University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
8-3-1, 4-3-1
Bemidji State
1-10-1, 0-8-0
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Players Mentioned
Minnesota’s Power Play Prowess Key in Sweep of Bemidji State
11/2/2024 6:17:00 PM | Women's Hockey
BEMIDJI, MINN. - The No. 3 ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey squad completed its road sweep of the Bemidji State Beavers with a 4-1 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Gophers have now won four consecutive games and move to a 8-3-1 (4-3-1 WCHA) record on the season.
The Maroon & Gold dominated the first period with four goals on 16 shots, three of which came on the power play. Redshirt-senior forward Abbey Murphy got Minnesota on the board halfway through the period with a power play score assisted by senior forward Ella Huber. Huber's assist marked her 100th career point. Fifth-year forward Natalie Mlynkova continued her prolific weekend, tallying her third goal of the series on a power play with 6:25 left in the first. The score, assisted by Sydney Morrow and Audrey Wethington, also marked Mlynkova's second power play goal of the series. Sophomore forward Emma Kreisz then brought the Gopher lead to 3-0 with Minnesota's only even-strength goal of the game, assisted by Ayla Puppe and Wethington, with three minutes remaining before first intermission. Just over a minute later, Murphy notched her second power play goal of the game, assisted by Huber and Josefin Bouveng, to bring the game to 4-0.
In the second period, Bemidji State saw more success defensively, limiting the Gophers to only five shots on goal. The Beavers also got on the board with 6:33 to play in the period via a Morgan Smith score.
Neither team recorded any scores in the third period, sealing the Minnesota victory with a final score of 4-1. The Gophers outshot the Beavers 13-2 in the period and 34-10 on the day.
Freshman goaltender Hannah Clark moved to 4-1-1 as a starter, recording nine saves and a .900 save percentage on Saturday. Junior goaltender Sophia Johnson made her collegiate debut in net with 3:19 remaining in the third period.
Quotable:
"Obviously a great first period," said head coach Brad Frost. "Going three for four on the power play, and getting four right away to really put the hammer down. It was great to see, from a defensive standpoint, we played really, really well, giving up 10 shots, not allowing anything there in the third. Credit Bemidji, they tightened up defensively after that first period, but I'm really proud of how we played here tonight."
Additional Quotes from Coach Frost:
On Ella Huber
"She's one of our leaders, and is always consistent. You always know what you're going to get from Ella. She plays so hard. She's always F-1 on the forecheck. She kills penalties, power plays. She's just a complete hockey player, somebody that we rely on a lot. So really happy for her to get that hundredth point."
On Sophia Johnson
"[Sophia] is somebody that does the thankless stuff. She's working her butt off in practice every single day. An opportunity to get her in here tonight was a really cool thing for her, but also for our team. She deserves it and we're happy for her."
Notable:
- Ella Huber tallied her 100th and 101st career points with two assists on Saturday.
- Abbey Murphy has recorded 79 career goals, second-most among active Division I women's hockey players.
- Abbey Murphy has recorded 24 career power play goals, second-most among active Division I women's hockey players.
- Abbey Murphy has tallied a point in ten of Minnesota's twelve games this season.
- Natalie Mlynkova has scored five goals in the last four games, including two power play goals.
- Natalie Mlynkova extends her point streak to five consecutive games.
- Freshman forward Ayla Puppe recorded her first career point with an assist on Emma Kreisz' goal.
- Minnesota last scored three power play goals in a game on Oct. 28 2023.
- Sydney Morrow extended her point streak to five consecutive games.
- Audrey Wethington recorded her 11th career multi-point game.
- Goaltender Sophia Johnson made her first career collegiate appearance in net.
Up Next:
The Gophers are next set to play on Nov. 15 and 16 against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on the road.