Defending champion Minnesota-Duluth, Brown advance to final

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) -- There will be no all-Minnesota Frozen Four final. Pam Dreyer made sure of that.

Dreyer made 35 saves, including nine in final minutes, as Brown beat top-ranked Minnesota 2-1 Friday night in the semifinals of the NCAA women's hockey championship.

Second-ranked Minnesota-Duluth also advanced to Sunday's final, with Larissa Luther and Joanne Eustace scoring power-play goals as the defending champions beat Niagara 3-2 in the first game.

Brown's Kim Insalaco scored the winning goal on a power-play with 9:16 gone in the second period after Kelly Stephens had pulled Minnesota even 51 seconds earlier on a power play.

Kristy Zamora scored Brown's first goal at the start of the period.

In the third period, it was Dreyer's show.

She made 17 saves, most of them on quality shots, in the final period to give Brown (25-7-2) its eighth straight victory and 19th in 21 games with one tie.

"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Pam Dreyer," Brown coach Digit Murphy said. "We went in the tank a little with three or four minutes left, and she kept us in the game."

Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson also praised Dreyer credit.

"We put a lot of pressure on them at the end and we couldn't get by her," Halldorson said.

Minnesota finished the season 28-4-5.

Minnesota-Duluth (23-6-4), using a new offensive system put in three weeks ago, came out flying, outshooting Niagara 16-3 in the first period. Minnesota-Duluth coach Shannon Miller said the new system, using only one defenseman, is designed to get people up the ice quick.