Power Play Club

View the December 17th Penalty Box Post newsletter

Next member-exclusive PPC Chalk Talk – Jan. 10 at 6 p.m.; Club enrollment still open at Basic Membership level!!

As mentioned in recent past issues of our Penalty Box Post newsletter, the Power Play Club – the official booster club of the Gopher Women’s Hockey (GWH) program – provides the opportunity to experience women’s hockey on a more personal level as you develop friendships with other fans.

One of those ways is our member-exclusive Chalk Talk, where we will be joined by one of the Gopher coaches to discuss on-ice strategy and the team's performance in the previous game. Our next Chalk Talk is scheduled for Saturday, January 10, at 6:00 p.m., before the second game of the weekend series against the Minnesota State University Mavericks. The Chalk Talk will be held in the Ridder Arena Weight Room, on the upstairs level across the hall from the suites and press box.

Membership in the club also provides financial support as our best fundraising vehicle for the team, and encourages the players and coaching staff in their quest for academic and athletic excellence. Enrollment in our Basic Membership level is still open and requires a minimum donation of $125, 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. Offline registration is also available by downloading the form here and sending it in to the listed address, with a check payable to the "University of Minnesota".

Brunch with the Coaches – Saturday, January 31

The Power Play Club's annual Brunch with the Coaches with be taking place on Saturday, January 31 at 9:45 a.m. as we welcome University of Wisconsin women's hockey head coach Mark Johnson and Minnesota head coach Brad Frost. Coach Johnson has led the Badgers since 2002 and also served as the head coach of Team USA for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

This is a separate-fee event, with tickets running $30 per person for PPC members and $40 per person for non-members. At this time, we are not able to accept credit card payments. Instead, please download the registration form here or pick one up at the PPC table at an upcoming GWH home game; fill out the form; and submit it with a check made out to the Power Play Club to the address indicated or in-person again at Ridder Arena. Note that registrations must be received by Sunday, January 25.

U.S. completes Rivalry Series sweep of Canada; Swedes, Hungarians finish atop European event standings

Gopher Women's Hockey representatives found the scoresheet for several national teams in action last week, including some important contributions.

Already with a two games to none lead in the Rivalry Series, Team USA completed the four-game sweep with a 10-4 victory last Wednesday and a 4-1 win in Saturday's finale, both occuring in Edmonton, Alberta. Current Gopher captain Abbey Murphy led the American scoring in Wednesday's contest with two goals & two assists, alumna Kelly Pannek added two goals and a helper, Taylor Heise recorded two assists, and Grace Zumwinkle also dished out an assist. Heise added two more assists in Saturday's game, the second coming on the eventual game-winning goal. The sweep is the first in the history of the Rivalry Series for either team, and last Wednesday's result was the first time Canada had ever yielded 10 goals in a contest.

Playing without several key veterans, Team Finland was able to only post a third-place finish in the December Women's Euro Hockey Tour event they hosted; they defeated Sweden, 3-2, but fell 4-3 to Switzerland and were shut out 5-0 by Czechia. Sweden earned a 3-1 upset win over the Czechs and a 5-2 victory over the Swiss to earn the top spot on the weekend. The Czechs' win over the Finns was their second after they had defeated Switzerland, 2-1, to open the action. Tereza Plosová recorded a goal and an assist for Czechia in their three games, Josefin Bouveng lit the lamp for Sweden against Finland, and Nelli Laitinen dished out two assists for the Finns against Switzerland.

Hungary's National Women's team raised some eyebrows at the Four Nations Tournament played in France, defeating Olympic qualifier Japan 2-0 to open the event, taking another Olympic qualifier – France – to a shootout before falling 3-2, then finishing with a 6-1 rout of Slovakia to take the top spot in the event standings. Gopher junior forward Emma Kreisz tallied 3 points (1g, 2a) for the Hungarians, including a goal & an assist against the Slovaks. The Francs finished in second place, getting a 5-3 win over Slovakia but dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to Japan. The Japanese took third place after defeating the Slovaks, 3-2.

Five future Gophers headed to 2026 IIHF U18 Women's Worlds

We send wishes of good luck to five Gopher Women's Hockey recruits who were named to the Under-18 Women's National Teams for their respective countries for the upcoming 2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, being played January 10 through 18 in Sydney and Membertou, Nova Scotia.

Sloane Hartmetz and Katya Sander were named to Team USA's roster back on October 31. Hartmetz returns to the U.S. roster after earning a silver medal at the 2025 U18 World Championship.

Adrianna Milani, Maddie McCullough, and Rachel Piggott were announced as members of Team Canada last Thursday, December 11. McCullough and Piggott won gold with Canada at the 2025 tournament.

We also give a shout-out to two more members of the Gopher Women's Hockey family involved with the tournament. Current Gopher associate head coach Greg "Boom" May will be serving as an assistant coach for Team USA, while GWH alumna Courtney Kennedy will be serving as the American head coach.

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Follow the Power Play Club online at www.powerplayclub.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PowerPlayClubMN, or on X at x.com/powerplayclub.

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.