Penalty Box Post - Two Minue Minor
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Six GWH players named 2019-2020 B1G Distinguished Scholars
Six (6) members of the 2019-2020 Gopher Women's Hockey team were among 119 U. of M. student-athletes named Big Ten Distinguish Scholars following an excellent academic year.
We send our congratulations to Olivia Knowles, Gracie Ostertag, Sarah Potomak, Catie Skaja, Taylor Wente, and Alex Woken on this achievement!! Recipients must receive All-Big Ten recognition during the previous academic year, be enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters), and earn a minimum of a 3.70 GPA, excluding summer classes. We send a special shout-out to Wente and Woken (pictured) for posting perfect 4.0 GPAs for the academic year!
As noted in the press-release from the U., the 119 honorees is a new school record, as is the cumulative student-athlete grade point average of 3.36 for the Spring 2020 semester (the fifth-straight semester that statistic has improved).
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Stecklein, Pannek re-sign with PWHPA for 2020-2021
The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) has continued its series of 2020-2021 player signing announcements on Twitter, including two more Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae: Lee Stecklein (on June 23) and Kelly Pannek (on June 26). It will be the second year with the organizaton for both players after they joined last season. (Photos courtesy of USA Hockey)
Stecklein and Pannek are the seventh and eighth alumnae of the Gopher Women's Hockey program, respectively, to be announced as signing with the PWHPA for the upcoming season, joining Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Gigi Marvin, Sarah Potomak, and Sydney Scobee. As noted previously, we'll continue to watch for additional signings and related announcements.
PWHPA New Hampshire hub team to face U.S. Premier Hockey League squads – Also this past Friday, June 26, the PWHPA and the U.S Premier Hockey League (USPHL) announced an agreement to play a series of exhibition games during the 2020-21 season. Members of the PWHPA's New Hampshire regional training hub will face each of the teams in the USPHL's National Collegiate Development Conference once, with game dates and locations to be announced later. The NCDC is the top tier of the USPHL, and is a Tier-2 Junior Hockey league based in the northeastern United States. All games will follow the junior protocols, with all costs associated with the games picked up by the NCDC member teams.
Also in the press release was the announcement that Cyclones Arena in Hudson, NH, will serve as the home rink for the PWHPA's New Hampshire hub. It is also home to the Northern Cyclones, one of the NCDC’s 13 member clubs.
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Quick hits...
2020-2021 Gopher roster released – The Gopher Women's Hockey team has officially posted its full 2020-2021 player roster, including the jersey numbers for the eight players joining the team this upcoming season. The team also published a special release documenting the numbers for each of the newcomers and the history of past Gophers to wear each number.
PPC board meeting next Wednesday – Here's a reminder that the next Power Power Play Club Board of Directors meeting will be held Wednesday, July 8, at 7 p.m. via online video conference. Club members wishing to participate should contact PPC president Bill Johnson at president@powerplayclub.org.
Thibodeau named WCHA Assistant Commissioner – Dean Thibodeau, a former Director of Hockey Operations for the Gopher Women's Hockey team, has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner, Operations in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, as announced by the league yesterday. For the past two years, Thibodeau has held the position of WCHA Operations & Administration Manager.
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