The Gophers women’s hockey team won its sixth consecutive game on Saturday after completing a series sweep on the road against the No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
Minnesota claimed the series’ first game on Friday 4-1 and outshot Minnesota-Duluth with a season-high 52 shots on goal. Senior forward Abbey Murphy scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second period on a one-timer shot assisted by fifth-year forward Natálie Mlýnková.
The Gophers’ power play and depth came through as the team pulled away with a 3-2 win on Saturday. Freshman defender Gracie Graham tied the game in the first period, followed by senior forward Peyton Hemp scoring the go-ahead goal on the power play.
Murphy’s assist on Graham’s tally was her 150th career point, while her game-winning goal on Friday was her 80th career goal.
After a scoreless second period, junior forward Emma Conner slammed home her first goal of the season in the final nine minutes of the game to secure the win.
Junior defender Sydney Morrow and Mlýnková were held pointless in Saturday’s contest, snapping their team-leading six-game point streak. Mlýnková had 10 points during the span, including five goals and two game-winners against Bemidji State, as she sits in second for Minnesota in points and goals.
Gophers head coach Brad Frost said Mlýnková is an important factor in the team’s secondary scoring, and that her ability to produce in critical moments stems from her experience playing for Czechia during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
“She’s got incredible skill, so she’s starting to get rewarded now with a lot of her offensive chances,” Frost said. “She’s just a really mature hockey player that does things the right way.”
Freshman goaltender Hannah Clark started in five of the Gophers’ six games during the ongoing win streak after senior Skylar Vetter started in goal for the first three games of the season. Clark has a 6-1-1 record this season and allowed seven goals in her last five starts.
Clark won in her first collegiate start against Boston University on Oct. 6. Frost described Clark as composed and said to expect her to make the starting goaltending spot competitive.
“We expect big things from Hannah here in the future,” Frost said after Clark’s first win.
Before the series against Minnesota-Duluth, Frost emphasized its importance for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) standings and national rankings. The Gophers were ranked third nationally and tied for fourth in points with St. Cloud in the WCHA heading into the series.
Murphy said the team cannot get distracted by rankings and needs to focus on one game at a time. She distances herself from her statistics as well, including last season when she set a career record in goals with 33, tying for the NCAA scoring lead.
“We’re a unit — we’re one whole unit,” Murphy said.
While the rest of the team had a week off from games between the Bemidji State and Minnesota-Duluth series, Murphy and freshman Chloe Primerano traveled to California, Utah and Idaho for the USA vs Canada Rivalry Series. Murphy represented the U. S. and Primerano represented Canada in the first three games of the series.
Murphy scored twice in USA’s 7-2 win on Nov. 6 while Primerano secured the shootout winner for Canada in their 5-4 win on Nov. 8.
“I’d rather have her on my team,” Primerano said as she laughed about playing against Murphy. “She’s an amazing player.”
After the two Gophers battled against each other in one more game on Nov. 10, they rejoined the team ahead of the Minnesota-Duluth series to extend Minnesota’s win streak.
With the win on Saturday, the Gophers jumped the Bulldogs in the WCHA standings and now sit in third place, five points behind Ohio State.
Minnesota plays a home-and-home series against No. 5 St. Cloud starting Friday with a chance to pull away from them in the WCHA standings.
