Gophers women's hockey team lets three-goal lead slip away in loss to No. 1 Wisconsin

The Badgers completed the weekend sweep with Saturday night's victory.

Abbey Murphy fires a shot. / Gopher Athletics

The fourth-ranked Gophers women’s hockey team saw a three-goal lead disappear as No. 1 Wisconsin scored four unanswered in a 4-3 Gophers loss Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.

The Badgers swept the two-game weekend series.

The Gophers (4-3-1) had themselves in great position to hand the Badgers (8-0-0) their first loss of the season. After a scoreless first period, Sydney Morrow scored a pair of second-period goals — an unassisted goal 21 seconds into the frame and a power-play goal just 1 minute, 35 seconds later — to give Minnesota a commanding two-goal lead. 

Madison Kaiser made it 3-0 with her goal 8 minutes, 44 seconds into the second period. 

But the top-ranked Badgers made the most of their power-play chances, going 2 for 3 with the extra skater, which allowed them to get back into the game. Laila Edwards scored the first on the man advantage 9 minutes, 59 seconds into the second period, and Lacey Eden got them within one with another power-play tally just 35 seconds into the third period.

Hannah Halverson pushed the tying goal across 4 minutes, 42 seconds into the third period, and Casey O’Brien scored the go-ahead goal 13 minutes, 53 seconds into the frame. Badgers goalie Ava McNaughton held firm from there, stopping eight third-period shots overall as she finished with 26 saves on 29 shots from the Gophers. 

Caroline Harvey assisted on all four Badgers goals for a four-point night. O’Brien had the go-ahead goal and a pair of assists for a three-point game. 

Gophers goalie Hannah Clark stopped 25 of 29 Badgers shots. 

The Gophers will look to bounce back when they return to action on Friday to host Minnesota State at Ridder Arena for a 5 p.m. puck drop.