6 p.m. Thursday, Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, 6 p.m. Friday, Ridder Arena • Stream: FloHockey.tv on Thursday, BTN Plus on Friday
Gophers-Minnesota State Mankato women's hockey game preview
Two series against Wisconsin and Ohio State were postponed because of COVID-19 issues, prompted the Gophers to add a WCHA series against Minnesota State Mankato, which also hasn't played since Thanksgiving weekend.
December 10, 2020 at 9:09AM
Winning streak at 48 vs. Mavericks
Gophers at a glance: Third-ranked Minnesota (3-1, 3-1 WCHA) has been idle since a road sweep of No. 6 Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 27-28. Last week's home series against No. 1 Wisconsin was called off Friday because of COVID-19 issues within the Badgers program, and that news came a day after No. 4 Ohio State had to postpone the Dec. 11-12 series against the Gophers in Columbus because of the virus. That prompted the Gophers to add a WCHA series against Minnesota State Mankato, which also hasn't played since Thanksgiving weekend. "The message to our team has been to be as flexible and interchangeable as possible — to adapt and adjust and figure it out," Gophers coach Brad Frost said. "We've been treating every day as a gift." … Senior forward Grace Zumwinkle leads the Gophers with three goals and four points, while Anne Cherkowski (1-2-3), Emily Oden (1-2-3) and Madeline Wethington (0-3-3) are right behind in scoring. … Lauren Bench, a graduate transfer from Bemidji State, has started every game and has a 1.25 goals-against average and .962 save percentage. … The Gophers have won 48 games in a row vs. the Mavericks, since a 1-1 tie on Nov. 14, 2009.
Mavericks at a glance: MSU (1-3, 1-3) lost 5-0 and 7-3 at home against Minnesota Duluth to start the season before splitting a series at St. Cloud State, dropping the opener 1-0 before winning the finale 4-2. The Mavericks' series last week at Bemidji State was postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Beavers program. … Coach John Harrington is relying on young roster, with eight freshmen and six sophomores. … Freshman forwards Jamie Nelson (2-1-3) and Sydney Langseth (1-2-3) are tied for the team scoring lead. Sophomore forward Kelsey King, a WCHA all-rookie selection last season, has a goal and an assist, with a team-high 17 shots. Sophomore goalie Calla Frank, an all-rookie selection in 2019-20, has started all four games and has a 3.77 GAA and .871 save percentage.
Note: These games are not on TV but are available on the FloHockey.tv (the first night) and BTN Plus (the second) subscription streaming services.
Randy Johnson
about the writer
Sam Rinzel had two of the Gophers’ three power play goals against the Irish.
