The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team made their final trip to the John Glas Fieldhouse this past weekend as the second ranked team in the nation. Offense was at a premium, as both games turned out to be barnburners, ending in a 1-1 tie.
Sophomore goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova, who will play for her home nation of Slovakia in the Olympics next month, was the star of the weekend for Bemidji, posting a 0.972 save percentage, stopping 69 of 71 shots.
“She [Tomcikova] stopped a lot of shots for us tonight,” senior captain Franny Dorr told the Bemidji Pioneer. “We’re really lucky to have her, and she came up big for us tonight. We really appreciate what she does for us.”
Friday night’s game started slow for both teams. At the half way mark of the first period, each team only had one shot on goal. The second half of the period picked up a little, but each goalie denied every shot on net.
The Beaver defense played strong in the first half, spoiling a handful of one-time passes from behind the net with solid poke checks. The Beavers would end the first period strong with a late flurry of shots.
The second period started rough for the Beavers, when sophomore Kim Lieder was called for a tripping penalty. The Beavers killed the penalty and shortly after, the Gophers got on the board after a two on one rush.
Tomcikova stepped up in the second period and played strong, stopping 13 shots, including a few breakaways and solid scoring chances.
Both teams came out with a lot of intensity in the third period. The Beavers peppered the Gopher goalie with 15 shots in the final period, and could not solve her in the first 59 minutes of the game.
Head Coach Steve Sertich called a time out with 90 seconds remaining in the game, and elected to keep Tomcikova on the bench for a sixth attacker.
“We put our first powerplay unit on the ice and had Emily Erickson as the extra attacker. We treated it like a power play,” said Sertich. “You need to be desperate in urgent situations. We were, and it paid off.”
And it definitely did pay off. With 16 seconds left in the game, redshirt freshmen Erickson tipped a shot by sophomore Montana Vichorek, and it beat the Gopher goalie, to send the game into overtime.
The overtime period was uneventful for both sides, as the five minutes seemed to fly by, and neither team got a huge scoring chance. The game eventually ended in a tie. A shootout followed, for a bonus point towards the standings, but in terms of national rankings, it was a tie.
Saturday night, Jan. 16 concluded with the same result, but the game was a bit different. The Beavers started the game strong, lighting up the scoreboard, just less than four minutes into the game.
Juniors Erin Cody and Annie Bauerfeld went on a two on one rush, and Cody did it all herself, beating the Gopher goalie. Sophomore Kim Lieder and senior Franny Dorr got assists on the goal.
The Gophers struck in the second period, getting the puck past Tomcikova, who had 18 saves in the period. Tomcikova came through in the clutch many times in the game, especially in the last two periods, when Minnesota bombarded her with 35 shots.
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Tomcikova ended the game with 44 saves, backstopping the Beavers to another tie with the Gophers.
This marked the fourth tie or victory against a team ranked in the top five of the nation, something that could not have even been fathomed in recent seasons. Last year the Beavers were beat by the Gophers six times, four regular season games, and two playoff games, being outscored 35-4.
“This team has made remarkable progress from last year," said Sertich. "Being able to play well against teams like [Minnesota] is something that needs to be done to get points in this league. Our speed and special teams have improved and it has helped."
The Beavers are now in position to get home ice advantage in playoffs for the first time in the history of the program.
The Beavers will take on Ohio State this weekend, in Columbus, and will be on the road until Feb. 12.
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