The Gophers' long unbeaten streak against St. Cloud State in women's hockey is still alive. Just barely.
No. 2 Minnesota edged the host Huskies 4-3 in overtime in the opener of a home-and-home WCHA series on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Taylor Heise scored at 2 minutes, 57 seconds of the extra period before a crowd of 463 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The goal was the fourth of the season and second winner for Heise, a 5-10 forward who starred at Red Wing High School.
The unbeaten streak of the Gophers (10-2-1, 8-2-1 WCHA) stands at 44 consecutive games, all wins except for one tie.
The Huskies (4-10-1, 2-7) tied the score at 3-all with 1:22 left in the third period on Hannah Potrykus' goal with two extra attackers. The Gophers had a player in the penalty box and SCSU also pulled goalie Emma Polusny.
It was a low-scoring game until the third period. The Gophers led 1-0 after the first period on Kelly Pannek's shorthanded goal in the third minute. Pannek initially hit a pipe on her first shot but got the rebound and fired again. The second period ended with the score knotted at 1-1; after stealing the puck, Brooke Kudirka scored an unassisted goal for the Huskies in the 13th minute of the second.
Alex Gulstene had 15 saves for the Gophers, Polusny 43 for the Huskies.
