Power Play Club

Locker Sponsor Gathering Reminder

Here's one final reminder that the Locker Sponsor pregame meal with the GWH team will be held this Saturday, January 13th. Locker sponsors should meet in the ticket lobby of Ridder Arena NO LATER than 8:45 a.m. Photos with the coaches and players will begin at 9:00 a.m., with the meal to follow at 10:00 a.m. Note that, due to the team's pregame video review, there will be a gap between photos and breakfast. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Rennie McPherson at susanmcp58@gmail.com.

Goals for a Goal: Gophers increase total to 82 (w/ 22 on PP)

Entering this weekend's #1-vs.-#2 matchup, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has lit the lamp 82 times, with 22 of those coming while on the power play! We encourage you to pledge to convert each of those goals into charitable contributions back to the team through our Goals for a Goal program, with the option to double your pledge for power play goals. Submit your pledge electronically at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!

#2 Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-3-1, 10-3-1-1 in WCHA)
vs. #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (16-2-0, 13-1-0-0)
Friday, January 12 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 13 at 2:00 p.m.
Ridder Arena

The #2-ranked Gopher Women's Hockey team looks to defend home ice when the top-ranked Ohio State University Buckeyes come to Ridder Arena this weekend. Puck drop is scheduled for Friday night, January 12, at 6:00 p.m., and the series continues Saturday, January 13, at 2:00 p.m.

Traffic alerts – Please note that the Gopher Men's Hockey team is also playing at home this weekend, with games Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic will be increased in the area, so please allow extra time as appropriate.

Tickets for both games are still available and can be purchased here.

Game coverage – If you cannot get to Ridder Arena, Saturday's game will be televised on Fox 9+ (channel finder). Video from both games will be streamed on the B1G+ subscription service and audio play-by-play can be found on GopherSports.com for Friday and Saturday starting 15 to 20 minutes before each game.

Last time against Ohio State – A trip to Columbus at the end of October resulted in the Gophers returning home with only one point in the WCHA standings, falling to the Buckeyes 4-3 in overtime and 6-5. Offensively, Josefin Bouveng posted a 5-point series on a goal & 4 assists, and the trio of Ella Huber, Nelli Laitinen, and Abbey Murphy each added 2 goals & 2 assists; Laitinen was honored as WCHA Defender of the Week. Unfortunately, OSU's Jenn Gardiner took WCHA Forward of the Week honors for her 3-goal, 3-assist weekend, Hannah Bilka added a goal and 3 helpers, and Jocelyn Amos was named Rookie of the Week with 2 goals and an assist. Skylar Vetter was between the pipes for the Gophers in both games, stopping a career-high 52 shots on Friday and making another 46 saves on Saturday but yielding 10 goals. Raygan Kirk made 25 saves for Ohio State in the weekend opener and Amanda Thiele stopped 23 shots in the rematch.

Analyzing the Buckeyes – After winning their first WCHA Regular Season Championship in 2022-2023, Ohio State is atop the league standings again at the midway point of the 2023-2024 conference schedule. They have only one loss is WCHA play (coming in early December, a 2-1 upset by St. Cloud State) and they lead the league in both goals scored and allowed per game (4.71 and 1.50, respectively) in conference action. All that said, this weekend's games are the first for OSU since going on their holiday break.

A trio of Buckeyes have each recorded 20 or more points: fifth-year forward Jenn Gardiner (#12) has a team-high 11 goals plus 12 assists, fellow grad student Hanna Bilka (#9) has an OSU-leading 16 assists plus six goals of her own, and senior Kiera Zanon (#21) has 10 goals and 10 helpers. Another grad student, Hadley Hartmetz (#6), is fourth in team scoring with 18 points on 4 goals and 14 assists.

The senior goaltending duo of Raygan Kirk (#1) and Amanda Thiele (#30) have matching 8-1-0 records. Kirk has 3 shutouts, a 1.26 goals-against average, and a .941 save percentage. Thiele has recorded one shutout, a 1.77 GAA, and an .899 SV%. Graduate student Quinn Kuntz (#35) has been OSU's long-time backup; she stopped the 3 shots she faced in a one-period relief appearance at Bemidji State in early November. Sophomore Lexington Secreto (#34) has yet to any official action.

Last action for Ohio State – Cayla Barnes, Jenna Buglioni, and Hadley Hartmetz each tallied a goal & two assists, and Raygan Kirk & Amanda Thiele combined to stop 42 of 44 shots for the Buckeyes, defeating Minnesota State 6-1 and 4-1 in Columbus the second weekend of December.

Gophers sweep UConn to go perfect in non-conference play

Madeline Wethington's shot early in Saturday's game trickled through Connecticut goaltender Tia Chan and into the net at Ridder Arena. (Photo credit: Brad Rempel)

Abbey Murphy recorded 3 points Friday on a goal & two assists and Madeline Wethington lit the lamp in each game as Minnesota swept the visiting Huskies, 5-3 & 3-1. UConn took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on Friday on goals by Kathryn Stockdale and Ainsley Svetek (PP), but Murphy and Maggie Nicholson evened the score before the second intermission. Madeline Wethington put the Gophers ahead 8:19 into the third period and Audrey Wethington doubled the lead less than three minutes later; the Huskies scored 68 seconds after that to pull back within one, but Peyton Hemp converted a late power play and Lucy Morgan made 29 saves for the win. In the rematch, Madeline Wethington put Minnesota up just 2:48 into the contest, and Josefin Bouveng (PP) & Lauren O'Hara scored in the second period. UConn's Megan Woodworth netted her second goal of the weekend early in the third stanza, but Skylar Vetter shut the door on the Huskies the rest of the way to get the win. UConn netminder Tia Chan played both games, stopping 67 combined shots.

Vetter earns league honor, Goettl recognized for classroom effort

We send our congratulations to a pair of Gopher Women's Hockey players who earned recognition in the past week.

Junior Skylar Vetter was named WCHA Goaltender of the Week following her 23-save performance to complete the series sweep of Connecticut with a 3-1 victory on Saturday!

The weekly award is the eighth of Vetter's career with the Gophers and her first this year. The win improved her season record to 8-3-1 with a 1.91 goals-against average, a .934 save percentage, and two shutouts.

Freshman Isa Goettl was named as one of two Lindahl Academic Center Student-Athletes of the Month for December by the U. of M. Intercollegiate Atletics Department! We give a shout-out to all the Gophers continuing to excel in the classroom!

Congratulations, Skylar and Isa!!

Zumwinkle named inaugural PWHL #1 Star of the Week
Heise scores Minnesota's first goal; Pannek, Stecklein tally assists

Gopher Women's Hockey alumna Grace Zumwinkle was named the PWHL's inaugural #1 Star of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. The honor comes after a 4-goal outburst in Minnesota's first two games, including the PWHL's first-ever hat trick in Minnesota's home opener at Xcel Energy Center against Montreal this past Saturday.

Zumwinkle's four goals came after linemate and fellow Gopher Taylor Heise, the first overall selection in the PWHL Draft in September, also made history by being the first player to light the lamp for Minnesota. Heise scored unassisted in the first period of the franchise's opening game, on the road at Boston last Wednesday night.

We also send kudos to two other Minnesota players, Gopher alums Kelly Pannek & Lee Stecklein. Both recorded their first PWHL points on Saturday; Pannek dished out a pair of assists, and Stecklein recorded a helper on Zumwinkle's third goal of the contest.

IIHF U18 Women's Worlds update

Gopher Women's Hockey freshman class of 2024-2025 members Hannah Clark, Kendra Distad, and Gracie Graham are playing at the 2024 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Zug, Switzerland. Team Canada was 3-0 in preliminary round play to earn win Group A; Clark earned two of those wins between the pipes with shutouts of Germany and Finland, needing only a combined 11 saves. Graham has one assist and is a +5 on the Canadian blueline. Meanwhile, Distad has 3 points on a goal and two assists as a Team USA forward; the Americans were 2-0 after their first two preliminary round games and were playing Sweden this morning to determine the top team in Group B.

Around the WCHA

Minnesota Duluth takes loss, tie at Quinnipiac – UMD ran into the hot goaltending from the Bobcats' Logan Angers as she stopped 65 of 68 shots. Clara Van Weiran gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the opener, but Nina Steigauf assisted on Kendall Cooper's game-tying goal and later lit the lamp herself to give Quinnipiac the 2-1 win. In the rematch, Hanna Baskin assisted on Mary Kate O'Brien's opening goal and doubled the lead herself, putting UMD up 2-0 after 40 minutes; however, Maddy Samoskevich scored for the Bobcats with 5:44 to play in regulation and assisted on Sadie Peart's extra-attacker goal with 2:56 remaining, and the game finished in a 2-2 tie after overtime. Ève Gascon made 25 saves for UMD on Saturday.

Wisconsin rolls in sweep of Merrimack – The Warriors' Ally Qualley tallied the first goal of their series against the Badgers and Hayley Chang netted the last goal, but Wisconsin lit the lamp 12 times in between to get a pair of 6-1 victories. Britta Curl & Kirsten Simms each tallied 2 goals and 3 assists, and Cassie Hall added 2 goals & 2 assists. Merrimack's Calli Hogarth made a combined 79 saves in the series; Jane Gervais & Ava McNaughton combined for 33 saves.

Minnesota State earns sweep of Lindenwood – JuliAnna Gazdik & Whitney Tuttle each recorded a goal and two assists as the Mavericks built a 5-0 lead and defeated the Lions 6-1 on Friday, but they found themselves trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes on Saturday. Sydney Langseth recorded a goal and an assist in the second period for Minnesota State to even the score, and Kennedy Bobyck put the Mavs ahead on a power play 3:26 into the third stanza. Lindenwood was awarded a penalty shot with 7:30 to play when MSU's Jamie Nelson was whistled for covering the puck in the crease, and Morgan Neitzke converted to pull the Lions even; however, Nelson and Bobyck assisted on Alexis Paddington's first goal of the season just 57 seconds later to give the Mavericks a 4-3 win and weekend sweep. Tuttle added another assist for a 4-point weekend, Taylor Otrema dished out 4 helpers in the series, and Langseth & Akervik each finished with two goals and an assist.

Upcoming games – The drive to the postseason begins now as all eight WCHA teams are in league play for the next seven weekends. This week, Minnesota Duluth will host a Friday-Saturday matinee series against Bemidji State, Minnesota State travels north to St. Cloud State for games on Friday & Saturday, and St. Thomas heads to Madison to face Wisconsin in a Saturday-Sunday series.

Standings:
1. Ohio State – 37 points (.881 pts%), 13-1-0-0, 2-0 in OT (16-2-0 overall)
2. Minnesota – 33 points (.786 pts%), 10-3-1-1, 0-1 in OT (16-3-1 overall)
3. Wisconsin – 31 points (.738 pts%), 10-4-0-0, 0-1 in OT (16-4-0 overall)
4. St. Cloud State – 26 points (.619 pts%), 8-5-1-0, 0-1 in OT (13-6-1 overall)
5. Minn. Duluth – 23 points (.548 pts%), 8-6-0-0, 1-0 in OT (11-7-2 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 9 points (.214 pts%), 3-11-0-0, 1-1 in OT (9-12-0 overall)
7. Bemidji State – 6 points (.143 pts%), 2-12-0-0, 1-1 in OT (3-16-1 overall)
8. St. Thomas – 3 points (.071 pts%), 1-13-0-0, 0-0 in OT (7-14-0 overall)

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Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at gophersports.com. You can also find the Gopher women's hockey team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GopherWomensHockey and on Twitter at twitter.com/GopherWHockey.