The No. 3 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers Women’s Ice Hockey Team (3-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) came up to Boston Oct. 3 to beat the No. 13 ranked Boston University’s women’s ice hockey team (0-1-0, 0-0-0 HE) in the Terriers’ opening game of the season.

On this same weekend last year, the Terriers made the trip down to Minnesota for a two-game series where they lost 1-0 and 5-2 against the then-No. 2 Gophers. The Gophers would go on to the Frozen Four, while the Terriers bowed out in the regional semifinals. 

The night served up the same taste of defeat for the Terriers, causing their record against the Gophers to fall to 1-9 since initially playing them in 2007. The last time the Gophers came to Walter Brown Arena, they won the opening game of the weekend before losing the second.

After a pregame ceremony celebrating their 2025 Hockey East Championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth, both teams took the ice for the season opener, which also doubled as “Taylor Swift Night.” 

The game started off hot for the Terriers with them dominating the first 10 minutes on the ice. Forcing an early penalty for Minnesota’s forward Abbey Murphy, after elbowing senior forward Luisa Welcke, the Terriers had chances but weren’t able to get past Gopher goalkeeper Hannah Clark. 

From making an incredible save to stop senior forward Lilli Welcke on a 1 v. 1 to sweeping a potential own goal off the line, BU outshot Minnesota 8-1 in this period, with Clark stopping them all. 

The turning point in the game came after just over nine minutes of play when Lilli Welcke cross-checked Murphy. It was a play which — after review — granted the Gophers a five minute power play and caused Welcke to be ejected from the game. 

“We collectively, as a team, had an identity, and we were really disciplined, and we were really fast, and we were confident in our ability to make plays,” senior forward and assistant captain Clara Yuhn said, referring to the change she observed before and after the penalty. “As we continue to grow as a team throughout the rest of the year, we’ll continue with that maturity.”

The player advantage quickly paid off for Minnesota, as a scramble in front of the goal would see Murphy tap the puck in to give her team the 1-0 lead. 

The game remained very physical throughout. 

“We play physical, and the game should be physical,” Head Coach Tara Watchorn said. “I thought there was a lot of great contact, and I don’t think it was called great.”

The game would continue with the physical nature, with an early penalty on Minnesota defender Nelli Laitinen for tripping. The Terriers weren’t able to pounce on any of their power play opportunities on the night.

Laitinen returned from her penalty later in the period to score a goal that doubled the Gophers’ lead. 

The referring was further questioned with four penalties, including a brief 5-on-3 power play for the Gophers. But both teams managed to capitalize on all four penalties. 

In the third period, Murphy picked up where she left off, taking the puck off the Terriers before skating forward and sliding a tap-in shot to forward Bella Fanale, making it 3-0 for Minnesota.

Tensions would further escalate later in the third period, when — while chasing a puck — sophomore forward Kaileigh Quigg took out Minnesota forward Avery Hovland from behind. This led to Murphy checking Quigg from behind, starting a small scrum. Quigg picked up a five-minute major for her hit from behind, and Murphy picked up a two-minute minor due to her retaliatory cross check. 

As the game was wrapping up, the Gophers put the finishing touches, scoring twice in the final three minutes. Murphy got her second while forward Madison Kaiser scored her first goal of the season. 

“The score didn’t reflect, in my opinion, the confidence that gained from that,” Yuhn said, referring to the final 5-0 scoreline and what the Terriers could retain from the game. “After the first period, even after Lilli’s penalty, we came in the locker room, and we were very fired up for our ability to hang and to be dominant and to create opportunities.”

The Terriers fell 2-5 to the Gophers the following day and will travel to New York to play Colgate Oct. 10 with kickoff at 6 p.m.