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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The St. Thomas men’s basketball team improved to 3-0 in the Summit Conference with an 82-71 defeat of Oral Roberts at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla. Saturday evening.

After leading 43-40 at the half, the Tommies opened up a double-digit lead with a 10-2 run over a five-minute span late in the second half to take the 11-point win.

Nick Janowski shared game-high scoring honors with Connor Dow of the Golden Eagles, with both players scoring 23 points. Janowski also led all players with 12 rebounds. Isaiah Johnson-Arigu contributed 17 points in a reserve role for UST, while Carter Bjerke and Ben Oosterbaan chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. Connor Dow led the Golden Eagles led all scorers

St. Thomas, which now sits at 14-4 overall, remains one of just two Summit teams unbeaten in conference play. North Dakota State, 14-5 overall, is 4-0 against Summit teams after topping Omaha 78-76 Saturday afternoon. The Tommies travel to Fargo to face the Bison at 1 p.m. next Saturday. But first, St. Thomas heads even further up Interstate 29 to face North Dakota in Grand Forks with a 7 p.m. tip-off on Thursday.

The Tommies return home to the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Thursday, Jan. 22 against South Dakota State.

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The St. Thomas men’s hockey team moved into a tie for first place in the CCHA with a 4-2 win at Minnesota State Saturday night.

After a scoreless first period, the Tommies explored for four goals in the middle frame. Lucas Wahlin got the visitors on the board just 20 seconds into the second for a 1-0 lead. Attila Lippai and Quinton Pepper scored just 17 seconds apart at 6:35 and 6:52 before Ryan O’Neill pumped home one more goal at 7:33. In less than one minute, St. Thomas turned a close game into a rout. O’Neil, Alex Gaffney, Bauer Berry, Lucas Van Vliet, Nick Williams, Caige Sterzer and Mason Poolman all earned assists amidst the four-goal outburst.

The Mavericks got on the board with a pair of goals the third period, but it wasn’t enough to do anything more than ruin UST goaltender Aaron Trotter’s bid for a shutout. Trotter made 18 saves on the night.

With the victory, the Tommies (12-7-3 overall, 9-3-2 CCHA) earned their 30th point in conference play to move into a tie with Augustana atop the circuit standings. Minnesota State (12-6-5, 8-4-4), which entered the night in second place in the CCHA, one point ahead of St. Thomas, dropped into third place with 28 points.

The Tommies host Bemidji State (9-10-3, 7-4-3) in a two-game series at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul next Friday and Saturday. Puck drop for both games is at 7 p.m. Both games will be televised on CCHATV.

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The Minnesota men’s hockey team concluded a seven-week stretch away from home Saturday night with a 5-2 loss at Penn State.

It was a loss that gave the Nittany Lions a two-game sweep of the second and final regular-season series to be played between the teams. Minnesota returns home to 3M Arena at Mariucci next weekend to take on Michigan. The last time the Gophers competed on their home ice was a 2-1 loss to Penn State back on Nov. 22.

Since then, Minnesota has played six straight road games that were scattered out over the holiday period. The road trip started well with wins at Denver and Ohio State, but the Gophers limp home with an 0-3-1 record since those back-to-back victories.

Minnesota opened Saturday’s game in fine form, taking a 1-0 lead at 3:27 of the opening period on an unassisted goal by Brodie Ziemer. However, the hosts replied with three consecutive scores to seize the lead for good by the end of the first frame.

Javon Moore opened the second period with a goal assisted by Teddy Townsend and Mason Roe, but Penn State recorded two more scores (including an empty netter) to win by three at the final horn. Goaltenders Nathan Airey and Luca Di Pasquo split time in net, making 11 and 27 saves, respectively.

With the loss, Minnesota fell to 8-12-1 overall and 4-6-0 in Big Ten play. Penn State improved to 14-6-0 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten with the pair of weekend wins.

The Gophers host Michigan next weekend, with a 7 p.m. puck drop on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be televised on KMSP Ch. 9 and BTN+, with the radio call on 103.5 FM and 1130 AM.

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