MINNEAPOLIS — Senior Milica McMillen had three assists Friday night, giving her 101 points as a Gopher, as Minnesota came from two goals down to defeat visiting Minnesota-Duluth 5-2.
“She’s a player that just has so much offensive talent,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said.
McMillen is the sixth Minnesota blue liner to hit the century mark.
“I feel pretty honored,” McMillen said. “There have been some great defensemen that came through the program. I remember watching a lot of them play and thinking how amazing they were. It’s pretty cool just to be up there with them.”
Sophomore Kelly Pannek also had a three-point night for Minnesota (7-0-0, 5-0-0-0 WCHA) on two goals and an assist.
The Bulldogs (4-5-0, 2-3-0-0 WCHA) gave Minnesota all it could handle for 40 minutes, before the hosts pulled away in the third period.
“I like the fight in my team,” UMD coach Maura Crowell said.
A big part of that was the play of its freshman goaltender, Maddie Rooney, who stopped 43 of the 47 shots she faced.
“I think Maddie Rooney played really, really well,” Crowell said. “She kept us in the game. We just need to clean up some areas.”
Dani Cameranesi deflected in a McMillen shot on a power play 51 seconds into the final stanza to give the Gophers their first lead of the night. Sara Potomak provided an insurance goal at the five-minute mark, and Cara Piazza sealed the win into an empty net.
UMD capitalized on both of its power-play opportunities of the contest to claim a 2-0 lead 6:32 into the second period.
“Need our PK to be a little better, but was happy with our discipline after we gave up those first two goals to not get down a man again,” Frost said.
A blocked shot bounced to Ashleigh Brykaliuk, and she picked a top corner on the Bulldogs’ first shot on goal. Lara Stalder doubled the lead when she took a pass from Brykaliuk, carried to the net front, and slid the puck around Amanda Leveille with 6:32 gone in the second period.
“There were a lot of good moments for us as a team to get a two-goal lead against the No. 1 team in the country is really good,” Crowell said. “I think our power play was very good. There were a lot of bright spots.
Minnesota climbed back on a pair of goals from Kelly Pannek. She redirected a Megan Wolfe shot at 13:50. Pannek converted a power-play rebound three minutes later.
The Gophers trailed after one period despite outshooting UMD 18-7 in the opening frame.
“I think about eight to 10 of them were right to her glove,” Frost said. “We talked a lot about taking her eyes away and just getting stuff on her pads, creating some chaos there, and seeing if we couldn’t bang a couple rebounds home.”
Minnesota enjoyed a 22-2 bulge in shots in the middle period.
“I think there were a lot of bodies in front, and we can do a better job of clearing bodies and sticks,” Crowell said. “
