UMD Women Upset #1 Mercyhurst 4-3!

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Behind 39 Jenny Harss saves, the Bulldogs upset the unbeaten #1 team in the country Mercyhurst, 4-3 in Erie, PA.

Saara Tuominen, Laura Fridfinnson, and Audrey Cournoyer scored in the first 9 minutes of the second to give UMD a 3-0 lead, which was cut to 3-1 when Mercyhurst's Bailey Bram scored with 21 seconds left in the period. An Emmanuelle Blais goal 5 minutes into the third period gave UMD back their 3 goal lead, but Mercyhurst's scored back to back goals to cut the lead to the final 4-3 UMD score.

Kirsti Hakala got her first assist of the season and second as a Bulldog, while Blais had two assists, and Jamie Rasmussen and Fridfinnson again assisted on a goal.

UMD heads to St. Cloud next weekend, minus Saara Tuominen and Mariia Posa, who are gone for the 4 Nations Cup tournament. Justine Fisher played defense in the Mercyhurst series, likely to step into Posa's vancancy for the St. Cloud weekend and maybe the rest of the season?

Mercyhurst Beats UMD 5-2

From collegehockeystats.net box score...Click the view the boxscore.

UMD start off well, getting a 2-0 lead on goals by Tara Gray and Laura Fridfinnson... then fell apart, giving up 5 special teams goals to Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst scored 3 powerplay goals, and 2 shorthanded goals (9 seconds apart), all unanswered to win 5-2. UMD was outshot 37-22 for the game, and only got 3 shots in the second period. UMD was also, 0 for 13 on the powerplay besides giving up the two shorthanded goals.

Between the two teams, there were 27 powerplays, and 58 minutes worth of penalties handed out.

Blais & Rasmussen WCHA Players of Week

It seems like a no-brainer really.. with 4 goals and an assist against North Dakota, Emmanuelle Blais was named WCHA offensive player of the week, and Jamie Rasmussen with1 goal and 4 assists is the defensive player of the week for her efforts against the Sioux.

UMD heads to Erie, PA to face unbeaten Mercyhurst this weekend, and after that series, Saara Tuominen and Mariia Posa head to Finland for a week for the 4 Nations Cup tournament, which means they'll miss the series in St. Cloud.

UMD Women Beat North Dakota 3-1, Sweep Series

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North Dakota again scored first (goal by Janet Babchishin,) in game 2 on Saturday, but UMD answered with first period goals by Emmanuelle Blais and Jaime Rasmussen (on the powerplay) to take a lead that they never gave up. Saara Tuominen (also on the powerplay) scored the only other goal of the game, in the second period to give UMD the final 3-1 score. Blais, Tuominen, and Rasmussen each had an assist as well, as did Laura Fridfinnson and Sarah Murray. Goaltender Jenny Harss played well again, stopping 22 of 23 shots she faced.

Emmanuelle Blais now has 91 points as a Bulldog, and Laura Fridfinnson has 88 points, as they both chase the 100 point mark.


Kacy Ambroz had one of her strongest games as a Bulldog.

Saara Tuominen scored her second goal of the season, hopefully that gets her back on track as the team leader.

UMD Beats North Dakota 4-1

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North Dakota came into the DECC with the obvious goal of "out physicalling" UMD and in the first period they did that well and had a 1-0 lead in the locker room on a goal by Mary Loken.

UMD came out of the locker room skating MUCH better, with Emmanuelle Blais scoring the first of her hat trick only 24 seconds into the period. The improved skating led to Sioux penalties, and the UMD power play took advantage with Katie Wilson and Blais each scoring powerplay goals in the period. Blais finished her hat trick on another powerplay goal midway through the third period to cap the UMD scoring and victory at 4-1. Jamie Rasmussen and Laura Fridfinnson each had three assists and Jenny Harss stopped 25 of 26 shots she faced for the win. North Dakota's Stephanie Ney, who shut out UMD 4-0 at the DECC last season, stopped 42 of 46 UMD shots in the loss.

Jessica Wong

Jenny Harss stopping North Dakota's Sara Dagenais point blank.

Minnesota Gophers Shut Out, Sweep UMD At Ridder

Once again, from the box score...click the blog title to view the box score from collegehockeystats.net

The UMD women put 29 shots on Gopher goaltender Noora Räty but couldn't 'light the lamp,' while the Minnesota women scored 3 goals on 37 shots against Jenny Harss to complete their sweep of the Dogs. TWO of the Gopher goals were scored short handed, one each against the first and second line power play units of UMD.

UMD returns home to face North Dakota Friday and Saturday nights. The Sioux women have lost two straight (and play Mankato Sunday) since knocking off Wisconsin in their WCHA opener.

UMD Loses 3-1 to Gophers

From the Collegehockeystats.net box score (click the blog title to go view)

The Gophers got a goal in each period to take a 3-0 lead before UMD finally got on the board at 10:51 of the third period on a goal by Emmanuelle Blais. UMD was outshot 38-23 and only managed as many as 10 shots in the third period.

Katie Gilderman, from Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall Mirage received her NCAA clearance and dressed as the backup goaltender for UMD.

UMD Women Pick Up Third Goaltender

Katie Gilderman, former Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall goaltender will be UMD's third goaltender, pending NCAA clearance, that hopefully comes before the Gopher series starts tonight so she can be at Ridder Arena as the backup to Jenny Harss. She only played in one game in 08-09 but obviously will be a better backup goaltender than other players UMD's tried who couldn't skate on the flat goaltender skate blades.

Per the Duluth News Tribune:

Gilderman, a former Proctor-Hermantown-Duluth Marshall girls goalie, played only one game last high school season following knee surgery, yet recovered to pitch in the spring softball season and during the summer.

“During softball, my knee had some swelling and I wore a brace, but it’s strong now. It’s strong enough to handle this, but I just haven’t been on the ice for a while,” said Gilderman, a bio-chemistry major, who earned college academic scholarships. “UMD is a team I watched growing up and I look at this as a huge opportunity. I was not expecting anything like this, but I’m excited about the chance.”

Katie Wilson Honored As WCHA Rookie of the Week

Click on the blog title to see all Players of the Week for this week!

Per the WCHA Release:

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Katherine Wilson Fr., F, Minnesota Duluth

Katherine Wilson scored two goals and added two assists to
help No. 6-ranked Minnesota Duluth sweep WCHA rival and
visiting St. Cloud State last weekend.

The NCAA’s leading rookie scorer, with an average of 1.50
points per game in her first four games, Wilson tallied her first goal
as a Bulldog in last Saturday’s (Oct. 11) 5-3 win over the Huskies. The
native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, had an assist on her team’s first
goal in the first period, scored the second tally of the contest at 6:52
of the opening stanza, and then picked up an assist on UMD’s third
goal in the third period.

Wilson then came back to score the game-winning score last
Sunday (Oct. 11) in the second period in Minnesota Duluth’s 2-0
triumph over St. Cloud State. The freshman Wilson is tied at
the top as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer so far this season with six
points (2g, 4a) in four games and has a four-game point-scoring
streak.

Also nominated for the award
this week were: Keirsten Visser, D,
BSU; and Lauren Smith, F, MSU.

UMD Women Shutout/Sweep St. Cloud, 2-0 Sunday

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UMD won the second game against SCSU 2-0, on a strong defensive team effort, especially in shutting down the first game star for the Huskies, Caitlin Hogan. Jenny Harss picked up the shutout stopping all 24 shots that came her way in her strongest effort in the short season. Katie Wilson scored the eventual game winner with the first goal of the game and Mariia Posa scored her first career goal.

Mariia Posa

Katie Wilson

UMD Beats St. Cloud 5-3

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Despite a hat trick from Huskie Caitlin Hogan (which included a rare 5 on 3 shorthanded goal,) UMD defeated the St. Cloud State Huskies 5-3 at the DECC, Saturday October 10, 2009. Jennifer Harss stopped 20 of 23 shots for the UMD win, while Audrey Cournoyer and Katherine Wilson each scored their first collegiate goals. Laura Fridfinnson (2nd of the season), Jessica Wong (3rd), and Emmanuelle Blais (2nd) also scored for the Bulldogs.

Audrey Cournoyer scored her first UMD goal tonight vs the Huskies.

Laura Fridfinnson and two Huskies players take out Huskie goaltender Ashley Nixon

Jennifer Harss glove save late in the third period.

A Few More Freshmen Pictures

Here's a few more pictures from UMD's series split with Robert Morris University... a few of the freshmen who will contribute to the success of this year's Bulldogs.

German goaltender Jennifer Harss makes a save.

Katherine Wilson of Winnipeg, MB on the backhand.

Audrey Cournoyer from Montreal shoots from a tough angle.

Jessica Wong of Baddeck, Nova Scotia gets behind the defense

You can click a picture to see the larger version of it.

Robert Morris Beats UMD 4-1

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UMD dropped game 2 to Robert Morris 4-1, despite outshooting the Colonials 46-23. Many of UMD's shots were from the blue line or wide on the end boards, and RMU packed it in tight on their own net the entire game, covering up for any rebounds that may have been left and not allowing UMD to get deep on net very often. Emmanuelle Blais scored her first of the season for UMD in the 2nd period, a shot that deflected off at least 2 RMU players before ending up in the net, but RMU scored in the third minute of the third period to put the game out of reach and then they went into full defensive mode.

This picture pretty much tells the story of the game.. more Robert Morris players at their own net than UMD players there to put the puck home.

Kacy Ambroz attempts to get a shot on net against RMU

UMD Beats Robert Morris University 5-2

Click the blog title to go see some game pictures....or check out UMDBULLDOGS.COM to check out UMD's recap!

UMD won it's home opener against RMU 5-2 at the DECC October 2nd


, 2009. Laura Fridfinnson had a goal (the game winner) and 3 assists, and Jessica Wong scored twice in the third period to seal the game for the Bulldogs. Jaime Rasmussen and Saara Tuominen also scored their first goals of the season and Jennifer Harss notched her first NCAA win stopping 14 of 16 shots put on her.

#47 Emmanuelle Blais eyes a pass to #9 Katherine Wilson during the first period.

Jamie Rasmussen lets a shot go!

Laura Fridfinnson goes 5-hole on the RMU goaltender!

Post game celebration.

Pos

Season Opens Tonight

Just a reminder, tonight and next Saturday nights' UMD games start at 6 pm instead of the usual 7 pm