PPC Board of Directors Meeting – Tuesday, June 3 at 7 p.m.
The next Power Play Club Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for this Tuesday, June 3 at 7 p.m. The primary topic will be PPC membership levels and their minimum donation amounts for the 2025-2026 season, potentially including incorporating NIL donations through Dinkytown Athletes. The meeting will be held online via Zoom and is open to all club members who were enrolled for the 2024-2025 season; please contact PPC president Bill Johnson (billjohnson013@gmail.com) or vice president Dave Malerich (dmalerich@yahoo.com) if you wish to attend.
Minnesota Frost, five GWH alumnae repeat as PWHL Champions
The Minnesota Frost defeated the Ottawa Charge three games to one in the 2025 PWHL Finals this past Monday (May 26) to repeat as Walter Cup champions after claiming the league's inaugural title last year. After dropping the first game of the best-of-five series 2-1 in overtime, the Frost responded with three overtime victories of their own, all by 2-1 scores.
We first send congratulations to the four Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae playing for the Frost: Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, and Grace Zumwinkle! Stecklein led the league in playoff scoring this season with 8 points on 4 goals and 4 assists; Heise tallied 7 points on a goal & 6 helpers; Pannek added 2 goals and 3 assists, including the opening goal in the clinching Finals Game 4 victory; and Zumwinkle dished out 3 assists.
We also congratulate another GWH alumna, Frost assistant coach Mira Jalosuo, who has been a member of their staff for both seasons!
PWHL expansion process starts Tuesday – With the completion of the 2024-2025 PWHL season, attention quickly turns to 2025-2026. As previously reported, the process for setting the rosters for the new PWHL expansion teams in Vancouver and Seattle begins this Tuesday, June 3, with the noon ET deadline for the existing six clubs to set their initial lists of three protected players apiece. Vancouver and Seattle will then have between Wednesday, June 4 at 9 a.m. ET and next Sunday, June 8 at 5 p.m. ET to sign a maximum of five players each, with any unprotected player or any player on an expiring contract eligible to be signed. After that, the 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft will take place the evening of Monday, June 9, at 8:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. CT, with the new clubs each filling their roster to 12 players.
We are still awaiting coverage details for the Expansion Draft. We will share that information plus any GWH alumna announcements on our social media accounts as they become available.
Graham named Lindahl Academic Center
Student-Athlete of Month for May
We send a shout-out to GWH defender Gracie Graham, who was named yesterday as one of two Student-Athletes of the Month for May by the Lindahl Academic Center at the U. of M. Congratulations, Gracie!!
IIHF sets schedules for lower-tier 2026 Women's World tournaments, but Top Division event remains TBA
The follow-up report from the recently-concluded IIHF Annual Congress, held this year in Stockholm, Sweden, listed the dates and locations of the six lower-tier 2026 Women's World Championship tournaments, but conspicuously omitted any announcement as to the same for the Top Division event.
Here's a list of those lower-tier tournaments with the teams participating. Host nations are indicated in bold typeface.
Division I, Group A – China, France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Slovakia
Division I, Group B – Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain
Division II, Group A – Australia, Chinese Taipei, Iceland, North Korea, Poland, Slovenia
Division II, Group B – Belgium, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, Ukraine
Division III, Group A – Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Thailand, Turkiye
Division III, Group B – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Estonia, Israel, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa
As reported last month, the Top Division 2026 IIHF Women's World Championship is expected to be held next April, putting it only two months after the Olympic Winter Games. Teams participating in the World Championship include Austria, Czechia, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States in Group A, and Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, and Sweden in Group B.
“March On to Victory” fundraising campaign continues
The March On to Victory Spring fundraising campaign from the U. of M. Intercollegiate Athletics Department, supporting each of the 19 Gopher varsity athletics teams, the Spirit Squads, and the department-wide Golden Gopher Fund, is approaching its halfway mark. The campaign continues through Tuesday, June 24.
As of 8:30 p.m. last night (Saturday, May 31), Gopher Women's Hockey remained with the third-highest amount raised for any of the individual programs!!
Links:
All gifts made through June 30, including those given as part of the “March On to Victory” campaign, count toward the Gopher Loyalty Program's member levels and their associated rewards for the 2025-2026 season. Rewards include Ridder Arena Club Room access at the $1,000 combined giving level. Previous contributions made since Nov. 1, 2024 – including 2024-2025 Power Play Club basic membership & locker sponsorships, Give to the Max Day 2024 giving, and '24-'25 Goals for a Goal donations – count toward '25-'26 Gopher Loyalty Program rewards.
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