Minnesota goalie Erica Killewald turned in a 29-save performance and the third-ranked Gophers had to hold on after a pair of late penalties as they defeated ninth-ranked New Hampshire 3-1 to complete a two-game sweep of the Wildcats.
For the second consecutive game, the teams skated through a scoreless first period, but Minnesota got on the board one minute, 50 seconds into the second when Tracy Engstrom worked the puck loose in the right corner. Kris Scholz picked the puck up behind the Wildcat goal, came out the left side and beat goalie Jen Huggon with a wrist shot.
The margin went to 2-0 at 11:04 of the period when Emily Buchholz came out from behind her own net with the puck and hit La Toya Clarke in stride at the red line. From their, the Gophers’ leading scorer skated in alone, deked Huggon to the ice and moved to her forehand for the goal.
Minnesota extended the lead to 3-0 when Nadine Muzerall ended a seven-game goal-scoring drought with a power-play tally at 11:06 of the final period.
Killewald looked to have the shutout in hand until a hooking call on Tracy Engstrom with 37 seconds to play put New Hampshire on the power play. Kira Misikowetz won the ensuing faceoff to Michelle Thornton at the right point and then knocked in Thornton’s rebound six seconds later.
Courtney Kennedy was called for slashing as the goal was scored and the Gophers had to kill another power play for the final 31 seconds to finish off the win.
