Rough and Tumble Rematch Ends in Tie

Saturday afternoon Minnesota finished their road series against Duluth at the AMSOIL Arena. Olympian Maddie Rooney remained in goal for UMD, but Minnesota switched to Sydney Scobee to finish the series. It didn’t take long for things to get physical, as Sydney Brodt went to the box on a slightly delayed tripping penalty at 1:32. Minnesota was struck hard for a solid two minutes, but nothing they threw at Rooney got past and the penalty expired. There was a bit of back and forth before another Minnesota blizzard, which included a Sarah Potomak shot going just barely over the crossbar and Nicole Schammel hitting the post, and then Ryleigh Houston had a great attempt with a team that ended in a Scobee save.

Lizi Norton took a holding penalty at 11:24, which other than Taylor Heise getting cross-checked without a call, was uneventful. More back and forth before Cystalyn Hengler received an interference penalty at 17:16. Scobee came up big in goal as she got blitzed at the end of the penalty, which the Gophers did kill. At the very end of the period Catie Skaja made a shot that ping ponged off two Bulldogs into goal, however the shot didn’t count—and didn’t even make it onto the box score—because the puck was still five feet from the goal line when the buzzer for the end of the period sounded. Thus, it was waved off and the teams went to first intermission locked in a scoreless tie.

Second period the Gophers were more determined than ever to get on the board. They hammered away at Rooney until Kippin Keller took a holding the stick penalty at 4:29. With the skater advantage Maggie Flaherty made a pass from the top of the right circle to Gabbie Hughes, who shot into the wide open net before Scobee could lunge across the crease at 4:32. Houston had the second assist. The next seven minutes were spent in UMD’s zone with the Bulldogs essentially unable to do anything than protect their lead. When they were finally able to exert some pressure again Hughes made a trip to the box for closing her hand on the puck at 13:32, but the minor expired harmlessly two minutes later.

The Gophers continued to press, which eventually ended in a too many players on the ice penalty at 16:27. Taylor Williamson served the penalty for the team. She was soon joined in the box by Kippin Keller at 16:47 due to Olivia Knowles checking a Bulldog from behind, receiving a major and a game misconduct penalty, and being tossed from the game. With a 5-on-3 advantage it would have been hard for UMD not to score, which is why Anna Klein’s goal at 17:09 was no surprise. Norton and Brodt assisted on this second power play goal. Flaherty took a holding the stick penalty at 19:42, which allowed the Gophers an offensive chance again, but the period ended with them trailing the Bulldogs 2-0.

Third period started with 4-on-4 hockey. It went back to 5-on-5 after Flaherty’s penalty expired at 1:47 and Keller was also allowed out of the box. Minnesota went back on the attack and this time they were finally able to generate something when Schammel banged home her own rebound at 6:09. Hengler got the lone assist. This success was followed by Ashton Bell being ejected from the game after receiving a major and game misconduct penalty for checking a Gopher from behind. McKenzie Hewett served the penalty in Bell’s place, which kicked in at 7:44. This was exactly what the Gophers needed, as Kelly Pannek scored through traffic at 8:29. Patti Marshall and Amy Potomak assisted. Then Amy Potomak earned a tripping penalty at 9:55, which the Gophers killed, and then the Bulldogs killed theirs at 12:44.

The rest of the period was spent in Duluth’s zone with the Gophers on the attack. Rooney showed off the moves that earned her a national team spot and kept the puck out. When the final buzzer rang Gophers and Bulldogs were still tied, which sent them to overtime, and that also didn’t solve things. Officially the game went into the NCAA books as a 2-2 tie, Minnesota outshooting Duluth 39-25, but there was still a shootout for the extra WCHA point. Hughes and Houston made both of their shots on Scobee, while Amy Potomak and Pannek didn’t against Rooney, giving Duluth the shootout victory.