3rd: The Gophers started the period on a power play but that was squashed when Gigi Marvin hit Bemidji’s goaltender’s stick while it was on the ice for an interference call. The Gophers were able to kill that off. Bemidji State took their turn in the penalty box and for 17 second the Gophers had a five-on-three advantage. Sarah Erickson passed the puck to Jen Schoullis who had an open net but was unable to finish. Jocelyne Lamoureux also had an open net but shot the puck too high. The intensity seemed to pick up as the third period went on. The Gophers took control of the period as of late and have peppered shots on Bemidji’s goalie. Emily West capitalized on one of those shots as Bemidji’s goalie was down. West lifted the puck to make the score 4-1. We will see if this intensity carries over to tomorrow’s game. 2nd: Bemidji was the first team to get a penalty this game. This put the Gophers on the power play and they got a couple shots. At the end of the advantage, Monique Lamoureux scored at 8:54. Jaimie Horton kept the scoring going by tipping a Kelly Seeler shot into the net. Gigi Marvin took an uncharacteristic penalty and Kelly Seeler joined her, giving Bemidji a five-on-three advantage for one minute. The Beavers took advantage of that and scored their first goal of the game. The Gophers picked up the shot production and are now at a total of 29 shots to Bemidji’s nine. 1st: The Gophers came out average, not fast but definitely better than past games. The period has been pretty even, with Bemidji earning six shots and multiple quality scoring opportunities. The Gophers have ten shots as all four lines have seen ice time. The first, and only so far, goal was notched 8 minutes into the game when Jen Schoullis poked a loose puck that was in the crease. Kelli Blankenship got the lone assist. One unusual thing has happened: no penalties have been called. There have been some questionable plays, but nothing serious. It’s been awhile since the Gophers have stayed out of the box for a whole period; you have to go back to the Feb. 7 game against Wisconsin.
Pre-game
The second season starts for Minnesota tonight. It doesn’t really matter who they beat or how they did in the regular season, everything can change. Yea, they have the number one seed, but last weekend showed that anything is possible in the WCHA- as St. Cloud scored first and held the Gophers to a 3-1 game.
Minnesota has struggled during the first five-to-ten minutes fo the last couple games, coming out flat. Luckily, the Gophers have been able to
No changes have been made to Brad Frost’s line-up for tonight:
West-Schoullis-Marvin
Francis-J. Lamoureux-M. Lamoureux
Rasmussen-Erickson-Blankenship
May-Horton-Jones
Gagnon-Seeler
Drazan-Maunu
Schleper-Willey
Bemidji State coach Steve Sertich described this game as "David versus Goliath" earlier this week to the WCHA. We’ll just have to see how this all pans out.
Other news:
Four memebers of the Gophers were nominated for the Patty Kazmaier award earlier this week. Senior captains Gigi Marvin and Melanie Gagnon were joined by first-years Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux for the top player in NCAA DI women’s hockey. They are four of 43 nominess and that list will be narrowed down to 10 on Monday. No.1 Minnesota and No.2 Wisconsin are the only schools with four nominees. All players were nominated by their institution’s coach or another DI coach.
The Minnesota women’s hockey program placed three players on the WCHA’s Top Ten Players of the league’s last ten years, which started in 1999. Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin also had three on the list. Defenseman Ronda Curtin and forwards Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell along with the seven others will be honored next weekend at the WCHA Final Face-off, at Ridder Arena.
