The No. 2 Gophers women's hockey team play St. Cloud State two more times this weekend after rallying to beat the Huskies 2-1 at Ridder Arena on Thursday.
"St. Cloud State continues to get better and better," coach Brad Frost of the Gophers (6-1 overall and WCHA) said after his team beat SCSU for the 15th consecutive game. "Their goaltender was really good here [Thursday], and they generated a number of quality chances."
Emma Polusny, a senior from Mound, kept the Huskies (2-5) close by making 40 saves.
The next game in this unusual three-game series is 4 p.m. Saturday at Ridder Arena, where the Huskies have never won. Minnesota is 45-0-2 all-time vs. the Huskies at Ridder going back to the 1997-98 season. The third game is 3 p.m. Sunday in St. Cloud.
Grace Zumwinkle, the Gophers co-captain, scored her sixth and seventh goals of the season of the third period on Thursday. SCSU took a 1-0 lead with 1:39 left in the second period on Olivia Cvar's goal — the first power-play goal the Gophers have allowed this season.
Going into Friday's games, the Gophers are eighth nationally on the penalty kill at 94.4% (17 for 18), just behind the Huskies, who are tied for sixth at 95.2% (20 for 21).
Zumwinkle leads the nation with seven goals this season in seven games and is tied for first with three game-winning goals.
The Gophers, who have had six games postponed already this season because of COVID-19 concerns, added Thursday's game with St. Cloud State on Sunday.
