University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
16-4-0
Sacred Heart
5-14-1
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‘U’ Posts Program-Record 14 Goals in Win at Sacred Heart
1/3/2026 3:37:00 PM | Women's Hockey
FAIRFIELD, CONN. – The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team capped its nonconference schedule in emphatic fashion, rolling to a 14-2 victory over Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon at Martire Family Arena. The Gophers erupted for five goals in the second period and added seven more in the third to pull away from the Pioneers.
Minnesota opened the scoring midway through the first period on the power play. Abbey Murphy worked the puck point-to-point to Nelli Laitinen, who skated in and ripped a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot, beating the goaltender high on the near side. Josefin Bouveng earned the secondary assist, extending her point streak to 19 games.
The Gophers doubled their lead at the 16:39 mark of the opening frame as Laitinen and Murphy connected again. Laitinen feathered a pass to a streaking Murphy in the low slot, where Murphy buried a backhand for her first goal of the contest. It marked the third time the duo combined for a goal during the two-game series.
Laitinen made it 3-0 at 7:45 of the second period. Chloe Primerano threaded a saucer pass through the Pioneer defense to Laitinen in the high slot, where she snapped home her second goal of the game and eighth of the season.
Minnesota continued to pour it on with four more goals in the middle frame. Bella Fanale finished a backhand feed at the doorstep from Murphy at 11:40. Just 25 seconds later, Kendra Distad buried her fourth goal of the season off a tic-tac-toe passing play from Tereza Plosova and Sydney Morrow. Sacred Heart responded with a power-play goal 30 seconds later, but the Gophers quickly answered as Distad set up Plosova on a two-on-one rush to restore the five-goal cushion. Fanale capped the second-period scoring with her second of the frame, sending Minnesota into the third with a 7-1 advantage.
The scoring surge continued in the final period as the Gophers added seven more goals. Murphy struck just nine seconds in on a breakaway, then Emma Kreisz found the back of the net at 4:57 for her fifth goal of the season. Murphy completed her third hat trick of the season at 6:50, weaving through the defense before finishing with a backhand from the low slot. Bouveng added her 11th goal of the year by capitalizing on a rebound off a Molly Jordan shot midway through the period. Ava Lindsay made it 12-1 with her sixth goal of the season from just outside the crease.
Sacred Heart tallied its second goal on the power play at 12:51, but Minnesota closed the scoring with goals from Primerano and Laitinen, the latter sealing her first career hat trick with under a minute remaining.
With the win, Minnesota improves to 16-4-0 (10-4-0 WCHA), while Sacred Heart falls to 5-14-1 (4-9-1 NEWHA).
Quotable
"It was a great game," said Head Coach Brad Frost. "We started very quickly, getting two on the board there in the first, but we were playing the right way. We took another step in the second there, just tons of things we have been working on in regard to our offensive zone of play and it paid off here today."
Notable
- Minnesota set a program record with 14 goals, surpassing the previous mark of 12, which had been reached twice, most recently against St. Cloud State in 2014.
- Abbey Murphy posted a career-high seven points, equaling the single-game program record of seven held by Sarah Potomak.
- With her seven points, Murphy surpassed Nadine Muzerall and Krissy Wendell for fourth all-time in program history (238).
- Nelli Laitinen recorded her first career hat trick.
- Josefin Bouveng extended her point streak to 19 games.
Up Next
Minnesota returns to WCHA play for its final two-game series against Minnesota State. The Gophers travel to Mankato, Minn., for Friday night's matchup with puck drop set for 6:00 p.m. CT at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, streaming live on B1G+. The series concludes Saturday at Ridder Arena with a 7:30 p.m. CT puck drop, broadcast live on Big Ten Network.