UMD SWEEPS St. Lawrence University

UMDBULLDOGS.COM:

Not even the No. 4 nationally-ranked team in NCAA Division I women's hockey could stop red-hot University of Minnesota Duluth freshman forward Iya Gavrilova from extending her staggering point streak to eight games.

Gavrilova posted two goals -- and added an assist -- as the No. 3 Bulldogs capped off a sweep of fellow 2007 Frozen Four qualifier St. Lawrence University with a 3-1 road victory Saturday night at Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y.

St. Lawrence opened the scoring when Lisa Batchelor notched her third goal of the season, assisted by Kirsten Roach and Karell Emard, at 12:16 in the first period. After that, Gavorilova and linemate Saara Tuominen got offensive.

At 5:01 in the second period, Gavorilova controlled the puck at the high slot and passed it over to Tuominen, who handled the one-time opportunity at the right point, beating Saints netminder Meaghan Guckian, for her 11th goal of the season.

Tuominen was in on the next scoring play, this time in a set-up role as she found Gavrilova parked near the net, who notched the go-ahead tally (her sixth game winner of 2007-08) at 17:55 in the second period. Elin Holmlov also assisted on the play for her third point (2-1=3) of the series. Gavrilova wasn't quite done adjusting the scoreboard yet -- and Holmlov was there to help her keep it going.

With just under 10 minutes left in regulation, Holmlov started a rush and Heidi Peltarri, the reigning Western Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week, threaded the needle to Gavrilova for the score that effectively damaged the Saints hopes of rallying on their home ice.

A freshman from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Gavrilova has recorded 15 points (6-9=15) since collecting two assists on Nov. 23 versus Minnesota State, and now leads the Bulldogs in goals scored with 12. No other rookie in the country has reached 21 points, nine shy of Gavrilova's 30 (12-18=30).

Meanwhile, UMD goaltender Kim Martin made 21 saves and leads the nation in saves percentage (.958) while improving to 13-3-1 on the season.

The Bulldogs (16-3-1, 13-3-0 WCHA) are idle for almost a month and will return to action after the new year for a two-game series (Jan. 11-12) with conference rival MSU-Mankato. WCHA-leading UMD swept the Mavericks at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center four weeks ago.