Minnesota Duluth upsets No. 2 Gophers 2-1 to earn bid to women's Frozen Four

Around 40 minutes after Minnesota Duluth secured its second consecutive NCAA women's Frozen Four berth with a 2-1 upset of the second-ranked Gophers on Saturday, the joyful screams of Bulldogs players and their fans echoed around Ridder Arena.

A few minutes later, an entirely opposite scene played out as Gophers coach Brad Frost and seniors Taylor Heise and Emily Brown, the players' eyes red with tears, tried to explain what happened in a defeat that ended such a promising season.

"This one hurts, obviously,'' Frost said. "It's not what anyone in our program envisioned.''

"It's really fresh and really raw right now,'' Brown said. "It's really hard to come up with words.''

The Gophers (29-9-1) went from winning the WCHA regular-season title and carrying the nation's No. 1 ranking to losing 3-2 in overtime to Ohio State in the conference tournament final last Sunday and then seeing their season end at the hands of their intrastate rival.

Yes, there will be a University of Minnesota team in the women's Frozen Four, but it's the one from Duluth, not the Twin Cities.

Bulldogs center Gabbie Hughes scored the winning goal 5 minutes, 24 seconds into the third period and Emma Soderberg made 37 saves in front of a crowd of 1,447 as No. 8 UMD avenged its 5-1 loss to Minnesota from a week earlier.

No. 1 Ohio State, a 4-3 winner in double overtime over Quinnipiac, and Yale, a 2-1 OT winner over Colgate, will meet in the other semifinal. The championship game is next Sunday, and UMD's aim is to be there.

"We're underrated and a little underappreciated, to be honest,'' Bulldogs coach Maura Crowell said. "This is a real statement. We don't have to say any more: back-to-back Frozen Fours. … We deserve this.''

BOXSCORE: Minnesota Duluth 2, Gophers 1

The Gophers struck first Saturday, with Abigail Boreen beating Soderberg on a power play at 9:50 of the first period for her 25^th goal of the season.

A fast-paced second period saw neither team gain an edge until Minnesota Duluth tied the score 1-1 on a goal that the Gophers would like to have back.

Another Gophers turnover led to Hughes' game-winner in the third.

Hughes, who had a hat trick in the 4-0 win over Harvard on Thursday, made sure her only shot of the game was a big one. After intercepting a Minnesota clearing attempt at the half-wall, the senior from Lino Lakes rifled a shot over Bench's right shoulder for a 2-1 lead at 5:24 of the third.

From there, the Bulldogs tight defense took over. Soderberg, who played for Sweden in the Beijing Olympics, made 17 saves in the third period, including two in the final 2:15 after the Gophers pulled Bench for an extra attacker. UMD also blocked five Gophers shots during that stretch.

"Everybody was clutching and grabbing and scratching for every inch out there,'' Crowell said.

Frost tried to soothe the sting in his postgame message, telling his players how proud he was of them.