Defenseman Patti Marshall’s second goal of her sophomore season broke a 1-1 tie at 13:23 of the middle period and held up as the eventual game-winner as the Gophers completed a sweep of St. Cloud State in their WCHA quarterfinal series.
“Tonight, I thought that third period, we grinded it out better than we have all year,” coach Brad Frost said. “The more experience we can get finishing out games, going into playoffs as well as going into next weekend, is going to be to our advantage.”
Freshman Emily Brown, Marshall’s defensive partner, had given Minnesota (22-10-3) an early lead midway through the first frame on a power play, with Marshall picking up an assist.
The Huskies (8-20-5) were able to battle back to tie on senior Brittney Anderson’s shot through traffic 2:38 after the first intermission and within a minute of a power-play opportunity of their own.
“To bounce back — we got a couple good looks on that power play in terms of just possession,” coach Eric Rud said. “Maybe not great scoring chances, but I thought it gave us a little jump. To score right away after that was a nice boost for our bench.”
Anderson’s shot was the only one to elude Peters, who finished with 25 saves.
“I didn’t see anything, but that’s on me,” Minnesota’s Sidney Peters said. “As a goalie, you’ve got to fight to see those. It was a tough goal — it was hard, but at the same time, I know that that’s on me.”
The Gophers responded better than they have at times this year.
“Instead of getting back on our heels, we really dug in,” Peters said.
“They roll three lines, so they keep coming at you,” Rud said. “If we could have just found a way to sneak one in there at some point, I think it could have been a different outcome.”
Nicole Schammel added some insurance with her 16th goal of the season, and Grace Zumwinkle iced the win into an empty net.
“I’m really excited about the way we’re playing right now,” Peters said. “This is where we need to be for this part of the season.”
The Gophers will face Ohio State in a semifinal on Saturday.
