Prior to their game, Bemidji State and Minnesota players watched from the Ridder Arena stands as North Dakota extended No. 2 Minnesota Duluth into overtime. Upon taking the ice, the Beavers were ready to deliver a shocker of their own.
But Minnesota (31-2-2) has been ranked No. 1 in the country all season for a reason. The Gophers responded to a 2-1 deficit at the first intermission with five straight goals on their way to a 6-3 victory over the Beavers (9-24-2) in a Thursday WCHA quarterfinal.
Krissy Wendell and Kelly Stephens each scored a pair of goals to go with two assists. Erica McKenzie and Natalie Darwitz also found the twine for Minnesota, while Chelsey Brodt contributed a couple of assists.
“They’ve been doing it all season, and they got the job done tonight, when we needed it,” Minnesota’s Laura Halldorson said of her top line. “They knew what needed to be done after that first period. I was proud of them that first shift of the second period, where we scored with emphasis — good to see.”
Just 40 seconds into the second period, Wendell’s hard pass found Stephens cutting through the slot, and she slammed the puck into the cage behind Bemidji goalie Emily Brookshaw to tie the game 2-2.
Just before the game’s halfway point, Stephens finished off a give-and-go with Darwitz while on the power play. Her 30th goal of the year put the Gophers ahead for the first time, 3-2, and it was a lead they would not relinquish.
“We tried to bottle them up, and we tried not to get outnumbered and give them a lot of good scoring, easy chances,” said Bemidji coach Bruce Olson. “I thought for a period and a half we did a pretty good job of doing that. But you just can’t stop that one line. They’re too fast and quick, and they cycle out of the corner, and if you lose a check, they get a wide-open shot. We stayed with them for a while, but not long enough.”
McKenzie slipped in a backhander for the eventual game-winner a minute and a half later.
Early on, the Beavers got the start that underdogs dream of when Ashley Medori scored 83 seconds into the game.
“I don’t think she’s scored a goal in two years,” Olson said. “It hit the hind end of somebody and went in the net, but who cares, we’ll take it.”
Wendell answered on the next shift, and it looked like Minnesota had survived the scare. They had the better of the play through most of the opening period, until Bemidji leading scorer Kelly Hart got behind the defense and beat goalie Brenda Reinen with under two minutes to go.
“The mood was good,” Olson said of his team at the first intermission. “They felt good about what they had done, and they all felt they had followed the gameplan we’d put together. We tried to play a strong positional game. When Wendell and Darwitz and Stephens did get the puck, they had to go through a lot of bodies to get to our net.”
Conversely, Minnesota wasn’t as happy with their effort.
“I think everyone realized that we could play better than we had been playing,” Halldorson said.
“I think a lot of it went unsaid,” Wendell said. “I think everyone came out of the locker room ready to step it up, and we were excited to get back out there for the second period.”
The Gophers didn’t see the quick turnaround from Sunday’s game in Duluth as an excuse.
“It’s 3 games in 4 days,” Wendell said of the WCHA tournament schedule. “I think that’s what makes the end of the year fun, is that anything can happen. I think you prepare from September on for weeks like this where you’re playing a lot of games, and the games are what’s fun.”
Minnesota was impressed by the effort put forth by Bemidji.
“It was their last game, possibly, of hockey,” Stephens said. “I think they came out with the desire to win, and leave it all out on the ice. I think they’re a well-coached team, and they work hard every night. They stepped up in playoffs, and every team should. We need to do that ourselves, and see how it goes.”
The Bemidji players were just grateful for the postseason opportunity.
“After all of your hard work, it’s nice to have something at the end to apply it to,” said senior Jenny Schnickel, who scored BSU’s final goal on the power play with two seconds remaining in the game.
“Our team is such a good team. Our girls — I’ve never seen a closer team. I couldn’t ask for anything better. The way we played — yes we lost, and we’re going home right now, but I couldn’t ask for any four years better.”