The Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, October 4th
Goals for a Goal program accepting pledges for 2023-2024!!
As announced last week, our Goals for a Goal program is back for 2023-2024! Pledge a dollar amount for every goal the Gophers score during the regular season and postseason. You also have the option to double your pledge for power play goals. Last season the team scored 177 goals, with 33 coming on the power play.
Pledges can be submitted electronically through this online form. An offline option will be available soon.
After the postseason, you will receive an email from the Golden Gopher Fund with your pledge total and giving instructions. All contributions are tax-deductible donations to the Gopher Women's Hockey Enhancement Fund to cover expenses outside the team's normal operating budget – such as improvements to Ridder Arena. The Goals for a Goal program is part of the Power Play Club's goal of raising $67,500 for the team this season. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!
Power Play Club membership enrollment remains open!!
There is still time to sponsor a player’s or coach’s locker for the 2023-2024 season. Locker sponsorships require a minimum of $600 donation. Locker sponsors will have a photo with the player or coach and a special meal with the team. If you wish to sponsor a locker, please contact Rennie McPherson at susanmcp58@gmail.com.
You can also join the Power Play Club at the 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".
GWH Regular Season Opener!!
#4/4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-0-0) at RIT Tigers (2-0-2)
Friday and Saturday, October 6 & 7
Both games at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT
Gene Polisseni Center – Rochester, N.Y.
The 3rd-ranked Golden Gopher Women's Hockey team opens the 2023-2024 regular season with a road trip to upstate New York, where they'll face the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester. Games on both Friday and Saturday, October 6 & 7, are scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT.
Game coverage – Video from both games will be streamed on the flohockey.tv subscription service. Free audio play-by-play with Dan Hamann is available on GopherSports.com for both Friday and Saturday.
Last time against RIT – The Tigers visited Ridder Arena two seasons ago in November 2021, but the Gophers cruised to a series sweep by scores of 10-0 and 7-1. Minnesota shelled RIT goaltenders with 131 total shots on goal, including a program record-tying 72 in the second game. Taylor Heise posted a 7-point weekend with 4 goals & 3 assists, including a hat trick in the series opener; Peyton Hemp & Catie Skaja recorded 2 goals and 2 assists apiece and Emma Conner & Crystalyn Hengler each added a goal and 3 assists. Four different Gopher goaltenders played in the series, making a combined 19 saves, with Olivia King stopping 10 shots in 52 minutes of work. Hana Solinger scored the Tigers' lone goal and Taylor Liotta made 82 saves in 77-1/2 minutes of action.
Analyzing the Tigers – RIT is looking to improve after finishing last in the College Hockey America standings in 2022-2023 with a 1-13-2 conference mark and 4-26-2 overall record, missing the league playoffs. They are already two weeks into their 2023-2024 schedule with a pair of ties against RPI and a weekend sweep of NCAA-debuting Assumption University.
The Tigers are looking for more scoring, having netted only 50 goals in 32 games last season and being shut out 10 times. Senior and Lakeville, MN, native Lindsay Maloney (#8) is the top-scoring returner for RIT with 13 points on 6 goals and 7 assists in 2022-2023. A pair of juniors posted 12 points apiece last year; Kylie Aquaro (#23) had one goal to go with her team-high 11 assists, while Athena Vasdani (#6) recorded 5 goals and 7 helpers. Through their first four games of 2023-2024, senior Emma Roland (#11) has two goals for the Tigers, while junior Jordyn Bear (#9) and sophomores Jaidan Fahrny (#15) & Lexi Sung (#18) each have a goal and two assists.
Junior goaltender Sarah Coe (#30) started 26 of RIT's 32 games last year, posting a 3-21-2 record with one shutout, a .911 save percentage, and a 3.15 goals-against average. Senior Emma Stephen (#36) made 4 starts, going 1-3-0 with a .913 SV% and 3.66 GAA. Sophomore Sophia Bellina (#29) went 0-2-0 in her two starts, yielding 6 goals on 60 shots. Coe started the Tigers' first three games this year, tallying a .956 SV% and 1.26 GAA, while Bellina earned her first collegiate victory in the team's fourth game (details below).
Last weekend for RIT – As noted previously, the Tigers were on the road facing the Assumption University Greyhounds, making their NCAA debut as new member of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA). RIT swept the series 3-2 and 5-1, outshooting Assumption 73-41 and getting two goals from Emma Roland & a goal and an assist by Lexi Sung. Sheridan Terrazzano netted the first goal in the Greyhounds' history. RIT netminder Sarah Coe earned the victory in the opener with 18 saves and Sophia Bellina stopped 20 of 21 shots to win the rematch. Between the pipes for Assumption, Carissa Mudrak stopped 38 of 41 shots on Friday while Jadyn Weiser made 27 saves Saturday.
Five Gopher alumnae receive PWHL tryout invitations
Following the PWHL pre-draft free agency signings of GWH alumnae Kelly Pannek and Lee Stecklein, both with Minnesota, and draft selections Taylor Heise (Minnesota), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota), Hannah Brandt (Boston), Emily Brown (Boston), Amanda Leveille (Minnesota), and Olivia Knowles (Toronto), five more Gopher alums are among the 53 players receiving undrafted free agent tryouts, as reported by The Hockey News (with PWHL team listed):
Lauren Bench (Minnesota)
Abigail Boreen (Minnesota)
Gigi Marvin (Boston)
Savannah Norcross (New York)
Catie Skaja (Minnesota)
Training camps are scheduled to open on Wednesday, November 15. We will pass along additional PWHL news as we await not only the final camp rosters but also announcements of team nicknames and playing venues.
2023-2024 Rivalry Series game schedule announced; IIHF Women's World Championship tickets go on sale
The Rivalry Series between the U.S. and Canada Women's National Hockey Teams is back for 2023-2024, as USA Hockey and Hockey Canada announced a seven-game schedule between the squads starting next month.
Action will start south of the border as the Americans host contests in Tempe, Arizona, on November 8, and Los Angeles on November 11. The teams will move north in December with games in Kitchener & Sarnia, Ontario, on December 14 and 16, respectively. Following a break in January, games will resume with Hockey Canada hosting in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan on February 7 & 9 before the finale back on U.S. soil on February 11 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
All seven games will be televised on NHL Network. Tickets for the games in Tempe, L.A., and St. Paul will go on sale this Friday, October 6, with links to purchase at teamusa.usahockey.com/202324rivalryseries. Tickets for the games in Kitchener, Sarnia and Regina will also be available on Friday at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets. Tickets for the game in Saskatoon will be available at a later date.
Following the Rivalry Series, the U.S. will host the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championship in Utica, New York, running April 3 through 14. Ticket packages for all games at the Adirondack Bank Center are now on sale at EmpireStateTix.com. The full tournament schedule is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Around the WCHA
Ohio State splits with Colgate – In a pair of games that were nearly mirror images of each other scoring-wise, the Buckeyes and Raiders split their season-opening contest with Colgate winning the opener 3-2 and OSU returning the favor with a 3-2 OT victory in the rematch. The eventual winning team for each contest took a 2-0 lead but their opponents knotted the score at 2-2 before the game-winning goal was tallied. Kristýna Kaltounková lit the lamp twice for the Raiders, Emma Pais scored Friday's gamewinner with 39.8 seconds left in regulation, and Danielle Serdachny dished out 3 assists. OSU's Sloane Matthews netted a goal in each game and Jenna Buglioni scored 2:32 into overtime on Saturday.
Wisconsin routs Lindenwood – After posting a 6-0 shutout victory to open their Thursday-Friday series, the Badgers set a new program scoring record in a 16-1 blowout win over the Lions in the rematch, holding a 118-22 SOG advantage for the series. Cassie Hall led Wisconsin in Friday's game with 4 goals, while Lacey Eden and Sophie Helgesen also netted hat tricks. Eden also had two goals in the opener, giving her 5 in the series. Britta Curl led Wisconsin with six points on a goal & 5 assists, and Kirsten Simms added two goals and three helpers. Sarah Davies tailled the lone goal for Lindenwood.
St. Thomas sweeps Franklin Pierce – A pair of freshmen led the way as the Tommies swept the Ravens at home, 7-2 & 5-2. Ella Boerger tallied three goals and an assist, while Rylee Bartz recorded a goal and 3 helpers. UST junior Abby Promersberger also lit the lamp twice, while Franklin Pierce's Alyssa Kawa scored three of their four goals. The Tommies outshot the Ravens 96-30.
Upcoming games – Wisconsin will again start the weekend early, hosting Boston College on Thursday and Friday. All other series will be played on Friday and Saturday. A WCHA team will face Lindenwood for a third-straight week as St. Thomas hosts the Lions. In another pair of home series, Bemidji State will play R.P.I. and Minnesota Duluth will face L.I.U. Heading out on eastern road trips, St. Cloud State will visit Mercyhurst and Minnesota State will take on Sacred Heart. Ohio State is idle.
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