After being cut from Canada's Olympic women's hockey team in December, sophomore defenseman Jocelyne Larocque found she could return to Minnesota Duluth for the second half of the season, although it meant using up a full season of eligibility. She said yes immediately and told coach Shannon Miller she believed the Bulldogs were a Frozen Four-caliber team.
UMD has lost just one game in 2010, since Larocque rejoined the team, going 15-1 the past two months.
On Saturday, she provided a goal as No. 2-ranked UMD defeated No. 5 New Hampshire 2-1 in an NCAA Division I quarterfinal game before 523 fans at the DECC. The Bulldogs (29-8-2) advanced to the Frozen Four for a fourth straight year and meet No. 3 Minnesota (26-8-5) in Friday's semifinals at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
''The first half of the season was the worst hockey of my life 1/8in not making the Canadian team which ultimately won a gold medal). And the second half has been the best hockey of my life," said Larocque, a native of Ste. Anne, Manitoba. "When I came back here everyone opened their arms to me and I'm so happy that we are going to the Frozen Four."
The Bulldogs survived a tense battle with Hockey East member New Hampshire and needed a power-play goal from freshman winger Jessica Wong at 3:57 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie. The Bulldogs led 26-24 in shots on goal and got another solid performance from freshman goalie Jennifer Harss of Germany. She gained her 27th win of the season and has a .933 save percentage and 2.07 goals-against average for the season with an NCAA-leading 1,138 saves.
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UMD has beaten New Hampshire (19-9-5) three straight years in the NCAA tournament -- in the 2008 semifinals (3-2 at the DECC) and in the 2009 quarterfinals (4-1 in Durham, N.H.). Last season's game was 0-0 after two periods before the Bulldogs pulled away and broke New Hampshire's 30-game home unbeaten streak.
The Gophers defeated Clarkson 3-2 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena in another quarterfinal game and will meet UMD for the sixth time this season (UMD leads 3-2). Matched in an all-East semifinal are No. 1 Mercyhurst College (30-2-3) of Erie, Pa., and Cornell University (20-8-6) of Potsdam, N.Y.
