Penalty Box Post
December 7, 2020
PPC membership & fundraising updates...
Membership registration remains open!! Once again, a donation of $50 of more to the Power Play Club Fund at the University of Minnesota Foundation will enroll your household into the PPC for the season. To make your donation online, go to the Power Play Club Fund web page here. If you prefer to submit your donation by check, you can download the registration form here, fill it out, and mail it and your check to Laura Halldorson at the address listed on the form. If you have already enrolled as a Locker Sponsor for 2020-2021, you do not need to register again.
Locker Sponsorships still available!! With a donation of $600 or more, Locker Sponsors are recognized with their name(s) listed on the locker of their designated player or coach. If you are interested in being a Locker Sponsor, do not use the links above, but instead please contact Susan "Rennie" McPherson at membership@powerplayclub.org.
Online auction to open in January – With the current scenario of no spectators being allowed for Gopher Women's Hockey home games, the Power Play Club is partnering with the Golden Gopher Fund to move its annual auction online for the 2020-2021 season. Exact timing is still being determined, but expect the auction to be open for two weeks starting in mid-January. More details will be shared as soon as they are finalized. Any questions can be sent to PPC president Bill Johnson at president@powerplayclub.org.
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Golden Gopher Fund's Pledge Per Goal program
The Golden Gopher Fund has debuted the Pledge Per Goal program for the 2020-2021 season. Initially planned for Gopher Men's Hockey, the program has been extended to also include Gopher Women's Hockey this year, giving registrants the opportunity to choose between the teams. Donations will be directed to the U. of M. Athletic Department's general scholarship fund. If you are interested, more information and the registration form are available at z.umn.edu/PledgePerGoal.
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SCHEDULE ADDITION!!
#3 Univ. of Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-1-0)
vs. Minnesota State University Mavericks (1-3-0)
Thursday, December 10 at 6:07 p.m.
Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center – Mankato
Friday, December 11 at 6:07 p.m. – Ridder Arena
After postponements of this past weekend's Minnesota-Wisconsin and Minnesota State-Bemidji State series, and the additional postponement of the Minnesota-Ohio State series originally scheduled for the upcoming weekend, the WCHA announced a schedule addition pitting the Gophers against the MSU Mavericks in a home-and-home series. The action begins at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center (formerly the Verizon Wireless Center) in Mankato on Thursday, December 10, at 6:07 p.m., and moves to Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Friday, December 11, also at 6:07 p.m.
Video streaming & audio information – With the Mavericks and Gophers each hosting a game, video and audio streaming options will vary between the two contests. Video of Thursday's game in Mankato will be streamed by FloHockey; subscription and schedule information can be found at FloSports.tv. BTN+ will provide streaming video of Friday's rematch at Ridder Arena; subscription packages are available here. No audio is expected for Thursday's game, but watch our Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates; Friday's Gopher home game will feature free streaming audio on Golden Gophers All-Access on GopherSports.com.
Last year against Minnesota State – The Gophers swept the five games against the Mavericks in 2019-2020, with 6-0 & 7-1 victories in Mankato in the opening weekend of WCHA play, a 4-0 win in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Game in Prior Lake last December, and 5-1 & 3-0 results at Ridder Arena to conclude the regular season in February.
Taylor Heise led the Gophers with 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points against MSU, recording at least one goal and one assist in each of the first four contests. Alex Woken and Grace Zumwinkle each posted 8 points on 4 goals and 4 assists against the Mavericks, and the Potomak sisters each added 6 points – Sarah tallied 3 goals and 3 assists, while Amy lit the lamp twice and dished out 4 assists. Sydney Scobee started all five games, yielding only a single goal on 87 shots faced in 270 minutes of action (.989 SV%, 0.22 GAA), while Makayla Pahl stopped 15 of 16 shots in two relief appearances. Charlotte Akervik and Kelsey King scored Minnesota State's goals against the Gophers. MSU goaltender Abigail Levy yielded 15 goals on 92 shots in her three starts for an .837 save percentage and 5.00 goals-against average, while Calla Frank yielded 10 goals on 79 shots in her two starts for an .873 SV% and also a 5.00 GAA.
Analyzing the Mavericks – Minnesota State finished 6th in the WCHA last year, but earned 19 points in the conference standings with a 4-16-4-3 record. They went 3-1-0 against St. Cloud State in league play, earned 4 points in their early-season home series against Ohio State (two ties with a 3-on-3 OT win and a shootout win), and upset Wisconsin with a 3-1 victory on February 8. They were also 7-1-0 in eight games against non-WCHA competition. However, their season came to an end when they were swept by the Buckeyes in the WCHA quarterfinals, 4-2 & 1-0.
Scoring was hard to come by for the Mavericks last season as no player reached double-digit goals, but the team returns a quartet who each lit the lamp 6 times in 2019-2020. Junior Anna Wilgren (#5) led MSU with 18 assists and 24 points. Sophomore Kelsey King (#20) dished out 16 assists to go with her 6 goals for 22 points as a freshman, and seniors Brittyn Fleming (#19) and Mariah Gardner (#16) recorded 12 and 10 assists, respectively, to go with their 6 goals apiece. Four games into the 2020-2021 season, freshmen Jamie Nelson (#18) and Sydney Langseth (#3) lead MSU with 3 points apiece.
Minnesota State finds itself short on experienced goaltenders, as Abigail Levy transferred to Boston College. Sophomore Calla Frank (#77) returns as their primary netminder, having posted a 6-8-3 record in her freshman year, with 2 shutouts, a .912 save percentage, and 2.74 goals-against average. She is 1-3-0 to start the new season, with an .871 SV% and 3.77 GAA. Another pair of freshmen – Lauren Barbro (#37) and Emerald Kelley (#55) – back up Frank, but have yet to see any game action.
Last action for Minnesota State – Going on the road on November 27 & 28, the Mavericks ran into a hot opposing goaltender at St. Cloud State. Huskies freshman Sanni Ahola set a new school record by making 37 saves in her debut, and Allie Cornelius scored for SCSU early in the second period to defeat MSU, 1-0. Ahola made another 38 saves in the rematch, but Jamie Nelson tallied two goals and an assist for the Mavericks, 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 4-2 Minnesota State victory, splitting the series.
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Around the WCHA...
Recent results – Anna Klein tallied two goals and three assists, and Naomi Rogge & Clara Van Wieren each lit the three times as Minnesota Duluth swept St. Cloud State, 4-0 and 5-1; Jenniina Nylund netted her first goal of the season for the Huskies, but they were outshot by the Bulldogs by a combined 93 to 32.
Upcoming game schedule – After a couple postponements, Bemidji State is finally expected to get underway this week, hosting St. Cloud State on Thursday night and Friday afternoon. The Minnesota-Duluth and University of Wisconsin game has been postponed. Ohio State is idle following the postponement of its series against the Gophers.
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