Tova Henderson’s goal in overtime lifted the No. 10 Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team to a 3-2 victory over the No. 3 Gophers on Friday, Feb. 20, at Ridder Arena.
The goal with 1:41 remaining in overtime — the second of the season for Henderson, a senior defender from Richmond, B.C. — gave the Bulldogs (18-12-3, 14-10-3 WCHA) their fifth straight win. They also ended a seven-game losing streak against the Gophers (24-8-1, 18-6-1).
The loss extended the Gophers’ winless streak to four games (0-3-1).
The Gophers tied the score 2-2 midway through the third period on junior forward Ava Lindsay’s 15th goal of the season. The Gophers were outshot 23-16 by the Bulldogs in the first two periods, but they had a 15-8 edge in shots on goal in the third period and a 2-1 advantage in overtime.
The Gophers opened the scoring with a goal from senior forward Madison Kaiser with 16:33 remaining in the first period. The Bulldogs tied the score midway through the first period on a goal by sophomore forward Zoey Krock.
Freshman forward Madi Burr gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead with 12:36 remaining in the second period with her eighth goal of the season.
Bulldogs goaltender Eve Gascon had 31 saves, while Hannah Clark stopped 29 shots for the Gophers. The Bulldogs were 0-for-4 on the power-play and the Gophers were 0-for-2.
The teams will conclude the series — and the regular season — at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Ridder Arena. The WCHA playoffs will begin Friday, Feb. 27. Both the Gophers and Bulldogs will host a first-round (best-of-three) series.
