UMD women’s hockey comes up short in series finale against Minnesota

Written by Tyler Schendel | Archived Nov. 10, 2020

UMD right winger Ashton Bell scored the Bulldogs' lone goal of the afternoon in a close 2-1 loss to Minnesota at Amsoil Arena. Photo by Dave Harwig.

The University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team returned to Amsoil Arena on Saturday afternoon, finishing their weekend series with a narrow 2-1 loss to the University of Minnesota.

In attempts to bounce back from Friday’s 4-1 loss, the Bulldogs started strong with a power play goal 6:24 into the first period by freshman right winger Ashton Bell. The goal, assisted by sophomore defenseman Jalyn Elmes, was the only scoring for either team through the first two periods of play.

The shots on goal remained almost even throughout most of the afternoon, with the Bulldogs holding a 27-21 advantage at the end of the game. Minnesota finally answered back with a goal by junior center Sophie Skarzynski at the 15:15 mark of the third period, evening the game at 1-1.

Minnesota senior right winger Caitlin Reilly propelled the Gophers to their first lead in the contest by scoring with just 3:36 left in regulation. A late checking penalty on freshman left winger Naomi Rogge hurt the Bulldogs chances of a late comeback. The Gophers ultimately held on for a 2-1 victory and a weekend sweep of the Bulldogs at Amsoil Arena.

The Bulldogs had a strong showing on special teams. UMD scored on their only power play of the game while killing both Gopher power play opportunities. However, with four Bulldog shots clanking off the pipe today, the Bulldogs narrowly lost their sixth straight game.

The Bulldogs, now sitting at 2-6 on the season, will return to action when they travel to Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival Bemidji State to take on the Beavers on Oct. 27 and 28 at the Sanford Center.