Off and Running: #3 Gopher women sweep Bemidji State to open the season
The Gophers picked up two road wins to begin their 30th season with a sweep of Bemidji State.
On Friday night, the Gophers scored the first five goals of the hockey game. Bemidji State hung around, scoring once late in the second period and again in the third, but the Gophers prevailed 5-2. Saturday afternoon’s game was tighter. Minnesota led after one period, and two second-period goals stretched the lead to 4-1. Bemidji State cut the lead to 4-2 early in the third, but Minnesota responded. Ultimately, the Gophers held on to take the game 5-3 and sweep the series.
The Weekend in Numbers
4: Goals scored by Freshman
The Minnesota freshman class was as good as advertised in week one. Gopher freshmen scored four of the Gophers’ ten goals on the weekend.
Top recruit Adrianna Milani scored twice on Friday night, but Milani wasn’t the only freshman to shine against Bemidji State. With Tereza Plosová off on international duty for Czechia, freshman forward Maddie McCullough stepped up in a big way. McCullough led the Gophers in points across the weekend, tallying two goals and an assist. McCullough opened the scoring for the Gophers on Friday night, and she showed off her hands on a breakaway goal that sealed the win on Saturday afternoon.
On the back end, freshman defender Sloane Hartmetz was also impressive. Hartmetz didn’t score, but she had two assists on Friday night. She finished with six shots in the two-game series.
15: Players with points
Depth scoring has been a theme for the Gophers leading up to the season. Against Bemidji State, 15 players recorded a point across the two-game series. Up front, nine forwards recorded at least one point, and five different forwards scored multiple points in the series.
But it wasn’t just the forward group. Six different Gopher defenders recorded a point in the series, and four different Gopher defenders tallied a goal. The Chloe Primerano and Molly Jordan pairing dominated their minutes. The pair combined for one goal, four points, and 16 shots across the two games. Junior defender Carly Humphrey was also good for the Gophers. Humphrey scored on Saturday, and she led all Gopher defenders with a +3 rating.
50%: Power play percentage for the weekend
With the loss of so much offensive talent from last year’s team, cashing in on half your power-plays in weekend number one has to be a positive for Greg “Boom” May and his staff. Minnesota went two for four on the power play against Bemidji State, scoring one power-play goal in each game.
It was a good weekend for the power play, marred only by allowing a short-handed goal on Saturday afternoon. The Gophers got a little overaggressive on the power play at times over the weekend. Hailey Armstrong made them pay on Saturday, burying a shot on an odd-skater rush. It’s something for the Gophers to clean up heading into weekend number two.
Three Stars of the weekend
Maddie McCullough: McCullough was the standout freshman of the weekend for Minnesota. Maybe overshadowed at times by her former Etobicoke Dolphins teammate Milani, McCullough is quite the accomplished scorer in her own right. If this weekend was any indication, McCullough should have no trouble scoring at the college level. She scored a goal and an assist on Friday night, and followed that up with another goal on Saturday. McCullough’s speed and skating ability were on full display this weekend; both of her goals were scored off breakaways.
Adrianna Milani: Head Coach Greg “Boom” May told me Milani would be a difference-maker right away for this Gopher team, and she looked the part this weekend. Milani is a fantastic skater, showing impressive strength for a 17-year-old playing against much older players. Milani’s shot is also quite impressive. Milani fired eight shots across the two games, including a wicked release on her power-play goal Friday night. The quickness of the release and the power she’s able to put on her shot are impressive.
Chloe Primerano: As expected, Chloe Primerano was everywhere on the ice for the Gophers in weekend one. Primerano led all Gopher players in shots (12) and tallied two assists. She was making plays and playing big minutes in all situations alongside senior defender Molly Jordan. Unfortunately for the Gophers, they will be without Primerano next weekend as she takes part in Hockey Canada’s National Team Training Camp for the upcoming World Championships in November.
What’s next for the Gophers
The Gophers will be in Dinkytown next weekend for their home opener. The Gophers will host Maine and Bemidji State in the East/West Showcase Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Minnesota takes on Maine on Friday, Oct. 9th at 6:00 PM. On Sunday, Oct. 11th, the Gophers face Bemidji State at 2:00 PM.