Ella Huber scored twice in the first eight minutes of the third period to spark the No. 3 Gophers women’s hockey team to a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Ohio State on Friday at Ridder Arena.
Gophers women’s hockey team drops Ohio State with a third-period burst
The Gophers, ranked third, scored all of their goals in the final period, defeating the No. 2 Buckeyes 3-1.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 1, 2025 at 3:26AM
The victory was the seventh straight and the 18th in the past 20 games for the Gophers (22-5-1, 16-4-1 WCHA), who took over sole possession of second place in the WCHA standings.
“A great win,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said. “Love how we played tonight. Real structured, worked hard, blocked a lot of shots. We made good, strong, hard plays.
“Everything we want to do to be successful, they did tonight.”
The loss ended a seven-game winning streak for the Buckeyes (20-6-3, 14-6-3), who were 5-0-1 against the Gophers over the past two seasons. Earlier this season in Columbus, Ohio, the Buckeyes defeated the Gophers 4-3 and won the shootout after the teams skated to a 1-1 tie.
The game was scoreless heading into the third period. Huber’s first goal, on the power play, came 61 seconds into the period. Huber’s even-strength goal with 12 minutes, 8 seconds remaining made it 2-0. A little over a minute later, Abbey Murphy’s power-play goal made it 3-0.
“Ella was great,” Frost said. “You always know what you’re going to get with Ella. She has great speed, and she was able to find a couple of goals in the crease. That was obviously huge for us.”
Murphy’s goal was the 94th of her career, giving her sole possession of ninth place on the program’s career list. Murphy has 24 goals this season and has at least one point in 23 of the Gophers' 28 games.
Huber’s goals were the eighth and ninth of the season. She is second on the team in scoring behind Murphy with 34 points.
Former Gopher Emily Zumwinkle scored with two minutes remaining to pull the Buckeyes within 3-1.
Goalie Hannah Clark made 25 saves for the Gophers, who were outshot 26-22.
“Hannah has been great,” Frost said. “She was solid all night, just like she has been all year. She kept us in the game, when it was 0-0 after two.”
The Buckeyes were 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Gophers were 2-for-5.
“Overall, I’m really proud of our effort tonight,” Frost said. “It’s a big win for us against a really good team.”
The teams will conclude the series Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.
Minnesota scored all of its goals in the final period, getting two from Ella Huber.
