The Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, October 26th
PPC Chalk Talk – Saturday, November 5 at 12:30 p.m.
The second Power Play Club Chalk Talk with a member of the Gopher Women's Hockey coaching staff is scheduled for Saturday, November 5 at 12:30 p.m. in the Ridder Arena weight room (upstairs) prior to the second game of the rivalry series against Minnesota Duluth. This member-exclusive event will include a discussion of team strategy, a review of the previous night's game film, and time for a brief question & answer session.
PPC membership enrollment continues!
If you have not yet enrolled in the Power Play Club for the 2022-2023 season, you can do so at any time.
A minimum donation of $50 gets you registered into our basic membership tier, which includes up to two adults and any children at same address. Online registration is preferred at z.umn.edu/PPC22; click the "Make A Gift" button on that page and follow the instructions. To register offline, download the form here and send it in to the listed address, with a check payable to the "University of Minnesota".
We continue to encourage Locker Sponsorship tier sign-ups with a minimum $600 donation, raising a significant amount of revenue for the team. In addition to club membership, donors will get a photo with their respective player or coach, and meal with the team on a game day (tentatively set for January 7, 2023). If you are interested in sponsoring a locker, please contact Rennie McPherson at lockersponsorship@powerplayclub.org.
Note that donations for both membership tiers are 100% tax-deductible! Additionally, new members are entitled to a Gopher Women's Hockey automobile decal showing support of the team; decals are also available to renewing members needing a replacement. You can inquire at the PPC table on the Ridder Arena concourse during any regular-season home game.
Goals for a Goal 2022-2023: Make Your Pledge Today!
The Goals for a Goal program also continues taking pledges to support Gopher Women’s Hockey. Pledge a dollar amount for every goal the Gophers score during the regular season and postseason, with the option to double your pledge for power play goals. Your donation will help fund updates and improvements to Ridder Arena, such as the new GWH Olympian display and additional planned changes.
The Gophers have lit the lamp 36 times in their opening six contests, with six of those coming on the power play!
To make a pledge, fill out this online form (preferred) or download the PDF version, print it, and mail it in to the listed address. After the postseason, you will receive an email with your pledge total and giving instructions. All contributions are tax-deductible donations to the Golden Gopher Fund.
#2/2 Minnesota Gophers (6-0-0, 6-0-0 in WCHA)
at
#1/#1 Ohio State University Buckeyes (8-0-0, 8-0-0)
Friday, October 28 at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT
Saturday, October 29 at 3:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. CT
OSU Ice Rink, Columbus, OH
The #2 Gopher Women's Hockey team heads out for its first full two-game road series of the season, and it's a battle of the top-two teams nationally when they square off against the #1-ranked Ohio State University Buckeyes at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio. Action begins early Friday evening, October 28, with a 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT puck drop, and continues at 3:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, October 29.
Last season against Ohio State – The Gophers' 2021-2022 season got off to a rough start when they were swept by the Buckeyes, 4-2 & 4-1, at Ridder Arena. Meeting again in January in Columbus, OSU took the third game with a 2-1 overtime decision before Minnesota replied with a 5-3 victory and the weekend split. The two teams met a fifth time in the WCHA Championship Game; the Gophers held a 2-0 lead after two periods, but the Buckeyes knotted the score in the third and lit the lamp on an overtime power play for a 3-2 win and the title, with Sophie Jaques tallying both the game-tying and game-winning goals.
Taylor Heise netted four of Minnesota's 11 goals against the Buckeyes and added two assists for 6 points over the five contests. Abigail Boreen added a goal & four assists, while Catie Skaja dished out 3 helpers. But Jaques was on fire for Ohio State, recording 10 points on 5 goals & 5 assists against the Gophers. Jennifer Gardiner scored only one goal but tallied 5 assists, while Jenna Buglioni lit the lamp twice and added 3 helpers. Gopher goaltender Lauren Bench stopped 78 shots over 3 games, posting a 2.64 goals-against average and .907 save percentage, while Skylar Vetter made 27 saves on 31 shots (an .871 SV%) in the second game and Mikayla Pahl stopped 32 of 35 shots (a .914 SV%) in the Gophers' lone win. Between the pipes for the Buckeyes, Amanda Braendli made 62 saves with 3 goals against – a .954 SV% & 1.50 GAA – in the opening weekend, while Amanda Thiele went 2-1-0 in the other 3 games with a .928 SV% and 2.29 GAA.
About the Buckeyes – Ohio State finished 2nd in the 2021-2022 WCHA regular-season standings but went on to win the league's playoff title, defeating Wisconsin in the semifinals (2-1) before the OT victory over the Gophers. They followed it up with three one-goal victories in NCAA Tournament play, topping Quinnipiac 4-3 in a double-OT quarterfinal, Yale 2-1 in the semis, and Minnesota Duluth 3-2 to win their first national championship.
OSU has remained the #1 team in the national polls several weeks into the 2022-2023 campaign, going 8-0-0 to start the season. Their lone blemish came when one of their games went to overtime last weekend (more on that shortly).
Much like Minnesota, Ohio State is relying on an experienced core of fifth-year players. Defender Sophie Jaques (#18) led the Buckeyes in total scoring in 2021-2022 with 59 points on 21 goals & 38 assists, earning her honors as a Patty Kazmaier Award top-three finalist; eight games into the new season, she again leads the team with 12 points on 7 goals & 5 assists. Forward Paetyn Levis (#27) was second in scoring last year with a team-high 24 goals & 29 assists for 53 points; she's currently sits with 2 goals & 7 assists this season. Emma Maltais returns for her fifth season after winning a gold medal with the Canadian Olympic Team last year; she current has a goal & 8 assists. Gabby Rosenthal (#15) trails only Jaques in goals scored this season, lighting the lamp 5 times while dishing out 3 assists. But amid those "upperclassmen", senior forward Jennifer Gardiner (#12) joins Jaques with 12 points early on, coming on 4 goals & 8 assists.
With Andrea Braendli missing portions of last season due to commitments with the Switzerland Olympic Team, Amanda Thiele (#30) took over between the pipes; through her first two seasons, she had a 20-3-0 record with an outstanding .942 save percentage and 1.28 goals-against average. Braendli has now graduated, formally making Thiele OSU's primary goaltender as a junior; while she has a perfect 6-0-0 record so far, she's only posted an .874 SV% and 2.14 GAA. After two years as the primary netminder for Robert Morris, Raygan Kirk (#1) joined OSU last season in a backup role; entering her senior year with a career .929 SV% and 1.94 GAA, she has only only yielded 2 goals in 2 games (1.00 GAA) this season with a .931 SV%. Freshman Lexington Secreto (#34) has joined the Buckeyes' roster but has not yet seen any official action.
Ohio State takes 5 points from Minnesota Duluth – In the first meetings this season of national top-five WCHA teams and also a rematch of last year's NCAA championship game, the Buckeyes defeated UMD by a pair of 3-2 results, though the first of the two required overtime to give the Bulldogs a league standings point. Jennifer Gardiner led OSU in the series with 2 goals & an assist, while Jenna Buglioni lit the lamp twice on Friday – including the unassisted, breakaway OT gamewinner – and Amanda Thiele stopped a combined 38 shots. Minnesota Duluth's Gabbie Hughes recorded a goal & two assists and Emma Soderberg made 63 saves.
Gophers double up Huskies in weekend sweep – Minnesota netted four goals on their first 8 shots of the series against St. Cloud State, with Abbey Murphy, Abigail Boreen (PP), Grace Zumwinkle, and Taylor Heise each lighting the lamp and recording an assist. The Huskies reduced their deficit to 4-2 in the opening game after goals by Klára Hymlárová and Olivia Cvar, but they got no closer. Game two of the weekend saw Emma Gentry give SCSU a 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the contest, but Madison Kaiser knotted the score for the Gophers later in the first period and Zumwinkle cleaned up a rebound in the third stanza (photo below) for a 2-1 win and the sweep. Skylar Vetter made a combined 40 saves to earn the two victories; Jojo Chobak stopped 32 shots for SCSU in the opener and Sanni Ahola made 43 saves in the rematch.
Around the WCHA...
Badgers roll in sweep of Beavers – Kirsten Simms recorded a goal & 4 assists, Lacey Eden added 2 goals & 2 assists, and Laila Edwards dished out 4 helpers as Wisconsin powered past Bemidji State, 8-0 & 7-1. Gabbie Smith recorded the lone goal for BSU.
Minnesota State earns first two wins with sweep of St. Thomas – Kianna Roeske recorded a goal & an assist, Jamie Nelson dished out 4 helpers, and the Mavericks outshot the Tommies 70-27 in their home-and-home series, earning their first two victories of the season with a 3-1, 2-0 sweep. Gabby Billing scored the lone goal for UST.
Upcoming games – While this week's schedule features four in-conference Friday-Saturday series, two start with Friday afternoon matinees as Bemidji State hosts Minnesota State and Wisconsin visits Minnesota Duluth. The remaining matchup is home-and-home as St. Cloud State & St. Thomas open their weekend in Mendota Heights on Friday before continuing Saturday in St. Cloud.
Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.
Follow the Power Play Club online at www.powerplayclub.org, 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 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.