Gophers lose No. 1 ranking in split

If the intense in-state rivalry wasn’t enough of an incentive for the University of Minnesota-Duluth to knock off Minnesota, the Gophers’ new No. 1 ranking was.

Minnesota’s first game as the top team in the nation didn’t exactly go as it hoped.

The Gophers came out flat Friday and suffered the consequences in a 4-2 loss to the No. 8 Bulldogs.

“I was very disappointed,” head coach Brad Frost said. “We didn’t play up to our capability or how we need to play when we face a top team and that was very disappointing.”

Minnesota got on the board first when Kelly Terry scored less than two minutes into the first period. The rest of the stanza was all UMD.

Jenna McParland tied the game for the Bulldogs just 33 seconds later, and Haley Irwin put UMD ahead with a goal roughly halfway through the period.

Three minutes later, Bulldogs leading scorer Audrey Cournoyer scored to make it a 3-1 game. That score held until 12:54 into the second period when Sarah Davis scored for the Gophers to make it a game again.

But that score didn’t hold up for long. Five minutes later, McParland scored her second goal of the game. Neither team scored in the third and UMD held on for the upset.

“We knew we had the target on our back being ranked No. 1,” Gophers defenseman Anne Schleper said, “but our actions didn’t portray that we knew that. That was frustrating.”

Saturday, however, Minnesota looked like the team that had just seized the No. 1 ranking from Wisconsin.

Sarah Erickson put the Gophers ahead with a goal — her first since Dec. 2 at UND — 16:53 into the first frame.

Less than a minute into the second period, Amanda Kessel extended Minnesota’s lead with her team-leading 21st goal.

Erickson scored her second goal of the game on a power play with less than two minutes left in the period and the 3-0 score held the rest of the way.

Noora Räty saved 29 shots en route to the 21st shutout of her career, which ties her with Erica Killewald for the most in school history.

“[Räty] has kind of stood the test of time here so to speak over the last couple years,” Frost said. “If you want to win hockey games you have to be really good in the nets and I think we have the best [goalie] in the country in our crease.”

Minnesota, which fell back to No. 2 in the rankings Monday, will return home next weekend for a series with No. 9 Bemidji State.