Women's Frozen Four: Minnesota Wins Title With 3-1 Win vs. BC

DURHAM, N.H. – Third ranked University of Minnesota won the NCAA Division I Women's Hockey National Championship after defeating previously unbeaten Boston College by a score of 3-1 Sunday afternoon at the Whittemore Center on the campus of the University of New Hampshire.

The Golden Gophers ended their historic run with a record of 35-4-1 as they earned their sixth NCAA National Title and seventh national championship overall. The No. 1 Eagles suffered their first loss of the season and end the 2015-16 campaign with a record of 40-1-0. It was the first national championship appearance for the Eagles in program history.

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, British Columbia), the National Rookie of the Year, just 13 seconds into the game to give the Golden Gophers a 1-0 lead. The goal tied the NCAA Tournament record and set the NCAA Championship record for fastest goal to start a game. Hannah Brandt (Vandais Heights, Minn.) recorded an assist on the play for her 64^th point of the season while Megan Wolfe (Eagan, Minn.) notched her 24^th assist of the year.

After the first period of play, the Golden Gophers held a 1-0 lead. Both teams fired 12 shots during the first period with Minnesota's Amanda Leveille (Kingston, Ontario) making saves on all shots faced and Boston College's Katie Burt (Lynn, Mass.) making 11 saves. Minnesota also held an 8-3 advantage in blocked shots.

Each team remained an offensive threat in the second period, however it was a period of goaltending that held the score at 1-0 through two periods. Leveille made 13 saves in the period, bringing her total to 25 while Burt had 26 saves on 27 shots faced.

Senior Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.) gave the Golden Gophers a 2-0 advantage at 8:31 of the third period with her 11^th goal of the season. Potomak started the play as she fed the puck to Kessel who was at the top of the slot. Kessel wound up and fired a shot that took a deflection in front of the net and went into the upper corner of the goal. The assist was Potomak's 39^th of the year.

Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) gave Minnesota a 3-0 advantage at 13:12 of the third period with her 23^rd goal of the season. She got the rebound of a shot by defenseman Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.) that Burt had saved and ripped it into the net from the slot.

The Eagles pulled to within one at 14:07 of the third as Makenna Newkirk (Scottsdale, Ariz.) notched her 22^nd goal of the year. Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) initiated the play with a shot that was blocked by Minnesota and headed towards the goal. Newkirk found the loose puck and wristed it into the net.

The Golden Gophers outshot the Eagles 34-33 in the game. Leveille made 32 saves in the game while Burt made 31. Each team was held scoreless on power plays with Minnesota going 0-for-3 and Boston College going 0-for-4.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Forward – Sarah Potomak // Minnesota
Forward – Amanda Kessel // Minnesota
Forward – Haley Skarupa // Boston College
Defense – Lee Stecklein // Minnesota
Defense – Megan Keller // Boston College
Goaltender – Amanda Leveille // Minnesota

Most Outstanding Player – Sarah Potomak // Minnesota

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