The Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, February 9th
U. of M. lifts vaccine mandate; mask requirement remains
The University of Minnesota announced yesterday that it will not extend its temporary policy requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative, third-party COVID-19 test. The policy runs through events occurring today (Wednesday, Feb. 9) but expires after that.
The university reiterated, though, that its face covering policy does remain in place, with all guests attending an indoor Gopher Athletics event on campus being required to wear a well-fitted mask.
Goals for a Goal – season total continues to build!!
With four games left in the regular season and the postseason yet to come, the count of goals scored by the Gopher Women's Hockey team continues to increase. Through last weekend, the team has lit the lamp 128 times. Of those, seventeen (17) have come on the power play!!
Our Goals for a Goal campaign collects pledges for every goal scored over the season, with an option to double your pledge for power-play tallies. The collected funds will be used to support the squad's participation in a regular-season tournament in Las Vegas in 2022-2023. We encourage you to make your pledge online, or download the pledge form here and mail it in to the Golden Gopher Fund. The GGF will send out invoices following the end of the season.
#1 Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-7-1, 17-6-1-1 WCHA)
vs.
St. Cloud State Univ. Huskies (9-17-2, 4-16-2-1 WCHA)
Friday, February 11 at 3:00 p.m. Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, St. Cloud
Saturday, Feburary 12 at 3:00 p.m. Ridder Arena
The Gopher Women's Hockey team continues its push toward the playoffs with two home-and-home series to conclude the regular season, the first coming against the St. Cloud State University Huskies. Action begins with an afternoon matinee on Friday, February 11 at 3:00 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The series then moves to Ridder Arena for the rematch on Saturday, February 12 at 3:00 p.m.
Time change reminder – We provide a reminder that the start time on Friday is a change from the original schedule. We hope many of you can make the drive up to St. Cloud on Friday afternoon.
Last time against St. Cloud State – Taylor Heise opened Minnesota's November series against St. Cloud State with her third short-handed goal of the season, and led the Gophers with 2 goals and 3 assists in a weekend sweep, winning 6-2 and 5-1.
The Huskies' Emma Gentry tied the opening contest in St. Cloud later in the first period, but Audrey Wethington, Olivia Knowles, Abigail Boreen, and Heise lit the lamp in the second stanza to open a 5-1 lead, and SCSU's Addi Scribner and Minnesota's Gracie Ostertag traded power play goals in the final 20 minutes. Emily Brown, Ostertag, and Boreen put Minnesota up 3-0 after one period of the rematch at Ridder Arena, and Emily Oden made it 4-0 before Mackenzie Bourgerie tallied for St. Cloud State. Crystalyn Hengler added a power play goal in the final frame. Oden dished out 3 assists in the series to accompany her goal, and Catie Skaja recorded 4 helpers.
Between the pipes, Makayla Pahl made 23 saves on Friday while Skylar Vetter stopped 20 shots on Saturday. Huskies netminder Sanni Ahola made a combined 66 saves in the two contests.
Analyzing the Huskies – St. Cloud State sits 7th in the WCHA standings with a 4-16-2 conference mark. While they've gone 2-2 against Minnesota State, they are 1-3 against Bemidji State and 1-2-1 against St. Thomas. The Huskies did post a 5-1-0 record in non-conference play, but those wins came against Lindenwood (x2), RPI (x2), and Penn State.
The Huskies find themselves missing two European players due to the Winter Olympics. Finnish senior Jenniina Nylund (#81) is third in total scoring for the team despite having played just 16 games for them, recording 15 points on 7 goals and 8 assists. Czech junior Klara Hymnlarova (#12) has 2 goals and 3 assists in 12 games with the Huskies.
Sophomore Emma Gentry (#20) is the run-away team leader in goals, having lit the lamp 14 times, nearly a quarter of the team's total of 57; adding in her 5 assists, she has 19 points. Junior Taylor Lind (#13) is the Huskies' overall scoring leader with 22 points, coming on 7 goals and 15 assists. Junior Olivia Cvar (#91; 7g, 3a) and junior Courtney Hall (#17; 2g, 8a) each have 10 points.
Sophomore Sanni Ahola (#1) has seen a slight majority of action between the pipes for SCSU; she's 5-11-0 in her 16 starts, with a 3.83 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. Graduate student Emma Polusny (#32) is an experienced veteran for the Huskies; she has a 4-6-2 record in 12 starts this season, with a 2.82 GAA and .925 SV%. Senior Karlie Ries (#30) and freshman Sky Hughes (#33) have not seen any action this year.
Last action for St. Cloud State – The Huskies led St. Thomas 2-0 in both games of their home-and-home series this past weekend. Allie Cornelius and Olivia Cvar (SH) scored in the second period of the opener in St. Cloud. However, four-straight penalties by SCSU led to third-period goals by the Tommies' Megan Cornell (5-on-3), Abby Promersberger (PP), and Anna Solheim (5-on-3); Alexa Dobchuk made 33 saves in total to earn UST the 3-2 victory. Moving to Mendota Heights for he rematch, Emma Gentry and Nicole Ness put the Huskies up by two but St. Thomas' Maija Almich cut that lead in half before the second intermission. The Tommies would get no closer, as Allison Green pushed the SCSU lead back to two with 1:07 to play. UST's Allie Monrean lit the lamp with 16 second left, but St. Cloud State earned the 3-2 win and the series split.
The Huskies are also coming off of a mid-week rescheduled game against Ohio State yesterday (Tuesday, 2/8) in St. Cloud. Liz Schepers completed a hat trick over the first two periods for the Buckeyes, though they led only 3-2 after 40 minutes thanks to SCSU goals by Gentry and Taylor Lind. But OSU struck 3 more times in the third stanza; Lexi Templeman & Brooke Bink each recorded a goal and an assist, and Schepers lit the lamp a fourth time to defeat the Huskies, 6-2.
Gophers sweep Bemidji State
Twelve different Minnesota players found the scoresheet as they defeated Bemidji State, 7-0 and 5-2, at Ridder Arena this past weekend. Taylor Heise led the way with 2 goals and 3 assists in the series, maintaining her NCAA lead in total scoring with 51 points and tallying her nation-leading 4th short-handed goal. Abigail Boreen and Savannah Norcross each tallied 2 goals & 2 assists, while Audrey Wethington, Catie Skaja & Amy Potomak each added a goal and 2 assists. Peyton Hemp lit the lamp twice on Friday night for her first career multi-goal game. Emily Brown recorded her 80th career point with an assist Friday, then tallied point #81 with a goal on Saturday. For Bemidji State, Taylor Nelson and Greysen Myers each lit the lamp shortly following Gopher goals to knot the score 1-1 and 2-2 on Saturday, but Norcross put Minnesota up for good.
Lauren Bench earned both victories, posting a 26-save shutout Friday before stopping another 27 shots on Saturday. BSU's Kerigan Dowhy made 43 saves in the opener, while Hannah Hogenson stopped 42 shots in the rematch.
Brown, Hemp latest Gophers to earn weekly honors!!
Senior captain Emily Brown and freshman Peyton Hemp were honored as the WCHA Defender & Rookie of the Week, respectively, for their performances against Bemidji State. In addition to passing the career 80-point mark with her goal and assist, Brown blocked 4 shots, posted a plus-5 rating on the ice, and played in her 157th and 158th career games with the Gophers. Hemp's pair of goals were accompanied by a plus-2 rating in the series, earning her a second weekly award this season. Congratulations, Emily and Peyton!!
Olympic Update: Canada defeats U.S. in preliminary play;
Finland earns 3rd seed & Sweden qualifies for quarterfinals
Minnesota Women's Hockey representative contributed to Team USA's performance in the preliminary-round contest against Canada yesterday, with Dani Cameranesi scoring and Kelly Pannek & Amanda Kessel recording assists, but the Canadians won in come-from-behind fashion, rattling off three-straight goals for a 4-2 victory. With the win, Canada took the top spot in Group A and the #1 seeding for the playoff round, which begins Friday (Beijing time).
Prior to their head-to-head meeting, the American and Canadian squads each won their other three Group A games. Team USA defeated Finland 5-2, ROC (Russia) 5-0, and Switzerland 8-0. Canada steamrolled their opponents, topping Switzerland 12-1, Finland 11-1, and ROC 6-1. Finland also fell to Switzerland, 3-2, but a 5-0 win over ROC yesterday propelled them into a third-place finish in the group. Through tiebreakers, ROC finished 4th and Switzerland 5th; ROC defeated the Swiss 5-2 in group play.
Japan claimed the top spot in Group B, earning standings points in all four of their games; they defeated Sweden 3-1 and Denmark 6-2, fell to China 2-1 in a shootout, but won a shootout over the Czechs, 3-2. The Czech Republic won their opener over China 3-1, topped Sweden 3-1, but were upset by Denmark 3-2. After their losses to Japan and the Czech Republic, Sweden defeated China 2-1 and Denmark 3-1 to advance to the playoff round. The Chinese and Danes were eliminated (China won their head-to-head meeting 3-1).
Quarterfinal match-ups (times listed are U.S. Central Time):
United States vs. Czech Republic – Thursday, February 10 at 10:10 p.m.
Canada vs. Sweden – Friday, February 11 at 7:10 a.m.
ROC vs. Switzerland – Friday, February 11 at 10:10 p.m.
Finland vs. Japan – Saturday, February 12 at 2:40 a.m.
Gophers at the Winter Games (* indicates career Olympic firsts):
Amanda Kessel (USA) – 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points (U.S. scoring leader)
Kelly Pannek (USA) – 2 goals*, 3 assists, 5 points
Nelli Laitinen (FIN) – 1 goal*, 2 assists*, 3 points*
Megan Bozek (USA) – 3 assists, 3 points, +7 rating
Dani Cameranesi (USA) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points
Hannah Brandt (USA) – 2 assists, 2 points
Josefin Bouveng (SWE) – 1 goal*, 1 point*
Grace Zumwinkle (USA) – 1 goal*, 1 point*
Abbey Murphy (USA) – 1 assist*, 1 point*
Lee Stecklein (USA) – +3 rating
Around the WCHA...
Last weekend – Before their make-up game in St. Cloud yesterday, Ohio State cruised to series sweep of Minnesota State in Mankato, 5-0 and 7-1. Gabbie Rosenthal tallied 3 goals and 2 assists, Liz Schepers notched 6 points on a goal and 5 assists, Paetyn Levis added 2 goals and 3 assists, Jenna Buglioni lit the lamp 3 times, and Amanda Thiele stopped a combined 41 shots. Jessica Kondas scored the lone goal for the Mavericks and Calla Frank made 79 saves.
Elizabeth Giguere scored twice and Jojo Chobak stopped all 45 shots she faced as Minnesota Duluth shut out Wisconsin 3-0 to open their series, UMD's first win in Madison in over 11 years. But Daryl Watts recorded a hat trick in the rematch, scoring on a power play, at even strength, and short-handed, and Kennedy Blair made 26 saves on 27 shots in a 5-1 Badgers victory and the series split.
Upcoming games – The other three weekend series will also feature Friday and Saturday action; Ohio State remains on the road with a visit to Bemidji State, St. Thomas heads north to face Minnesota Duluth, and Wisconsin hosts Minnesota State. The schedule also includes one more make-up game as well, as St. Cloud State hosts Minnesota Duluth next Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 15).
Standings:
1. Ohio State – .783 pts%, 18-5-0-0, 1-1 in OT, 54 points (22-5-0 overall)
2. Minnesota – .778 pts%, 17-6-1-1, 0-3 in OT, 56 points (22-7-1 overall)
3. Wisconsin – .739 pts%, 16-4-3-2, 2-0 in OT, 51 points (21-4-4 overall)
4. Minnesota Duluth – .652 pts%, 15-8-0-0, 1-1 in OT, 45 points (18-9-0 overall)
5. Minnesota State – .361 pts%, 8-15-1-1, 1-1 in OT, 26 points (12-15-1 overall)
6. Bemidji State – .306 pts%, 7-15-2-0, 1-0 in OT, 22 points (10-15-3 overall)
7. St. Cloud State – .227 pts%, 4-16-2-1, 1-1 in OT, 15 points (9-17-2 overall)
8. St. Thomas – .145 pts%, 3-19-1-0, 0-0 in OT, 10 points (5-21-1 overall)
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