Gophers Stay Golden in 2026

Brad Rempel/University of Minnesota

The Minnesota Golden Gophers came in riding a high from their 14-2 win last Saturday, looking to extend their 4-game win streak and walked away with more than that. 

Taking on the Minnesota State Mavericks for the third time this season, the Gophers were looking for redemption after the Mavericks swept their first series. With the proximity of the schools, both teams get a home game in each series. 

The series kicked off yesterday at Minnesota State, in their first game of the new year. The Mavericks last played December 6th, where they took a 3-2 win over St. Cloud in overtime. While the Gophers got an early start to the new year, taking on Sacred Heart last weekend. 

But it was Minnesota State that opened the scoring with freshman forward Makayla Moran finding her way past Gopher goaltender Hannah Clark just less than two minutes into the game. 

Though the lead wouldn’t last long with Bella Fanale kicking off the Gophers' scoring streak. While spread throughout the period, the Gophers got 4 more with 2 from Abbey Murphy, a power-play from Nelli Laitinen, and another from Kendra Distad to take a 5-1 lead heading into the second period. 

The second period kicked off in familiar fashion with Ayla Puppe getting the Mavericks back on the board, this was again their only goal of the period with the Gophers scoring another four. Goals came from all over the ice with Avery Hovland, Jamie Nelson, and Tereza Plosova getting in on the action. While Abbey Muphy notched her second hat trick of the year, in back-to-back games. Bringing the score up to 9-2 for the Gophers. 

The third kicked off with Kendra Distad for her second of the game, pushing the Gophers to their second game in a row with double-digit scoring. Minnesota State looked to push back against the Gophers with Mavericks freshman Zoe Lopez scoring short-handed. But, the push would come to late with the Gophers shutting down the rest of the Mavericks' opportunities. To end the night, Molly Jordan scored on the Gophers' power-play, taking the game 11-3. 

The teams face off again tonight, this time at Ridder Arena, the home of the Golden Gophers, for their first home game of the year. Puck drops at 7:30 PM (CST). 

Gophers Faceoff Problems  

So far this season, the Gophers have been able to avoid overtime. However, even in their dominant win over Minnesota State, you could see the struggles to win faceoffs, winning only 26 of 81. With their record, it may not be a major concern at the moment; however, moving into the rest of the season and playoffs is definitely something the Gophers need to work on. In close matchups, winning the faceoff could be the deciding factor and with other schools staying close or ahead in the standings, is something the Gophers don’t want to overlook. 

Hannah Clark 

Hannah Clark has been a force in net all season for the Gophers, and this game was no different. Though she only faced 11 shots through the first two periods, she faced 11 in the final frame, where she allowed only one goal. Clark has been a showstopper all season, allowing only 27 goals on 354 shots, including a high of 43 shots coming from 2nd-place Ohio State. The win extends Clark’s record to 13-3 on the season.

Outside of the University of Minnesota, Clark has been building her resume with Team Canada at the U18 Worlds and Nationals, where she has won two gold medals as well as a bronze. She has been named to Team Canada’s National Development Team and will compete in the 2025-26 U22 Showcase. 

Standings 

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are currently ranked 3rd overall in the WCHA, just 2 points behind Ohio State and 4 points behind 1st overall Wisconsin. They are currently 17-4 on the season and 11-4 in the conference. Those four losses came against Minnesota State (x2), Wisconsin and Ohio State.