The No. 5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey returned to full strength Friday night, and the result was a 3-1 win over the No. 15 University of St. Thomas inside the Tommie Iceplex in in St. Paul, Minn.
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After a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs needed just 78 seconds apart to build a quick 2-0 lead. Senior defenseman Tova Henderson got the scoring going, shoveling the puck in from the crease, and a little over a minute later, Grace Sadura finished off an odd man rush with Molly Cole two extend UMD's lead to 2-0 at the 7:10 mark.
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The Tommies finally got on the board midway through the third period on a power play goal from Rylee Bartz, but the Bulldogs answered just over two minutes later in the form of a Caitlin Kraemer's ninth goal in 10 games, a snipe from the circle to move UMD up 3-1.
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Eve Gascon had 33 saves for the Bulldogs, who were outshot by UST 34-30. Julia Minotti had 27 saves for the Tommies, who fall to 8-7-0 and 3-6-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
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The Bulldogs (9-4-0, 5-4-0) will play for the series sweep tomorrow in St. Paul. The puck is set to drop at 2:00 p.m.
BULLDOG NOTES: Thea Johansson's assist on UMD's first goal extended her current scoring streak to four games … the senior forward has six points on three goals and three assists over her last four games ... rookie forward
Rae Mayer is also on a four-game scoring streak ... Mayer has two goals and two assists for four points over that four game span.
