Gopher women sweep UMD off No. 1 pedestal
When Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth meet in women’s hockey, high-intensity and emotional play and outstanding individual achievements are anticipated, to say nothing of some significance on the season’s standings. But there’s also room for surprises, and the rebuilt Golden Gophers proved it once again when they journeyed up Interstate 35 for the opening weekend of Women’s-WCHA.
The Gophers were patient as the nation’s No.1 rated University of Minnesota in Duluth held a ceremony to raise its NCAA championship banner to the rafters of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) on Friday night.
That wasn’t unique, because, after all, it was the fourth time in the eight-year history of NCAA women’s hockey tournaments that the Bulldogs have won the banner.
Nor was it shocking that the Gophers survived a typically high-intensity battle to win the first game 4-3 on Melanie Gagnon’s overtime goal. After all, UMD lost only four games last season while winning the WCHA championship, and Minnesota had inflicted three of them.
What was truly startling was that Minnesota’s refuvenated Gophers came back just as hungry in Saturday’s second game and simply outhustled the Bulldogs throughout to claim a 2-0 shutout for sophomore goaltender Jenny Lura.
UMD appeared loaded enough to deserve its No. 1 rating, and had done little to dissuade anyone with an opening 6-2, 6-1 sweep on the road at Niagara. Minnesota, meanwhile, had lost 3-2 in overtime to a U.S. Women’s National team that had been reduced to 10 skaters, and the U.S. also won 2-1 in a shootout that night to demonstrate the new rule. Then the Gophers opened against a supposed soft touch in Robert Morris, but were upset 3-2 in the opener, despite a 65-shot barrage, before winning 7-1 for a split.
Those were hardly the credentials to set up an upset scenario at UMD, where strong crowds of over 1,300 watched each game. There might have been some grumbling about such a major series being held so early in the season, but all the fans had to come away impressed with Minnesota’s team speed and great balance at both ends of the rink.
“I was really proud of our team,†said Minnesota coach Brad Frost, starting his second full year. “The seniors were leading, the returnees were working hard, and the young players really contributed. Then to come in here, where they were fired up with the banner-raising and all, and give them…really not much.Ââ€
Frost admitted that the first game was what he expected. He had played all three goalies the previous weekend, and said he thought freshman Alyssa Grogan had looked the sharpest, so she got the call in Game 1. “It was a typical, Minnesota-UMD game†he said.Ââ€We jumped out ahead, then they came roaring back to tie it up. I thought there was really good action up and down, especially in the second period.Ââ€
The surprise came in Game 2, when Frost expected more of the same, but UMD’s usual uprising never materialized. “We forechecked really hard,†Frost said. “And we were able to eliminate their transition game in the neutral zone.Ââ€
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Lura was perfect, but the Gophers prevented UMD from generating very many quality scoring chances. UMD’s sparkplug Emmanuelle Blais made several speedy break-ins, but mainly the Gophers reduced the Bulldogs offense to comparatively feeble long shots or feeds to the goal-mouth where Gopher back-checkers created heavy congestion.
The second game also was the forum for Minnesota’s freshman twins, Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, to indicate what value their presence brings to offset the graduation departures of top guns Erica McKenzie and Bobbi Ross.
In the first game, all four Gopher goals came on power plays, with Emily West and Monique Lamoureux scoring in the first period, and Gigi Marvin’s goal countering one by UMD’s Sara O’Toole for a 3-1 lead after two periods. UMD’s expected surge opened the third, with Saara Tuominen scoring at 0:09, and freshman Pernilla Winberg scoring at 4:23 to forge the 3-3 tie. Kim Martin and Grogan battled into overtime, when UMD fired six shots to none through four and a half minutes. Then, with 25 seconds left in the five-minute session, Melanie Gagnon took the only Gopher shot of overtime, converting Marvin’s power-play feed for the game-winner.
In the second game, Kim Martin came up with an early save on Emily West’s breakaway, but at 13:18, Monique Lamoureux carried up the left side and fired a shot that got through Martin, but struck the far, right pipe. It caromed out, but before Martin or any defending Bulldog could get to it, Jocelyne Lamooureux tapped it in for a 1-0 lead.
At 2:09 of the second period, the twins swapped roles, with Monique Lamoureux scoring after Jocelyne fed her.
The biggest surprise was yet to come. As coach Frost pointed out, a 2-0 lead means nothing in this series. But as the second period went on, the less-experienced Gophers – with six freshmen and four sophomores in the lineup – continued to disrupt UMD’s passing and win the battles for loose pucks. It was more of the same in the third, and the anticipated Bulldog uprising never happened.
UMD coach Shannon Miller said the question came down to which team was more hungry. That was true. And the answer was Minnesota. She also said the two losses wouldn’t mean all that much because of the length of the season, and that she thought UMD and Minnesota were probably the 1-2 teams in the country. Maybe so, but on the opening weekend of WCHA play, No. 1 didn’t play like No. 1, and the Gophers were Golden.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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