Click the blog title to tread the entire article... It's a really good Kevin Pates, Season Preview type article focusing on UMD's players who've taken a season off to train full time for the upcoming Vancouver Olympics
“We know it’s going to be different, but we we’re not anticipating much of a change. We have a coach who expects hard work and excellence,” says senior defenseman Jamie Rasmussen of Garden Grove, Calif. “We have a smaller roster and we’ve been preparing to be in good shape because we’re all going to get a lot of ice time. We’ve got a lot of new players, but they’re great new players. And we have some great returning players.”
Being September 17th, we are 15 days from the UMD women's hockey team taking the ice! This preseason is full of questions, as we have two untested goaltenders and 9 freshmen slated to skate for the Bulldogs this year! Cloquet's Kirsti Hakala returns to the UMD roster after a year on the University of Wisconsin-Superior roster and taking last season off.
I hope to get get a bunch more posted on here before the season starts so stay tuned, it's been a busy few weeks with my website between high school and community college sports shooting but UMD hockey (both teams) always ends up a priority come game time! :)
Per the Duluth News Tribune:
Three Minnesota Duluth players have been named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s All-Star team that faces the U.S. Olympic team Sept. 25 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Bulldogs selected are junior defenseman Jaime Rasmussen of Garden Grove, Calif.; senior forward Emmanuelle Blais of LaSalle, Quebec; and junior forward Laura Fridfinnson of Arborg, Manitoba. The team is coached by St. Cloud State’s Jeff Giesen.
UMD's season starts October 2nd/3rd with Robert Morris University coming to the DECC
UMD lost Elin Holmlov to a checking from behind penalty in the second period, and gave up four powerplay goals to Wisconsin, to drop the NCAA Semi-Final game in Boston 5-1.
Still a great season for UMD with another Frozen Four appearance! The final appearances in UMD uniforms for seniors Johanna Ellison, Tawni Mattila, Erin Olson, Sara O'Toole, and Myriam Trepanier. Thanks seniors!
UMD's playoff game with New Hampshire will be broadcast LIVE on the net at 1 pm Eastern Saturday via New Hampshire's sports website CLICK HERE!!! Just click Watch Now about 5 minutes before game time! GO DOGS!
UMD will head out east Saturday March 14th, for a 1 PM (might be Noon Central time...) rematch of the Semi-Final teams from last season, in this season's quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
I only see two big differences from last season's semi-final,
1. Johanna Ellison be in net for UMD, with Kim Martin most likely not ready to play, having only started skating in the last week or so again. It's not a big drop-off at all, but given Kim Martin's performance against UNH in that game, stopping 41 of 43 shots, with many being HUGE saves, it could be a mental win for UNH not facing Martin.
2. UMD played at home almost the entire second half of the season last year, with only one road series from January 25th through the entire playoff run. This year they've been on the road more the second half of the season and hopefully that helps them in their longest road trip of the season.
If/When I figure out if there will be live internet coverage other than the normal radio coverage I'll post it here.
With all of the hockey games this weekend I got too busy to put up a post from each game but all should be normal now.
With UMD's first round sweep, and Johanna Ellison's TWO SHUTOUTS of North Dakota this weekend, UMD advances to the WCHA Semifinals to take on Wisconsin Friday.
I believe that UMD needs to win the WCHA tournament, presumably beating Minnesota in the final (if they beat Mankato) to attain a HOME NCAA Quarterfinal game. All three teams have been in the top 4 in the 'Pairwise' rankings, but I cannot see the NCAA giving 3 first round home games to teams from the West when the Frozen Four is being held out East in Boston. Stranger things have happened but I believe that to be the scenario required for a home ice NCAA tourney game.
UMD sweeps North Dakota, and Mankato sweeps Ohio State, forcing UMD to now beat North Dakota twice more in the best of 3 first round playoff series at the DECC Friday/Saturday, and if necessary Sunday.
Johanna Ellison picked up both wins, including a 3-0 shutout on Saturday evening. UMD's six goals were scored by six different players on the weekend.
Sara O'Toole had a goal and an assist, as did Haley Irwin and Jamie Rasmussen, while Elin Holmlov scored a goal in the 4-1 victory over OSU. Joceleyne Larocque had two assists, and Johanna Ellison won another game, stopping 12 of 13 shots faced for UMD.
After it became a 4-1 UMD lead, they tried to let OSU back into the game, taking 4 straight penalties from the 10 minute mark of the third period.
Sara Murray, Myriam Trepanier, Tawni Mattila, and Johanna Ellison received WCHA Scholar Athlete Awards after the game.
Click the blog title to go read the full press release from WCHA.COM
WCHA Defensive Player of the Week • Heidi Pelttari, Jr., D, Minnesota Duluth
Junior Heidi Pelttari, who has played at forward for the University of Minnesota Duluth most of the season, took a step back into her previous role on the blueline last weekend in the Bulldogs’ two-game conference road series sweep of Bemidji State.
A native of Tampere, Finland, Pelttari had one assist in last Friday’s (Feb. 6) 3-2 win over the host Beavers, with her helper coming on teammate Laura Fridfinnson’s game-winning goal at 5:22 of the second period. Then in game two of the weekend series last Saturday (Feb. 7), Pelttari dished out four assists to help propel the Bulldogs to a 9-0 shutout victory over Bemidji State. Pelttari’s four assists in that game marks a career-high for the multi-positioned player, who played defenseman all weekend. In addition to her five-assist series, Pelttari also put three shots on goal and earned a +2 plus/minus rating as UMD blanked BSU on all 10 of their weekend power-play opportunities.
Through 30 games this season, Pelttari has two goals and 18 assists for 20 points, ranking her fourth in scoring overall among WCHA defensemen..
Also nominated were: Alyssa Grogan, G, UM; Paige Thunder, G, MSU; Shannon Reilly, D, OSU; and Rachel Bible, D, UW.
I forgot it was a 2 pm game.. DOH! I went for a 2 hour walk along a bunch of snowmobile trails through the woods with the nice weather and spaced out the early game as it turns out did a lot of people who were at the men's game who would have normally listened. A win is a win at this point in the season, but the 1 for 8 powerplay is NOT a good thing.
Interesting to read the lines that Shannon Miller came up with with Rasmussen out...
First line of Tuominen centering Blais and Friddy, which drops Winberg to the third line with Olson and Mattila. I like Blais and Friddy on the same line with a good play-making center who likes to go get the puck in the corners. They usually only were on the ice together(all 3 of the) as the second powerplay previously.
Irwin's line with O'Toole and Holmlov paid off big with O'Toole and Irwin each scoring and assisting on the others goal.
The News Tribune reports that Jamie Rasmussen is out for this weekend's BSU series with a concussion, and Heidi Pelttari will drop back to her defense spot to fill that hole.
Click the link to view the News Tribune series preview!
I was going to do a long post about referees Doocy and Storey.. but it would just sound like every other one I've read (or posted myself) so I'll just say that Ashley Nixon stood on her head stopping 52 of 55 shots, many from in close.
UMD was up 3-1 and blew the lead in the second period.
Elin Holmlov had 2 goals for UMD, and Megan McCarthy answered with 2 of her own for SCSU.
Haley Irwin took a stupid (and lazy) tripping penalty at the end of her shift at 17:08 of the third period to pretty much kill any momentum UMD had built after having 2 straight powerplays that peppered Nixon with shots.
Meaghan Pezon didn't play for SCSU so her injury Friday night may be a bad one, but this being the Duluth area, there wasn't any sort of report that I've seen.
The Dogs dominated (winning 7-2) from the start, with a 16-0 shot advantage before SCSU ever got a shot on Johanna Ellison, who played 2 scoreless periods before giving way to Lana Steck in the third period. The goals Steck gave up were a breakaway all the way off a UMD won faceoff and turnover, and a powerplay goal, neither that you can fault her for really.
Laura Fridfinnson had a hat trick, Jocelyne Larocque had three more assists, while Heidi Pelttari and Saara Tuominen each had 2 assists.
SCSU lost Meaghan Pezon to a leg or ankle injury where she had to be helped off the ice without any weight on that leg, and didn't return to the game.
Megan McCarthy had a goal and assist for SCSU.
Minnesota Duluth sophomore defenseman Jocelyne Larocque was one the most important pieces of the Bulldog offense, scoring a goal and dishing out four assists in UMD's win and tie with then No.1-ranked Minnesota last weekend.
The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba assisted on all four of the Bulldogs' second period goals in last Friday's (Jan. 23) 4-2 win over the Gophers, including UMD's scoring burst of three goals in just over three minutes late in the second period. Larocque then scored a power-play goal from the point in the second period of last Saturday's (Jan. 24) game to get Minnesota Duluth on the board for the first time.
The NCAA and WCHA's leading point-getter from the blueline with an average of 1.08 ppg (4-22-26 in 24 games), Larocque was part of a Bulldog penalty-kill unit that forced the Gophers to go 1-of-11 on the power-play during the series. Larocque is on a four-game scoring streak since Jan. 16, having scored two goals and six assists during that string. Over her two-year collegiate career, she has eight goals, 44 assists and 52 points in 63 games.
For those familiar with the Duluth area, Montana Vichorek, who played high school hockey for Cloquet/Esko/Carlton is the Rookie Of the Week.
Montana Vichorek, a freshman defenseman at Bemidji State University from Moose Lake, Minn., recorded her second-career two-assist game during last Saturday's 3-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory over visiting Ohio State and played a huge role in BSU taking the weekend series (Jan. 23-24) from the Buckeyes.
Vichorek led the team with 10 blocks over the weekend, and posted a career-high nine blocks in last Friday's 3-3 overtime tie. Vichorek now has four points in her last five games (four assists), and is tied for the team lead in assists this season with nine (1g,9a=10p). She is the first Beaver defender to eclipse the 10-point mark since the 2005-06 season
Down 3-1 in the third period, UMD got goals from Laura Fridfinnson and Sara O'Toole to force overtime, which ended with the score tied 3-3.
Jocelyne Larocque scored UMD's first goal, and O'Toole also picked up two assists to go with her game tying goal.
Johanna Ellison starred again in net for UMD, stopping 37 of 40 shots she faced.
Monique Lamoureux had a goal and assist for the Gophers.
Click the blog title to go check out the game box score!
Haley Irwin scored twice, Jocelyne Larocque assisted on ALL FOUR UMD Goals, and Elin Holvlov had three assists; while Johanna Ellison stopped 34 of 36 shots for the victory at Ridder Arena.
Laura Fridfinnson scored a shorthanded goal and Pernilla Winberg scored on the powerplay to round out the UMD scoring.
UMD defeated Mankato 5-0 Friday, in a game that Kim Martin left after 11+ minutes with a leg injury which is now reported to be three-four weeks depending on the outcome of x-rays Monday. Johanna Ellison played the rest of the game securing the shutout and her third win of the season.
Scoring in Friday's game for UMD were Haley Irwin (2 goals), Saara Tuominen, Pernilla Winberg, and Jocelyn Larocque. Winberg has 2 assists and Larocque also added an assist, and Sara O'Toole had 3 assists. Kacy Ambroz picked up her third assist of the season also Friday.
On Saturday UMD won 6-3, with Lana Steck in net, stopping 17 of 20 shots. Haley Irwin scored two more goals, Elin Holmlov scored (after sitting out Friday's game for her ailing back), Jamie Rasmussen and Pernilla Winberg (and 2 assists) also scored, and Sara O'Toole scored on a penalty shot to give UMD 6 goals (not in that exact order.)
UMD lost a 3-1 lead over Wisconsin in the third period, and nobody scored in overtime, leading to a 3-3 tie. UMD ran out of gas in the third period, having only one practice leading up to the weekend's series, and Wisconsin took advantage of UMD's special teams to score a powerplay and shorthanded goal in the third period for the tie.
Elin Holmlov scored twice and assisted on a Heidi Pelttari goal, and Saara Tuominen scored her 100th career point on an assist to Holmlov's first goal and Kim Martin stopped 34 of 37 shots.
Kelly Nash, Jasmine Giles, and Hilary Knight scored for the badgers, and Jessie Vetter stopped 35 of 38 UMD shots.
In the shootout, Sara O'Toole and Laura Fridfinnson scored for UMD and Kim Martin shut down Hilary Knight and Kelly Nash on their attempts.
UMD needs a huge weekend at Mankato leading to the Gopher series in two weeks (with Team USA in-between the Mankato and Minnesota series.)
Laura Fridfinnson's two goals, sandwiched between a Haley Irwin goal and Jamie Rasmussen goal, carried UMD to a 4-0 shutout win. Kim Martin was solid, and her defense protected her well when she covered the puck..allowing her to stop all 31 shots she faced, making it her 53rd career win and 11th career shutout.
