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Gophers Entertain Olympic-Bound Team USA
Hockey games aren’t about moral victories. But when Minnesota hosted the United States Olympic Team, it was an exhibition, not a regular game; forgive the hosts if they felt like winners after the USA’s 8-5 victory.
Yes, the national team blitzed the Gophers out of the gate, swarming the net as though on a power play when both were at full strength. On the game’s second shift, Minnesota couldn’t get the puck cleared from their end for 75 seconds, and when they were finally able to make a hasty line change, Team USA took advantage of the confusion to net a rebound for a 1-0 lead. The U.S. continued to dominate territorially and on the shot chart, upping their lead to two on a laser under the crossbar by former Gopher Monique Lamoureux at 13:21.
Subtly, the tide began to change and Minnesota began to compete at a level closer to that of the Red, White, and Blue. With the Gophers on a power play, Chelsey Jones fed Sam Downey in the low slot. The freshman put a quick shot on goaltender Brianne McLaughlin and got a couple whacks at the rebound, getting the puck by the keeper, but not across the line. Senior Alexandra Zebro pounced, flicking the puck into the cage; the defenseman had only two goals in her 105 games as a Gopher, and none of the one-foot variety. |
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Alexandra Zebro Puts the Gophers on the Board
Team USA answered immediately with Erika Lawler finding Hillary Knight alone on the back door, and the teams went to the first intermission with the United States up 3-1.
“It seemed like right after we scored, they’d score, but it really didn’t deflate us that much,” captain Emily West said.
West drew the Gophers within a goal once more at 7:06 of the second period on a sensational individual effort. With the teams each having a player in the penalty box, West blocked a shot from the point by Caitlin Cahow with her upper body, corralled the puck, and raced up the ice as Cahow fell. Despite being at the end of her shift, West eluded a charging Julie Chu and beat McLaughlin low on her blocker side.
“With every goal as time went on, we really didn’t get down on our selves,” West said. “We realized, “Hey, we can do this. We’re giving them a good fight, and we’re popping goals in.” We just need to keep it up and we’ll be rewarded eventually.”
Again the USA responded within a minute, with Lamoureux getting her second on a rebound.
Minnesota took advantage of the stoppage to switch goaltenders. Noora Räty’s night was done, having stopped 29 of 33 shots in just under 28 minutes.
“It was especially hard for me because I came here yesterday,” she said.
Räty just flew back from Germany, where she had competed with Team Finland in the MLP Cup last week.
“We knew that we were going to use Jenny [Lura] tonight,” Coach Brad Frost said. “We just found out a couple of days ago that Alyssa [Grogan] wouldn’t be able to go. That, quite frankly, just gave Jenny some more time and a little more opportunity.”
“I was really happy that she was able to get a period and a half. All those shots probably felt like a game and a half. She played well. It’s not an easy situation to get thrown into the lions like that.”
While Lura kept the American offense at bay for the remainder of the 2nd period, Kelli Blankenship provided Minnesota with some offense. Blankenship took a long bank pass from Brittany Francis just as she hit the blue line and snapped a shot into the top of the net.
“I called the Blank Special that one coming down the right side, her first one,” Frost said. “She does that in practice all the time, except the goalies just stand there and catch it, because they know it’s coming.”
This time, the Gophers withstood the flurry in response to their goal, and in the period’s final minute, applied some pressure of their own. After a couple of quality scoring chances, Mira Jalosuo moved in from the point took a shot from the left boards. Jones deflected the shot, and after McLaughlin got a pad on it, she slid the rebound to the right edge of the crease where Blankenship tapped it home.
“She was just driving the net and doing a lot of really, really good things,” Frost said.
As improbable as it seemed, Minnesota had come from two goals down to tie the game after two periods.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be an absolute blowout like it has been with a couple of others, but that’s just Gopher hockey,” former Gopher and future US Olympian Gigi Marvin said. “We knew they had speed; it’s always been speed. Every year I played, they had good forwards, and they snipe on those breakaways. When don’t you see a Gopher do that?”
Inevitably, the superior talent and depth of Team USA proved decisive midway through the final period. They put the game out of reach with a quick three-goal burst.
“We pulled together in the third, and came out strong, and got a few quick goals, and I think that kind of deflated them,” said Natalie Darwitz, who scored the second of those goals on a power play.
Deflated or not, Minnesota wasn’t done. Blankenship edged the Gophers closer at 18:57 when she completed her hat trick with a wrap-around goal.
“The one thing that separates Kelli from almost everybody else on our team is she can skate at this speed, so the game wasn’t as fast,” Frost said. “Once she got that first goal, the confidence really started to rise. Last year when we played the US National team, she got a goal as well. She’s had some good success against the national team.”
Successful or not, a hat trick against the best team the country has to offer was unexpected, coming from a player who had not scored one in her 130 games wearing the “M”.
“ And I don’t know if the Olympic Team has given up a hat trick to anybody else either,” Frost said. “She just started getting stuff to the net.”
If everyone else was surprised by her performance, Blankenship was not.
“I did a little bit of mental focus before the game,” she said. “I set some high expectations. I definitely reached for it.”
She also noted that though she may have been the one credited with the goals, it was a true team effort.
Blankenship said, “As a line, we just kept saying, “Find a way, find a way. No matter what it takes, find a way.” I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
With a noisy crowd of 2,240 witnessing a hard-fought, competitive game, the game was about as successful as such an exhibition can be.
“I think the Gophers were a little amped up tonight,” Darwitz said. “It’s probably a bigger crowd than what they’re used to. I think they played with a chip on their shoulder, as far as a lot of them felt they maybe should have got an opportunity to be on this team possibly, or an opportunity for an invite in August [to the tryout camp.]”
West said the dream of a spot in the Olympics is a common one.
“I think every girl out there feels like there’s a chance, and whether it’s now or later in life, it’s time to step up,” she said. “We just played with a lot of heart and had nothing to lose.”
For the former Gophers, the game served as a homecoming, and they were greeted warmly by the crowd.
“I had a blast,” Marvin said. “I think I had a smile on my face the entire game. It was great to be back.”
Now both teams turn their attention to more important matters. For Team USA, that means the Vancouver Olympic Games in February.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Darwitz said. “With a month to go to the Olympics, the goal for us is to put us in situations where we keep improving.”
“It’s crunch time. We can’t look back at these times and think, “I wish I would have done more; I wish I could have done more.” That’s important for us.”
For Marvin, embarking on her first Games, this is all new.
“I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited,” she said. “Every athlete wants to be the person out there helping your teammates out with the game on the line. Some people thrive under that, and I certainly enjoy it. And I know my teammates enjoy it. Hopefully we’re ready, we’re excited to go when it comes, because it is only one chance.”
Minnesota’s important games start Friday with a series in Bemidji.
“Tonight didn’t win us anything,” West said. “It was a fun game, but it’s over. We’ve got to take what we did well from it, and try to carry it into league play. If we can play like we did tonight, I think we have a very good chance of achieving our goals in the end of the second half.”
The coaching staff has the job of leveraging this effort into a successful championship run.
“We gained more from this game than we will gain from any game all year. We now know what we can aspire to be, and how we can play. The key now is when we face teams that obviously are not as good as this one, to continue to keep that compete level and battle level up.”
And while most of the focus is on the Olympics and this season’s NCAA campaign, in the world of sports, there’s always next year.
“It’s good to see that they capitalized on their opportunities tonight, just because they’re a hard-working, blue collar team,” Darwitz said. “But I’m excited to come back next year and be behind the bench again.”
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