Clark earns league & national Goalie of the Month awards, Murphy named Co-National Forward of the Month
Two Gopher Women's Hockey players were honored this week for their performances through the month of October.
Sophomore Hannah Clark was first named WCHA Goaltender of the Month on Wednesday after posting a 7-1-0 record in October with two shutouts, 223 saves, a 1.36 goals-against average, and a .957 save percentage. It's the first monthly conference award of Clark's collegiate career.
Clark and grad student Abbey Murphy then were named (respectively) National Goalie and Co-Forward of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association for the combined period of September and October. Including the season-opening series against Boston College, Clark went 8-1-0 with a 1.32 GAA and .955 SV%. Murphy lit the lamp an NCAA-leading 15 times while adding 9 assists for 24 points over the first eleven games of the season.
We add our congratulations to both Hannah and Abbey on this recognition!!
Int'l update: Murphy, Heise lead U.S. in Rivalry Series opener win; Sweden upsets Czechia in Women's Euro Hockey Tour action
A weekend break for the Gopher Women's Hockey team could not stop current captain Abbey Murphy from lighting the lamp on the ice. She and alumna Taylor Heise led the U.S. Women's National Team to a 4-1 victory over Canada in the opening game of the Fall 2025 Rivarly Series, played in Cleveland, Ohio.
Sarah Fillier gave the Canadians the initial lead in the contest, scoring just over 9 minutes into the first period, but Heise knotted the score for Team USA just 16 seconds later.
From there, Murphy took over the scoring for the Americans. She buried a pair of one-timers in the second period, the first on a power play, off of passes from Heise, putting Team USA up 3-1. She then scored on another power play in the third period to complete a natural hat trick, with Heise earning the secondary assist for her fourth point of the game.
At the other end of the ice, U.S. netminder Aerin Frankel held off Canada's attack with a 26-save performance.
The two teams will play again tomorrow – Saturday, November 8 – in Buffalo, New York. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT with television coverage on NHL Network and TSN.
Women's Euro Hockey Tour – Finland, Sweden get opening-day wins – After sweeping their three games at the Euro Hockey Tour's August event, Finland's Women's National Team made it four-straight wins with a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in Wednesday's Lidl Hockey Games opener in Ängelholm, Sweden. Veteran forward Susanna Tapani netted the game-winning goal on a third-period 5-on-3 power play.
However, the bigger story of the day was host Sweden's 4-1 victory over Czechia, an upset given the current IIHF rankings, on the strength of three 3rd-period goals. Ohio State Buckeyes freshman Hilda Svensson recorded the game-winning goal and two assists, while goaltender Ebba Svensson Träff made 29 saves. Minnesota Duluth junior Ida Karlsson also lit the lamp for the Swedes.
The three GWH representatives at the tournament – Sweden's Josefin Bouveng and Czechia's Tereza Plosová & Natálie Mlýnková – did not record any points on Wednesday. Action continues with the following games...
Czechia vs. Finland – today (Friday, Nov. 7) at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Sweden vs. Switzerland – today (Friday, Nov. 7) at 11:00 a.m. U.S. Central
Czechia vs. Switzerland – tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 8) at 4:30 a.m. U.S. Central
Finland vs. Sweden – tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 8) at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Central
PWHL: Seattle Torrent, Vancouver Goldeneyes introduced
The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) revealed the nicknames, logos and wordmarks of its two expansion teams which start their respective inaugural seasons later this month.
The two clubs were introduced yesterday as the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes. They join the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres.
The Torrent and Goldeneyes open the 2025-2026 PWHL regular season against each other on Friday, November 21 at 7 p.m. PST at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Each team has one Gopher alumna on its roster: Emily Brown for the Torrent and Abby Boreen for the Goldeneyes.
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