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UPDATED: March 22, 2015, 9:45 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS—For the third time in 11 years, the Minnesota women's ice hockey team denied Harvard the NCAA title, defeating the Crimson, 4-1. The championship game loss came after Harvard (27-6-3, 16-4-2 ECAC) made its first NCAA Frozen Four appearance since 2005.
Before Minnesota (34-3-4, 22-2-4 WCHA) junior forward Hannah Brandt was a two-time NCAA champion, she was a late cut from the 2014 National Team and a runner-up for the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the highest honor in collegiate women’s ice hockey.
A few minutes into the 2015 Frozen Four title game against Harvard, Brandt was the victim of another blindsiding hit, this one from Harvard sophomore forward Sydney Daniels.
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Enough must have been enough. Almost nine minutes into the final period, Brandt enacted her revenge by collecting a cross outside the crease and lifting the puck past Crimson junior goalie Emerance Maschmeyer to give the Gophers a 2-0 advantage.
“Good players make plays,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “She’s always had a lot of poise, great hands, and an eye for the net.”
Despite a later goal from Harvard senior forward Sarah Edney, the lead proved insurmountable. Bolstered by a pair of insurance scores, Minnesota emerged from the Ridder Arena with a 4-1 victory over the Crimson and, for the sixth time in program history, a national title.
Meanwhile, Harvard (27-6-3, 16-4-2 ECAC) left a championship matchup empty-handed for the fourth time in the Frozen Four era. Three of these defeats have come at the hands of the Gophers.
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“We had to play our most complete game of the year tonight to beat Harvard,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said. “Had we lost tonight, I still would’ve been very proud of these kids because it was a great year regardless of the outcome.”
On an afternoon in which the two teams combined for one goal in the first 40 minutes, the third period proved to be a decisive explosion of offense.
Halfway through the frame, Brandt’s finish launched the sellout home crowd into euphoria, but the delirium only lasted about six minutes. With 4:54 remaining, Edney swung the momentum back towards the Crimson by firing a tight-angle shot from the left wing past Minnesota netminder Amanda Leveille.
“Getting that goal was huge for us,” senior forward Kalley Armstrong said. “We were just hoping to get a couple of bounces going our way…[and] go out there as hard as we could.”
