The Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, December 15th
Goals for a Goal, overall fundraising campaign updates
Minnesota Women's Hockey heads into the holiday break with 77 goals scored so far this season, with 10 of those coming on the power play. Help us support the team's participation in a tournament in Las Vegas in the 2022-2023 regular season by making a pledge to our Goals for a Goal campaign, pledging a dollar amount for every goal the Gophers score throughout the regular season and postseason with the option to double your pledge for power play goals!
We encourage you to make your pledge online, or download the pledge form here and mail it in to the Golden Gopher Fund.
We thank our club members and our Give to the Max Day donors for their generosity. Combining our membership donations and monies collected on Give to the Max Day, we've raised more the $62K for the Minnesota Women's Hockey program this season! We're also not done, with the final Goals for a Goal amount to be factored in and our online auction planned for late January and early February.
Mid-season recap...
Gophers split with Minnesota Duluth – Minnesota tallied the first goal in each of its two games against UMD at Ridder Arena this past weekend, and also held a one-goal lead entering the third periods of both contests. However, the games differed after that. Following a top-shelf stick-side rocket by Catie Skaja in the second period on Friday to put the Gophers up 1-0 through 40 minutes, Gabbie Hughes and Naomi Rogge lit the lamp 97 seconds apart to put the Bulldogs up 2-1. Amy Potomak knotted the score with 8:53 left in regulation, but Elizabeth Giguere put Minnesota Duluth back ahead 42 seconds later. The Gophers could not find another equalizer, falling 3-2; UMD netminder Emma Söderberg made 29 saves, while Lauren Bench stopped 19 shots. In Saturday's rematch, Audrey Wethington and Peyton Hemp put Minnesota up 2-0 after the first period, but Gabbie Krause lit the lamp for Minnesota Duluth in the second period. However, Makalya Pahl made 12 saves in that stanza, 6 more in the final period, and 24 for the game to earn a 2-1 victory. Söderberg posted another 33 saves to bring her weekend total to 62. Potomak and Wethington each recorded an assist to accompany their respective goals, while Crystalyn Hengler dished out two helpers on Saturday.
Overall Analysis – Minnesota currently sits third in the WCHA standings with a 30 points, posting a 9-4-1-1 conference mark (0-1 in OT). They trail both Wisconsin and Ohio State, who sit in a first-place tie with 40 points apiece, though the Gophers have two games in hand over both. Minnesota was 5-1-0 in non-conference play for a 14-5-1 overall record.
Seven (7) different Gopher players have recorded double-digit points and the team's season-long scoring average is 3.85, which is fifth among all Division I teams. Though while 17 players have lit the lamp, Taylor Heise remains the only one with double-digit goals, recording 14. Heise also holds the team lead in the other two scoring categories, dishing out 17 assists for 31 total points. Abigail Boreen and Amy Potomak each have 8 goals apiece; Boreen also has 15 assists to sit second in total scoring with 23 points. Peyton Hemp, Catie Skaja, and Emily Oden have each netted 7 goals; Hemp is the team's third 20+ point scorer with 21, Skaja has 19 points, and Oden has 17. Potomak has 7 assists for 15 points, and Ella Huber has 10 points on 3 goals and 7 assists. Madeline Wethington is the top-scoring defenseman with 9 points on 3 goals and 6 assists.
The Gophers' scoring defense is still yielding less than two goals per game, but their 1.95 mark (39 goals in 20 games) is only third in the WCHA and tied for 11th in the NCAA. Graduate player Lauren Bench has seen the most action, going 5-3-1 in nine starts with a shutout, a 2.13 goals-against average, and a .922 save percentage. Junior Makayla Pahl is a perfect 6-0-0 in her starts, also recording one shutout; her 1.57 GAA and .926 SV% are both third among qualifying goaltenders in the WCHA. Freshman Skylar Vetter is 3-2-0 in her five starts, with a 1.94 GAA and a .913 SV%, while junior Olivia King stopped 10 of 11 shots over a combined 52 minutes of action in two appearances against RIT.
Minnesota's power-play conversion rate currently stands fifth among WCHA teams at 18.5% (10 of 54), while the penalty kill unit is fourth in the league at 83.1% (54 of 65). Taylor Heise has netted three short-handed goals for the Gophers, who have yet to allow any shorties on their own power play.
Exhibition reminder – Gophers vs. Whitecaps, January 4 – We provide a reminder that action resumes for the Gophers with an exhibition contest against the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation at Ridder Arena on Tuesday, January 4 at 7 p.m. The Whitecaps feature seven U. of M. alumnae on their roster: Chelsey Rosenthal, Winny Brodt-Brown, Alex Woken, Meghan Lorence, Nicole Schammel, Patti Marshall, and Amanda Leveille. Admission is free, with general admission seating for all seats. We hope to see many of you there.
Team USA, Canada resume pre-Olympic competition tonight (Wednesday,, Dec. 15)
Action comes to Xcel Energy Center next Monday night (Dec. 20)
USA Hockey's My Why Tour presented by Toyota, featuring Women's National Team games against the Canadian National Team, continues tonight, Wednesday, December 15, at the Centene Community Ice Center in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, with puck drop at 7 p.m. CT. The two teams will plan again on Friday, December 17, also at the Centene Community Ice Center at 7 p.m. CT. Both of those games will be televised live on NHL Network.
Following the games in St. Louis, the teams will relocate to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for the seventh game of their series on Monday, December 20, at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster, and the game will be televised on NBC Sports Network.
The series is currently tied at two wins apiece through the first four games, with each team earning victories on the other's ice. Canada took the two October games in Allentown, PA, and Harford, CT, by scores of 3-1 & 3-2, but Team USA returned the favor by winning the next two contests in Ontario last month, 3-2 (OT) & 2-0. Amanda Kessel and Lee Stecklein are the only Gopher representatives to record points so far; Kessel lit the lamp twice while Stecklein dished out one assist.
Around the WCHA...
Last weekend – Hannah Hogenson made a combined 97 saves and Lydia Passolt lit the lamp twice for Bemidji State, but Daryl Watts recorded 4 goals & two assists while Nicole LaMantia dished out 5 helpers to earn WCHA Forward & Defender of the Week honors, respectively, as Wisconsin earned a series sweep, winning 5-1 and 5-2.
Calla Frank was named WCHA Goaltender of the Week after stopping 51 of 52 shots, Brooke Bryant netted two goals, and Taylor Wemple and Brittyn Fleming each added a goal & an assist as Minnesota State swept St. Cloud State, 3-0 and 3-1. Allie Cornelius tallied the lone goal for the Huskies.
St. Thomas' Nicole Vallario recorded two goals & two assists to earn her second WCHA Rookie of the Week award of the season & Saskia Mauer made a combined 70 saves, but Lindenwood's Casey Adimey tallied 3 goals & an assist and Sena Takenaka added a goal & 3 assists as the Lions swept the Tommies in non-conference action, 4-3 (OT) and 4-1.
Upcoming games – This coming weekend features one WCHA series as Bemidji State hosts Minnesota State on Friday evening & Saturday afternoon (Dec. 17 & 18). New Year's weekend sees Minnesota Duluth travel to Boston for non-conference action against Harvard (Dec. 31 & Jan. 1), Wisconsin hosts Quinnipiac in a top-five battle (Jan. 1 & 2), and St. Cloud State plays in the Battle in the 'Burgh in Pennsylvania, facing Penn State on January 1 and either Boston University or Syracuse on January 2.
Standings: 1t. Wisconsin – 13-1-2-1, 2-0 in OT, 40 points (17-1-2 overall); Ohio State – 13-3-0-0, 0-1 in OT, 40 points (15-3-0 overall); 3. Minnesota – 9-4-1-1, 0-1 in OT, 30 points (14-5-1 overall); 4. Minnesota Duluth – 8-6-0-0, 1-1 in OT, 24 points (9-7-0 overall); 5. Minnesota State – 5-9-0-0, 0-1 in OT, 16 points (9-9-0 overall); 6. Bemidji State – 3-10-1-0, 1-0 in OT, 9 points (6-10-2 overall); 7. St. Cloud State – 2-11-1-1, 1-1 in OT, 8 points (6-11-1 overall); 8. St. Thomas – 2-11-1-0, 0-0 in OT, 7 points (4-13-1 overall).
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Follow the Power Play Club on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PowerPlayClubMN or on Twitter at twitter.com/powerplayclub. 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.