By RACHEL BLOUNT
Rachel.blount@startribune.com
SOCHI, RUSSIA—No one appreciates Noora Raty's skill in the net more than her former Gophers teammates. During her years at the U, the Finnish goaltender backstopped her team to two NCAA titles and won more games than any other woman to play college hockey.
That makes it all the more challenging when the old friends find themselves on opposite sides, as they did Saturday in the opening game of the women's hockey tournament at the Sochi Winter Games. And it made it all the more satisfying for the United States to earn a 3-1 victory over Finland. Of the five current or former Gophers on the American team, four played with Raty, and they knew how hard it would be to get past one of the best goalies in the game.
Scoring a goal 53 seconds into the game helped. So did a 43-15 advantage in shots on goal. Flashing the speed and power they hope will propel them to a gold medal, the Americans used goals from Hilary Knight, Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter to build a 3-0 lead and start the Olympic tournament in sharp style.
"We wanted to get a lot of shots on Noora, early and often from any angle,'' said former Gophers defenseman Megan Bozek, who assisted on the Americans' second goal. "She's incredible. As the game went on, she made some phenomenal saves out there.
"Hats off to Noora. But we found a way to score early, and that was one of our keys to the game. So good for us.''
At the Four Nations tournament in November, Raty's brilliance propelled the Finns to a 3-1 upset of the U.S., their first victory over the Americans in four years. Finland hired a highly regarded strength coach last summer, which Raty said has vastly improved her team's fitness. It also has brought aboard goaltending coach Andrew Kent, a former goaltender at Augsburg College who coached Raty with the Gophers.
