The No. 5/6 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team offensively ignited for four, second period goals Saturday, propelling them to a 5-3 victory over Mercyhurst University inside the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa.
The Bulldogs picked up the season-opening sweep behind a balanced offensive attack that landed 11 players with at least a point, and a two point effort from junior defenseman Ida Karlsson, who had a goal and an assist on the afternoon.
"Really proud of our team today," said UMD head coach Laura Schuler post skate. "It was another tough game, but our players showed a ton of fight—coming back twice and staying locked in. They responded to feedback immediately, and you could see the difference on the ice. We kept getting better as the game went on, and it's awesome to see multiple players getting on the scoresheet again. That kind of team effort makes all the difference."
Like Friday night, the Bulldogs were held scoreless in the first period, but the Lakers managed to get on the board late in the period on a rebound goal from Sofia Nuutinen at 19:17.
It took just 1:02 into the second period for UMD to pull even on a short side goal from rookie forward Rae Mayer, a blocker side blow to Laker goaltender Magdalena Luggin. Mayer's first collegiate goal was followed just over six minutes later by Grace Sadura's first tally of the year. The junior alternate captain took a feed in the slot from Molly Cole and sniped it to put the Bulldogs on top 2-1.
But 40 seconds later, Mercyhurst equalized on a goal by Julia Perjus, and then Perjust struck again on the power play at 13:40 to push the Lakers back ahead of the Bulldogs 3-2.
At the 15:03 mark, former Mercyhurst forward and current UMD senior forward Thea Johansson grabbed a puck off the boards and beat Luggin short side to knot the skate up at 3-3. Three and half minutes later, Johansson's Swedish National Team teammate Ida Karlsson one-timed a loose puck to the left of Luggin into the twine for what would be the eventual game-winner for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Caitlin Kraemer added her second goal of the series for good measure, a back post rebound at 8:40 of the third period that made it a 5-3 hill for Mercyhurst, and one that the Lakers couldn't offensively climb.
Overall, Kraemer and sophomore Josie St. Martin led all Bulldogs on the weekend with three points – Kraemer on two goals and an assist, and St. Martin with a goal and two assists (including one Saturday.) For a second-straight game, UMD had completely different goal scorers (five Saturday, four Friday) and a balanced offensive effort across the roster.
In goal, Eve Gascon earned her second win of the season and 27th of her career. The junior netminder made 22 saves, while Luggin had another outstanding game with 28 stops for Mercyhurst. UMD again outshot the Lakers 33-25, but Mercyhurst landed the only power play of the game, going 1-of-4 in the game while the Bulldogs were scoreless in two attempts. The Lakers (0-2-0) did lead on blocked shots in the outing with a whopping 19 to UMD's four.
The Bulldogs (2-0-0) will face another Atlantic Hockey America opponent on the road in Syracuse University next Thursday and Friday in the Tennity Ice Pavillion in Syracuse, NY. The series will get underway at 6:00 p.m. CDT Thursday.
BULLDOG NOTES: UMD is now 18-2-2 on opening weekends over the past decade (dating back to 2015-16) and 4-0 in season opening series in the Laura Schuler era … sophomore Caitlin Kraemer has now recorded four goals and two assists for six points in season series openers in her young career … junior goaltender Eve Gascon is also 5-0 in five opening weekend starts in three seasons … UMD's balanced scoring attack on the weekend allowed 12 players to register points already on the season, including three first-ever Bulldog points Saturday by Thea Johansson (1g), Kate Kosobud (1a) and Krista Parkkonen (1a).
