With its fourth win in as many games, the No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team swept St. Cloud State University 3-2 Saturday afternoon in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action.
The Bulldogs spread the scoring around at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn., using three different goal scorers and a total of eight players on the scoresheet. The win is UMD's second series sweep in a row (it swept Harvard University last weekend) and puts the Bulldogs unbeaten in their last 11-of-12 games.
UMD has only lost once this season when its opponent has scored first, and the Bulldogs stuck to that successful script after the Huskies struck 5:55 in the opening stanza. Rookie Brooklynn Schugel knotted the game at 1-1 with 1:04 remaining (with assists credited to Sydney Brodt and Lara Stalder), the lone goal for the Bulldogs of the period, despite outshooting SCSU 12-3.
Ashleigh Brykaliuk delivered her team-leading 11th goal of the year on Stalder's second assist of skate at 8:40 of the second period. The Bulldogs extended their goal margin on Maria Lindh's tip of blueliner Sidney Morin's shot 2:23 later, and midway through the second period, UMD owned a commanding 3-1 lead and 22-6 shots on goal advantage.
The Huskies made it interesting with a goal at 7:58 in the third period by Lauren Hespenheide, but the Bulldogs, along with goaltender Maddie Rooney's 12 third period saves, held on for win No. 12 of the season.
Rooney finished the game with 17 saves, while Janine Alder made 25 for SCSU. The Huskies kept UMD scoreless in five power play attempts, but fall to 5-12-1 overall and 4-9-1 in the WCHA.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are now just two points out of second place in the WCHA standing behind the University of Wisconsin. UMD is 12-3-3 overall and 9-3-2 league play. The Bulldogs have 30 WCHA points, while the Badgers, who will face the University of Minnesota tomorrow afternoon in Madison, Wis., have 32 points.
UMD will wrap up its season-high three-week roadstand at Mankato, Minn., next Friday and Saturday when it takes on Minnesota State University-Mankato.
BULLDOG NOTES: Ashleigh Brykaliuk now has compiled six goals and six assists for 12 points over her last nine games … her career-high scoring streak is 11 games, set last season … Senior defenseman Sidney Morin is currently in the midst of her career- best scoring streak of five games … Morin has recorded two goals and three assists over that span … with her assist Saturday, Morin takes over with the ninth most career assists by a defenseman … Morin, who has a total of 58 career points, is just three points shy of cracking the top-10 points by a defenseman … Lara Stalder, on a four game, eight assist streak in her own right, has now registered eight games with two or more points.
