The Gophers got goals from Megan Wolfe, Hannah Brandt, Meghan Lorence, and Rachael Bona.

On Saturday, American Alex Carpenter won the Patty Kazmaier Award as NCAA MVP, beating Marie-Philip Poulin and Hannah Brandt in the voting. She becomes the first Boston College player to win the prestigious honour.

Wolfe got the only goal of the opening period and Brandy made it 2-0 in the third period. Sarah Edney got the Crimson on the board with 4:54 left in the third period, but Lorence made it 3-1 with only three minutes left in regulation.

Bona finished the scoring with an empty netter in the final minute to give the Gophers their record sixth national championship.

The Golden Gophers advanced to its fourth consecutive championship game after winning in 2012 and 2013. They lost in 2014.

Harvard was seeking its first national title in its fourth appearance in the final, and first since 2005. The Crimson lost all three previous appearances in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

The Crimson were led by goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, who will join the Canadian national team for the Women’s World Championships in Malmo, Sweden, later this week.

The Gophers beat Rochester (Institute of Technology) 6-2 in the quarter-finals last week and then knocked off Wisconsin, 3-1, last Friday to advance to the big game.

Harvard shut out Quinnipiac, 5-0, in the quarters and edged rivals Boston College, 2-1, to get to the finals.

Both lineups included a number of players who will be playing in Malmo for the United States and Canada. For the Americans, Harvard featured Michelle Picard as well as three former national team players – Lyndsey Fry, and Josephine Pucci, and Karly Heffernan, formerly of Canada’s national team. The coach was Ken Klee, who will coach Team USA in Malmo.