Photo Gallery: Holy Angels vs. Minneapolis
After falling behind 1-0 with three minutes left in the first period on senior Bridget McGuire’s team-leading 17th goal of the season for Holy Angels, Minneapolis took advantage of its power plays in the middle period to take a 2-1 lead. Junior forward Julia Stevens tied the game with a point shot through traffic with the extra skater midway through the second period for her 10th goal of the season. She also added an assist in the game.
“I think the first period was a little bit rough,” Stevens said. “But I think we definitely picked it up in the second and third periods, and I think we just started to play more as a team.”
For Midtbo, it was her third multi-goal game of the season and second in as many games. She now has eight goals and 22 points on the season. She’s a smart player that has good hands and vision, according to her coach Sarma Ozmen.
“Our power play’s been doing great this year, and she’s been a big piece of it,” said Ozmen.
As far as the frigid temperatures and outdoor conditions, Minneapolis played an outdoor game last Saturday and squeezed in a practice Wednesday. While fans could take comfort in a warming tent or stand by some of the fire pits scattered around, heat was also pumped into the bench area for players and coaches.
“They were prepared for the cold,” Ozmen said. “The benches actually were quite warm. But the girls prepared for the cold, and we just took it as we have a job to do. We got some business to take care of here.”
Minneapolis (10-9-2, 2-3-0) took care of business by picking up a conference victory over Holy Angels (7-12-0, 1-4-0). Minneapolis was certainly proud to open up Hockey Day Minnesota.
“We want all these little girls that came here today to be proud of our town and want to play for us,” Ozmen said. “That’s the big goal. To see the skyline in the background and get to enjoy this is amazing.”