MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &045; With her team struggling to get on track, Ashley Albrecht saw a hint of daylight, and soon Minnesota’s worries were over.

Kelly Stephens and Bobbi Ross each scored two goals as top-ranked Minnesota defeated No. 8 Providence 6-1 on Friday in the NCAA quarterfinals.

With the win, the defending champion Gophers (34-2-2) advance to the Frozen Four in Durham, N.H., on March 25, their fourth straight trip to the semifinals. But early in the game, it didn’t look like they were headed anywhere until Albrecht gave their offense a jump-start.

Providence (21-11-5) dictated the pace of play through the first half of the first period and led 1-0 on a power-play goal by Katelynn Laffin at 4:42. The Friars still led with seven minutes remaining in the period when Albrecht, near her own blue line, spotted Becky Wacker making a break for the Providence zone.

Albrecht split two defenders with a bullet pass that hit Wacker in stride at the blue line, and Wacker skated in alone and beat Providence goaltender Amy Thomas to tie the score.

&uot;I thought Ashley showed great patience waiting for Wacker to get open behind the defense and threading the needle, and Wacker buried it for us,&uot; Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson said.

&uot;All I saw was Becky,&uot; Albrecht added.

Less than a minute after Wacker’s goal, the Gophers found themselves on the power play, and Stephens cashed in with a wicked wrist shot from the high slot off a feed from Krissy Wendell.

The Gophers dominated from there, scoring twice in each period and getting 14 saves from senior goaltender Jody Horak. But even when they were trailing, Wendell said, nobody on the Minnesota bench was worried.

&uot;I’ve played five NCAA games since I’ve been here, and we’ve been behind 1-0 in all of them,&uot; Wendell said. &uot;We just had to stay positive and not worry about how they were playing. We knew we’d get a bounce eventually as long as we kept peppering the goalie.&uot;

Minnesota outshot Providence 39-15 and kept the Friars on the run, a pace at which they aren’t comfortable, according to Friars coach Bob Deraney.

&uot;We wanted to play conservative and slow it down, but we got caught up in their run-and-gun style and that played right into their hands,&uot; Deraney said.

Wendell and Natalie Darwitz, the top two scorers in the nation, were shut out on the night, but they chipped in with three assists each, and Minnesota’s second and third lines combined for four goals.

&uot;You need all lines giving you something in big games,&uot; Stephens said. &uot;We’ve had great second and third lines all year.&uot;