After a 3-2 loss Friday night, the Fighting Sioux women's hockey team came out Saturday and pumped 53 shots on Senior University of Maine goaltender Genvieve Turgeon, en route to a convincing 7-3 win. 7 different players scored for the Sioux providing a well balanced attack. Leading the charge was Senior Assistant Captain Melissa Jaques who had 1 assist Friday and 1 goal and 3 assists Saturday for a 5 point weekend. Freshmen forward Sara Dagenais notched her first collegiate goal Friday only to follow up on Saturday scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists for a 4 point weekend. Senior Assistant Captain Randi Motsko scored 2 goals in Saturdays' win. Freshmen goaltender Stephanie Ney recorded her first collegiate win Saturday with a 16 save performance.
To lose a game when you dominate your opponent is a tough pill to swallow. Friday night the Sioux took a heavy dose of Genvieve Turgeon and her stellar 46 save performance allowed Maine to steal the first game of the 2-game series with a 3-2 win. UND dominated play allowing only 9 shots on net during 5 on 5 play. Sophomore Defenseman Kelly Lewis scored her first of the season on the powerplay in the second period cutting Maine's lead to 2-1. Maine would go up 3-1 with a powerplay goal of their own about 7 minutes later. In the 3rd period with just under two minutes remaining, Sara Dagenais cut the lead to 3-2 off of a great 2 on 1 play with linemate Melissa Jaques. This would set the stage for a furious finish. However, Turgeon was at her best when it counted most. With a 6 on 4 man advantage, UND Freshmen forward Margot Miller was left scratching her head after 3 point-blank scoring attempts all stopped by Turgeon. The best of which came when Miller picked up a loose puck off a faceoff in Maine's defensive zone and ripped a low-hard wrist shot labled for the lower right corner only to have Turgeon flash her pad to make the save through heavy traffic in front.
Saturday, UND controled play from start to finish just as it had Friday. Only this time, UND's offensive attack was just too much for Maine or Turgeon to handle. UND had a 41-13 shot advantage after 2 periods and a 5-2 lead. All lines seemed to be clicking and getting their chances. The Miller-Jaques-Dagenais line combo was dominating; they combined for 8 points and some highlight reel goals. The Motsko-Williams-Hanson combo wasn't too shabby either, combining for 3 goals and 1 assist. So what was the difference? The biggest adjustment from Friday was they made life miserable for Turgeon with a lot of net-front traffic and screens which took her out of her rythem and ability to see shot cleanly.
All in all it was a strong weekend for the Sioux. The freshmen got some very valuable ice time, 11 different players recorded points and they dominated a team for two full games. The loss Friday was a good lesson to learn early on in the year considering so many new faces on the team. The Sioux showed Saturday they can bounce back... and in a big way. That is not always easy to do when you are on the road.
Next up for the Sioux is St. Cloud State at the Ralph.
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1 comment:
Wow! looks like the Sioux are coming into their own and starting off the season playing some great hockey! I am impressed because they have so many young players who seem to be adjusting well to the level thus far.
I Saw the box score from last night's game and they beat WCHA opponent St. Cloud last night too. This is the start of something big for UND, it's going to be a fun ride!
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