Through two periods Friday night at Ridder Arena, things were going much like they had so many times before when the Gophers women’s hockey team faced off with St. Thomas.

The Gophers were up 3-0 and appeared well on their way to their 19th straight victory against their WCHA opponents from across the river. But a third-period comeback by the Tommies changed that, and nearly made history, as the Gophers needed an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to pull out a 4-2 victory.

The Tommies got on the scoreboard early in the third period before taking advantage of a five-on-three power play midway through the period to cut the Gophers’ lead to 3-2. Gophers goaltender Hannah Clark made some big saves to keep the Tommies from tying the game.

The Tommies also rang two shots off the crossbar in the closing minutes before Allie Franco’s empty-netter sealed things.

“We made some poor decisions,” said Gophers coach Brad Frost of his team’s third-period performance. “Whether it’s steps or penalties, we make decisions like that … . They’re a team with pride and want to win, too.”

St. Thomas interim coach Bethany Brausen praised her team’s determination, which almost resulted in making a bit of history.

“We went in (after the second period) and talked about the 3-0 deficit and the opportunity to just chase one at a time,” Brausen said. “It was really great to see our team rise to that occasion and to climb back.

“We were excited about the opportunities we got. There were some that just trickled through the crease — really good looks late. That’s promising, because when you get down 3-0 it’s easy to get down. To see the resilience of the group was really great.”

The teams met in early December with the Gophers winning 5-0 and 6-2.

“They might have been a little shorthanded when we were at their place a month ago,” Frost said. “They had their full complement of players (Friday), and they’re dangerous. They have some kids with some really good speed and they make you work for it.”

After a scoreless first period, Audrey Wethington put the Gophers in front with a power-play goal at 4:44 of the second period. The Gophers then found themselves having to kill off a five-minute penalty when Peyton Hemp was ejected for a hit to the head.

But Gophers left winger Ava Lindsay changed things in a hurry, scoring a short-handed goal to put the Gophers up 2-0.

“It was a big moment to step up there,” Lindsay said. “We just had a player get kickoff out of the game and we were on a five-minute kill. Really good play by Emma Kreisz; she was hard on the forecheck and just threw me the puck.

“I just shot through the screen.”

Frost said it was good to see a player who has worked hard get rewarded for her efforts.

“She does so many good things,” Frost said. “That five-minute penalty kill, to come out ahead 1-0 on that was huge. We got some great momentum off of that.”

When Emma Conner scored her second goal of the season late in the second period, the Gophers seemed to be in control. Both Frost and Lindsay said that there was a lesson to be learned from the frantic third period.

“We can’t take any opponent in the WCHA lightly, or any opponent at all,” Lindsay said. “We saw that last weekend. We have to focus on our standards and our process.”

For their part, the Tommies plan to do the same.

“At some point the scales have to tip,” Brausen said. “We talk about that with our team a lot. It’s hard to feel that way when you don’t get the win, but we’re right on the corner there of getting some of these wins.”

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