UMD Women Sweep Harvard

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

If good teams find a way to win, then the University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team might just be pretty darn good.

For a second-straight game, the No. 4/3 Bulldogs found a way to rally the scoreboard with a 2-1 overtime defeat of Harvard University at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass Saturday.  The dramatic win not only sends UMD to 10-3-3 overall, but puts second-year head coach Maura Crowell over the .500 mark with a 25-24-4 record.

The Bulldogs shelled Crimson goaltender Molly Tissenbaum all game long, putting up 24 shots on goal to Harvard’s nine in the first two periods alone.  But after a scoreless first 40 minutes, it was the Crimson that broke the stalemate on Audrey Warner’s tip 8:57 into the third period.

It appeared the Bulldogs might be forced into an upset despite outshooting Harvard 14-7 in the final stanza, but any upset bid was thwarted by Lara Stalder, who dug the puck out behind the extended goal line and fed Ashleigh Brykaliuk in front of the post. Brykaliuk’s one-time redirection beat Tissenbaum with just 1:17 remaining in regulation, and sent the Bulldogs into their fifth overtime contest of the year.

From there, it was all UMD, and after 1:51 of extra time, senior defenseman Sidney Morin wristed a shot from the point off another Stalder feed that found the lower corner and handed the Bulldogs a series sweep over Harvard.

Overall, UMD outshot the Crimson 41-16.  Bulldog net minder Maddie Rooney made 15 saves, while Tissenbaum turned away 39 for the Crimson, who fall to 1-8-0 on the season.

The Bulldogs will take their three-game winning streak back into Western Collegiate Hockey Association action next weekend when they travel to St. Cloud, Minn. to face St. Cloud State University.  Friday night’s game will start at 7:07 p.m., while Saturday’s puck will drop at 3:07 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES:  With two assists Saturday and three Friday night, Lara Stalder had five assists against Harvard, and figured in five-of-the-six goals UMD scored … Ashleigh Brykaliuk has now posted a point in her last seven games, with four goals and six assists for 10 points over that span … Sidney Morin has now scored two game-winning goals from the blueline this season and five over her career … UMD is now 12-5-1 all-time against Harvard, and 3-1 during the Maura Crowell era … The Bulldogs are 33-11-4 against ECAC opponents in program history.

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