Apparently, Leveille means 'shutout' in French, because in just her third start all season the freshman goaltender Amanda Leveille got her third shutout in the Gophers win over St. Cloud State. Not many were in attendance to watch the top ranked Gophers in action, in fact, thee announced crowd was just 330 people. The win does bring the Gophers one step closer to a perfect regular season, a feat that has never been done before.
The first period did not turn out any goals, but the Gophers were formally introduced to a person named Julie Friend. The SCSU netminder turned away shot after shot in this game and right from the get go.The former Minnetonka High School star was very stingy in net, turning away 12 shots a period for the entire game. The Huskies gave Minnesota a few chances on the power play, but nothing came of that.
The Gophers finally finally able to get one by Friend in the second period. Her former teammate Rachel Ramsey beat her old friend off of a rebound to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Ramsey's eighth of the season was assisted by Sarah Davis and Bethany Brausen. The Gophers were able to double their lead 10 minutes later, this time on the power play. Maryanne Menefee chipped one in from close range, getting her 13th goal of the season. That would be all the offense the Gophers needed. Leveille played a strong game and credited her defense for sweeping away all of her rebounds.
Both teams had a couple of power plays in the third period, but neither could tally a score. The final shots on goal were 38-24 in favor of Minnesota. Head coach Brad Frost decided to sit Noora Raty and Amanda Kessel. The rest should help the two stars for a playoff push.
To see the boxscore, go here.
The same two teams will meet Saturday at 2pm.
In other WCHA action:
-Ohio State got a goal from Hokey Langan on a penalty shot to help them beat Minnesota State, 4-1.
-North Dakota put away UMD with two shorthanded goals to come away with a 4-1 win in Duluth.
-Alex Rigsby got her sixth shutout of the season as Wisconsin got a 2-0 win over Bemidji State.
Thanks for reading!
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