Gophers compete for third consecutive NCAA win

2012 Gophers
Alyssa Grogan #33 of the Minnesota Gophers celebrates after winning the championship game of the 2012 NCAA Women's Frozen Four against the Wisconsin Badgers at Amsoil Arena on March 18, 2012 in Duluth, Minnesota. The Gophers defeated the Badgers 4-2.
Hannah Foslien / Getty Images

The University of Minnesota Women's Hockey Team (38-1-1) takes on Clarkson University (30 - 5 - 5) for the NCAA championship this afternoon in Hamden, Connecticut.

Winning the Frozen Four would be historic for either team.

A victory would give the top-ranked Gophers a third consecutive NCAA championship, a feat no other University of Minnesota team has accomplished in the nearly 80 years since Bernie Bierman coached the football team to a three-peat in the mid-1930s.

Clarkson's Golden Knights will be in the Potsdam, N.Y.'s school first national title game in any NCAA-sanctioned sport since 1970.

The school has never won an NCAA national title in any sport. And Clarkson would be the first eastern team in 15 years of NCAA-sanctioned women's ice hockey to win the championship. Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams have won every national title.

Minnesota defeated Wisconsin 5-3 on Friday to make it to the final game. The same day Clarkson defeated seventh-ranked Mercyhurst 5-1 to reach the final.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.