For a Minnesota team with four U.S. national team players still recuperating from a week-long international tournament and extended travel, it was time for some younger Gophers to pick up the slack at Brown on Saturday.
Freshmen Andrea Nichols and Becky Wacker, the two Gopher linemates of U.S. Olympian Krissy Wendell, set each other up for Minnesota’s first two goals. The No. 1 Gophers (7-0) added another even-strength goal and power-play goals in both the first and second periods en route to a 5-2 victory over the Bears (1-2).
The Golden Gophers won even though the national teamers — Wendell, Natalie Darwitz, Kelly Stephens and Lyndsay Wall — did not receive their equipment from the Four Nations Cup in Sweden until Thursday, leaving them little time to practice. Wendell estimated she had 20 plane hours under her legs between the trip back from Sweden and Minnesota’s trip to Brown. The rest of the Gophers had not played a game in almost two weeks. Nichols and Wacker’s quick success lightened the burden on the beleaguered national team players, who could rest easier with a 4-1 first period lead.
“These kids had the fresh legs,” Wendell said. “I was telling them, ‘You guys just keep flying.’ It was good to see that. It made my job a lot easier, that’s for sure.”
On all four of the Gophers’ first-period goals, they scored on quick strikes off rebounds. Nichols’ goal was the first of the game and the first of her career. She scored from the left circle on a long rebound off a Wacker shot shortly following a faceoff at the 4:19 mark.
Wacker’s goal came on a putback after a Nichols shot was blocked by Brown goaltender Katie Germain. The Wacker goal was particularly critical because it put Minnesota ahead again just 22 seconds after Brown’s Keaton Zucker had tied the game. The freshmen Nichols and Wacker had combined for just one goal entering the day. Now their efforts are showing more on the scoreboard.
“Getting used to everybody being bigger, faster and stronger is a big adjustment [in the college game], but we’ve had a lot of good communication with our line and that’s really helped us get used to everything,” Wacker said. “We talk on the ice and that helps a lot.”
Noelle Sutton scored off her own rebound to make the score 3-1 at the 10:21 mark of the first period. At the 14:17 mark, Minnesota struck on its first power play. Brown let Darwitz have free reign on the half-boards. She wound up and fired a forceful shot off the left post. Her shot was so hard that it perfectly deflected to senior La Toya Clarke on the right side, and she buried the puck into the net.
Minnesota added a second power-play goal and extended its lead to 5-1 when Brown again gave Darwitz all the time and space she needed on the half-boards. This time she found Wendell cutting towards the net on the opposite side for the finish.
Minnesota outshot Brown 16-4 in the first period and 15-4 in the second period. Germain prevented the Gophers from doing any damage at even strength in the second period.
“Germain was a bright spot,” said Brown coach Digit Murphy. “Today there were no soft goals. They were all on rebounds, goals that she couldn’t help.”
Brown outshot the Gophers 10-4 in the third period and outscored them 1-0, as Kerry Nugent scored on a rebound off a Keaton Zucker shot. Zucker scored Brown’s first goal with a defender in her face on a well-placed shot into the high corner.
Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson credited Germain for allowing the Bears to rebound in the third period.
“Brown gained confidence and played really hard and their goalie came up with some great saves,” Halldorson said. “We had chances in the second period, but she made some great saves and that gave them some new life.”
Halldorson told her team at the beginning of the second period not to be too complacent with the 4-1 lead. The Gophers did not surrender the lead, but they did not continue to pour it on like they had in the first period either.
Minnesota’s five penalties in the last period were a factor. Halldorson said another factor was the turbulent schedule of the last two weeks. Besides international competition, players had been in and out for injuries and illnesses. Brown also made adjustments of its own down the stretch to keep Minnesota off the scoreboard. The Bears also shut down the Gophers on their last two power plays.
“We really talked about limiting the space of Wendell and Darwitz,” Murphy said. “We let them create too much space so they could shoot the screen or dangle around us. We needed to stay up in their face a little more. We gave them a little too much free reign. And our attackers on top that were covering the ‘D’ weren’t dropping down to clog up the middle enough.”
With the third period performance, Brown has something positive to build on, while Minnesota has little time to rest and recuperate. The two teams battle again on Sunday at noon.
