MINNEAPOLIS-Sophie Skarzynski scored two goals to lead the No. 7 Minnesota Golden Gopher women's hockey team to a 5-1 win over St. Cloud State in Game One of this weekend's WCHA First Round best-of-three series at Ridder Arena Friday.
Minnesota (21-10-3) received multiple points from Taylor Williamson (1g-1a), Sydney Baldwin (2a), and Lindsay Agnew (2a) along with Skarzynski's two-goal effort. Nicole Schammel scored her 15th goal of the season, and Alex Woken netted an empty-net goal to round out the Gophers' scoring.
Sidney Peters made 15 saves as Minnesota outshot the Huskies by a 39-16 margin.
St. Cloud State (8-19-5) received 34 saves from Emma Polusny, and Hallie Theodosopoulos scored the team's lone goal midway through the third period.
The Gophers look to seal the WCHA First Round series with St. Cloud State at 4:07 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. If necessary, the teams will meet in Game Three at 4:07 p.m. Sunday.
