The Penalty Box Post
Wednesday, February 15th
PPC All-Member Meeting – Tuesday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m.
SAVE THE DATE!! The annual Power Play Club All-Member Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. This will be an online meeting on Zoom, with the link to be shared shortly before the meeting date. The primary agenda item will be the election of members to the club's Board of Directors, though there will also be time for providing thoughts and feedback as we continually strive for improvement and look forward to the 2023-2024 season.
Goals for a Goal – Count climbs to 146 goals
Entering the final weekend of the 2022-2023 regular season, the Gopher Women's Hockey has lit the lamp 146 times – including 29 power play conversions!!
As the playoffs loom, we provide a reminder that goals scored during the post-season will be included in the count for our Goals for a Goal program, converting each of those goals into donations to the team for Ridder Arena improvements. We thanks everyone who has pledged so far and we continue to accept new pledges, with the option to double the per-goal amount for power play tallies. To make a pledge, fill out this online form (preferred) or download the PDF version, print it, and mail it in to the listed address. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!
Regular Season Finale!
#4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (23-5-3, 20-3-3-1 WCHA)
at University of St. Thomas Tommies (8-23-1, 3-22-1-1 WCHA)
Friday and Saturday, February 17 & 18 - Both games at 6:00 p.m.
St. Thomas Ice Arena, Mendota Heights
The Gopher Women's Hockey team concludes the 2022-2023 regular season with a trip across town for a road series against the Univerity of St. Thomas Tommies. The teams square off at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights on Friday and Saturday, February 17 & 18, with both games at 6:00 p.m.
Television coverage – Saturday's game will be televised on FOX 9+ in the Twin Cities. To find your FOX 9+ channel number, click here. Both games will also have video streaming available on the B1G+ subscription service.
Last time against St. Thomas – Seven different Gopher Women's Hockey players lit the lamp and Skylar Vetter stopped 28 of the 29 shots she faced as Minnesota swept St. Thomas five weeks ago at Ridder Arena, 5-0 & 4-1. In the opener, Grace Zumwinkle netted two first-period goals, Abbey Murphy recorded 3 points on a goal & two assists, Nelli Laitinen dished out two helpers, and Peyton Hemp & Josefin Bouveng also found the back of the net. Also having recorded an assist on Friday, Taylor Heise tallied the game-winning goal and two helpers in the rematch, hitting the 200 career points mark. Abigail Boreen lit the lamp twice and Ella Huber also scored. For the Tommies, Maddy Clough netted the lone goal while Alexa Dobchuk made 41 saves Friday and Saskia Maurer stopped 38 shots Saturday.
Analyzing the Tommies – Coming to the close of their second season at the Division I level, St. Thomas has racked up 8 overall wins, including sweeps of Lindenwood, RIT, and Bemidji State. They currently sit seventh in the conference standings after winning a third game over the Beavers and also earning a tie and shootout win against UMD back in December.
Sophomore defender Maddie Clough (#2) is the Tommies' leading scorer with 12 points, recording 6 goals and 6 assists. Graduate student Anna Solheim (#19) has a team-high 8 assists plus 3 goals of her own for 11 points. Another graduate student, Gabby Billing (#18) is the third UST player with 10 points, tallying 5 goals & 5 assists. Senior Maija Almich (#5) has a team-leading 8 goals plus an assist for 9 points.
Sophomore netminder Saskia Maurer (#29) is 5-12-1 with 3 shutouts in her 18 starts, posting a 2.98 goals-against average & .912 save percentage. Senior Alexa Dobchuk (#30) has a 2-10-0 record this season, with a 4.45 GAA & .889 SV%. Freshman Maggie Malecha (#33) is 1-1-0 in two starts and has also made 3 relief appearances; she has a 2.67 GAA and .924 SV%.
Last weekend for St. Thomas – The Ohio State Ice Rink in Columbus was not hospitable to the Tommies as they were swept by the Buckeyes, 6-1 & 5-0. OSU's Makenna Webster & Gabby Rosenthal each recorded two goals and an assist, Emma Maltais tallied a goal and 4 helpers, and Jenna Buglioni dished out 5 assists. Maija Almich lit the lamp for UST, and Alexa Dobchuck & Saskia Maurer each made 46 saves.
Gophers drop five points to Wisconsin at sold-out Ridder
Despite back-to-back nights of Ridder Arena record crowds of 3,539 spectators, the Gopher Women's Hockey team was only able to earn one WCHA standings point against Wisconsin, earning a 2-2 tie but losing the subsequent shootout and dropping the rematch by a wild 7-5 score.
The Badgers took a pair of one-goal leads on Friday when Katie Kotlowski and Jesse Compher lit the lamp. However, Abbey Murphy and Taylor Heise each scored to draw the Gophers even. But, despite a 24-5 shot advantage after the second intermission, Minnesota could not find a go-ahead tally and the game finished knotted up. In the shootout, Wisconsin's Britta Curl netted the only goal in the third round for the bonus point.
The Gophers took a 2-0 lead in the rematch on Heise's 4th short-handed goal of the season and a power-play tally by Catie Skaja. The Badgers responded with the next four goals, including two by Kirsten Simms, to go up by two in the third period, but Murphy netted her second goal of the weekend and Heise tallied her third to knot the score at 4-4. However, the game flipped back in Wisconsin's favor inside the final five minutes as Carolyn Harvey, Casey O'Brien, and Compher (empty net) scored to take a 7-4 lead. Grace Zumwinkle lit the lamp with 57 seconds remaining, but it wasn't enough and the Gophers fell.
Between the pipes, Skylar Vetter made a combined 57 saves for Minnesota, while Cami Kronish stopped 80 shots for Wisconsin.
Zumwinkle, Heise continue climbs in Gopher record books – Grace Zumwinkle's late goal on Saturday was the 106th of her career, moving her into a tie with Minnesota legend Krissy Wendell for fourth on the program's all-time list; after also dishing out 3 assists against the Badgers, she moved into sole possession of 10th place on the career points list, reaching a total of 199 to activate another milestone watch. Heise's 88th, 89th, and 90th career goals moved her into ninth on the list, surpassing Ambria Thomas, and she also passed Thomas for fourth in career short-handed goals with 9.
Minnesota lands 18 on WCHA All-Academic Team
Our congratulations to the eighteen (18) Gopher Women's Hockey players who have been named to the 2023 WCHA All-Academic Team, as announced by the league yesterday: Abigail Boreen, Taylor Heise, Peyton Hemp, Crystalyn Hengler, Ella Huber, Olivia King, Sadie Lindsay, Abbey Murphy, Maggie Nicholson, Savannah Norcross, Emily Oden, Gracie Ostertag, Catie Skaja, Skylar Vetter, Audrey Wethington, Madeline Wethington, Emily Zumwinkle, and Grace Zumwinkle!!
As shared in the press release from the league, the WCHA All-Academic Team includes student-athletes who have completed one year of eligibility at their present institutions, prior to the academic year, and have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in their previous two semesters or three quarters.
Around the WCHA...
Bulldogs take 5 points from Huskies – A power-play goal by Gabbie Hughes put Minnesota Duluth up 1-0 in their opener against St. Cloud State, but Huskies goaltender Jojo Chobak stopped the other 43 shots she faced and Emma Gentry knotted the score with 3:12 to play in regulation. After a scoreless overtime, Maggie Flaherty netted the only goal of the shootout – the second-straight UMD game in which that occurred – to take the bonus point. The Bulldogs followed that up with a 2-0 shutout in the rematch, getting goals from Ashton Bell (PP) & Taylor Anderson. Emma Soderberg stopped a combined 35 of 36 shots for the Bulldogs; Sanni Ahola made 30 saves on Saturday for SCSU.
Mavericks sweep Beavers in Mankato – Kelsey King recorded two goals and an assist, Madison Mashuga lit the lamp twice, and Alexa Berg posted a 22-save shutout on Saturday as Minnesota State earned a home sweep over Bemidji State, 3-2 and 4-0. Reece Hunt and McKayla Zilisch scored for BSU.
This weekend – Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State will get the action underway with a Friday-Saturday matinee series in Bemidji. St. Cloud State hosts Minnesota State in the battle for 5th place in the league standings on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon (MSU holds the tiebreaker after sweeping the earlier series against SCSU). Finally, Ohio State visits Wisconsin in the conclusion of the regular season, with games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Standings (* indicates team has clinched home ice for WCHA quarterfinals):
1. Ohio State* – 66 points (.872 pts%), 22-3-1-1, 3-1 in OT (27-3-2 overall)
2. Minnesota* – 63 points (.808 pts%), 20-3-3-1, 1-0 in OT (23-5-3 overall)
3. Wisconsin* – 58 points (.756 pts%), 18-6-2-1, 1-2 in OT (22-8-2 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth* – 48 points (.654 pts%), 15-8-3-2, 4-2 in OT (21-8-3 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 30 points (.385 pts%), 9-16-1-0, 0-2 in OT (16-16-1 overall)
Minnesota State – 30 points (.385 pts%), 9-16-1-0, 0-2 in OT (15-16-1 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 11 points (.141 pts%), 3-22-1-1, 0-0 in OT (8-23-1 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 6 points (.077 pts%), 2-24-0-0, 0-0 in OT (5-26-1 overall)
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