MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota opened its second half of the season with a 10-0 rout of St. Lawrence.
“We knew that playing St. Lawrence, a very good opponent, meant that we had to be ready, and be prepared, and do a great job,” Gophers’ coach Brad Frost said. “I thought we did that.”
Linemates Rachel Bona and Kelly Pannek had three-goal games, with Pannek adding a pair of assists for the Gophers (17-1-2, 11-1-2-0 WCHA).
“She’s really starting to develop as a college player, and she’s playing really well,” Bona said of her freshman center. “She’s obviously great to have on my line because she moves the puck well. I think we work well together.”
St. Lawrence drops to 9-7-2 on the year after opening its 2015 slate with a win the day before at Minnesota State.
Bona opened the scoring 80 seconds into the game, burying a puck from just outside the crease.
The Gophers opened the gap to three with tallies 27 seconds apart later in the opening frame. Sydney Baldwin pounded in a slapper from the high slot and Bona finished off a two-on-one rush with Meghan Lorence.
“As crazy as it sounds, we had some good chances,” Saints’ coach Chris Wells said. “They’re just so opportunistic and any chance that they had they’re able to get into the back of the net.”
Minnesota added three more goals in the second period. Hannah Brandt scored on a partial break and Pannek netted a pair of goals 20 seconds apart in the final minute.
Bona and Pannek completed their hat tricks in the third period and Rachel Ramsey and Maryanne Menefee also lit the lamp for the final 10-0 verdict.
“I was hoping to have a better 2015 start than I did at the beginning of the year, so that was nice to get a few in there,” Bona said.
Pannek’s line with Bona and Lorence on her wings has caught fire since being united a few series back.
“This week in practice, we were clicking,” Pannek said. “We’re really comfortable with each other at this point, and it’s nice. Our first shift, we get a goal, and every shift after that, we’re getting good offensive zone time. It’s just a really good familiarity that we have with each other.”
Amanda Leveille made 15 saves to earn the shutout.
“They took the game away from us early and took any little bit of hope that we might have had early, and I think that certainly played into it,” Wells said. “We’ll just be ready to go and play on Tuesday.”
