U women’s hockey: Shot dominance matters little
Posted on October 3rd, 2008 – 11:15 PMBy Roman Augustoviz
Senior goalies started for both the Gophers and Robert Morris in a women’s hockey season opener Friday at Ridder Arena.
One goalie had a tough night, one was sensational.
Unfortunately for Brad Frost, making his debut as Gophers head coach, he was the one who had to switch goalies. Frost was the interim coach last season.
Robert Morris, a fourth-year program out of Pittsburgh, upset the Gophers, rated No. 3 in the preseason national polls, 3-2 after taking a 3-0 lead early in the second period.
The Gophers outshot the Colonials 65-10, including 24-1 in the third period.
Robert Morris goalie Brianne McLaughlin, an all-CHA first-team pick last season when she had a 2.82 goals-against average, tied a career-high with 63 saves.
“I got so tired,” McLaughlin said. “They kept getting those power plays [but] I play a lot better when I see a lot of shots.”
Robert Morris took a 1-0 lead on Morgan Beikirch’s power-play goal over goalie Kim Hanlon’s right shoulder at 8 minutes, 2 seconds of the opening period. Teammate Brianna Delaney stuffed the puck underneath Hanlon’s pads at 17:46 to make it 2-0 after one period.
The Colonials’ second power play goal, by Jacki Gibson at 5:47 of the second period, made it 3-0. At that point, Frost replaced Hanlon with sophomore Jenny Lura.
Hanlon had four saves in 25:47. Lura, who did not give up another goal in her relief role, stopped two shots in the second period and one in the third.
The Gophers tried to come back. A minute after Gibson’s goal in the second period, freshmen defensemen Anne Schleper of Minnesota answered to make it 3-1. She scored on a power play by beating McLaughlin high from close range.
McLaughlin then resumed her imitation of a brick wall. It was still 3-1 with 1:50 to play when Robert Morris sophomore Maria Stoa — the sister of Gophers captain Ryan Stoa — was called for hooking.
Frost called a timeout, then pulled Lura, so it was six skaters against four and the strategy worked.
Emily West, a sophomore wing, got Minnesota’s second goal on a rebound with 1:05 left in the third period. She scored top shelf on a rebound.
With 41.1 seconds left, there was a pileup in the crease with McLaughlin somewhere in the middle. Some of the Gophers acted as if they had scored, but the official behind the net signalled no goal.
Then, perhaps just to be sure, she went to watch a replay. Again, her signal was no goal.
“I didn’t think they would call it [a goal],” McLaughlin said. “They were pushing around for a while.”
The game ended with freshman wing Monique Lamoureux getting a long, last-second shot blocked by a Colonials player. She alone had 11 shots on goal, or one more than Robert Morris.
“We’ve never had a win against a team of this ranking,” Robert Morris coach Nate Handrahan said. “They’re a great, great team. We had a win last year against a ranked team in Wayne State when they were No. 10 in the country. We played Mercyhurst hard. We see them all the time in our league [College Hockey America].
“To come out here, on another team’s ice surface as storied as Minnesota, it’s a great win. It is huge.”
Handrahan said his team stayed poised under a lot of pressure. “Early in the first period, when we had two 5-on-3s, we could have wilted,” he said, “but that’s the luxury of having 10 seniors on your roster to be able to kind of settle everyone down a little bit. And we capitalized on our opportunties.”
As for McLaughlin, Handrahan said she has seen a lot of shots, especially in her first two seasons when the Colonials’ program was so new. “So it’s not like she hasn’t see this in the past, but she has come so far,” he said. “I’m proud of her and she is a great kid. That is the best part about her, she is a fantastic human being.”
Handrahan expected the Gophers to throw everything possible at his team in the third period: “And they did. We gave up one but it’s nice to have a two-goal cushion to be able to fall back on.”
“We had 65 shots on net, so you can’t argue with that,” Gophers defenseman and cocaptain Melanie Gagnon said. “It was just a matter of, she saw every shot. So we have to get a little more traffic and we have to get to the backdoor.
“She kicked out some juicy rebounds, we were just a little too low to get them,” said Gagnon, meaning too close to the Colonials’ net.
Minnesota outshot Robert Morris 24-1 in the final period. “We were just focusing on freezing the puck as much as we could, slowing it down,” McLaughlin said, “and getting it out of our zone.”
Then she laughed in relief, it seemed.
“[The Gophers] are fast,” McLaughlin said. “They are a really good team. They pass the puck really well. You can tell they have been playing together for a while.
“My defense played really well, they made it easy for me. They kept the shots out far. That helps a lot. They cleared the rebounds.”
The Gophers’ record for shots in one game is 72, set Feb. 13, 1999 in a 10-0 rout over Augsburg College. This is Minnesota’s first loss in 12 season openers.
The two teams meet again at 7:07 tonight [Saturday]. “We do need to play better [tonight],” Handrahan said, “because I am sure [the Gophers] will be revved up to play.”
THE OTHER STOA
Gophers captain Ryan Stoa was at Friday’s game, obviously watch his younger sister, Maria, much of the time.
She had one shot on goal and one penalty, but was a plus-one. Her coach also seems to be fond of her.
“[Maria] is a great kid,” Handrahan said. “She is great for our lockerroom. She is a good player that helps improve and play well in a day in and day out basis. She loves the game and we are proud to have her.”
ATTITUDE TWEAK NEEDED?
Gophers defenseman Anne Schleper, a freshman from St. Cloud Cathedral, scored her first goal but talked more about the loss after the game.
“It’s always hard,” she said. “No one likes losing. I think [tonight] we have to come more with an attitude of getting it done. Personally, I have my own goals that I set before every game. It’s just having the same attitude as everyone else and being on the same page.”
