Minnesota Duluth powers its way to sweep over Bemidji State
Oct. 28—BEMIDJI — Minnesota Duluth opted not to wait until the end of the third period to beat the Bemidji State women's hockey team on Saturday.
Abbie Thompson and the BSU defense held the Bulldogs scoreless for a little over 54 minutes on Friday night. A day later, UMD had better luck beating the Beavers' standout junior goaltender.
Clara Van Wieren scored on a one-timer from the slot on Minnesota Duluth's second power play late in the first period. Then Olivia Wallin made it 2-0 on an odd-player rush. Her initial close-side shot from the right faceoff circle trickled through Thompson's equipment to the far-side post. Wallin followed her rebound around the back of the net and put it home to double the lead.
Bemidji State went on the power play with 3:19 left in the first period. However, the 5-on-4 advantage turned into a 2-on-1 rush when UMD's Gabby Krause left the penalty box. She picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and juked BSU's Calli Forsberg before sliding a pass to Mannon McMahon for her fifth goal this season.
"It was a tough start getting down 3-0 against a good team that we know has really good goaltending," BSU head coach Jim Scanlan said. "Combine that with our struggles to put the puck in the back of the net, and it gets pretty steep."
Minnesota Duluth added three more goals in the second period. Jenna Lawry got a friendly bounce off a BSU body in front of the net 7:21 into the frame.
McMahon later connected with Van Wieren on a 2-on-0 chance before Danielle Brunette scored the first goal of her career to put the Bulldogs ahead 6-0 with just under eight minutes remaining in the second period.
Thompson was subbed out for freshman Eva Filippova, who made 14 saves in a period and a half.
"I wanted her to know that it wasn't her fault," Scanlan said of his message to Thompson. "She played so well yesterday, and it's not easy when you're in your crouch that long all the time. You're going to get a little fatigued. She might've been more mentally fatigued than physically. At that point, it was a good opportunity for Eva to get in there."
Scanlan was also looking for more of an offensive impact from his second, third and fourth lines. BSU generated 10 shots on goal in 21 attempts in the third period, most of which came from depth forwards.
"I thought Geno (Hendrickson's) line was really good," Scanlan said. "(Shelby) Sandberg and (Mya) Headrick had a couple of positive shifts. Raeley Carney's line did the same. I thought (Mckayla Zilisch's) line had some quality looks. Again, nothing to show for it, but you have to try to get an opportunity.
"We're just going to keep getting better. We may have plateaued a little bit this week, but Monday is another opportunity to take a step towards getting better as a team."
Bemidji State held its Organ Donation Awareness promotion on Saturday at the Sanford Center. It's a campaign that was started by junior defenseman Kendra Fotin last season. Her dad, Cory, was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure before receiving a kidney transplant in June of 2021.
"It's outstanding, and it's just the type of person that she is," Scanlan said of Fortin. "We have a locker room full of people like that. She's very passionate about it. When I first met her dad, his health was a concern. ... She's very, very passionate about (the cause), and it's tremendous to see our athletes get involved like that."
Minnesota Duluth 6, Bemidji State 0
UMD 3 3 0 — 6
BSU 0 0 0 — 0
First period — UMD GOAL: Van Wieren (Jobst-Smith, McMahon) PP, 15:14; UMD GOAL: Wallin (O'Brien, Davis) 16:24; UMD GOAL: McMahon (Krause) 18:51.
Second period — UMD GOAL: Lawry (Hunt) 7:21; UMD GOAL: Van Wieren (McMahon, Henderson) 10:41; UMD GOAL; Brunette (Halloway, Sadura) 12:02.
Third period — No scoring.
Saves — Thompson (BSU) 16; Filippova (BSU) 14; Gascon (UMD) 21.
