UMD Skates to 4-4 Tie

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

With all the admirable expectations the No. 10 University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team has on it, none were more pressing than the expectation that the Bulldogs would find a way to overcome the early scoring success of the University of Connecticut Friday night in Storrs, Connecticut.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first 14:38 of the game, UMD did just that and mounted a whopping three-goal comeback to earn a 4-4 overtime tie with the Huskies at the Mark Edward Frietas Arena to stay unbeaten all-time against UConn in seven meetings (6-0-1).

“They had three shots and three goals in the first period, and that tells the tale of the first period,” said head coach Shannon Miller after the game.  “Our team responded with great character to pull us out of the ditch.  To come back from 3-0 shows the making of a great team.”

UConn jumped onto the scoreboard with an early goal 29 seconds into the game.  The Huskies followed it with a score at the 11:42 mark and again at the 14:38 mark of the opening stanza, and just like that, the Bulldogs were trailing 3-0 in the first 20 seconds of the 2014-15 season.

That all changed when recent convert to center, sophomore Lara Stalder, netted UMD a power-play goal 11:31 into the second period.  Sophomore center Ashleigh Brykaliuk then reduced UConn’s lead to a single goal with a tally of her own with 2:52 remaining in the period, and the Bulldogs trailed 3-2 heading into the final intermission.

Eager to prove she belonged on the frontline, Stalder struck again with a blast from the blueline a mere 1:24 into the last stanza.  Stalder’s goal knotted the game at 3-3, and with 5:29 remaining in the third period, Brykaliuk hit paydirt with her second goal of the game and UMD’s first shorthanded tally of the ripe season.  Brykaliuk’s second goal gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game, but it only stood for 44 seconds, the result of a UConn power-play goal.  Despite the Bulldogs best effort, which included outshooting the Huskies 55-19 in regulation, overtime ensued.

UMD put three shots on goal in the extra five minutes to UConn’s single shot, but the 4-4 score held.

Junior netminder Kayla Black made 13 saves for the Bulldogs in 59:38 of work, while junior Karissa Grapp, who manned the pipes for the final 5:22 of the first period, made three stops.  The Huskies Elaine Chuli turned away 54 shots on the night, one shy of UConn’s record of 55 saves in a game.

Both teams will hit the ice to attempt to break the stalemate tomorrow afternoon, with game-time set for 3:00 p.m. ET.

BULLDOG NOTES:  UMD is now 13-3-1 all-time in season openers … Three Bulldogs had two point nights, with Jenna McParland dishing out two assists in addition to Stalder and Brykaliuk’s two-goal nights … With her two assists, McParland is sitting at 95 career points, five shy of joining UMD’s 100 point club.