Gophers women’s hockey downs St. Thomas 3-1

Josefin Bouveng and Abbey Murphy each had a goal and assist as the Gophers women’s hockey team skated past St. Thomas 3-1 on Friday at Ridder Arena.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Gophers (21-5-1, 15-5-1 WCHA), who swept St. Thomas 8-0 and 4-0 in October.

Bouveng’s goal — assisted by Murphy and Ella Huber — 5 minutes, 48 seconds into the third period broke a 1-1 tie. Madison Kaiser’s goal — an empty-netter with 22 seconds remaining — sealed the victory for the Gophers.

“We found a way here tonight,” said Gophers coach Brad Frost. “Every game is tight, and our team found a way in the third period. I am really proud of them and the effort that they gave there and looking forward to going for the sweep tomorrow. We know it will be tough and we have to bring a little more, but I am expecting our team to do that.”

The Tommies scored first on Nicole Vallario’s goal with 7:42 remaining in the first period. The last time the Tommies had a lead against the Gophers was last season, when Vallario’s unassisted goal gave the Tommies a 1-0 lead in an eventual 2-1 Gophers overtime win on Feb. 17.

The Gophers tied the game in the final minute of the first period on Murphy’s power-play goal, assisted by Bouveng and Huber. It was the 10th power-play goal of the season for Murphy and 28th for the Gophers, who are second in the nation in converting power-play attempts.

The Gophers outshot the Tommies 21-18 as Gophers goalie Lucy Morgan had 17 saves and Tommies goalie Olivia King, a former Gopher, had 18 saves.

Earlier on Friday, Emma Kreisz and Ava Lindsay of the Gophers and Ella Boerger of St. Thomas were named to the National Women’s Rookie of the Year watch list by the Hockey Commissioners Association. The list contains 25 first-year players. The winner will be announced in March.