ROCHESTER– It is rare after a two-game series both teams, even the one on the losing side of the weekend, feel like they have achieved something.
Both fourth-ranked Minnesota and RIT, which won only four games last year, can feel good about their series in Rochester.
For Minnesota, it was an opportunity to start their season, two weeks after most of the country, find out what kind of team they have, and grab two wins.
For RIT, it was an opportunity to show they are no longer the team superior opponents can expect to rout and could be a team which can make some noise in the CHA.
Minnesota won 3-0 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday, but there’s much more behind those scores.
“We’re trying to build our team’s identity and try to figure out who we are and who we are going to be,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said. “I thought we did a really good job building on our practices. Finally, we’re playing another opponent and having that opportunity. Overall, I was pleased with our effort and our energy.”
“One of the biggest things is we can skate with anybody,” RIT coach Celeste Brown said. “There was actually moments in this (Saturday) game today where we put Minnesota on their backs and controlled play.”
Last season, Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy scored 29 goals, second in the nation … and also second on her team … to Taylor Heise. In fact, two of their top three scorers from 2022-23 graduated. So, Murphy will be relied on a lot.
On Friday, she scored twice and assisted on the other score.
“She’s great,” Frost said. “Just the way she finds those seams and the ability to shoot off the pass. She’s tremendous. She makes us go for sure and she is an incredibly offensive threat.”
The reason for the Gophers late start is a combination of trying to setup nonconference games and the fact the school begins classes after Labor Day.
“So we don’t start practice until eighth, ninth, 10th, so the last thing you want is to practice five days and then start playing,” Frost explains.
It took awhile for Minnesota to get on the scoreboard in their first game. Murphy did her magic in the last second of the first period on the power play. She received a drop pass behind the net from Ella Huber, and as Huber drew the defense to her, Murphy quickly did a wraparound.
Her second goal, on the power play again and with an RIT defender suffering a broken stick, was classic Murphy. With her team passing the puck around, Murphy roamed into the slot, received a pass from Huber, and blasted a quick one-timer.
The assist on the third goal was perhaps her prettiest play. She threaded a pass to Madeline Wethington who one-timed it in.
With a 3-0 lead after two periods, one would have thought Minnesota would ratchet it up and cruise away. Not so fast.
It was RIT who controlled long patches in the third period, creating space and time in the offensive zone.
Frost said, “They built a little momentum in the third, playing us zero, zero. They did a nice job of blocking shots and causing a few more turnovers for us.”
Brown explained, “We took away time and space from them so we could execute our breakout to leave our zone and regroup to go down and play offense.”
Surely now that Minnesota got their game legs under them, Saturday night would be the expected blowout. It started out anything but.
The Gophers did jump out to a quick lead a minute in. Maggie Nicholson banked one off the post.
In perhaps the biggest statement of the series, the Tigers responded with an impressive display of smart, disciplined, gritty hockey.
“They were generating just as many chances as we were, so we knew we had to go back to our game and I thought we did that in the second,” Frost said.
A power play goal early in the second gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead. Murphy, from the left circle, fired in a wrister to the upper far corner.
But once again, RIT refused to fold, scoring their first goal of the weekend with a two-man advantage. After moving the puck around, Lindsay Maloney from the right side down low placed it near side.
Late in the period, Madison Kaiser regained the two-goal lead for Minnesota. After receiving a quick pass from Murphy, Kaiser one-timed it from the slot.
A beautiful shorthanded goal early in the third finally started making Minnesota feel comfortable. Huber single-handedly brought the back into the zone, cut across the net to shake the defenders off her, and backhanded it in.
Ava Lindsay scored her first collegiate goal on the power play. She had an open lane from the high right slot and saw a gap on the far side where she placed it.
“I thought we got better,” Frost said. “Obviously a really tight game there, and in the second just for us to continue to pull away and play better and better and more sound was really encouraging.”
And to see scoring from players other than Murphy pleased the coach: “Obviously, Murph is an incredible talent, but we need others to score if we are going to be successful. So, this was a good night for that for others to step up.”
Murphy (who went 3-2-5 with three penalties on the weekend) was happy about that as well, “We need that. We have a lot of young kids. We had one just score her first goal. It’s going to be the first of many. I think it’s going to be a big thing for us — a lot of goals coming from younger kids.”
Once again, though RIT relied on their outstanding goalkeeper, Sarah Coe, it was the defense that stepped up big. A defense which played smart positionally all weekend, keeping dangerous shots to a minimum.
“Sarah is a stud,” Brown said. “You put her on any team, and she’s a stud. She gives us a chance every single game. But definitely, I think our D and centers did a great job tonight. They are getting better at picking up sticks.”
Shots were 41-17 and 45-19, respectively, in favor of Minnesota. Again, a dual accomplishment — strong performance by Minnesota but far less shots given up than in the past by RIT.
Minnesota accomplished what they set out to do.
“Feel like we were getting teased with a couple of exhibition games,” Murphy said. “Everybody was looking forward to it. Obviously, two wins is a great start to the season.”
Next up is a much shorter trip for Minnesota (2-0-0) as they play St. Thomas, first in the Xcel Center, then at their opponent’s rink.
Murphy said, “They’re fast. They’re gritty. They are tough to play against. Similar game to what we had before with them.”
For RIT, though certainly not happy without getting a win, they made a statement. So much so, that Brown said after the games, “I wish we could play them again.”
Instead, RIT will take their deuces wild record (2-2-2) and host two games next weekend against Union. They will also celebrate the school’s 2011-12 Division III national championship. A team which Celeste Brown played on.
