Gophers beat top-ranked Ohio State 3-1 to win WCHA Final Faceoff

A year ago, the Gophers women's hockey team took a two-goal lead over Ohio State into the third period of the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game. The Buckeyes erased that deficit and scored in overtime to take the crown.

So on Saturday, when the Gophers again took a two-goal lead into the final period of the conference tournament final, coach Brad Frost made sure his players knew how dangerous the reigning NCAA champions can be.

"We made it a point to say, 'If you want to try and knock off the defending champion, you've got to raise your game to another level,' " Frost said.

Consider that level raised.

Behind goals by Savannah Norcross, Abbey Murphy and Peyton Hemp and 34 saves from goalie Skylar Vetter, the third-ranked Gophers defeated the No. 1 Buckeyes 3-1 in front of an announced 2,616 at Ridder Arena. Minnesota (29-5-3) won the conference tournament title for the eighth time overall and first since 2018. The Gophers improved to 3-1-1 this season against Ohio State (31-5-2).

Up next for the Gophers will be the NCAA tournament. At 11 a.m. Sunday on ESPNews, the NCAA will announce its 11-team field. The Gophers are No. 2 behind Ohio State in the PairWise Ratings, the formula the NCAA uses to seed teams, so Minnesota will be host of one of the regionals and have a bye into the regional final.

"We weren't really caring about that," Frost said of NCAA speculation. "We were wanting to come in tonight and raise the trophy. And our players, as you can tell, were pretty eager to throw the gloves and jump on the pile."

The Gophers could celebrate because of their hard work. Emblematic of that was Murphy, the tournament's most outstanding player. Her second-period goal proved to be the winner, and her gritty ways got under the Buckeyes' skin.

As the final seconds of the first period ticked off, Gophers and Buckeyes players traded pushes and shoves. During the fracas, Jenn Gardiner, OSU's leading scorer, hit Murphy's facemask, drawing a five-minute major penalty for contact to the head.

"I just bumped into her, and I got one right to the face," Murphy said with a smile. "Kind of took one for the team, ya know."

While the Gophers didn't score on the five-minute power play to start the second period, Buckeyes coach Nadine Muzerall said it was damaging nonetheless.

"Even after you kill that, you don't recover very well," she said. "That hurt us and that lost our momentum."

The Buckeyes took a penalty at 6:51 of the second, and Murphy made them pay by beating Ohio State goalie Amanda Thiele (36 saves) for a 2-0 lead.

Gabby Rosenthal scored for the Buckeyes to make it 2-1 at 16:02 of the second, but Hemp answered 1:02 later by lasering a shot past a screened Thiele.

With that two-goal lead, the Gophers played a shut-down third period. Muzerall pulled Thiele for an extra attacker with 3:09 left, and Vetter made three saves in that span. Just as important: The Gophers blocked six shots in that time, including two each by Madeline Wethington and Gracie Ostertag.

"Honestly, when you see someone block a shot, it's one of the most exciting things — sometimes more exciting than a goal when you're up 3-1," Murphy said.

With a conference trophy secured, the Gophers will try for a bigger prize. Frost likes the statement they made Saturday.

"This team obviously has a lot of talent," he said, "but you saw this weekend and in particular tonight, the heart and the passion and the care that they play with."