UMD Womens’ Hockey Beats Ohio State

 

The Bulldogs came out flying on Friday, February 2nd vs Ohio State, scoring 4 first period goals. Audrey Cournoyer (assists to Haley Irwin and Jessica Wong) scored first for the 'Dogs, just 39 seconds into the game, finding herself alone in front of the OSU net with the puck on a rebound for the easy tap-in. Jenna McParland (from Irwin and Cournoyer) gave UMD a 2-0 lead at 5:30, batting a puck down into the net. Katie Wilson (from Ambroz and Zoe Hickel) made it 3-0 90 seconds later. A Haley Irwin goal at 11:31 of the period gave UMD it's 4-0 lead.

The 4-0 lead stood until 14:24 of the second period, when OSU's Ally Tarr scored. The Buckeyes cut the lead to 4-2 with just 43 seconds left in the game, with the empty net and powerplay on a goal by Kelly Wild following a scrum in front of Jenny Harss' net. Harss stopped 23 of 25 shots she faced for the win, while OSU starter Lisa Steffes stopped 4 of 7 shots, in just 7 minutes of action. Steffes was replaced by Chelsea Knapp after the third goal, and Knapp stopped 25 of 26 shots she faced.

UMD Women Split with Ohio State

Compiled via collegehockeystats.net box scores for the 2 game series.

On Friday night, UMD scored the only goal of the first period, with Vanessa Thibault (from Haley Irwin and Pernilla Winberg) scoring a powerplay goal at 4:47 of the period. 

After the first period, it was the Natalie Spooner show, as she scored a natural hat trick in the second period, with goals at 5:17, 10:56, and 12:50 of the period.  She made it 4-1 with her fourth goal of the game at 7:23 of the third period. 

Jenny Harss took the loss Friday, stopped 22 of 26 shots she faced, giving way to Lana Steck the final 9:22 of the game.  Steck saw only one shot in her third period stint.

On Saturday, a 4 goal second period lifted the Dogs to a 6-2 victory over the Buckeyes.

OSU’s Hokey Langan opened the scoring at 3:26, with a shorthanded, unassisted goal.  Jenna McParland (Irwin and Jessica Wong) evened the score with a powerplay goal at 14:11.

Pernilla Winberg (Thibault, Jessica Wong) gave UMD the lead with a shorthanded goal 59 seconds into the second period, then a two goal lead with a goal (from Emma Stauber) at 5:34.  OSU’s Ally Tarr cut the UMD lead to 3-2 at 6:18, but that was as far as the Buckeyes got.  Wong (Katie Wilson and Thibault) and Katie Wilson scored 18 seconds apart, at 14:24 and 14:42 to put the ‘Dogs up 5-2.

Irwin (Brienna Gillanders, Audrey Cournoyer) finished the scoring at 15:58 of the third period.  Jenny Harss stopped 36 of 38 shots to pick up her 6th win of the season on Saturday.

‘Dogs Swept by Badgers

On Saturday night, the Badgers took it to the Bulldogs, scoring 3 first period goals in the final 1:34 of the period to take a 3-0 lead to intermission. Hilary Knight (17:05), Brianna Decker (18:04), and Kelly Jaminski (18:39) scored those goals.

Pernilla Winberg got the 'Dogs on the board, with her third of the year, assisted by Irwin and Wong, at 3:30 of the second period. Wisconsin again took a 3 goal lead, at 12:53 on a Prevost goal. UMD used it's timeout there and started go gain a little momentum, but with a delayed Wisconsin penalty, a missed pass to the blue line ended up sliding all the way down ice to the empty Bulldog net (with Jenny Harss pulled for the extra attacker) for a Badger goal. Saige Pacholok got credit for the goal, as well as being the player the delayed penalty was to be called on. A Knight penalty put UMD on a 5 on 3 powerplay, which Audrey Cournoyer capitalized on, scoring with 14 seconds left in the period, assisted by Irwin and Wong.

Katie Wilson started the third period with UMD's third goal of the game, just 1:50 in, giving the 'Dogs a shot at a comeback. Lana Steck, replacing Harss after two periods, stopped all 12 shots she faced in the third period, to also give UMD a shot at a comeback, but she was matched by Alex Rigsby in stopping 12 more Bulldog shots the remainder of the period. Rigsby stopped 80 of 86 total Bulldog shots on the weekend. Carolyne Prévost added an empty net goal at 19:36 to give the Badgers a 6-3 final decision.

UMD takes on North Dakota next Saturday/Sunday afternoons at Amsoil Arena

UMD Women Sweep U-Conn

The Bulldogs first road trip of the season sent them out to battle their second Hockey East opponent, this weekend University of Connecticut. 

On Friday, the Dogs picked up a 5-4 victory, with 5 different players each picking up a goal.  Katie Wilson gave UMD the lead 3:53 into the game, assisted by Emma Stauber.  UConn tied the game at 16:13 with a powerplay goal by Emily Snodgrass. 

UMD took the lead back at 8:31 of the second quarter, when Vanessa Thibault scored her first of the season, from Gina Dodge and Shara Jasper.  Audrey Cournoyer’s third goal of the season, just 27 seconds later gave the ‘Dogs a 3-1 lead.  UConn’s Rebecca Hewett cut UMD’s lead to 3-2 at 13:21, but Jessica Wong made sure the Bulldogs took a two goal lead to the locker room with a goal with 6 seconds left in the second period.  Cournoyer and Wilson assisted on Wong’s goal.

Huskies’ Jocelyn Slattery cut the Bulldog lead to 4-3 with a goal 4:26.  Haley Irwin gave the Bulldogs back a two goal lead yet again, at 17:30 of the period, from Mariia Posa, which proved to be the game winner, as UConn’s Taylor Gross scored with their goaltender, Alexandra Garcia pulled for an extra attacker, at 18:37. 

 

On Saturday, the Dogs doubled up UConn in shots on goal, 48-24, and beat them on the scoreboard 6-1.  Jenna McParland picked up her first career goal at 12:16, from Irwin and Pernilla Winberg, the only goal of the period for either team.

UConn’s Sarah MacDonnell tied the game at 1, just 2:55 into the second period, but that tie was the only goal for the Huskies on the afternoon.  Jessica Wong’s 4th goal of the season, assisted by Zoe Hickel, at 5:55 of the second gave UMD the lead for good.  Mariia Posa scored her first goal of the season, from Cournoyer and Wilson at 10:46, and McParland added her second goal 58 seconds later. 

Winberg’s second goal of the season, from Irwin, and Kacy Ambroz’s first of the year, unassisted added to UMD’s lead in the third period.  Jenny Harss got the win in both games, with Lana Steck playing the final 5:58 of the Saturday game. 

The Bulldogs head back to Amsoil Arena for a series with #1 ranked Wisconsin Friday and Saturday nights’ at 7:07.

UMDBulldogs.com Jessica Wong Article

Click to read the UMDBulldogs.com Jessica Wong article titled A CHANGING OF THE GUARD -- JUNIOR DEFENSEMAN JESSICA WONG .. about her switch last year from forward scoring the National Championship overtime goal to captaining the defense as the 'half-back.'

A quote from the article:

“Coach told me I would be a half-back, which is basically a forward and a defenseman,’” recalled Wong.  “I was given the green light to rush the puck and get up into the play.  I like it because it’s different and challenging but of course I was skeptical at first.  I do know coach Miller always has a reason for everything and defense allows me to really use my vision.”

Read the entire article by clicking the link above!

UMD Women Rout Boston College

The USCHO 7th ranked Bulldogs routed the #5 ranked Boston College Eagles 7-2 in the 2011-12 season opener at Amsoil Arena October 8, 2011. After a scoreless first period, the 'Dogs erupted for 4 goals in the second period. Haley Irwin gave the Dogs the lead at 3:15 of the period, from Winberg and Wong, on the powerplay. Katie Wilson made it 2-0, with a goal at 8:49, from Wong and Audrey Cournoyer. Wong would then add her first of two goals at 15:05 from Jamie Kenyon and Wilson. Zoe Hickel finished the second period scoring for UMD, scoring an unassisted goal with a nifty move around the defense, then burying the puck as she skated through the crease. Boston College showed more life in the third period, outshooting UMD 20-11 in the period, though still being outscored 3-2 in the period.

Blake Bolden got the Eagles on the board just 25 seconds into the third period, a powerplay goal assisted by Emily Pfalzer. Pernilla Winberg answered that powerplay goal with one of her own, at 2:23 of the period. Boston College's Meagan Mangene made it a 5-2 game at 7:44, but UMD again had an answer, just 16 seconds later when Jessica Wong went end to end, taking the puck in front of Jennifer Harss and cruising all the way to the B.C. net to beat goaltender Corinne Boyles for her second goal of the game. Audrey Cournoyer notched the final Bulldog goal of the day, at 15:15, with assists to Wilson and Jenna McParland.

Harss stopped 33 of 35 shots faced in the win, while Eagles' goaltender Boyles saved 30 of 37.

Click here to view more game photos!

Bulldogs Beat Whitecaps in Overtime

A Pernilla Winberg overtime goal with 45 seconds left on the clock gave the UMD Women a home exhibition win over the Minnesota Whitecaps, September 30, 2011.

Allie Thunstrom put the Whitecaps up 1-0 3:53 into the first period, with an assist from former Bulldog star Jenny Potter on a powerplay. Audrey Cournoyer put the Dogs on the board, evening the store 23 seconds into the second period.

The third period was scoreless, though Bulldog Jamie Kenyon hit a post from close in late in the period.

Jennifer Harss stopped 27 of 28 shots she faced, while Whitecaps goaltender Sanya Sandahl stopped 38 of 40 in the losing effort.

UMD Women Beat Bemidji, Regain WCHA 4th Place

Click here to view many more game photos

 

Coming into the 2 game series with Bemidji State, the Bulldog women were 2 points behind the Beavers in the WCHA standings, in 5th place after a short winless streak of 5 games.

The 'Dogs got down 1-0 quick, on an unassisted goal by Bemidji captain Erin Cody at 3:04 of the first.Tara Gray evened the score blasting a missile through a crowd and past goaltender Alana McElhinney, who never saw the puck.

Laura Fridfinnson notched goals 3:18 apart in the second period to give the 'Dogs a 3-1 lead, but Cody scored two more (for the hat trick) faster, scoring at 11:18 from the blue line on a bouncing puck that fooled Kim Martin and again at 12:34.

Elin Holmlov didn't wait long in the third period, scoring at 4:03 from Pernilla Winberg and Jessica Wong to put UMD ahead 4-3, that was the eventual final score. Kim Martin stopped 21 of 24 shots faced, while McElhinney stopped 31 of 35 UMD shots. Former Cloquet Lumberjack defenseman Montana Vichorek assisted on the two Cody goals in the third period.

Kacy Ambroz gets in tight on McElhinney

Friddy celebrates a goal

UMD Women Beat North Dakota 4-1

Click Here to view more photos

The Bulldog women began their final series in the DECC Arena, before moving to Amsoil Arena, with a 4-1 win over the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Jessica Wong gave UMD a 1-0 lead with a goal at 17:30 of the first period, assisted by Elin Holmlov, and the first of three assists by Haley Irwin.

Pernilla Winberg gave the 'Dogs a 2-0 lead at 8:30 of the second period, assisted by Irwin, though the 2 goal lead only held for 4 minutes, when North Dakota's Candace Molle scored to cut the lead in half.

Elin Holmlov scored a shorthanded goal at 8:02 of the third, from Irwin, and Joceylyne Larocque scored UMD's 4th goal with 21 seconds left to complete the UMD victory. Kim Martin stopped 23 of 24 shots for the win, while Sioux goaltender Stephanie Ney stopped 25 of 29 in taking the loss.

Haley Irwin puts a shot on Sioux goaltender Ney

Pernilla Winberg and Haley Irwin celebrate Winberg’s goal

UMD Women Get a Tie & Win Vs. St. Cloud

On Friday, December 3rd, the UMD Women and St. Cloud skated to a 2-2- tie, despite UMD outshooting the Huskies 41-23 for the game.  Former Mirage player Julia Gilbert scored her second goal of the season and Molli Mott, combined to give St. Cloud a 2-0 lead over the ‘Dogs. 

Jessica Wong scored both UMD goals, first cutting the lead in half at 17:53 of the second period with a goal assisted by Haley Irwin and Pernilla Winberg.  Wong then scored the game tying goal at 5:51 of the third period, assisted by Brienna Gillanders and Irwin.  Jenny Harss stopped 19 of 21 shots she faced in the tie, while Huskies goaltender Ashley Nixon stopped 39 UMD shots.

On Saturday, the ‘Dogs dominated from the start, picking up a 5-0 shutout win over the Huskies.  Jocelyne Larocque got UMD on the board, scoring at 5:06 of the first period.  Haley Irwin then scored the first goal in her natural hat-trick just 1:03 after Larocque’s goal.  The second Irwin goal came at 19:00 of the first period, and she capped off the natural hat-trick just 4:01 into the second period.  Gillanders finished the Bulldog scoring with a goal at 6:11 of the second period.  UMD outshot St. Cloud 52-20 on Saturday, with Kim Martin picking up yet another shutout, the 14th in her career. 

Haley Irwin’s hat-trick propelled the Dogs past St. Cloud on Saturday

UMD Women Beat Minnesota 3-2

Click here to view more game photos!

 

The UMD women's hockey team continued to stay hot, taking the first game of 2 with the Minnesota Gophers, 3-2 at the DECC. Down 2-1 after two periods, Elin Holmlov evened the score in the first minute of the third period, scoring an unassisted goal. Pernilla Winberg gave UMD the lead at 13:55 of the period, a lead that the Dogs held to the final buzzer. Jessica Wong for the 'Dogs and Kelly Seeler for the Gophers each scored in the first period, and the Gophers' Sarah Davis gave them the 2-1 lead in the second period.

Pernilla Winberg scores the game winner, despite being pulled down in front of the Gopher net

 

Jenny Harss congratulated on the victory by backup goaltender Lana Steck

UMD Women Finish Sweep of UConn

Click here to view more game photos!

The Bulldogs finished the weekend sweep of UConn with another shutout, winning 4-0 October 24th. UConn gave a better performance than Saturday, with 21 shots on goal, but Kim Martin gave the Bulldogs their 3rd straight shutout of an opponent. Haley Irwin opened the UMD scoring 2:59 into the first period, for the only goal of the period. Audrey Cournoyer scored at 1:36 of the second for a 2-0 UMD lead, and Irwin's second of the game gave UMD a 3-0 lead with 3 minutes left in the second period. Cournoyer finished the scoring with her own second goal, at 9:08 of the third period to finish the scoring. Dana Gallop, Jocelyne Larocque, and Jessica Wong all had 2 assists for the 'Dogs. Jamie Kenyon also picked up an assist, on Cournoyer's second goal.

Former Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning player Dana Gallop had two assists on Sunday.

Pernilla Winberg and Elin Holmlov help celebrate a Haley Irwin goal

UMD Women Trounce UConn

View more Game photos

The Bulldog women trounced the University of Connecticut 8-0, October 23, 2010. The Huskies were outshot 63-9, with a portion of their 9 shots coming from outside the offensive zone. UMD got a hat-trick from Jessica Wong (her first career hat-trick), and goals from Audrey Cournoyer, Haley Irwin, Katie Wilson, Laura Fridfinnson, and the first career goal for freshman Jamie Kenyon. Pernilla Winberg put 10 shots on the Connecticut net, but couldn't light the lamp.

Jessica Wong finds herself wide open in front of the UConn net, and buried the puck for a goal

Laura Fridfinnson with a  scoring chance

UMD Women Start Season Off Right

CLICK HERE to view the game box score

The UMD women started the defense of their 5th National Championship in style, shutting out North Dakota 4-0 on Friday, October 8th. Kim Martin stopped all 23 shots she saw, including 10 in the third period to earn the shutout. 4 Bulldogs scored, with Jocelyne Larocque scoring in the first period, and Jessica Wong, Audrey Cournoyer, and Haley Irwin all notching goals in the second period. Larocque and Cournoyer's goals were both powerplay goals.


The win is Kim Martin's 54th as a Bulldog, and 12th shutout according to the Collegehockeystats.net website.

National Championship game winning goal scorer Jessica Wong now has 16 goals, and 33 total points in her short career.

 

UMD/Whitecaps Tie 3-3

Click the blog title to view more game photos

The 2010-11 edition of the Bulldog women's hockey team debuted at the DECC, October 2nd, 2010, with an exhibition series against the Minnesota Whitecaps. Audrey Cournoyer got the Dogs off on the right foot, scoring 1:11 into the game with assists to Tara Gray and Katie Wilson. From that point on, the Whitecaps controlled the first period, getting goals from Megan McCarthy and Bulldog Alum Jenny Potter 39 seconds apart, and Allie Sanchez at 14:41 of the period. The undermanned Whitecaps, playing with 12 skaters, couldn't keep up the fast pace, and UMD tied the game on a second period goal by Haley Irwin, and a third period goal by Jessica Wong. Wong also picked up an assist on Irwin's goal, while Katie Wilson added a second assist on Wong's goal. Elin Holmlov notched two assists as well for the Bulldogs.

Bulldog Alum Jenny Potter, for the Whitecaps

Haley Irwin returns to the Bulldogs after redshirting last season for the Olympics

UMD Season (16 Days and counting down!)

UMD 2010-11 Season
Not only do they defend their 5th National Championship, but have a nice new arena to defend the second half of the season. There are only 5 seniors on the roster, to replace the 5 that graduated, plus Libby Guzzo's transfer to St. Scholastica, making 20 total roster players with the three goaltenders (Harss, Martin, and Steck.)

4 players are listed as defensemen.. giving me the idea that Jessica Wong and Elin Holmlov will see some blue line time this season. Some people were asking what the roles of Gina Dodge and Kacy Ambroz would be this season (with the Olympians returning).. but I don't think there's reason to wonder after their play last season.

UMD should be able to roll 3 lines with anyone this year, with defense being the one spot with possible questions with Rasmussen and Murray graduating. Larocque and Gray will be on the ice a lot with Posa (Soph) and Noora Jaakola (Freshman), and whoever they do decide to move from forward to defense to fill in.

Might we see a goaltender battle between Harss and Martin this winter? Martin didn't have a really excellent Olympic tournament, but they (Team Sweden) didn't play anyone for tuneup matches so she had a really bad defensive team in front of her. Sweden would have been far better off to leave it's players on their NCAA teams seeing high caliber opponents, but that's getting off topic. She (Martin) is (reported as) probably the healthiest (knees) she's been as a Bulldog so it will be fun to see both goaltenders probably rotate at least until after Christmas.

Shannon Miller can't go anywhere for at least 5 years.. if not more.. she has 5 rings for 5 fingers.. but needs 5 more for the other hand!

National Championship Game Photos!

Click the blog title to view all my game pictures from UMD's 5th National Championship Win!

After nearly 3 full overtimes, equaling 119 minutes and 26 seconds of hockey (4 hours and 24 minutes real time), the UMD Bulldog women's hockey team became National Champions, for the 5th time! Neither team scored in a first period that had 19 shots between the two teams, and one penalty each. In the second period, Cornell's Melanie Jue scored the only goal, a powerplay goal, at 13:44, and gave Cornell a 1-0 lead at the second intermission. Cornell took a penalty at 19:11 of the second period, and Emmanuelle Blais scored a powerplay goal 18 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 1. Jamie Rasmussen capitalized on another Cornell penalty, at 14:42, skating in deep and burying a centering pass to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. Less than two minutes later though, Jue tied the game for Cornell, batting in a puck that popped up in the air and bouncing off UMD goaltender Jenny Harss. Cornell took a penatly at 16:42 of the third period, but UMD couldn't capitalize, and the game went to overtime.

The first overtime had great scoring chances for both teams. The best came when Audrey Cournoyer got the puck in front of Cornell goaltender Amanda Mazzotta, and before she could make a move around her, Mazzotta pokechecked the puck and caused it to hop Cournoyer's stick. UMD had 12 shots and Cornell 11 in the first overtime. The majority of the second and third overtime's were spent in Cornell's zone, as UMD started to skate more of the third line and rotate Kacy Ambroz and Vanessa Thibault more into the first two lines to give players a break. Ambroz forechecked hard the 2nd and 3rd overtime and helped the Bulldogs create momentum, but they couldn't get anything by Mazzotta, until the last minute of the third overtime. Laura Fridfinnson was tripped as she gained the zone and a great scoring chance, creating a UMD powerplay. The powerplay expired, but UMD still had the zone when a Tara Gray blast from the blue line was tipped into the net by Jessica Wong, 6 seconds after the powerplay ended, to win the game in overtime. Mazzotta finished the game with 61 saves on 64 shots, while Harss stopped 47 of 49 shots she faced.

UMD captain Saara Tuominen assisted on UMD's first two goals, while Jamie Rasmussen assisted on the first, Cournoyer on the second, and Mariia Posa added to Gray's assist on Wong's game winning goal. Laura Fortino assisted on both Cornell goals, while Lauriane Rougeau and Karlee Overguard each had an assist for the Big Red.

Tara Gray slapshot that Wong tipped for game winner

ALL the game shots

UMD Women To Frozen Four, AGAIN!

Click the blog title to view game photos

The UMD women earned yet another trip to the NCAA Frozen Four, with a 2-1 win over the New Hampshire Wildcats at the DECC, March 13, 2010!

Jocelyne Larocque (assisted by Kacy Ambroz) got UMD off on the right foot, at 2:42 of the first, grabbing the lead on a shot from the point that found it's way to the net through a screen. Three minutes later New Hampshire's Micaela Long tied the game off a scrum in front of the UMD net.

The teams skated the next 38 minutes 15 seconds scoreless, before Jessica Wong picked up the game winner, 3:57 into the third period, from Emmanuelle Blais and Katie Wilson.

Jenny Harss stopped 23 of 24 Wildcat shots for her 27th win, while UNH goaltender Kayley Herman stopped 24 of 26 UMD shots.

UMD Women Win WCHA Playoff Championship!

The WCHA regular season co-champions knocked off the Minnesota Gophers 3-2 at Ridder Arena, to win the WCHA Final Faceoff playoff championship, to head into the NCAA tournament on a huge roll.

Jessica Wong got UMD on the board first, at 5:59 of the first period, when she pounced on a rebound and 2 handed it into the net past Gopher goaltender Noora Raty. Emmanuelle Blais made it 2-0 at 14:22 on a powerplay, and Gopher star Sarah Erickson scored at 17:06 to go into the locker rooms with UMD up 2-1.

Audrey Cournoyer scored the eventual game winner, UMD's third goal, 11:21 into the second period, while Erickson scored her second of the game at 16:28 of the period. Neither team scored in the third despite powerplays for both teams in the period.

The Dogs were 1 of 7 on the powerplay while Minnesota was 0 for 3. Jenny Harss won her 26th game of the season, stopping 18 of 20 shots, while Raty lost only her third game, stopping 25 of 28 UMD shots.

Pictures from UMD vs Bemidji semi-Final!

Pictures from UMD Vs Minnesota Championship Game

UMD Beats Bemidji State, Tied For First Place

Click the blog title to view the game box score...

The UMD Women beat the Bemidji State Beavers, while the Wisconsin Badgers beat the Minnesota Gophers in overtime, to give UMD a TIE for first place in the WCHA with one game remaining in the regular season!

Emmanuelle Blais got UMD off on the right foot, opening the scoring at 3:30 of the first period, but Bemidji tied the game at 5:37 when Annie Bauerfield scored, and the teams took a 1-1 tie to the first intermission.

Erin Cody gave Bemidji a 2-1 lead 2:49 into the second period, but from the 5:49 point of the second, when Laura Fridfinnson tied the game at 2, the game was all UMD. Jessica Wong put UMD up for good 17 seconds after Fridfinnson's goal, then added some insurance at 9:48 of the third for a 4-2 lead. A Blais powerplay goal finished the scoring at 14:54 of the third period.

Jenny Harss stopped 38 of 40 Bemidji State shots, while Alana McElhinney stopped 25 of 30 UMD shots.

Blais added two assists to give her a four point game and Katie Wilson picked up three assists. Jamie Rasmussen picked up one assist, and Kirsti Hakala picked up her second point of the season adding an assist on Blais game opening goal.

Jessica Wong

Emmanuelle Blais (aka "Manue")