Box Score What a difference a day makes.

The No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team gave the No. 2 University of Minnesota everything it could handle Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., holding the nation's second-leading scoring team to just one goal and an empty netter for the 2-0 final.  Despite the loss, UMD still currently owns home playoff ice in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.  The Bulldogs, 17-10-5 overall and 12-10-4-2 in  league play, own 42 points -- one point ahead of Bemidji State University in fifth place with two league games remaining.

"Today we showed up and played our game with confidence," said head coach Shannon Miller.  "From our goaltender, to our defensemen, all the way to our forwards, it was an excellent performance and complete game by our team."

The Bulldogs outshot the Gophers 12-6 in the opening period, and senior blueliner Brigette Lacquette's shot with seven minutes left in the stanza clanked off the pipe as a testament to UMD's offensive pressure early on.

After two scoreless periods packed with fast paced hockey, Minnesota finally snuck on the board 2:15 into the third stanza on a goal from Dani Cameranesi.  The Bulldogs pushed back but simply could not get the puck past Amanda Leveille, who turned away all 19 shots UMD put on her net.  Minnesota tacked on its second goal on an empty net late in the third with junior goaltender Kayla Black on the bench.  Black made 25 saves in the skate, and the Gophers outshot UMD 27-19 overall.  Both team's were held scoreless on the power play, -- UMD on just one attempt, and the Gophers, who have the most successful power play in the nation, were held without a goal on two attempts.  Laquette and Ashleigh Brykaliuk each led UMD with three shots.

"Obviously we need to score to win games," said Miller.  "We are clearly snake bitten in that department right now.  But that doesn't mean we are not playing well, because we are.  Last six games have come against highly ranked opponents -- 1-0 loss to North Dakota, a tie with Wisconsin, today a 1-0 game untitl the empty netter.  But we have to be consistent, because there are two bad games with those four good ones."

Miller and the Bulldogs will close out the regular season next weekend at home with Ohio State in a series that will determine UMD's WCHA playoff fate.  The Friday-Sunday series will get underway at 6:07 p.m. Friday night before wrapping up Sunday with a 12:07 p.m.