Gophers women’s hockey team routs Minnesota State Mankato 11-3

Abbey Murphy had three goals and an assist as the No. 3 Gophers women’s hockey team continued its goal-scoring spree to start the new year with an 11-3 victory at No. 12 Minnesota State Mankato on Friday, Jan. 9.

The Gophers (17-4, 11-4 WCHA) are second in the nation in goals scored. They have won five in a row since being swept by the Mavericks on Nov. 21 and 22. The Mavericks won 3-1 in Minneapolis on Nov. 21 and 4-1 the next day in Mankato.

Murphy, who leads the nation in points per game and goals per game, has 11 points in her past two games. She had three goals and four assists to tie the Gophers’ single-game individual scoring record in a 14-2 victory at Sacred Heart on Saturday, Jan. 3.

It’s the Gophers’ first time with double-digit goals in consecutive games since back-to-back 10-1 victories over St. Cloud State on Oct. 15-16, 1999

Murphy now has 27 goals and 20 assists in 21 games this season and 242 points for her career. She is four points behind Natalie Darwitz, who is in third place on the Gophers career scoring list.

“We talk about what a special player Abbey Murphy is,” Gophers coach Brad Frost told reporters in Mankato. “She loves to score, and she also loves to move the puck and see others score, which obviously is a sign of a great teammate.”

The Gophers, who scored 12 goals in the final two periods of the victory over Sacred Heart on Jan, 3, scored nine in the first two periods against the Mavericks (11-9-1, 5-9-1).

The Mavericks again scored the first goal of the second period, but Murphy completed her fourth hat trick of the season and the Gophers tacked on three more goals to make it 9-2 entering the third.

BOXSCORE: Gophers 11, Minnesota State Mankato 3

WCHA standings

“A real good effort,” Frost said. “I loved our response there. We gave up one early on a mishandle, which happens, and the team responded by scoring five in the first period. That was instrumental in moving forward.”

Josefin Bouveng (three assists) and Anabella Fanale (one goal, two assists) each had three points for the Gophers, who had seven other players contribute two points each.