Senior forward Taylor Heise, who came into the game as the nation's leader in points, scored two goals and added two assists as the No. 1 Gophers women's hockey team routed St. Thomas 7-1 on Thursday night at the Tommies' rink in Mendota Heights.
Heise scored her goals 13 seconds apart in the middle of the second period. The Lake City, Minn., native now has 25 goals and 34 assists for 59 points.
The win moved Minnesota (25-7-1, 20-6-1 WCHA) one win away from clinching the WCHA title. The Gophers host St. Thomas at 4 p.m. Saturday to conclude this home-and-home series and the regular season.
Also scoring goals for the Gophers were Catie Skaja, Amy Potomak and Madeline Wethington in the first period; Abigail Boreen in the second, and Crystalyn Hengler in the third.
Maddy Clough had a goal for St. Thomas (5-24-1, 3-22-1) in the second.
Skylar Vetter stopped 11 shots for the victory. Alexa Dobchuk had 52 saves for the Tommies.