BEMIDJI, Minn. — Senior Dani Cameranesi scored a pair of third-period goals two and a half minutes apart to flip the advantage as Minnesota dampened Bemidji State’s home opener, 3-1.
“Really pleased with the win here,” coach Brad Frost said. “I thought our kids, in particular in the second period, really started to carry the play.”
Caitlin Reilly buried her own rebound to put the Gophers (3-0-0, 1-0-0-0 WCHA) up by two with just under five minutes left, and the Beavers aren’t yet built to overcome such a deficit in so little time.
BSU (2-1-0, 0-1-0-0 WCHA) kept the visitors in check through two periods, and when it was awarded a five-on-three opportunity early in the final frame, Lauren Miller took full advantage. The Beavers were able to hold the offensive zone until her shot found its way under winning goaltender Sidney Peters with 10 seconds remaining on the two-skater edge.
“It was nice to see,” coach Jim Scanlan said. “Obviously, [Miller] can really shoot the puck. Nice play by Emma [Terres] and we had a screen there, and I don’t think Peters even saw the puck. When you get a goal lead with [goaltender Brittni Mowat], sometimes a goal can be enough.”
For a time, it looked like that might prove true again.
“We had plenty of chances, and their goaltender made a lot of great saves and some timely plays by their defensemen,” Frost said. “I told [my players] they’ve got to find a way.”
After being held at bay by Mowat and her team, the Gophers responded a couple minutes after falling behind.
“Once we moved [Kate] Schipper to that top line with Cameranesi and [Kelly] Pannek, it seemed to pan out pretty nicely for us,” Frost said.
Cameranesi had just enough of an angle to deposit a rebound with Mowat down.
“Credit Minnesota,” Scanlan said. “They made some nice plays. Particularly that second goal, the winning goal, was really a nice play by them.”
“I was just kind of sitting back door and [Pannek] put it right on my stick,” Cameranesi said.
“We just worked as a team, and when we do that good things happen,” said Cameranesi, who has scored in all three of her team’s games.
The Beavers showed signs of being able to make more happen before long.
“All four of our freshmen forwards are proven scorers before they got here, and I think all four of them have an opportunity to score at this level,” Scanlan said.
The two teams conclude their series on Saturday at 3:07 p.m. in the Sanford Center.
“I don’t think we really need to change many things up for tomorrow’s game,” Cameranesi said.
