Gophers women’s hockey opens 2024 with win over Connecticut

The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team opened their weekend series with Connecticut with a 5-3 win on Friday.

The Gophers’ second and third periods pushed them to victory after a slow start, as they scored five goals in the final 40 minutes of play.

Audrey Wethington, Madeline Wethington and Peyton Hemp each scored one goal in the final frame, pushing the Maroon and Gold to their first win in the calendar year. 

Fifth-year goaltender Lucy Morgan started in net for the Gophers, finishing with 29 saves in the victory.

The Huskies scored the first goal of the evening and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but their lead wouldn’t last long.

Redshirt junior Abbey Murphy scored with just over three minutes into the second period, evening the score at one. The tie would last until the final two minutes of the period, as Connecticut took a 2-1 lead which quickly vanished as senior Maggie Nicholson’s second goal of the season sent the game back to the tie after 40 minutes.

The Gophers’ final-period push sent them over the top, as M. Wethington and A. Wethington both scored goals in the third period. Hemp found the back of the net with under five minutes to play, putting the finishing touches on a 5-3 win.
(Minnesota athletics contributed information to this article.)