July 2, 2020

The Two-Minute Minor - An edition of the Penalty Box Post - Thursday, July 2

July 2, 2020

Penalty Box Post - Two Minue Minor
Thursday, July 2, 2020

Six GWH players named 2019-2020 B1G Distinguished Scholars

Six (6) members of the 2019-2020 Gopher Women's Hockey team were among 119 U. of M. student-athletes named Big Ten Distinguish Scholars following an excellent academic year.

We send our congratulations to Olivia Knowles, Gracie Ostertag, Sarah Potomak, Catie Skaja, Taylor Wente, and Alex Woken on this achievement!! Recipients must receive All-Big Ten recognition during the previous academic year, be enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters), and earn a minimum of a 3.70 GPA, excluding summer classes. We send a special shout-out to Wente and Woken (pictured) for posting perfect 4.0 GPAs for the academic year!

As noted in the press-release from the U., the 119 honorees is a new school record, as is the cumulative student-athlete grade point average of 3.36 for the Spring 2020 semester (the fifth-straight semester that statistic has improved).

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Stecklein, Pannek re-sign with PWHPA for 2020-2021

The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) has continued its series of 2020-2021 player signing announcements on Twitter, including two more Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae: Lee Stecklein (on June 23) and Kelly Pannek (on June 26). It will be the second year with the organizaton for both players after they joined last season. (Photos courtesy of USA Hockey)

Stecklein and Pannek are the seventh and eighth alumnae of the Gopher Women's Hockey program, respectively, to be announced as signing with the PWHPA for the upcoming season, joining Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Gigi Marvin, Sarah Potomak, and Sydney Scobee. As noted previously, we'll continue to watch for additional signings and related announcements.

PWHPA New Hampshire hub team to face U.S. Premier Hockey League squads – Also this past Friday, June 26, the PWHPA and the U.S Premier Hockey League (USPHL) announced an agreement to play a series of exhibition games during the 2020-21 season. Members of the PWHPA's New Hampshire regional training hub will face each of the teams in the USPHL's National Collegiate Development Conference once, with game dates and locations to be announced later. The NCDC is the top tier of the USPHL, and is a Tier-2 Junior Hockey league based in the northeastern United States. All games will follow the junior protocols, with all costs associated with the games picked up by the NCDC member teams.

Also in the press release was the announcement that Cyclones Arena in Hudson, NH, will serve as the home rink for the PWHPA's New Hampshire hub. It is also home to the Northern Cyclones, one of the NCDC’s 13 member clubs.

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Quick hits...

2020-2021 Gopher roster released – The Gopher Women's Hockey team has officially posted its full 2020-2021 player roster, including the jersey numbers for the eight players joining the team this upcoming season. The team also published a special release documenting the numbers for each of the newcomers and the history of past Gophers to wear each number.
PPC board meeting next Wednesday – Here's a reminder that the next Power Power Play Club Board of Directors meeting will be held Wednesday, July 8, at 7 p.m. via online video conference. Club members wishing to participate should contact PPC president Bill Johnson at president@powerplayclub.org.
Thibodeau named WCHA Assistant Commissioner – Dean Thibodeau, a former Director of Hockey Operations for the Gopher Women's Hockey team, has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner, Operations in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, as announced by the league yesterday. For the past two years, Thibodeau has held the position of WCHA Operations & Administration Manager.

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

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

Power Play Club

June 23, 2020

Penalty Box Post - Tuesday, June 23

Power Play Club

June 23, 2020

Penalty Box Post
Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Knowles, Potomak, and Cherkowski invited to Canadian Summer Camp

Gopher senior Olivia Knowles, junior Amy Potomak, and incoming freshman Anne Cherkowsi are among 50 players invited to the BFL CANADA National Women’s Development Team Summer Camp, as announced by Hockey Canada and recapped by the U. of M. yesterday. Another 59 players were also named to the Canadian National Women's Under-18 Team Summer Camp.

The "virtual" Development Team camp will consist of weekly meetings until athletes return to university in the fall. As noted in the press release, the athletes will cover topics that include at-home strength and conditioning plans, mental performance plans and check-ins, nutrition, dry-land skills, skating simulations, team-building activities, short-term international competition preparation and meetings with coaches. Frequency could also increase to twice weekly as the summer progresses.

We send our congratulations to Olivia, Amy, and Anne!

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GWH alumnae updates...
Leveille signs with Minnesota Whitecaps for third season in St. Paul

Minnesota Women's Hockey alumna goaltender Amanda Leveille will be rejoining the Minnesota Whitecaps for a third season, as announced by the team and the NWHL last Thursday, June 18.

Leveille – a three-time NCAA champion with the Gophers – has excelled in the NWHL as well, winning the Isobel Cup championship with both the Buffalo Beauts and Whitecaps, while also laying claim as the 2017-2018 Goaltender of the Year and the league's current all-time wins leader. After playing for the Beauts during her first two years as a pro, she joined the Whitecaps in their 2018-2019 NWHL expansion season.

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Six Gopher representatives sign with PWHPA for 2020-2021

Following its initial year and the "Dream Gap Tour" of events across several Canadian and U.S. cities, the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) announced a regional structure last month for the 2020-2021 season. Each regional group will require a try-out to make its 25-player roster, but this will allow participation in association showcase events plus additional regional games, and will give players access to training opportunities. Regional training hub locations were announced for Calgary, Toronto and Montreal in Canada, and in New Hampshire and Minnesota in the U.S.

In the subsequent weeks since the format announcement, the PWHPA has been sharing the list of players who have signed on for the upcoming season on its Twitter account. Currently, six alumnae of the Gopher Women's Hockey program are among the signees: Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Gigi Marvin, Sarah Potomak, and Sydney Scobee.

We'll continue to watch for additional signings and event announcements from the PWHPA.

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PPC Board of Directors meeting – Wednesday, July 8 at 7 p.m.

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held next Wednesday, July 8, at 7 p.m. The board is continuing to meet via online video conference as the summer progresses. Topics for the July meeting will including finalizing the club's 2020-2021 budget and continued discussions on fundraising efforts in the upcoming year.

The board is also continuing to work with the university staff regarding the schedule and logistics of the 2020-2021 season. It is expected that many details will not be finalized until very shortly before action begins, so your patience is greatly appreciated.

Board meetings are open to all club members (2019-2020 membership applies this off-season). Additionally, we are still requesting volunteers to fill our several open board positions. If you are interested in joining the board, or just wish to participate in the July meeting, please contact PPC president Bill Johnson at president@powerplayclub.org.

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