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Gophers women's hockey holds off Colgate to book ticket to Frozen Four

Abbey Murphy scored a pair of power-play goals to lead Minnesota to an NCAA Tournament win on Saturday.

Nolan O'Hara

Gophers players Taylor Stewart (2), Nelli Laitinen, center, Abbey Murphy and Ella Huber (26) celebrate Murphy's goal against St. Thomas on Oct. 13, 2023, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Gophers players Taylor Stewart (2), Nelli Laitinen, center, Abbey Murphy and Ella Huber (26) celebrate Murphy's goal against St. Thomas on Oct. 13, 2023, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. / Gopher Athletics

Abbey Murphy scored a pair of power-play goals to lead the fourth-seeded Gophers women's hockey team to a 3-2 victory over fifth-seeded Colgate in a NCAA Tournament Regional Final on Saturday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.

With the victory, the Gophers advance to the Frozen Four semifinals where they'll face top-seeded Wisconsin on Friday.

Murphy got the Gophers started with her first power-play goal of the day 5 minutes, 40 seconds into the first period off assists from Chloe Primerano and Hannah Clark. That was Murphy's 102nd career goal, which tied her with Natalie Darwitz for sixth all time in program history, and it didn't take much longer for her to pass Darwitz on the all-time list.

Murphy got No. 103 for her career on the power play 5 minutes, 18 seconds into the second period to give Minnesota a 2-0 advantage. Murphy is just three goals away from tying Krissy Wendell for fifth-most goals all time in program history.

Sydney Morrow added another goal for the U to make it a three-goal advantage, but that's when things got hairy. Colgate got a power-play goal from Elyssa Biederman just 2 minutes, 26 seconds into the third period, and Avery Pickering found the back of the Minnesota net with 9 minutes still remaining to make it a one-goal game.

Minnesota held the 3-2 advantage until Colgate was forced to pull goaltender Hannah Murphy, who had a terrific game and kept her team in it by making 41 saves on 44 shots, with just under two minutes remaining.

The Gophers outshot Colgate 44-26. Gophers goalie Hannah Clark made 24 saves on the 26 Colgate shots.

Up next for the Gophers is a matchup against top-seeded Wisconsin, which beat Clarkson 4-1 in its quarterfinal on Saturday. Minnesota was swept in both its series against Wisconsin this season and also lost a heartbreaker to the rival Badgers in the WCHA Final Faceoff title game on March 8. The next will be the biggest matchup of them all in the Frozen Four on Friday. Time remains to be determined, but the semifinals are scheduled for 4 and 7:30 p.m. CT at Ridder Arena.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

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