Behind a balanced scoring attack and a flawless defensive effort, the No. ? University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team earned its third-straight win of the season against Syracuse University 4-0 in inside Tennity Ice Pavilion in Syracuse, NY.
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"That was another solid win for our group," said UMD head coach Laura Schuler. "There were a lot of positives to take away, and also some areas we know we can continue to grow in. I thought our special teams were strong—going 50% on the power play and 100% on the penalty kill is something we're proud of. Syracuse pushed us hard in the first two periods, and Ève had to come up big with some key saves. It was great to see her earn the shutout."
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The Bulldogs wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, and after scoring UMD's last goals in each of their games against Mercyhurst College, Caitlin Kraemer notched the first goal of the game Thursday night. The sophomore forward skated all three lines before ripping a wrist shot past Orange goaltender Ava Drabyk 27 seconds into the contest for the early 1-0 lead. Kraemer's goal was assisted by linemate Danielle Burgen, her second assist of the season and graduate defenseman Ashley Messier – her first point as a Bulldog.
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UMD tacked on a second goal – and its first of two power play tallies – midway through the second frame when Kraemer intentionally banked the puck off the pads of Drabyk to a waiting Thea Johansson on the far post. Johansson one-timed it from the backside from her knee to double the Bulldogs lead and net her second goal in as many games in maroon.
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The Bulldogs' third goal came as it killed off one of six penalties, and it started off a blocked shot from Mary Kate O'Brien in the defensive zone. O'Brien left the puck to defenseman Ashley Messier, whose long feed hit Josie St. Martin in stride out of the penalty box to put UMD up 3-0 5:03 into the third period.
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In a game loaded with UMD highlight reel goals, freshman forward Rae Mayer arguably netted the goal of the young season at 15:05 on the power play. Mayer took a cross ice pass from Madison Burr from the neutral zone, went backhand through a trio of Syracuse defenders, back to her forehand and again to her backhand and past Drabyk for her second goal in two games.Â
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"Kraemer was outstanding tonight—she got us on the board early and was a 200 foot force for us from start to finish," said Schuler about her super sophomore. "We scored some really nice goals on the power play—Thea Johansson finished off a great backdoor play on an intentional feed from Kraemer, and Rae Mayer buried a transition breakaway off a great read in the neutral zone. Josie St. Martin also capitalized on a breakaway at the end of a big penalty kill. We've got a young group, but I thought we got stronger as the game went on. That's a big part of our identity—growing, competing, and finding ways to get better each time we hit the ice."
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The Bulldogs offense was so dazzling Thursday night that its defense might have been overlooked at first glance, but UMD went a perfect 6-of-6 on its penalty kill en route to helping Gascon secure her first shutout of the season and 12th of her collegiate career. The junior netminder made 33 saves in the clean sheet effort, and moved into sixth place alone all-time for career shutouts at UMD. The Bulldogs outshot the Orange 48-33 overall – Drabyk had 44 stops for Syracuse, who fell to 0-1-0 in its season opener.
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The Bulldogs (3-0-0) will wrap up the series and a 10-day road trip tomorrow against Syracuse. The puck is scheduled to drop at 5:00 p.m. CDT.
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BULLDOG NOTES: UMD moves to 3-0 to start a season for the second-consecutive season… the Bulldogs are averaging a blistering 44.0 shots per game … UMD has had different scorers in every game - no player has scored multiple goals in a game … four players are on three-game scoring streaks: Caitlin Kraemer (3g, 2a), Josie St. Martin (2g, 2a), Rae Mayer (2g, 1a), and Danielle Burgen (1g, 2a) … Eve Gascon breaks a tie with goaltending great Jennifer Harss, who is now seventh all-time for career shutouts … Gascon trails Maddie Rooney by a single shutout (13) in fifth place.
