University of Minnesota Athletics

DULUTH, Minn. - The fourth-ranked and third-seeded University of Minnesota women's hockey team (28-11-1, 19-8-1 WCHA) fell in heartbreaking fashion to top-ranked and top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers (35-1-2, 25-1-2 WCHA) in the 2025 WCHA Final Faceoff Championship, dropping the game 4-3 after allowing a goal with under 30 seconds remaining in the final period.

The Gophers were in control for most of the opening period, despite Casey O'Brien getting the Badgers on the board first at the 9:12 mark. Just 20 seconds later, Allie Franco would tally her third goal of the season, assisted by Audrey Wethington, bringing the game even at one goal apiece. With just over three minutes left in the first, Josefin Bouveng sent the puck past Ava McNaughton and into the Wisconsin net, assisted by Abbey Murphy and Chloe Primerano, to give Minnesota its first lead of the day. The score remained 2-1 at first intermission, with the Gophers holding a 12-8 shot advantage.



The Badgers fought back hard in the second period, regaining their lead after scoring two unanswered goals, courtesy of Vivian Jungels then Maggie Scannell, in the first eight minutes. It looked as though Wisconsin would maintain their one-goal advantage heading into the third period, however with only 53 seconds remaining until intermission, Natalie Mlynkova won a battle at the net and notched a game-tying power play goal, assisted by Ella Huber. The score stayed even at 3-3 at the end of the period, with the SOG count also even at 22 apiece. 

For 19 minutes and 35 seconds, the third period was a scoreless battle that yielded 23 shots on goal between the two teams. With only 25 seconds remaining, however, it was the period's 24th shot that ultimately gave Wisconsin its second-straight WCHA Postseason title, courtesy of Sara Wozniewicz.

Following the conclusion of the game, the conference announced the 2025 WCHA Final Faceoff All-Tournament Team. Redshirt-senior forward Abbey Murphy and freshman defender Chloe Primerano were among the six players selected - the second-career conference All-Tournament nod for Murphy, and the first for Primerano.

Quotable:
"A disappointing result and a heartbreaker in the way that it happened," said head coach Brad Frost. "But, man, I'm proud of our group, not just for getting a win yesterday but to compete and battle in the way they did today, having Wisconsin right on the brink. Obviously, super disappointed that we couldn't finish it off, but they left it out there, and there's not much more you can ask for as a coach. Proud of them, and looking forward to extending our season next week, and trying to get to the Frozen Four."

Notable:
- With her assist on Saturday, Abbey Murphy has recorded a new career-high in season points (63).
- Allie Franco tallied her third goal of the season and the fifth goal of her career.
- Josefin Bouveng scored the 40th goal of her career, and tallied the 97th point of her career.
- The shots-on-goal count finished even at 34-34.
- The Gophers drop to a 3-7 record against the Badgers in the WCHA Final Faceoff Championship games.

Up Next:
The Gophers will learn their NCAA Tournament seed on Sunday, March 9, when the NCAA Women's Hockey Selection Show airs on ESPNU and ESPN+ at 10:30 am CT.