University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
17-4-0, 11-4-0
Minnesota State
11-9-1, 5-9-1
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Murphy’s Second Straight Hat Trick Powers No. 3 Gophers Past No. 12 Mavericks
1/9/2026 8:43:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MANKATO, MINN. – Behind Abbey Murphy's second consecutive hat trick, the No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team rolled to an 11-3 victory over No. 12 Minnesota State on Friday night at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The Gophers exploded for five first-period goals and added four more in the second frame to pull away from the Mavericks.
Minnesota State opened the scoring just 1:54 into the contest after a mishandled puck behind the net led to the game's first tally.
Minnesota answered quickly, evening the score less than four minutes later. Chloe Primerano fired a shot from the high slot that was initially stopped, but Bella Fanale collected the rebound in front and tucked home her 10th goal of the season.
The Gophers took their first lead of the night at 8:38 of the opening period. Abbey Murphy skated through the left faceoff circle and fired a backhanded shot that rebounded off the goaltender's pads. Murphy followed the play and buried her own rebound to make it 2-1.
Minnesota continued to apply pressure late in the frame, adding three goals in the final two minutes of the period. Kendra Distad finished a rebound in the low slot at 18:39 before Murphy struck again just 30 seconds later. On the forecheck, Murphy forced a turnover in the Mavericks' defensive zone, and Primerano poked the puck back to her. Murphy skated through the slot and fired a bar-down shot far side for her second goal of the night, giving Minnesota a 4-1 lead.
The Gophers added one more before the horn to carry a 5-1 advantage into the first intermission.
Minnesota State cut into the deficit early in the second period, scoring 3:30 into the frame to make it 5-2.
Murphy completed her hat trick midway through the period. Fanale found Murphy on the backdoor from the right faceoff dot, and Murphy tucked home Minnesota's sixth goal of the night.
Avery Hovland notched her first career goal at 10:34 of the second period. On a two-on-one rush, Molly Jordan slid a pass through the slot to Hovland, who fired a shot far side high to extend the Gophers' lead to 7-2.
Minnesota closed out the period with two more goals in the final two minutes. Ava Lindsay and Madison Kaiser set up Jamie Nelson for a goal against her former team on a three-on-zero break, and Tereza Plosova added her seventh goal of the season off a faceoff win by Emma Kreisz to give the Gophers a commanding 9-2 lead after 40 minutes.
The Gophers reached double figures 2:10 into the third period when Distad scored her second goal of the game, marking her first career multi-goal performance. Minnesota State answered with a shorthanded goal to make it 10-3 with 16 minutes remaining.
Molly Jordan capped the scoring with a power-play goal at 18:39 of the third period to seal Minnesota's 11-3 victory.
With the win, Minnesota improves to 17-4-0 overall and 11-4-0 in WCHA play, while Minnesota State falls to 11-9-1 (5-9-1 WCHA).
Quotable
"A really good effort, I loved our response," said head coach Brad Frost. "We gave one up early on a mishandle, and the team responded with five goals in the first. I'm very proud of their response and the win here tonight."
Notable
- Abbey Murphy recorded her second consecutive hat trick and fourth of the season.
- Avery Hovland scored her first career goal.
- Josefin Bouveng extended her point streak to 20 games.
- Minnesota scored double-digit goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 15–16, 1999 against St. Cloud State.
Up Next
Minnesota returns home for the first time in 2026 to close the series against Minnesota State on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at Ridder Arena, with live coverage on Big Ten Network.