Just over a month removed from trailing the No. 2 University of Minnesota by nine points in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team did something few thought was possible in mid-January; the Bulldogs won the regular season title.
UMD (24-8-2, 18-6-2) clinched the WCHA title Saturday afternoon by beating Bemidji State University 3-0 in Bemidji, Minn. The Bulldogs, co-champions with Minnesota -- the first time in the WCHA's 11-year history to teams finished in first place -- claim their fourth regular season league title UMD also gains the No. 1 seed in the WCHA tournament because the Bulldogs had more conference wins (20) than the Gophers (18).
Bulldog leading scorer Emmanuelle Blais – who has held that title for UMD the entire regular season – scored her third goal of the weekend at 16:08 of the first period, with assists to Laura Fridfinnson and Katie Wilson.
After giving UMD the 1-0 lead late in the first period, Blais struck again – her fourth tally of the BSU series and sixth point on the weekend – by netting a power-play goal at 16:53 of the second period. Blais' goal, which improved UMD's lead to 2-0, gave assists to rookie Jessica Wong and Jaime Rasmussen.
Rasmussen wasn't done with the score sheet, however, and struck for a goal of her own just 2:11 into the final period of play. Wong again got the assist to push her weekend total to four points (2g, 2a), and the Bulldogs benefited with a 3-0 win.
While UMD was again outshot by the Beavers, Jennifer Harss proved her worth by turning away all 25 shots she faced for her fifth shutout of the season (and her career). BSU netminder Alana McElhinney made 23 saves, but the Beavers fall to 10-17-7, and 9-12-7 WCHA, and remain winless against UMD in 48 attempts.
The Bulldogs -- the top-seed in the WCHA -- will host eighth-place North Dakota next weekend at the Heritage Center in Duluth, Minn. Friday and Saturday's games are set for 7:07 p.m., while a third game, if needed, will be held Sunday at 4:07 p.m.
A RECAP OF THE TITLE CHASE: On Jan. 12, the Bulldogs were what seemed like an insurmountable nine points behind Minnesota (28 points to 21) in the league standings. On Feb. 2, UMD remained seven points back (40-33), but from there, the Bulldogs would mount one of their greatest late-league runs in history, picking up 10 points compared to the just three for the Gophers over the last three series. UMD's series sweep of Minnesota on Feb. 5-6 provided a four-point swing in the Bulldogs favor, and UMD dropped just two points in their next four outings, while the Gophers managed just one until they beat Wisconsin Saturday night.
