University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
10-3-1, 6-3-1
Minnesota Duluth
6-5-1, 5-4-1
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
No. 3 Minnesota Secures Sweep Over No. 4 Minnesota Duluth
11/16/2024 6:57:00 PM | Women's Hockey
DULUTH, Minn. - The No. 3 ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey squad completed its road sweep of the No. 4 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs with a 3-2 victory on Saturday. The Gophers have won each of their last six games and move to a 10-3-1 (6-3-1 WCHA) record.
Minnesota Duluth opened up scoring on the day, as Kamdyn Davis got the Bulldogs on the board 3:54 into the first period. Freshman defender Gracie Graham brought the game even five minutes later with her second goal of the season, assisted by Ella Huber and Abbey Murphy. With just under two minutes left in the period, senior forward Peyton Hemp gave Minnesota the lead seven seconds into the Gophers' first power play of the game. It was Hemp's third power play goal of the season.
Minnesota saw two more power play opportunities in the second period, including on a five-minute major with 4:37 left, however came up empty-handed both times. Still, the Gophers held the Bulldogs scoreless in the second, and led 26-15 in shots on goal heading into the second intermission.
The Maroon and Gold extended its lead midway through the third period with redshirt-junior Emma Conner's first goal of the season, assisted by Ella Huber and Krista Parkkonen. Minnesota Duluth would bring the game within one on a five-on-three power play with 3:31 left in the period, but then were held to only two more SOG and no goals the rest of the way. The Gophers clinched their first sweep of a top-five opponent so far this season, and will move up to third in WCHA points.
Freshman goaltender Hannah Clark made a season and career-high 31 saves in Saturday's contest. She finished with a .939 save percentage and moved to a 6-1-1 record between the pipes.
Quotable:
"Anytime you can get a sweep on the road in the WCHA is a big deal, especially against a team like Minnesota Duluth," said head coach Brad Frost. "Really happy and proud of our group, had to battle for some injuries and some different things throughout the day, but ultimately a great team win. Big goal by Emma Conner in the third to get us up by two, and a couple of huge saves by Hannah Clark down the stretch, as [Minnesota Duluth] had their five-on-three and pulled their goalie. Overall, a really great weekend. We were looking to continue to take another step and we were able to do that."
Notable:
- Abbey Murphy reached 150 career points with her first assist of Saturday's game.
- Abbey Murphy tallied her seventh multi-point game of the season.
- Abbey Murphy extended her point streak to six games.
- Hannah Clark made a season and career-high 31 saves in Saturday's victory.
- Hannah Clark made a season and career-high 58 series saves this weekend.
- Emma Conner tallied her first goal of the season and fourth of her career.
- Emma Conner tallied the tenth point of her career.
- Ella Huber tallied her third multi-point game of the season.
- Krista Parkkonen tallied her first point as a Gopher with her assist to Emma Conner.
- Gracie Graham tallied the second goal of the season and her career.
- Minnesota outshot Minnesota Duluth 38-33.
Up Next:
The Maroon and Gold will be back on the ice on Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23 for a home-and-home series against St. Cloud State University.