Posted on September 25, 2023 due to webmaster unavailability - PPC members received this newsletter via email on September 20th.
The Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, September 20th
Postgame reception on Saturday, September 23
The Gopher Women's Hockey season is nearly upon us, and we welcome our fellow Power Play Club members and GWH fans back with a postgame reception in the Ridder Arena lobby following the team's exhibition game against the Durham West Jr. Lightning this Saturday, September 23. We encourage you to stick around as we will hear from the newcomers to the GWH family!!
PPC member registration open at all levels!!
We continue to encourage you, our fellow Gopher Women's Hockey fans, to enroll in the Power Play Club for the 2023-2024 season if you have not done so already!
A minimum donation of $50 is required for our basic membership tier, which includes up to two adults and any children at same address. Online registration is preferred at bit.ly/GWH_PPC_2324; click the "Make A Gift" button on that page and follow the instructions. To register offline, download the form here and send it in to the listed address, with a check payable to the "University of Minnesota".
For a minimum $600 donation, you can become a Locker Sponsor for the season, our top membership tier. Your name would be posted on a nameplate next to a player's or coach's locker, with an opportunity to meet with your respective player(s) at our event in January. If you are interested, either as a renewing or new Locker Sponsor, please contact Susan "Rennie" McPherson at susanmcp58@gmail.com (before making a donation).
Over the season, we will hold three Chalk Talks with the GWH coaching staff. These are exclusive member-only events. Due to the road game-heavy start to the schedule, our first Chalk Talk is set for December 2 prior to the game against Bemidji State.
Special Exhibition Opener!! Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Durham West Jr. Lightning
Saturday, September 23 at 2:00 p.m. CT, Ridder Arena
The 27th season of Minnesota Women's Hockey begins with an exhibition contest this Saturday, September 23 at 2:00 p.m. CT when the Gophers host the Durham West Jr. Lightning.
FREE ADMISSION!! Saturday's game features free admission with no ticketing. We hope to see many of you there!!
Live streaming of the game will be available on the B1G+ subscription service.
About the Junior Lightning – The Durham West Girls Hockey Association operates in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, immediately east of Toronto, and fields teams at several levels including a Canadian Junior prep squad which previously played in the Provincial Women's Hockey League of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association. They currently compete in exhibition contests and select tournaments, and feature 10 players with NCAA commitments.
Having already started their 2023-2024 schedule, the Junior Lightning have an 8-1 record, but their one loss came in their last contest this past Sunday. This coming weekend, their game against the Gophers is the second of three in Minnesota; they will play against Shattuck-St. Mary's (Prep) in Faribault on Friday and at St. Thomas in Mendota Heights on Sunday.
Analyzing the Gophers – Following a 25-5-3 regular-season record with a 23-3-3-3 conference mark that placed them second in the league standings, Minnesota claimed its 8th WCHA Tournament Championship, sweeping St. Thomas 7-0 and 6-2 in the conference quarterfinals, defeating Wisconsin 4-2 in the semis, and topping Ohio State 3-1 in the Final Faceoff Championship Game. The Gophers also avenged their 2022 NCAA Quarterfinal loss to Minnesota Duluth, defeating the Bulldogs 3-0 in the 2023 tournament quarterfinal, but the season would come to an end in the Frozen Four with a 3-2 semifinal overtime loss to the Badgers.
Minnesota enters the 2023-2024 season as a much different team following the departure of 11 players from last year's roster. Most notably, four of the top five scorers from 2022-2023 – Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle, Abigail Boreen, and Catie Skaja – are gone after combining for 88 goals and 111 assists. Changes have also occurred on the bench with the addition of new assistant coaches Greg "Boom" May and Mitch Baker.
A trio of junior forwards leads this year's squad: Abbey Murphy (#18) is the top-scoring returning player, having hit the 50-point mark last year with 29 goals and 21 assists, Ella Huber (#26) lit the lamp 10 times while dishing out 19 helpers, and Peyton Hemp (#15) found the back of the net 16 times while recording 12 assists. Meanwhile, the attack lines will be bolstered by four incoming freshmen: Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Ava Lindsay (#9) & All-Metro First Team member Isa Goettl (#12), Hungarian National Team member Emma Kreisz (#13), and Minnesota Ms. Hockey finalist Lauren O'Hara (#21).
The Gopher defensive corps will see the return of 5th-year player Madeline Wethington (#5), who led the blueliners in offensive categories last year with 6 goals and 20 assists. Sophomore Nelli Laitinen (#7) is also back after recording 3 goals and 16 assists in 2022-2023. The pairings are not only bolstered by incoming freshmen Josie Hemp (#6) and Elly Klepinger (#22), but also by two graduate transfers; Taylor Stewart (#2) joins the Gophers after four years at Minnesota Duluth, and Solveig Neunzert (#27) becomes the first German player for Minnesota after previously playing at Princeton.
Junior Skylar Vetter (#31) is the leading returning goaltender for the Gophers in 2023-2024, posting a 27-6-3 record last season with 7 shutouts, a 1.84 goals-against average, and a .926 save percentage. Another graduate transfer, Lucy Morgan (#32), joins the Maroon & Gold after four years at St. Lawrence, where she was named Second Team All-American as a junior; she was 15-17-3 for the Saints last year with 4 shutouts, a .915 SV%, and a 2.26 GAA. Sophomore Sophia Johnson (#35), a mid-season addition to the Gopher roster last season, has yet to see any official game action.
Around the WCHA
This weekend – Two WCHA teams will get the regular season underway this weekend with non-conference action on Saturday and Sunday. St. Cloud State will host the newly-renamed Union College Garnet Chargers, while Bemidji State opens its schedule on the road at Lindenwood. As previously mentioned, St. Thomas will host the Durham West Junior Lightning in exhibition competition on Sunday.
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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 Twitter at twitter.com/GopherWHockey.