The deep, dark glove of St. Cloud State senior goaltender Emma Polusny was a black hole for pucks through 20 minutes of play Saturday at Amsoil Arena.
Minnesota Duluth finally found a sliver of light in Polusny’s net early in the second period, though, scoring four goals in just over four minutes en route to a dominating 5-1 victory to sweep the WCHA series in Duluth.
After getting swept at home a week ago by Minnesota, the Bulldogs scored a 4-0 win on Friday by outshooting the Huskies 38-11. They upped the ante Saturday by pelting SCSU by a 55-21 margin — including 26-5 in the second — in the final scheduled hockey game at Amsoil Arena of 2020.
The Bulldogs are supposed to conclude the first portion of their 2020-21 schedule next week on the road vs. Wisconsin at 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Madison, however, the Badgers had to postpone their series this weekend at Minnesota after two players tested positive for COVID-19.
That's about as sweep as it gets for @UMDWHockey.... pic.twitter.com/qqySleLhvq
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As of now, the series is on, and the Bulldogs are prepared to ride a huge wave of confidence into the Wisconsin capital.
“This week was exactly what we needed, to make a statement,” UMD senior defenseman and captain McKenzie Revering said. “We wanted redemption from last weekend. It didn’t matter who was coming in our house. We needed to make a statement and that’s what we did.”
Freshman wing Clara Van Wieren scored two of UMD’s five goals on Saturday to extend her rookie total to five this season. She was one of four Bulldogs to net goals during a span of 4:05 in the second along with junior center Gabbie Hughes, senior wing Anna Klein and redshirt junior wing Naomi Rogge.
Hughes broke the ice Saturday just over five minutes into the second with both sides short a skater. She found a loose puck in the SCSU crease after Polusny gave up a couple rebounds, and tallied her sixth point of the season, but first goal of 2020-21 in six games.
Klein’s goal at the 7:44 mark to make it 2-0 was her sixth in six games. Rogge nabbed her fourth of the year less than a minute later and Van Wieren had the Bulldogs up 4-0 with 10-plus minutes to play yet in the second.
“(Polusny) has a really good glove,” Van Wieren said. “Once we started capitalizing on those rebounds, though, and really getting her moving laterally, we found some success.”
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Klein, who was also credited with a pair of assists, finished with three points Saturday. Rogge had two points via a goal and an assist and Van Wieren had her two goals.
Also finishing with a pair of points was senior defenseman and assistant captain McKenzie Revering, who had two assists in the second period after tallying just two assists — her only points at UMD — in her first 96 games as a Bulldog.
Freshman goaltender Jojo Chobak made her Bulldogs debut Saturday in the third period, making 11 saves on 12 shots. She relieved junior Emma Soderberg, who stopped all 20 shots she faced in five periods of work this weekend.
“It's a huge win for us, a great sweep of the weekend,” UMD coach Maura Crowell said. “I don't know what it was this weekend, but our second periods were fantastic. A lot of quick goals, a lot of momentum off of the the first ones that go in and then we sort of roll from there. I’m really happy with the way the group played. A lot of different people contributed and got involved in the play, including Jojo there for the last period of today's game. It really was a complete weekend for us and I’m excited about those wins.”
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UMD women's hockey: Bulldogs regain scoring touch in 4-0 win over St. Cloud State
UMD was without a pair of veterans in Anneke Linser and Maggie Flaherty for Saturday’s series finale. Linser, a junior wing, was out with an upper body injury suffered Friday. She was seen at Amsoil Arena with her left arm in a sling.
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Flaherty, a junior defenseman, was suspended for Saturday’s game after receiving a major penalty and game misconduct for contact to the head with four seconds remaining in the UMD win. Announced as a game misconduct and listed on the final scoresheet issued to media as a game misconduct, WCHA officials changed the call to a game disqualification later that night. Game disqualifications carry an automatic one-game suspension and cannot be overturned.
The Huskies were without freshman goaltender Sanni Ahola, who left Friday’s game in the second period with an injury.
How about this save from @emmasoderbrg @Buccigross @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/G3Qd0UAeRk
— UMD Women's Hockey (@UMDWHockey) December 5, 2020
St. Cloud State 0-0-1—1
Minnesota Duluth 0-4-1—5
First period
No scoring
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Second period
1. UMD, Gabbie Hughes 1 (Naomi Rogge, Anna Klein), 5:12
2. UMD, Klein 6 (McKenzie Revering, Lizi Norton), 7:44
3. UMD, Rogge 4 (Klein, Revering), 8:27
4. UMD, Clara Van Wieren 4 (McKenzie Hewett, Nina Jobst-Smith), 9:17
Third period
5. SCSU, Jennilina Nylund 1 (Klara Hymlarova, Laura Kluge), 16:17
6. UMD, Van Wieren 5 (Taylor Anderson, Taylor Stewart), 17:54
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Saves — Emma Polusny, SCSU, 17-22-11—50; Emma Soderberg, UMD, 4-5-X—9; Jojo Chobak, UMD, X-X-11—11.
Power plays — SCSU 0-3; UMD 0-4. Penalties — SCSU 6-12; UMD 5-10.
