Gophers-Minnesota State Mankato women's hockey game preview

Two series against Wisconsin and Ohio State were postponed because of COVID-19 issues, prompted the Gophers to add a WCHA series against Minnesota State Mankato, which also hasn't played since Thanksgiving weekend.

December 10, 2020 at 9:09AM

6 p.m. Thursday, Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, 6 p.m. Friday, Ridder Arena • Stream: FloHockey.tv on Thursday, BTN Plus on Friday

Winning streak at 48 vs. Mavericks

Gophers at a glance: Third-ranked Minnesota (3-1, 3-1 WCHA) has been idle since a road sweep of No. 6 Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 27-28. Last week's home series against No. 1 Wisconsin was called off Friday because of COVID-19 issues within the Badgers program, and that news came a day after No. 4 Ohio State had to postpone the Dec. 11-12 series against the Gophers in Columbus because of the virus. That prompted the Gophers to add a WCHA series against Minnesota State Mankato, which also hasn't played since Thanksgiving weekend. "The message to our team has been to be as flexible and interchangeable as possible — to adapt and adjust and figure it out," Gophers coach Brad Frost said. "We've been treating every day as a gift." … Senior forward Grace Zumwinkle leads the Gophers with three goals and four points, while Anne Cherkowski (1-2-3), Emily Oden (1-2-3) and Madeline Wethington (0-3-3) are right behind in scoring. … Lauren Bench, a graduate transfer from Bemidji State, has started every game and has a 1.25 goals-against average and .962 save percentage. … The Gophers have won 48 games in a row vs. the Mavericks, since a 1-1 tie on Nov. 14, 2009.

Mavericks at a glance: MSU (1-3, 1-3) lost 5-0 and 7-3 at home against Minnesota Duluth to start the season before splitting a series at St. Cloud State, dropping the opener 1-0 before winning the finale 4-2. The Mavericks' series last week at Bemidji State was postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Beavers program. … Coach John Harrington is relying on young roster, with eight freshmen and six sophomores. … Freshman forwards Jamie Nelson (2-1-3) and Sydney Langseth (1-2-3) are tied for the team scoring lead. Sophomore forward Kelsey King, a WCHA all-rookie selection last season, has a goal and an assist, with a team-high 17 shots. Sophomore goalie Calla Frank, an all-rookie selection in 2019-20, has started all four games and has a 3.77 GAA and .871 save percentage.

Note: These games are not on TV but are available on the FloHockey.tv (the first night) and BTN Plus (the second) subscription streaming services.

Randy Johnson

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