Saturday events – Tour of Ridder and Teddy Bear Toss
Come join us before the Border Battle contest against Wisconsin this coming Saturday, December 9th, for a behind-the-scenes tour of Ridder Arena as we check out the updates to the lower level and other areas. The tour will start in the ticket lobby around 1 p.m., an hour before game time. This is an exclusive event for enrolled PPC members and we provide a reminder that you can still register for the 2023-2024 season through our membership page on powerplayclub.org.
And don't forget to do some shopping beforehand to pick up a new stuffed animal (or several) for the annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by White Bear Mitsubishi! You'll have an opportunity to toss your bagged animal(s) onto the ice during an intermission of Saturday's contest against the Badgers. All the collected animals will be donated to the Masonic Children's Hospital. Thank you for your support of this great program!!
#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-2-0, 9-2-0 in WCHA)
at
#10 St. Cloud State University Huskies (12-5-0, 7-4-0)
Tuesday, December 5 at 6:00 p.m.
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, St. Cloud
After posting a high-scoring sweep in their first two-game home series of the 2023-2024 season, the Gopher Women's Hockey team will head up I-94 to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center for their last road contest of the calendar year, facing the St. Cloud State Huskies for a second midweek game. The Gophers and Huskies will drop the puck tomorrow (Tuesday) night, December 5, at 6:00 p.m. (Note: listed rankings are from prior to this past weekend's games.)
Game coverage – As with all WCHA league contests, video coverage will be available on the B1G+ subscription service. Free audio play-by-play will be available on GopherSports.com here, starting around 5:45 p.m.
Last time against St. Cloud State – Minnesota defended home ice in their Ridder Arena opener with a 2-1 victory over the Huskies on October 17. Ava Lindsay lit the lamp in the 2nd period, cleaning up the rebound of an initial shot by Emily Zumwinkle. The score stayed 1-0 into the final minute when Taylor Stewart tallied her first goal as a Gopher, a short-handed bouncer into an empty net despite a deflection off a Huskies defender's stick. Stewart's goal turned into the game winner as SCSU's Avery Farrell broke up the shutout bid, lighting the lamp with 5.2 seconds remaining, but Skylar Vetter's 14 saves were enough for the win. Emma Kreisz assisted on both Minnesota goals, and St. Cloud State netminder Jojo Chobak stopped 29 shots.
Analyzing the Huskies – As we mentioned before the first meeting between Minnesota & St. Cloud State this season, the Huskies are looking to finish in the top four of the WCHA standings and earn home ice for the first round of the playoffs, something they have not accomplished since 2009-2010. They are on their way to making it happen this year, starting with a 7-4-0 conference record and a 12-5-0 mark overall including a big win in Columbus this past weekend.
Scoring has been very spread out for SCSU. Fifth-year forward Klára Hymlárová (#12) is the team's points leader with 14 and is tied with a team-high 6 goals, while grad student Katie Kaufman (#10) has the assist lead with 9 while scoring 3 goals of her own for 12 points. Grad student CC Bowlby (#28; 6g, 3a) and freshman Alice Sauriol (#4; 3g, 6a) are tied for third to scoring with 9 points apiece.
Goaltending has been a definite strong point for the Huskies. Seniors Sanni Ahola (#1) and Jojo Chobak (#29) have combined for 8 shutouts in St. Cloud State's 17 games. Ahola is 7-1-0 with five of those shutouts, a ridiculous .967 save percentage and 0.75 goals-against average. Chobak has a 5-4-0 record this season with a .932 SV% and 1.69 GAA. Freshman Paige Hoogendam (#31) has yet to see any action.
Last action for St. Cloud State – Making the longer trip to Columbus, the Huskies found themselves down 1-0 to the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in the first period Friday on a Makenna Webster goal, but CC Bowlby & Greta Henderson each lit the lamp for SCSU on second-period power plays. That was enough for Sanni Ahola, who stopped 46 shots and earned the 2-1 upset victory. Cayla Barnes again gave OSU a 1-0 lead on Saturday only to have Laura Zimmerman knot the score for the Huskies; however, the Buckeyes took control, scoring the next five goals including two by Olivia Mobley. Taylor Lind converted another power-play late for SCSU but they had to settle for a split after a 6-2 loss. OSU held a 90-33 shots-on-goal advantage in the series.
Gophers sweep Beavers at Ridder – After spotting Bemidji State a 1-0 lead on Friday night, Minnesota exploded for 18 goals in a 9-2, 9-1 weekend sweep at Ridder Arena. Abbey Murphy scored early and often, recording 8 points on 4 goals & 4 assists, Ella Huber dished out 5 assists while also lighting the lamp once for a 6-point weekend, and Ava Lindsay (3g, 2a) & Peyton Hemp (2g, 3a) each added 5 points. Josefin Bouveng also lit the lamp twice with two assists, Emma Kreisz tallied a goal and two assists, and Solveig Neunzert dished out 3 helpers. Skylar Vetter stopped 17 shots on Friday, and Lucy Morgan posted 25 saves – including one on Friday in a brief appearance while Vetter made a skate change. BSU's line of Genevieve Hendrickson, Talya Hendrickson, and Kate Johnson accounted for all their scoring as each recorded a goal and assisted on the other two.
Additionally, two Gophers each netted their first goals in Maroon & Gold. Freshman Lauren O'Hara lit the lamp not once but twice in Friday's contest, while junior Sadie Lindsay found the back of the net with a rebound goal on Saturday. Congratulations, Lauren & Sadie!!
Murphy closes in on century mark after earning monthly award
Gopher Women's Hockey junior Abbey Murphy continued to collect awards as she was named Sterling Trophy WCHA Forward of the Month for November on Thursday, following recognition as the Forward of the Week and having the Howie's Hockey Tape Performance of the Week for her play over Thanksgiving weekend.
For the moment, attention now turns to Murphy's career statistics. Recording four goals and four assists this past weekend against Bemidji State, she now sits at 99 points as a Gopher on 56 goals and 43 assists.
Heise, Murphy, Pannek & Zumwinkle to join Team USA this month
Abbey Murphy and Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, and Grace Zumwinkle will don the Red, White & Blue again later this month, being named to the U.S. National Team roster for the third and fourth games of the 2023-2024 Rivalry Series against Canada. Those contests are scheduled for Thursday, December 14 in Kitchener, Ontario, and Saturday, December 16, in Sarnia, Ontario.
All four Gophers played in the opening two games of the seven-game series last month, with Team USA winning 3-1 in Tempe, Arizona, and 5-2 in Los Angeles. Heise posted a goal and an assist while Murphy dished out a pair of helpers.
Tickets for the upcoming pair of games are available through Hockey Canada here.
PWHL releases inaugural season schedules for all six teams
The Professional Women's Hockey League announced its composite 2024 regular-season schedule this past Thursday, November 30, featuring 72 games among its six teams.
The schedule includes a pair of breaks for international competition. The first will occur in February for Rivalry Series games and other contests. The second will span 3½ weeks, starting in late March and running into April, for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship.
The league also announced it will have players participating as part of the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, in the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase™ on Thursday, February 1. Festivities that day begin at 6 p.m. ET and will conclude with the showcase event. More details are forthcoming.
Univ. of Delaware adds varsity women's ice hockey for 2025-2026
The University of Delaware will add women's ice hockey as a varsity sport, starting competition in the 2025-2026 season, as announced by the school this past Friday, December 1. The Blue Hens will become the 45th Division I women's ice hockey program and will join the College Hockey America conference. The team will play at the Fred Rust Ice Arena in Newark, DE, the home of the university's current club hockey programs.
A formal press conference will take place this morning (Monday, December 4) at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT and will be streamed live on YouTube.
Around the WCHA
Badgers, Bulldogs split in Madison – Despite a 48-save performance by UMD netminder Ève Gascon, Wisconsin took the opener of their series 3-0; Britta Curl recorded a goal & an assist, Kelly Gorbatenko and Lacey Eden also lit the lamp, and Jane Gervais stopped all 20 shots she faced. After two scoreless periods, Clara Van Wieren & Mannon McMahon put Minnesota Duluth up 2-0 in the rematch; Cassie Hall pulled UW within one 2:20 later, but Jenna Lowry restored a two-goal lead for the Bulldogs with 5:20 to play. Casey O'Brien scored for the Badgers with an extra attacker, but UMD earned the weekend split with a 3-2 victory behind 42 saves from Hailey MacLeod and a 3-assist performance from Ida Karlsson. Curl assisted on both Wisconsin goals on Sunday for a 4-point (1g, 3a) weekend while Ava McNaughton made 23 saves.
Mavericks sweep Tommies in home-and-home series – Sydney Langseth tallied 3 goals & 2 assists and Lauren Barbro stopped a combined 38 of 40 shots as Minnesota State completed a weekend sweep of St. Thomas, 7-1 in Mankato and 3-1 in Mendota Heights. Taylor Otremba (2g, 1a) and Jamie Nelson (1g, 2a) each added 3 points in the opener for MSU, who had an 87-40 shot advantage in the series. Lauren Stenslie and Ellah Hause lit the lamp for the Tommies, and Calla Frank made 61 saves in a little over four periods of action.
Upcoming games – This next weekend will conclude action before the holiday break, with all eight teams in another round of league play. In addition to the Border Battle between the Gophers and Badgers, Bemidji State will visit St. Thomas and St. Cloud State will host Minnesota Duluth on Friday & Saturday, while Minnesota State faces Ohio State in a Saturday-Sunday series in Columbus.
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