Freshman Sarah Potomak shook off the effects of a first-period collision and set up two of Minnesota’s goals in the Gophers’ 3-1 win over Ohio State.
Midway through the first period when a knee-on-knee hit left her crumpled on the ice, the odds of her skating another shift, let alone emerging as the game’s No. 1 star, didn’t look good.
“When I got hit with my knee, I couldn’t really feel it,” Potomak said. “I think I was more scared than anything. I got it looked at, and it’s all good. I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
Minnesota (16-3-0, 12-3-0-0 WCHA) was playing its first game after the holiday break, while Ohio State was coming off a series split versus Penn State.
“It’s always different practicing than it is playing a game,” Potomak said. “For a first game back after almost a month break, I thought we played pretty well.”
The Buckeyes (7-14-0, 3-12-0-0 WCHA) were much more competitive than they were in October when they dropped a series on home ice to the Gophers by a composite score of 18-4.
“I thought they came together and did a lot of great things tonight,” OSU coach Jenny Potter said. “Yeah, we’ve got to clean up a few areas as far as picking up people and working together and making some smarter choices, but I thought they made a lot of great choices and I thought they played extremely hard and played a very smart game overall.”
Julia McKinnon scored the Buckeyes lone goal when she held the puck on a two-on-one break and fired a snipe over goalie Amanda Leveille’s shoulder to cut Minnesota’s lead to 2-1.
Leveille, returning from playing for Canada in the Nations Cup, saved the other 18 OSU shots to get the win.
“I thought Amanda Leveille, coming back on just a night’s rest from Germany, was outstanding,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said.
Potomak helped seal the win when she fed Dani Cameranesi for an empty-net goal with just over a minute left.
“The defenseman was taking my shot away, so I just moved it over to Dani for the empty net,” Potomak said.
She combined with Kelly Pannek, her center for the game, on the game’s first goal.
“Kelly made a really nice pass to me, and I didn’t really have a shot,” Potomak said. “I knew she had a better chance to score, so I just tapped it back to her and she put it in the net.”
Taylor Williamson’s second goal of the season 4:36 into the middle period doubled the lead. Defenseman Sydney Baldwin earned one of her two helpers of the game on the play.
Alex LaMere prevented further damage with 25 saves.
“We had a ton of chances,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said. “Two cross bars, a post, and many other Grade-A chances. Their goaltender played really well.”
The series concludes Sunday at 2:07 p.m. CST in Minneapolis.
