NCAA women's hockey Minneapolis Regional
Championship: Minnesota Duluth vs. Gophers
2 p.m. Saturday, Ridder Arena, Big Ten-Plus stream
Gophers at a glance: No. 2 overall seed Minnesota (29-8-1) will try to advance to its 15th NCAA Frozen Four and first since 2019 when it plays Minnesota Duluth for the fifth time this season. The Gophers beat the Bulldogs 5-1 on Saturday in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals. The teams split both regular-season series, with three of the games decided by one goal. The top line of Taylor Heise (29 goals, 37 assists, 66 points), Abigail Boreen (24-34-58) and Catie Skaja (18-28-46) has combined for 71 goals and 170 points. The Gophers have seven other players with 20 or more points. G Lauren Bench (14-5-1, 1.97 goals-against average, .919 save percentage) will start.
Bulldogs at a glance: Minnesota Duluth (25-11-1) reached the regional final by beating Harvard 4-0 on Thursday at Ridder Arena as F Gabbie Hughes had a hat trick and G Emma Soderberg posted a 27-save shutout. The line of Hughes (21-37-58), Elizabeth Giguere (21-38-59) and Anna Klein (19-30-49) has combined for 61 goals and 166 points. … Soderberg (15-7, 2.22, .917) played for Sweden in the Beijing Olympic Games and has split time in net with Jojo Chobak (10-4-1, 1.79, .928), who faced the Gophers in the WCHA semifinals.