MINNEAPOLIS — St. Lawrence rebounded from a one-sided loss on Sunday to go toe to toe with No. 2 Minnesota, but the Gophers made enough plays down the stretch to complete the sweep with a 5-1 win.
“We knew that St. Lawrence was too good to roll over, and they came out with a lot more passion and pride and heart, and we didn’t,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said. “They really carried the play for stretches of the game.”
Nonetheless, the Gophers (18-1-2, 11-1-2-0 WCHA) held a lead for the final 57:13 of the game.
“The kids did a great job,” SLU coach Chris Wells said. “They knew what happened on Sunday; they’re smart kids. They got themselves in a great frame of mind to play the game tonight.”
Brooke Webster pulled the Saints (9-8-2, 5-3-1 ECAC) to within 2-1 in the opening minutes of the third period by banking in a shot from below the goal line off of the goaltender, and her team applied some good pressure looking for the equalizer.
It didn’t come, and Minnesota pulled away with three goals in the last eight minutes.
Maryanne Menefee buried a rebound after Brooke Wolejko had committed to stopping a wraparound attempt by Meghan Lorence to make it 3-1.
“We just needed to get the momentum back and be all over the puck, and I think that helped the team out from there on out,” Lorence said.
Rachael Bona made it 4-1 just 50 seconds later, and then sealed the win into an empty net.
While Minnesota wasn’t happy with all of its 60 minutes, much of the difference from Sunday was the play of the visitors.
“They were definitely a lot different team,” Lorence said. “I think it’s always hard coming into this building and playing, especially since they’ve never played here before. I think they found their legs again.”
Kelly Pannek got Minnesota on the board 2:47 into the game, taking a pass from Bona and scoring from the front of the net.
Overall, it was a competitive first period, with St. Lawrence having an extended five-on-three power play that created scoring chances and momentum.
Hannah Brandt deposited a rebound in the final minute of the second period to double the Gophers’ lead after Minnesota gained the zone on a play that the St. Lawrence staff thought should have been an icing call.
“A good win, obviously, but still need to be a whole lot better, in particular this coming weekend,” Frost said.
Minnesota hosts Wisconsin on Saturday and Sunday in a pivotal WCHA series, while St. Lawrence resumes ECAC action at Cornell on Friday.
“We came out here to get prepared for the second half,” Wells said. “I don’t see how you can get more prepared than out West playing Minnesota, especially the way we played today.”
