The Gophers women's hockey team clinched its seventh WCHA regular-season title on Friday by beating Minnesota Duluth 5-0 at Ridder Arena before an announced crowd of 2,538.
Junior winger Amanda Kessel scored her 35th and 36th goals of the season while senior goalie Noora Raty stopped 24 shots for her 11th shutout of the season and 37th of her career, two shy of the NCAA record.
The No. 1-rated Gophers (27-0, 21-0) took a quick 1-0 lead on Becky Kortum's shorthanded goal at 3 minutes, 45 seconds. Kessel made it 2-0 midway through the second period. Sarah Davis, Kessel and Milica McMillen all scored in the third period as the Gophers pulled away. It was the 35th consecutive victory for the defending NCAA champions going back to last season.
No. 10 Minnesota Duluth (13-9-3, 12-8-1) came into the series with a six game-winning streak, and the Bulldogs were 8-0-2 in their past 10 games. They outshot the Gophers 24-22, but Raty came into the series with a stellar .958 save percentage and improved it.
Raty, who had tied the NCAA record for most career victories on Sunday, now holds it alone. Her career record is 101-17-8.
