News Tribune OSU Saturday Game

Bulldogs rout Ohio State
Duluth News Tribune
Published Sunday, December 09, 2007
Junior forward Sara O’Toole doesn’t have as many points this season as her prolific line mates Haley Irwin and Emmanuelle Blais, but O’Toole shined for the Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team Saturday against Ohio State.

O’Toole, of Burton, New Brunswick, scored UMD’s first two goals in a 7-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association win over the Buckeyes at the DECC.

“That second line with Irwin, O’Toole and Blais has been on fire the last few weeks,” said UMD coach Shannon Miller. “[O’Toole] often does a lot of the work and creates a lot, but doesn’t get the credit or points. It was nice for her to get recognized with some points.”

O’Toole added an assist Saturday and has five goals and three assists in 17 games.

The league-leading Bulldogs (13-3-1 overall, 12-3 WCHA) have won five straight games and eight of their last nine.

Third-ranked UMD took a 3-0 lead after the first period, outshot the unranked Buckeyes 45-14 and scored on two of nine power plays.

“We moved the puck well and when we were on the power play, we had a lot of intensity early,” Miller said. “Later on, the power play was disappointing. We hunkered down and got sloppy with the lead.”

Hayley Klassen scored both goals in the second period for fourth-place Ohio State (8-7-2, 5-6-2).

Sophomore defender Heidi Pelttari and sophomore forward Saara Tuominen each had three points for UMD, the No. 4 scoring team in the nation at 3.82 goals per game.

Sophomore Kim Martin had four saves in 27 minutes, junior Johanna Ellison had six saves and two goals allowed in 23 minutes and Amie Meyer had two saves in nine minutes.

UMD and Ohio State play at 3:07 p.m. today at the DECC.