Live Blog: (2) Gophers women's hockey vs. Minnesota State

 The No. 2 Gophers will look for a sweep today against Minnesota State-Mankato here at Ridder Arena. The game is set to begin at 4:07 p.m.

Gophers win 4-1.

4:23-Anne Schleper rockets the puck in from just in front of the blue line. Gophers lead 4-1. Francis and Erickson get the assists. Schleper just set up from the blue line, and it did not look like Altmann even touched it as it slid by her.
5:47-MSU gets called for too many players on the ice.
8:06-Bozek gets called for slashing.
12:17-Francis heads to the box for high-sticking.
15:26-Minnesota tacks on another as Rasmussen scores her eighth of the season. Erickson caught a bad MSU pass in front of the net, and Rasmussen knocked in a rebound attempt from Francis. Gophers lead 3-1.

Gophers lead 2-1 going into the final period. Minnesota got lucky with about five minutes left in the period, MSU knocked one of the right post after Grogan deflected it. Another couple of inches to the left, and we would have a tie game. The Gophers were actually out-shot in the second 8-11, but lead so far in the game 21-16. Another significant situational stat: the Gophers are 20-0-1 when leading after two periods. Yikes.

A couple of overtime games today, as Minnesota-Duluth defeats North Dakota 4-3 in the extra period, while Bemidji State and St. Cloud State skate to a tie, with the Huskies winning the shoot-out. Wisconsin defeated Ohio State 3-2.

7:29-Kortum gets interference and will head to the sin bin.
9:28-MSU's Smith heads to the box for interference.
10:30-Gophers answer right back with a goal from West. That marks West's 17th goal of the season and 99th point of her career.
10:52-MSU's Ashley Young heads to the box for tripping. Sarah Erickson just made a great spin move in the Mavericks zone, but her shot was deflected.
12:23-Mavericks tie it up on a rebound attempt from Lauren Smith. Smith came in from the right side and deflected it over Grogan's left shoulder.
13:07-Gophers still up 1-0. Kortum almost knocked one in on a rebound attempt, but Alltmann would have none of it. Grogan made a nice play, poking the puck away from a charging Maverick right in front of the net.
20:00-We'll start with Laura May in the box for another 50 seconds and MSU's Jackie Otto in for 1:37.

Gophers lead 1-0 after one. After struggling to put up goals in recent weeks, Minnesota head coach Brad Frost said last night he changed up the lines a bit. He hoped the slow first period last night was due to the unfamiliarity of the new linemates. The players look a bit more comfortable today, and out-shot the Mavericks 13-5 in the first. Michelle Maunu talked earlier in the week about getting off to a quick start, something the Gophers have plenty of experience doing. In fact, Minnesota is 17-1-1 when scoring first.

2:44-Gophers survive the power play with no harm done. Still 1-0.
6:12-Gophers get on the board first, as Megan Bozek weaves through the Maverick defense, and fires in close, but Francis is there to put in the rebound for the score.
9:52-Minnesota's first power play ends without a goal, but not with a few rebound opportunities. Alli Alltmann stood tall in the net, knocking away a few close calls.

Last night, Minnesota (20-3-4, 16-2-3 WCHA) got off to a slow start, but had a strong second period to finish off the Mavericks (4-16-5, 2-14-5 WCHA) 4-2.

The Gophers were out-shot in the first period 9-4, and went into the first intermission down 2-1. But sophomore goaltender Alyssa Grogan settled in during the second period, and did not allow a goal for the rest of the game. Emily West and Sam Downey were able to add two goals in the middle of a crowd, while freshman Becky Kortum slapped one in from the bottom of the circle to give the Gophers a three-goal period and the win.

The third period slowed down considerably, with both teams combining for nine penalties in the final act. The Gophers ended on the wrong end of the penalty tally, finishing with 11.

Elsewhere in the conference, Wisconsin fell to Ohio State, while St. Cloud State defeated Bemidji State. The Badgers had a 4-3 lead with less than four minutes left, but gave up two goals, including one with only nine seconds left to fall the Buckeyes in Columbus. This makes for an interesting race in the WCHA, as all four of these teams are separated by just two points coming in to today's action.

Starting for the Gophers:

#31 Alyssa Grogan
#26 Michelle Maunu
#2 Kelly Seeler
#5 Laura May
#14 Chelsy Jones
#11 Becky Kortum