UMD Beats 4th Ranked St. Lawrence 4-1

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UMDBulldogs.com story:

NO. 3 BULLDOGS MAKE 4-1 STATEMENT AGAINST NO. 4 ST. LAWRENCE


It wasn't the NCAA Quarterfinals, but the No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team certainly could have passed as a team with the desire to return there.

The ever-impressive Bulldogs stymied No. 4 St. Lawrence University 4-1 at Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y. Friday night, putting to rest memories of back-to-back Saint wins in the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Quarterfinals, and showcasing a rivalry that has become one of the NCAA's most dependable.

The Bulldogs relied on their back-stopping specialist Kim Martin, who turned away 28 saves, and frustrated an already struggling power-play unit for St. Lawrence, which was 0-for-6 with the man-advantage. UMD, who was 1-of-3 with the extra skater, has now scored four power-play goals in its last three contests.

Elin Holmlov helped the Bulldogs get on the board first when she netted her seventh goal of the year on a pass from Iya Gavrilova at the 7:12 mark in the opening stanza. The two line-mates would connect again just over four minutes later when Holmov would notch her second goal of the night, courtesy of Gavrilova and Sara Murray. The eventual game-winner would send UMD into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead, and a deficit from which the Saints would never recover.

St. Lawrence would make a run at the Bulldogs just 2:37 into the second period when Brittaney Maschmeyer would bury an irrational goal past Martin to bring the Saints within one. St. Lawrence's first penalty of the night would prove to be a costly one, however, as Gavrilova picked up a rebound from a Myriam Trepanier shot from the point and buried it from the right side of the goal top-shelf, giving UMD a 3-1 cushion at 7:32 in the second stanza. The tally was Gavrilova's tenth in a Maroon and Gold jersey, and extends her current scoring streak to seven games, which includes six goals in those outings (6-9=15).

Sophomore forward Emmanuelle Blais would add the icing on the cake when she simply out-hustled a Saints defenseman and skated around her from the corner, crossing in front of the goal to beat St. Lawrence goaltender Meaghan Guckian. The unassisted tally came just 3:38 into the final 20 minutes, and gave UMD a 4-1 lead that would eventually go into the books as the game result.

Guckian made 22 saves for the Saints, who drop to 13-4-0 overall on the year, and are now 3-8 against the Bulldogs all-time.

WCHA-leading UMD, who improves to 15-3-1 overall, will try to pull off the sweep tomorrow evening when they face the redemption-minded Saints once more. Game-time for the rematch will start at 6 p.m. CST.



BULLDOG NOTES: Iya Gavrilova's goal ties her with Saara Tuominen as the Bulldog's top goal-getter this season with ten tallies apiece...Tuominen still leads UMD with 28 points overall...Gavrilova's seven-game scoring streak now also knots her with sophomore mates Tuominen and Emmanuelle Blais for the highest scoring streaks of any currently rostered Bulldog player...Both Blais and Tuominen reached those highs last season...Elin Holmlov's two goals were the second time the sophomore forward has recorded two tallies in a game in her career...Junior Myriam Trepanier has now registered a point in her last four outings, a career-high scoring streak for the defenseman.