After the No. 3 Gophers women’s hockey team and St. Thomas skated to a 1-1 tie, Sydney Morrow converted in the shootout to give the Gophers the bonus point in the WCHA standings on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Ridder Arena.
Officially, the game counts as a tie, St. Thomas’ first against the Gophers after the Tommies lost the first 23 matchups. That includes Friday’s 4-1 Gophers victory at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena.
It was the first shootout of the season for the Gophers (24-5-1, 18-5-1 WCHA), who defeated Wisconsin on Jan. 30 in their only overtime game of the season.
Morrow’s conversion on her backhand to beat St. Thomas goalie Julia Minotti came after each team had missed their first two attempts. Hannah Clark made a final save. The Gophers are 12-1-1 in their past 14 games.
“A great move by Sydney,” Gophers coach Brad Frost told reporters after the game. “She’s got really good hands and somebody that we felt confident putting in there and she delivered.”
The Gophers took a 1-0 lead into the second period after Jamie Nelson’s power-play goal — assisted by Bella Fanale and Chloe Primerano — with 18 seconds left in the first period.
After being outshot by the Gophers 12-7 in the first period, the Tommies (12-17-1, 7-16-1) outshot the Gophers 8-4 in the scoreless second period.
In the third period, St. Thomas tied it at 1-1 on a goal by Jenessa Gazdik with 7:50 remaining.
