Power Play Club

Goals for a Goal - Gophers complete regular-season with 116 goals (35 on PP)

Through the 34-game regular season, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has lit the lamp 116 times with 35 of those coming on the power play! Registration is still open for our Goals for a Goal program to convert each of those goals – plus those scored in the postseason – into a donation to the GWH program! Pledges per goal scored should be submitted electronically at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double your pledge for power-play conversions. Thanks and GO GOPHERS!!

Gopher Women's Hockey online auction raises over $2,200

Our thanks to everyone who submitted a bid to the Gophers Women's Hockey online auction. After expenses, a net of $2,256 was raised by the Golden Gopher Fund for the team, going into the Women's Hockey Enhancement Fund! We appreciate your support!

WCHA Playoff Quarterfinals (best-of-three) at Ridder Arena
#4/4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (25-7-2, 19-7-2-2 in WCHA)
vs.
Minnesota State University Mavericks (12-23-0, 6-22-0-0)
Friday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m.
(if necessary) Sunday, March 3 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. Action begins Friday evening, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m. If necessary, a deciding Game 3 will be played Sunday, March 3 at 3:00 p.m.

Game coverage – Video from all three contests will be streamed on the B1G+ subscription service. As always, free audio play-by-play will be streamed on GopherSports.com starting 15 to 20 minutes before puck drop (Friday & Saturday; Sunday's link to be provided as necessary).

This season against Minnesota State – The Gophers completed a season sweep of the Mavericks in a pair of home-and-home series, though the combined goal differential was only 5 as three of the four games were decided by a single goal. Minnesota earned 3-1 and 2-1 victories in early November, then posted 4-3 and 2-1 (OT) wins at the end of January. Abbey Murphy led the Gophers with 5 points against MSU on 3 goals and 2 assists, including a two-goal, one-assist performance on January 26 at Ridder Arena. Peyton Hemp added two goals & two assists, while Josefin Bouveng, Ella Huber, Emma Kreisz, and Nelli Laitinen each recorded a goal and 3 assists. Jamie Nelson posted two goals and an assist for the Mavericks against Minnesota, all coming on January 26, while Alexis Paddington and Lilie Ramirez each dished out two helpers. Skylar Vetter & Lucy Morgan split the four games for the Gophers; Vetter stopped 57 of 61 shots, while Morgan made 35 saves on 37 shots. MSU netminder Suzette Faucher entered the first meeting in relief and started the second & third contests, making a combined 63 saves but yielding 8 goals; Hailey Hansen started the first game before leaving due to injury, but was back to start the fourth contest, stopping a combined 43 of 46 shots.

Analyzing the Mavericks – Finishing 6th in the WCHA regular season standings, Minnesota State saw three big streaks in their results. After opening the season with a non-conference series sweep, they dropped their next 10 games; they won 8 of the following 10 (including four non-conference victories) but then suffered another 9-game losing streak. They're 2-2-0 in their last four contests.

MSU averaged 2.60 goals per game across all contests, good for fourth in the WCHA, but 39 of their 91 goals came in non-conference action; considering only league play, they were sixth with a 1.86 average. Four Mavericks each recorded more than 20 points on the season (all games). Senior Sydney Langseth (#3) had a team-high 31 points and 17 assists while lighting the lamp 14 times herself. Senior Jamie Nelson (#10) led the Mavericks with 18 goals and added 9 assists for 27 points. Sophomore Whitney Tuttle (#7) recorded 25 points on 10 goals & 15 assists, while classmate Taylor Otremba (#24) tallied 21 points on 8 goals & 13 helpers.

Junior Suzette Faucher (#31) posted a 3-10-0 record between the pipes for MSU, with a 3.47 goals-against average and an .884 save percentage. Freshman Hailey Hansen (#33) saw much of the action late in the season, entering the playoffs with a 3-8-0 record, one shutout, a 2.81 GAA and .898 SV%. Sophomore Avery Stilwell (#1) remains the Mavericks' emergency backup. However, as we noted in January, senior Lauren Barbro was no longer listed on the Minnesota State roster after going 6-5-0 in 11 starts earlier in the year with one shutout, a 2.62 GAA, and a .904 SV%.

Last weekend for Minnesota State – After already locking in their 6th-place finish in the conference standings, the Mavericks played a home-and-home series against a St. Thomas squad looking to escape the cellar. The Tommies took a 2-0 lead at the second intermission of the opener in Mankato and Rylee Bartz hit an empty-netter with 44.6 seconds left; that wasn't the end as Alexis Paddington & Jamie Nelson lit the lamp for Minnesota State over the next 21.4 seconds, but St. Thomas held on for the 3-2 win. MSU and UST traded goals throughout the rematch in Mendota Heights with neither taking a lead of more than one; Paddington tallied her 2nd and 3rd goals of the weekend and Nelson added a goal & an assist, but the contest finished regulation tied 4-4. Bartz then tallied her second game-winning goal in as many days, finding the back of the net 36 seconds into overtime for a 5-4 Tommies victory and series sweep. Calla Frank earned both wins for St. Thomas with 51 saves, while Hailey Hansen stopped a combined 31 shots for Minnesota State.

Gophers conclude regular-season with tie, win against UMD

Gopher Women's Hockey claimed five points in their final series of the 2023-2024 regular season, playing Minnesota Duluth to a 1-1 tie Friday with a 1-0 shootout win for the extra point followed by a 4-2 victory on Senior Day Saturday.

Mary Kate O'Brien lit the lamp unassisted for the Bulldogs in the first period of the opener, capitalizing on a Gopher turnover, but Abbey Murphy evened the score on a second-stanza power play, her 30th goal, 50th point, and 12th PPG of the season. From there, Gopher goaltender Skylar Vetter and Bulldog netminder Hailey MacLeod locked things down; the contest went to and through overtime as Vetter and MacLeod each made 26 saves. Ella Huber beat MacLeod in the first round of the shootout, and UMD failed to score on its three attempts with two saves by Vetter.

Madison Kaiser put Minnesota up with the team's second power-play conversion of the weekend in the first period Saturday, and Peyton Hemp doubled the lead in the second frame. The teams exchanged goals in the third; Mannon McMahon cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 2-1 just 1:18 into the stanza but Emma Kreisz restored the Gophers' two-goal lead with another power-play tally and 5:22 remaining. O'Brien netted her second goal of the series with an extra attacker and 1:15 to play, but Murphy broke free and scored into an empty net with 5.5 seconds remaining. Lucy Morgan stopped 23 of 25 shots for the win, while UMD's Ève Gascon made 26 saves.

Hemp and Kaiser each had an assist to accompany their respective goals in the series, and Ava Lindsay dished out three helpers in Saturday's contest.

Gigi Marvin nets first PWHL goal, Abby Boreen rejoins MN roster

Gopher Women's Hockey alumna Gigi Marvin, a three-time U.S. Olympian having previously played in the Western Women's Hockey League, Canadian Women's Hockey League, and Premier Hockey Federation, tallied her first goal in the Professional Women's Hockey League as a member of the Boston franchise in their 2-0 win over Minnesota this past Sunday at the Xcel Energy Center. Marvin has also recorded 3 assists in Boston's 12 games so far this season. Congratulations, Gigi!!

Prior to Sunday's contest, the PWHL announced that Gopher alumna Abby Boreen had signed a second 10-day Standard Player Agreement with Minnesota. Boreen returned to the lineup against Boston and also played last night against Toronto, her sixth and seventh games of the season. In her first call-up, she recorded two goals and an assist. Under league rules, Boreen will only be available through the end of the current agreement due to her status as a full-time graduate student at the U. of M.

The spot Boreen filled on Minnesota's roster opened when the team designated yet another Gopher alum, top draft pick Taylor Heise, to long-term injured reserve. We send wishes to Taylor for a full and quick recovery.

Around the WCHA

Buckeyes, Badgers split marquee series in Madison – In a meeting of the top two teams in the national rankings, Ohio State and Wisconsin each claimed a come-from-behind win to split their weekend series at LaBahn Arena. Maddi Wheeler put the Badgers up 1-0 in the second period on Friday, but Kiara Zanon, Makenna Webster, and Jenna Buglioni (power play, empty net) responded for a 3-1 Buckeyes victory. Kenzie Hauswirth lit the lamp twice to put OSU up 2-0 after 20 minutes of Saturday's rematch, but Casey O'Brien pulled Wisconsin within one in the second stanza and knotted the score midway through the third. Laila Edwards also tallied twice, putting the Badgers ahead just 68 seconds later and tacking on an empty-netter in the final 10 seconds for a 4-2 win.

Huskies sweep Beavers in Bemidji – Greta Henderson recorded a hat trick Friday and added an assist Saturday, Emma Gentry netted her own hat trick Saturday after a goal & an assist on Friday, Katie Kaufman tallied two goals and two assists in the series, and Jojo Chobak & Sanni Ahola combined to stop 35 of 38 shots as St. Cloud State earned a road sweep of Bemidji State, 5-1 & 6-2. Shelby Breiland, Talya Hendrickson, and Olivia Dronen lit the lamp for BSU, and Eva Filippova & Abbie Thompson combined for 61 saves.

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

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

Final regular-season standings:
1. Ohio State – 76 points (.905 pts%), 26-2-0-0, 2-0 in OT (29-3-0 overall)
2. Wisconsin – 68 points (.810 pts%), 23-5-0-0, 2-1 in OT (29-5-0 overall)
3. Minnesota – 62 points (.738 pts%), 19-7-2-2, 1-2 in OT (25-7-2 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 46 points (.548 pts%), 15-11-2-0, 1-0 in OT (18-12-4 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 41 points (.488 pts%), 12-14-2-1, 0-2 in OT (17-15-2 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 20 points (.238 pts%), 6-22-0-0, 1-3 in OT (12-23-0 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 13 points (.155 pts%), 4-23-1-1, 1-0 in OT (10-24-1 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 10 points (.119 pts%), 3-24-1-0, 1-1 in OT (4-28-2 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/X at twitter.com/GopherWHockey.