The Penalty Box Post Newsletters sent on Wednesday, September 10th and Wednesday, September 17th, are combined in this entry.
Reminder: PPC membership for 2025-2026 open at all levels!
First member-exclusive Chalk Talk scheduled for November 15
Registration to the Power Play Club for the 2025-2026 season remains open AT ALL LEVELS as Gopher Women's Hockey enters its 29th season of competition! Your annual membership enrollment donations are our biggest source of financial support for the team, last year raising more than $34,000.
Locker Sponsor level – Please consider sponsoring a GWH player's or coach's locker through our top membership tier. The donor's name is posted on a nameplate next to the locker, and donors will have an opportunity to meet with their respective player(s) at our event in January (with pictures and a team meal). A minimum $1,000 donation (per locker) is required, though any amount over and above that is encouraged. If you are interested, either as a renewing or new Locker Sponsor, please contact Bob Milligan at milligandanes@gmail.com as soon as possible but do not submit a donation at this time; donation instructions for Locker Sponsors will be sent at the start of November.
Basic Membership level – A minimum donation of $125 is required for our basic membership tier, which includes up to two adults and any children at same address. Online registration is preferred at z.umn.edu/PPC25; click the "Make A Gift" button on that page and follow the instructions. To register offline, download the form here and send it in to the listed address, with a check payable to the "University of Minnesota".
Chalk Talk access – Exclusive access to our three in-person Chalk Talk events is included with Power Play Club membership at either level. Come join us pre-game to hear from one of the GWH coaches as we discuss team strategy and the previous contest. The first Chalk Talk for 2025-2026 is scheduled for Saturday, November 15, at 12:30 p.m., prior to the second game of the series against Bemidji State, in the Ridder Arena weight room on the suite (upper) level.
Recently added – Exhibition special!
#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Bemidji State Univ. Beavers
Saturday, September 20 at 3:00 p.m.
Essentia Health Sports Center – Brainerd, MN
In a late addition to the schedule first announced earlier this month, the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Women's Hockey team will face the Bemidji State University Beavers in exhibition action this Saturday, September 20 at 3:00 p.m. at the Essentia Health Sports Center in Brainerd, MN.
Game notes – The contest in Brainerd is open to the public and tickets are $5 at the door. However, due to this game being an exhibition at a neutral site, no live coverage will be provided; we will post any updates we can via our social media channels. While we note that Bemidji State enters the season with only 2 seniors but 8 new freshmen, we are withholding our full preview of the Beavers until they come to the Twin Cities for their first regular-season meetings with the Gophers in November.
Gopher Preview – Murphy returns, joined by 10 new faces
Heading into 2025-2026, likely the biggest news of the off-season came back in May with the announcement that Abbey Murphy would return, using her final year of eligibility. She posted 33 goals in 2024-2025, the second-straight year she reached that mark, and added 32 assists for a career-high 65 points and a second Top 10 Finalist selection for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
That said, Minnesota is looking to replace the combined 47 goals and 68 assists scored last season by graduates Ella Huber (15g, 33a), Natalie Mlýnková (16g, 18a), and Peyton Hemp (16g, 17a). Senior Josefin Bouveng will be challenged to return to sophomore-season form, posting only 33 points last year (13g, 20a) after hitting the 50-point mark in 2023-2024. The team will also lean on Chloe Primerano, Sydney Morrow, Ava Lindsay, Nelli Laitinen, and Emma Kreisz, who all surpassed the 20-point mark last season. Additionally, the Gopher roster is bolstered by three transfers: grad student Jamie Nelson (from Minnesota State), senior Sarah Paul (from Princeton), and junior Molly Jordan (from Boston College); all three hit career scoring highs last season as Nelson tallied 30 points (8g-22a), Paul recorded 36 points (28g-8a) with an NCAA Division I-leading 0.90 points-per-game average, and Jordan posted 24 points (8g-16a) from her defensive position. Czechia National Team player Tereza Plosová highlights the incoming freshman class, which includes Sydney Bailey, Sienna D'Alessandro, Bella Fanale, Avery Hovland, and Olivia Kortan.
The Gophers enter the season with five returning players on blueline, but only seven defenders in total. Laitinen, Morrow, and Primerano lead the way among the returning Gophers, joined by Gracie Graham and Carly Humphrey. Jordan transfers in to bolster the defense and Bailey enters as freshmen.
Hannah Clark returns for her sophomore year between the pipes after posting a 25-10-1 record with 2 shutouts, a 2.36 goals-against average, and a .904 save percentage last season. Layla Hemp, younger sister of former Gophers Peyton & Josie Hemp, joins the team as a freshman after earning gold and bronze medals in two IIHF Women's U18 World Championships with Team USA. Senior Sophia Johnson is back as the Gophers' third goaltender, having made her Maroon & Gold debut last season with 8 saves on 10 shots in 23 combined minutes of action (two appearances).
Even with the roster changes, the Gophers have garnered the #3 position in both initial national polls issued the past two days. As previously reported, Minnesota was tied with Ohio State for second place in the WCHA Preseason Coaches Poll.
Another storyline is that this is an Olympic year, with the 2026 Winter Games set to occur in Milan and Cortina, Italy in February. Neither USA Hockey nor Hockey Canada are holding centralized training camps due to the advent of the PWHL, facilitating Murphy's return to the Gopher lineup this season. That said, Murphy, Sweden's Bouveng, and Finland's Laitinen are expected to miss several weeks of NCAA play, and other Gophers could be selected for their respective nations' Olympic teams as well.
Around the WCHA...
Streaming continues on B1G+ – As reported by the WCHA yesterday (September 16, 2025) via social media, the league has renewed its agreement for all home games hosted by its member teams to be streamed on the B1G+ subscription service. Annual and monthly subscriptions are available at bigtenplus.com.
Experimental rule change for league games announced – As reported by The Hockey News and confirmed in the league's pre-season Media Day teleconference, the WCHA is debuting an experimental rule for 2025-2026 in which high-sticking the puck is allowed in most situations, including knocking the puck into the goal. The lone exceptions are on penalty shots and in shootouts. This rule will apply to all in-conference games during the regular season, but not in non-conference action nor the postseason. Additionally, high-sticking an opponent will still result in a penalty.
Upcoming games – Five other WCHA teams are in action this week, with four beginning their regular-season schedules in non-conference competition. On Friday & Saturday, St. Cloud State opens with a home series against Lindenwood while Minnesota Duluth visits Mercyhurst and Minnesota State travels to Rensselaer. St. Thomas is on the road at Post University for a Saturday-Sunday series. In exhibition play, Ohio State hosts the Durham West Junior Lightning on Sunday afternoon. Wisconsin will begin its season September 26th.
Murphy named to Preseason All-WCHA Team;
Minnesota ranked tied for 2nd in Preseason Coaches Poll
Gopher sixth-year forward and co-captain Abbey Murphy was named to her third-straight Preseason All-WCHA team as part of the annual preseason honors selected by the league's eight member head coaches. Minnesota defenders Nelli Laitinen, Sydney Morrow, and Chloe Primerano were among the host of players receiving votes for the team. Additionally, Murphy received at least one vote for the league's Preseason Player of the Year, and forward Bella Fanale & goaltender Layla Hemp each received votes for Preseason Rookie of the Year.
Also in the WCHA announcement, the Gophers tied with Ohio State in second place in the Preseason Coaches Poll, each picking up 40 voting points. Minnesota recorded one first-place vote in the process. The two teams trailed Wisconsin, who earned 49 voting points. Minnesota Duluth (31 points), St. Cloud State (24), St. Thomas (17), Minnesota State (16), and Bemidji State (7) rounded out the poll.
Kreisz named Power Play Club Scholarship recipient for 2025-'26
We send a shout-out to Gopher Women's Hockey junior forward Emma Kreisz, who has been named the recipient of the Power Play Club Scholarship for a second-straight year!!
Kreisz, a native of Budapest, Hungary, has 46 points over her first two seasons with the Gophers, coming on 15 goals and 31 assists. Her 9 goals last year were seventh on the team. As we've noted several times, she's also a member of Hungary's Women's National Team, appearing in the top division of the 2022 and 2023 IIHF Women's World Championships and numerous other tournaments & competitions. She is majoring in Psychology.
In memoriam – PPC member Will Kenny (1950-2025)
It is with much sadness that we share news of the passing of Power Play Club member Will Kenny on August 20th. Will was born in 1950, in Port Jervis, NY, met the love of his life, Linda Samide, in kindergarten and was married to her for 54 years. After graduating from McGill University in Montreal, he and Linda ended up in Robbinsdale, MN. Despite his east coast origins, he became a true-blue Minnesotan and (with Linda) part of the loudest row at Ridder Arena, supporting the Gophers Women's Hockey team. Will is survived by his wife, Linda; daughters, Meryl (Josh) and Derin (Dan); granddaughter Kiva; siblings, Jane, Mick (Joyce), and Jude (Vince); and many nephews and nieces. A memorial is planned for the spring, and donations in his memory may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. His full obituary can be found here.
We send our condolences to Linda and the entire Kenny family on Will's passing.
PPC Board of Directors updates
Linda Kenny announced a leave of absence from the Power Play Club Board of Directors as a director-at-large. She plans on returning next season.
Welcome, Chris McDonald! At its August meeting, the board appointed Chris McDonald as a new director-at-large. Chris is an avid fan of both Gopher Women's Hockey and the Minnesota Frost, a former hockey player himself, and is currently employed in the Minnesota Secretary of State's office.
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