In baseball, a scoreless game is typically the result of a pitcher’s duel. Such was the case at All Seasons Arena as Minnesota’s Kim Hanlon and Minnesota State’s Brit Kehler flashed some leather in a classic defensive battle.
In the end, Kehler won the battle but it was Hanlon who won the war as the No. 5 Gophers (12-5-0 overall, 7-4-0 WCHA) slipped past the No. 10 Mavericks (9-7-1 overall, 6-6-1 WCHA) 1-0 in Mankato.
The in-state rivals played to a scoreless first period, thanks in part to a great save by Hanlon. MSU’s Maggie Fisher out skated a pair of Gopher defenseman to gain a breakaway near the end of the period. Her deke got Hanlon out of position, but the freshman net minder robbed Fisher with a tremendous glove save.
“She’s a softball player, so she has that great glove hand,” said Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson.
It’s been the same song, different verse for Hanlon thus far in 2005. The Ham Lake, Minn. native had started two previous games this season, both of which also ended in shutouts. For then season, Hanlon’s save percentage is now nearly 99 percent, a factor which played into Halldorson’s decision to start Hanlon over her other freshman netminder Brittony Chartier.
“Kim has been playing really well,” Halldorson said. “Both goalies played well tonight, I thought Kehler played a great game too.”
Just minutes into the second, Kehler faced a Gopher breakaway of her own. The result was a carbon copy of Hanlon’s–an outstanding glove save to keep the game scoreless. For the period, UM out shot MSU 17-10, and finally broke through at 16:21. Whitney Graft took a loose puck from behind the net and broke around the front of the goal. Her writer over Kehler’s glove was the game winner for Minnesota, who improved to 7-0 on the road this season.
“It was all my linemates,” Graft said. “They were battling so hard in the corners, it squirted out and I was just there.”
The goal was Graft’s fourth of the season, with a single assist credited to Krista Johnson.
The Mavericks battled in the third period to gain quality scoring chances, and outshot the Gophers 8-6 during the final 20 minutes. But with sophomore forward Amanda Stohr out with a shoulder injury, and fellow sophomore Noelle Needham watching from the stands after a checking from behind penalty was whistled on her in the opening minutes, MSU found it difficult with so many adjustments.
“We already had one forward playing up front with the injury and by the end we had two D playing forward,” said Mavericks head coach Jeff Vizenor. “It’s just a struggle to be adjusting like that and the constant shuffling hurt us, especially against a good team.”
Kehler stopped 35 shots in the losing effort, which saw Minnesota State drop to .500 in conference play this season. The Gophers jumped a point ahead of the Mavericks in the WCHA standings heading into tomorrow’s afternoon matinee rematch. Hanlon made 24 saves of her own to even UM’s record against ranked opponents this season to 4-4.
“That was a good team that we played tonight,” Halldorson said. “It could have gone either way for sure.”
Face off for Saturday’s game in Mankato is scheduled for 3:07 p.m.
