Emma Kreisz had two goals and three assists and Ava Lindsay had two goals and an assist to lead the Gophers women’s hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Minnesota State Mankato on Friday at Ridder Arena in the first game of a best-of-three WCHA playoff series.
Gophers women’s hockey team cruises against Minnesota State Mankato in WCHA tournament
The Gophers defeated the Mavericks for the seventh straight time, and if it happens again Saturday they’ll be headed to the Final Faceoff.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 1, 2025 at 2:53AM
“We did a great job finishing tonight,” said Gophers coach Brad Frost. “We’re happy for game one and we know it will be tighter and tougher tomorrow.”
The victory was the seventh straight for the Gophers (26-9-1) over the Mavericks dating to last year’s playoffs. The Gophers and Mavericks faced each other in the first round last year, and the Mavericks won the opener 5-4 in overtime. The Gophers rebounded to win the next two games to advance.
Lindsay opened the scoring with a goal midway through the first period. Kreisz scored less than two minutes into the second period to give the Gophers a 2-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Abbey Murphy scored, but the goal was waved off.
With 2 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the second period, Kreisz scored on the power play to make it 3-0. It was the first multiple-goal game for Kreisz this season. Kreisz, a sophomore, scored seven goals in the regular season.
“Emma was great,” Frost said. “That whole line with Peyton [Hemp] and Ava [Lindsay] was great. Since Christmas, Emma has been playing exceptional hockey. She does things the right way on and off the ice. She’s a great leader and is somebody that is always encouraging. She just puts her head down and gets to work. It’s good to see her get rewarded for that.”
Claire Vekich scored 13 seconds into the third period to pull the Mavericks (13-20-2) within 3-1.
The Gophers scored three times in the final five minutes to put the game out of reach. Ella Huber and Lindsay scored 63 seconds apart to make it 5-1, and Hemp scored with 45 seconds remaining to make it 6-1.
The Gophers, who outscored the Mavericks 24-9 while sweeping their four games in the regular season, outshot the Mavericks 45-26, including 17-5 in the first period. Hannah Clark made 23 saves for the Gophers.
“Hannah Clark was amazing,” Frost said. “She kept us in it and kept the lead for us.“
The best-of-three playoff series will continue Saturday afternoon at Ridder. A third game, if necessary, would be played Sunday. The series winner will advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff next weekend in Duluth.
Minnesota still can win the conference championship Saturday, but it will need help.
