Feb. 7, 2010

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MADISON, Wis. – The hottest team in women’s college hockey – the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs – completed a crucial two-game sweep of league-leading Minnesota in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play on Saturday (Feb. 6) evening in Duluth with a 3-0 victory, keeping the race for the conference championship a two-team affair and joining the Gophers as a first round home WCHA playoff host.

The Bulldogs, who stretched their unbeaten streak to 11 games at 9-0-2, also defeated Minnesota 3-1 on Friday evening. The sweep moves UMD to within three points of the defending WCHA champion Golden Gophers with four conference games remaining.

In two other WCHA matchups contested on Saturday, North Dakota came up big with a 7-2 triumph at Ohio State to earn a weekend and season series split with the Buckeyes while host Wisconsin upended Bemidji State 6-1 outdoors in the Culver’s Camp Randall Hockey Classic. The win by the Fighting Sioux moved them into a share of seventh place heading into Sunday’s games, while the Badgers took over sole possession of third place.

Sunday’s (Feb. 7) schedule will feature two WCHA matinees, as Minnesota State hosts St. Cloud State at 12:07 pm CT at All Seasons Arena and Wisconsin and Bemidji State will face-off at 2:07 pm CT at the Kohl Center.

Through games of Feb. 6, Minnesota (21-5-4, 17-4-3-3 WCHA) is in first place with 40 points, Minnesota Duluth (21-7-2, 17-5-2-1 WCHA) is second with 37 points, Wisconsin (16-10-3, 13-9-1 WCHA) is third with 27, St. Cloud State (12-11-6, 9-10-4-3 WCHA) is fourth with 25, Bemidji State (8-14-7, 7-9-7-3 WCHA) and Ohio State (14-12-4, 11-11-2 WCHA) are deadlocked in fifth with 24 points each, and Minnesota State (4-18-5, 2-16-5-3 WCHA) and North Dakota (6-18-4, 5-17-2 WCHA) share seventh with 12 points apiece.

At the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center on Saturday evening, host Minnesota Duluth hit on 3-of-8 power-play attempts, with right winger Emmanuelle Blais netting the game-winner, and received a 31-save shutout performance from goaltender Jennifer Harss in a 3-0 WCHA win over Minnesota before 1,322. Blais’ (1g, 1a) game-opening PPG at 4:34 of the first period held up as the winner while linemates Katie Wilson (C, 2a) and Laura Fridfinnson (LW, 1g) and defenseman Tara Gray (1g, 1a) also contributed offensively. The Gophers outshot the Bulldogs, 31-26, but UMD’s penalty-killers were successful on all four man-down situations. The win by the Bulldogs evened the season series at 2-2-0.

At the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus on Saturday, visiting North Dakota powered past host Ohio State 7-2 before 371 as three players – right winger Holly Perkins (2g, 1a) and left wingers Sara Dagenais (1g, 2a) and Alyssa Wiebe (3a) – all had three points and Stephanie Ney came up with 39 stops between the pipes. OSU defenseman Rachel Davis scored the game-opening goal at 10:51 of the first period before the Sioux took over with two goals in the first, three in the second and two more in the third. Perkins’ goal at 4:22 of period two was the game-winner. The season series ended 2-2-0.

And outdoors in Madison on Saturday afternoon, host Wisconsin outshot Bemidji State 42-14 and had nine points from the line of left winger Carolyne Prevost (1g, 2a), center Brianna Decker (2g) and right winger Kelly Nash (1g, 3a) en route to a 6-1 league win before 8,263 in the Culver’s Camp Randall Hockey Classic. Decker’s goal at 7:04 of the first period gave the Badgers a 2-0 lead and proved to be the game-winner. For the Beavers, right winger Jamie Hatheway scored her first goal of the season in the third period.

 

This Week in the WCHA

Results of Friday, February 5: Minnesota State 1 at St. Cloud State 6 (WCHA); Minnesota 1 at Minnesota Duluth 3 (WCHA); North Dakota 1 at Ohio State 2 ot (WCHA).

Results of Saturday, February 6: * Bemidji State 1 at Wisconsin 6 (WCHA; North Dakota 7 at Ohio State 2 (WCHA); Minnesota 0 at Minnesota Duluth 3 (WCHA). * Camp Randall Hockey Classic.

Games for Sunday, February 7: St. Cloud State at Minnesota State (WCHA), 12:07 pm CT; Bemidji State at Wisconsin (WCHA), 2:07 pm CT.

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