Gophers score three unanswered goals to dispatch Tommies
St. Thomas struck first, but the Gophers women's hockey team scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory Friday night at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
Nicole Vallario scored 7 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first period to give the Tommies (8-19-1) an early 1-0 advantage. But Abbey Murphy scored a power-play goal with 32 seconds remaining in the frame to make it a 1-1 contest.
With 14 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the third period, Josefin Bouveng finally broke the 1-1 tie and gave the Gophers (21-5-1) the edge. With 22 seconds remaining, Madison Kaiser added an empty-net goal to seal the win for Minnesota.
Lucy Morgan had 17 saves on 18 shots for the Gophers. St. Thomas goalie Olivia King had 18 saves on 20 shots.
The Gophers and Tommies meet for the series finale at 4:30 p.m. Saturday back at Ridder Arena.
