Feb. 19, 2003

DULUTH, Minn. - The University of Minnesota rose up from being flattened and gained an unlikely split against Minnesota-Duluth in what was a battle of national, as well as WCHA, women's hockey titans. Neither team had ever been ranked lower than third in the nation, but beyond league title overtones, the series was all about footsteps, about having big skates to fill, about stepping up to a higher level, and about taking a bold stride forward in a critical situation.

Many of those steps were taken by Minnesota freshman Chelsey Brodt, who scored the clinching goal in the Gophers 4-2 reversal in the second game. But that stride didn't come until many other footprints had been made at Mars-Lakeview Arena, where the first steps were required to move up the hill. The usual harborside DECC site was housing a boat show, so the series was shifted to Mars-Lakeview Arena on the Marshall High School campus. It's a cozy little arena, bright and shiny with good ice, but with only 1,000 seats.

The Gophers had been swept by UMD 4-3 and 6-5 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Nov. 30-Dec. 1, and had battled to stay in hot pursuit of the Bulldogs ever since. But Minnesota had suffered a huge loss when Krissy Wendell was knocked out of the lineup the previous weekend. Wendell had centered Natalie Darwitz, and sophomore Kelly Stephens on Minnesota's top line all season, and Wendell and Darwitz ­ both freshmen and both U.S. Olympic teammates ­ were the top two Gopher scorers and the keys to Minnesota's title hopes.

Wendell scored the winning goal to give Minnesota a 2-1 victory for a sweep over Ohio State, and with only seconds remaining in the game, Wendell was knocked out for the rest of the regular season with a broken clavicle. She went out with 26 goals and 27 assists for 53 points, while Darwitz had 26 goals, 28 assists for 54 points through 23 games, leaving the Gophers 15-2-1 in the WCHA and 22-3-1 overall, good for the No. 3 rank in the country.

UMD, however, was 18-1-1 atop the WCHA and 24-2-2, and ranked No. 2 behind only Harvard.

While the Stephens-Wendell-Darwitz line had scored 67 of Minnesota's 127 total goals for the season, replacing Wendell on the line was no small matter. Coach Laura Halldorson pulled freshman Chelsey Brodt up from defense and put her at right wing, shifting Darwitz to center. Minnesota hockey fans recognize Darwitz as perhaps the most explosive center in girls high school hockey history from her days at Eagan, but Brodt had always followed in the footsteps of her sister, Winny Brodt, a senior on the Gopher squad.

The difference is that Winny Brodt has scored 11-18 29, while her little sister had 0-4 4. Putting her 0-4 4 stats up with Darwitz (26-28 54) and Stephens (15-12 27) made the line look a little lopsided, but Chelsey made the best of it.

"I had never played forward, and I didn't know how I'd do," said Chelsey Brodt. "Especially playing with Darwitz and Stephens and their speed."

The experiment appeared a small matter when Minnesota-Duluth came out flying and hammered the Gophers 7-1 in the stunning first game. Hanne Sikio, Larissa Luther, Maria Rooth and Krista McArthur scored for a 4-0 first-period lead, and Halldorson pulled goaltender Jody Horak for Brenda Reinen's relief. Darwitz scored her 27th goal just 10 seconds into the second period, and the Gophers held at 4-1 until late in the middle period, when Rooth and Erika Holst scored for a 6-1 cushion, and Nora Tallus completed the romp in the third.

That victory moved UMD forcefully to within Saturday night's game of clinching the WCHA title. And the lopsided nature of the score made things look bleak for the Gophers in the rematch.

First, there was the matter of the goaltending. Halldorson said she had a brief conversation with Horak, her sophomore ace who had clearly been off her game ­ 1.72 goals-against and .928 save percentage ­ when she allowed four goals on 16 shots in one period of the Friday game. Horak wanted to get back in there, and Halldorson sent her to the net. It was a far different first period, although Erika Holst's 28th goal, on a power play, staked UMD to a 1-0 lead with three minutes left in the opening session.

While UMD kept attacking, while also defusing the Darwitz line, Minnesota's supporting cast stepped up. Allie Sanchez scored her sixth goal of the season with a backhander at 4:35 of the second period, and Winny Brodt rushed up the left side from defense and fired her 12th goal of the season past Patricia Sautter at 13:50 to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead ­ its first lead of the weekend. Hanne Sikio, however, tied it 2-2 with her 19th goal before the period ended.

The third period was a matter of survival. Kelsey Bills was penalized for cross-checking, but Horak and the Gophers withstood UMD's 30-percent power play. Bills, a junior from Alberta who grew up playing on boys teams, came out of the penalty box and moments later raced up the right side, turned the corner beyond the defense, and cut to the net, where she scored at 7:01 to break the 2-2 tie.

Exactly 1:38 later, the spotlight turned directly onto Chelsey Brodt, unlikely though that seemed. She had spent most of the two games skating hard and hoping she wouldn't look out of place with her more-accomplished linemates. And when her big opportunity came, it first appeared she might have blown it.

Brodt carried the puck up the right side, with a step on the defense. As she rushed, she saw an opening as she got to the faceoff circle, and she pulled the trigger. Instead of sailing into the mesh, as might have happened in a normal Cinderella story, Brodt's shot flew over the net, high and wide by a couple of feet over the crossbar.

"She looked like me on that one," laughed her sister, Winny Brodt. "I'm the one they're always accusing of shooting high."

Nobody accuses Chelsey of shooting AT ALL, but after her shot missed, and the puck zipped around the boards in the right corner, Chelsey Brodt alertly went to the front of the UMD net. Darwitz had sped in and gathered up the puck, then curled off the boards, looking for an opening as she crossed the slot, 40 feet out. Darwitz shot and the puck wound up behind Sautter at 8:39, giving the Gophers a 4-2 cushion. But the Gophers didn't all rush to Darwitz for their congratulations ­ they went to Chelsey Brodt. Sure enough, she had deflected the puck in.

"My first goal!" Chelsey gushed. "And in my first series up front. All I did was go in front, and I had my stick down. The puck went right off the blade of my stick. Last night, we didn't play that bad but things didn't bounce our way. Tonight they did, and this was exciting, especially against Duluth."

The Bulldogs intensified their attack through the final 10 minutes, but Horak came up with 13 saves for 33 in the game, many of them while surrounded by all five UMD attackers at close range. When it was over, the Gophers celebrated, then they all skated over to the corner and celebrated again, high-fiving through the glass to a smiling young woman wearing street clothes. It was Krissy Wendell. The loss of her presence was pivotal for Minnesota, but the Gophers came back to forestall UMD's championship celebration by a week, at least. The Gopher comeback came because other players stepped up, Chelsey Brodt filled some big skates as a forward, and the Gophers took a major stride after three straight losses to UMD to maintain the No. 3 national rank, and to reinforce their hopes should the teams meet again, in the WCHA playoffs, or possibly in the NCAA Frozen Four.

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