Another victory and a couple more records broken. Just another day in the life of Gophers women's hockey players Saturday night as they routed Bemidji State 8-0 in the second game of the WCHA first-round, best-of-three playoff matchup at Ridder Arena.
Eight different players scored to help the Gophers win the series 2-0 and advance to the WCHA Final Face-Off, which will be held Friday and Saturday at Ridder Arena. The Gophers will play Ohio State at 7 p.m. Friday, after Wisconsin and North Dakota meet in the 4 p.m. semifinal.
After notching her 40th-career shutout Friday night -- an NCAA record -- senior goaltender Noora Raty set the NCAA single-season shutout record with her 15th of the year. She stopped 19 shots for the victory.
"I'll take all shutouts I can get," Raty said. "I'm happy if I get them because as long as I get a shutout, we can't lose."
Senior captain and fellow Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist Megan Bozek tallied a goal and two assists to make her the single-season highest-scoring Gophers defenseman in team history. She already holds the Gophers' career mark for defenseman and leads the country with 18 goals and 34 assists for 52 points for a blue-liner this year.
"Seems like every week something like that is happening," coach Brad Frost said of another record-breaking game.
Minnesota moved to 36-0 on the season while stretching its NCAA-record winning streak to 44 games.
The Gophers opened the scoring with some fireworks, as freshman defenseman Milica McMillen rushed the puck into the offensive zone, faked a shot, pulled a toe-drag around a Beavers defenseman and rung the upper-left post to put Minnesota up 1-0 3:49 into the first period.
Meghan Lorence snuck in a wraparound midway through the second to make it 2-0.
Amanda Kessel, the NCAA's leading scorer, was on the bench but did not see the ice as she continues to recover from lingering injuries.
Hannah Brandt continued to score without her linemate. The freshman tallied a goal and two assists to inch her season point total to 74 points.
Bozek's one-timer from the point made it 3-0. Baylee Gillanders scored her first goal of the season with a shot from the point to make it 4-0.
Just minutes later, Bozek roofed her own rebound to make it 5-0. Sarah Davis then made it 6-0. Brook Garzone scored a shorthanded goal, and Katie Frischmann banged in a rebound.
"It's great that Baylee, Katie and Brook all got goals today," Bozek said. "It's playoff hockey. Anything can happen, and for people stepping up right now, it's really good for our team."