Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
#3 Univ. of Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-1-0) vs. #1 Univ. of Wisconsin Badgers (1-1-0)
Friday, December 4 at 6:07 p.m.
Saturday, December 5 at 4:07 p.m.
Ridder Arena
After a hard-earned road sweep against one rival, another comes to Ridder Arena for a visit, as the Gopher Women's Hockey team hosts the Wisconsin Badgers in rounds 1 & 2 of the 2020-2021 Border Batter. The series opens Friday, Dec. 4 at 6:07 p.m. and continues Saturday, Dec. 5 at 4:07 p.m.
Video streaming on BTN+ & free audio on GopherSports.com – Video from this weekend's two games against Wisconsin will be streamed online via BTN+; subscription packages by conference, school, or sport are available here. Gopher home games will also feature free streaming audio, available on Golden Gophers All-Access on GopherSports.com.
Last year against Wisconsin – The Gophers went 1-2-1 against Badgers last season. Minnesota earned 5 WCHA standings points at Ridder Arena with a 4-2 victory followed by a 2-2 tie with a shootout win, but the Badgers earned a series sweep at LaBahn Arena in January, 5-4 (OT) and 3-0.
Grace Zumwinkle led the Gophers with 7 points against Wisconsin, lighting the lamp 4 times (with two 2-goal games) and dishing out 3 assists. Sarah Potomak (3g, 2a) and Taylor Heise (1g, 4a) each tallied 5 points over the four games, while Amy Potomak added a goal & two assists in the season series plus the lone goal of the shootout in the second game at Ridder. Sydney Scobee made 107 saves but yielded 11 goals, resulting in a .907 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average. Presley Norby led the Badgers with 3 goals and 2 assists against the Gophers, Abby Roque recorded a hat trick in the first game in Madison while dishing out an earlier assist, and Daryl Watts (2g, 1a), Caitlin Schneider (1g, 2a), and Delaney Drake (3a) each tallied 3 points. Kristen Campbell stopped 83 of 93 shots for an .892 SV% and 2.47 GAA.
Analyzing the Badgers – After dropping the 2018-2019 WCHA Regular-Season Championship to Minnesota, Wisconsin was perfect in the subsequent playoffs to claim both the WCHA Tournament and NCAA Championships that year. They then claimed the 2019-2020 WCHA regular-season crown with a 17-4-3-2 conference mark and 27-4-3 overall record entering the playoffs. Earning the quarterfinal bye, the Badgers knocked off Minnesota Duluth in the conference semifinals, 4-1, but were upset by Ohio State in the Final Faceoff Championship game, 1-0.
2018 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Daryl Watts (#19) returns for her senior season, having already recorded 204 career points (89g, 115a) in her first 3 years; she led the Badgers in 2019-2020 with 25 goals and 49 assists for 74 points. Junior Sophie Shirley (#9) was second in scoring for UW last year, netting a team-leading 29 goals while dishing out 32 assists for 61 points. However, no other returning Badger recorded 30 or more points last season; senior Brette Pettet (#20) tallied 28 points on 12 goals and 16 assists as a junior. That said, the Badgers' freshman class includes past U.S. Women's Under-18 National Team members Makenna Webster (#8) & Casey O'Brien (#26), and Canada U-18 National Team player Maddi Wheeler (#28).
Like Minnesota, Wisconsin features a redshirt senior graduate transfer at goaltender for 2020-2021. Kennedy Blair (#29) began her collegiate career at North Dakota, but did not play in the 2016-2017 season and transferred to Mercyhurst following the disbanding of the UND program. In three years with the Lakers, she posted a 32-26-8 career record with 10 shutouts; last year she was 17-8-3 (with one no-decision), 4 shutouts, a 1.98 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. The Badger backups have seen only limited game action; senior Breanna Blesi (#32) is 4-1-0 in 5 career starts and 2 relief appearances, with one shutout, a 1.07 GAA and a .908 SV%, while junior Cami Kronish (#30) has only a single 40-minute relief appearance in which she yielded 2 goals on 11 shots. Quebec native Jane Gervais (#1) joins the team as a freshman.
Last weekend for Wisconsin – Opening their season on the road against Ohio State, the Badgers found themselves down 3-1 after 20 minutes on Buckeye goals by Sophie Jaques, Madison Bizal, and Jenna Buglioni, though Daryl Watts scored for Wisconsin. Brette Pettet cut the Badger deficit to one when she lit the lamp 14 seconds into the 2nd period, but OSU netminder Andrea Brändli prevented a tying goal, making 22 saves for a 3-2 victory. In the rematch, Maddi Wheeler and Britta Curl gave Wisconsin a 2-0 lead at the first intermission, Sophie Shirley lit the lamp twice in the third period, Dara Greig scored late, and Kennedy Blair stopped 28 shots for a 5-0 shutout and series split. Badger defender Nicole LaMantia led all players in total scoring with 4 assists, while Shirley and Watts each tallied 3 points; LaMantia & Shirley were subsequently named WCHA Defenseman and Forward of the Week, respectively.
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Gophers earn road sweep in Duluth – After spotting UMD a 2-0 first-intermission lead in the opening game of their series at AMSOIL Arena, Minnesota Women's Hockey tallied the next six goals and held the Bulldogs to only one more, resulting in a weekend sweep for the Gophers with 4-2 and 2-1 victories. Anna Klein and Kylie Hanley scored the first two goals for Minnesota Duluth, but Abigail Boreen netted her first of the season for Minnesota less than two minutes into the second stanza. Still trailing 2-1 with 8 minutes to play, Abbey Murphy knotted the score with her first collegiate goal, and Anne Cherkowski put the Gophers ahead with her first career goal with 2:17 to play. Maggie Nicholson assisted on Cherkowski's goal for her first point in the Maroon & Gold. Already with an earlier assist, Catie Skaja added an empty-net goal on a shot from her own zone. In the rematch, Emily Brown recorded her first goal of the season in the first period, and Emily Oden added her first of the season – also the first Gopher power-play goal of the year – late in the second frame. Ashton Bell cut the Bulldogs' deficit in half midway through the third period, but Lauren Bench and the Gopher defense prevented an equalizer to preserve the win. Murphy added an assist to go with her goal, while Oden's goal was her second point of the weekend as well.
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Bench earns more conference recognition – Gopher senior netminder Lauren Bench stopped 57 of 60 shots in the series against UMD, earning her a second-straight honor as the WCHA Goaltender of the Week. Bench led all conference goalies with a 1.50 goals-against average for the weekend, and her .950 save percentage was second-best.
Bench was also named last Friday morning as the first Howies Hockey Tape WCHA Performance of the Week honoree for her 69 saves the prior weekend against Ohio State. Congratulations, Lauren!!
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Around the WCHA...
Last weekend – Finnish freshman goaltender Sanni Ahola set a new St. Cloud State program record by making 37 saves in her debut, and Allie Cornelius scored for the Huskies early in the second period for a 1-0 shutout win over Minnesota State. Ahola made another 38 saves in the rematch to earn the WCHA Rookie of the Week Award, but MSU's Jamie Nelson tallied two goals and an assist, Sydney Langseth added a goal and two assists, and Charlotte Akervik netted the game-winning power-play goal late in the 2nd period in a Mavericks 4-2 victory, splitting the series.
Upcoming games – St. Cloud State will make its own trip to the North Shore this weekend for a Friday evening-Saturday afternoon series against Minnesota Duluth. The scheduled series between Bemidji State and Minnesota State in Bemidji has been postponed. Ohio State has a scheduled week off.
Conference standings note: The WCHA standings have a slightly different points calculation starting this season, particularly with regards to regular season league games that go to overtime. Because of the NCAA rule change sending games right to a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period following regulation (rather than playing 5-on-5 for five minutes), both teams will receive a point for finishing regulation tied, and the team scoring in the overtime or (if still tied after OT) winning the subsequent shootout will receive a second point. That said, all wins and losses in regulation or overtime will count fully for national ranking purposes and will be listed as the team's record, with overtime wins and losses (plus shootout wins) tracked separately for the league standings.
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