Sydney Morrow and Josefin Bouveng scored 51 seconds apart in the final three minutes to lift the No. 3 Gophers women’s hockey team to a 5-3 victory over St. Thomas on Friday at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul.
The Tommies had tied the game 3-3 with 6 minutes, 24 seconds remaining on a goal from junior defenseman JuliAnna Gazdik. Morrow, a senior defenseman, broke the tie with 2:39 to play. Bouveng, a senior forward, scored with 1:48 remaining to ice the game.
The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Gophers (13-4, 9-4 WCHA). The loss was the sixth straight for the Tommies (8-11, 3-10). Five of the Tommies’ losses in that streak have been by one or two goals.
“Some really good things today,” Gophers coach Brad Frost told reporters after the game. “Unfortunately, when things go bad, they go bad and St. Thomas was able to get some chances and some goals. All in all, a really good third period in particular, our second period was pretty good as well, and a good first experience here at the new rink in St. Thomas.”
Until the final three minutes, neither team led by more than one goal and the game was tied three times.
Graduate student forward Abbey Murphy, who went into the game leading the WCHA with 18 goals and second in the nation in points (32), gave the Gophers to a 1-0 lead with her 19th goal with 14:20 left in the first period.
Tommies freshman forward Whitney Horton’s power-play goal — her first of two goals — with 3:11 remaining in the first period tied the game.
Gophers sophomore forward Kendra Distad broke the 1-1 tie with 14:16 left in the second period with her second goal of the season. Horton’s second goal tied the game again with 11:13 left in the second.
