It took nearly 25 minutes of play on Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena for the Gophers women’s hockey team to fully comprehend it was facing a desperate team in the Minnesota State Mavericks.
The Gophers needed the next 35 minutes to overcome the damage that had been done, battling back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game 4-all at the end of regulation, only to lose 5-4 in double overtime.
Minnesota State’s Madison Mashuga scored with 4.7 seconds remaining in the second overtime to keep the Mavericks’ season alive and force a deciding Game 3 in the WCHA quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Ridder.
The winner of Sunday’s game moves on to the WCHA Final Faceoff, which begins Friday in Duluth. Also at stake for the fourth-ranked Gophers (26-10-1) is their seeding in the NCAA tournament.
Gophers coach Brad Frost said he was at a loss as to why his team came out so flat to start the game.
“We just let the game come to us instead of us dictating play,” he said. “And all of a sudden you get in a hole. We were too loose (with the puck). Chances that we gave up (Friday), we gave up again today, and they’re a good offensive team.”
Frost said he is not contemplating any changes for Sunday’s game.
“We have to think about how we played in the third and into the OTs,” he said. “And think about what makes us successful and what makes us hard to play against; and that’s playing the right way.”
It’s a point Frost has had to reiterate to his team throughout the season.
Most recently, it had to be hammered home during a four-game losing streak. The Gophers rebounded with a win to split a series in St. Cloud before ending the regular season with a sweep of Minnesota Duluth.
“What’s frustrating is, whether it’s St. Cloud or the two against Duluth, we’re playing as well as we could play,” Frost said. “Then, all of a sudden we start giving up rushes and chances against.”
The Gophers were outplayed in the first period and trailed 1-0 after the first 20 minutes. MacKenzie Bourgerie scored for the Mavericks at 8:48. The loose play in Minnesota’s own end was a repeat of what hampered the team on Friday night despite a 6-1 win.
A power-play goal by Claire Vekich gave the Mavericks a 2-0 lead at 1:22 of the second. When Sydney Langseth got two whacks at a rebound to get the puck past Gophers goaltender Hannah Clark at 4:19, the Gophers found themselves in a deep hole.
They responded with a goal of their own less than a minute later, with Abbey Murphy taking a stretch pass from Ella Huber and scoring on a breakaway at 5:02. When Huber scored on a wrist shot from the slot at 9:09, the Gophers suddenly were back in the game.
Minnesota State regained its two-goal lead 15 seconds into the third. Murphy’s second goal of the game cut the Gophers’ deficit to 4-3 at 2:05. Gophers defender Krista Parkkonen tied the game with her first goal of the season at 4:21.
Both teams had good chances to win the game in the first overtime. The Gophers got an early power play before having to kill off two Minnesota State power plays.
The Gophers registered 70 shots on goal in the game, with the Mavericks finishing with 41.
“The frustrating thing is we keep coming back but can’t close it out,” Frost said. “We certainly had plenty of chances in the third and in overtime. But anything can happen once you get to OT.”
Now, anything can happen in the deciding Game 3, with both teams feeling a sense of urgency.
“We need to regroup,” Frost said. “Flush this one, but learn from it at the same time.”
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