Abbey Murphy had a goal and an assist as the No. 3 Gophers women’s hockey team extended its winning streak to seven games with a 5-3 victory at Bemidji State Friday, Jan. 16.
The Gophers (19-4, 13-4 WCHA) scored twice in a 14-second span in the first period and twice in a 48-second span in the second before holding on for their 30th consecutive victory over the Beavers, with three coming this season. The teams close out the series on Saturday at the Sanford Center.
The Beavers (5-15-3, 2-14-1), playing at home for the first time since Dec. 6, were outshot 39-19 and trailed 5-0 after two periods, but they scored twice on the power play in the third period and added a third goal in the final minute.
“Good win here on the road in a tough environment,” Gophers coach Brad Frost told reporters in Bemidji. “First two periods were really good. We were doing the right things. Playing the right way. Some really nice goals.”
Murphy and Ava Lindsay scored 14 seconds apart to give the Gophers a 2-0 lead with 4:36 left in the first period. Murphy’s unassisted goal was the 131st of her college career, eight behind Nadine Muzerall’s program-record 139 from 1997 to 2001.
Murphy, the first player in the nation to reach 50 points this season, now has 52 points (29 goals and 23 assists).
The first 10 minutes of the second period were scoreless before Kendra Distad and Anabella Fanale scored 48 seconds apart to push the lead to 4-0. Fanale, a freshman, has 13 goals, good for second on the team.
Sydney Morrow’s power-play goal with 2:33 left in the second period made it 5-0. It was the first power-play goal allowed by the Beavers since Nov. 28. Bemidji State had skated off 19 consecutive power-play opportunities by opponents and entered the game third in the WCHA and 12th nationally in penalty-kill percentage (.860).
