Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Coming off the biggest wins on home ice earlier in the weekend, No. 2-ranked Midland University capped off an unbeaten semester with a shutout of No. 12-ranked University of Jamestown, 4-0. The Warriors, who also beat No. 1 Liberty on Thursday and Friday, improved 20-0-1 on Sunday afternoon.
After an early goal was waved off for goalie interference, Jenna Grosdidier netted a powerplay score at the 18:13 mark of the first. Ally Rakowski and Jaicee Huberdeau picked up assists on the goal as Midland took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
In the second frame, the Warriors’ defense ramped up their pressure on the Jimmies. They kept UJ from getting any looks at the net, making life easier for Meghan Stewart who got the start in goal. The Jimmies didn’t record any shots on net in the period while Midland was able to get 20 shots up.
Two of the attempts found the back of the net as Grosdidier scored at the 7:18 mark off an assist from Rylee Martin followed by Kamryn Hayhurst‘s goal at 18:08 from Kayla Flanigan and Rakowski. Through two periods, the Warriors let 3-0 and held a 38-8 shot advantage.
The solid play of the Midland defense carried over into the final period. Looking to solidify their inevitable spot atop the ACHA rankings next week, the Warriors handcuffed the Jimmies’ attack once again. For the second straight period, MU controlled the puck and even though they had to kill a penalty early in the frame, it kept a clean sheet with no shots on net.
With 7:21 to go in the game, Flanigan finished off the scoring column as she netted her 10th goal of the season. She joins Rakowski (17) and Callie Maguire (14) in double figures on the year. Paige Henderson assisted on the final goal of the game and semester for Midland.
“I thought we had a really strong finish to the semester this weekend,” commented head coach Jason White. “We played strong on Thursday night and then were dominant the rest of the weekend. For us to go into the break without a loss is huge. The team has worked hard and deserves a little time off. As a program, this is only one step toward our ultimate goal. We’ll take some time to rest up, finish the semester strong in the classroom, and spend some time with our families.”
Midland (20-0-1) will be off until the New Year as the fall semester comes to a close. After the break, the Warriors will spend most of their time on the road with a series at Minot State (January 19-20), in St. Louis for the WMCH Showcase Weekend (Jan. 26-28), and at Jamestown (February 9-10). Midland has just one home series schedule for the spring semester, a two-game set with Utah on February 17-18.
