Heading into Minnesota Duluth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s NCAA semifinal versus New Hampshire, Saara Touminen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chances of playing with a knee injury were listed as fifty-fifty. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the wrong half of that probability came up on game day.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We just asked everyone to step up and do the best you could,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d coach Shannon Miller said.<\/p>\n
To win, even with Kim Martin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 41 saves in the UMD net, they still needed someone to put the puck in the net. Answering that call was Laura Fridfinnson, a 5-foot-8 freshman from Arborg, Manitoba, who deflected in a pair of power play goals in the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDogs 3-2 win.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They were very similar,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our defensemen give it back and forth a bit, and then they give it to [Haley] Irwin, and Irwin has a great shot. She keeps it low all the time, and I go to the net with my stick on the ice to tip it in.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The other one, [Heidi Pelttari] shot it, but it was basically the same play. Irwin gave it back to the defenseman, she shot, and I tipped it in.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Fridfinnson said that her line did not feel added pressure, despite being the only scoring line for UMD that was intact for the game.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We knew we could do it, therefore we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the pressure on us. We just went out and played. We decided that we were going to be calm with the puck and play as well as we could.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Fortunately for UMD, her line centered by Irwin with Emmanuelle Blais on the right wing was able to produce, because the Bulldogs did not have a lot of other offensive options.<\/p>\n
Miller instructed the trio to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153use their speed, use their talent, and score some goals\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a much deeper team than they are,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wildcats coach Brian McCloskey said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got one big line that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very good.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
That big line is still improving, because Fridfinnson and Irwin are rookies, while Blais is just a sophomore.<\/p>\n
Fridfinnson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s two tallies give her 22 goals and 21 assists on the season. Despite that production, she hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t received much attention, as classmate Irwin won the WCHA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scoring title and was named the conference\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Haley Irwin has had a great year, too, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just lucky that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m her linemate, and we play great together,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fridfinnson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just happy that our team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing well.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Given the lack of depth at forward for UMD, they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford to lose anyone else. Therefore, when Fridfinnson struggled to the bench in third period, it was a scary moment for the fans of the home team.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was just a minor hit,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was stunned, but then I got back on it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Fridfinnson credits the schedule that the team has played to date for preparing the Bulldogs for the Frozen Four.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153When we play Wisconsin and Minnesota, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re such great games. Ohio, St. Cloud — all the games are good, and they are great preparation. Wisconsin is here, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be playing them on Saturday, that just shows how great our league is for preparing us for tournaments like this.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Will the depleted UMD lineup be enough to get the job done against the two-time defending NCAA champions?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The players that we have in the lineup right now, the players that played today, we can get it done, and we have gotten it done,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Miller said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153One of the last games that we played against Wisconsin, we had the exact same lineup we had today, and we beat them.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
If they get the same scoring touch from Fridfinnson, they just might do it again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Heading into Minnesota Duluth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s NCAA semifinal versus New Hampshire, Saara Touminen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chances of playing with a knee injury were listed as fifty-fifty. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the wrong half of that probability came up on game day. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We just asked everyone to step up and do the best you could,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d coach Shannon Miller said. To […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n