Monday, October 1, 2018

Game Story: Familiar Faces & Lines Lead Minnesota to Season-Opening Win (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Opening the season trailing after twenty minutes, some new old faces got the Gophers on the winning track against No. 10 Mercyhurst.

No. 3 Minnesota scored four unanswered goals after changing lines, defeating the Lakers 4-2 in the season opener for both teams. Kelly Pannek and Sarah Potomak, in their return to wearing the maroon and gold, each finished with two points.

“We just needed something to spark some energy and that happened to be changing lines,” said Pannek, who spent the 2017-18 season winning an Olympic gold medal with the United States national team. “What was really cool is that everyone responded so well to it. You saw four units go out there and possess the puck, make awesome plays and it was really fun to see everyone gel and click like that so quickly.”

Minnesota (1-0-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA) began the game with its top forwards spread out across all four lines. Head coach Brad Frost wanted to have balance, however, the team wasn’t able to pressure Mercyhurst (0-1-0, 0-0-0 CHA) goaltender Kennedy Blair.

Instead, the Lakers got chances and made the most of a 12 second power play when Emma Nuuitinen shot the puck past sophomore goalie Alex Gulstene.

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