Statesman

Issue date: 2/10/10 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jordan Cataldo

Media Credit: Jordan Cataldo Freshman Katie Wilson scores the final goal Friday night.

The UMD women's hockey team had came off a series sweep with rival the University of Minnesota Gophers with a No. 2 ranking. In their second meeting of the season, the Bulldogs were able to come back at full strength and stomp the Gophers 3-1 the first night and 3-0 the following night.

Despite the 43 shots on goal and the visibly strong offensive game displayed by the University of Minnesota in Friday night's game, UMD was able to control the puck for the final two periods, which was enough for a victory. Junior forward Laura Fridfinnson played a part in each of the three UMD goals, with one assist and one goal each in the last two periods. Freshman forward Katherine Wilson also scored a goal in the third period with assists from Fridfinnson and senior forward Emmanuelle Blais. Only letting one goal slip in during the first period, freshman goaltender Jennifer Harss stepped off the ice with 42 saves in goal, a career best.

"It´s a great feeling to win against the number one ranked team, especially against the Gophers," Harss said.

Looking for the weekend sweep, the Bulldogs stepped out onto the ice Saturday. Blais, a key contender in the previous night's game, scored the first UMD goal within the first five minutes of play. Holding the Gophers to a 1-0 lead going into the second period, the Bulldogs increased the gap in score when Fridfinnson scored her third goal of the weekend. With the University of Minnesota Gophers down by two, the mood out on the ice started to get increasingly more aggressive. Countless penalties of all sorts, from tripping to roughing to cross-checking, were handed out frequently before junior defensive player Tara Gray scored the last goal of the night in the last half of the third period. In goal for the second night in a row, Harss had a flawless night with 31 total saves.

"We´re very happy about this win", Harss said. "We know that we have to keep up the hard work."

The Bulldogs will be back at the DECC this weekend to play Ohio State University in their last regular season home games. Play will start at 7:07 p.m. Friday night and 6:07 p.m. Saturday night.

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