Friday afternoon Minnesota faced Mercyhurst for the first time since a 5-4 loss during the 2009 Frozen Four semifinals. Alex Gulstene got the nod for the Gopher goal, while the Lakers had Sarah McDonnell protecting their net. Minnesota came out shooting, but Olivia Knowles taking a slashing penalty at just 4:04 into the period hampered their offensive prows. Mercyhurst couldn’t get a direct shot off on this power play, nor did they manage on Lindsay Agnew’s slashing penalty, which started at 6:31.
Then Vilma Tanskanen checked Sydney Baldwin and had to sit at 9:29. Just seconds into the power play Taylor Wente fed the puck to Nicole Schammel, who was open between the circles, and Schammel scored at 9:41.