In a game that mirrored the regular season between the University of Minnesota Duluth and the Bemidji State University women's hockey teams, the Beavers took round one.
The Beavers netted a power play goal midway through the third period to take the first game of the best-of-three Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series 2-1 at AMSOIL Arena. While the Bulldogs went 2-3 against BSU over the regular season, it marked just the third-ever win by a Beaver squad in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
"We were gripping our sticks a little tight and we were a little nervous in the first period, but then we settled in, " said head coach Maura Crowell. "The way we played in the second period is the way we need to play for 60 minutes. If we do that, we give ourselves a shot."
After a scoreless first period that favored BSU with a 10-5 shots on goal advantage, UMD's offense pushed back in the second period. The Bulldogs were rewarded for that effort when Anna Klein found a streaking Sydney Brodt on the far right boards. Brodt drove the net and ripped the finish low blocker side to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 14:05 into the stanza.
BSU equalized , however, at 17:26 in the second period on goal from Bailey Wright, and the game was a 1-1 draw into the second intermission.
The Beavers took advantage of a UMD team penalty — the only penalty of the game for the Bulldogs — at 6:50 of the third period. Emma Terres' blast from the point found twine, and UMD found themselves in a 2-1 hole at 7:13. The Bulldogs outshot the Beavers 13-9 in the final 20 minutes, but BSU's freshman goaltender Kerigan Dowhy made all 13 shots she faced and a total of 29 in the game.
Jessica Convery had 25 saves for the Bulldogs, who also outshot BSU 30-27 overall in the game. UMD, like BSU, had just one power play in the game, but its NCAA fifth-ranked power play was held scoreless for the first time in four games.
The Bulldogs and Beavers will battle again tomorrow at 2:07 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena in the second game of the best-of-three series.
