Friday, January 18, 2013

DULUTH, Minn. (AMSOIL Arena) – The Bemidji State University women’s hockey team was unable to dig out of an early hole en route to a 3-0 loss on the road against Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) rival University of Minnesota Duluth Friday Night at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. With the loss, the Bemidji State falls to 5-16-2 with a 4-14-1-0 mark in league play.

The Bulldogs have now taken the first three games of the season series after the teams split four games last year. UMD now leads 55-3-2 in the all-time series.

Minnesota Duluth controlled play toward the beginning of regulation and jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 5:01. Moments after Emily Erickson (Sr., F, Coleraine, Minn.) sped past UMD defender Tea Villila and was stopped on a breakaway, the Bulldogs broke the puck out the other way and took a 1-0 lead soon after when Kaya Vafina found Gillanders at the top of the crease for a one-timer goal.

The Bulldogs’ Jessica Wong hit the post on the next shift and Jenna McParland just missed a rebound in tight minutes later to keep the score 1-0 after 20 minutes. Rachael Kelly (So., F, Rosemount, Minn.) dangled around two Minnesota Duluth defenders and drew a hooking penalty before she got get a shot off, but the Beavers could not capitalize on the ensuing power play, which carried over into the second period.

Erickson rang a shot of the pipe at the tail end of the advantage and Sadie Lundquist (Sr., F, Cloquet, Minn.) drew another Bulldog penalty, but BSU came up empty again. After Tess Dusik (Jr., D/F, Oak Bluff, Manitoba) was whistled for hooking, UMD cushioned its lead when Jamie Kenyon took the puck all the way up the ice and finished the play with a backhanded wrap around goal.

The Bulldogs went ahead by three toward the end of the middle stanza when Pernilla Winberg finished off a three-on-one rush with her seventh goal of the season. The 3-0 score held into the second intermission, at which point UMD held a 20-12 edge in shots on goal. Minnesota Duluth netminder Kayla Black came up big on BSU’s best chance of the period, sprawling across the crease to deny an Abby Williams (Sr., F, Alexandria, Minn.) bid in front.

In the third period, Kenyon and Erickson each hit posts in the early going, but neither team could change the score. 

Bemidji State goaltender Abby Ryplanski finished the night with 25 saves in her first start since Jan. 4 against St. Cloud State while freshman Black earned her fourth career shutout with 15 saves to help UMD extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.

Saturday night at 7:07, BSU and Minnesota Duluth wrap up their two-game series in Duluth. After taking next week off, the Beavers will host Ohio State University at the Sanford Center to kick off the month of February.

For more information on the Bemidji State University women’s hockey program follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BeaverWoHockey or @BSUBeavers), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers), or sign up for the TXTUpdates from BSUBeavers.com text-messaging system through the "Mulitmedia" pull down menu on the main page of BSUBeavers.com.

Nestled in Northern Minnesota’s wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--bsu--