The No. 5/6 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team moved to 4-0 on the young season Friday after shutting out Syracuse University 4-0 inside the Tennity Ice Pavilion in Syracuse, NY.
The Bulldogs got another shutout from junior goaltender Eve Gascon, who moves into a tie for fifth all-time in career shutouts with her second of the season and 13th of her career. Senior forward Thea Johannson scored twice for UMD, while rookie Molly Cole and sophomore center Caitlin Kraemer also added goals.
"That was another hard-fought win for us, credit to Syracuse — their goalie played another outstanding game and really made us earn everything. I'm really proud of our group," said UMD head coach
Laura Schuler who is now 4-0 with the Bulldogs all-time against the Orange. "We stayed course, stuck to our game plan, and finally got a few bounces our way in the third. Ève was rock solid again and earned another shutout, which speaks volumes about her consistency. It was also great to see
Molly Cole,
Caitlin Kraemer, and
Thea Johansson all find the back of the net for the second straight night. There's still plenty for us to build on, but to finish a 10-day road trip with four straight wins is a great step forward for our team."
It was Cole that gave the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish, burying a feed in the slot from Zoey Krock for the lead at 14:46 of the second period. Cole's second goal of the season was the lone tally by either side for the first 40 minutes.
But the Bulldogs found their way to the twine in the third, and it began with a snipe from Caitlin Kraemer from the right circle at the 9:26 mark. Kraemer took a feed off the boards from Madison Burr in the neutral zone that came from a stretch pass from Ashley Messier in front of the UMD net, and the Waterloo, Ontario native did the rest, putting UMD up 2-0 on her fourth goal in as many games.
Johannson then scored two goals 57 seconds apart, the first a one-time shot off her own rebound from the extended goal line that beat SU's Ava Drabyk at 16:54. The Swedish forward then intercepted the puck at the red line and buried an empty net goal for her third goal of the series to ice the game for UMD at 4-0.
Gascon made 13 saves in the game, and the Bulldogs were again perfect on their penalty kill, keeping the Orange scoreless in four attempts. UMD had a 38-13 shot on goal advantage in the contest, while Drabyk had 34 stops on the evening for Syracuse, who falls to 0-2-0 on the season.
The Bulldogs opened their 10-day road trip out East a perfect 4-0 in non conference play. UMD will take next weekend off from outside competition before heading to Madison, Wis. to battle the top-ranked University of Wisconsin Oct. 10-11.
BULLDOG NOTES: Caitlin Kraemer has now scored at least a goal in each of UMD's first four games … the sophomore has six points (4g, 2a) in four outings … Thea Johansson has logged four goals in her last three skates and is tied with Kraemer for the team lead in goals … Eve Gascon is now tied for fifth all-time in career shutouts with Olympian Maddie Rooney … both Gascon and Rooney each have 13 career shutouts … Gascon is three shutouts from the fourth spot currently held by goaltending great Kim Martin with 16 … the Bulldogs are off to their best start since the 2022-23 season where UMD went 6-0 out of the gate … UMD held the Orange scoreless in 10 penalty kill attempts in the series and has now allowed just one power play goal by its foes in 21 attempts … UMD is averaging 4.25 goals a game while allowing just 1.50 … 10 players have recorded three or more points in the first four games for the Bulldogs ... All-time, UMD is now 4-0 against Syracuse ... the Bulldogs swept the Orange in Duluth, Minn. in January.
