UNH, Minnesota Duel in Final Four Undercard

RECORD: 27-3-3

COACH: Laura Halldorson (Princeton '85, 2nd season)

KEY PLAYERS: Freshman center Jenny Schmidgall (32 goals, 34 assists) is fourth in the nation in scoring and was a member of the 1998 United States gold medal Olympic team and the 1999 World Championship team that won a silver medal in Finland last month. She was named Most Outstanding Forward of the World Championships, scoring 12 points in five games. Her 66 points are a school record. Junior Kris Scholz (16, 33) also adds punch from the right wing spot, and sophomore winger Nadine Muzerall (26, 18) is second on the team in goals.

Stud sophomore goaltender Erica Killewald leads the nation with a .948 save percentage and a 1.15 GAA. She has recorded seven shutouts this season.

SUMMARY: Like all of the Final Four teams, Minnesota does most things quite well. Few teams have been able to bust through the Gophers' stingy defense, and still fewer have solved Killewald once they did. The sophomore sensation sees just 18 shots on goal per game, a credit to a strong defensive unit led by sophomore Courtney Kennedy (15, 16). Minnesota ranks first in the nation in scoring defense (1.09 goals per game).

The Gophers average 5.82 goals per game, good for third in the nation, but that number is inflated by a conspicuously weak schedule. For example, five of Minnesota's wins came at the expense of lowly Mankato State--the only other non-ECAC team in Division I along with the Gophers--by a combined score of 39-3. In five games against the three other Final Four teams, Minnesota has scored only four goals in compiling a 0-2-3 record.

10 Gophers have scored at least 10 goals, and eight have at least 30 points. Three of Minnesota's blueliners have 15 assists. But Minnesota's record is qualified by its schedule, as geographic isolation has sheltered the Gophers from the rough-and-tumble ECAC.