UVM women’s hockey went into Friday night’s game at No. 5 University of Minnesota struggling, having gone ten NCAA games without a win, but on the brink of making history.

When they left the Ridder Arena ice, the streak was over and history was made.

Fuelled by three points from first-year forward Alyssa Holmes, the Catamounts stunned the Golden Gophers 4-2 in Minneapolis.

The win was the 71st of head coach Jim Plumer’s UVM career, pushing him past Dennis Miller for the record of most wins by a UVM women’s hockey coach. Miller coached the team from 1996 to 2006.

The Catamounts opened the scoring in the first period. With senior forward Kourtney Menches and Lindsay Agnew both in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct, transfer junior defender Taylor Flaherty fired a shot past Minnesota goalie Sidney Peters to put Vermont up 1-0.

Vermont doubled their lead just before the end of the period. Senior defender Amanda Drobot took a shot from the point that first-year forward Eve-Audrey Picard was able to bury. Picard’s goal extended the UVM lead to 2-0.

The Catamounts furthered their lead to 3-0 midway through the second.

First-year forward Alyssa Holmes fired a shot from a tricky angle and beat Peters for her first collegiate goal and a 3-0 UVM lead, shocking the 1,342 fans at Ridder. The Gophers pulled Peters for backup Alex Gulstene.

Holmes added a second goal four minutes later, shortly after a Minnesota power play expired. She fired a shot that went in off of the goaltender, and it was 4-0 Vermont.

Minnesota wouldn’t go away in the third, though. After killing off a five-minute major to Agnew, the Gophers got on the board with 5:48 to go as Nicole Schammer broke up sophomore goaltender Sydney Scobee’s shutout bid on a wraparound, cutting the lead to 4-1.

With 1:13 to go, Minnesota pulled Gulstene, and added a second goal through Sydney Baldwin, but it was too little, too late for the hosts.

Scobee made 24 saves for the Catamounts. 

“It certainly is a big thrill to win a game like this at Minnesota,” Plumer said. “Scobee was stellar, Holmes broke out in a big way, and our entire group contributed.

The two teams rematched Saturday at Ridder Arena, with Minnesota coming out as the winners with a 6-1 scoreline. The Catamounts are now 6-14-4 on the season and 3-9-3 in conference play.