University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
24-5-0, 18-5-0
St. Thomas
12-17-0, 7-16-0
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
No. 3 Minnesota Skates Past RV St. Thomas, 4-1
2/6/2026 2:41:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team skated to a 4-1 victory over St. Thomas on Friday afternoon at the brand new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul, Minn. The Gophers led from start to finish, getting goals from Chloe Primerano, Ava Lindsay, and freshmen Avery Hovland and Bella Fanale.
Minnesota took a 1-0 lead after the first period despite being outshot 12-6. Primerano opened the scoring at the 6:16 mark, fresh out of the penalty box. She collected a stretch pass from Sydney Morrow in the neutral zone, split two defenders, and fired a glove-side wrist shot for her eighth goal of the season.
Hovland doubled the lead midway through the second period. On a three-on-two rush, Emmea Kreisz delivered a pass across the slot, and Hovland buried her third goal of her freshman campaign at 8:50.
The Gophers made it 3-0 at 11:53 of the middle frame. Jamie Nelson moved the puck point-to-point to Morrow, whose wrist shot was tipped home by Lindsay in the slot for her 13th goal of the season.
St. Thomas responded less than two minutes later with a goal from the top of the crease to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Fanale restored Minnesota's three-goal cushion at 6:13 of the third period. On a two-on-two rush, she kept the puck and snapped a far-side wrist shot past the goalie for her 16th goal of the year.
With the win, Minnesota improves to 24-5-0 overall and 18-5-0 in WCHA play. St. Thomas falls to 12-17-0 overall and 7-16-0 in conference action.
Quotable
"We got significantly better as the game went on," said head coach Brad Frost. "Obviously we got that one in the first, but we were being outplayed and weren't breaking the puck out very cleanly. We made some adjustments and our team, to their credit, played much better in the second period and extended the lead. We did a really good job in the third to shut everything down. "
Notable
- Hannah Clark made 30 saves in net.
- Fanale ranks second nationally among freshmen with 16 goals this season.
- Hovland has scored two goals over her last three games.
Up Next
Minnesota returns to Ridder Arena for game two of the Twin Cities series against St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 7. Puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m. CT, with coverage available on B1G+.