University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
26-10-1, 19-9-1
St. Cloud State
12-23-2, 7-20-2
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Gophers Roll Past St. Cloud State 6-1 to Advance to WCHA Final Faceoff
3/1/2026 5:40:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – The third-seeded Minnesota women's hockey team skated to a dominant 6-1 victory over sixth-seeded St. Cloud State on Sunday afternoon at Ridder Arena. With the win, the Gophers advance to St. Paul for the WCHA Final Faceoff at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
Minnesota struck early, tallying a pair of goals in the opening frame. Bella Fanale carried the puck into the offensive zone on an odd-man rush, cutting through the left faceoff circle before firing a far-side shot high past the SCSU goaltender at 2:46 of the first period.
Jamie Nelson doubled the lead just over three minutes later. On a two-on-one break, Josefin Bouveng dropped a pass to Nelson, who returned the feed to Bouveng. From the top of the crease, Bouveng slid the puck back to Nelson, fooling the goaltender and making it 2-0 at 6:13.
St. Cloud State answered early in the second period with a goal at the 1:05 mark.
The Gophers responded with three straight goals in the middle frame. Gracie Graham slipped behind the defense to finish a feed from Nelson at 8:26 for her first goal of the season. Bouveng added a net-front tally at 15:31 off sharp passes from Sydney Morrow and Chloe Primerano.
Fanale capped the period with a shorthanded goal after an SCSU turnover. Skating in on a three-on-one rush, she kept the puck and buried her second of the game with under two minutes remaining in the frame to give Minnesota a 5-1 advantage.
St. Cloud State pulled its goaltender early in the third period for a six-on-five advantage, but Minnesota capitalized on the empty net. Bouveng scored her second goal of the game at 13:49 to seal the 6-1 victory.
With the win, Minnesota eliminates St. Cloud State from the WCHA Playoffs and advances to next week's Final Faceoff. The Gophers improve to 26-10-1 overall and 20-10-1 in conference play.
Quotable
"It was a great game from start to finish," said associate head coach Greg "Boom" May. "I'm proud of our players for how they came out. We tried to take it in five-minute chunks and they did really well in the first period to get us going. We were able to carry that momentum through the entire game."
Notable
- Minnesota played in its third opening-round Game 3 in as many seasons.
- Five Gophers recorded multiple points.
- Graham netted her first goal of the season.
- Fanale notched her fifth multi-goal game of the year.
- Hannah Clark made 17 saves in net.
Up Next
Minnesota heads to St. Paul for the WCHA Final Faceoff, where they are set to face second-seeded Ohio State in a single-elimination semifinal. Puck drop is set for March 5 at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.