It was a high-scoring two days for Minnesota.
The No. 6 Gophers scored 11 goals and stayed perfect on the road this season. The team moved their record to 7-4-1 after traveling to Mankato to take on the Mavericks. Minnesota beat Minnesota State Mankato 5-2 on Saturday after winning 6-1 on Friday. In the second game of the series, 10 Gophers recorded at least one point.
“It was a great weekend on the road, six points to put in the bank and we are excited to keep moving forward,” said head coach Brad Frost.
In the second game, the Gophers took a 3-1 lead into the third period. Minnesota State scored with just 10 minutes remaining to pull within one. The Gophers’ Nicole Schammel and Sophie Skarzynski responded and added two goals to pull away and secure the win for the Gophers.
Cara Piazza netted her second goal of the series and fourth goal of the season to open up the scoring in the game. Minnesota State answered the first goal by converting on a power play, and then, with just 18.1 seconds left, Taylor Wente tallied her fourth goal of the year.
In the second period, Lindsay Agnew netted her second goal of the year off a rebound at the 14:44 mark. Caitlin Reilly had a goal called off because of goalie interference. On defense, Alex Gulstene ended the game with 19 saves.
“Everyone in the lineup played really well,” Frost said. “I’m really proud of our team, we came out with some great jump and got the early lead.”
The Gophers netted six goals on Friday night to defeat the Mavericks. In this game, the Gophers had 11 different players record a point. Grace Zumwinkle, Piazza and Kippin Keller combined for 10 of those points. This was Zumwinkle’s first career multi-point game with a goal and three assists.
The Gophers didn’t need all three periods to score six goals. The Gophers were scoreless in the first period before erupting for four goals in the second. Zumwinkle scored her sixth goal of the year just 1:22 into the second period. Captains Piazza and Sydney Baldwin then added two goals, with Piazza netting her third goal of the season and Baldwin her second. Former Minnesota State Maverick, Schammel, rounded out the second period with a goal, making it her fifth goal of the season.
“It was a really good effort here tonight,” Frost said. “In particular, in the second period, to score four there was big for us.”
Sierra Smith extended the lead for the Gophers to get it to 5-0. That was her first career goal for the junior out of Stillwater, Minnesota. Sidney Peters got the start in the first game, and only allowed one goal that came in the third period. She had 23 saves. Keller added the late goal to get to six scores and close out Mankato.
“Sierra with her first goal as a Gopher was a real special moment, and overall it was a really good game,” Frost said.
