Gophers women's hockey crushes Minnesota State, advances to WCHA Final Faceoff

Abbey Murphy scored twice in a five-goal second period in a blowout Sunday afternoon.

Gophers players Taylor Stewart (2), Nelli Laitinen, center, Abbey Murphy and Ella Huber (26) celebrate Murphy's goal against St. Thomas on Oct. 13, 2023, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Gopher Athletics

The Gophers women's hockey team used a five-goal second period to crush Minnesota State 6-2 to win the best-of-three WCHA First Round series Sunday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The U will advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff.

The Gophers bounced back from their double-overtime heartbreaker on Saturday that forced the deciding game.

The Gophers went into the second period with a 1-0 lead after Natalie Mlynkova scored a power-play goal 15 minutes, 13 seconds into the first period. Once it went into the second frame, the route was on. Ava Lindsay scored just 1 minute, 35 seconds into the second frame, and Audrey Wethington scored a short-handed goal 3 minutes, 54 seconds later.

One minute, 45 seconds later, Abbey Murphy scored to make it a 4-0 U lead. Jamie Nelson finally got the Mavericks on the scoreboard 9 minutes, 5 seconds into the frame, but Murphy scored her second of the game just 1 minute, 30 seconds later. Peyton Hemp scored with 1 minute, 54 seconds remaining in the second period to make it a commanding 6-1 lead.

Nelson scored her second of the night with 24 seconds remaining, but it was far too little, far too late.

Gophers goalie Hannah Clark made 21 saves on 22 shots, while Olivia King made five saves on six shots. Hailey Hansen made 17 saves on 23 shots, while Suzette Faucher stopped all six of the shots she faced.

The Gophers now advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff, which takes place from Friday to Saturday in Duluth, Minn. The other three teams to advance were Minnesota Duluth, Wisconsin and Ohio State.