The No. 4/5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team's late comeback fell just short Saturday afternoon against the No. 3 University of Minnesota at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn., resulting in a 3-2 loss in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play.

Like Friday night, the first period was a scoreless stalemate, with each side landing 10 shots on goal apiece.

Unlike Friday night, however, the Bulldogs got on the board first 7:55 into the second period. Caitlin Kraemer's eighth goal of the season came off a drive into the zone and on to net, and it ended with a backhanded flip of the puck past Gopher netminder Hannah Clark's block for the 1-0 lead.

Less than four minutes later, Minnesota equalized on a goal from Josefin Bouveng, and then at 15:04, Abbey Murphy scored five-hole to give the Gophers their first lead of the game. Officials reviewed a hit by Murphy just prior to the goal, but after review and despite the contact, the goal was allowed to stand.

After UMD was outshot 27-21 in the first 40 minutes, the Bulldogs tilted the ice in the third. It began with a 5-1 shot advantage through the first five minutes and through the final 20 minutes, UMD had outshot the Gophers a whopping 18-4. 

Midway through the period, Murphy struck against the grain to make it a 3-1 game for Minnesota at 10:21. But UMD finally responded at the 16:04 mark, on the power play and with goaltender Eve Gascon pulled for a 6-on-4 did a shot finally get through Clark again. Sophomore forward Josie St. Martin tracked down a loose puck tipped by Mary Kate O'Brien and popped it in to make it a 3-2 contest.

But despite the onslaught of offensive pressure in the period, the clock simply ran out on the Bulldogs comeback attempt.

"I thought today's game was a better presentation of how we can play the game," said head coach Laura Schuler. "I thought we did a much better job today in terms of taking pucks and pushing them back and making them feel our pressure. ?Obviously it was a great back and forth game and you know, I was proud of our players at the end when we went for it on the 6-on-4. I thought they did a fantastic job of being able to put one away for us, and unfortunately, the time just kind of ran out."

The good news for the Bulldogs was the return of Gascon to the starting lineup Saturday after the junior goaltender had an injury scare early in the second period. Gascon made 28 saves for the Bulldogs, while Clark had 37 for the Gophers, who were outshot by UMD overall 39-31.

UMD went 1-of-3 on its power play while holding Minnesota scoreless in one attempt. With the win, the Gophers improve to 9-1-0 overall and 5-1-0 in the WCHA.

The Bulldogs (6-4-0, 2-4-0) head to St. Cloud State University for a Friday-Saturday series in St. Cloud, Minn. Friday's Halloween game is set to start at 2:00 p.m.