DNT Saturday Story

I figured I could get this done before the game rather than after...

College Women’s Hockey
Andy Greder Duluth News Tribune
Published Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team set a school record for futility in the second period Saturday against Mercyhurst: zero shots on goal.

Mercyhurst, meanwhile, shot 13 times and took a 1-0 lead off a goal from Stephanie Jones before UMD came back. The Bulldogs’ Elin Holmlov scored off a Saara Tuominen assist in the third period as UMD skated to a 1-1 tie in a nonconference game in front of608 spectators at the DECC.

“[Holmlov’s] goal was huge,” said UMD coach Shannon Miller, whose team’s previous low for shots on goal in a period was one against Wisconsin on Feb. 2. “We created a lot of opportunities. There was [Iya Gavrilova’s] breakaway, and we kept working and believing. That goal was perseverance.”

UMD (4-0-1) went over13 periods — over 262 minutes — without giving up a goal this season until Jones got one past goalie Kim Martin at 2:40 in the second period.

“[Mercyhurst] took over in the second,” said Martin, who tied a career high with 34 saves. “They had us on our heels. We tried to play offense individually and it’s impossible to do it by yourself. After the second period, we are happy with the finish.”

Mercyhurst (5-0-1), of Erie, Pa., held a 35-24 edge in shots for the game and a 27-8 lead after two periods.

“I thought we did the little things right in the second period,” saidMercyhurst coach Michael Sisti. “We broke up plays and jumped on the puck in open ice, but [Martin] made huge saves. We couldn’t get the second goal to give us some space.”

UMD, the fifth-ranked team in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll, gave up their first shorthanded goal after killing the first 32 penalties of the season.

In the first meeting between the teams on March 9, 2007, the Lakers put 46 shots on goalie Riitta Schaublin, but UMD found enough offense to beat Mercyhurst 3-2 in overtime to advance to the Frozen Four.

“Last year, it was an offensive barrage against us. [But] then it was us on them,” Miller said. “[Saturday] was the same. We knew they were talented, deep and tough. It was dead on with what we expected.”

The second-ranked Lakers missed two significant scoring chances Saturday — one early, one late.

In the first period, Kim Martin left the net to clear the puck, but Mercyhurst’s leading scorer, Meghan Agosta, intercepted it and Martin had to dive to make the save.

In overtime, Mercyhurst forward Geena Prough had a shot hit the pipe with less than two minutes remaining.

“We played really bad in the second,” Miller said. “They owned us, but I thought we started and finished strong, and we can be proud of that.”

*******WISCONSIN’s Unbeaten streak ends*******

Wisconsin’s NCAA women’s record 32-game unbeaten streak ended Friday with a 2-1 loss to St. Cloud State.

The Badgers, the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com poll, went 28-0-4 after a 2-0 loss to UMD on Nov. 24, 2006.