#5/5 Minnesota Golden Gophers (20-5-1, 14-5-1-1 in WCHA)
vs.
University of St. Thomas Tommies (8-18-1, 2-17-1-1)
Friday, February 2 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 3 at 4:30 p.m.
Both games at Ridder Arena
The newest rivalry will get its next chapter as the Gopher Women's Hockey team hosts the University of St. Thomas Tommies at Ridder Arena this weekend. Action begins on Friday, February 2 at 6:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, February 3 at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday schedule reminder and traffic alert – We emphasize the 4:30 p.m. start time on Saturday, which is a change from the original schedule published before the start of the season. We also share that the Gopher Men's Basketball team is playing at Williams Arena earlier that afternoon and will be letting out around 3:30 p.m., so those of you coming to Ridder Arena are encouraged to take proper care around campus due to increased vehicular & pedestrian traffic.
Game coverage – For the fourth series in a row, Saturday's game will be televised on Fox 9+ (channel finder). Otherwise, you can find both contests streamed on the B1G+ subscription service, and the free audio play-by-play will be on GopherSports.com (Friday and Saturday) starting 15 to 20 minutes before puck drop.
Last time against St. Thomas – Abbey Murphy posted a 4-goal, 2-assist weekend and Skylar Vetter & Lucy Morgan stopped all 43 shots they faced (combined) as Minnesota swept the Tommies, 8-0 at Xcel Energy Center to open the series and 4-0 at St. Thomas Ice Arena in the rematch. Murphy scored the Gophers' first three goals for a natural hat trick, including a short-handed tally, and Vetter made 27 saves at the X. The Gophers were held scoreless over the first 43 minutes in Mendota Heights, but Emma Kreisz netted her first collegiate goal, the eventual game-winning tally, on a power play; at the other end, Morgan made 16 saves to blank UST. In the series, Ella Huber lit the lamp twice and added an assist, while Josefin Bouveng scored her first goal of the season and dished out two helpers. Emma Conner, Peyton Hemp, Audrey Wethington (PP) & Nelli Laitinen joined Bouveng in recording their first goals of the season. Madeline Wethington dished out 3 assists, and Lauren O'Hara earned her first collegiate point with an assist.
Analyzing the Tommies – Like Minnesota State, St. Thomas is 6-1-0 in non-conference play. However, they have struggled in WCHA action this season with only 2 wins and 8 standings points in 20 contests, lighting the lamp only 24 times in those games while yielding 81 goals to their conference opponents.
Youth is the story for the Tommies, with 4 of their top 6 scorers being freshmen. Ella Boerger (#15) has a team-high 19 points and 9 goals while dishing out 10 assists. Rylee Bartz (#6) is second in scoring with 18 points, posting a team-high 11 assists and lighting the lamp 7 times herself. Ellah Hause (#18) is fourth with 10 points on 5 goals & 5 assists, and Maddie Brown (#17) is tied for fifth with 9 points on 5 goals & 4 assists. Junior defender Nicole Vallerio (#26), a member of the Swiss National Team, is third in team scoring, recording 4 goals & 8 assists for 12 points.
UST has relied on two graduate transfers for much of their goaltending. Former Gopher Olivia King (#1) is 5-7-1 in 13 starts, posting a 3.00 goals-against average and .889 save percentage, while Calla Frank (#32), formerly at Minnesota State, is 3-8-0 with a 3.99 GAA and .886 SV%. Sophomore Maggie Malecha (#33) has seen action in 5 games, going 0-3-0 in her three starts, posting a 4.70 GAA and .885 SV%.
Last weekend for St. Thomas – Maddie Clough recorded a goal & an assist and Nicole Vallario dished out two helpers, all on the power play, to turn a 1-0 deficit to Bemidji State into a 2-1 lead for the Tommies. Unfortunately for UST, Makenna Deering netted an extra-attacker goal for the Beavers with 1:25 left in regulation to knot the score, and neither team found the back of the net in overtime, resulting in a 2-2 tie. Clough tallied the only goal of the subsequent shootout to give the Tommies the third point in the WCHA standings. In the rematch, Ella Boerger and Haley Maxwell scored for St. Thomas to erase a pair of one-goal deficits after BSU goals by Taylor Nelson and Alyssa Watkins, but Watkins lit the lamp again with 14:42 to play and Kayla Santl added an empty-netter for a 4-2 Bemidji State victory. Olivia King (UST) and Eva Filippova (BSU) were between the pipes for both games; King made a combined 45 saves, while Filippova stopped 57 shots.
Gophers persevere for sweep of Minnesota State – Ella Huber, Abbey Murphy, and Peyton Hemp each recorded a goal & an assist in the first 40 minutes of their game against MSU at Ridder Arena to put the Gophers up 3-0 at the second intermission, but the Mavericks evened the score with 3 goals on their first 5 shots of the third period; Jamie Nelson lit the lamp twice and assisted on Jenessa Gazdik's game-tying power-play goal. However, the Gophers earned their own power play with 7:07 to play and Murphy buried the go-ahead goal 19 seconds later after a cross-ice pass from Huber. Lucy Morgan shut the door the rest of the way, finishing with 24 saves, to give the Maroon & Gold a 4-3 win. Suzette Faucher made 19 saves for Minnesota State. In the rematch in Mankato, Josefin Bouveng buried a long bomb on a first-period power play to put the Gophers up 1-0, but MSU netminder Hailey Hansen stopped the other 26 shots she faced in regulation. Meanwhile, Kennedy Bobyck knotted the score for the Mavericks 9:17 into the third period, forcing overtime. In the extra period, Nelli Laitinen carried the puck into the offensive zone, drawing the attention of two Minnesota State players; Laitinen dropped the puck into an open area for Murphy, who then found Hemp driving the net for the game-winning goal. Skylar Vetter earned the win, stopping 15 of 16 shots. Murphy (2g, 2a) and Huber (1g, 3a) each posted 4-point weekends while Hemp (2g, 1a) & Bouveng (1g, 2a) each tallied 3 points.
