MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Ridder Arena) - Bemidji State
rode an outstanding performance from junior goaltender Emily
Brookshaw (Webster, Wis.) who stopped 28 shots to backstop
the Beavers in a 2-0 shutout victory over No. 8 Minnesota
on Friday night from Ridder Arena. With the win Bemidji State
snaps a season long six game unbeaten streak.
Bemidji State started the scoring just 3:55 into the first
period. Jessica Pullar (Elk River, Minn.) netted her second
goal of the season with help from Jenn Sadler (Pickering,
Ontario) and Wendy Bergh (Hallock, Minn.) to put the Beavers
up 1-0 early in the contest. Bergh’s assists was her
first career point wearing the green and white.
Bemidji State would add to it’s lead early in the second
period when Jenn Sadler netted her ninth goal of the season
and her second point of the game at 2:26 of the second period
to give the Beavers a 2-0 lead over the Golden Gophers. Kate
Robinson (Shanty Bay, Ontario) picked up the lone helper on
Sadler’s goal. Sadler’s goal put her in a tie
for the team lead in goals this season.
Bemidji State goaltender Emily Brookshaw (Webster, Wis.) was
strong in goal and was able to shut down the potent offensive
attack of the Golden Gophers, stopping 28 shots in her second
shutout of the season and her fifth shutout of her career.
“We had a solid team effort tonight, everyone contributed
in this win,” said coach Steve Sertich. “Emily
was outstanding in net for us and everyone won a lot of battles
for us that enabled us to clear the zone when we had too.”
Minnesota outshot the Beavers 28-to-25 in the contest, shots
on goal for the game were 9-to-9 in the first period, 10-to-9
in the second and 6-to-10 in the third period.
Brookshaw picked up the victory for the Beavers stopping 28
of 28 shots faced in 60:00 minutes of work, improving her
record to 10-15-5 on the season. With the win Brookshaw moves
into first place in most wins in a season with 10 passing
Bre Dedrickson who held the record with nine wins in a season.
Brookshaw also picked up her 20th win in her career, she is
just the second Bemidji State goaltender to amass 20 wins
in a career. This is Brookshaw’s second win ever over
the Golden Gophers. The last time Brookshaw picked up a win
over the Golden Gophers was on Jan. 7, 2006 when the Beavers
beat then No. 5 Minnesota 2-1 at Ridder Arena.
Kim Hanlon picked up the loss for the Golden Gophers stopping
23 of 25 shots faced in 58:30 minutes of work. With the loss
Hanlon’s record falls to 7-4-0 on the season.
The teams combined for eight minor penalties. Bemidji State
picked up five minor penalties for 10 minutes, while Minnesota
picked up three minor penalties for just six minutes. Bemidji
State went 0-for-3 on the power-play while Minnesota was 0-for-5
on the man-advantage.
This is the second time this season that the Beavers have
upset a ranked opponent. The last time Bemidji State upset
a ranked opponent was on Jan. 5, 2007 when the Beavers upset
then No. 9 Ohio State, 2-1 in Columbus, Ohio.
With the win the Beavers are now 2-28-3 all-time versus the
Golden Gophers and 2-2 in its last four games versus the Golden
Gophers. The Beavers have won it’s last two games versus
the Golden Gophers at Ridder Arena, the last time the Beavers
beat Minnesota at Ridder Arena was on Jan. 7, 2006 when Minnesota
was ranked number five in the nation, the Beavers beat Minnesota
2-1.
With the win Bemidji State now has 22 points in Western Collegiate
Hockey Association play, the 22 points is the most Bemidji
State has garnered in the WCHA in it’s eight year Division
I era.
Bemidji State (11-15-5 / 9-12-4) will wrap up its two game
series with Minnesota (19-9-1 / 16-8-1 WCHA) tomorrow afternoon
at 3:07 p.m. from Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.
--beavers--
