March 3, 2025

The Two-Minute Minor - An Edition of the Penalty Box Post - Monday, March 3, 2025

March 3, 2025

Gophers to face Ohio State in Final Faceoff 2nd semifinal Friday;
Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin to meet in first game

All four WCHA quarterfinal series completed with the higher-seeded home teams advancing, as Minnesota eliminated Minnesota State, Ohio State defeated St. Thomas, Wisconsin knocked out Bemidji State, and Minnesota Duluth bested St. Cloud State. As a result, the 3rd-seeded Gophers will face the Buckeyes in the second of the Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal games, scheduled for 4:32 p.m. this upcoming Friday, March 7, at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth. The Badgers and Bulldogs will square off in the first semifinal at 1:02 p.m. Friday's winners will advance to the championship game Saturday, March 8, at 2:02 p.m.

We will recap the quarterfinal series and preview the Final Faceoff match-ups in our regular edition of the Penalty Box Post later this week. The WCHA has updated their Final Faceoff Tournament Central site with this year's information.

Television & video streaming – Continuing with its season-long coverage of every WCHA home game, the B1G+ subscription service will stream all three Final Faceoff contests. Additionally, they will also be televised in the Twin Cities area on FOX 9+ with their channel finder here, plus availability on FOX 9+ on Hulu via Live TV, Sling TV, FuboTV, and YouTube TV.

Final Faceoff Ticket Information – All-session packages and single-session tickets are on sale through the UMD Ticketmaster site or via phone by calling the UMD Ticket Office at 218-726-8595.

Arena sections along the sides of the ice between each end's faceoff dots have been designated as reserved seating, with nearly all other sections designated as general admission.

All-session packages are $35 for reserved adult seating, $25 for reserved senior, student & youth seating, $25 for adult general admission seating, $20 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $10 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

Individual day tickets – either semifinal Friday or championship Saturday – are $20 for reserved adult seating, $15 for reserved senior, student & youth seating, $15 for adult general admission seating, $12 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $7 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

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Power Play Club

February 26, 2025

Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Power Play Club

February 26, 2025

Goals for a Goal

Lighting the lamp four times this past weekend, the Gopher Women's Hockey team netted 123 goals in the regular season, with 28 coming on the power play!! Pledges for our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program can still be submitted at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the amount for power play tallies! We thank you for your consideration of this campaign as we continue to provide assistance to the GWH program!

WCHA Playoff Quarterfinals (best-of-three) at Ridder Arena

#4/4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (25-9-1, 19-8-1-0 in WCHA)
vs. Minnesota State University Mavericks (13-19-2, 7-19-2-1)

Friday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m.
(if necessary) Sunday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m.

The Gopher Women's Hockey team enters the WCHA Playoff Tournament as the #3 seed, hosting the 6th-seeded Minnesota State University Mavericks in a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Ridder Arena, a rematch of last year's first round. Action begins Friday evening, February 28 at 6:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m. If necessary, a deciding Game 3 will be played Sunday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m.

Other Gopher sports on campus – While not as busy as last weekend, we note that Minnesota is hosting the Big Ten Men's Swimming & Diving Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center both Friday and Saturday, and Gopher Women's Tennis is hosting Wisconsin on Friday and both North Dakota & Boise State on Saturday at the Baseline Tennis Center.

Game coverage – All the games between the Gophers and Mavericks this weekend will be televised on Fox 9+ (channel finder). They will also have video streamed on the B1G+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday / Sunday). Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Friday & Saturday (Sunday's link to be provided later), and live stats can be found here.

This season against Minnesota State – The Gopher Women's Hockey team earned a sweep of their four regular-season meetings, though the Mavericks swiped a league standings point by forcing overtime in one of the contests. Minnesota earned an 8-2 win at Ridder Arena before their 3-2 overtime victory in Mankato in October, then posted an 8-3 win at Ridder in January before completing the sweep 5-2 at the Mayo Clinic Health System Events Center. Josefin Bouveng and Abbey Murphy led the Gophers, each recording points in all four contests and finishing with 11 apiece. Bouveng lit the lamp five times – including a hat trick in the fourth game – and dished out 6 assists, while Murphy found the back of the net 3 times and tallied 8 helpers. Ella Huber added 8 points on 2 goals & 6 assists, and Peyton Hemp netted four goals – including the OT game-winner – plus an assist. JuliAnna Gazdik led MSU with a goal and 3 assists against the Gophers, while the trio of Madison Mashuga, Taylor Otremba & Whitney Tuttle each added a goal and two helpers, and Alexis Paddington lit the lamp twice. Gopher netminder Hannah Clark played the October opener and both games in January, stopping 62 of 69 shots (.899 save percentage, 2.33 goals-against average), while Skylar Vetter stopped 13 of 15 shots in the first game in Mankato (.867 SV%). MSU goalie Hailey Hansen started three of the four games as well and made 69 saves but yielded 18 goals in just over 8 periods of action (.793 SV%, 6.68 GAA); Jessie McPherson made the other start plus a 17-minute relief appearance, stopping 42 of 47 shots (.894 SV%, 3.80 GAA).

Analyzing the Mavericks – Minnesota State's 6th-place finish in the WCHA regular season standings comes after a slow start as they went 1-7-1 in their first 9 league games. They're also only 3-10-1 in conference play since flipping the calendar to 2025, with two of those wins coming this past weekend. MSU did get a tie against Minnesota Duluth in Mankato, a road win at St. Cloud State, and a 4-1 upset victory at home over Ohio State, and they were 6-0-0 in non-conference play against Long Island, Dartmouth & Lindenwood.

Senior Madison Mashuga (#22) and grad student Jamie Nelson (#10) lead the Mavericks with 27 points apiece; Mashuga has 10 goals & 17 assists, while Nelson has a team-high 21 helpers with 6 goals of her own. Junior Taylor Otremba (#24) trails right behind with 26 points on 12 goals & 14 assists, and senior Claire Vekich (#25) leads MSU's goal scorers with 14 while tallying 11 assists for 25 points. Two more Mavs have also each recorded double-digit goals and passed the 20-point mark: junior Whitney Tuttle (#7; 13g, 9a) and senior Alexis Paddington (#14; 12g, 9a).

Sophomore Hailey Hansen (#33) has started 22 of Minnesota State's 34 games, posting a 9-12-1 record with 3 shutouts, a 2.88 goals-against average, and a .900 save percentage. Grad student Jessie McPherson (#91) is 3-5-1 in her nine starts with a 3.06 GAA and .895 SV%. Senior Suzette Faucher (#31) had 3 starts, going 1-2-0 with her win coming by shutout; including a pair of relief appearances, she has a 2.67 GAA and .903 SV%. Meanwhile, junior Avery Stilwell (#1) remains on the MSU roster as an emergency backup.

Recent action for Minnesota State – Playing a home-and-home series against St. Thomas, seven different Mavericks lit the lamp on Senior Night in Mankato on Friday in an 8-3 victory; Kamryn Van Batavia led MSU with two goals & an assist, while Claire Vekich and Taylor Otremba each added a goal and two helpers. Ella Boerger tallied a pair of power play goals for the Tommies. Minnesota State then spoiled St. Thomas' Senior Day game in Mendota Heights with a 3-0 shutout win to complete the weekend sweep; Vekich recorded another goal & assist, Madison Mashuga and Kianna Roeske also lit the lamp, and Hailey Hansen posted a 17-save shutout.

Gophers finish regular season with sweep of Minnesota Duluth

The Gopher Women's Hockey team completed a four-game series sweep of Minnesota Duluth, winning both Senior Weekend games by scores of 3-2 and 1-0 to conclude the regular season and lock up 3rd place in the WCHA standings.

Minnesota and UMD traded first-period goals in the opener; Emma Kreisz gave the Gophers an initial lead, but Olivia Wallin evened the score for the Bulldogs. However, Ella Huber & Natalie Mlynkova lit the lamp in the second stanza with Audrey Wethington assisting on both goals, and Hannah Clark finished with 28 saves. Wallin added an unassisted goal with 3:08 to play, but they could not find the equalizer. UMD netminder Ève Gascon stopped 24 shots.

Minnesota came out firing in the rematch, but Gascon seemed up to the challenge, stopping all 32 shots she faced over the first 40 minutes. Clark was also holding the Bulldogs off the scoreboard with 13 saves in the first two periods. Still scoreless more than halfway through the third period, a shot by Abbey Murphy went well high, hitting the glass behind the net; however, as Gascon caught the ricochet, her momentum carried her glove across the goal line below the crossbar, and the Gopher goal was awarded upon review. That was the only tally for either team; Gascon finished with 48 saves, while Clark posted her second career shutout with a 22-save performance.

Frost climbs in coaching wins records – We send a congratulations to Minnesota Women's Hockey head coach Brad Frost, who recorded his 523rd and 524th victories as the Gopher bench boss. Those moved him into third all-time among NCAA Division I coaches, passing Harvard's Katie Stone, and fifth across all divisions of NCAA Women's Ice Hockey. Congrats, Frosty!!

Clark sets new Gopher record, earns WCHA weekly award

Gopher Women's Hockey's Hannah Clark continues to set a new standard between the pipes, and earned recognition from the conference for her performance against Minnesota Duluth.

Clark's 28-save victory Friday over the Bulldogs was her 20th win of the season, making her the first freshman in Minnesota's program history to reach that mark. She extended that record to 21 wins with her 22-save shutout Saturday.

With 50 saves on 52 shots (a .962 save percentage) and a series sweep, Clark was named WCHA Goaltender of the Week. It's her second weekly conference honor this season, after she earned the same award on November 18. Congratulations, Hannah!!

Layla Hemp wins Jori Jones Award as MN H.S. Goalie of the Year

Following up on last week's selection of Minnetonka (MN) H.S. and future Gopher Women's Hockey player Layla Hemp as the Star Tribune's All-Minnesota Girls Hockey Player of the Year, Hemp was named the Jori Jones Award winner by Let's Play Hockey as Minnesota's top senior goaltender of the year, as announced at the Ms. Hockey Banquet this past Sunday, February 23. Hemp was also named a Minnesota All-State Team selection as well.

Congratulations again, Layla!!

Around the WCHA...

Badgers earn road sweep of Beavers – Casey O'Brien recorded 2 goals & an assist Friday and added three helpers Saturday, Kirsten Simms tallied a hat trick and an assist Saturday after dishing out two helpers Friday, and Lacey Eden posted a one-goal, 3-assist performance on Saturday as Wisconsin rolled to back-to-back 6-1 victories at Bemidji State. Genevieve Hendrickson (PP) and Raeley Carney scored for BSU.

Buckeyes defend home ice with sweep of Huskies – St. Cloud State erased deficits of 3 goals on Friday and 2 goals on Saturday at Ohio State to tie both games, but OSU prevailed in both contests, winning 5-3 and 3-2. Friday's game saw Jocelyne Amos net her second goal of the night to put the Buckeyes back in the lead 77 seconds after the Huskies drew even, then complete her hat trick with an empty-netter with 1:09 to play. Makenna Webster, already with an assist, lit the lamp for OSU on Saturday with 2:22 to play for the victory and the series sweep. Webster and Joy Dunne each recorded two goals and two assists in the series for OSU, while Emma Gentry had two goals & an assist for SCSU.

Other playoff quarterfinals / Best-of-3 / Feb. 28, March 1 and (if necessary) 2

#5-seed St. Cloud State University at #4-seed University of Minnesota Duluth
Friday at 2:00 p.m. CT / Saturday & Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT
#7-seed University of St. Thomas at #2-seed Ohio State University
Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET / Saturday & Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET
#8-seed Bemidji State University at #1-seed University of Wisconsin
Friday at 7:00 p.m. CT / Saturday at 3:00 p.m. CT / Sunday at 2:00 p.m. CT

Final regular-season standings:
1. Wisconsin – 77 points (.917 pts%), 25-1-2-1, 1-0 in OT (31-1-2 overall)
2. Ohio State – 59 points (.702 pts%), 19-6-3-2, 3-0 in OT (25-6-3 overall)
3. Minnesota – 57 points (.679 pts%), 19-8-1-0, 1-0 in OT (25-9-1 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 48 points (.571 pts%), 14-12-2-2, 0-2 in OT (19-13-2 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 36 points (.429 pts%), 10-13-5-1, 1-1 in OT (15-13-6 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 28 points (.333 pts%), 7-19-2-1, 0-4 in OT (13-19-2 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 20 points (.238 pts%), 6-21-1-1, 2-2 in OT (9-23-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 11 points (.131 pts%), 4-24-0-0, 1-0 in OT (6-28-1 overall)

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Power Play Club

February 23, 2025

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Sunday, February 23 and Friday, February 21, 2025

Power Play Club

February 23, 2025

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Sunday, February 23, 2025

2025 WCHA playoff quarterfinal pairings set; Minnesota to host Minnesota State in best-of-three series

Upon completion of yesterday's games (Saturday, February 22), the Gopher Women's Hockey team finished as the #3 seed for the WCHA playoffs, posting a 19-8-1-0 conference record (1-0 in OT). As a result, the Gophers will face Minnesota State in a best-of-3 conference quarterfinal series at Ridder Arena next weekend, a repeat meeting from last year.

Game times are set for...

Friday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m. (if necessary)

We'll have more details with our full series preview in our regular Penalty Box Post later this week.

Season ticket holders should have received tickets for the quarterfinal series as part of their package, and should contact the U. of M. Ticket Office at 1-800-U-GOPHER with any questions or concerns. Tickets for each of the three contests are available to purchase on the ticket office website.

All-session packages and single-session tickets for the 2025 WCHA Final Faceoff, being played at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, are on sale through the UMD Ticketmaster site; please refer to the website for prices.

Game times are set as follows:

Semifinal Game 1: Friday, March 7 at 1:02 p.m. CT
Semifinal Game 2: Friday, March 7 at 4:32 p.m. CT (approximately)
Championship Game: Saturday, March 8 at 2:02 p.m. CT

Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the AMSOIL Arena box office or by phone at 218-726-8595.

2025 NCAA Frozen Four, March 21 & 23 at Ridder Arena – We provide a reminder that the University of Minnesota is hosting the NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis, and tickets are on sale through the U. of M. Ticket Office. All-session packages are SOLD OUT, but single-day tickets are still available in limited quantities (standing room only for the semifinals).

Other WCHA quarterfinal pairings...

Best 2-out-of-3 / Friday, Saturday, and (if necessary) Sunday, February 28-March 2

#5-seed St. Cloud State University at #4-seed University of Minnesota Duluth
Friday at 2:00 p.m. CT / Saturday & Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT

#7-seed University of St. Thomas at #2-seed Ohio State University
Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET / Saturday & Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET

#8-seed Bemidji State University at #1-seed University of Wisconsin
Friday at 7:00 p.m. CT / Saturday at 3:00 p.m. CT / Sunday at 2:00 p.m. CT

More information about the entire WCHA Playoff Tournament is available here.

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Friday, February 21, 2025

Nine (9) Gophers named WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award winners

Following up on naming its All-Academic Team earlier this week, the WCHA announced its 2024-2025 Scholar-Athlete Award winners featuring 91 student-athletes, including 9 members of the Gopher Women's Hockey team. We send our congratulations to Allie Franco, Peyton Hemp, Elly Klepinger, Nelli Laitinen, Ava Lindsay, Maggie Nicholson, Lauren O'Hara, Skylar Vetter & Audrey Wethington. Again, great job, ladies!!

To qualify, student-athletes must have a GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale in their previous two semesters or three quarters and have achieved at least sophomore status in their academic careers. The WCHA Scholar-Athletes are selected with the help of the Faculty Athletic Representatives from each of the member institutions.

Wethington nominated to Allstate/NACDA Good Works Team

Gopher Women's Hockey fifth-year forward Audrey Wethington was named one of 193 nominees for the inaugural AllState / National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Good Works Winter Team, as announced yesterday morning.

The 193 student-athletes, representing five intercollegiate divisions, were nominated by athletics administrators, conference office staff, and coaches. Each nominee was chosen for embodying leadership, service, and character. The full list of nominees can be found here (PDF file).

A distinguished Selection Committee will choose 10 female and 10 male student-athletes from the nominees as the final 2024-2025 Allstate NACDA Good Works Winter Team. Two similar groups for the fall and spring sports seasons will also be selected from their respective nominee lists. These teams “build on the legacy of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, which has celebrated college football players' good work off the field since 1992.”

We also note that Wethington has played in 166 career games for the Gophers through last weekend, putting her in a tie for 8th in the U. of M. record books. Tonight's contest, her 167th, moves her into a three-way tie for sixth place.

Congratulations on your nomination, Audrey!!

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Power Play Club

February 19, 2025

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Power Play Club

February 19, 2025

PPC All-Member Meeting – Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m.

Here's one more reminder that the annual Power Play Club All-Member Meeting is scheduled for this Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m. in the Baseline Tennis Center Club Room. Again, this is an opportunity to touch base with other Power Play Club members and to provide feedback on the operation of the club and the Gopher Women's Hockey game experience. We will also have a Board of Directors election, including for the offices of president and vice president. All enrolled 2024-2025 club members are invited and encouraged to attend.

Goals for a Goal

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has netted 119 goals, with 28 coming on the power play!! We are still accepting enrollments into our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program, which converts each time Minnesota lights the lamp into a donation back to the program. You can submit a pledge at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the amount for power play tallies! Once again, we send our thanks for your consideration of this campaign!

GWH Senior Weekend at Ridder Arena
#4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (23-9-1, 17-8-1-0 WCHA)
vs. #6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (19-11-2, 14-10-2-2 WCHA)
Friday, February 21 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 22 at 2:00 p.m.

As the regular season concludes for much of NCAA Division I women's hockey, the Golden Gophers host their Senior Weekend series, taking on their rivals from the North Shore – the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The top-six national battle at Ridder Arena begins Friday, February 21 at 6 p.m. and continues with the finale on Saturday, February 22 at 2 p.m.

Events this weekend – Fans are encouraged to arrive early for both contests. Friday's game features a free Chuck-a-Puck contest with a chance to win one of five prizes; pucks will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The traditional recognition of our senior and fifth-year players will occur during the pregame festivities on Saturday.

Traffic alerts – Speaking of weekend events, we urge fans to allow extra time for traffic and parking around campus. The Gopher Men's Hockey team is hosting Ohio State at 3M Arena at Mariucci, with Friday's game set for 7 p.m. The U. has issued a formal advisory for Saturday; in addition to the Gopher Women's Hockey game at 2 p.m., Gopher Men's Basketball is playing at Williams Arena at 1 p.m., Gopher Gymnastics hosts a meet at Maturi Pavilion at 4 p.m., and the second game of the Gopher Men's Hockey series at 3M Arena starts at 5 p.m.

Game coverage – Both GWH contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday). Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Friday & Saturday, and live stats can be found here.

This season against Minnesota Duluth – The Gopher Women's Hockey team returned from a mid-November road trip to Duluth having earned a series sweep, winning 4-1 and 3-2. Minnesota's Sydney Morrow (PP) and UMD's Hanna Baskin exchanged first-period goals in the opener, but Abbey Murphy put the Gophers back in the lead and followed up with assists on a pair of Ella Huber goals, the first short-handed and the second into an empty net. Hannah Clark made 27 saves for Minnesota as they outshot Minnesota Duluth 52-28. The Bulldogs took an early lead in the rematch as Kamdyn Davis tallied her first collegiate goal, but Gracie Graham and Peyton Hemp (PP) lit the lamp on a power play, with Murphy assisting on both goals, to put the Gophers up 2-1 after 20 minutes. Following a scoreless second period, Emma Conner netter her first goal of the season, which turned out to be critical as UMD's Nina Jobst-Smith converted on a late 5-on-3 power-play. However, Clark kept the Bulldogs off the board in the final 3:21 for the win, finishing with 31 saves in the contest. In addition to Murphy's five-point series (1g, 4a), Huber dished out two assists as well to complete a 4-point weekend. UMD netminder Ève Gascon stopped 83 shots in the series but took both losses.

Analyzing the Bulldogs – Minnesota Duluth has been ranked in the top six nationally all season and last weekend clinched home ice to open the WCHA Playoff Tournament (more on that momentarily). Though having three fewer league wins than the Gophers, they trail by only 3 points entering this weekend thanks to an additional tie, two shootout wins, and bonuses from having a worse overtime record.

UMD has a bit of a scoring logjam at the top of their season stats. Graduate forward Clara Van Wieren (#25) is one of three Bulldogs with 16 goals; adding 17 assists, she has 33 points. Another fifth-year forward, Olivia Wallin (#14), also has 33 points on 13 goals and 20 assists. Freshman Caitlin Kraemer (#11) is in the running for WCHA Rookie of the Year, scoring 16 goals with 10 helpers for 26 points, while a third fifth-year player, Olivia Mobley (#15), also has 16 goals and 8 assists for 24 points.

Sophomore Ève Gascon (#1) is firmly Minnesota Duluth's primary goaltender, having started 23 of the Bulldog's 32 games; she is 12-10-1 with four shutouts, a 1.86 goals-against average, and a .941 save percentage. Senior Tindra Holm (#30) is 7-1-1 in the other nine games, also having four shutouts plus a 1.33 GAA and .932 SV%. Redshirt freshman Anna Byczek (#31) has yet to see any official action.

Recent action for Minnesota Duluth – Hosting Minnesota State, Clara Van Wieren recorded a hat trick plus two assists, Olivia Wallin posted a six-point performance on 2 goals & 4 assists, and Caitlin Kraemer added two goals and a helper in an 8-2 rout last Friday; Claire Vekich scored both goals for the Mavericks. UMD completed the sweep with a 4-1 victory Saturday; Olivia Mobley lit the lamp twice, Mary Kate O'Brien tallied a goal & an assist, and Kraemer dished out two assists. Ève Gascon and Tindra Holm each made 23 saves in their respective starts.

Gophers drop opener vs. Huskies, salvage split in St. Cloud

The Gopher Women's Hockey team lost a fourth-consecutive contest, falling 4-3 to St. Cloud State at Ridder Arena on Friday, but broke the streak with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud on Saturday.

The Huskies took the lead on a power-play tally by Sofianna Sundelin, and Emma Gentry doubled that lead less than two minutes later. Emma Kreisz cut the Gophers' deficit in half in the second period and Ava Lindsey knotted the score with a power play conversion with 9:09 left in regulation. Sundelin lit the lamp again for the Huskies with 3:15 to play but Ella Huber again tied things up, scoring in a 5-on-4 extra-attacker situation with 1:29 to go. Unfortunately, the Gophers were unable to take the lead or force overtime as SCSU's Ella Anick netted an unassisted goal with 30.4 seconds remaining. Huskies goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö earned the win with 33 saves, while Hannah Clark stopped 16 shots for the Gophers.

The rematch Saturday started with the Huskies again taking a first-period lead as Gentry split two Gopher defenders and scored her second goal of the weekend. However, Minnesota held St. Cloud State off the board the rest of the way. Still trailing 1-0 entering the third period, Audrey Wethington scored 4:33 into the stanza to knot the score and Emma Conner tallied on a power play two minutes later to put the Gophers in the lead. That was enough for the victory; Clark made 29 saves for the win. Sanni Ahola stopped 37 shots for the Huskies.

Minnesota reaches 800 wins all-time!! Saturday's victory in St. Cloud was the 800th in Gopher Women's Hockey program history. The team has an all-time record of 800-185-64, including 278-67-22 under inaugural head coach Laura Halldorson and 522-118-42 under current coach Brad Frost. We say thank you and congratulations to all the Gopher Women's Hockey players past and present who have contributed to this amazing achievement!!

Fifteen (15) Gophers named to WCHA All-Academic Team

The presentation of end-of-season awards has begun as the WCHA unveiled its 2024-2025 All-Academic Team featuring 129 student-athletes, including 15 Gopher Women's Hockey players. We send our congratulations to Josefin Bouveng, Emma Conner, Allie Franco, Peyton Hemp, Ella Huber, Sophia Johnson, Madison Kaiser, Elly Klepinger, Nelli Laitinen, Ava Lindsay, Abbey Murphy, Maggie Nicholson, Lauren O'Hara, Skylar Vetter & Audrey Wethington. Great job, ladies!!

To qualify, student-athletes must have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in their previous two semesters or three quarters and have achieved at least sophomore status in their academic careers.

Future Gopher Layla Hemp named Star Tribune Player of the Year

Meanwhile, the honors are also coming on the high school side, as Minnetonka (MN) H.S. and future Gopher Women's Hockey goaltender Layla Hemp was selected by the Star Tribune as their All-Minnesota Girls Hockey Player of the Year. Through last week's state section playoffs, Hemp posted a 16-2-0 record with 7 shutouts, a 0.92 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage during her senior season with the Skippers.

Congratulations, Layla!! We look forward to seeing you next fall!!

Around the WCHA...

Beavers, Tommies split series in Mendota Heights – Hailey Armstrong scored twice and Eva Filippova stopped all 27 shots she faced as Bemidji State earned their first true road win since December 2023, shutting out St. Thomas 5-0 on Friday. But, despite getting a hat trick from Morgan Smith and taking an initial 2-0 lead in their rematch on Saturday, the Beavers could not hold off the Tommies; Chloe Boreen scored twice and Lauren Stenslie netted the eventual game-winning goal as UST salvaged a split with a 4-3 victory.

Upcoming games – The season concludes with four Friday-Saturday series (including the Gophers vs. the Bulldogs). One series starts with a Friday matinee as Bemidji State hosts Wisconsin. Elsewhere, St. Thomas will face Minnesota State in a home-and-home series beginning in Mankato, and St. Cloud State will travel to Ohio State.

Playoff preview – Much is still to be decided going into the upcoming weekend as only three playoff seedings have already been locked in. After playing each other this weekend in Bemidji, league champion Wisconsin will host 8th-seeded Bemidji State in Madison when the conference quarterfinals being on February 28; meanwhile, St. Cloud State will be the 5th seed and going on the road. However, other positions are still in flux and will be determined this weekend; we'll have an update early next week with the playoff pairings.

Standings (* clinched home ice for WCHA playoff quarterfinals):
1. Wisconsin* – 71 points (.910 pts%), 23-1-2-1, 1-0 in OT (29-1-2 overall)
2. Ohio State* – 53 points (.679 pts%), 17-6-3-2, 3-0 in OT (23-6-3 overall)
3. Minnesota* – 51 points (.654 pts%), 17-8-1-0, 1-0 in OT (23-9-1 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth* – 48 points (.615 pts%), 14-10-2-2, 0-2 in OT (19-11-2 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 36 points (.462 pts%), 10-11-5-1, 1-1 in OT (15-11-6 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 22 points (.282 pts%), 5-17-2-1, 0-4 in OT (11-17-2 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 20 points (.256 pts%), 6-19-1-1, 2-2 in OT (9-21-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 11 points (.141 pts%), 4-22-0-0, 1-0 in OT (6-26-1 overall)

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Power Play Club

February 12, 2025

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Power Play Club

February 12, 2025

PPC All-Member Meeting – Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m.

The annual Power Play Club All-Member Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m. in the Baseline Tennis Center Club Room. This is an opportunity to touch base with other Power Play Club members and to provide feedback on the operation of the club and the Gopher Women's Hockey game experience. We will also have a Board of Directors election, including for the offices of president and vice president. All enrolled 2024-2025 club members are invited and encouraged to attend.

Looking ahead – WCHA First Round at Ridder

As mentioned last week, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has secured home ice for the first-round, quarterfinal series in the 2025 WCHA Conference Tournament. While Minnesota's opponent is still to be determined, the schedule for the best-of-3 series is set with games Friday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m.; and (if necessary) Sunday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale through the U. of M. Ticket Office (also by phone at 1-800-U-GOPHER).

Goals for a Goal

With two weekends to go in the regular season, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has netted 114 goals, with 26 coming on the power play!! It's not too late to enroll in our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program, which converts each time Minnesota lights the lamp into a donation back to the program. You can submit a pledge at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the amount for power play tallies! Once again, we send our thanks for your consideration of this campaign!.

#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-8-1, 16-7-1-0 WCHA)
vs. #11 St. Cloud State Univ. Huskies (14-10-6, 9-10-5-1 WCHA)
Friday, February 14 at 6:00 p.m. – Ridder Arena
Saturday, February 15 at 3:00 p.m.
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center – St. Cloud

The Gopher Women's Hockey team looks to break out of its three-game skid. They return home for a Valentine's Day matchup against the #11 St. Cloud State University Huskies at Ridder Arena, Friday (February 14) at 6:00 p.m. Action then relocates to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud for the rematch Saturday, February 15 at 3:00 p.m.

Game coverage – Both contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday). Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Friday & Saturday, and live stats can be found here.

This season against St. Cloud State – The Gophers settled with a split against the Huskies in November, winning the opener at Ridder Arena 5-2 before falling 3-1 in St. Cloud. Already leading 2-1 in the opener on goals by Ella Huber and Ava Lindsay, Abbey Murphy recorded a hat trick for Minnesota to put the game out of reach; Huber added two assists to her goal, Peyton Hemp & Nelli Laitinen each also dished out two helpers, and Hannah Clark earned the win with 25 saves. The Gophers put 23 shots on goal in the first period of the rematch, but SCSU goaltender Sanni Ahola stopped all of them to keep the contest scoreless after 20 minutes. Abby Promersberger netted her second goal of the series for the Huskies midway through the second, and Brieja Parent & Avery Farrell lit the lamp in the first 3:09 of the third to push their lead to 3-0. Natalie Mlynkova tallied for Minnesota with 13:33 to play to break up a shutout bid, but they got no closer. Clark took the loss despite another 25-save effort, while Ahola finished with 38 saves and the victory.

Analyzing the Huskies – As we've noted several times previously, St. Cloud State hasn't finished a regular season in the top half of the WCHA standings since 2009-2010. Despite their current #11 ranking in both national polls, a home ice series for this year's WCHA Quarterfinals looks unlikely; they sit fifth in the league with a 9-10-5-1 conference record, notably earning only the single shootout point after the five ties. Any combination of three standings points either they drop or Minnesota Duluth earns will send the Huskies on the road to open the playoffs.

Two sophomores lead St. Cloud State in scoring statistics. Alice Sauriol (#4) has the team's most total points (19) and assists (14), also lighting the lamp 5 times herself, while Sofianna Sundelin (#34) is the Huskies' top goal scorer with 9 while dishing out 8 helpers for 17 points. Grad student Emma Gentry (#20) is third in scoring with 14 points on 8 goals & 6 assists, and senior Dayle Ross (#2) is their top-scoring defender with 11 points (2g, 9a).

Fifth year goaltender Sanni Ahola (#1) is now the Huskies' all-time winningest netminder, having earned her 35th career victory late last month; this season she is 8-5-3 with two shutouts, a 2.06 goals-against average, and a .919 save percentage. Fellow Finland-native Emilia Kyrkkö (#42), a freshman, is 6-5-3 in her 14 starts with 3 shutouts, a 1.83 GAA, and a .927 SV%. Sophomore Paige Hoogendam (#31) has yet to see any official action in her two seasons with SCSU.

Recent action for St. Cloud State – Playing in Mankato, third-period goals by Marie Moran & Alice Sauriol broke a 1-1 tie against Minnesota State and Emilia Kyrkkö needed only 15 saves for the 3-1 victory for the Huskies on Friday. Trailing the Mavericks 2-1 after two periods in Saturday's rematch, Avery Farrell scored for SCSU 9:14 into the third stanza, and Sanni Ahola made 27 saves in total in a 2-2 overtime tie; however, MSU earned the shootout point, winning 2-1 when Taylor Otremba beat Ahola in the fifth round. In the series, Emma Gentry led the Huskies with a goal & an assist.

Gophers routed by Badgers in Madison

A road trip to Madison turned into a long weekend for the Gopher Women's Hockey team as they were swept by the Wisconsin Badgers, 8-2 and 6-1.

Laila Edwards got the scoring started for UW 4 minutes into the opener on Saturday and added a second goal and two assists, Casey O'Brien recorded 2 goals and an assist, and Kristen Simms dished out 4 helpers. Hannah Clark made 22 saves for the Gophers but was pulled after two periods; Sophia Johnson made her second career appearance and stopped 8 shots. Ella Huber and Sydney Morrow each tallied a goal & an assist and Chloe Primerano dished out helpers on both goals, but Badger netminder Ava McNaughton made 18 saves for the win.

Sunday's rematch began with a scoreless first period, but Wisconsin struck for four goals in the second stanza and added two more in the third. O'Brien posted a one-goal, 4-assist game to finish with 8 points (3g, 5a) in the series; she also passed the career 250-point mark. Emma Conner scored for the Gophers with Sydney Morrow earning an assist for her 3rd point of the weekend; Clark made 37 saves, but McNaughton stopped 24 shots at the other end to complete the sweep.

Badgers claim Julianne Bye Cup – With Saturday's victory, Wisconsin clinched the 2024-2025 WCHA Regular-Season Championship and earned the Julianne Bye Cup. It's the Badgers' 10th regular-season title, having last won in 2020-2021.

Sweden, Germany, Japan qualify for 2026 Winter Olympics;
USA wins Rivalry Series Game 4, Canada takes deciding Game 5

We send congratulations to Gopher Women's Hockey junior forward Josefin Bouveng as Team Sweden punched their ticket to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, claiming first place in their Group H qualifier tournament. The Swedes defeated Denmark 5-0 in a win-to-get-in deciding game on Sunday after also earning shutout wins over Norway (3-0) and the Netherlands (8-0). Bouveng lit the lamp once in the tournament, coming against the Dutch, and had a +1 plus-minus rating.

Gopher Emma Kreisz and Team Hungary were not successful in Group I, falling to Germany on Sunday, 2-1, in another deciding contest. The Germans were perfect in their tournament, also defeating Austria (2-0) and Slovakia (6-1). The Hungarians knocked off Slovakia (3-1) and Austria (3-2, OT) before their Sunday loss. Kreisz tallied 2 points on a goal and an assist, posted a +1 plus-minus rating, and was named Hungary's Player of the Game against the Austrians.

Japan needed only two games to secure its Olympic berth from Group G, but finished undefeated with wins over France (7-1), Poland (6-0), and China (4-1). The Francs finished second with wins over China (4-1) and Poland (9-0).

We await the announcement of which nation will officially get the 10th spot in the Winter Games, being held in Milan & Cortina, Italy next February. While the IIHF decided to not reincorporate Russia into its championships in 2025-2026, the International Olympic Committee will decide whether to allow a "Russian Olympic Committee" team in Italy. As the team having the best second-place finish at the qualifiers, France will be the 10th team if the Russians are excluded.

Canada wins Rivalry Series in Game 5 after U.S. victory in Game 4 – Team USA needed a shootout last Thursday but took Game 4 of the 2024-2025 Rivalry Series, 2-1, to tie the series at two games apiece. Hilary Knight put the Americans up in the first period and Gwyneth Philips made 31 saves, but Blayre Turnbull netted an extra-attacker goal for the Canadians to knot the score late in regulation. After a scoreless overtime, Knight, Hannah Bilka, and Gopher alumna Kelly Pannek scored in the shootout and Philips held the Canadians off the board for the win.

In the deciding Game 5, Brianne Jenner put Canada up 1-0 in the second period, but Pannek tied it up for the Americans 3:03 into the third. However, Jenn Gardiner netted her first career goal as a member of Canada's senior national team with 6:44 remaining and Laura Stacey tacked on an empty-netter with 1:19 to go, resulting in a 3-1 Canadian victory and a 3-2 series win.

Czechia wins Euro Hockey Tour event – Hosting in the city of Liberec, the Czechia Women's National Team calimed the top spot in the Euro Hockey Tour 3-Nations Tournament with wins over Finland (7-2) and Switzerland (4-2). The Finns took the second spot with a 3-1 tournament-opening victory over the Swiss.

Around the WCHA...

Buckeyes earn 5-point sweep of Tommies – Keara Parker's goal midway through the 3rd period Friday put St. Thomas up 4-2 over Ohio State, but the comeback was on for OSU; Jenna Buglioni scored short-handed four minutes later, Jocelyne Amos netted her second goal of the game with an extra attacker and 29.6 second remaining, and Joy Dunne converted on a power play 1:09 into overtime for a 5-4 Buckeye victory. Amos added another goal and an assist and Dunne & Kiara Zanon each added a goal and two assists as the Buckeyes completed the sweep with a 5-1 victory in the rematch.

Bulldogs shut out Beavers – Minnesota Duluth goaltender Tindra Holm needed only 22 combined saves to earn back-to-back shutouts of Bemidji State, 2-0 and 6-0. Caitlin Kraemer scored both goals of the series opener and lit the lamp a third time in the rematch, while Olivia Wallin added a combined goal & 3 assists. Eva Filippova made 50 saves for BSU.

Upcoming games – Minnesota Duluth hosts Minnesota State in a matinee series starting Friday afternoon, while Bemidji State visits St. Thomas starting Friday evening. Ohio State and Wisconsin are idle.

Standings (* clinched home ice for WCHA playoff quarterfinals):
1. Wisconsin* – 71 points (.910 pts%), 23-1-2-1, 1-0 in OT (29-1-2 overall)
2. Ohio State* – 53 points (.679 pts%), 17-6-3-2, 3-0 in OT (23-6-3 overall)
3. Minnesota* – 48 points (.667 pts%), 16-7-1-0, 1-0 in OT (22-8-1 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 42 points (.583 pts%), 12-10-2-2, 0-2 in OT (17-11-2 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 33 points (.458 pts%), 9-10-5-1, 1-1 in OT (14-10-6 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 22 points (.306 pts%), 5-17-2-1, 0-4 in OT (11-17-2 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 17 points (.236 pts%), 5-18-1-1, 2-2 in OT (8-20-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 8 points (.111 pts%), 3-21-0-0, 1-0 in OT (5-25-1 overall)

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Power Play Club

February 9, 2025

The Two-Minute Minor - An edition of the Penalty Box Post - Friday, February 7, 2025

Power Play Club

February 9, 2025

GWH Senior Celebration – RSVP deadline reminder (Feb. 10)

Here's our final reminder that RSVPs are due by next Monday, February 10 for the 2025 Gopher Women's Hockey Senior Celebration, which is scheduled for Thursday, February 20, at Club Cambria in Huntington Bank Stadium. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. with the meal and program to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children, with payment collected at the event. RSVP to Ashley Holmes by email at holme965@umn.edu or by text at 612-296-0057. More information is available in the event flyer here.

Murphy named National Women's Player of the Month; joined by Morrow as WCHA monthly award winners

Gopher Women's Hockey senior co-captain Abbey Murphy was named National Women's Player of the Month for January yesterday by the Hockey Commissioners Association, going back-to-back after having received the same honor for December. Murphy posted 18 points (8g, 10a) in ten games last month, including a four-point (1g, 3a) performance against Minnesota State on January 17 & a two-goal contest versus Bemidji State on January 24. She also recorded a +11 plus-minus rating.

Murphy was joined by junior Sydney Morrow as WCHA honorees, being named as the conference's Forward & Defender of the Month, respectively. Again, Murphy went back-to-back on the recognition after having also earned the award for December. Morrow's recognition was the first WCHA monthly award of her career; she tallied four goals and five assists throughout the month of January, recorded four multi-point games, posted a +10 plus-minus rating, and led the team with two power-play goals.

Congratulations, Abbey and Sydney!!

Kreisz records assist in opener of Olympic qualifying, Pannek nets Rivalry Series shootout goal

As we noted on Wednesday, three different qualifying tournaments for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games opened yesterday, and Gopher Women's Hockey sophomore forward Emma Kreisz dished out an assist on the eventual game-winning goal for Team Hungary in their contest against Slovakia, played in Bremerhaven, Germany. Additionally, though not credited with a second point, Kreisz provided the pressure to force a Slovakian turnover leading to an empty-net insurance goal for the Hungarians as they won 3-1.

In the other game played in Group I, host Germany shut out Austria, 2-0. All four teams are idle today before resuming Saturday, with Austria facing Slovakia and Hungary taking on the Germans.

Hosting the Group H tournament, Team Sweden defeated Norway in their opening contest, 3-0; however, Gopher junior Josefin Bouveng went without a point for the Swedes. Earlier in the day, Denmark topped the Netherlands, 3-1. Action continues this morning as the Danes play Norway, followed by Sweden taking on the Netherlands.

In Group G play, host Japan routed France, 7-1, after China topped Poland, 3-2 in a shootout (1-0 in five rounds). These teams are idle today before China faces France and Poland squares off against Japan on Saturday.

Rivalry Series, Game 4: USA 2, Canada 1, shootout – Goaltender Gwyneth Philips was the American player of the game, stopping 31 of 32 shots. Hilary Knight converted a first-period power play to put Team USA up 1-0, but Blayre Turnbull knotted the score for the Canadians with an extra-attacker goal with 2:20 remaining in regulation. However, Philip's performance sent the game first to overtime and then a shootout, and three Canadian shooters were unable to beat her. At the other end, Knight, Hannah Bilka, and Gopher Women's Hockey alumna Kelly Pannek all found the back of the net for the victory.

With the win, the U.S. National Team tied the series at two games apiece with the deciding Game 5 set for tomorrow night (Saturday, February 8) at 7 p.m. AT / 5 p.m. CT at Credit Union Place in Summerside, P.E.I. The contest will be televised on NHL Network.

Euro Hockey Tour / 3 Nations Tournament – In other international action occurring yesterday, Finland defeated Switzerland, 3-1, in the opening game of the 3 Nations Tournament in Liberec, Czechia, despite being outshot 36-17. Julia Liikala lit the lamp twice for the Finns and Anni Keisala made 35 saves.

Finland faces the host Czechs today, and the Swiss will take on Czechia on Saturday to wrap up the event.

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Power Play Club

February 5, 2025

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Power Play Club

February 5, 2025

GWH Senior Celebration – Thursday, February 20

RSVPs are due by next Monday, February 10 for the 2025 Gopher Women's Hockey Senior Celebration, which is scheduled for Thursday, February 20, at Club Cambria in Huntington Bank Stadium. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. with the meal and program to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children, with payment collected at the event. RSVP to Ashley Holmes by email at holme965@umn.edu or by text at 612-296-0057. More information is available in the event flyer here.

PPC All-Member Meeting – Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m.

Goals for a Goal

After lighting the lamp six more times last weekend, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has netted 111 goals this season, with 26 coming on the power play!! We continue to ask for your help converting each of those into a donation back to the team through our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program. We are still accepting pledges at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the pledge for power play tallies! Our thanks for your consideration of this campaign!

#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-6-1, 16-5-1-0 WCHA)
at #1 University of Wisconsin Badgers (27-1-2, 21-1-2-1 WCHA)
Saturday, February 8 at 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 9 at 12:00 p.m.
LaBahn Arena – Madison, WI

Following a contentious battle this past weekend, the Gopher Women's Hockey team heads into its last full road series of the 2024-2025 regular season and a second-straight top-three matchup nationally. The squad travels to Madison for two more Border Battle games against the #1-ranked University of Wisconsin Badgers at LaBahn Arena, playing Saturday, February 8 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, February 9 at 12:00 p.m.

Game coverage – Saturday's contest will be televised on Fox 9+, and both contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service (Saturday / Sunday). Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Saturday & Sunday, and live stats can be found here.

This season against Wisconsin – Home ice was not kind to the Gophers in their October series against the Badgers, falling 5-0 & 4-3. Wisconsin controlled the opener, holding Minnesota to only 18 shots on goal, all of which were stopped by UW netminder Ava McNaughton. Skylar Vetter kept the Gophers in the game through two periods, stopping 23 of 24 shots, but Wisconsin lit the lamp on four of their first six 3rd-period shots over the opening 7:40 of the stanza. Hannah Clark relieved Vetter for the remainder of the contest, stopping the two shots she faced. After a scoreless first period of the rematch with Clark between the pipes for the Gophers, Sydney Morrow lit the lamp twice in the opening two minutes of period two and Madison Kaiser pushed the Gopher lead to 3-0 at the 8:44 mark of the period. Unfortunately, the Badgers chipped away at that lead, getting a power-play tallies by Laila Edwards & Lacey Eden, the tying goal from Hannah Halverson 4 minutes later, and one more from Casey O'Brien put them ahead with 6:07 to play. McNaughton shut the door on Minnesota the rest of the way, finishing with another 26 saves, while Clark stopped 25 shots. Caroline Harvey assisted on all four Badger goals Saturday to give her five helpers for the weekend, and O'Brien posted a two-goal, two assist series.

Analyzing the Badgers – Wisconsin has been the top team nationally much of the season, having lost only once (at Ohio State in December) and recorded two ties. The Badgers lead the nation in scoring offense (averaging 1.29 goals-per-game more than the next-closest team), scoring defense, scoring margin, power play goals, and power play percentage. They need only a single standings point in their remaining four games to clinch a share of the WCHA Regular-Season Championship, and they'll win it outright if they get that point this weekend.

Individually, Wisconsin boasts 4 of the top 6 scorers nationally. Senior Casey O'Brien (#26) is the NCAA's top point-getter, recording 59 on 18 goals and 41 assists. Junior Laila Edwards (#10) has the most goals in Division I with 26 while dishing out 29 assists for 55 points. Junior Kirsten Simms (#27; 15g, 33a), junior defender Caroline Harvey (#4; 14g, 33a), and senior Lacey Eden (#6; 19g, 21a) have also reached or exceeded the 40-point mark this year.

At the other end of the ice, sophomore netminder Ava McNaughton (#30) has an NCAA-best 1.16 goals-against average and the second-best save percentage at .949 (among qualifying players); she has started all but one of Wisconsin's games, posting a 26-1-2 record with 7 shutouts. Fifth-year player Quinn Kuntz (#35) won her lone start against Maine and has also made 3 relief appearances, stopping 25 of the 26 shots she's faced in 117 minutes of action (.962 SV%, 0.51 GAA). Redshirt sophomore Chloe Baker (#32) has two relief appearances and has stopped all 7 shots she's faced.

Recent action for Wisconsin – Despite being held to only two goals in each game, the Badgers earned a weekend sweep on the road at Minnesota Duluth, winning 2-1 in overtime on Friday and 2-1 in regulation on Saturday. The Bulldogs has 1-0 leads in both contests on goals by Grace Sadura & Olivia Mobley, and Ève Gascon made a combined 86 saves. However, Ava McNaughton stopped the other 53 UMD shots she faced. Marianne Picard tied Friday's game less than six minutes after Sadura's goal, and Casey O'Brien lit the lamp with 37 seconds remaining in overtime, scoring on a rebound. Minnesota Duluth's lead Saturday lasted more than 28 minutes, but Laila Edwards evened the score in the third period and Sarah Wozniewicz netted the game-winning goal 5½ minutes later.

Gophers win Friday, fall Saturday to split with Buckeyes at Ridder

In a hotly contested weekend series at Ridder Arena, the Gopher Women's Hockey had to settle for a split against the Ohio State Buckeyes, winning Friday's game, 3-1, but falling in Saturday's rematch, 7-3.

The series opener remained scoreless after 40 minutes, but Ella Huber converted on a power play just 1:01 into the third period. Huber then doubled the lead at the 7:52 mark and Abbey Murphy pushed the lead to three on another power play 63 seconds later. Former Gopher Emily Zumwinkle lit the lamp for Ohio State with only 2:01 remaining to break up the shutout bid, scoring an extra-attacker goal moments after the Buckeyes had had a 6-on-4 due to a Gopher penalty. Hannah Clark made 25 saves for Minnesota, while Amanda Thiele stopped 19 shots for OSU. Sydney Morrow dished out two assists.

Emma Conner's third goal of the season and two from Peyton Hemp gave the Gophers three different one-goal leads on Saturday, but Sloane Matthews responded each time for the Buckeyes, recording a second-period hat trick and sending the game to the second intermission knotted at 3-3. Ohio State then capitalized on a series of Minnesota penalties, tallying three power-play goals in the first 4:48 of the third period; Mira Jungåker netted the first of those, the eventual game-winner. The Buckeyes tacked on one more with 2:54 to play for the final margin. Clark made another 35 saves for the Gophers, while Hailey MacLeod and Thiele combined for 30 saves for Ohio State. Huber added an assist to her weekend tally to post a 3-point series, while OSU's Makenna Webster had 4 assists across the two games.

Murphy takes sole possession of ninth on GWH career goals list – Netting her 94th goal in the Maroon & Gold, Abbey Murphy moved into sole possession of ninth place on Minnesota Women's Hockey's all-time career goals list, dropping Dani Cameranesi to tenth (with 93 goals). Murphy remains behind both Taylor Heise & Kelly Stephens, who are tied for seventh with 97 collegiate goals.

Wethington earns PNC Achievers Award

Prior to last Friday's game, Gopher fifth-year forward Audrey Wethington was presented a PNC Achievers Award for her excellence in academic achievement, community service, and demonstrating team values, as voted on by her peers and university staff. Congratulations, Audrey!!

Olympic qualifying, Rivalry Series, and other int'l play this week

We provide a reminder that the Gopher Women's Hockey Team will be without forwards Josefin Bouveng & Emma Kreisz in Madison this weekend. Both are competing with their national teams – Sweden and Hungary, respectively – in qualifying tournaments for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Three separate qualifier events begin tomorrow (Thursday, February 6) and run through Sunday (February 9).

Group G: China, France, Japan (host) and Poland
Group H: Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden (host)
Group I: Austria, Germany (host), Hungary, and Slovakia

The winners of each of the three groups will advance to the 2026 Olympics in Milan & Cortina, Italy. It is suspected that the highest-ranked of the three second-place teams from the qualifiers will also advance, following the International Ice Hockey Federation Council's decision to not reintegrate Russia & Belarus into its championships for 2025-2026. The United States, Canada, Czechia, Finland, and Switzerland have already qualified for the Winter Games due to their current world rankings, and Italy will also compete as the host nation.

Once again, we congratulate and send wishes of good luck to Josefin & Emma!!

USA-Canada Rivalry Series – We again also wish good luck to Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae Taylor Heise & Kelly Pannek as they compete as members of the U.S. Women's National Teamfor the fourth and fifth games of the 2024-2025 Rivalry Series against Canada. The squads will meet tomorrow night (Thursday, February 6) at 7 p.m. Atlantic Time / 5 p.m. Central at Scotiabank Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saturday, February 8 at 7 p.m. AT / 5 p.m. CT at Credit Union Place in Summerside, P.E.I., and both games will be televised on NHL Network.

Zumwinkle among four scratched from U.S. roster – Unfortunately, Gopher alum Grace Zumwinkle was one of four players announced Monday as being unavailable for this week's Rivalry Series games as USA Hockey named their roster replacements. Zumwinkle has missed a number of games as a member of the PWHL's Minnesota Frost, and we look forward to seeing her back on the ice soon.

Euro Hockey Tour action – As for the other squads already qualified for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the national teams of Czechia, Finland, and Switzerland are also in action this week, competing in the round-robin 3 Nations Tournament as part of the Euro Hockey Tour. The contests are being held tomorrow through Saturday (Feb. 6-8) at Home Credit Arena in Liberec, Czechia.

Around the WCHA

Tommies upset Huskies Saturday for series split – Sofianna Sundelin scored twice with an assist, Alice Sauriol added a goal and two helpers, and Sanni Ahola made 13 saves to earn her 35th career victory and become St. Cloud State's all-time wins leader as they defeated St. Thomas 5-2 on Friday. However, UST netminder Dani Strom stopped 32 of 33 shots Saturday and finished with 60 saves on the weekend; Ella Boerger scored in the second period & assisted on Lauren Stenslie's goal 36 seconds into overtime for a 2-1 upset of the Huskies despite Sundelin's third goal of the series.

Beavers, Mavericks skate to a series split – Whitney Tuttle scored twice in the second period Friday to erase Minnesota State's two-goal deficit against Bemidji State, but Makenna Deering's second goal of the game – and of the season – 21 seconds into overtime gave the Beavers a 3-2 victory. The Mavericks responded Saturday with two goals and an assist from Alexis Paddington and two assists from Tuttle in a 5-1 win for the weekend split.

Gophers, Buckeyes clinch home ice for WCHA First Round – With these results, Minnesota and Ohio State have clinched home ice for the First Round / quarterfinals of the WCHA Conference Tournament, coming up February 28 through March 2. On the flip side, Ohio State fell out of contention for the WCHA Regular-Season Championship.

Upcoming games – The other three league series this week will be played Friday & Saturday. Minnesota State will host St. Cloud State starting with a Friday matinee game, while St. Thomas visits Ohio State and Bemidji State hosts Minnesota Duluth.

Standings (* clinched home ice for WCHA playoff quarterfinals):
1. Wisconsin* – 65 points (.903 pts%), 21-1-2-1, 1-0 in OT (27-1-2 overall)
2. Minnesota* – 48 points (.727 pts%), 16-5-1-0, 1-0 in OT (22-6-1 overall)
3. Ohio State* – 48 points (.667 pts%), 15-6-3-2, 2-0 in OT (21-6-3 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 36 points (.545 pts%), 10-10-2-2, 0-2 in OT (15-11-2 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 29 points (.455 pts%), 8-10-4-1, 1-1 in OT (13-10-5 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 20 points (.303 pts%), 5-16-1-0, 0-4 in OT (11-16-1 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 16 points (.273 pts%), 5-16-1-1, 2-1 in OT (8-18-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 8 points (.121 pts%), 3-19-0-0, 1-0 in OT (5-23-1 overall)

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Power Play Club

January 29, 2025

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Power Play Club

January 29, 2025

PPC Chalk Talk – this Saturday, February 1 at 12:30 p.m.

Again, the third and final Power Play Club Chalk Talk of the 2024-2025 season with a member of the GWH coaching staff is scheduled for Saturday, February 1 at 12:30 p.m., before the Gophers host the second game of their series against Ohio State. We will be meeting in the Ridder Arena Weight Room on the upper level across the hall from the suites. This is an exclusive event for enrolled 2024-2025 club members, and we hope to see many of you there!!

GWH Senior Celebration – Thursday, February 20
RSVPs due by Monday, February 10

The 2025 Gopher Women's Hockey Senior Celebration is scheduled for Thursday, February 20, at Club Cambria in Huntington Bank Stadium. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. with the meal and program to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children, with payment collected at the event. RSVPs are due by Monday, February 10 to Ashley Holmes by email at holme965@umn.edu or by text at 612-296-0057. More information is available in the event flyer here.

PPC All-Member Meeting – Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m.

Goals for a Goal

As the Gopher Women's Hockey team has surpassed the century mark in goals scored this season, we continue to ask for your help to convert each of those goals into a donation back to the team. Enroll in our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program by submitting your pledge at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the pledge for power play tallies! Through 27 games, Minnesota has lit the lamp 105 times with 23 of those coming on the power play!

#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (21-5-1, 15-4-1-0 WCHA)
vs. #2 Ohio State University Buckeyes (20-5-3, 14-5-3-2 WCHA)
Friday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 p.m.
Ridder Arena

In a top-three matchup both nationally and in the WCHA league standings, the Gopher Women's Hockey team hosts The Ohio State University Buckeyes at Ridder Arena. The action begins Friday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 p.m.

Game coverage – Both contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday). Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Friday & Saturday, and live stats can be found here.

Promotions this weekend – The Gopher Women's Hockey team will be celebrating Fan Appreciation Day on Friday with extra t-shirt tosses, in-seat deliveries and more happening throughout the game! Cub Family 4 Pack ticket packages are also available for Friday's contest here. Saturday is Alumni Day and National Girls & Women in Sports Day, and select GWH players will be signing autographs after the game!

Traffic alerts – Multiple Golden Gopher athletic events are scheduled for both Friday and Saturday. In addition to Women's Hockey at 6 p.m. on Friday, both the Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving teams are holding a meet at Freeman Aquatic Center at 5 p.m. and Gopher Men's Hockey is playing at 3M Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday is extra busy, so much so that the university has issued an official Traffic & Parking Advisory, with Gopher Men's Basketball (11 a.m.), Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving (11 a.m.), Women's Hockey (2 p.m.), Gymnastics (4 p.m.), and Men's Hockey (5 p.m.) all competing at home.

This season against Ohio State – The Gopher Women's Hockey team was only able to get one WCHA standings point in their October trip to Columbus, losing to the Buckeyes, 4-3, in the series opener, playing them to a 1-1 tie in the rematch, but falling 2-1 in a seven-round shootout. Minnesota never led in the series despite goals by Abbey Murphy, Emma Kreisz, Gracie Graham & Josefine Bouveng, plus two assists from Nelli Laitinen; Murphy also had an assist and scored in Saturday's shootout. Joy Dunne, Jocelyne Amos, and Jenna Buglioni each tallied a goal and an assist for OSU in Friday's contest, with Buglioni's goal being the eventual game-winner. Jordyn Petrie scored in the first period on Saturday, and Dunne & Amos lit the lamp in the shootout. Skylar Vetter made 21 saves for Minnesota in the opener and Hannah Clark stopped 29 shots through overtime Saturday, while Amanda Thiele played both games for the Buckeyes, making a combined 52 saves.

Analyzing the Buckeyes – On total league points, Ohio State is in a second-place tie with the Gophers at 45; however, because they have played two additional conference games entering this weekend, they trail on points percentage. Still, the Buckeyes have been ranked #2 in the national polls, ahead of #3 Minnesota, for much of the season.

Sophomores Joy Dunne (#16) and Jocelyne Amos (#17) are tied with a team-high 17 goals apiece; Dunne is also OSU's overall scoring leader, adding 19 assists for 36 points, while Amos has 17 assists for 34 points. Grad student Jenna Buglioni (#10) has also eclipsed the 30-point mark, tallying 15 goals & 16 assists. Two others have surpassed the 20-point threshold, as grad student Kiara Zanon (#11) has 10 goals & 16 assists and junior Emma Peschel (#7) has 5 goals & 19 helpers. Also of note, freshman Jordyn Petrie (#19) has lit the lamp 12 times.

Four different goaltenders have seen action for OSU this season. Grad student Amanda Thiele (#30) has started 18 of the Buckeyes' 28 games, posting a 12-4-2 record with one shutout, a 2.04 goals-against average, and an .892 save percentage. Junior Hailey MacLeod (#35), in her first season in Columbus after two years at Minnesota Duluth, is 7-1-1 in her 9 starts with 3 shutouts, a 1.49 GAA, and a .915 SV%. Junior Lexington Secreto (#34) won her lone start of the season against Stonehill in late October, posting a 9-save shutout, while freshman Genny Klein (#1) stopped 13 of 14 shots (.929 SV%) in a 36-minute relief appearance in OSU's first game against Mercyhurst.

Recent action for Ohio State – Early last week, the Buckeyes defeated Mercyhurst on the road, 5-1; Joy Dunne led all scorers with a goal & an assist, and Hailey MacLeod stopped 15 of 16 shots.

Returning to Columbus, Sloane Matthews & Kiara Zanon each tallied two goals & an assist and Dunne added a goal & two assists as the Buckeyes swept Minnesota State, 5-2 & 4-1, outshooting the Mavericks 78-33. Amanda Thiele stopped 13 of 15 shots Friday and MacLeod made 17 saves on 18 shots Saturday for OSU. Taylor Otremba, JuliAnna Gadzik, and Claire Vekich lit the lamp for MSU.

Gophers earn Field Trip Day, Hockey Day MN sweep of Beavers

The Gopher Women's Hockey team benefitted from several nice passes and a three-goal series from Abbey Murphy – including Saturday's game-winner – to sweep Bemidji State, winning Friday's Field Trip Day game 4-1 and Saturday's outdoor Hockey Day Minnesota contest 3-1.

After a scoreless opening period on Friday in front of a Ridder Arena-record crowd of 3,700 spectators, Peyton Hemp buried a pass from Ella Huber in the second stanza and Audrey Wethington did the same off a Sydney Morrow feed in the third. The Beavers cut their deficit in half just over two minutes later with a goal credited to Mya Hendrick, but Murphy scored on a sharp-angle shot with 3:15 to play and added an empty-netter with 41.9 seconds to go. Hannah Clark made 17 saves, while BSU's Eva Filippova stopped 34 shots.

Emma Kreisz scored 7 minutes into Saturday's contest off a crisp pass from Emma Conner. Murphy followed with her third goal of the weekend 3½ minutes later, splitting two Bemidji State defenders on her way to the net. Gracie Graham was the beneficiary of a Peyton Hemp pass, lighting the lamp in the second period to push the Gopher lead to 3-0. Bemidji State's Morgan Smith converted on a 5-on-3 power play, but the Gopher defense held the Beavers to only one shot on goal in the third period and Clark finished with 10 saves for the victory. Kaitlin Groess stopped 35 shots for BSU.

Murphy reaches ninth on GWH career goals list – With her performance against the Beavers, Abbey Murphy improved to ninth on Minnesota Women's Hockey's all-time career goals list, moving into a tie with Dani Cameranesi at 93. She sits behind both Taylor Heise & Kelly Stephens, who are tied for seventh with 97 collegiate goals.

Rosters announced for upcoming international play

Bouveng, Kreisz headed to Olympic qualifying – Current Gopher Women's Hockey forwards Josefin Bouveng & Emma Kreisz were named to their respective national teams to play in final-round Olympic qualification tournaments coming up on February 6-9.

Bouveng was named to Sweden's Women's National Team roster yesterday for the "Group H" qualifier they are hosting in the city of Gävle. They will be facing Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Kreisz was named to the roster of Team Hungary last week. They will be playing in the "Group I" qualifier against Austria, Slovakia, and host nation Germany in the city of Bremerhaven. Before the tournament, they are also scheduled to play the Germans in an exhibition contest in Kassel this Saturday, February 1.

A third qualifier ("Group G") will be hosted by Japan and includes China, France, and Poland.

The winners of each of the three groups will advance to the 2026 Winter Games in Milan & Cortina, Italy. The United States, Canada, Czechia, Finland, Switzerland, and (if reinstated) Russia have already qualified due to their current world rankings, and Italy will also compete as the host nation.

Congratulations and good luck, Josefin & Emma!!

USA-Canada Rivalry Series: GWH alums Heise, Pannek, Zumwinkle named to American roster – Minnesota Women's Hockey alumnae Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, and Grace Zumwinkle, all currently members of the PWHL's Minnesota Frost, were named among 21 players who will comprise the U.S. Women's National Team roster for the fourth and fifth games of the 2024-2025 Rivalry Series against Canada. The squads will meet next Thursday, February 6 at 7 p.m. Atlantic Time / 5 p.m. Central at Scotiabank Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saturday, February 8 at 7 p.m. AT / 5 p.m. CT at Credit Union Place in Summerside, P.E.I. Tickets are available through Hockey Canada & TicketMaster.ca, and both games will be televised on NHL Network. Canada leads this year's series, winning two of the first three games played in November. Good luck Taylor, Kelly & Grace!!

Around the WCHA...

Brausen named head coach at St. Thomas – The University of St. Thomas named Bethany Brausen as head coach of the Tommies Women's Hockey team on Sunday (January 26), removing the interim tag from her title. She assumed the interim head coaching role in November, and had served as the Tommies top assistant coach or acting head coach since joining the program in 2021. Brausen is a Gopher Women's Hockey alumna and a member of the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Championship teams. We send Bethany our congratulations and best wishes.

Tommies upset Bulldogs... twice – The announcement of Brausen's hiring follows surprising results from Mendota Heights earlier in the weekend. Behind a five-point performance (1g, 4a) from Lauren Stenslie, two goals & an assist by Rylie Bartz, 73 saves from Dani Strom, and game-winning tallies by Ilsa Lindaman & Ella Boerger, St. Thomas came from behind twice to sweep Minnesota Duluth, 3-2 and 4-3 (OT). In Thursday's series opener, Maddie Brown pulled the Tommies even, 2-2, midway through the third period, and Lindman scored with 25.5 seconds remaining. The rematch Friday saw Stenslie net the tying goal in the third period and Boerger lit the lamp 3:05 into overtime. UMD's Mary Kate O'Brien and Danielle Burgen each tallied a goal & an assist in the series and Ève Gascon stopped a combined 37 shots.

Badgers get win, tie, bonus point vs. Huskies – Laney Potter, Cassie Hall, and Lacey Eden each recorded a goal & an assist as Wisconsin defeated St. Cloud State 5-2 Saturday despite a 44-save performance by Sanni Ahola. Ally Qualley gave SCSU a brief lead Sunday, but Eden and Kirsten Simms both converted power plays to put Wisconsin ahead; however, Laura Zimmermann scored for the Huskies 8:42 into the third period, and Emilia Kyrkkö finished with 30 saves for a 2-2 overtime tie. The Badgers earned the bonus point as Simms netted the only goal of the subsequent shootout.

Upcoming games – All four league series this week feature Friday & Saturday contests. Two will start with Friday afternoon games as St. Thomas plays St. Cloud State home-and-home, beginning in St. Cloud, and Bemidji State hosts Minnesota State. Meanwhile, Wisconsin heads north to face Minnesota Duluth.

Standings (* clinched home ice for WCHA playoff quarterfinals):
1. Wisconsin* – 60 points (.909 pts%), 19-1-2-1, 0-0 in OT (25-1-2 overall)
2. Minnesota – 45 points (.750 pts%), 15-4-1-0, 1-0 in OT (21-5-1 overall)
3. Ohio State – 45 points (.682 pts%), 14-5-3-2, 2-0 in OT (20-5-3 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 35 points (.583 pts%), 10-8-2-2, 0-1 in OT (15-9-2 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 25 points (.417 pts%), 7-9-4-1, 1-0 in OT (12-9-5 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 16 points (.267 pts%), 4-15-1-0, 0-3 in OT (10-15-1 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 14 points (.233 pts%), 4-15-1-1, 1-1 in OT (7-17-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 6 points (.100 pts%), 2-18-0-0, 0-0 in OT (4-22-1 overall)

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Paula Rice Biever

January 21, 2025

The Penalty Box Post - Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Paula Rice Biever

January 21, 2025

Looking ahead:

PPC Chalk Talk, February 1 at 12:30 p.m.

The third and final Power Play Club Chalk Talk of the 2024-2025 season with a member of the GWH coaching staff is scheduled for Saturday, February 1 at 12:30 p.m., before the Gophers host the second game of their series against Ohio State. We will again be meeting in the Ridder Arena Weight Room, on the upper level across the hall from the suites. This is an exclusive event for enrolled 2024-2025 club members, and we hope to see many of you there!!

Goals for a Goal

The lamp keeps lighting up for the Gopher Women's Hockey team!! With five weekends left in the regular season, Minnesota has tallied 98 goals with twenty-three (23) coming on the power play! Help us convert each of those goals into a donation back to the team by enrolling in our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program. Submit your pledge at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the pledge for power play tallies! GO GOPHERS!!

Playoff ticket reminders...

2025 WCHA Final Faceoff, March 7-8 in Duluth – All-session packages for the WCHA Final Faceoff, sponsored by Kwik Trip, are now on sale. The tournament will be played at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth on Friday & Saturday, March 7 and 8. Ticket can be purchased through the UMD Ticketmaster site. Reserved seats – primarily from the faceoff dots at one end of the ice to the other, with some handicapped seating on the concourse – are $35 for adults and $25 for youth & seniors, while general admission seating in all other sections is $25 for adults and $20 for youth & seniors. Single-session tickets will go on sale at a later date.

2025 NCAA Frozen Four, March 21 & 23 at Ridder Arena – The University of Minnesota is once again hosting the NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis, and tickets are now on sale through the U. of M. Ticket Office. Chairback seating is $50 for adults and $35 for seniors, students & children, while bench seating is $40 for adults and $25 for seniors, students & children. Reduced rate seating for groups of 15 or more is also available. Single-day tickets are also on sale.

#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (19-5-1, 13-4-1-0 WCHA)
vs. Bemidji State University Beavers (4-20-1, 2-16-0-0 WCHA)

Field Trip Day at Ridder Arena – Friday, January 24 at 12:00 p.m.

Hockey Day Minnesota 2025 - Saturday, January 25 at 11:30 a.m.
Valleyfair Amusement Park – Shakopee

Minnesota and Bemidji State square off in their last two meetings of the 2024-2025 regular season with a pair of special games. The Gophers host their first Field Trip Day at Ridder Arena on Friday, January 24, with puck drop scheduled for 12:00 p.m. The two teams will then take things outside on Saturday, January 25, for Hockey Day Minnesota 2025 at Valleyfair Amusement Park in Shakopee, scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. start.

Ticket information – Friday's Field Trip Day game is sold out; if you are still in need of tickets to the game, you are encouraged to check the SEATGEEK secondary market.

Tickets for Saturday's full slate of Hockey Day Minnesota games can be purchased here and include admission into the Hockey Day Village and Valleyfair itself.

Saturday parking – On-site parking is available for Saturday but on a pre-pay basis only through the Hockey Day MN ticketing site. Two off-site shuttle options are also available: SouthWest Transit is running a $6 round-trip shuttle service from the SouthWest Station in Eden Prairie (with free rides for kids 5 & under and for disabled veterans with ID), while a free shuttle service is will be running from Mystic Lake Casino Hotel at their bus entrance. Maps and more details are available here.

Game coverage – Friday's game will be streamed on the B1G+ subscription service here. Saturday's contest will be televised on Fan Duel Sports North (check with your cable or satellite service provider for availability) and streamed through the FDSN subscription service. Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Friday & Saturday, and live stats can be found here.

This season against Bemidji State – The Gophers are 3-0 against the Beavers in 2024-2025, sweeping their early November series in Bemidji, 2-1 & 4-1, and winning the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women's Faceoff Classic by a 4-1 score on New Year's Day. Natalie Mlynkova has 6 of Minnesota's 10 goals plus an assist against BSU, recording a hat trick and her assist in the Hall of Fame Game. Abbey Murphy (2g, 3a) and Ella Huber (1g, 4a) each have 5 points against the Beavers. In net, Hannah Clark has all three wins, stopping a combined 51 of 54 shots for a 1.02 goals-against average and .944 save percentage, and Sophia Johnson made her collegiate debut in a short relief appearance in Bemidji but did not face an official shot on goal. Izy Fairchild, Morgan Smith, and Kate Johnson lit the lamp for the Beavers, Kaitlin Groess stopped 55 of 61 shots (3.06 GAA, .902 SV%) in the two games at the Sanford Center, and Eva Filippova made 28 saves (.903 SV%) in the third meeting.

Analyzing the Beavers – Bemidji State finds itself still stuck at the bottom of the WCHA standings, only recording a home sweep of St. Thomas in mid-November over their 18 league games. Their other success came in non-conference play, earning a win and tie against Lindenwood in October and their program's biggest come-from-behind victory against Brown earlier this month.

A trio of underclassmen lead the Beavers in scoring, as sophomore Hailey Armstrong (#29), freshman Morgan Smith (#21), and redshirt freshman Isa Goettl (#9) each have 13 points. Armstrong is BSU's goals leader with 8 while dishing out 5 assists, Smith has 7 goals & 6 assists, and Goettl is tied with a team-high 7 assists while lighting the lamp 6 times herself. Sophomore Kate Johnson (#14) also has 7 assists and two goals.

As we noted prior to the Hall of Fame Game, four different goaltenders have seen action for BSU this season. Freshman Kaitlin Groess (#1) is now 3-12-0 in 15 starts, with her goals-against average at 3.36 and her save percentage at .901. Sophomore Eva Filippova (#30) has started four games this month (including the New Year's Day contest against the Gophers) but remains winless at 0-6-0 with a 3.87 GAA and .881 SV%. Freshman Lauren Mooney (#35) is 1-0-1 with the tie against Lindenwood and the win over Brown, posting a 3.36 GAA and .841 SV%. Grad student Josie Bothun (#33) lost her two starts with a 5.88 GAA and .813 SV%, and she has not played since the second weekend of the season.

Last weekend for Bemidji State – St. Cloud State netminder Emilia Kyrkkö made 17 saves and Alice Sauriol dished out assists on goals by Emma Gentry, Sofianna Sundelin (PP), and Siiri Yrjölä (PP) to shut out the Beavers in the weekend opener, 3-0. Izy Fairchild and Isa Goettl lit the lamp to put Bemidji State up 2-0 early in the second period of the rematch, but Yrjölä and Laura Zimmermann converted two more power plays for the Huskies to even the score and Sundelin lit the lamp with just 1:09 remaining in the third period to give SCSU a 3-2 victory and the series sweep. Sauriol recorded two more assists to finish with 5 points. BSU's Kaitlin Groess took Friday's loss despite a 28-save performance, and Eva Filippova stopped 18 shots on Saturday.

Gophers earn home-and-home sweep of Minnesota State

Josefin Bouveng (4g, 3a) & Abbey Murphy (2g, 5a) each recorded 7 points as the Gopher Women's Hockey team completed a home-and-home sweep of Minnesota State, 8-3 and 5-2. Bouveng netted her second career hat trick in Saturday's contest in Mankato.

Josefin opened the scoring Friday just 1:01 into the game. MSU's Bella Shipley lit the lamp eight minutes later to even the score, 1-1, but Emma Kreisz put home a loose puck after a goal-mouth scramble late in the first period to put the Gophers back in the lead. Murphy buried a wrister 20 seconds into the 2nd period, though the Mavericks closed back within one on a goal by Kianna Roeske. But Ella Huber and Chloe Primerano (power play) pushed the Gopher lead to 5-2 at the second intermission and Gracie Graham lit the lamp twice in the third to make it 7-2. Alexis Paddington converted a Minnesota State power play, but Peyton Hemp tacked on a short-handed goal for the final result.

The Gophers got an early power play in the rematch and Bouveng finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play from Primerano & Murphy for a 1-0 lead 1:47 into the first period. Allie Franco scored her second goal of the season before the first intermission, Murphy buried a rebound of a shot by Huber 3:18 into the second period, and Bouveng put home a centering pass from Kreisz to put the Gophers up 4-0. Paddington netted her second power-play goal of the weekend and JuliAnna Gazdik lit the lamp halfway through the 3rd stanza to bring the Mavericks within two. However, with MSU's net empty for an extra attacker, Murphy outraced an MSU defender to negate a potential icing call and found Bouveng for the insurance goal and the hat trick.

Hannah Clark stopped a combined 44 shots for the two wins. Hailey Hansen made 42 saves in just over 5 periods of action for Minnesota State, and Jessie McPherson added 8 saves in a 17-minute relief appearance.

Huber finished with 5 points, recording 4 assists to go with her goal. Primerano & Franco also posted 3-point weekends with two assists apiece to go with their respective goals.

Primerano earns weekly award following return to the Gophers

With her one-goal, two-assist performance this past weekend against Minnesota State, Gopher Women's Hockey defender Chloe Primerano was named WCHA Rookie of the Week. This is the second weekly award for Primerano after she was named Defender of the Week following the December series at St. Thomas. It also marks the fourth-straight weekend of action the Gophers have played resulting in a Player of the Week honor. Congratulations, Chloe!!

Gopher news and notes...

Murphy breaks into GWH Top-10 for goals – Abbey Murphy's two goals against Minnesota State were the 89th and 90th of her Gopher career. In reaching 90, Murphy is now 10th all-time in Minesota Women's Hockey history (passing Ambria Thomas' 89); she now sits 3 behind Dani Cameranesi for ninth place.

Additional milestone watches – With her 7 points against the Mavericks, junior forward Josefine Bouveng has 93 career points (39g, 54a), quickly approaching the century mark! Meanwhile, senior Ella Huber's goal this past Friday was the 44th of her collegiate career as she closes in on the 50-goal mark!

Klepinger named to Dean's List – We give a special shout-out to Gopher Women's Hockey sophomore defender Elly Klepinger upon being named to the Dean's List for the Fall 2024 term!! We provide an apology for overlooking her in last week's Penalty Box Post. Keep up the great work, Elly!!

Around the WCHA...

Buckeyes earn road sweep over Bulldogs – Minnesota Duluth netminder Ève Gascon made a career single-game high 58 saves on Friday and added 44 more on Saturday, but five different players lit the lamp for Ohio State as they earned 3-1 and 2-1 victories in Duluth. Kiara Zanon and Joy Dunne each recorded a goal and an assist for OSU, while Olivia Wallin did the same for UMD.

Badgers trounce Tommies – Laila Edwards posted a 9-point series, including a four-goal, one-assist performance on Saturday, as Wisconsin blew out St. Thomas in Mendota Heights, 6-1 & 11-1. Casey O'Brien (3g, 3a) and Kirsten Simms (6a) each tallied six points over the weekend, and Cassie Hall lit the lamp four times (twice in each game). Lauren Stenslie (PP) and Maddy Clough found the back of the net for UST. With their wins, Wisconsin has already secured home ice to open the WCHA conference playoffs at the end of February.

Upcoming games – Ohio State is in Erie, PA, tonight (Tuesday, 1/21) for their rescheduled non-conference game against Mercyhurst. Following that, this coming weekend's action stretches from Thursday through Sunday: St. Thomas will host Minnesota Duluth to open things up on Thursday night and Friday afternoon, Minnesota State will visit Ohio State for a Friday-Saturday series, and St. Cloud State will travel to Madison to face Wisconsin on Saturday and Sunday.

Standings (* clinched home ice for WCHA playoff quarterfinals):
1. Wisconsin* – 55 points (.917 pts%), 18-1-1-0, 0-0 in OT (24-1-1 overall)
2. Minnesota – 39 points (.722 pts%), 13-4-1-0, 1-0 in OT (19-5-1 overall)
3. Ohio State – 39 points (.650 pts%), 12-5-3-2, 2-0 in OT (17-5-3 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 34 points (.630 pts%), 10-6-2-2, 0-0 in OT (15-7-2 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 24 points (.444 pts%), 7-8-3-1, 1-0 in OT (12-8-4 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 16 points (.296 pts%), 4-13-1-0, 0-3 in OT (10-13-1 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 9 points (.167 pts%), 2-15-1-1, 0-1 in OT (5-17-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 6 points (.111 pts%), 2-16-0-0, 0-0 in OT (4-20-1 overall)

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Power Play Club

January 15, 2025

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Power Play Club

January 15, 2025

Goals for a Goal

With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has tallied 85 goals, twenty-one (21) of which have come on the power play! We ask for your help in fundraising for the team through our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program, converting each time the Gophers light the lamp into a donation back to the program. Submit your pledge at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the pledge for power play tallies! GO GOPHERS!!

Ticket reminders for next two weekends

Cub Family 4 Packs, January 17 – Gopher Women's Hockey is offering Cub Family 4 Packs for this Friday's (Jan. 17) game against Minnesota State at Ridder Arena. For $54, you'll receive 4 game tickets, 4 boxed candy, snacks or popcorn, 4 regular (20 oz.) fountain sodas or bottled waters, PLUS a $5 coupon off $50 at Cub Foods. You can purchase your 4 Pack here.

SOLD OUT!! January 24 Field Trip Day game vs. BSU – The Gopher Women's Hockey "Field Trip Day" game at Ridder Arena against Bemidji State on Friday, January 24 at noon is sold out. If you are still in need of tickets to the game, you are encouraged to check the SEATGEEK secondary market. Those attending the game are encouraged to plan accordingly and arrive early to avoid parking and entry congestion.

Hockey Day Minnesota game vs. Bemidji State, January 25 – The second game of the upcoming series against the Beavers will be played as part of Hockey Day Minnesota on Saturday, January 25 at 11:30 a.m. at Valleyfair Amusement Park in Shakopee. Tickets can be purchased at here. Please note those for Saturday are $79 each, though that covers the full slate of games being played that day plus admission into the Hockey Day Village and Valleyfair itself.

#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-5-1, 11-4-1-0 WCHA)
vs. Minnesota State Univ. Mavericks (10-11-1, 4-11-1-0 WCHA)

Friday, January 17, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. – Ridder Arena
Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. - Mayo Clinic Health System Events Center – Mankato

With five games down since the start of the calendar year, the Gopher Women's Hockey team heads into a home-and-home series against the Minnesota State University Mavericks. Action begins at Ridder Arena on Friday, January 17, at 6:00 p.m. before moving to the Mayo Clinic Health System Events Center in Mankato on Saturday, January 18, at 2:00 p.m.

Game coverage – Both contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday), and Saturday's game will also be televised on Fox 9+. Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Friday & Saturday, and live stats can be found here.

Last time against Minnesota State – While the Gophers earned a sweep of their previous series against the Mavericks, also played home-and-home, by scores of 8-2 and 3-2, the contest in Mankato required overtime. Natalie Mlynkova opening the scoring just 43 seconds into Friday's contest at Ridder, her first of four points (2 goals, 2 assists) on the weekend including an assist on Saturday's OT game-winner by Peyton Hemp. Hemp's goal at the 2:01 mark of the extra period Saturday was the third time she lit the lamp in the series, earlier converting a pair of power plays (one in each game). Josefin Bouveng & Abbey Murphy each added a goal and three helpers, Ella Huber tallied a goal and two assists, and Lauren O'Hara, Madison Kaiser, and Ava Lindsay also scored. Hannah Clark made 18 saves Friday, while Skylar Vetter stopped 13 shots Saturday and also earned an offensive assist on Lindsay's goal. Whitney Tuttle and Madison Mashuga each recorded a goal and two assists in the series for MSU, Hailey Hansen made 27 saves Friday, and Jessie McPherson stopped 34 shots Saturday.

Analyzing the Mavericks – Minnesota State has seen some successes throughout this season, including a perfect 6-0 record in non-conference play, 4-1 upsets over both St. Cloud State and Ohio State, a 3-3 tie against UMD and taking the Gophers to overtime. However, they have struggled at times as well, including being swept in their conference opening series against St. Thomas. Their 4-11-1-0 mark in league play is boosted by three of their losses coming in OT, but their 16 points still puts them sixth in the standings.

Senior Madison Mashuga (#22) is MSU's leader in total points (21) and assists (13) while lighting the lamp 8 times herself. Junior Taylor Otremba (#24) joins Mashuga as a 20-point scorer, recording 10 goals and 10 assists. Grad student Jamie Nelson (#10) is third in scoring with 16 points on 6 goals and 10 assists. Junior Whitney Tuttle (#7) holds the Mavericks' lead in goals with 11 – bolstered by a four-goal game two weekends ago at Lindenwood – while dishing out 4 assists for 15 points.

Sophomore Hailey Hansen (#33) has started 14 of MSU's 22 games, posting a 7-6-1 record with 2 shutouts, a 2.61 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Grad student Jessie McPherson (#91) is 2-3-0 in her 5 starts with a 2.60 GAA and .897 SV%, while senior Suzette Faucher (#31) is 1-2-0 with a shutout in her three starts, posting a 3.05 GAA and .886 SV%. Junior Avery Stilwell (#1) remains listed on the MSU roster as their fourth netminder.

Last weekend for Minnesota State – Hailey Hansen made a combined 92 saves for the Mavericks in their series at Wisconsin, including 50 on Sunday, but they came up short as the Badgers earned a sweep, 6-2 and 3-1. Alexis Paddington led MSU with a goal & an assist, Jamie Nelson dished out two helpers, and Madison Mashuga & Claire Vekich also scored. Lacey Eden recorded 4 points for UW with a goal and an assist in each game, Casey O'Brien added two goals and an assist, Laila Edwards dished out 3 helpers, and Ava McNaughton stopped 47 of 50 shots.

Gophers sweep St. Thomas in return to WCHA play

Emma Kreisz dished out four assists on Friday and Gracie Graham tallied a combined one goal & three assists as the Gopher Women's Hockey team earned a home sweep of the St. Thomas Tommies, 4-2 and 5-1.

Following a scoreless first period in the opening contest, Minnesota lit the lamp in all three facets of play in the second stanza as Audrey Wethington netted her first goal of the season on a power play, Ava Lindsay scored short-handed, and Emma Conner added an even-strength goal. The Tommies closed within 3-2 in the third period on goals by Nora Sauer and Maddie Clough (PP), but they pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker despite being short-handed and Allie Franco tallied her first goal of the season with a power-play empty-netter.

Graham got the Gophers on the board early on Saturday, scoring on the team's first shot on goal just 1:17 into the contest. She follow it up with an assist as Sydney Morrow lit the lamp on the next shot just 46 seconds later, making it 2-0. UST's Nicole Vallario cut Minnesota's lead to 2-1 later in the first period, but Natalie Mlynkova, Abbey Murphy, and Peyton Hemp (PP) found the back of the net in the third for the four-goal victory.

Lindsay had two assists to go with her goal, Nelli Laitinen recorded 3 assists, and Hannah Clark made a combined 34 saves to earn the two wins. Dani Strom stopped 60 shots for the Tommies.

Recognition, recognition, and more recognition...

With her 4-point (1g, 3a) performance this past weekend against St. Thomas, Gopher Women's Hockey freshman Gracie Graham was named WCHA Defender of the Week. It is the first award of her collegiate career. Congratulations, Gracie!!

Gopher Women's Hockey graduate student Audrey Wethington was one of 14 men's and women's players named as nominees for the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award by the HHA Foundation yesterday. The honor is given to “a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.”

Finalists will be named in February, and the award will be presented during the Men's Frozen Four Weekend on Friday, April 11.

Congratulations, Audrey!!

Back on the ice, we give a shout-out to Gopher freshman Hannah Clark upon being named to the 'Watch List' for 2025 Women's Goalie of the Year by the Hockey Commissioners Association. The initial list is comprised of those with a goals against average of 2.10 or lower or a save percentage of .920 or higher, and will be pared down before the winner is announced in March. Congratulations and good luck, Hannah!!

Finally, we give another shout-out to the entire Gopher Women's Hockey team for their work in the classroom, posting a composite 3.57 grade-point average for the Fall 2024 term! Additionally (named as pictured at right), Krista Parkkonen, Audrey Wethington, Gracie Graham, Maggie Nicholson, and Ayla Puppe recorded perfect 4.0 marks, and they were joined by Allie Franco, Peyton Hemp, Nelli Laitinen, Sydney Morrow, Lauren O'Hara, and Chloe Primerano on the Dean's List!!

Excellent work, ladies!!

IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship wrap-up:
Canada shuts out U.S. for gold; Primerano, Fanale honored

In their only meeting at the 2025 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship, Canada shut out Team USA 3-0 in the Gold Medal Game to claim the title behind a 14-save performance from Marilou Grenier and goals by Caileigh Tiller, Dorothy Copetti & Stryker Zablocki. Goaltender Morgan Stickney made 26 saves for the Americans.

Captaining the Canadian squad, current Gopher defender Chloe Primerano posted 10 points in the tournament on 4 goals and 6 assists. Added with her single-tournament record 16 points (8g, 8a) last year, she became the all-time leader for scoring by a defender in IIHF U18 Women's Wolrd Championship play. Including another 10 points tallied in other competitions, her total of 36 became the new all-time record for the most scored with Canada's U18 Women's National Team.

Future Gopher Bella Fanale, serving as captain of Team USA, was the top-scoring American at the tournament, lighting the lamp 5 times and adding 4 assists for 9 points. Over three U18 Women's Worlds, she finishes with 13 points on 6 goals & 7 assists.

Both Primerano and Fanale were recognized for their play at this year's tournament. Primerano was named the Best Defender, Fanale earned the award as the Best Forward, and both were named to the media's All-Star Team. Congratulations, Chloe & Bella!!

Around the WCHA...

Buckeyes shut out the Beavers – Ohio State goaltenders Amanda Thiele and Hailey MacLeod combined to stop all 30 shots the faced from Bemidji State. Meanwhile, Jocelyne Amos lit the lamp 4 times Friday and dished out 3 assists Saturday for a 7-point series as the Buckeyes posted 6-0 and 4-0 wins for the weekend sweep. Kaitlin Groess made 38 saves for BSU on Friday and Eva Filippova stopped 40 shots Saturday.

Bulldogs shut out the Huskies – Minnesota Duluth netminder Ève Gascon posted back-to-back 24-save clean sheets and Olivia Mobley lit the lamp three times as they swept St. Cloud State by matching 3-0 scores. Emilia Kyrkkö stopped 31 shots for SCSU on Friday and Sanni Ahola made 29 saves Saturday.

Upcoming games – With the other three series also being played this Friday and Saturday, Bemidji State visits St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth hosts Ohio State, and Wisconsin travels to St. Thomas. After the weekend, Ohio State heads to Mercyhurst for a Tuesday night non-conference matchup.

Standings:
1. Wisconsin – 49 points (.907 pts%), 16-1-1-0, 0-0 in OT (22-1-1 overall)
2. Minn. Duluth – 34 points (.708 pts%), 10-4-2-2, 0-0 in OT (15-5-2 overall)
3. Minnesota – 33 points (.688 pts%), 11-4-1-0, 1-0 in OT (17-5-1 overall)
4. Ohio State – 33 points (.611 pts%), 10-5-3-2, 2-0 in OT (15-5-3 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 18 points (.375 pts%), 5-8-3-1, 1-0 in OT (10-8-4 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 16 points (.333 pts%), 4-11-1-0, 0-3 in OT (10-11-1 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 9 points (.188 pts%), 2-13-1-1, 0-1 in OT (5-15-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 6 points (.125 pts%), 2-14-0-0, 0-0 in OT (4-18-1 overall)

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