University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Minnesota Duluth
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Gophers Outshoot UMD, Fall in Extra Time in Regular-Season Finale
2/21/2026 4:59:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team fell in overtime for the second consecutive game to close out the regular season, dropping a tight contest to the 10th-ranked UMD Bulldogs. The Bulldogs struck late on the power play in the first period before the Gophers answered in the second. UMD then netted the overtime winner on a play eerily similar to the previous night's golden goal.
After a tightly contested opening period, the Bulldogs broke through on the power play with under two minutes remaining in the first to take a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Bella Fanale evened the score 7:03 into the second period with a snipe from the near-side faceoff circle. Off a pass from Tereza Plosova, Fanale carried the puck into the offensive zone, reached the hash marks and fired a glove-side wrist shot past the goaltender to knot the game at 1-1. Nelli Laitinen also earned an assist on the play.
The teams skated through a scoreless third period, with the Gophers outshooting UMD 14-9 in the frame and applying sustained pressure in the closing minutes.
In overtime, Ava Lindsay rang a slap shot off the crossbar on a breakaway 3:45 into the extra session. Moments later, UMD capitalized on a three-on-one rush the other way, finishing with a high shot to secure the series sweep.
With the result, Minnesota moves to 24-9-1 overall and 18-9-1 in WCHA play, while UMD improves to 19-10-3 overall and 14-11-3 in conference action.
Quotable
"We hated the loss, but we really liked our game today," said head coach Brad Frost. "It's the first time we've given up two goals or less all year and not won. We out-chanced them and outshot them by a large margin in the second and third periods. We hit the crossbar in overtime and they came down and scored. It's one of those things where you get to overtime and it's three-on-three — anything can happen — and unfortunately we were on the wrong end of it today."
Notable
- The Gophers outshot the Bulldogs, 35-26.
- Layla Hemp made 24 saves in net.
- Bella Fanale tallied her 18th goal of her freshman season.
- Tereza Plosova and Nelli Laitinen recorded assists on Minnesota's lone goal in their first series back from the Olympics.
Up Next
The Gophers will enter WCHA playoff action next weekend. They will host a fellow conference team at Ridder Arena for a best of three series from Feb. 27 to March 1. Game one will start at 6:00 p.m. CT on Friday with game two slated for Saturday at 2:00 p.m. CT. If needed, a final contest will be played on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CT.Â
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