DULUTH, Minn.<\/b> — Minnesota got scoring from all three lines in winning the first game of its weekend series versus Minnesota-Duluth by a 4-0 score.<\/p>\n
Gophers’ coach Brad Frost said it’s all about depth for the defending national champions this year.<\/p>\n
“That’s what makes us dangerous,” Frost said. “I don’t think we have a true first line. It’s kind of a different hero each night.” <\/p>\n
Four different players found the net and junior wing Meghan Lorence was the only player with a multi-point game, assisting on the first goal and scoring the second for the Gophers (5-0-0, 3-0-0-0 WCHA). <\/p>\n
“I think tonight was probably her best game as a Gopher, quite frankly,” Frost said.<\/p>\n
Minnesota has now won eight straight games in AMSOIL Arena, including the WCHA and NCAA championship games in 2012, Lorence’s rookie season.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had some good memories in this building,” Lorence said. “It’s always nice coming back here, which you don’t really hear that often going on the road.” <\/p>\n
Minnesota sophomore goaltender Amanda Leveille recorded 26 saves in earning her second straight shutout.<\/p>\n
Minnesota-Duluth goalie Kayla Black made 36 stops for the Bulldogs (2-2-1, 0-2-1-0 WCHA).<\/p>\n
“I thought Kayla had a good game, even though it was 4-0,” UMD coach Shannon Miller said. “I thought Kayla played well.”<\/p>\n
Senior Sarah Davis started the scoring for Minnesota from just outside the crease by converting a centering pass from Bethany Brausen 15 minutes into play.<\/p>\n
“I think it was Brausen and Lorence on the face off,” Davis said. “I just kind of stood there and managed to get a stick on it and it went in.” <\/p>\n
The scored stayed 1-0 until nine seconds into the third period when Lorence picked up a loose puck and her initial shot eluded Black.<\/p>\n
“I think it hit both pipes and then it landed right on my stick, which is very lucky for me,” Lorence said. “It was kind of a relief when it landed right on my stick [and] I knew I had to bury it home. Usually, the bounces don’t go our way, but luckily, I buried that one.” <\/p>\n
There was a delay of several minutes after the play as referee David Spivey injured his shoulder and had to leave the game. <\/p>\n
The Gophers upped the lead to three goals with 9:16 remaining. Freshman Dani Cameranesi got her stick on a Rachel Ramsey shot and deflected into the net for her first collegiate goal. Rookie defenseman Megan Wolfe got her first point at Minnesota on the play.<\/p>\n
Rachael Bona made it 4-0 with a shot under the bar from the slot for her team-leading fifth goal.<\/p>\n
“We played well,” Miller said. “We did make some mistakes. We backed off on our forecheck when we really needed to step up and keep the heat on.” <\/p>\n
The Davis line got the first two crucial goals to gain a lead and expand it.<\/p>\n
“I think the strongest point for our line is we’re always kind of buzzing the other team,” Lorence said. “We just kind of get under their skin a little bit. If we use that to our advantage, it’s bound to pay off. Luckily, we were playing together last year, so that’s a big advantage for us just to have the chemistry going.” <\/p>\n
That unit has come up big before, including the overtime game winner in the team’s national semifinal win over Boston College last spring. <\/p>\n
“People think we’re not really a goal-scoring line,” Davis said. “We’re kind of like the hard-working, backcheck, forecheck and get off the ice, but we wanted to make a statement this weekend that we can contribute as well and I think we did that.” <\/p>\n
After being outshot 27-13 over the first 40 minutes, UMD stayed even with the guests with 13 shots apiece in the last period despite being outscored by three in that frame. <\/p>\n
Each team was unsuccessful on both of its power-play opportunities. <\/p>\n
“There’s no panic,” Miller said. “We played well tonight.”<\/p>\n
The series concludes with a 6:07 p.m. CST game on Saturday.<\/p>\n
“UMD always has a good program,” Davis said. “We know that they’re very well-coached. We expect the best from them every time we’re out here. They have some very skilled players, so we just got to be aware of them.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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