The Penalty Box Post
Monday, October 16th
We send many thanks to you, our fellow fans, for your support of Gopher Women's Hockey. We continue asking for your help raising funds for the program as they proceed in their 27th season of play and the 25th year of WCHA competition. Here are a couple of ways to provide that assistance.
Goals for a Goal: Gopher scoring total increases to 20!
The Gopher Women's Hockey team netted 12 goals this past weekend, bringing their season total to 20 with seven (7) coming on the power play. We encourage you to submit a pledge to convert each of those goals into a donation back to the team through our Goals for a Goal program!
Pledges can be made electronically using this online form, with the options to double your pledge for power-play goals. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!
PPC membership enrollment – Locker sponsors wanted!
Another way to donate to the Minnesota Women's Hockey program is to enroll in the Power Play Club for 2023-2024, earning access to our three Chalk Talks with the coaching staff!!
We are looking for additional locker sponsors this season, where a plaque with your name will be affixed to a player’s or coach’s locker and you will get a photo with that player / coach in front of their locker along with special meal with the team. Sponsorships require a minimum of $600 donation per locker. If you wish to sponsor a locker, please contact Rennie McPherson (before donating) at susanmcp58@gmail.com.
You can also contribute through our basic membership tier, which includes up to two adults and any children at same address, with a minimum donation of $50. Online registration is preferred at bit.ly/GWH_PPC_2324; 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".
Gopher Women's Hockey Home Opener!!
#4/4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA)
vs.
#14/15 St. Cloud State Univ. Huskies (5-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA)
Tuesday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m. - Ridder Arena
After sweeping their conference-opening series this past weekend, the Gopher Women's Hockey team begins the home portion of its 2023-2024 schedule with a special Tuesday game tomorrow night – October 17 – against the St. Cloud State University Huskies. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Ridder Arena.
Ticket and concession deals!! Help us pack Ridder for the opener, as tickets for the contest will be only $5! We hope to see many of you there, and encourage you to arrive a few minutes early as the team will raise its 2023 WCHA Final Faceoff Champions Banner! Additionally, a special $2 Tuesday promotion is planned with $2 hot dogs and soft drinks.
Game coverage – Tuesday's contest will be televised on Big Ten Network (channel finder here) and streamed on the BTN channel on FoxSports.com. Free audio play-by-play is available on GopherSports.com here.
Last season against St. Cloud State – After the Gophers earned a weekend sweep of the Huskies last October, winning 4-2 & 2-1, St. Cloud State responded with a 4-1 upset victory in the non-conference U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Women's Faceoff Classic just over two weeks later. However, Minnesota soundly replied in their 4th and 5th meetings in December, shutting out SCSU 6-0 & 9-0. Grace Zumwinkle had a team-high 6 goals against the Huskies plus 3 assists, but Taylor Heise led in total scoring with 12 points on 5 goals & 7 assists, while Abbey Murphy and Emily Oden each added a goal & 6 helpers and Abigail Boreen recorded 4 goals and 2 assists. Skylar Vetter stopped 84 of 91 SCSU shots for a .923 save percentage and 1.41 goals-against average. Klára Hymlárová led the Huskies with two goals and an assist against the Gophers, while Bailey Burton and Emma Gentry each added a goal and an assist. Sanni Ahola started three of the five contests for St. Cloud State, earning the lone win and posting a .932 SV% and 2.68 GAA, but Jojo Chobak yielded 15 goals in her two starts plus a 22-minute relief appearance, resulting in a .845 SV% and 6.45 GAA.
Analyzing the Huskies – St. Cloud State is looking to finish in the top half of the WCHA regular-season standings and earn home ice for the conference playoffs, something they have not accomplished since 2009-2010. They posted a fifth-place result last year with an 11-16-1-0 (0-2 in OT) league record, though they were a perfect 7-0-0 in regular-season non-conference play. However, they were swept by Minnesota Duluth, 1-0 & 5-1, in the WCHA quarterfinals to end their season. The Huskies have started the new year with a 5-1-0 record and were ranked 14th & 15th in the national polls last week.
Among SCSU players returning from last year, fifth-year forward Klára Hymlárová (#12) was the highest scorer, tallying 26 points on 17 goals and 9 assists. Senior Emma Gentry (#20) also surpassed the 20-point mark in 2022-2023, recording 13 goals and 9 helpers, and junior defender Grace Wolfe (#8) dished out a team-high 16 assists while scoring twice herself. Six games into the new season, another junior blueliner – Ella Anick (#17) – leads the team with 6 points on a goal and 5 assist; graduate transfer CC Bowlby (#28) has 4 goals and an assist, while Dayle Ross (#2; 2g, 3a), Katie Kaufman (#10; 1g, 4a) and Wolfe (1g, 4a) each also have five points.
Goaltenders Sanni Ahola (#1) and Jojo Chobak (#29) are back for their senior years. As juniors, Ahola went 9-11-0 with one shutout, a .923 save percentage, and a 2.50 goals-against average, while Chobak was 9-7-1 with 5 shutouts, also a .923 SV%, and a 2.46 GAA. This season, Ahola is 3-0-0, all by shutout with 64 combined saves, while Chobak is 2-1-0 with an .896 SV% and 1.70 GAA (though 3 of the 5 goals she's yielded were with SCSU on the penalty kill). Freshman Paige Hoogendam (#31) has yet to see any official action.
This past weekend for St. Cloud State – The Huskies got their conference schedule started with a sweep of Bemidji State in St. Cloud, winning 5-2 & 3-0. The teams were tied 2-2 at the second intermission of the opener, with Beavers freshman Hailey Armstrong scoring twice, but the Huskies netted the next six goals unanswered. CC Bowlby lit the lamp 3 times in the series, including both game-winning tallies, while Dayle Ross and Alice Sauriol each added a goal & two assists and Katie Kaufman dished out 3 helpers. Jojo Chobak made 10 saves on Friday and Sanni Ahola posted a 17-save shutout on Saturday. BSU's Abbie Thompson stopped 51 shots in the series.
Gophers shut out St. Thomas – Abbey Murphy posted a 4-goal, 2-assist weekend and Skylar Vetter & Lucy Morgan stopped all 43 shots they faced (combined) as Minnesota swept the Tommies, 8-0 at Xcel Energy Center on Friday and 4-0 at St. Thomas Ice Arena on Saturday. Murphy opened scoring in the series with a natural hat trick, including a short-handed tally, and Vetter made 27 saves in Friday's contest. The Gophers were held scoreless over the first 43 minutes of the rematch, but Emma Kreisz netted her first collegiate goal, the eventual game-winning tally, on a power play; at the other end, Morgan made 16 saves to blank UST. In the series, Ella Huber lit the lamp twice and added an assist, while Josefin Bouveng scored her first goal of the season and dished out two helpers. Emma Conner scored in her first game back since last Thanksgiving weekend, and Peyton Hemp, Audrey Wethington (PP) & Nelli Laitinen joined Bouveng in netting their first goals of the season. Madeline Wethington dished out 3 assists, and Lauren O'Hara earned her first collegiate point with an assist.
Around the WCHA
Wisconsin juggernaut continues with sweep of MSU – Sevens were lucky for the Badgers; Kirsten Simms (4g, 3a), Britta Curl (2g, 5a), and Caroline Harvey (1g, 6a) each tallied 7 points as they blanked the Mavericks in Madison, 6-0 & 9-0. Lacey Eden (3g, 2a) and Casey O'Brien (1g, 4a) each added 5 points. Jane Gervais and Ava McNaughton combined for 34 saves and the two shutouts. Suzette Faucher stopped 49 shots for Minnesota State over four periods of action.
Ohio State earns road sweep in Duluth – Hadley Hartmetz recorded a hat trick Friday and Hannah Bilka netted Saturday's game-winning power-play goal & dished out 3 assists as the Buckeyes topped the host Bulldogs 5-2 & 2-0. Jenna Buglioni scored the eventual Friday gamewinner short-handed. Katie Davis and Reece Hunt lit the lamp and Ève Gascon made 71 saves in the series for UMD.
Upcoming games – Following tomorrow night's contest, St. Cloud State will head east for the Icebreaker Tournament in Fairfield, CT, taking on Northeastern on Friday and either Sacred Heart or Lindenwood on Saturday. In three Friday-Saturday league series, St. Thomas will host Ohio State, Minnesota Duluth will visit Minnesota State, and Bemidji State will face Wisconsin in Madison.
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