It was a productive weekend for Gophers forward Nicole Schammel.
Schammel scored twice in Minnesota’s 4-3 win on Saturday. The Gophers (11-4-1) swept their weekend series against St. Cloud State (2-12-0) at Ridder Arena.
Both of her goals Saturday came in the third period. She has recorded points in seven consecutive games.
“I got some really nice passes and was lucky enough to finish them,” Schammel said. “Hopefully, we can carry it [Minnesota’s six-game winning streak] into next weekend.”
Defender Emily Brown scored her first collegiate goal at the 6:04 mark of the third period to push Minnesota’s lead to 2-0. Forwards Kippin Keller and Grace Zumwinkle earned assists.
“[It’s] nice to get that first goal out of the way. [The] first one’s the hardest [to get],” Brown said. “It was a great pass, a great set-up to have that shot be there for me.”
Minnesota co-captain Sydney Baldwin recorded two points. She scored the game’s first goal at the 12:55 mark of the second period, beating St. Cloud State goaltender Janine Alder with a wrist shot that went underneath Alder’s left pad. Then, Baldwin assisted on Schammel’s first goal at the 8:40 mark of the third period.
Brown said it’s critical for Minnesota to have its defenders generate offense, especially as the season progresses.
“We [the defense] got a lot of shots off all throughout the night so forwards can bang it home,” Brown said. “It’s a really important part of our identity.”
St. Cloud State scored twice in the last two minutes of regulation, but Minnesota had a large enough cushion to win. Goaltender Alex Gulstene made 18 saves for her fifth win of the season.
Minnesota swept its first home series of the season. The last time the Gophers won a regular-season series at Ridder Arena was its series against North Dakota Feb. 10-11.
Schammel said it was fun to play and win against an in-state rival. They will play St. Cloud State again on Jan. 9 at Ridder Arena.
“We had a lot of intensity all game, and in both games for that matter,” Schammel said.
Minnesota will travel to Wentzville, Missouri for its next game against Lindenwood on Saturday. The opening face-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
“We’re really happy overall with the weekend,” head coach Brad Frost said. “I’m proud of the team and I’m looking forward to next weekend.”
Gophers take game one with early scoring spree
The Gophers scored three goals in the first five minutes of the game.
Turns out, that was all they needed to pick up the Gophers fifth straight win.
The Gophers beat St. Cloud State 3-0 on Friday. Forward Alex Woken scored two of the three goals for the Gophers, adding to her season goal total of four. Schammel added a goal to help seal the victory. The Gophers outshot the Huskies 36-14. Goalie Sidney Peters had 14 saves on the night.
“Certainly great to get out to a three goal lead, we had really good energy in the first period and we were able to sustain that energy throughout the game,” Frost said on Friday.
Woken scored her first goal 1:49 into the game off of a pass from Schammel. Then, Schammel scored a minute later off of passes from Patti Marshall and Taylor Wente. Woken also scored on Minnesota’s first power play of the game.
“Things are starting to come together, my mind is starting to catch up and get back to where it was [before the injury],” Woken said.
