University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
26-10-1
Minnesota State
14-20-2
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Players Mentioned
Gophers Fall to Mavericks in Double OT on Saturday
3/1/2025 6:38:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - The fourth-ranked and third-seeded Golden Gopher women's hockey team (26-10-1, 19-8-1 WCHA) dropped game two of the WCHA Quarterfinals to the sixth-seeded Minnesota State Mavericks (14-20-2, 7-19-2 WCHA) on Saturday afternoon. Minnesota was handed a 5-4 loss in double overtime, the Gophers' first overtime loss of the season.
For the second-straight season, the best-of-three quarterfinal series between these two squads will be decided in its third game.
Minnesota State got on the board first with a Mackenzie Bourgerie goal at the 8:48 mark in the opening period. Shots were even at 11 by the start of first intermission, with the Mavericks holding on to a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota State quickly built on their lead during the second period, scoring back-to-back goals in the opening five minutes. Claire Vekich brought the game to 2-0 with a power play goal at the 1:22 mark, before Sydney Langseth made it 3-0 at 4:19.
The Gophers finally cut into the Maverick lead with an Abbey Murphy breakaway goal, assisted by Ella Huber and Krista Parkkonen, less than a minute after Minnesota State scored its third. Huber then brought the game back within one near the midpoint of the period, scoring her 14th goal of the season, assisted by Josefin Bouveng. The score remained 3-2 in favor of MSU through the end of the second.
The Mavericks regained their two-goal lead just 15 seconds into the third period, courtesy of Alexis Paddington. However, the Gophers bounced back with two unanswered scores that ultimately sent the game to overtime. Murphy notched her second goal of the game, assisted by Ella Huber and Josefin Bouveng, followed by Krista Parkkonen's first goal in Maroon & Gold, assisted by Natalie Mlynkova and Audrey Wethington.
Both teams were scoreless through the first 39 minutes and 55 seconds of overtime play. With a third OT period just 4.7 seconds from manifesting, Minnesota State's Madison Mashuga sent a puck to the back of the Gopher net, subsequently ending the game and keeping the Mavericks conference postseason hopes alive.
Quotable:
"Disappointing result," said head coach Brad Frost. "Credit [Minnesota State], their goaltender [Hailey Hansen] in particular. We certainly had plenty of chances there in overtime to close it out, both goalies made some great saves, but we didn't pick a player up in the slot there with five seconds left, and [the puck] goes in the net, and the game's over. So, we got to regroup, flush it, learn from it, and try and get one here tomorrow to advance to the Final Faceoff."
Notable:
- Abbey Murphy scored the 96th and 97th goals of her career, tying her for seventh all-time in program history.
- Abbey Murphy recorded her 18th multi-point game of the season.
- Krista Parkkonen scored the first goal since transferring to Minnesota from Vermont. It was assisted by her former Vermont teammate, Natalie Mlynkova.
- Ella Huber set a new career-high in single season points (44).
- Josefin Bouveng recorded her 94th career point.
- Natalie Mlynkova recorded her 30th point of the season.
- Minnesota held a shot advantage of 70-40.
Up Next:
The Gophers and Mavericks will compete tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT for a spot in the 2025 WCHA Final Faceoff.