With the Gophers women’s hockey team enjoying another romp over Bemidji State on Saturday at Ridder Arena — this time beating the Beavers 9-1 — a lot of Gophers got their name on the scoresheet in the two-game sweep.

Among the players of note were the Lindsay sisters, Ava and Sadie, who had their own reasons to celebrate the weekend beyond helping the Gophers (13-2, 9-2 WCHA) extend their winning streak to eight games.

Ava, a highly touted freshman right winger, had a pair of goals in Friday’s win and added another on Saturday, giving her seven on the season. Sadie, a junior right winger, picked up the first goal of her Gophers career.

As one of the prize recruits in the 2022 class, Ava was being counted on to score to help fill the scoring void the Gophers were facing due to graduation, and she finds herself third on the team in goals scored.

She is playing on the Gophers’ second line, with another skilled freshman, Emma Kriesz, at center, and junior captain Peyton Hemp on left wing.

“She’s a real dynamic player; shifty and sees the ice well,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said.

Ava started playing on Breck’s varsity when she was in seventh grade. She played her final two seasons of high school hockey at Minnetonka, feeling she “needed a change of scenery.”

She also was a member of the Team USA 18U team, an experience that she feels helped prepare her for college hockey.

“It was definitely a step up from high school hockey,” Ava said. “It was fun to have that exposure and that experience and playing with such talented girls. I think that really helped prepare me to come here and to expect that pace and that physicality.

“I feel the transition has been pretty easy. We have a really great culture as a team, and I think that has played a part in me being able to step in and have confidence.”

Ava said she grew up wanting to be a Gopher and committed when she was in eighth grade. Being able to play with her sister only adds to the experience.

“We’re best friends,” she said, “so it is really fun to be able to play together.”

Sadie, a high-profile recruit in her own right, saw her first two seasons with the Gophers hampered by injuries. She missed her entire freshman season due to a shoulder injury and was limited last season due to a shoulder injury.

So, her lack of offensive production is a bit deceiving.

“It was just a matter of time before she got that first one,” Frost said. “It’s been good seeing her getting into the fight and staying with it.”

Sadie said she’s just glad the wait is over, and while she considers herself to be more of a playmaker than a goal scorer, she’s ready to contribute offensively.

“I tried not to think about it, because the more pressure I put on myself to get my first goal the less it was going to happen,” she said. “I just tried to have fun today, and it ended up working out.”

After scoring six unanswered goals in the second period on Friday to break open a 1-1 game, the Gophers came back with five unanswered in the first period on Saturday.

Peyton Hemp and Abbey Murphy scored twice for the Gophers. Hemp had a good chance to complete the hat trick in the third period but was stopped on a penalty shot.

Murphy, who was named WCHA Forward of the Month for November, had a five-point game on Saturday to cap off a four-goal, eight-point weekend. The redshirt junior has 19 goals in 15 games.

Briefly

The Lindsays have four siblings, including younger sister Lainey, who is on Minnetonka’s varsity team as a seventh grader.

With current No. 1 Ohio State losing to St. Cloud State on Friday, the Gophers/Wisconsin matchup next weekend at Ridder Arena could be 1 vs. 2, with who will be No. 1 to be determined.

The Gophers have won 20 in a row against the Beavers.

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