Career win No. 250 for Gophers women's hockey coach Brad Frost came relatively easy.
The Gophers took a 4-1 lead over Minnesota Duluth after the opening period and routed the Bulldogs 7-1 on Friday night at Ridder Arena.
With three points for the win, No. 2 Minnesota (26-2-4, 19-2-4-2 WCHA) moved a little closer to a conference title. The Gophers lead Wisconsin — which beat Ohio State 2-0 on the road and is second in the standings — by five points with three regular-season games left for both.
The victory puts Frost's record at 250-40-21 in his eighth season as Gophers coach.
Four players scored goals for the Gophers in the first period. Rachel Ramsey was the catalyst. The senior defenseman had the second goal, putting Minnesota ahead 2-0 at 6 minutes, 17 seconds, and assists on the first and fourth goals.
Other goal scorers were Meghan Lorence, Maryanne Menefee and Cara Piazza. Meghan Huertas had a goal for No. 6 UMD (17-9-5, 12-9-4-2) at 8:18, cutting the Gophers lead to 2-1 but Menefee answered 32 seconds later. Shots were 19-9 in the Gophers favor.
Defenseman Lee Stecklein made it 5-1 Gophers at 8:31 of the middle period on the game's only power-play goal.
Early in the third period, Hannah Brandt and Kelley Pannek scored 1:11 apart as Minnesota's lead grew to six goals.
Both teams used two goalies — obviously for different reasons. UMD's Kayla Black stopped 34 shots and gave up six goals, her replacement Karissa Grapp had six saves.
Shannon Miller coached the Bulldogs, as she will the rest of the season, in the midst of a brewing controversy that has hatched a national conversation about the treatment of female coaches and athletes. Miller was told by UMD athletic director Josh Berlo and Chancellor Lendley C. Black in December that her contract will not be renewed in June, despite her having won five NCAA titles and winning over 71 percent of her games in her 16 seasons.
Miller, the highest-paid coach in women's hockey ($215,000 total compensation this season), has struggled against WCHA rivals in recent years, with her teams going 3-25-7 vs. the Gophers, Wisconsin and North Dakota over the past three seasons. The Bulldogs have not made the eight-team NCAA tournament since 2011.
But UMD's financial-based reasoning for not renewing her contract has ignited debates about violations against her civil rights and against Title IX. She believes the decision to let her go violates Title IX, the law that prohibits gender-based discrimination at schools that receive federal funds.
