Chalk Talk – Saturday (December 2) at 12:30 p.m.
Join us this Saturday, December 2, at 12:30 p.m. for the first of our three 2023-2024 Chalk Talks!! A member of the GWH coaching staff will review video of Friday night's game with us and discuss team strategy. We will be meeting in the Ridder Arena weight room, across the hall from the suite seating upstairs. This is an exclusive event for enrolled PPC members and we look forward to seeing many of you there.
Register in the Power Play Club for 2023-2024!!
With our Chalk Talk and the December 9th Tour of Ridder events approaching, we want you to join us in supporting the Gopher Women's Hockey team as a member of the Power Play Club!
Registration for our basic membership tier includes up to two adults and any children at same address and requires a minimum donation of $50. Online registration is preferred - click here to register then 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".
Goals for a Goal: Gophers add 8 more goals (2 on PP)
After lighting the lamp eight times at the D1 In DC Showcase this past weekend, including twice on the power play, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has recorded 49 goals through 13 games, with 15 of those coming while on the power play! We continue to request your support in converting those goals into donations back to the team by registering for the Goals for a Goal program. 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.
Pledges can be submitted electronically through this online form. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!
#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-2-0, 7-2-0 in WCHA)
vs.
Bemidji State University Beavers (1-12-1, 1-9-0)
Friday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Ridder Arena
The Golden Gopher Women's Hockey team returns to Ridder Arena for only its third and fourth home games of the 2023-2024 season. It will host the Bemidji State University Beavers in WCHA league play, with action beginning Friday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. and continuing Saturday, December 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Game coverage - Video coverage will be available on the B1G+ subscription service for both contests. Free audio play-by-play will be available on GopherSports.com for both Friday and Saturday, starting 15 to 20 minutes before each game.
Last year against Bemidji State - The Gophers opened the 2022-2023 season with a weekend sweep of the Beavers at Ridder Arena, 6-0 & 4-1. The teams met again in Bemidji in January, and Minnesota completed the season sweep with 7-0 and 4-1 victories. In addition to the combined 21-2 scoring differential, the Gophers outshot BSU by a 177-68 margin. Taylor Heise led Minnesota in total scoring across the four games with 9 points on 2 goals & 7 assists, while the trio of Abigail Boreen, Abbey Murphy, and Grace Zumwinkle each tallied 4 goals & 2 assists. Madeline Wethington dished out 6 assists as well. Kate Boland and Claire Vekich lit the lamp for Bemidji State. Makayla Pahl posted a 17-save shutout in the opener, while Skylar Vetter won the other three games with 45 saves (a .957 save percentage and 0.75 goals-against average); Olivia King also made a relief appearance, stopping the 4 shots she faced in 20 minutes of action. BSU netminder Hannah Hogenson played all four contests, posting an .886 SV% with a 5.02 GAA.
Analyzing the Beavers - Bemidji State entered 2023-2024 without the three players who led them last year in total points, goals, and assists, all having transferred elsewhere. Their primary goaltender in 2022-2023 also did not return. They started this season 0-11-1 before getting their first win two weekends ago (more on that shortly), and they've been outscored 59-15 in their fourteen games.
Freshman Hailey Armstrong (#29) has tallied nearly half of Bemidji State's goals, lighting the lamp 7 times. Senior Taylor Nelson (#8) also has 7 points so far this year, netting 3 goals and dishing out 4 assists. Senior Gabbie Smith (#20) is third in total scoring with 6 points on a goal and 5 assists.
Junior Abbie Thompson (#35) has started 10 games between the pipes for the Beavers this season, going 0-9-1 with a 4.07 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. Freshman Eva Filippova (#30) has earned BSU's lone win; she's 1-2-0 in her 3 starts with a pair of relief appearances as well, posting a 2.90 GAA and .909 SV%. Junior Emerald Kelly (#1) transferred to Bemidji State from Minnesota State; in her lone appearance so far for the Beavers, she yielded 7 goals to Wisconsin with 26 saves in 40 minutes of action. Sophomore Madison Faucher (#33) has not seen any ice time so far this year, having played only one period last season.
Last action for Bemidji State - As we noted last week, the Beavers and Minnesota State Mavericks each earned their first victory in WCHA conference play two weekends ago, playing each other in Bemidji with both games going to overtime. BSU won 3-2 in the series opener and MSU took the rematch, also 3-2. Minnesota State battled back from a 2-0 Friday night deficit, getting a pair of goals from Jamie Nelson to force OT, but Taylor Nelson scored for Bemidji State 14 seconds into the extra period for the victory. Each team held a one-goal lead in regulation of Saturday's contest before Jamie Nelson netted her third goal of the series for the Mavericks 40 seconds into overtime. BSU's Hailey Armstrong recorded goals in each game and Khloe Lund added a goal & two assists.
Gophers complete D1 In DC Showcase “sweep” - A holiday weekend trip to the Washington, DC, area was a success for the Minnesota Women's Hockey team as they defeated Harvard, 3-1, and then-#8 Cornell, 5-1, in the D1 In DC Showcase. Ella Huber opened the scoring against the Crimson on Friday for a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Gwynn Lapp knotted the score for Harvard with a second-period power-play goal, but Ava Lindsay put the Gophers back in the lead with her own power-play conversion, and Abbey Murphy added another power-play marker in the third. Lucy Morgan earned the win with 11 saves, while Harvard's Alex Pellicci stopped 41 shots. The Wethington sisters gave Minnesota a 2-0 after one period against the Big Red; Madeline opened the scoring, and Audrey tallied the team's sixth short-handed goal of the season four minutes later. Murphy extended the Gopher lead to 3-0 before Katie Chan scored for Cornell, but Murphy added her third goal of the showcase 36 seconds into the third period. Later in the stanza, Madison Kaiser picked the pocket of a Big Red player and scored unassisted for the final margin. Skylar Vetter stopped 12 shots for the victory while Cornell's Annelies Bergmann made 27 saves. Murphy also recorded an assist for a 4-point weekend, Audrey Wethington also dished out an assist to accompany her goal, and Emma Kreisz recorded 3 helpers.
Murphy earns league honor after netting 50th collegiate goal
Following her three-goal, one-assist performance in the D1 In DC Showcase, Gopher Women's Hockey junior alternate captain Abbey Murphy was named Sterling Trophy WCHA Forward of the Week, her second weekly honor this season and the fourth of her collegiate career. Murphy also posted a +2 plus-minus rating in the two contests.
Additionally, Murphy's power play conversion on Friday against Harvard was her the 50th goal in Maroon & Gold. Following Saturday's game agianst Cornell, she now sits at 91 career points on 52 goals and 39 assists. Congratulations, Abbey!!
Around the WCHA
All-session tickets for the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff, being held for the ninth-straight year at Ridder Arena on March 8 & 9, are NOW ON SALE. - Package prices are $40 for reserved chairback seating, $30 for adult general admission, $22.50 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $12 for general admission group seating (groups of 10+). Tickets can be purchased from the U. of M. Ticket Office here or by phone at 1-800-U-GOPHER, and will be issued electronically.
St. Thomas falls to Cornell, beats Harvard - In the other two games of the D1 In DC Showcase, the Tommies were defeated by the Big Red, 4-1, but posted a 4-3 victory over the Crimson. Cornell took a 4-0 lead with Piper Grober & Izzy Daniel each recording a goal and an assist, but Maddie Brown scored for UST to break up the shutout attempt. Brown lit the lamp twice more and Ella Boerger dished out two assists as St. Thomas built a 4-1 lead over Harvard; the Crimson came back with a pair of power-play goals to pull within one but could not find an equalizer as UST held a 40-24 shot advantage.
Buckeyes rout St. Lawrence in Columbus – A top-ten matchup between Ohio State and St. Lawrence turned into a pair of one-sided affairs as the host Buckeyes earned an 11-0, 5-1 sweep. Makenna Webster and Jocelyne Amos each tallied 3 goals & an assist, Kiara Zanon added a goal & 3 assists, and Kenzie Hauswirth dished out four helpers. Raygan Kirk earned Friday's shutout with a 15-save performance as OSU outshot the Saints 82-24. Abby Hustler netted the lone goal for SLU.
Bulldogs get win, tie at home against Colgate - In another top-ten non-conference series, Minnesota Duluth earned a 3-0 upset victory over the visiting Raiders, and the two squads played to a 1-1 overtime tie in the rematch. In the opener, Clara Van Wieren, Danielle Burgen, and Reece Hunt each lit the lamp for UMD, Olivia Wallin & Hanna Baskin dished out two assists apiece, and Hailey MacLeod stopped all 29 shots she faced for the shutout. Burgen assisted on Grace Sadura's second-period goal on Saturday and MacLeod made another 37 saves, but Allyson Simpson knotted the score for Colgate on an extra-attacker goal with 44 seconds remaining in regulation.
Mavericks take home Smashville Classic guitar trophy - Sydney Langseth tallied 3 goals & an assist, and Whitney Tuttle and Claire Vekich each added 2 goals & 2 assists as Minnesota State defeated Robert Morris 5-1 on Saturday and Boston University 7-2 on Sunday to claim the guitar trophy at the Smashville Classic showcase in Nashville, TN. MSU outshot its opponents by a combined 93-48.
Upcoming games - All eight WCHA teams are in action this coming weekend with a full slate of conference games. In a pair of Friday-Saturday series, St. Cloud State heads to Columbus to face Ohio State while St. Thomas & Minnesota State play home-and-home starting in Mankato. Wisconsin hosts Minnesota Duluth in a Saturday-Sunday matchup.
Watch for our Two-Minute Minor email later this week with more event announcements and any breaking news!
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