PPC Board of Directors Meeting – Tuesday, August 4 at 7 pm
The Power Play Club Board of Directors remains busy preparing for the 2026-2027 season, the 30th year of Gopher Women's Hockey!! The next board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4 at 7 p.m. Topics of the meeting will include continuing the discussion of fundraising goals & membership for 2026-2027 and the club's online presence. The meeting will be held online via Zoom and is open to all club members who were enrolled for the 2025-2026 season; please contact PPC president Bill Johnson (billjohnson013@gmail.com) or vice president Dave Malerich (dmalerich@yahoo.com) if you wish to attend.
Gopher Women's Hockey updates 2026-2027 season schedule
The Minnesota Women's Hockey team has updated its 2026-2027 season schedule with times for most home games plus some away & neutral site contests. The first two regular-season home games will be Friday, October 9 vs. Maine at 6 p.m. and Sunday, October 11 vs. Bemidji State at 2 p.m. Of note, the start time for the Friday, October 23 home game against Lindenwood is still TBA, and the Friday, December 11 contest against Minnesota State is scheduled for a 12 noon start. All times are subject to change.
PPC Chalk Talks – With the game times mainly set, the three Power Play Club Chalk Talks on October 17, January 30, and February 20 are all scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. (again subject to game time changes). These are member-only events and club registration for the new season will be opening in the coming weeks.
SAVE THE DATE!! Brunch with the Coaches, December 5 – We're giving this another go. The Power Play Club's annual Brunch with the Coaches will be taking place on Saturday, December 5 at 9:45 a.m. as we welcome University of Wisconsin women's hockey head coach Mark Johnson, along with our own coach Greg "Boom" May. We'll share more details as we get into the new season.
Laitinen named Outstanding Sportsmanship Award honoree
Gopher Women's Hockey 2025-2026 co-captain Nelli Laitinen was one of two U. of M. student-athletes honored as Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award recipients, as announced by the conference last Thursday (July 9). She was joined by Gopher Wrestling's Andrew Sparks.
As noted in the press release from the U., the pair were chosen for distinguishing themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior, being fair and respectful to their opponents, being enthusiastic about the game, enjoying playing it, and, win or lose, always doing their absolute best. The recipients also are active within their campus communities. In addition, the student-athletes are in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Congratulations to both Nelli and Andrew!!
Six GWH players honored as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
Minnesota Women's Hockey's Kendra Distad, Allie Franco, Gracie Graham, Sophia Johnson, Madison Kaiser & Sydney Morrow were among 126 Golden Gopher student-athletes named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars by the conference earlier this week!! Graham was additionally recognized as one of 27 athletes maintaining 4.0 grade point averages during the academic year.
Per the press release shared by the U.: Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades.
Congratulations and excellent work, ladies!!
Incoming Gopher freshmen Katya Sander & Sloane Hartmetz attending USA Hockey Development Camp this week
We send a shout-out to incoming Gopher freshmen Katya Sander & Sloane Hartmetz upon their invitation to and participation at the 2026 USA Hockey Girls National U19 Training Camp, being held in Oxford, Ohio this week.
The two join approximately 36 other players from the 2007 and 2008 birth years participating in the camp. Participants were selected by USA Hockey following national scouting evaluations throughout the 2025–2026 season.
St. Thomas, Anderson Arena to host 2027 WCHA Final Faceoff
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced last Wednesday that the WCHA Final Faceoff will be played at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on the campus of the Univ. of St. Thomas for a second-straight year. The event is scheduled for March 4 & 6, 2027.
Separately, the WCHA announced that Kwik Trip will remain the title sponsor of the Final Faceoff through 2029. Kwik Trip has been the event's title sponsor since 2023.
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.