2008 Woodie Awards
Gopher women sweep the Dogs at the DECC
Kjestine Steinbring
Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: Sports
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"Minnesota is a really good hockey program and our teams are intense rivals," said head coach Shannon Miller.
On Friday night, the Gophers showed that they weren't intimidated by the newly hung banner and scored two unanswered power-play goals.
Late in the second period, senior Sara O'Toole scored the Bulldogs' first goal.
However, Minnesota answered a mere minute later on yet another power-play goal.
At the intermission, UMD was down 3-1.
In the third, the Dogs were able to claw their way back, scoring two power-play goals in the first five minutes of the period. Junior Saara Tuominen scored just nine seconds into play, with freshman Pernilla Winberg scoring shortly after.
The comeback by the Dogs would send the game into overtime.
Despite the surge, the Gophers scored at 4:35 on a power-play goal.
"The game was close," said Miller. "Both teams had opportunities, they just got the goals."
On Saturday night, the Bulldogs were seeking some payback.
The game seemed reminiscent of Friday because of the intense amount of penalties that plagued both teams. UMD was constantly one player down, and Minnesota was able to score two goals early in the first two periods.
Although the Bulldogs tried desperately hard to regain the lead, the two goals would do it. UMD lost, 2-0.
"It was a fantastic series for us early in the season," said an upbeat Miller. "A good power-play takes a long time to develop and that is the key to success, but overall I thought the penalty kill did really well."
Saturday's game was the first time the Dogs have been shut out since Nov. 18, 2007 and this series marks the first time UMD has been swept at home since Jan. 7, 2002, according to the UMD Web site.
UMD will continue to fight their way through the tough WCHA conference next weekend as they travel to St. Cloud for the weekend. Play is scheduled to start at 2:07 p.m.
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