The highly anticipated showdown between the No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth and the No. 2/3 University of Minnesota Friday turned out to be exactly what was billed.

While the defending NCAA champion Gophers managed to hold off the Bulldogs 4-3 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., UMD matched Minnesota every skate of the way.  Both teams cashed in on their power play to score two goals — the Bulldogs went 2-of-5, while the Gophers were 2-of-6.

UMD's first goal of the game was an even strength tally, the first of rookie Sydney Brodt's career.  Brodt's goal at 4:25 of the first period put the Bulldogs on top until Minnesota scored a power play goal at 12:09.  The Gophers took over the lead with 3:13 remaining in the opening stanza, a 2-on-1 that beat UMD goaltender Maddie Rooney over her right shoulder.

The second period brought a flurry of power play goals, starting with Jalyn Elmes' second goal of the season 8:41 into the second period.  After Elmes drew the game even at 2-2, Minnesota's Sarah Potomak again attempted to pull away less than two minutes later with the Gopher's third goal.  But the Bulldog power play again proved why its currently ranked third in the nation, and senior forward Ashleigh Brykaliuk netted her fifth goal of the season to set the score at 3-3.

After an even shots on goal in the first period (7-7) and a slight advantage for the Bulldogs in the second (12-11), Minnesota finally broke through at 13:20 in the third period on Sarah Potomak's second goal of the night. UMD had one final power play with 1:48 remaining in the game, but the Gophers found a way to keep the NCAA's second-highest scoring team under its four-goal a game average for the first time in four games.

Rooney made 32 saves for UMD, while her counterpart in net for Minnesota,  Sidney Peters, had 20.

The Bulldogs (3-1-1, 2-1-0) and Gophers (4-1-0, 2-1-0) will drop the puck again tomorrow afternoon at 4:07 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES:  Leading scorer senior forward Lara Stalder stretched her scoring streak to five-games with an assist Friday night … tied for second in the NCAA with a 2.00 points per game average, Stalder has netted four goals and added six assists for 10 points in her first five games … Katherine McGovern is also on a five-game scoring streak … the senior forward has compiled three goals and four assists for seven points over that span.