The No. 2 Gophers, playing their first game since losing at home to Wisconsin on Dec. 9 to snap a 10-game unbeaten streak, found themselves in a 2-2 battle with No. 11 Connecticut after two periods on Friday night at Ridder Arena.

And then the Wethington sisters came through big time. Again.

Madeline Wethington broke the tie with a goal at 8:19 of the third and Audrey followed with what proved to be the game-winner three minutes later as the Gophers (15-3-1) beat the Huskies 5-3.

It was the second time in their careers that both Wethingtons scored in a game for the Gophers — and the second time in seven games. On Nov. 25, Madeline scored the first goal of the game and Audrey the second in the Gophers’ 5-1 win over Cornell.

“When she scored it was like, ‘Of course, she had to score right after I did. Just like Cornell,’ ” Madeline said. “One of my teammates said the same thing. It was fun to go back to back again.”

Madeline, a defenseman, drove the slot to bang in the rebound of a Ava Lindsay slap shot.

“I would say I’m an offensive defenseman,” Madeline said, “so whenever I get the opportunity to join the rush I’m always that third or fourth player. Even the second player sometimes. I like to create pressure because it confuses the forwards on the opposing team a lot of times.”

Audrey, a left winger, scored when she redirected a slap shot from the point by Nelli Laitinen.

“After (Madeline) scored it was like, ‘OK, it’s my time,’ ” Audrey said with a smile.

“I was super pumped for her. It’s always good to get defense involved in the offense. And then it was just trying to grind it out.

“We’ve had good net-front presence on a lot of goals this year, so I’m just trying to include that in my play.”

After UConn scored at 12:23 to cut the Gophers’ lead to 4-3, Peyton Hemp responded with a power-play goal exactly four minutes later to put the Gophers back in control.

The No. 11 Huskies (11-5-2), who came into the game with a 10-1-1 record in their previous 12 games, looked the part of a nationally ranked team.

“They’re very physical and very fast,” Audrey Wethington said. “We’re definitely going to have to be prepared tomorrow.”

The Gophers played a strong first period, outshooting the Huskies 14-6, but trailed 1-0 after the first 20 minutes.

Abbey Murphy tied the game for the Gophers with her team-leading 22nd goal of the season at 3:31 of the second period on a strong individual effort. After stealing the puck at her own blue line, Murphy raced down right wing, cut into the slot and fired the puck past Huskies goaltender Tia Chan.

Gophers center Ella Huber took the first penalty of the game at 16:10 of the period, and the Gophers were one second away from killing it off when UConn captain Ainsley Svetek banged a rebound past Lucy Morgan.

The Gophers needed only 62 seconds to pull even again when Maggie Nicholson scored on a wrist shot from high in the slot with 49 seconds to play in the period.

Then, thanks in large part to the Wethingtons, the Gophers took care of business in the third period.

“The beginning of the game was frustrating for us,” Madeline said. “We knew we had to come out strong in the third period because it was a defining moment for a huge series for us. They are the best team in Hockey East, and these nonconference games are huge for postseason positioning.”

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