University of St. Thomas Athletics
5-12-2, 2-10-1
Minnesota
12-4-1, 8-4-1
#3 Gophers deal Tommies 5-0 setback
12/6/2024 9:42:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's hockey team was riding high entering Friday evening's Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) contest against the #3 University of Minnesota Gophers. In their most recent games in Nashville, the Tommies took #6 Clarkson to overtime and earned a 1-1 draw with #12 Penn State. However, the Gophers proved to be a different animal entirely. Despite holding Minnesota to just one goal in the first period, St. Thomas fell at St. Thomas Ice Arena by a final score of 5-0. With the loss, the Tommies are now 5-12-2 on the season and 2-10-1 in WCHA play.
RECAP:
The first period was filled with fireworks, as the Gophers seemingly took a 1-0 lead not two minutes into regulation. However, thanks to the keen eye of head coach Bethany Brausen and staff, the Tommies opted the challenge the call, claiming Minnesota was offsides. St. Thomas was, in fact, correct, and Minnesota's goal was overturned as quickly as it was scored.
With the Gophers goal overturned, the Tommies went on the offensive, as Rylee Bartz (Fargo, N.D. / Warroad) and Rachel Golnitz (Wyoming, Minn. / Colgate) pestered Minnesota starting netminder Hannah Clark with shots, looking to score the first goal of the game. It was the Gophers who eventually broke the scoreless tie, as Josefin Bouveng snuck a Abbey Murphy rebound behind a sprawling Dani Strom (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) to give Minnesota the 1-0 advantage nine minutes in.
Down 1-0 with under a minute left in the first period, St. Thomas put together one last blitz, peppering Clark with three shots in the closing seconds. Clark weathered the storm, as did Strom herself, who stopped a breakaway shot by Murphy to preserve the 1-0 deficit after the first period of play. At the start of the second, it looked like the Tommies might score the equalizer on a breakaway by Lauren Stenslie (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove). Her shot sailed wide of the net, and Minnesota found the back of the net three times in the period, taking a 4-0 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes of play.
St. Thomas tried to make up the four-goal deficit in the third, but the hill proved to be too tall to hurdle. Despite offensive pushes late in the period, the Tommies were unable to find the back of the net, falling by a final score of 5-0.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
St. Thomas played its fifth consecutive game against a nationally ranked opponent, the start of a long streak for the Tommies. From November 22 to February 14, St. Thomas is projected to play 16 consecutive games against a top-10 opponent, demonstrating the dominance of the WCHA. The Tommies will close the first half of the season and open the second against #3 Minnesota and will also face #1 Wisconsin, #4 Minnesota-Duluth, #8 St. Cloud State, and #2 Ohio State in that stretch. Earlier in the season, St. Thomas took both St. Cloud State and Ohio State to overtime, claiming a shootout win against the Huskies.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will look to avenge Friday's loss on Saturday, as it hosts the same Minnesota team at St. Thomas Ice Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.
