Penalty Box Post
Tuesday, March 2nd
2021 WCHA Final Face-off at Ridder Arena
Semifinals – Saturday, March 6
#2/1 Wisconsin (1st seed) vs. #4 Minnesota (4th seed) – 1:07 p.m.
#5 Minnesota Duluth (2nd seed) vs. #3 Ohio State (3rd seed) – 5:07 p.m.
Championship – Sunday, March 7 at 2:07 p.m.
The WCHA Final Faceoff returns to Ridder Arena for the sixth-consecutive year. On Saturday, March 6, top-seeded Wisconsin will face the Gopher Women's Hockey team in the first semifinal at 1:07 p.m., while Minnesota Duluth and Ohio State square off at 5:07 p.m. The winners will advance to the WCHA Championship on Sunday, March 7, at 2:07 p.m.
Spectator attendance will be limited to team guests only. No tickets will be available for public sale.
Video and audio streaming – Video of all three Final Faceoff games will be streamed by FloHockey; subscription and schedule information can be found at FloSports.tv, and one-month subscriptions are available. Free, live audio will be available for the Gophers' games through Golden Gophers All-Access.
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How they got here...
Minnesota finishes regular season in fourth place
Though the Gopher Women's Hockey team posted a 9-0-0 record against Bemidji State, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, and St. Cloud State, their 2-7-1 mark in 10 contests against Wisconsin and Ohio State resulted in a .632 points percentage, only good enough for fourth in the WCHA standings. The Gophers are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, sitting 6th in the RPI ratings going into this weekend, and may need to win the Final Faceoff for their season to continue to the national quarterfinals. Senior Grace Zumwinkle scored a league-leading 16 goals, tied with 4 game-winning goals, and was second with 23 total points; on a per-game basis, Zumwinkle was second in goals (0.84) and fifth in point (1.21). A nice surprise came from the blueline, as junior Crystalyn Hengler netted a league-high 3 power-play goals. Freshman Abbey Murphy led WCHA rookie scoring, recording 17 points on 7 goals and 10 assists. In net, Lauren Bench posted a 9-5-0 record with .924 save percentage and 2.16 goals-against average, placing 3rd and 4th in the WCHA for those respective metrics (with a minimum of 33% of team minutes played); Makayla Pahl was just below the playing time threshold to qualify for the lists, but went 2-2-1 with a 1.75 GAA and .935 SV%.
Minnesota Duluth benefitted from playing 10 of its 16 regular-season games against BSU, MSU, and SCSU, going 9-1-0 in those games. Combined with a 2-4-0 record against Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Minnesota, the Bulldogs finished 2nd in the league standings with a .708 point percentage. Still, the unbalanced schedule places UMD 9th in the RPI ratings, and they likely need to claim the WCHA Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Junior Emma Söderberg earned the league's Goaltending Champion award with a 1.35 goals-against average and .951 save percentage, playing all but one period of action for the Bulldogs. Senior Anna Klein and junior Gabbie Hughes both posted 21-point seasons, with Klein recording 11 goals and 10 assists while Hughes lit the lamp 10 times and dished out 11 helpers.
Ohio State finished third in WCHA play with a .667 points percentage and 11-5-0 records. The Buckeyes didn't have a losing record against any opponent, splitting 4 games against Wisconsin & 2 against UMD, posting a 4-2-0 record against Minnesota, and sweeping a combined 4 games against Bemidji State & Minnesota State. The Buckeyes took advantage of timely goaltending, yielding no more than 2 goals in each of their 11 wins; junior Andrea Brändli was 9-5-0 in her 14 starts with a 1.91 goals-against average and .923 save percentage, while freshman Amanda Thiele won both of her two starts, posting a 0.90 GAA and .964 SV%. Offensively, five Buckeyes tallied double-digit points, with senior Tatum Skaggs leading the way with 13 (6g, 7a) while freshman Jenna Buglioni lit the lamp 7 times and dished out 5 assists (12 pts).
Wisconsin claimed their second-straight WCHA Regular-Season Championship this past weekend with a split against Minnesota Duluth (more on that shortly). Along with the aforementioned four-game split with Ohio State, a 3-0-1 record against Minnesota, and sweeps of Bemidji State, Minnesota State, and St. Cloud State, the Badgers posted a 12-3-1 record and the championship-winning .750 points percentage. Senior and past Patty Kazmaier Award winner Daryl Watts earned the title of WCHA Scoring Champion with 31 points on 15 goals and 16 assists. Junior Sophie Shirley also passed the 20-point mark, tallying 9 goals & 13 assists, while senior Brette Pettet lit the lamp 10 times and added 9 assists. Kennedy Blair played all but one period of action in net for the Badgers, finishing second in the league in both goals-against average and save percentage at 1.59 and .935 (respectively).
Final Faceoff Semifinal Matchups
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin – As mentioned above, the Gophers went 0-3-1 against the Badgers during the regular season, falling 5-0 & 6-3 in Madison and dropping the first game at Ridder Arena 4-3 in OT before coming from behind for a 2-2 tie with a 1-0 shootout win. Grace Zumwinkle was the only Gopher to tally multiple goals across the four games, netting 3 while adding an assist. Amy Potomak recorded a goal and an assist, while Emily Brown and Anne Cherkowski each dished out two helpers. Wisconsin's Daryl Watts found the back of the net 5 times while adding 4 assists, Sophie Shirley added 2 goals with 5 assists, Britta Curl lit the lamp 3 times with an assist, and Brette Pettet recorded 2 goals and 2 helpers. Minnesota's Lauren Bench was tagged for 13 goals in just over 10 periods of action with 68 saves, resulting in a 4.82 goals-against average and .840 save percentage, while Makayla Pahl stopped 29 of 32 shots in 4 periods plus an overtime for a 2.12 GAA and .906 SV%. Kennedy Blair made 109 saves on 117 shots for the Badgers, posting a 1.95 GAA and .932 SV%.
Minnesota Duluth vs. Ohio State – Two low-scoring battles ensued when the Bulldogs and Buckeyes met in Duluth in January. Anna Klein scored in the first period of the weekend opener, Taylor Nelson added an empty-netter in the game's final minute, Gabbie Hughes assisted on both goals, and Emma Söderberg stopped all 34 shots she faced for a 2-0 UMD shutout victory. But despite another 44 saves from Söderberg in the rematch, OSU's Andrea Brändli did her one better with a 32-save shutout effort and an offensive assist on Brooke Bink's second-period goal for a 1-0 Buckeye win and the series split.
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Last weekend in the WCHA...
Minnesota Duluth, Wisconsin split – The Bulldogs hosted the Badgers with the WCHA regular-season championship and Julianne Bye Cup on the line. UMD tightened the race for the title with a 4-2 victory on Friday; Gabbie Hughes tallied the game-winning goal and netted a second for insurance, while Emma Söderberg stopped 26 of 28 shots. The Bulldogs put a scare into Wisconsin by taking a 3-1 lead on Saturday, with Hughes lighting the lamp twice more, Anna Klein scoring her second goal of the series, and Söderberg making 29 saves through the first 40 minutes. However, Lacey Eden cut the Badger deficit in half just 23 seconds after Klein's goal, Brette Pettet evened the score with an extra-attacker goal with 1:27 left in regulation, and Daryl Watts tallied her second goal of the game 41 seconds into overtime to claim the conference title.
St. Cloud State sweeps Bemidji State – In the final action of the season for both teams, Jenniina Nylund recorded 2 goals & an assist and Hannah Bates dished out 3 helpers to lead the Huskies to 3-2 (OT) and 4-1 victories over the Beavers. Clair DeGeorge put BSU up 2-1 in the second period on Friday, but Emma Bigham lit the lamp on a third-period power play to even the score and Nylund netted the gamewinner with 53 seconds left in overtime. The Beavers also held a 1-0 lead in Saturday's rematch on a Lydia Passolt tally before the Huskies rattled off the next four goals, and Emma Polusny made 26 saves for the victory.
Final standings – 1. Wisconsin, .750 pts%, 36 points in 16 games (12-3-1-0, 2-1 in OT); 2. Minnesota Duluth, .708, 34 pts in 16 gms (11-5-0-0, 1-2); 3. Ohio State, .667, 32 pts in 16 gms (11-5-0-0, 1-0); 4. Minnesota, .632, 36 pts in 19 gms (11-7-1-1, 0-1); 5. Minnesota State, .333, 20 pts in 20 gms (7-12-1-0, 2-0); 6. St. Cloud State, .325, 18.5 pts in 19 gms (6-12-1-0, 2-1, 1 shootout no-decision); 7. Bemidji State, .208, 12.5 pts in 20 gms (2-16-2-1, 2-5, 1 shootout no-decision).
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Sarah Potomak attending Hockey Canada camp this week
We send congratulations and best wishes to Gopher Women's Hockey alumna Sarah Potomak, who was one of 35 players invited to Hockey Canada's National Women's Team Training Camp, being held this week (March 1-7) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The camp is the second already for the Canadians this calendar year as they prepare to host the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship this spring in Halifax & Truro, N.S.
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