University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
26-2-4, 19-2-4-2
Minnesota Duluth
17-9-5, 12-9-4-2
Seniors Lead Gophers in 7-1 Win Over UMD
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
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Feb. 13, 2015
By Tyson Peters, Athletic Communications Student Intern
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gopher women's hockey team tallied its 26th win of the season with an impressive 7-1 victory over the No. 6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at Ridder Arena on Friday night.
Seniors Rachel Ramsey (Chanhassen, Minn.) and Meghan Lorence (Mounds View, Minn.) led the way for the Gophers with one goal and two assists each. Ramsey tallied all three of her points in the first period while Lorence scored the first goal of the game and later added two helpers.
The win marks head coach Brad Frost's 250th victory at the helm of the Gopher women's hockey program. Frost owns a career record of 250-40-21 in his eighth season leading the Gophers.
"We've really been focusing this week on making sure that we came out strong on Friday as the last two Fridays we really didn't, but tonight they sure did," Frost said. "We were ready right from the puck drop, and I'm really proud of our kids. They battled, competed and got the job done tonight."
Minnesota (26-2-4, 19-2-4-2 WCHA) took control of the game early by jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Minnesota Duluth (17-9-5, 12-9-4-2 WCHA) answered with a goal by senior Meghan Huertas, but the Gophers bounced right back with two more goals, finishing the first period with a 4-1 lead.
"Our team came out of the gate extremely fast," Frost said. "Getting those goals in the first obviously set the tone for the rest of the evening."
The Gophers extended their lead in the second period on a power play goal by sophomore Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.), her third goal of the season. Lorence was in on the assist as well as sophomore Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.), making her second assist of the night.
In the third period, Minnesota made the lead insurmountable for the Bulldogs by scoring two goals within the first four minutes. The Gophers' sixth goal of the night came at 2:27 by junior Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.). Brandt scored her WCHA-best 26th goal of the season to give Minnesota a 6-1 lead before freshman Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) followed up just over a minute later with her 20th goal of the season, and the Gophers' seventh and final of the night.
Junior Amanda Leveille (Kingston, Ont.) and senior Shyler Sletta (Elko New Market, Minn.) split time in net. Leveille earned the win, making 22 saves on 23 shots in just over two periods before Sletta played the final 17:00 and made seven saves to maintain her perfect 1.000 career save percentage and 0.00 career goals against average.
Minnesota Duluth received 34 saves on 40 shots faced from Kayla Black before freshman Karissa Grapp entered the game for the final 17:18, allowing one goal and making six saves. The Gophers outshot the Bulldogs, 47-30, for the game.
The Gophers and Bulldogs wrap up the series at 4 p.m. CT Saturday afternoon. Minnesota will recognize its four seniors, Rachael Bona, Meghan Lorence, Rachel Ramsey and Shyler Sletta prior to puck drop on Saturday.
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