The No. 4 Gophers women's hockey team held off No. 6 Minnesota Duluth 3-2 on Friday at Ridder Arena.

The Gophers (24-9-1, 18-8-1 WCHA) took a 3-1 lead into the third period, but the Bulldogs' Olivia Wallin scored her second goal of the game to pull UMD within 3-2 with 3 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs pulled their goalie in the final minute but were unable to get the tying goal.

The victory clinched the season series for the Gophers, who won the first two meetings 4-1 and 3-2 in Duluth in November. The loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Bulldogs (19-12-2, 14-11-2), who had swept Bemidji State and Minnesota State Mankato the previous two weekends.

"A great win, solid team effort," Gophers coach Brad Frost said. "Clarkie [goaltender Hannah Clark] was really good. A huge win for our team and we're real excited about tomorrow night."

Emma Kreisz opened the scoring for the Gophers with a goal with 5 minutes, 8 seconds left in the first period. The Bulldogs tied it with 2 minutes, 48 seconds remaining in the first period on Wallin's goal.

Ella Huber's 12th goal of the season and 49th of her career broke the 1-1 tie with 13 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the second. Natalie Mlynkova scored with just under six minutes left in the period to extend the Gophers' lead to 3-1. Mlynkova was playing for the first time since Feb. 8 because of injury.

"We missed her, and she came back strong," Frost said. "She makes an impact every time she's on the ice and she's important for our team. Great for our team to have her back."

The teams close the regular season Saturday afternoon. Both have clinched home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs, which begin next Friday.