Gopher Women’s Hockey Team Wins Again

Minnesota earned a sweep over Minnesota State with a 7-1 road win Saturday

Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. – Ten Gophers recorded points and seven different Gophers scored goals as No. 2 Minnesota earned a 7-1 win over Minnesota State at All Seasons Arena Saturday evening.

Juniors Maryanne Menefee (Lansing, Mich.) and Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.), sophomore Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.) and freshman Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) each recorded three points on one goal and two assists to lead the way in the win.

Minnesota (21-1-3, 14-1-3-1 WCHA) scored three goals in each of the first two periods before the Mavericks got on the board in the third. The Gophers added one more goal in the final two minutes to ice the win.

Minnesota State (2-19-1, 0-15-1-0 WCHA) received 41 saves from goaltender Brianna Quade, and Hannah Davidson scored the Mavericks' lone goal. The Gophers outshot the Mavericks, 48-12, and Amanda Leveille (Kingston, Ont.) made 11 saves for Minnesota.

"Our focus is always the same, to focus on the process and to focus on ourselves," head coach Brad Frost said. "Mankato came into this weekend after getting their first two wins of the year so they were playing confidently. We just really wanted to make sure that we started quickly in both games and I thought we did a really good job of that."

The Gophers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period. Brandt gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead just 1:26 into the game when she buried a rebound from linemates Cameranesi and Menefee.

Senior Rachael Bona (Coon Rapids, Minn.) combined with linemates Pannek and senior Meghan Lorence (Mounds View, Minn.) for Minnesota's second goal when she netted her 12th goal of the season. Pannek then made it 3-0 on the power play with assists going to Menefee and Brandt at 15:08 of the first.

The second period again saw the Gophers strick within the first two minutes as Menefee scored her fourth goal of the series just 1:32 into the middle frame. Freshman Cara Piazza (Darien, Ill.) added an even-strength goal before Cameranesi scored the Gophers' second power-play goal of the game to make it 6-0 midway through the second.

The teams exchanged goals in the third period as Davidson put Minnesota State on the board before sophomore Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.) scored her first goal of the year to make it 7-1 with 1:28 to go.

Minnesota held the Mavericks to 0-for-4 on the power play while scoring twice with the man advantage (2-for-7).

With an assist on the first goal of the game, Menefee picked up her 100th career point. The junior wing now has 102 points on 47 goals and 55 assists, including leading the Gophers with seven points (four goals, three assists) in the this weekend's series against the Mavericks.

The Gophers face St. Cloud State for the fourth and fifth times this season when the teams meet in St. Cloud, Minn., next weekend. The Huskies host the Gophers at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23 and 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24 at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.