MN Hockey News

Minneapolis -- It seemed as though the only thing decided during the regular season between the University of Minnesota and interstate rival Minnesota-Duluth was a possible match-up in the WCHA Tournament to decide the season series and possible bragging rights heading into next season.  Both teams had two wins against the other, finished the regular season with 43 points each in the conference standings and were considered Co-WCHA regular season champions, but UMD won the second tie-breaker with more overall conference wins and the Number One seed heading into the Conference Tournament.

Outside of Mercyhurst, the Gophers and Bulldogs were considered two of the top teams in the country and Sunday's Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Face-Off Championship game had a bit of a NCAA championship feel to it.  Both teams in the latter half of the season have been the two and three teams in the weekly polls.

From the get go both teams seemed to be energized off their wins Saturday, as Minnesota-Duluth handled Bemidji State 7-3 scoring early and often while Minnesota needed double overtime to get past Ohio State in a wild finish in regulation.  With that adrenaline flowing two penalties were called early on and four in the first two-minutes of play.  Three against the Gophers and one on the Bulldogs which created some 4-on-4 play, along with a 4-on-3 and 5-on-3 power play chances for UMD which they weren't able to take advantage of.  It seemed like that had an effect on Minnesota as they didn't establish their offense and get off a shot on Duluth goaltender Jennifer Harss until almost 12 minutes into the game, but at that time were already down 1-0 as Jessica Wong scored the games first goal at the 5:59 mark.

All-WCHA first team forward Emmanuelle Blais put the Bulldogs up 2-0 when her slapper from above the circles found it's way through traffic and past Gopher freshman goaltender Noora Raty at 14:22.  Sarah Erickson cut the deficit in half at 17:06 scoring her 16th goal of the season as Minnesota trailed it 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

Montreal native Audrey Cournoyer gave Minnesota-Duluth a 3-1 lead when the freshman scored her ninth goal of the season at 11:21 of the second period, and the Gophers were again able to cut it to one at 3-2 as Sarah Erickson scored her second goal of the game at 16:28 off an assist from senior winger Brittany Francis.

Minnesota got two good early shots on goal in the first :47 seconds of the third period, but it looked as though the double-overtime game from the day before started to wear on the Gopher skaters as they were missing that extra jump in their step and weren't able to get any of their seven third period shots on goal past Jennifer Harss and for the fifth straight year lost in the WCHA Championship game after winning back-to-back tourney championships in 2004 and 2005.

The 3-2 win for the Bulldogs marked their fifth WCHA Tournament Championship, first since 2008, and was just the third win in the past 18 games against Minnesota at Ridder Arena.

Even with the loss, the Gophers are expected to be a Number Three seed and host a first round NCAA Quarterfinal game next weekend at Ridder Arena, but will find out Sunday night at 630pm during the NCAA selection show.

WCHA ALL-TOURNAMNET TEAM:

Forward: Sarah Erickson, Minnesota

Forward: Laura Fridfinnson, Minnesota-Duluth

Forward: Emmanuelle Blais, Minnesota-Duluth

Defence: Anne Schleper, Minnesota

Defence: Jamie Rasmussen, Minnesota-Duluth

Goaltender: Jennifer Harss, Minnesota-Duluth

WCHA FINAL FACE OFF TOURNAMENT MVP:

Emmanuelle Blais, Minnesota-Duluth

THREE STARS of the GAME:

1--UMD--Winger--Jessica Wong

2--UMD--Winger--Emmanuelle Blais

3--MIN--Winger--Sarah Erickson

SCORING:

MIN  1-1-0

UMD  2-1-0

1--559--UMD--EV--Jessica Wong/13  (Unassisted)

1--1422--UMD--PP--Emmanuelle Blais/29  (J.Rasmussen/21, J.Larocque/9)

1--1706--MIN--EV--Sarah Erickson/16  (Brittany Francis/23)

2--1121--UMD--EV--Audrey Cournoyer/9  (Jessica Wong/16)

2--1628--MIN--EV--Sarah Erickson/17  (Brittany Francis/24)

GOALIE STATS:

MIN--Noora Raty (Loss, 17-3-4)  59:32-MIN,  3-GA,  28-SV (11-9-8)

UMD--Jennifer Harss (WIN, 26-8-2)  59:48-MIN,  2-GA,  20-SV (4-9-7)

PENALTIES:

1--026--MIN--Sarah Erickson--2min--Hooking

1--026--UMD--Emmanuelle Blais--2min--Roughing

1--102--MIN--Anne Schleper--2min--Checking

1--155--MIN--Brittany Francis--2min--Cross-Checking

1--1328--MIN--Kelly Seeler--2min--Elbowing

2--321--UMD--Jaime Rasmussen--2min--Tripping

2--646--UMD--Gina Dodge--2min--Checking

2--1239--UMD--Jamie Rasmussen--2min--Roughing

2--1239--MIN--Kelli Blankenship--2min--Slashing

2--1344--MIN--Megan Bozek--2min--High Sticking

3--218--MIN--Sarah Erickson--2min--Cross-Checking

3--1358--MIN--Megan Bozek--2min--Tripping

3--1531--MIN--Kelly Seeler--2min--Cross-Checking

3--1531--UMD--Jessica Wong--2min--Roughing

3--1531--MIN--Kelly Seeler--2min--Roughing

3--1623--UMD--Emanuelle Blais--2min--Holding

Minnesota  10--20 minutes

Minnesota-Duluth  6--12 minutes

MISC STATS:

Shots on Goal:  MIN 22 (5-10-7),  UMD 31 (13-10-8)

Power Play Goals - Attempts (Shots):  MIN 0-3 (4),  UMD 1-7 (8)

Face Off Pct. (Won-Lost):  MIN 65% (40-21),  UMD 35% (21-40)