UMD Beats Mn. Whitecaps 7-2

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BULLDOG WOMEN OVERTURN WHITECAPS 7-2 IN EXHIBITION TUNE-UP

Last Updated: Saturday, September 29, 2007 6:17 PM

If exhibition games are meant to get rid of some off-season rust and preview the season to come, the University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team is ready for next Saturday's Western Collegiate Hockey Assocationa opener.

The Bulldogs swamped the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Western Women's Hockey League 7-2 on the ice of the Schwan's Super Rink, in Blaine, Minn. Satuday afternoon. Sophomore forward Saara Tuominen and Freshmen Haley Irwin and Iya Gavrilova led UMD with two goals each, while Irwin added an assist for good measure. Eight Bulldogs got in the scoring column overall.

"We played very well," said head coach Shannon Miller after the contest. "It was really more like a 4-2 game because we got a couple of soft goals, but it was a good early showing for us."

UMD got on the board first when Tuominen found the back of the net, courtsey of Irwin and Freshman Jocelyn Larocque. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead into the end of the first period.

That molehill of an advantage was quickly made into a mountain, with UMD scoring three goals in the second stanza. Irwin, showing why she was second in voting for the WCHA preseason Rookie of the Year, scored off an assist from the Bulldogs lone senior Karin Demeule. Tuominen struck again unassisted to make it 3-0 for UMD, and Irwin netted her second of the game off a pass from fellow U-22 Team Canada member Laura Fridfinnson and junior Sara O'Toole. The Whitecaps finally got past the Bulldogs backstopper Kim Martin when former UMD alum Jenny Potter scored, with help from from former teammate and current assistant coach Caroline Ouellette and second UMD assistant Julie Chu to make the score 4-1 after two periods of play.

Gavrilova scored her first goal of the game on an assit from Tuominen and Larocque to start the third period, while Fridfinnson pushed the score to 6-1 off of passes from Tawnii Mattilla and Demeule. Gavrilova netted her second goal of the game from Demeule's third assist of the game, ending UMD's scoring spree at seven. Chu connected on a pass from Potter late in the third, to wrap the final score up at 7-2. Boston College transfer Johanna Ellison played between the pipes for UMD in the final twenty minutes.

The Bulldogs take their show on the road next weekend when they head to St. Cloud State to officially kick-off the 2007-08 season. Game-time is slated for 7:07 p.m.