Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Bemidji State goaltender Emily Brookshaw stops UMD's Iya Gavrilova |
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Brookshaw Key to Bemidji State Upswing
Oct. 18, 2007
Losing is never fun, but it can be educational, and as a senior who is on the verge of setting all of Bemidji State's goaltending records, Emily Brookshaw set an example to prove how competitive the Beavers can be in the rugged Women's WCHA - a lesson that could pay dividends as early as this weekend.
Victories have been scarce for Bemidji State in recent years, and losing twice at Minnesota Duluth was no major surprise, but even in defeat, the Beavers served notice that they will be ready for every foe, including North Dakota this weekend.
UMD is powerful, as usual, and the Bulldogs opened their home season by beating Bemidji State 4-0, although it could have been much worse. Brookshaw faced 51 shots in the Saturday afternoon game, stopping 47 of them, while her teammates might have been a little awed by UMD's relentless attack and only managed 17 shots themselves.
On Sunday afternoon, it almost seemed as though the Beavers arose from Brookshaw's example and skated with the talented Bulldogs on a much more even basis. True, UMD still outshot Bemidji State 35-16, but the scoring chances were much more even, and again, Brookshaw was back there as the last line of defense, kicking out 34 of those shots to keep the Beavers in the game until the final buzzer of a 1-0 setback.
Brookshaw, who is from Webster, Wis., but played Minnesota high school hockey at Hill-Murray in the St. Paul suburb of Maplewood, gave up only five goals for the second straight weekend. She did it to open against Minnesota State, Mankato, when Bemidji State dropped a 3-1 opener but rebounded for a 2-2 tie. So while the record stands at 0-3-1 after the Duluth weekend, the schedule will swing in BSC's favor for the next month.
Brookshaw could become the all-time Bemidji State goaltending winner with six victories, and she seems likely to notch some of them, if not all, as the Beavers face North Dakota, Ohio State, and non-conference foes Niagara and Robert Morris.
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Not that she is looking ahead, but Brookshaw says she likes what she sees of her team already this season.
After facing 51 shots in the first UMD game, Brookshaw said, "I think that's the most shots I've ever faced, but it was fun," said Brookshaw.
Indeed, she had made 45 saves - here personal record - three times in her career, so the 47 saves and 51 shots were "personal bests" from a goaltender's standpoint. And her 81 saves for the weekend also stands out, as she boosted her save percentage farther up to .933, with a goals-against mark of 2.47per game.
"We made some early mistakes from inexperience in our first series against Mankato," Brookshaw said. "And I played OK in the first game, and better in the second. But we don't quit."
That was evident at Duluth, although in the first game, the Beavers seemed to pack it in around Brookshaw and hang on defensively. "I was really happy with how we battled," said Bemidji coach Steve Sertich. "We battled, and there were a lot of shots, but a lot of them were from outside. UMD is good, with a lot of speed and strong goaltending."
Asked if she thought the transition to Sertich's coaching, and the new players, might make this the best team she has played on, Brookshaw was diplomatic. "Every team I've been on at Bemidji has had its high points," she said. "But I'm excited for this year. I'm really impressed with our freshmen. Some of them have natural scoring ability."
Seniors Tara Hiscock and Jessica Pullar are the top scorers on the club, but freshmen such as Erin Cody, Julie Rising, Eva Schwaerzler, Carissa Ketcher, Erin Johnson and Annie Bauerfeld all have shown good scoring potential. Cody played for Sertich when he coached Roseville High School, before taking the Bemidji job a year ago.
A few of those goals could lead to enough victories to boost Brookshaw to ownership of every career goaltending record at Bemijdi State. For her four years, Brookshaw's career goals-against record remains under 3.00, and her save percentage remains over .900, while her 20-47-8 career record is six victories, and 234 saves, behind Bre Dedrickson. Brookshaw is virtually certain to raise all those career records. The one she'd like the best, however, is for victories, because that would fulfill her team-first objectives.
UMD coach Shannon Miller said she was impressed with the job Sertich has done in one year at Bemidji, and singled out Brookshaw. "He's done a good job, and she's a good goaltender - she's always tough," said Miller. "We had lots of offense, with a lot of shots, and they didn't let us get too close to the net."
Karine Demeule scored in the first period and again in the third for UMD, while freshman Laura Fridfinnson and sophomore Saara Tuominen each scored in the second, amid a 20-shot UMD barrage.
In the second game, it looked like more of the same, as Bemidji State managed only two shots. UMD ace Kim Martin, who recorded her third shutout in three starts in the first game, took the day off as transfer Johanna Ellison, a junior from Cloquet, made her UMD debut. She did a good job - and she had to.
Brookshaw blanked the Bulldogs through the first period, and when she finally yielded a goal, it wasn't until after a struggle. At 6:48 of the second period, Sara Murray fired a shot from the left point. Freshman Iya Gavrilova, from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, deflected it, but Brookshaw blocked it. She also blocked Gavrilova's rebound try, but the puck then squirted across the goal-mouth, and Demeule put it away for her third goal of the weekend and fourth of the season.
Miller said her Bulldogs didn't change much for the second game. "We didn't change our game plan, just our point of attack," Miller said. "I think our team was excited for Johanna to get her first start in goal, but I also think our team started out thinking it was gong to be easy. We continued to mount offense, but I changed lines a lot and tried to stir up our chemistry."
Demeule, a senior from Montreal, explained in her colorful French-Canadian accent how typical it was for her to score an opportunistic goal. "We played well," Demeule said. "Their goalie is really good, but when the rebound came to me, I was able to capitalize.
"Capitalize - that's a big word for me, eh?" she said, smiling.
When asked how she'd say "capitalize" in French, Demeule smiled again, and said, "The same way."
In whatever language, Brookshaw's goaltending was perfect thereafter, and her play not only kept Bemidji State in the game, it seemed to inspire the Beavers for a more competitive attack.
One place women's hockey seems to have lagged behind the men is in the naming of post-game awards. Nearly every team exhibits a home-team bias in such awards. But when UMD wound up clinging to a 1-0 victory for Ellison's shutout, there was no question - Brookshaw was named the No. 1 star of the game.
"I thought we played much better," said Brookshaw. "Everyone was going hard."
Coach Sertich said, "Our young kids played well, and maybe some of them started believing in themselves a little." He also knew the main reason for that confidence was back between the pipes.
"Weekend-wise, I think this may have been Emily's best weekend," Sertich said. "She's always played well, but she's usually had one great game on a weekend, and might not have been as good in the other game. But this weekend, she was really outstanding in both game."
