The top-ranked University of Minnesota defeated the No. 7/8 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team 5-1 in the first semifinal game of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Final Face-Off Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena. The Bulldogs, now 24-11-1, will wait to see where their postseason continues tomorrow night when the NCAA announces it's first-ever field of 11 for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
"Honestly not the game we wanted to play today," said UMD head coach Maura Crowell. "Our belief is there, credit the Gophers for playing a good game. We know we can play better, we all know that in our locker room, and hopefully we show that in the next week."
Minnesota book-ended the first period with a goal 51 seconds in and then at 19:48, a deflection that found its way past Jojo Chobak. The Gophers added one goal in the second period at 3:18, and opened the third period with a goal just 14 seconds into the frame.
UMD was chasing a 4-0 Minnesota advantage when its top-line finally broke through at 3:56 of the third period. From behind the net, Gabbie Hughes found Élizabeth at the top of the right circle and Giguère's blast it to make it a 4-1 semifinal.
UMD pushed the rest of the third, but Lauren Bench and Minnesota didn't concede any other goals to the Bulldogs. The Gophers added an empty net tally at 17:16 to run their lead, and eventual final score, to 5-1.
Chobak, making her first ever WCHA Final Face-Off start, had 34 saves for UMD. Bench had 21 for Minnesota, who outshot the Bulldogs 39-22 in the game. Both teams went 0-of-1 on their power plays.
"It's always tough losing, especially in a game you know you could have played a whole lot better," said Hughes. "Knowing that we didn't play like the team we know we are is frustrating, but it's also exciting to know that we can come back. We will get in some practices, and we're always a team that takes these things to heart and comes back so much stronger."
The Bulldogs will find out tomorrow night who and where they will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be featured live on ESPN.
BULLDOG NOTES: Elizabeth Giguere's goal was her 21st tally of the season and 56th point overall … Gabbie Hughes moves to 55 points with her assist (18g, 37a), while Anna Klein now has 47 points (19g, 28a) after she dished the secondary assist on Giguere's goal … UMD is now 4-9 all-time against Minnesota in the WCHA postseason and 8-11 in all WCHA semifinal games.
