The third-ranked Minnesota women’s hockey team led, then trailed, then rallied for victory in a 4-3 win at No. 12 Minnesota State University in Mankato. With the triumph, the Gophers swept the Mavericks in this weekend’s series and avenged a November sweep at the hands of MSU at Ridder Arena.
First-period goals from Abbey Murphy and Annafella Fanale got Minnesota off to a good start with a 2-0 lead by the 16:01 mark of the opening period.
However, the Mavericks sandwiched the first intermission with a trio of goals to take a 3-2 edge by 3:52 of the second stanza.
Undaunted, the Gophers rallied to tie on an Ava Lindsay tally at 11:35 of the second before Fanale struck for the game-winning score at 16:57. The final 23 minutes of play passed without further incident as Minnesota held on for the one-goal triumph as Minnesota goaltender Layla Hemp stood tall with 31 saves.
Minnesota improved to 18-4 overall and 12-4 in WCHA play with the win. The Gophers wrap the weekend holding onto third place in the conference with 36 points. Wisconsin currently leads the circuit for 41 points, while Ohio State is second with 38 points and Minnesota-Duluth is fourth with 26 points. Minnesota State fell to 11-10-1 overall and 5-10-1 in the conference with the loss; the Mavericks are fifth with 17 points in the WCHA standings.
Next up for Minnesota is a trip to Bemidji State for a two game set next Friday (7 p.m. start) and Saturday (3:30 p.m.). Both games will be televised on BTN+.
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