No. 5 Northeastern women’s hockey (29-8-1 21-2-1 HE) took down the No. 4 University of Minnesota Gophers (26-12-1, 18-9-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) to move onto its fourth Frozen Four appearance in history. A triumphant three-goal first period set the stage for a takedown of the Gophers which ended 4-2.
The win comes after a tough loss in the Hockey East championship to the University of Connecticut, where Northeastern lost in double overtime.
In Minnesota, the Huskies showed up as the powerhouse team they’ve been all season. Sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson backstopped the team with 45 saves, and three lines contributed to four goals, with an outstanding defensive presence led by senior defender Jules Constantinople.
Sophomore forward Éloïse Caron started off the game with a shot from the faceoff circle past sophomore goaltender Hannah Clark just five minutes into the first period. While Minnesota was leading in shots, the Huskies appeared more confident in their possession, moving down the ice to get chance after chance.
Just 20 seconds after killing a penalty, freshman forward Stryker Zablocki charged down the ice for an almost identical shot to Caron’s. From the left faceoff circle she shot the puck to the right upper corner past Clark to add another goal for the Huskies nine minutes into the period.
After freshman defender Alessia Baechler shot from the blue line, senior forward Mia Langlois scored her third goal of the season after Clark failed to guard the angle.
Following the goal, Clark was pulled and replaced by freshman Layla Hemp, who played just 12 other games for the Gophers this season. Going into the locker room three goals down, it was looking next to impossible for the Gophers to make up the ground they lost.
At the end of the first period, Northeastern took more shots on goal 14 to 12, and Jönsson had saved 12 shots from the Gophers.
Going into the second, the Gophers tried to make up the deficit, taking 16 shots on goal to the Huskies’ six, but weren’t able to capitalize. Instead, it was sophomore forward Morgan Jackson who took a back door shot off an assist from junior forward Allie Lalonde to widen the score to 4-0.
Jönsson remained a steady and striking force in the net for the Huskies, facing 28 shots in the first two periods as Minnesota continued to outpace the Huskies in shots.
On the power play for a slashing penalty by Lalonde minutes into the third period, senior forward Abbey Murphy took her 39th goal of the season off a bounce by the net, taking away Jönsson’s shutout but not posing a threat to Northeastern’s lead.
Murphy finished the game off with her 40th goal of the season, a rip from the top of the circle just above a minute from the end, cutting the deficit on the power play after a tripping penalty from Zablocki. It did nothing to dispel the Husky win already in the air, as Northeastern soared to the end of the 60 minutes with a Frozen Four appearance in hand.
Northeastern will advance to the Frozen Four March 20 at either 4 or 7:30 p.m. against the Ohio State Buckeyes (35-4-0, 24-4-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) in University Park, Penn.
