University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
26-9-1
Minnesota State
13-20-2
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Kreisz Tallies Five Points, Gophers Dominate Mavericks in Game One of WCHA Quarterfinals
2/28/2025 10:06:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - The fourth-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team (26-9-1, 19-8-1 WCHA) had a stellar start to the postseason on Friday evening, downing the Minnesota State Mavericks (13-20-2, 7-19-2 WCHA) 6-1 in game one of the WCHA Quarterfinals at Ridder Arena.
The Maroon & Gold lead the best-of-three series 1-0, and will look to punch their ticket to the WCHA Final Faceoff with a win tomorrow afternoon.
Sophomore forward Ava Lindsay lit the first lamp of the game, scoring her fifth goal of the season, assisted by Peyton Hemp and Emma Kreisz, at the 9:08 mark of the opening period. Minnesota then built on their lead with two additional unanswered scores in the second period. Sophomore forward Emma Kreisz, already with an assist, accounted for both goals. Her first score came just 1:40 out of the first intermission, assisted by Lindsay and Hemp. At the 17:43 mark, Kreisz deflected an Abbey Murphy shot into the Maverick net, extending the Gopher lead to three by the second period's end.
Minnesota State managed to get on the board just 13 seconds into the final period, courtesy of Claire Vekich, before the Maroon & Gold fired back with three more unanswered goals in the final five minutes. Senior forward Ella Huber notched her 50th career goal at the 14:57 mark, assisted by Chloe Primerano (her second of the day) and Murphy. Then, just over a minute later, Ava Lindsay scored her second goal of the day and sixth of the season, assisted again by Kreisz. Senior forward Peyton Hemp lit the final lamp of the night with just 45 seconds left in the game, her 14th of the year, assisted by Nelli Laitinen and Kreisz. The Gophers secured the game one victory by a final score of 6-1.
Freshman goaltender Hannah Clark continued to stand out between the pipes, recording 23 saves and a .958 save percentage en route to her first-career postseason victory. Clark, the reigning WCHA Goaltender of the Week, moves to a 22-7-1 starting record.
Quotable:
"A great job finishing," said head coach Brad Frost. "I found our last eight minutes or so to be the best part of our game. We were a little loose at times defensively. Hannah Clark was amazing, kept the lead for us until we were able to find our footing a little more there towards the end. Happy for getting one [win], and we know it's going to be a little tighter and tougher tomorrow."
Coach Frost on Emma Kreisz:
"Emma was great, that whole line was great with Peyton [Hemp] and Ava [Lindsay]. [Kreisz] has been playing some exceptional hockey. She does things the right way on and off the ice, she's a great leader, she's somebody that's always encouraging, and she just puts her head down and gets to work. Happy to see her getting rewarded for that."
Notable:
- Emma Kreisz tallied a new career-high of five single-game points.
- Emma Kreisz' five points on Friday tie the single-game high recorded by a Gopher this season (Abbey Murphy, Dec. 6).
- Emma Kreisz recorded the first multi-goal game of her career.
- Ava Lindsay recorded her second multi-goal game of her career.
- Ava Lindsay tied her career-high in single-game points (3).
- Ella Huber scored her 13th goal of the season and the 50th goal of her career.
- Abbey Murphy recorded her 17th multipoint game of the season.
- Chloe Primerano recorded her 7th multipoint game of the season.
- The Gophers led 45-24 in shots on goal.
- Minnesota has outscored Minnesota State 22-6 in matchups at Ridder Arena this season.
- Minnesota is now 5-0 against Minnesota State this season.
Up Next:
The best-of-three series will continue tomorrow afternoon at Ridder Arena, with puck drop set for 2:00 p.m. CT.