WARROAD, Minn. – Nine players scored in leading the U.S. Women's National Team to an 11-1 victory over the University of North Dakota in the second game of the Qwest Tour here tonight at the Gardens Arena. Natalie Darwitz (Eagan, Minn.) and Monique Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) each scored twice, while Gigi Marvin (Warroad, Minn.) tallied a goal and two assists after her high school jersey was retired in front of a hometown crowd of 1,236.
"It was a special night in a lot of ways," said Mark Johnson, head coach for Team USA. "Not many people get the opportunity to have their jersey retired like Gigi Marvin, who was a star tonight. We're just thankful and appreciative of the fans and community for hosting us - this is a great hockey community with a lot of tradition and it means a lot for our players to come here." Team USA jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the first frame, with Lisa Chesson (Plainfield, Ill.) opening scoring on the power play at the 3:04 mark off a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that went high to the near side. Monique Lamoureux potted one against her future team at 17:20 to double the U.S. lead and Darwitz walked in and put a shot just under the crossbar 2:08 later to complete the period's scoring.
A total of seven goals were scored in the middle stanza, including six from the U.S. contingent. Hometown hero Marvin put the U.S. up 4-0 at 3:38. Just :50 later, Kerry Weiland (Palmer, Alaska) found Jocelyne Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) in the goalmouth for U.S. goal No. 5. On its second power-play opportunity of the outing, Team USA gained a 6-0 lead when Monique Lamoureux beat Jorid Dagfinrud with a wrister from the mid-slot for her second goal.
In the latter half of the period, Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.) swatted in Marvin's rebound at 11:13, followed by a goal from Jenny Potter (Edina, Minn.) at 13:03 for an 8-0 score. The Fighting Sioux broke onto the scoreboard with just :38 remaining on a Alyssa Wiebe goal, and the Americans returned the favor at 19:59 when Erika Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass.) tipped Molly Engstrom's (Siren, Wis.) shot from the right point to make it 9-1 after 40 minutes of play. The final period saw another pair of U.S. goals, first a Weiland wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that hit the far side of the net at 1:33, then Darwitz's second of the game off a feed from Lawler at 11:17 to account for the 11-1 final score.
Molly Schaus (Natick, Mass.) and Brianne McLaughlin (Sheffield Village, Ohio) combined for eight saves in net for the U.S., while Stephanie Ney, Dagfinrud and Brittany Kirkham totaled 51 saves for UND.
Team USA returns to Qwest Tour action against Canada on Friday, Oct. 16, in Spokane, Wash. For tickets and more information, visit QwestTour.com.
NOTES: Team USA played a penalty-free game ... The U.S. was 2-for-3 on the power play ... Gigi Marvin was named U.S. Player of the Game, which was presented by U.S. Olympian and fellow Warroad-native Dave Christian ... Coverage of the Qwest Tour can be found on QwestTour.com, as well as on the U.S. Women's National Team's Facebook page and on the Qwest Tour Twitter page ... Click here for Team USA's roster ... Mark Johnson, head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin, is leading Team USA through the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. Dave Flint, head women's ice hockey coach at Northeastern University, and Jodi McKenna, head women's ice hockey coach at Wesleyan University, are serving as assistant coaches ... The 2009-10 U.S. Women's National Team will be centralized in Blaine, Minn., during the Qwest Tour.
ABOUT THE QWEST TOUR The Qwest Tour, presented by Qwest Communications, features the 2009-10 U.S. Women's National Team playing a 10-game domestic tour that ends just prior to the start of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. During that time, the U.S. squad faces off against Canada; Finland; all-star teams from the WCHA, Hockey East and ECAC Hockey; and various other NCAA Division I women's ice hockey teams. For more details, including the full schedule, ticket information and Qwest All Access content, visit QwestTour.com.
GAME SUMMARY Scoring By Period USA | 3 | 6 | 2 -- | 11 | UND | 0 | 1 | 0 -- | 1 | First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Chesson (Marvin, Darwitz), 3:04 (pp); 2, USA, M. Lamoureux (Thatcher), 17:20; 3, USA, Darwtiz (Lawler, Weiland), 19:28. Penalties: UND, Flanagan (tripping), 2:19.
Second Period - Scoring: 4, USA, Marvin (Stack), 3:38; 5, USA, J. Lamoureux (Weiland), 4:28; 6, USA, M. Lamoureux (unassisted), 8:21 (pp); 7, USA, Duggan (Marvin), 11:13; 8, USA, Potter (Keseley), 13:03; 9, UND, Wiebe (Williams, Ketcher), 19:22; 10, USA, Lawler (Engstrom), 19:59. Penalties: UND, Molle (cross checking), 7:26; UND, Babchishin (body checking), 16:51. Third Period - Scoring: 11, USA, Weiland (Keseley, Knight), 1:33; 12, USA, Darwitz (Lawler, Cahow), 11:17. Penalties: None.
Shots by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | USA | 24 | 18 | 20 | 62 | UND | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 | | | | | | Goaltenders (SH/SV) | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | USA, Schaus, 28:21 | 4-4 | 1-1 | x-x | 5-5 | USA, McLaughlin, 31:39 | x-x | 3-2 | 1-1 | 4-3 | UND, Ney, 20:00 | 24-21 | x-x | x-x | 24-21 | UND, Dagfinrud, 20:00 | x-x | 18-12 | x-x | 18-12 | UND, Kirkham, 20:00 | x-x | x-x | 20-18 | 20-18 | Power Play: USA 2-3; UND 0-0 Penalties: USA 0-0; UND 3-6 Officials: Referee-Kristine Langley; Linesmen-Kelli Rolstad, Laura Johnson
Attendance: 1,236
Qwest Tour Schedule & Results Date | Opponent | Location | Time (Local/ET)/Result | Fri., Sept. 25 | WCHA All-Stars | St. Paul, Minn. | W, 6-1 | Sat., Oct. 10 | Univ. of North Dakota | Warroad, Minn. | W, 11-1 | Fri., Oct. 16 | Canada | Spokane, Wash. | 7:05 p.m./10:05 p.m. | Sun., Nov. 22 | Hockey East All-Stars | Durham, N.H. | 1:05 p.m. | Sat., Dec. 12 | Canada | Denver, Colo. | 7:05 p.m./9:05 p.m. | Wed., Dec. 30 | Canada | St. Paul, Minn. | 7:05 p.m./8:05 p.m. | Sun., Jan. 3 | ECAC Hockey All-Stars | Hamden, Conn. | 2:05 p.m. | Tues., Jan. 5 | Univ. of Wisconsin | Madison, Wis. | 7:05 p.m./8:05 p.m. | Tues., Jan. 12 | Univ. of Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. | 7:05 p.m./8:05 p.m. | Thurs., Feb. 4 | Finland | Colorado Springs, Colo. | 7:05 p.m./9:05 p.m. | |