Minnesota-Duluth freshman goaltender Maddie Rooney shattered the program record for most saves in a game, turning aside 61 shots, but Minnesota got enough pucks through her to post a 7-3 win.
“Good for her,” UMD coach Maura Crowell said. “She obviously saw a lot of rubber tonight, a little too much. What can you say? Seven goals against still hurts.”
The Gophers (26-3-1, 21-3-1-0 WCHA) scored on their three power plays and had put 50 shots on net by the end of the second period, and only Rooney kept the deficit from being greater than three goals at that point, as her team trailed, 4-1.
“She played great,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said. “And she played great against us back at our place as well. To stop 61 of them is pretty impressive, and I’m just glad we were able to get some by her.”
Kim Martin held the old record with a 50-save shutout of the Gophers in 2007.
Defenseman Milica McMillen, after missing the previous game with an injury, returned to spark Minnesota’s offense with a goal and two assists.
“Man, she’s skilled, and to see her one-timing the puck on the power play the way she is reminds me of the Lyndsay Wall days,” Frost said. “She was teeing them up back there, and at the same time, playing extremely sound defensively.”
Hannah Brandt also had three points, two of them goals, and five Gophers added two points. Kate Schipper, Taylor Williamson, Kelly Pannek, and Dani Cameranesi also found the net.
The scoring for the Bulldogs (12-18-1, 9-15-1-0 WCHA) came via Reagan Haley, Ashleigh Brykaliuk, and Katherine McGovern, the only UMD player with two assists.
Special teams figured heavily in the outcome, as UMD was only outscored by one five on five.
“The penalty kill has been our Achilles’ heel all year, and it showed up again today,” Crowell said. “It’s just something we will continue to work on, but they have five very skilled players out there, and it’s hard to weather the storm for two minutes.”
The Bulldogs bounced back with a stronger effort in the third period.
“North Dakota didn’t score any goals last weekend [versus Minnesota], and we scored three,” Crowell said. “There are small victories in that overall game.”
Lara Stalder, UMD’s second-leading scorer, missed the game.
“That’s a killer when [on] your top line, one of your most-consistent producers is out with an injury,” Crowell said.
The teams conclude their season series on Saturday at 4:07 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena.
