MANKATO – Grace Zumwinkle, a fifth-year senior forward, had a hat trick and one assist as the No. 2 Gophers women's hockey team routed winless Minnesota State Mankato 11-0 on Friday afternoon at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Gophers women rout Mavericks in hockey behind Grace Zumwinkle's hat trick
The fifth-year senior Grace Zumwinkle had two goals in the first period and one in the second as the No. 2 Gophers beat Minnesota State Mankato 11-0.
October 14, 2022 at 11:17PM
Minnesota (3-0, 3-0 WCHA) led 3-0 after one period, 6-0 after two.
Zumwinkle scored a power-play goal in the seventh minute of the game and her second goal with 26 seconds left in the opening period. She got her third goal midway through the second. Teammates Abbey Murphy, a redshirt sophomore forward, and Nelli Laitinen, a freshman defenseman, each had a goal and two assists while sophomore Skylar Vetter made 17 saves for the shutout.
"Just a really thorough effort today," coach Brad Frost said. "A great first period put a lot of pressure on Mankato, and we were able to get a few goals there. We just continued to extend the lead from there.
"I'm just really impressed with our team and how they made plays and played the right way. Some big moments with Madison Kaiser and Nelli Laitinen getting their first goals as Gophers and Grace Zumwinkle getting the hat trick. All in all a great night."
Two goalies for the Mavericks (0-5, 0-5) combined for 49 saves. Three of MSU Mankato's previous losses were by one goal, the other by two.
The second game of the home-and-home series will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ridder Arena. The Gophers lead the all-time series 99-4-3.
On Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast, host Michael Rand started with another Twins loss. The playoff picture is becoming more bleak by the day. Later in the show, Gophers football writer Randy Johnson broke down the team’s recent woes.
