Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, October 6th
Pregame gatherings Friday & Saturday in Duluth
With spectators back in the stands, we're hoping to see many of you making the trek to the North Shore for this weekend's GWH series against UMD. To that end, we also encourage you – as you are comfortable – to join us for some time of camaraderie prior to each game. We will be meeting at the Green Mill in Canal Park (340 S. Lake Ave) on Friday at 3:30 p.m., and then across the street at Old Chicago (327 S. Lake Ave) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. See you there!!
Member-exclusive Chalk Talk – Saturday, November 13
With seven of Minnesota Women's Hockey's next eight games on the road, we provide a reminder that the first Chalk Talk of the season with a member of the team's coaching staff is scheduled for Saturday, November 13, at 2:30 p.m., prior to the second game of the series against RIT. The Chalk Talk is an exclusive event for Power Play Club members registered for the 2021-2022 season.
A minimum donation of $50 is required for our basic membership tier, with online registration at give.umn.edu/giveto/powerplayclub (click the "Make A Gift" button on that page and follow the instructions) and an offline option using the downloadable form here (which should be mailed to the listed address with a check payable to the "University of Minnesota").
Our Locker Sponsorship tier is also still open. The donor's name is posted on a nameplate next to the locker of a GWH player or coach, and the donor will have an opportunity to meet with that player/coach over Zoom. A minimum $600 donation (per locker) is required. If you are interested, please contact Susan "Rennie" McPherson at lockersponsorship@powerplayclub.org.
#5/6 Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-2-0)
at #6/7 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (1-1-0)
Friday, October 8 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Saturday, October 9 at 3:00 p.m. CT
AMSOIL Arena, Duluth
The Minnesota Women's Hockey team heads out on the road for the first time in the 2021-2022 season, traveling north to face long-time rival Minnesota Duluth at AMSOIL Arena. The Gophers and Bulldogs square off on Friday, October 8, at 6:00 p.m. CT and continue on Saturday, October 9, at 3:00 p.m. CT.
Last year against the Bulldogs – The Gophers spotted UMD a 2-0 first-intermission lead in the opening game of their series at AMSOIL Arena last November on goals by Anna Klein and Kylie Hanley. However, the visitors from the Twin Cities tallied the next six goals and held the Bulldogs to only one more, resulting in a weekend sweep for the Gophers, 4-2 and 2-1. Abigail Boreen lit the lamp 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, Anne Cherkowski put the Gophers ahead with 2:17 to go, and Catie Skaja added an empty-netter on a shot from her own zone. In the rematch, Emily Brown opened the scoring in the first period and Emily Oden added a power-play marker 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, Skaja, and Oden each had an assist to go with their respective goals. Stopping 57 of 60 shots over the two-game series, Bench earned the honor as WCHA Goaltender of the Week. UMD's Emma Söderberg made 64 saves.
Analyzing Minnesota Duluth – Earning points in their final 8 regular-season games last year (6 wins and 2 overtime losses), the Bulldogs finished second in the 2020-2021 WCHA standings, but were crushed 7-2 by Ohio State in the conference semifinals. Earning an NCAA quarterfinal berth, they shut out Colgate 1-0 in overtime, but fell to Northeastern in the national semifinals, 3-2 in OT. The Bulldogs return with 12 players listed as seniors or 5th years for the 2021-2022 season, but also with 6 freshmen on their roster.
Top blueliner Ashton Bell is centralized with the Canada Women's National Team heading toward the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, but 5th-year forward Anna Klein (#19) returns after leading UMD in all three scoring categories last season with 11 goals, 11 assists, and 22 points. Senior Gabbie Hughes (#17) is also back after tallying 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. Sophomore Clara Van Wieren (#25) and seniors Naomi Rogge (#9) & Taylor Anderson (#5) each posted 11 points in 2020-2021; Van Wieren recorded 7 goals and 4 assists, while Rogge and Anderson each scored 4 goals with 7 assists. But the most notable new player to the team is 2020 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Élizabeth Giguère (#8), who transferred from Clarkson after leading the Golden Knights with 23 points on 9 goals and 14 assists last year.
Between the pipes, senior Emma Söderberg (#30) is Minnesota Duluth's primary netminder, starting all 19 games last season; for her career, she's 16-8-0 with 6 shutouts, a .940 save percentage, and a 1.62 goals-against average. Sophomore Jojo Chobak (#31) saw only two relief appearances as a freshman, stopping 26 of 29 shots in a combined 52 minutes of action. Freshman Holly Gruber (#35) joins the team this year.
Last weekend: Bulldogs split with Minnesota State – UMD erupted in their season opener on the road against Minnesota State; Naomi Rogge led all players with 4 points on 2 goals and 2 assists, Gabbie Hughes (2g, 1a), Anna Klein (1g, 2a), & Élizabeth Giguère (3a) each tallied 3 points, and Emma Söderberg needed only 14 saves to shutout the Mavericks, 7-0. But Söderberg yielded 3 goals on 20 shots in the rematch, with MSU's Madison Mashuga scoring a power play goal and adding an assist and Brittyn Fleming dishing out 3 helpers. Lizi Norton & Giguère scored for the Bulldogs, but Mavericks goaltender Calla Frank stopped the other 24 shots she faced for a 4-2 win and a weekend split.
Gophers swept by Ohio State – The opening of the 25th season of Minnesota Women's Hockey saw the Gophers on the wrong end of a series sweep, falling to Ohio State, 4-2 and 4-1, at Ridder Arena. The Gophers did start off on the right foot when Peyton Hemp tallied her first goal in the Maroon & Gold 5:34 into the game on Friday night, but Clair DeGeorge knotted the score for the Buckeyes on a power play later in the first period. OSU took control in the second stanza when Jenna Buglioni gave them the lead and DeGeorge netted her second of the game for a 3-1 advantage. Taylor Heise pulled the Gophers within one late, scoring with an extra attacker with 2:03 to play, but Paetyn Levis tallied into an empty net for the Buckeyes 51 seconds later. Emily Brown assisted on both Gopher goals. In the rematch, Ohio State built a 3-0 lead after two periods, with Sophie Jaques converting twice on power plays and Jennifer Gardiner also lighting the lamp. Amy Potomak scored on a third-period breakaway with a between-the-legs goal to cut the Gopher defecit to 3-1, but Buglioni responded with an insurance goal for OSU. Jaques was named WCHA Defender of the Week, while OSU's Andrea Braendli earned the WCHA Goaltender of the Week honor after stopping 62 of 65 shots. Lauren Bench made 22 saves for Minnesota on Friday night, while Skylar Vetter stopped 27 shots in her collegiate debut on Saturday.
Professional and international team updates...
Marshall, Woken sign with Whitecaps – Gopher alumnae Patti Marshall and Alex Woken are returning to the U.S. to play professionally, signing locally with the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation as was announced yesterday. Both players were 2020 draft picks of the Whitecaps but played in Europe last season; Marshall posted seven goals and nine assists (regular-season and playoffs combined) with Brynäs IF in Sweden, while Woken tallied a team-leading 28 points on 19 goals and 9 assists for Mad Dogs Mannheim in Germany. We congratulate and wish good luck to both Patti and Alex in this new opportunity!
USA vs. Canada coming to St. Paul in December – USA Hockey announced yesterday that the My Why Tour is headed to Xcel Energy Center on Monday, December 20. The tour, presented by Toyota, features the U.S. Women's National Team against Canada as both teams prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. Currently, 8 Gopher representatives – Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Amanda Kessel, Abbey Murphy, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, and Grace Zumwinkle – are participating in the USWNT Residency Program.
Tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster on Friday, October 15, at 10 a.m. CT.
Around the WCHA...
Recent action: St. Thomas earns first D-I win in split with Bemidji State – The BSU Beavers opened their regular season with a 3-0 shutout on the road at St. Thomas; Paige Beebe scored twice in the first period, and Kerigan Dowhy stopped all 31 shots she faced. However, the Tommies came back from being a goal down in the rematch to earn their first win as a Division I program; Maija Almich knotted the score 1-1 in the second period, Luci Bianchi lit the lamp with 6:54 remaining, and Saskia Maurer stopped 28 of 29 shots in her collegiate debut to preserve the 2-1 victory.
Elsewhere in the league... Wisconsin's Makenna Webster and Sarah Wozniewicz earned conference honors as Forward & Rookie of the Week, respectively, as the Badgers blanked Merrimack, 4-0 and 5-0; Webster posted a 7-point series with 2 goals & 5 assists, Wozniewicz lit the lamp twice, Casey O'Brien netted her 7th, 8th, and 9th goals of the season while dishing out two assists, and Kennedy Blair needed only 29 saves combined to earn both shutouts. Meanwhile, St. Cloud State swept the visiting Lindenwood Lions by a pair of 4-2 scores; Emma Gentry lit the lamp twice on Friday, and Taylor Lind posted a goal and 3 assists in the series.
Upcoming games – The league schedule features two matinee series. Minnesota State hosts Lindenwood in non-conference action on Friday and Saturday afternoon, while St. Cloud State visits Wisconsin on Saturday and Sunday. Bemidji State, Ohio State, and St. Thomas are idle.
Copyright © 2021 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.
Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at www.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.