When the handshake line cleared after the final horn sounded, graduate forward Abbey Murphy went back to sit on the bench.
She sat alone, staring out at the ice where her final season with Gopher women’s hockey had just come to an abrupt end. Across the rink, Northeastern University players gathered in celebration as they pulled on regional champion hats and cheered about their victory.
“They came out on top. Just to see with my own eyes, it hurt a little bit,” Murphy said. “Hurt a lot actually.”
For Minnesota, the 4-2 tournament quarterfinal loss to Northeastern was a frustrating finish to a game full of missed chances. The Gophers outshot the Huskies 47-24 and controlled long stretches of play, but the early three goal deficit was too much to overcome.
The game unraveled quickly in the opening period. Northeastern struck first and quickly built momentum despite a few early strong shifts from Minnesota. The Huskies capitalized on the power play and then added another goal off a rush chance to stretch the lead to 3-0 before the game was halfway through the first period.
After the third goal, head coach Brad Frost turned to freshman goaltender Layla Hemp. Hemp provided a steadying force for the Gophers, stopping 14 of the 15 shots she faced.
“Obviously, we needed a change up there being down 3-0 halfway through the first,” Frost said. “I thought Layla did a great job coming in and kind of stemming the tide there.”
Minnesota pushed relentlessly from there. Even after allowing a fourth goal, the Gophers continued to generate opportunities. They finished the game with several high quality scoring chances, including what Frost described as 17 “grade-A chances” in the second period alone.
Still, the puck rarely found its way past Northeastern’s sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson.
“Props to her. She stood on her head,” Murphy said. “But I mean when you shoot pucks at her stomach, she’s going to stop them.”
Minnesota finally broke through midway through the third period when Murphy converted on a power play opportunity to put the Gophers on board. Later, with an empty net behind her, she struck again to cut the deficit to 4-2 with 1:31 remaining.
For a moment, belief returned to the stands of Ridder Arena, but time did not.
As the final seconds ticked away, Minnesota’s chances of going to the NCAA Frozen Four did too. The loss eliminated them from the tournament, but the Gophers fought hard, showing resilience until the end.
“Starting the game off strong is kind of really important and we didn’t do that,” Murphy said. “This group still battled til the end and I’m proud of them.”
For the team’s seniors and fifth-years like Murphy, the loss marked the end of their collegiate careers and the end of a memorable era of Gopher women’s hockey.
“Gopher hockey has changed my life,” Murphy said. “Everyone that I’ve played with in my five years here has given me something to take out of here.”
Her fellow captain, senior defender Nelli Laitinen, echoed that.
“It’s an honor to be a Gopher,” Laitinen said. “It’s been so much fun with all the girls each and every day at practice.”
The finality of the moment might take some time to settle in.
Even as the crowd disappeared and Northeastern’s celebrations moved into the locker room, Murphy remained on the bench, staring out across the empty ice. For five seasons, that rink had been her stage. Now, the only cheers were those of the Huskies echoing from the hallway.
“This feeling literally sucks so bad,” Murphy said. “Sometimes you just got to watch and soak it in and understand how it feels so it doesn’t happen again.”
