Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Kim Martin's UMD teammates mob her after an impressive performance in goal vs. New Hampshire. |
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Martin's brilliance helps UMD slip by UNH
March 20, 2008
By John Gilbert - DULUTH, MINN. --- Kim Martin stood alone against the powerful New Hampshire firing squad through most of Thursday night's NCAA Women's Hockey Championship semifinal. But while her Bulldogs were outshot 43-15, Martin showed characteristic poise and sheer brilliance to preserve just enough room for Minnesota-Duluth to steal a 3-2 victory.
A little strategy, a little rope-a-dope, a little power-play efficiency for two goals by freshman Laura Fridfinnson, and a whole lot of Martin, carried Minnesota-Duluth into Saturday's 12:30 p.m. All-WCHA NCAA Women's hockey championship final against Wisconsin, the team the Bulldogs beat in overtime in the WCHA playoff final.
"I love playing in the playoffs," said Martin, a sophomore goaltender from Sweden. "I didn't think of much out there. I knew we could win, even if they outshot us."
Martin has bailed out the Bulldogs numerous times, on their way to a 33-4-1 record, but never once has she had to rescue them from what seemed inevitable defeat the way she did in front of 3,161 appreciative fans at the DECC Thursday night. Fridfinnson's second power-play goal, at 10:27 of the third period, was the game-winner, but the Bulldogs then spent the last 10 minutes killing penalties and trying to encourage the clock to run out of time.
"Obviously, we got outplayed by a very talented team tonight, but Kim kept us in the game," said UMD coach Shannon Miller. "We were hurting, without two players on our top line, when we learned that Saara Tuominen wouldn't be able to play. The only thing we asked of everybody was to step up and keep working."
The only person who seemed unimpressed was New Hampshire coach Brian McCloskey, who was justifiable proud of his Wildcats, but set sportsmanship back about a decade. "It's hard for me to say anything but how proud I am of my team," McCloskey said. "Clearly, the better team was wearing blue tonight. Duluth kept coming up with big saves, but we pressed it to the metal to the end, and we were clearly the better team."
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McCloskey went on to say that UNH had played Wisconsin, "and they gave us a tougher game," and added, "Duluth would be hard-pressed to win our league."
It was suggested that McCloskey was hostile because many "Western" media types had asked him about why the West has dominated, by winning all seven NCAA championships so far. Oh well, now it is certain to be eight. But he could at least have learned Kim Martin's name.
One of the players who stepped up was Sara O'Toole, a constant positive on the team who rarely scores. She got her eighth goal of the season to forge a 1-1 tie midway through the second period, and Fridfinnson's first power play goal came at 12:48 to put UMD up 2-1.
Even then, however, UMD was outshot 15-9 in the first period.
"I don't know, maybe my game against the Gophers, when I made 50 saves," Martin said, when asked if any games this season could match this one.
In the Minnesota game, however, she made 50 saves and her teammates won a 5-0 shutout, so the last 35 or so were impressive, but of the low-pressure variety. Thursday night, the Bulldogs fell behind 1-0 on a defensive miscue at the 4:00 mark, and Martin singlehandedly kept them in the game at 2-2 through a second period when the Bulldogs got no shots - as in zero. The faltering offensive performance saw them also fail to get a shot for the first 10 minutes of the third period, so their span without a shot lasted for at least 33 minutes - over half the game.
Miller said that she juggled to put together a second line of Elin Holmlov centering Karine Demeule and O'Toole, with Tawni Mattila centering Jessica Hawkins and Erin Olson on the third line.
"I told the second and third lines their only job tonight was to get the puck out of our end, and to get it in deep to their end," said Miller. "Then the Haley Irwin line, with Fridfinnson and Emmanuelle Blais, could come out and use their speed to try to score. With only one line that we thought we could depend on to score, I thought it would be best if they could have a head start by having the other lines get the puck in deep."
Martin didn't know at game time that she had just been named first team women's NCAA All-American goaltender. And she won't know until Friday night whether she wins the Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation's best college player. She also didn't know that when defenseman Tara Gray carried the puck across the slot in front of her, that UNH's top goal-scorer, Jenn Wakefield, would be able to smack the puck off her stick and into the net in one motion.
When the Bulldogs responded for the goals by O'Toole and Fridfinnson, the crowd enjoyed it, but thereafter the Bulldogs continued to play hard, but they were playing defensively, and UNH came in waves at Martin. It took a power play for Leah Craig's tying goal while the Wildcats outshot UMD 13-0. Then came the third period, which overflowed with drama.
At 10:21, UMD got its first shot since the first period, aided by a power play. At 10:27, the second shot came from Haley Irwin, and Fridfinnson redirected it in for a 3-2 lead.
Referee Dan Lick then took center stage. He called a penalty on UMD, then two in a row on New Hampshire, then two more on UMD. That left the teams skating 3-on-3, but at 12:44, UMD was two skaters short for a minute. The Wildcats set up camp, moved the puck around with crisp efficiency, and fired shot after shot. The UMD penalty killers gave it their best, but Martin was the star, smothering pucks when she could, and deflecting the rest out of danger.
When Irwin came out of the penalty box, the big crowd rose for a standing ovation for what Martin and the penalty killers had accomplished, but it still seemed inevitable that the UNH pressure would eventually score. A pass from behind the net found Wakefield alone in the slot. She shot, and raised her hands in the air, before slowly dropping them to clasp her helmet in anguish.
When the Bulldogs killed the rest of the penalty time, the crowd gave Martin another standing O. The Bulldogs got one last power play, but spent it retreating and putting the puck in deep, actually appearing to stall time off their own advantage. Then Mattila was penalized for interference with 1:39 left, and Martin and the Bulldogs had to again kill penalty time until the finish.
UNH outshot UMD 15-6 in the third period, and 43-15 for the game.