title for the Gophers and the program’s sixth regular season championship since the start of the WCHA in 1999-2000. The Bulldogs won the tie-breaker with more conference wins with a 20-6-2 mark. The seeds were based off the second tie-breaker after the first was head-to-head competition in which both teams swept at their home site.

IT CAME DOWN TO THE WIRE
As to no surprise to anyone the WCHA regular season championship was the tightest race in conference history as the title and seeds were settled on the season finale. Heading into the final day, UMD tied for the league lead in points and St. Cloud State and Wisconsin were tied for third. Minnesota and Minnesota tied for the league title, the first tie in the 11-year history of the WCHA. UMD holds the No. 1 seed, followed by Minnesota (2), St. Cloud State (3), Wisconsin (4), Ohio State (5), Bemidji State (6), MSU (7) and North Dakota (8). Here’s a list of the seedings. If an upset occurs, the league will re-seed the tournament.

Friday, February 26:
Ohio State at Wisconsin 7:07 pm
Bemidji State at St. Cloud State 7:07 pm
Minnesota State at Minnesota 7:07 pm
North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth 7:07 pm

Saturday, February 27:
Minnesota State at Minnesota 4:07 pm
Ohio State at Wisconsin 7:07 pm
Bemidji State at St. Cloud State 7:07 pm
North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth 7:07 pm

Sunday, February 28 (if necessary):
Minnesota State at Minnesota 4:07 pm
North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth 4:07 pm
Ohio State at Wisconsin 7:07 pm
Bemidji State at St. Cloud State 7:07 pm

DID YOU KNOW?
Minnesota scored six goals last weekend and had a well balanced attack in the points category. Emily West, who returned to the Gopher lineup after suffering a concussion, had three points in the series. Sam Downey, Anne Schleper, Kelly Seeler, Brittany Francis and Alexandra Zebro all tallied two points. In all, 10 players had a point in the series split.

THE PAST IS IN THE PAST
The Gophers earned their first win in the month of February in last Saturday’s 3-2 win over Wisconsin. After an 11-game unbeaten streak, the Gophers went on a five-game winless streak, starting on Feb. 5. Minnesota went 0-4-1 before the regular season finale win.

WELCOME BACK
The University of Minnesota welcomes back Noora Räty as she returns to the team this weekend after an eight-game hiatus with Team Finland. Räty competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics, earning a bronze medal, and is back and ready for action as the Gophers start their playoff run. Although she missed the last eight games, Räty finished the regular season with a 0.94 goals against average and a .962 save percentage to lead the conference. She is the goaltending champion, Minnesota’s fourth WCHA goaltending champion in school history.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State closed out the regular season with a 3-2 win and a 1-0 loss to North Dakota last weekend. Ashley Young leads Minnesota State in points with 21, while Lauren Smith is second with 18 and Emmi Leinonen and Christina Lee aretied for third with 17 points. The Mavericks are coached by Eric Means, who is in his first year at the helm of the program. Alli Altmann has seen a majority of action in net for the Mavericks, including the last four games. Altmann had 48 saves in the 5-3 win at Wisconsin on Feb. 12. She holds a 2.99 goals against average and a 7-16-4 record this year.

GOPHERS AND MAVERICKS THIS SEASON
The Gophers have a 3-0-1 mark against the Mavericks this season. On Nov. 13-14, Minnesota earned a 4-1 win and followed with a 1-1 tie and a shootout win to still earn four points on the weekend. The two teams met later in the year at Ridder on Jan. 29-30 as the Gophers earned 4-2 and 4-1 wins over MSU.

Gophers Claim Share of WCHA Title

Late Comeback Forges Tie with UMD for Top

Friday, the Gophers came close; on Saturday, they got over the hump. This time after battling back to tie Wisconsin late in the third, Minnesota (22-7-5, 18-6-4 WCHA) was the team to bury a gamewinner and erupt in celebration.

Because Chelsey Jones’ winning goal came with 100 seconds remaining in the third period rather than in sudden death, the Gophers had to wait a bit to mob winning goalie Alyssa Grogan. But because the 3-2 win also brought a share of the WCHA regular season championship, nobody seemed to mind.

“It’s definitely a big moment in a big win, and I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” Jones said.

Of course, being in that right place is often more plan than accident.

“Becky Kortum had the puck on her stick in the neutral zone to the offensive zone,” Jones said. “She’s a left-handed shot, she’s coming down, and she’s waiting, waiting, waiting – very poised. She just passes it across, and this big watermelon comes at me and I just hit it home.”

Just as crucial was Kelly Seeler’s powerplay tally on a rebound at 14:52 of the final frame to pull Minnesota into a 2-2 tie.

“The rebounds have been there, they’ve been popping out everywhere, and it’s just a matter of getting sticks on it,” Seeler said.

Wisconsin came out of the first period up a goal at 2-1 and held that lead most of the way, but the deficit could have been worse but for the play of Alyssa Grogan in the Gopher goal.

“Alyssa Grogan was unbelievable all night,” Coach Brad Frost said. “She was the difference, keeping us in the game when we needed her to.”

Grogan stopped several prime opportunities by the Badgers, including stoning Brook Ammerman on a penalty shot.

“I knew it would kind of help our team get a little bit of momentum going,” Grogan said. “It felt good to stop her. I’ve played with her a lot, and she’s scored on me a lot. I owed her one.”

Anne Schleper also scored, and six different Gophers contributed assists.

“We needed a win for a multitude of reasons,” Frost said. “One being we hadn’t won in a while. Needed something positive going into the playoffs here. We’re still going to be hanging a banner, and we’re still WCHA champions.”

Due to an untimely slump, Minnesota definitely didn’t take the easy way to the title, but they did find a way.

“I think it says a lot about our team and the talent that we have – the dedication, and the hard work, and the willingness to get it done,” Grogan said.

The Gophers next face Minnesota State-Mankato on Friday night at Ridder in a WCHA quarterfinal series.

“We were talking about once you hit rock bottom, you can only go up, and I think this game especially is going to bounce us back up there,” Seeler said.

Skid Continues, Gophers Fall 4-3 in OT

Winless Streak Grows to Five

Through the final three series of the WCHA season, the Gophers have struggled to come up with the key play – the must-have save, the crucial clear, the timely goal.

When Emily West scored an extra-attacker goal with 17 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, it looked like Minnesota (21-7-5, 18-7-4 WCHA) finally had fate smiling in their direction. Instead, Carolyne Prevost got free on the edge of the crease in the final minute of OT to give Wisconsin (18-12-3, 15-12-1 WCHA) a 4-3 win and their third straight upset of the Gophers this season.

“Sometimes, they don’t go your way, the bounces, and you just have to fight through it and make it go your way,” West said. “Eventually we did, but it didn’t end up how we wanted.”

At the start of overtime, it looked like the gamewinner would be scored much sooner and by Minnesota.

“The first couple shifts in overtime, we had some chances, and they didn’t go in,” Coach Brad Frost said. “Then they get that one at the end.”

West made the bonus hockey necessary when she hit the net from the left point with the Gopher net empty behind her.

“I knew time was kind of running out, and Sarah [Erickson] was in front screening the goalie, and it just happened to go in,” West said. “Times like that, when we’re in their end with ten seconds left, we just try to get the puck on net, and make the puck do the work.”

Over the past five games, the puck has gone anywhere but into the net on similar shots.

“We finally got paid off, I think, for the hard work that they were doing in the third,” Frost said.

Minnesota’s ultimate undoing may have been the work that they failed to do earlier in the game. After jumping out to a two-goal lead, the Gophers allowed the Badgers to score the next three goals for a 3-2 lead at the second intermission.

“We came out quick the first ten minutes, playing pretty well,” Frost said. “In my opinion, we then took the next 30 minutes off.”

Part of the problem during that stretch was penalties – Minnesota committed seven minors over the first two periods and Wisconsin made them pay with 2 power play goals.

“Mistakes, undisciplined penalties – again, and eventually, this team will learn,” Frost said. “And if they don’t, then we’ll be feeling like this for the whole summer.”

The players at least seem to understand the problem.

“Right now, we’re talking about taking penalties, and that’s the one thing that we really want to look toward bettering ourselves,” Erickson said. “I think that when we’re taking penalties, we’re not going to get those chances to score.”

Erickson scored on the first shift of the game, and it appeared that it might be the Gophers’ night. Sam Downey added a goal on the power play to double the lead before the Badgers struck.

The loss was a costly one, dropping Minnesota into a tie in the WCHA race that they have led all season. It also allowed Minnesota-Duluth to move past them and claim the second spot in the PairWise Rankings.

“We’re working hard, we’re getting shots, we’re doing all the little things right, but we just need to be positive,” Erickson said.

One positive was that Emily West returned to the lineup after missing last weekend’s series with an injury.

“It’s hard to get back at it right away after being out, but it’s going well so far,” West said.

Gophers Set for Regular Season Finale Against Badgers
Provided by the University of Minnesota

GOPHERS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON
The No. 2 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team hosts No. 8 Wisconsin this weekend. Friday’s game is set for 6:07 p.m., while Saturday’s game is set for 4:07 p.m. The Gophers hold a slight advantage in the all-time series of 26-21-6.

FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Fans can follow the Gophers through an audio stream from the Gold Zone on gophersports.com on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s home game will feature video on gophersports.com through the Gold Zone and http://www.uscho.com. Saturday’s game is a tape-delay game on the Big Ten Network.

ON THE DOCKET
Minnesota has solidified itself as one of the top four teams in the conference and will host the first round of the WCHA Championships. Although the team is yet to be determined, both games will be played next weekend at 7:07 p.m. at Ridder Arena. In a best two-of-three series, if it is pushed to a third game, the Sunday game will be played at 4:07 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON FINALE
A big weekend is in store at Ridder Arena. With senior day, honoring the 10-year anniversary of the 1999-2000 AWCHA national championship team, and a potential WCHA regular-season clinch can all be featured at Ridder Arena this weekend.

COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE
Entering this weekend, Minnesota holds a two-point lead over Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA standings. The Gophers have 41 points to UMD’s 39, while Wisconsin and St. Cloud State are tied for third with 29 points. The Gophers have a potential to clinch its second regular season title in back-to-back years. At the conclusion of the regular season, teams will be ranked by the number of points accumulated. If two teams are tied for first place, they will be declared co-WCHA champions and tie-breakers will later determine the seeds for the WCHA Championships.

SENIOR SALUTE
The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team will honor its six seniors and their families at the Saturday game and the regular season finale. These group of seniors of Kelli Blankenship, Brittany Francis, Jaimie Horton, Chelsey Jones, Michelle Maunu and Alexandra Zebro, have competed in back-to-back years of NCAA competition and have been an integral part of the program over the past four years.

HONORING THE 2000 CHAMPS
The Gophers will honor the 1999-2000 team and the AWCHA national championship team. After falling to Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA tournament championship, this team earned a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs in the national semifinal. The team later went onto defeat Brown, 4-2, for the national championship. It was the first national championship won by a women’s sports team at the University of Minnesota, and hockey remains the only one to win an national title.
Along with honoring the 2000 championship team, the Gophers will host alumni weekend. The alumni game is being held prior to Saturday’s game at 11:30 a.m. and is open to the public.

ABOUT THE BADGERS
Wisconsin enters the series with a 17-12-3 overall record and a 14-11-1 mark in the WCHA. The Badgers split their last action when they hosted Minnesota State last weekend. After a 5-3 loss to the Mavericks, the Badgers came back with a 6-0 win. Sophomore Brooke Ammerman leads the team with 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points. Junior Mallory Deluce is second with 27 points, while rookie Brianna Decker has 26. Freshman Becca Ruegsegger and senior Alannah McCready have shared time in net for the Badgers this season. Ruegsegger has played in 21 games and holds a 9-7-3 record, while McCready has played in 13 with an 8-5-0 mark.

Gophers Rally, but fall 6-3 to St. Cloud State
Provided by the University of Minnesota

For just the third time in school history, the No. 2 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team fell to St. Cloud State, 6-3, today at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. With the loss, the Gophers drop to 21-6-5 on the season and 17-5-4 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Minnesota put on 48 shots on goal to SCSU’s 20, but the Gophers fell, 6-3 with an empty-netter.

St. Cloud State opened the scoring gates early when the Huskies scored 24 seconds between each other, with both goals coming from Holly Roberts. On the first goal, Roberts took advantage of a breakaway when she put the puck on net. Jenny Lura got a piece of it on her stick side. At first, the red light went on, but the referee signaled no goal. Play continued for nearly two minutes and was whistled dead when Minnesota was called with a penalty. After reviewing the play, the referee concluded that the puck crossed the line and time was put back on the clock. However, the Gophers’ penalty still stood and Roberts and the Huskies took advantage as she scored at 6:32 in the first.

SCSU buried the puck again at 2:31 in the second period to put the game at 3-0 when Alex Nelson scored. The Gophers battled back and put two in on their own at 3:09 and 3:33 in the second to cut the lead to one. Laura May scored on a rebound attempt with Chelsey Jones and Kelly Seeler each getting a shot on goal. Just 24 seconds later, Terra Rasmussen scored a goal at 3:33 to put the game at 3-2. Rasmussen put a shot on goal and it went off of Nixon’s leg and into the net. Sarah Erickson started the play by winning the faceoff, while Brittany Francis shot it over to Rasmussen.
However, SCSU put the game back to a three-goal lead when Felicia Nelson scored back-to-back goals at 2:53 and 7:38 in the third. Minnesota continued to fight back as May scored her second goal of the game, this time on the power-play at 8:32 in the third to put it at 5-3. The Gophers pulled Lura with 1:30 remaining in the third and Roberts scored the empty-netter from the center ice at 19:22 in the third.

Minnesota will re-group and host No. 10 Wisconsin next weekend. Friday’s game is set for 6:07 p.m., while Saturday’s game is at 4:07 p.m.

Gophers Salvage Tie, One Point vs Huskies

SCSU Capitalizes on Chances for Shootout Win

For much of the WCHA season, Minnesota has taken advantage of an edge in goaltending over its opponents. With Noora Räty gone to the Olympics, the Gophers (21-5-5, 17-4-4 WCHA) find themselves on the other side of that comparison with increasing frequency.

On Friday night at Ridder Arena, St. Cloud State (12-12-7, 9-11-4 WCHA) made the most of the few looks they got at the Minnesota net, converting their first two power play shots of the game in the first period. When the Gophers battled to tie that game at 2-2 and force a scoreless overtime, the Huskies scored the only two shootout goals.

“The effort was good, and we’d feel a lot better if we had won the shootout,” Coach Brad Frost said.

Coming into the game on the wrong end of a sweep in Duluth that saw their once-comfortable WCHA lead reduced to three points, Minnesota desperately needed a win of any kind on their home ice. Instead, the tie and UMD’s OT win over Ohio State shaved another point off the Gophers’ advantage in the standings.

“I think that’s in the back of everyone’s mind, that we need to do so well to get a certain position in the standings in the league,” said Katie Frischmann, who scored the tying goal for Minnesota. “But no one really talks about it in the locker room. We know we have to do well, we know we have to win every game.”

That Minnesota was unable to win this time was largely thanks to the efforts of Husky netminder Ashley Nixon who turned back 35 of 37 shots and both Gopher shootout attempts. And when Nixon didn’t stop them, too often the Gophers stopped themselves.

“They’re trying,” Frost said of his skaters. “They’re working hard. They know that they need to score goals. Our top goal scorer, [Emily West,] is out of the lineup. Our number one goalie is in Vancouver. We need some of our big-time players to start stepping up and putting the puck in the net for us.”

With Minnesota staring at a 2-1 deficit in the third period, Frischmann and Nikki Ludwigson did combine to do just that.

“Being on the fourth line and not getting too many chances to play, my goal every game is when I get a chance to go out there, I’m just going to go and give it everything I’ve got – move my feet a hundred miles an hour,” Frischmann said. “Nikki worked really hard as well, and I just happened to be in front of the net and get the tip on it.”

That would prove to be the last time the Gophers would find the St. Cloud net.

Brittany Francis had staked her team to an early 1-0 lead at 9:38 of the opening period.

“[Terra Rasmussen] walked around behind the net, and I was just screaming for [the puck],” Francis said. “She made an amazing pass – the defense had no idea. I just whacked at it, and it went in.”

That was a rare occurrence – the Gophers came away empty on numerous quality chances. Meanwhile, the Huskies converted a pair of largely anemic power plays into two quick goals and a lead. SCSU managed only 14 shots on goal for the game.

“The second goal – off a skate and to the back door, and it goes in the net,” Frost said. “But the first one, we need that save.”

Goals allowed become magnified when the offense isn’t clicking.

“Everybody goes through those ups and downs in the season, and it’s a struggle when you’re in it,” Francis said.

In this case, maybe the rookie had the best solution.

“Go out there and work hard; anyone can score,” Frischmann said.

Playing without leading scorer Emily West, Minnesota lost defenseman Mira Jalosuo to a second-period injury, as they head into an early 2 p.m. start for the conclusion of the home-and-home series in St. Cloud.

We’re thin, but this time of year, you’ve got to battle through,” Frost said.

Gophers Look to Return to the Win Column This Weekend Against SCSU
Provided by the University of Minnesota

GOPHERS SET TO COMPETE IN HOME-AND-HOME SERIES
The No. 2 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team faces St. Cloud State in a home-and-home series this weekend. Following Friday night’s game at 7:07 p.m. at Ridder Arena, the Gophers and Huskies have a quick turnaround as the two teams play at 2:07 p.m. Saturday at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Fans can follow the Gophers through an audio stream from the Gold Zone on gophersports.com on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s home game will feature video on http://www.bigtennetwork.com. An in-game blog will also be featured on gophersports.com.

ON THE DOCKET
Minnesota hosts No. 10 and border rival Wisconsin next weekend. Friday’s game is set for a 6:07 p.m. start, while Saturday’s tilt is at 4:07 p.m., both at Ridder Arena. The series marks the end of regular season as the WCHA first round playoffs start on Feb. 26-28.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State enters the series with a 12-12-6 overall record and a 9-11-4 mark in the WCHA. The Huskies are coming off a series split against Minnesota State last weekend. SCSU earned a 6-1 win on Feb. 5 and fell, 4-0 to the Mavericks on Sunday. Caitlin Hogan leads the Huskies in scoring with 39 points, while Holly Roberts is second with 36 points and Felicia Nelson is third with 35. Junior Ashley Nixon has seen a majority of action in net for the Huskies and holds a 10-8-6 record.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The Gophers earned a series sweep in the previous home-and-home meeting. At St. Cloud State, Minnesota jump out to an early lead when Emily West scored just 28 seconds into the contest. Sarah Erickson scored twice in the second, while Laura May added a short-handed goal for the 4-0 win. Noora Räty was in net and stopped all 32 shots on goal. In the second game at Ridder (10/24), Alyssa Grogran shut out the Huskies as the Gophers won, 7-0. Minnesota scored four times in the first period, two in the second and one in the third for a seven-goal performance. May established a career-high two goals in the win. Since the first meeting in 1999, the Gophers have held a 42-2-1 all-time mark against the Huskies.

AROUND THE LEAGUE THIS WEEK
With a UMD sweep over the Gophers last weekend, Minnesota’s lead in the league standings sits at three points. The Gophers hold 40 points to UMD’s 37. Wisconsin is 10 points behind UMD with 27 points, followed by Bemidji State with 26, St. Cloud State with 25 and Ohio State with 24. The WCHA will be in full force this weekend. The Gophers will need to return to the win column to keep the lead over UMD. Along with the Gophers competing against St. Cloud State, UMD hosts Ohio State this weekend. North Dakota and Bemidji State will compete in a home-and-home series, while Minnesota State hosts Wisconsin.

DID YOU KNOW?
Jenny Lura got the starting nod for the Gophers in the second Minnesota Duluth game last weekend. Lura’s last start dates back to Feb. 28, 2009 when she aided the Gophers to a 5-1 win over Bemidji State during the first round of the WCHA playoffs. She also competed in the national semifinal game against Mercyhurst.

Penalties Prove Costly as UMD Scores 3 Power-Play Goals
Provided by the University of Minnesota

The No. 1/2 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team allowed three power play goals as the No. 5 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs earned a 3-0 win and a series sweep, tonight at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. The Gophers fall to 21-5-4 overall and 17-4-3 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. UMD (21-7-2, 17-5-2 in the WCHA) closed the gap in the WCHA standings to three points. Minnesota has 40 league points, while UMD sits at 37.

UMD jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Emmanuelle Blais used a screen in front of Gopher goalie Jenny Lura at 4:34 in the first on its first power-play attempt. The Bulldogs attempted just 11 shots, eight of which were on goal. Fridfinnson put UMD up, 2-0 when she scored the Bulldogs’ second power-play goal of the game and her third goal of the weekend against the Gophers at 9:16 in the second.

The Gophers and Bulldogs got into multiple scrums in the third period and 15 penalties were called in the third period alone. At 4:41 in the third, three roughing penalties were called on Minnesota’s Emily West and Megan Bozek and another on UMD’s Vanessa Thibault. Minnesota was later called for seven penalties, while UMD was called for five. In the midst of all the penalties, Tara Gray added the Bulldogs’ third and final power-play goal to put the game at the 3-0 final.

UMD finished the game 3-for-8 on the power play, while Minnesota was 0-for-4. Jenny Lura had 23 saves, including 11 in the third. It was Lura's first start this season and her second game played. Jennifer Harss had eight saves in the first, 10 in the second and 13 in the third for 31 saves.

The Gophers will look to get back to their winning ways as they compete in a home-and-home weekend against St. Cloud State next weekend. The Gophers host SCSU at 7:07 p.m. on Friday and travel to St. Cloud, Minn. and play at 2:07 p.m. at the National Hockey Center.

Gophers Fall, 3-1 to No. 5 Minnesota Duluth
Provided by the University of Minnesota

Although the No. 1/2 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team scored first, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth came back and scored three unanswered goals for a 3-1 win, tonight in Duluth, Minn. With the loss, the Gophers drop to 21-4-4 on the season and 17-3-3 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Bulldogs, who gained two points in the conference standings, improve to 20-7-2 on the season and 16-5-2 in league play.

The Gophers jumped out to an early lead when Laura May scored at 3:47 in the first period. May capitalized on a Chelsey Jones rebound attempt when she backhanded the puck just under the crossbar for her eighth goal of the season. Minnesota peppered UMD goalie Jennifer Harss with 21 shots in the first period, while allowing just six after the first 20 minutes.

UMD tied the game at 12:53 in the second period as Laura Fridfinnson scored on a 2-on-1 attempt. when she paired with Emmanuelle Blais as they streaked down the ice. Fridfinnson took the puck by herself and score her 14th goal of the season. Alyssa Grogan got a piece of the puck, but couldn’t stop the momentum as it crossed the line. The Gophers were outshot 15-7 in that period.

UMD took the lead when Katherine Wilson scored just 43 seconds into the third period. Wilson tapped in a shot as the puck went off the right pipe and sat on the line for her to poke in her 15th goal. Fridfinnson added her second goal of the game and third point when added the insurance goal at 8:06 in the third. The Gophers rattled off 43 shots on goal, including 15 in the third, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Minnesota attempted a last-minute effort when UMD was called with interference at 19:20. The Gophers pulled starting goalie Alyssa Grogan for a six-on-four attempt, but the Gophers couldn’t score.