Power Play Club

PPC member enrollment remains open for 2025-2026!

Membership enrollment to the Power Play Club continues for the 2025-2026 season! Your enrollment donations are our biggest source of financial support for the Gopher Women's Hockey team!

Locker Sponsor level – We are still accepting enrollments in our top membership tier. Each sponsor's name is posted on a nameplate next to a player's or coach's locker, and donors will have an opportunity to meet with their respective player(s)/coach at our event in January (with pictures and a team meal). A minimum $1,000 donation (per locker) is required, though any amount over and above that is encouraged. If you are interested, either as a renewing or new Locker Sponsor, please contact Bob Milligan at milligandanes@gmail.com as soon as possible but do not submit a donation at this time; donation instructions for Locker Sponsors will be sent starting next week.

Basic Membership level – A minimum donation of $125 is required for our basic membership tier, which includes up to two adults and any children at same address. Online registration is preferred at z.umn.edu/PPC25; click the "Make A Gift" button on that page and follow the instructions. To register offline, download the form here and send it in to the listed address, with a check payable to the "University of Minnesota".

Goals for a Goal – Gophers' total to-date reaches 44

Another way to financially support the Minnesota Women's Hockey program is to donate through the Goals for a Goal program. Register a pledge for every goal scored by the Gophers all the way through the playoffs, with the option to double your pledge for power play conversions.

After tallying seven goals this past weekend, the Gophers have netted 44 through their first eight games of the season, 7 of which have come on the power play! Pledges can be submitted electronically through the online form at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal. Following the conclusion of the season, you will receive an email with your pledge total and giving instructions.

#3/3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-1-0, 3-1-0-0 WCHA)
vs. #4/5 Univ. of MN Duluth Bulldogs (6-2-0, 2-2-0-0 WCHA)
Friday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m.
AMSOIL Arena – Duluth

Coming off of one national top-five matchup, the Gopher Women's Hockey team heads into another, going on the road to face their long-time rivals, the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Action at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth begins this Friday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m.

Game coverage – The Gophers will be featured on FOX 9+ for a third-straight series as Saturday's contest will be televised live in the Twin Cities and surrounding area. Both games of the weekend will have video streaming through the B1G+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday). Free audio play-by-play can be found on GopherSports.com (Friday / Saturday). Live stats will also be available via GopherSports.com.

Last year against Minnesota Duluth – The Gophers swept the four-game season series against the Bulldogs in 2024-2025, though three of the four contests were each decided by one goal. Minnesota took the two games last November at AMSOIL Arena by scores of 4-1 & 3-2, then earned 3-2 & 1-0 victories at Ridder Arena to conclude the regular season in February.

As with their performances against Ohio State last season, Abbey Murphy (2g, 4a) & Ella Huber (3g, 3a) led Minnesota with 6 points apiece against UMD; both of Murphy's goals were game-winners, coming in the first contest in Duluth and the regular-season finale in Minneapolis. Natálie Mlýnková added 3 points on a goal and two assists. Olivia Wallin was the only Bulldog to record multiple points against the Gophers last year, netting both of their goals in the first game at Ridder. Between the pipes, Hannah Clark earned all four wins including the one shutout, stopping a combined 108 shots with a .956 save percentage and a 1.25 goals-against average. UMD's Ève Gascon made 155 saves with a .939 SV%, but took all four losses with a 2.53 GAA.

Analyzing the Bulldogs – Minnesota Duluth is another team working to reload their roster after graduating 3 of their top 4 scorers – including the top two – from their 2024-2025 squad, but they still have a top-five ranking in both national polls. They finished fourth in last year's WCHA standings with a 14-12-2-2 conference record (0-2 in OT) and posting a 6-0-0 mark in regular-season non-conference play; after sweeping St. Cloud State to open the league playoffs, they fell to Wisconsin (3-1) in the semifinals. They received an NCAA Tournament bid and defeated Sacred Heart (6-1) in the regional semifinals before falling to Colgate (1-0) to end their season. Starting 2025-2026, they are 6-0-0 against Mercyhurst, Syracuse, and Minnesota State, but dropped a pair of games at Wisconsin two weekends ago.

Sophomore Caitlin Kraemer (#11) is UMD's highest returning scorer from last season, posting 18 goals & 13 assists for 31 points; she is the current scoring leader so far this year with 7 goals and 4 assists. Redshirt senior Mary Kate O'Brien (#3) added 25 points on 7 goals & 18 assists as a junior, and has started the new year with a goal and five assists. Meanwhile, senior Thea Johansson (#20) transferred in after recording 16 goals & 12 assists for Mercyhurst last year; she has lighted the lamp 7 times for the Bulldogs so far this season. Another new face to Minnesota Duluth is freshman Rae Mayer (#2), who has 3 goals & 3 assists to open her collegiate career.

Ève Gascon (#1) is back between the pipes for her junior year at UMD; as a sophomore, she started 30 of their 39 games, posting a 15-14-1 record with 4 shutouts, a 1.83 goals-against average, and a .942 save percentage. Gascon has played all eight games for the Bulldogs so far this season, recording 3 shutouts, a 1.87 GAA and an .936 SV%. Redshirt sophomore Anna Byczek (#31) has yet to see any official collegiate action, and Sophia Villanueva (#30) has joined the team as a freshman.

Last action for Minnesota Duluth – After starting their schedule with six-straight road games, the Bulldogs played their home-opening series this past weekend, hosting Minnesota State. Caitlin Kraemer tallied two goals & an assist and Ève Gascon stopped all 24 shots she faced in a 5-0 shutout win on Friday. Taylor Otremba put the Mavericks up 1-0 in the first period of the rematch, a lead which MSU still held past the midway point of the third stanza, but Grace Sadura knotted the score for UMD with 6:12 to go, Thea Johansson put the Bulldogs in the lead just 20 seconds later, and Johannson tallied again with 3:05 remaining for a 3-1 final; Gascon made another 17 saves. Minnesota State netminder Hailey Hansen made a combined 80 saves in the series.

Gophers split with Ohio State in hotly contested series

The Gopher Women's Hockey team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, falling to Ohio State 4-1, but rebounded with a 6-3 victory over the Buckeyes in Sunday's rematch to salvage a split of their WCHA conference series.

Kassidy Carmichael gave OSU an early lead in the weekend opener with a power-play goal 2:42 into the contest, and Joy Dunne & Hilda Svensson extended the Buckeyes' lead to 3-0 in the second period. Madison Kaiser got Minnesota on the board with 5:52 to play, but Jocelyn Amos tacked on an empty-netter for Ohio State. Hannah Clark stopped 43 shots between the pipes for the Gophers, while Hailey MacLeod made 28 saves for the Buckeyes.

The rematch saw Minnesota light the lamp on 3 of their first 6 shots on goal as Bella Fanale, Josefin Bouveng, and Ava Lindsay (PP) each found the back of the net, though Dunne scored her second goal of the series for OSU to make it 3-1 at the first intermission. Jamie Nelson tallied her first goal as a Golden Gopher on the team's first shot of the second period, prompting a goalie change by the Buckeyes. In the third period, Ohio State cut Minnesota's lead to two twice on goals by Sanni Vanhanen and Jenna Raunio, but Nelli Laitinen & Emma Kreisz (PP) responded for the Gophers. Clark made another 27 saves for the victory. However, tempers on both side flared at the final horn, leading to 90 minutes of penalties being assessed, including game disqualifications to Minnesota's Gracie Graham & Ohio State's Carmichael.

In addition to her goal Saturday, Bouveng also dished out three assists in the series for a 4-point weekend. Laitinen also recorded two assists in Sunday's contest for a 3-point performance.

Graham, Primerano suspended – Due to their involvement in the actions which took place at the end of Sunday's contest against Ohio State, Gopher sophomores Gracie Graham and Chloe Primerano have each been suspended one game. Graham's suspension was automatic as a result of being assessed a game disqualification by the on-ice officials, while Primerano was one of two players issued supplemental discipline from the WCHA on Monday. At this time, we expect both to miss Friday's game in Duluth.

GWH captain Murphy, alums Heise, Pannek, Stecklein, Zumwinkle
named to Team USA roster for Fall 2025 Rivalry Series games

We send congratulations and best wishes to current Minnesota Women's Hockey forward Abbey Murphy and alumnae Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, and Grace Zumwinkle upon their selection to the U.S. Women's National Hockey Team roster for the 2025 Rivalry Series games against Canada.

The teams open the series with contests at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH, on Thursday, November 6 at 6 p.m. CT, and KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY, on Saturday, November 8 at 5 p.m. CT. Action will move north of the border for games at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, on Wednesday, December 10 and Saturday, December 13, both starting at 8 p.m. CT.

Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster & Ticketmaster.ca; links for the individual games can be found on the USA Hockey website. All four contests will be televised on NHL Network.

Around the WCHA...

Tommies upset Huskies Saturday for series split – Come-from-behind overtime wins were the story at the National Hockey Center as St. Cloud State defeated St. Thomas, 4-3 in OT, on Friday and the Tommies returned the favor by the same result (4-3 in OT) on Saturday. Trailing 3-2, SCSU's Grace Wolfe knotted Friday's game with an extra attacker and 21.1 seconds left in regulation, and Alice Sauriol netted her second goal of the contest 2:50 into the extra period. UST trailed 3-1 in Saturday's third period before Maddie Brown and Ilsa Lindaman lit the lamp to tie the contest with 5:55 to play; Janessa Gadzik then scored for the Tommies at the 37-second mark of OT for the upset win. Sauriol led all players with 5 points (3g, 2a) in the series; SCSU's Sofianna Sundelin (1g, 3a) & Wolfe (1g, 3a) and UST's Ellah Hause (2g, 2a) & Ella Boerger (4a) each tallied four points.

Badgers claim Icebreaker championship – Lacey Eden recorded 5 points on 3 goals & 2 assists, Kelly Gorbatenko (3g, 1a), Caroline Harvey (2g, 2a), and Maggie Scannell (4a) each posted four-point weekends, Cassie Hall lit the lamp 3 times, and Ava McNaughton stopped a combined 28 of 29 shots as Wisconsin defeated Vermont 8-1 and Union 4-0 to win the Icebreaker Tournament championship in Schenectady, New York.

Upcoming games – UST's Anderson Arena opens Friday – After eight-straight road games to start their season, the newly-ranked #13 St. Thomas Tommies will open the new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul this weekend, hosting Providence in non-conference matinee action Friday and Saturday afternoon. In league play, St. Cloud State will visit Ohio State on Friday & Saturday and Wisconsin will host Minnesota State for a Saturday-Sunday series. Bemidji State is idle for a second-straight week.

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Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at gophersports.com. You can also find the Gopher women's hockey team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GopherWomensHockey and on X at x.com/GopherWHockey.