Kessel's hat trick helps Gophers trounce Princeton, advance to Frozen Four

Amanda Kessel scored a hat trick Saturday, helping send the Gophers back to the NCAA Women's Frozen Four. Then, she delivered a speech that left her teammates in tears.

Kessel and Hannah Brandt, two of Minnesota's all-time leading scorers, had signature performances in their final game at Ridder Arena, as the Gophers toppled Princeton 6-2 in the national quarterfinals.

Kessel notched three goals and an assist in her 11th game back from a two-year concussion absence. Brandt had a goal and two assists, ending a seven-game scoreless streak.

"It was a little emotional in the locker room after the game," Brandt said. "Last game here at Ridder, and Kess had a few people in tears — maybe more than a few. It's been a great run here, and we're just looking forward to finishing our senior year and our team's great season."

The third-seeded Gophers (33-4-1) will face second-seeded Wisconsin on Friday in the NCAA semifinals in Durham, N.H. The Badgers beat Minnesota 1-0 last weekend in the WCHA title game and routed Mercyhurst 6-0 on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Kessel, who hails from Madison, Wis., said she can't wait for the rematch with the Badgers. First, she enjoyed the send-off from an announced home crowd of 2,468, which littered the rink with hats after her third goal.

It was her first hat trick since Jan. 18, 2013, the year she won the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the nation's top player.

Kessel suffered a concussion for Team USA the following fall. She recovered for the 2014 Olympics, but her concussion symptoms came back and lingered for 18 months, delaying her return to the Gophers.

"I didn't picture ever really being able to come back at first," Kessel said. "So I guess to get another opportunity at that, I'm champing at the bit.

"[Saturday] morning, I woke up like another kid on Christmas. And I just think I carried that over to our team."

Kessel heads into this Frozen Four with nine goals and six assists. Not bad considering her first game came Feb. 5.

"She's just been a great leader for us the last six weeks," Gophers coach Brad Frost said. "Here's a kid who thought her hockey career was over, and now she's got a second shot at it. So you can see the passion she's playing with."

It rubbed off on the rest of the team. Seventh-seeded Princeton (22-9-2) was a decided underdog but scored 29 seconds into the game.

Less than four minutes later, Brandt drew a penalty and scored a power-play goal with a nifty move down low. Kessel added two first-period goals — one shorthanded, one on a power play.

Sarah Potomak, Dani Cameranesi and Kessel scored second-period goals, extending the rout.

"The power play's been kind of average, I guess you could say," Frost said. "Going 2-for-2 [on the power play], and having Hannah and Kess and Sarah all over the score sheet was really important."

In her postgame speech, Kessel told teammates how much it's meant playing for a program that is headed to its fifth consecutive final four and has won three of the past four national championships.

Frost said Kessel's message was to "cherish every moment." He admitted he got choked up, too.