Friday's action in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association saw No. 3 Minnesota, No. 10 Minnesota Duluth, and St. Cloud State earn series-opening victories.
No. 3 Minnesota 4, RV St. Thomas 1 | BOX SCORE | Minnesota Recap | St. Thomas Recap
- The third-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers had four different goal scorers en route to a 4-1 victory over St. Thomas on the road; Minnesota improved to 24-5-0 on the season.
- Chloe Primerano lit the lamp for the Gophers just over six minutes into the first period; the Gophers then scored two in the second period before the Tommies netted their lone goal of the game; Bella Fanale added one more goal for Minnesota in the third frame.
- Nine different Gophers notched a point in the victory, with Sydney Morrow leading the way with her two assists; Hannah Clark stopped 30 of the 31 shots she faced and recorded her 17th win of the season.
- The Tommies' lone goal came from Cara Sajevic, assisted by Chloe Boreen and Whitney Horton; Julia Minotti made 25 saves on the afternoon for St. Thomas.
No. 10 Minnesota Duluth 3, Bemidji State 2 | BOX SCORE | Minnesota Duluth Recap | Bemidji State Recap
- A late goal from Zoey Krock helped No. 10 Minnesota Duluth to a 3-2 victory against Bemidji State; the win marked the 14th of the season for the Bulldogs.
- Bemidji State opened up the scoring nearly six minutes into the first period with a Hailey Armstrong goal, but Minnesota Duluth answered back a little over a minute later with a goal from Caitlin Kraemer; Molly Cole gave the Bulldogs their first lead with less than a minute left in the second period, but the Beavers tied the game at the 5:56 mark of the third; Krock then sealed the game for the Bulldogs late in the third period.
- Krock's game-winning goal for the Bulldogs marked her first of the season; Kate Kosobud had two assists on the game while Ève Gascon stopped 29 of 31 shots faced to earn her 12th win of the season.
- Morgan Smith tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Beavers in the loss; netminder Ava Hills made 35 saves for Bemidji State.
RV St. Cloud State 5 | No. 15 Minnesota State 1 | BOX SCORE
- St. Cloud State earned a 5-1 upset victory against No. 15 Minnesota State at home and recorded its ninth win of the season.
- The Huskies recorded three goals in the first 11 minutes of action courtesy of Alice Sauriol, Marie Moran, and Sofianna Sundelin; the second period saw St. Cloud State tally two more to hold a 5-0 lead heading into the third; the Mavericks scored their only goal of the contest 15 minutes into the final frame.
- St. Cloud State netminder JoJo Choback allowed just one goal in the game and stopped 31 of the 32 shots she faced, earning her third win of the season for the Huskies.
- Rookie forward Mercury Bischoff scored the only goal of the game for Minnesota State, while netminder Hailey Hansen also had 31 saves on the night despite the loss.
*Rankings based on USCHO Division I Women's Poll
Saturday, Feb 7
RV St. Cloud State at No. 15 Minnesota State - 2 PM CT
RV St. Thomas at No. 3 Minnesota - 2 PM CT
Bemidji State at No. 10 Minnesota Duluth - 2 PM CT
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 1 Wisconsin - 3 PM CT - Big Ten Network
Sunday, Feb 8
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 1 Wisconsin - 2 PM CT
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on X and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at wcha.com.