WOMEN'S HOCKEY: Bulldogs blank Beavers 3-0

DULUTH – The Bemidji State women’s hockey team was unable to dig out of an early hole en route to a 3-0 loss on the road against Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival University of Minnesota Duluth Friday night.

UMD controlled play toward the beginning of regulation and jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 5:01.

Moments after Emily Erickson sped past UMD defender Tea Villila and was stopped on a breakaway, the Bulldogs broke the puck out the other way and took a 1-0 lead soon after when Kaya Vafina found Brienna Gillanders at the top of the crease for a one-timer goal.

In the second period, Tess Dusik was whistled for hooking, and UMD cushioned its lead when Jamie Kenyon took the puck all the way up the ice and finished the play with a backhanded wraparound goal.

The Bulldogs went ahead by three toward the end of the middle stanza when Pernilla Winberg finished off a three-on-one rush with her seventh goal of the season.

The 3-0 score held into the second intermission, at which point UMD held a 20-12 edge in shots on goal.

Minnesota Duluth netminder Kayla Black came up big on BSU’s best chance of the period, sprawling across the crease to deny an Abby Williams bid in front.

In the third period, Kenyon and Erickson each hit posts in the early going, but neither team could change the score.

Bemidji State goaltender Abby Ryplanski finished the night with 25 saves in her first start since Jan. 4 against St. Cloud State while freshman Black earned her fourth career shutout with 15 saves to help UMD extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.

With the loss, the Bemidji State falls to 5-16-2 with a 4-14-1-0 mark in league play. The Bulldogs improve to 10-8-3 overall and 9-7-1-0 in WCHA play.

BSU and UMD finish their two-game series today at 7:07 p.m. in Duluth.