The Gophers continue to roll through the WCHA with the team’s return to conference play on the road against Minnesota State-Mankato over the weekend. 

 

The Gophers won 11-1 Friday and 2-1 Saturday for a sweep of the Mavericks.

 

“I was proud of attitude and our efforts,” head coach Brad Frost said Saturday. “I credit Mankato for coming out and playing extremely hard in that second game.”

 

No. 3 Minnesota wasted no time in getting the scoring started on Friday, with junior forward Dani Cameranesi scoring six minutes into the game on the power play.

 

The Gophers added to their lead with goals from sophomore forward Kelly Pannek and senior captain Hannah Brandt, with the scores coming just 27 seconds apart.

 

Cameranesi added her second goal of the game, and senior forward Brook Garzone also tallied a goal in the first period to give the Gophers a 5-0 lead at the break. 

 

The Gophers (15-1-0, 11-1-0 WCHA) didn’t slow down in the second as junior captain Lee Stecklein scored just 17 seconds into the period. Freshman forward Sarah Potomak followed with a goal about five minutes later to make the score 7-0 Minnesota. 

 

The Mavericks (2-15-1, 0-14-0 WCHA) were able to get on the board at 10:28 with a goal from sophomore forward Amanda Conway, the team’s first and only of the night. 

 

The Gophers capped off the second period with Brandt’s second goal of the night to make it 8-1.

 

Brandt scored one more time in the third period to get a hat trick on her 22nd birthday.

 

Potomak also tallied one more goal to give her seven points on the night. She and her linemates Brandt and Cameranesi had 17 points in the game. 

 

“We were prepared to play, and we were working together as a group,” Potomak said. “We can take a lot from the first game. We played amazing together.”

 

Freshman goaltender Emma May played for the first time in her career during the third period and made three saves.

 

Saturday’s game featured less offense, but sophomore forward Cara Piazza scored halfway through the first period to give the Gophers the lead.

 

The Mavericks evened the score halfway through the second period on the power play, but Cameranesi put Minnesota back ahead before the second intermission.

 

The Gophers outshot the Mavericks 31-16 but went 0-3 on the power play to Mankato’s 1-3. 

 

“I think it’s kind of an eye-opening thing that if we aren’t playing our best, teams can keep up with us,” Piazza said. “It’ll be a good thing to know that we have to focus on our preparation and values. We can’t just show up and win an 11-1 game.”