Playing for the first time in more than a month, the Gophers women's hockey team started the second half of its season the same way it ended the first half: by routing Ohio State.
Hannah Brandt had a hat trick and Amanda Leveille stopped 29 shots as the Gophers defeated the Buckeyes 6-0 Friday at Ridder Arena.
It was Minnesota's 29th consecutive victory over OSU — the Gophers lead the all-time series 58-8-1. Before taking a break for final exams and the holidays, Minnesota beat the Buckeyes 9-2 and 5-1 in a series in Columbus on Dec. 7-8.
Dani Cameranesi had two goals for the No. 1-ranked Gophers (20-1-0, 14-1-0), who led 5-0 after two periods. Rachel Bona got the final goal in the third; it was her 12th goal of the season.
Brandt has 13 goals. She put the Gophers ahead 1-0 at 2:03 of the first period. After Cameranesi's first goal five minutes later, Brandt made it 3-0 on a power-play at 13:05 of the first.
That 3-0 start continued a Gophers' trend. Since its 62-game winning streak was stopped by North Dakota, Minnesota has outscored its opponents 18-1 in the first period in the next seven games.
