MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota women's hockey team took round one of its border battle series on Friday night, winning by a score of 5-3.

The fireworks started early on, with a total of four goals being scored in the opening frame. Redshirt junior Abbey Murphy recorded her 100th career point with a goal just under eight minutes into the first period, which set the tone for a strong offensive showing from the Maroon and Gold.

Fifth-year goaltender Lucy Morgan started in net for Minnesota and finished the night with 33 saves.

The Gophers' two first-period goals – both scored by Murphy – powered the Maroon and Gold to an early lead that proved too much for the Badgers to overcome.

Minnesota carried its hot start into the second period, scoring two more goals while holding the Badgers scoreless. Nelli Laitinen flicked a shot from near the blue line that trickled into the back of the net just over seven minutes into the second period. Sadie Lindsay scored her second goal of the season to give Minnesota a two-goal advantage that held to the final second-period buzzer.

The Badgers were able to make up ground and score once more in the final period, but their goal came after a strike from fifth-year Solveig Neunzert that pushed the score to 5-2.



Quotable
"Just an awesome win here tonight, I'm so proud of our group," head coach Brad Frost said. "They're resilient, they're tough and they defend. Lucy [Morgan] played great in net, while the offense scored big goals at big times. Any time you win a game in the border battle it's a big deal, so we're happy and looking forward to tomorrow."

Notable
- Josefin Bouveng's point streak reaches eight games
- Abbey Murphy records 100th career point, 20th goal of season
- Murphy records 10th multi-point game of the season
- Minnesota moves to 58-48-16 against Wisconsin

Up Next
The Gophers and Badgers will return to Ridder Arena tomorrow afternoon for the series finale at 2:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on B1G+ and FOX9+.