The Penalty Box Post
Thursday, November 17th
TODAY is Give to the Max Day! Help us raise $20,000 for Gopher Women's Hockey!!
The Power Play Club board and volunteers have pledged to match the first $10,000 of donations made today, Thursday, November 17, dollar for dollar. With the match, help us raise a total of $20,000! Donate at bit.ly/GWH_GTMD2022.
Funds raised will go to support updates and improvements to Ridder Arena, like the beautiful new Gopher Olympians wall. Additionally, all donations made through 11:59 p.m. this evening will earn double points for the Gopher Loyalty Program managed by the U. of M. Intercollegiate Athletics Department.
#1/2 Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-1-1, 9-0-1 in WCHA)
vs.
#3/3 Univ. of Wisconsin Badgers (10-2-0, 7-1-0 WCHA)
Saturday & Sunday, November 19-20 - Both games at 2:00 p.m. CT at LaBahn Arena, Madison, WI
The Border Battle rivarly is renewed for the 2022-2023 season as the Gopher Women's Hockey team heads to Madison to face the 3rd-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. Action at LaBahn Arena starts Saturday, November 19, at 2:00 p.m. and continues on Sunday, November 20, also at 2:00 p.m.
Television coverage Saturday – Saturday's game will be broadcast live in the Twin Cities area on FOX9+. To find your FOX 9+ channel number, click here.
Last season against Wisconsin – The Gophers went 3-0-1 against the Badgers in the 2021-2022 campaign, winning 3-2 in Madison last December, playing to a 2-2 overtime tie and winning the subsequent shootout the next day, then earning their first weekend sweep in the Border Battle since 2016 with 2-1 & 4-3 victories at Ridder Arena in January.
Despite only netting 11 goals as a team in the 4 games, nine (9) different Gophers lit the lamp. Taylor Heise & Catie Skaja each recorded 2 goals and an assist, while Peyton Hemp & Emily Oden each added a goal and two assists. Abigail Boreen led Minnesota in total scoring with 4 assists, three of which came in the final contest. Casey O'Brien led the Badgers with 3 goals & an assist, Maddi Wheeler added a goal and two assists, Sarah Wozniewicz dished out three helpers, and Brette Pettet lit the lamp twice. Between the pipes for Minnesota, Lauren Bench stopped 98 of 105 shots – a .933 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average – over three of the four contests, while Makayla Pahl made 40 saves on 41 shots (.976 SV%) in her one start. Wisconsin netminder Kennedy Blair posted a 2.75 GAA and .896 SV% across all four games.
About the Badgers – Wisconsin lost only 6 WCHA games in 2021-2022, matching Minnesota & Ohio State, but three ties pushed them into a third-place finish in the league standings behind the Gophers & Buckeyes. After sweeping Bemidji State in the conference quarterfinals, they fell to OSU in the semifinals. They earned an NCAA Tournament bid and defeated Clarkson 3-1 in the First Round, but fell to Northeastern 4-2 in the quarterfinals.
The 2022-2023 campaign for the Badgers started off auspiciously as they lost at Penn State, 4-1. However, they defeated the Nittany Lions by a resounding 9-1 result in the rematch, starting a nine-game winning streak before their series at Minnesota Duluth three weekends ago (more on that shortly). Currently, they sit third in the WCHA standings and both national polls, still trailing the Gophers and Buckeyes.
The Badgers entered the season without two of their top-three scorers from last year, as Daryl Watts graduated and Makenna Webster transferred. But Casey O'Brien (#26) is back for her junior year; after tallying 55 points (27g, 28a) last season, she has 17 points on 6 goals & 11 assists in the current campaign. Wisconsin's top two scorers so far, each with 19 points, were centralized with Team USA last season; redshirt sophomore Lacey Eden (#6) has a team-high 10 goals with 9 assists, while freshman blueliner Caroline Harvey (#4) has already been named WCHA Rookie of the Month twice with 6 goals and a team-high 13 assists. Fifth-year player Sophie Shirley (#9) has also picked up her game, recording 7 goals and 10 assists so far this year.
Much like the Gophers, Wisconsin is relying on home-grown goaltending this year after having had transferred veterans between the pipes the past several seasons. Redshirt senior Cami Kronish (#30) and redshirt sophomore Jane Gervais (#1) had only 4 combined starts prior to this season; they have split the first 12 games of 2022-2023. Kronish has a 4-2-0 record this year, but all four wins have been shutouts; for her career, she has a 0.97 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. Gervais is a perfect 6-0-0 with one shutout and a career 1.30 GAA and .932 SV%. Freshman Chloe Baker (#32) is the third goaltender on the Badgers' roster; she has yet to see any official action.
Last action for Wisconsin – The Badgers have not played since the end of October when they made the trip north to play at Minnesota Duluth. Lacey Eden lit the lamp unassisted to put UW up in the opener; however, Gabbie Hughes knotted the score for UMD with 2:50 remaining in regulation, and Nina Jobst-Smith found the back of the net in overtime for a 2-1 Bulldogs win. The rematch saw both teams hold leads, but Wisconsin took a 4-2 third-period advantage after Eden netted her 2nd goal of the weekend and Caroline Harvey lit the lamp twice. Ashton Bell scored for the Minnesota Duluth with 9:01 to play, but the Badgers took the 4-3 victory. Cami Kronish had 23 saves for UW on Friday, and Jane Gervais stopped 35 shots on Saturday.
Gophers sign Hungarian National Team forward Kreisz
Minnesota Women's Hockey announced yesterday that Emma Kreisz has signed to become the sixth member of the freshman class of 2023-2024. Kreisz, a native of Budapest, Hungary, will become the first Hungarian to play for the Gophers. Currently, Kreisz is playing for Stanstead prep school in Quebec, where she posted 47 points (27g, 20a) in 37 games in 2021-2022. She has also played for the senior Hungarian National Team in the 2019 Women's World Championship Division I-A tournament, the 2021 & 2022 Women's World Championships (top division), and the 2022 Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Kreisz joins Lauren O'Hara, Elly Klepinger, Ava Lindsay, Josie Hemp, and Isa Goettl as next season's Gopher freshmen.
We pass along our warmest greetings to Emma, and look forward to seeing her wearing the Maroon & Gold next fall!!
Around the WCHA...
Tommies earn road sweep over Lindenwood – Starting a weekend series with an unusual Thursday morning puck drop, St. Thomas earned only their second sweep as a Division I program with 4-1 & 5-3 victories at Lindenwood. Gabby Billing and Saskia Maurer earned WCHA Forward & Goaltender of the Week honors, respectively; Billing recorded 4 points on a goal & 3 assists, while Maurer stopped 46 of 50 shots in the two contests. Maddie Clough added two goals & an assist and Maija Almich also lit the lamp twice.
Bulldogs sweep Huskies in St. Cloud – Maggie Flaherty scored twice, Anneke Linser recorded a goal and an assist, Emma Söderberg stopped all 14 shots she faced Friday, and Hailey MacLeod made 18 saves Saturday as Minnesota Duluth swept St. Cloud State on the road, 2-0 & 5-1. Grace Wolfe netted the lone goal for SCSU late in regulation Saturday to prevent being shutout over the weekend.
Minnesota State wins in exhibition – Sydney Langseth recorded two goals & an assist, Taylor Otremba added a goal & two assists, and four other Mavericks lit the lamp as they defeated Division III Wisconsin-Eau Claire 7-1 on Monday night. Sophie Rausch scored late in regulation for the Blugolds.
Upcoming games – Two Friday-Saturday series get the weekend started as Bemidji State visits Ohio State in Columbus and Minnesota Duluth hosts a non-conference matchup against Harvard. Meanwhile, St. Thomas and Minnesota State will play a home-and-home series starting Saturday in Mendota Heights before moving to Mankato on Sunday. St. Cloud State is idle this weekend. Next week, OSU will play two more games before Thanksgiving, hosting Colgate in non-conference competition on Tuesday & Wednesday.
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