Abbey Murphy, shown against Ohio State, scored the empty netter against Minnesota Duluth for her nation-leading 31st goal of the season. (Renée Jones Schneider, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Madison Kaiser had a goal and assist and Ava Lindsay had three assists as the Gophers women’s hockey team closed out its regular season with a 4-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at Ridder Arena.

The fourth-ranked Gophers (25-7-2, 19-7-2 WCHA) will play host to Minnesota State Mankato in a best-of-three series next weekend in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Eighth-ranked Minnesota Duluth (18-12-4, 15-11-2) will play host to St. Cloud State in the first round.

Kaiser’s power-play goal midway through the first period gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead. Peyton Hemp scored with seven minutes remaining in the second period to extend the Gophers’ lead to 2-0.

Mannon McMahon’s goal 78 seconds in the third period got the Bulldogs within 2-1, but a power-play goal by Emma Kreisz with five minutes, 22 seconds left restored the Gophers’ two-goal lead. Mary Kate O’Brien scored with 75 seconds remaining to pull the Bulldogs within 3-2, but Abbey Murphy scored an empty-netter with five seconds remaining — her nation-leading 31st goal of the season.

Gophers goalie Lucy Morgan had 23 saves. Ève Gascon stopped 26 shots for UMD.

“Really competitive, tough, physical game today, both teams really wanted it,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said. “Lucy [Morgan] was great in net, and as a team we played really well overall. Happy for our seniors, as they mean a lot to our program. It’s always special when you can win on senior night. We’re proud of our group and are looking forward to getting into the playoffs.”

about the writer

Star Tribune staff