MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Bemidji State women’s hockey team seems to come alive in the second game of series’ recently.

A day after being shut out 5-0 by the No. 6-ranked University of Minnesota, the Beavers shut out the Gophers for the first 50 minutes of action before giving up the game-winning goal to Bobbi Ross in a 1-0 loss Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.

BSU played inspired, aggressive hockey for most of the contest, giving the Gophers a glimpse of the team that shut out then-No. 2 Wisconsin a week ago.

Emily Brookshaw (Sr., Webster, Wisc.) was again sensational in the net for the Beavers, saving 44 shots and giving up the lone goal to Ross.

Erica McKenzie controlled the puck behind the BSU net on that play, and she flicked a pass out to Rachael Drazan on the right side of the net. Without hesitation, she passed it over to Ross on the left side. Brookshaw was unable to respond in time, and Ross sailed the puck above her stick hand into the upper left corner of the net with just 9:16 remaining in the contest.

Bemidji State went with an empty net for the last 1:25, but never got a decent look on goal, falling to 1-12-3 (0-10-2 WCHA) on the season .

Jenny Lura got the start between the pipes for the Gophers, and she had 16 saves. Minnesota got numerous looks at BSU’s net, but Brookshaw nearly shut out her second ranked team in as many weeks.

Bemidji State came out in the opening frame and looked like a different hockey team than the one that lost here Friday night. The Beavers killed a 5-on-3 man advantage with the three best penalty killers, Tara Hiscock (Sr., Turtle River, Minn.), Haley Balcom (Sr., Elk River, Minn.) and Brooke Collins (Jr., Pilot Mound, Manitoba). Lisa Kissick (Jr., Carman, Manitoba) came onto the ice after Nicole Rawlings’ (So., Maplewood, Minn.) penalty was killed, and the four upperclassmen made sure the Beavers would not fall behind early again.

Minnesota went scoreless on the power play, going 0-for-5, which was a far cry from the previous game where the Gophers were 2-for-3. Bemidji State was also 0-for-5 on its power play.

Ashley Leopold (So., Afton, Minn.) was called for hooking on Erica McKenzie who was on a breakaway 10 minutes into the game, and the referees awarded McKenzie a penalty shot.

Brookshaw forced McKenzie into a poor attempt on net, and she flicked the puck over the left side of the net, further adding to the incredible performance by the senior netminder.

Erin Cody (Fr., Roseville, Minn.) led the way for the Beavers with three shots, and three other players had two attempts.

Bemidji State returns to John Glas Fieldhouse next weekend (Dec. 8-9) for a two-game series with St. Cloud State, which was off this weekend. Game times are set for 2:07 p.m. both nights.

 

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