By Kyle Ginsbach/Assist. Sports Director/@GinsbachKyle

St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey battled to a 5-2 loss against the number three ranked Minnesota Gophers at Ridder Area on Friday night.

The Huskies opened the game in unfortunate fashion, conceding a goal to Ella Huber less than 30 seconds into the game. Play would even out over the next five minutes, with freshman goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö keeping the Huskies in the game with a few big saves. On a powerplay late, Abby Promersberger found the equalizer to tie the game at one. Not one minute later, Ava Lindsey would regain the lead for the Gophers, and the 2-1 score would hold heading into the first period.

Heading into the second, the Huskies continued to skate with the Gophers. Minnesota star Abbey Murphy would double Gopher’s lead on another powerplay try 3 minutes into the period, but once again, the Huskies would respond. A tic-tac-toe goal from Ally Qualley’s line came with three minutes left in the second, with the Huskies pushing for a third before the period expires.

With the third underway, SCSU ran out of gas. Abbey Murphy would net her second of the game early into the period and would add an empty net goal to complete the natural hat trick. The final was 5-2. With the loss, SCSU remains winless at Rider Arena, falling to 0-62-2 all-time.

Up Next: St. Cloud State will play Minnesota again on Saturday afternoon, with home ice belonging to the Huskies. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning thirty minutes prior. You can find the game on the Sports Stream, with Alexander Fern and Kyle Ginsbach on the call.