The Two-Minute Minor
An edition of the Penalty Box Post
Saturday, March 18th
Goals for a Goal – Gophers finish with 177 goals in 2022-23
We send one more round of thanks to everyone who pledged to the Goals for a Goal campaign for the 2022-2023 Gopher Women's Hockey season, supporting future Ridder Arena improvements. With 2 goals in their NCAA semifinal, the Gophers lit the lamp a total of 177 times over their 39 games, 33 of which came on the power play! If you made a pledge, please watch your email inbox for an invoice from the Golden Gopher Fund at the U. of M. indicating your final amount and how to remit your donation.
Gophers fall to Wisconsin in overtime in NCAA semifinal
NCAA Championship – #1 Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
Sunday, March 19, at 3:00 p.m. CT
AMSOIL Arena, Duluth
Game televised on ESPNU
The Gopher and Badger Women Hockey teams exchanged leads in regulation of their NCAA semifinal matchup; Taylor Heise put Minnesota up just 3:23 into the contest but Wisconsin's Laila Edwards & Sophie Shirley lit the lamp just 53 seconds apart in the third period to go ahead 2-1. However, skating with an extra-attacker, a shot from Madeline Wethington found the back of the net with 1:11 remaining in regulation, sending the game to overtime tied 2-2.
While both teams had opportunities in the extra period, Caroline Harvey scored for the Badgers at the 16:47 mark to defeat the Gophers and bring Minnesota's season to a close.
Skylar Vetter made 35 saves for the Gophers. Cami Kronish stopped 37 shots for the Badgers.
Minnesota-Wisconsin game recaps...
U. of M. recap - Minnesota Falls to Wisconsin in Frozen Four Semifinals
Eli Swanson, The Rink Live – Harvey's OT heroics lead Badgers past Gophers and into Frozen Four title game
Nicole Haase, USCHO.com – Women’s Division I College Hockey: Badgers upset Gophers to advance to title game
Jess Myers, The Rink Live – Heartbreak, Taylor's version, as Heise's college career ends on her 23rd birthday
Ohio State defeats Northeastern, 3-0 – The Buckeyes blitzed the Huskies, holding a 53-15 shots on goal advantage for the game, with Sloane Matthews, Makenna Webster and Hadley Hartmetz lighting the lamp for OSU. Amanda Thiele stopped all 15 shots, while Northeastern's Gwyneth Philips made 50 saves.
Championship Preview – Ohio State went 3-1-0 against Wisconsin in the regular season, winning 2-1 (OT) and 5-0 in Columbus in January and splitting the rematch in Madison in February, 6-5 (OT) Badgers and 3-1 Buckeyes. Emma Maltais tallied 8 points on 4 goals & 4 assists for OSU against Wisconsin, while a quartet of Buckeyes each had 5 points: Jenn Gardiner (3g, 2a), Paetyn Levis (3g, 2a), Sophie Jaques (1g, 4a), and Makenna Webster (5a). Britta Curl was the top Badger scorer against the Buckeyes, with 2 goals & 2 assists, while Jesse Compher (2g, 1a), Vivian Jungels (1g, 2a), and Casey O'Brien (1g, 2a) each added 3 points. Between the pipes for Wisconsin, Cami Kronish posted a 1-2-0 record with a 3.22 goals-against average and .910 save percentage, while Jane Gervais stopped 34 of 39 shots (.872 SV%) in her lone appearance. Raygan Kirk won the first of the four contests for the Buckeyes, stopping 27 of 28 shots (.964 SV%), and Amanda Thiele went 2-1-0 in the other three games with a 2.31 GAA and .915 SV%.
Patty Kazmaier Award reminder – The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented later this morning (Saturday, March 18), with Top-3 Finalists Sophie Jaques (Ohio State), Alina Mueller (Northeastern), and Danielle Serdachny (Colgate). The presentation will take place in the AMSOIL Arena Ticket Lobby in Duluth, beginning promptly at 11:30 a.m. CT with doors opening at 11:00 a.m. CT. Fans are invited to attend free of charge, and the ceremony will also be televised live on NHL Network. We'll share the announcement of the winner on our Facebook and Twitter accounts once the presentation is made.
Thank you to our graduating Gophers – Abigail Boreen, Taylor Heise, Crystalyn Hengler, Olivia King, Savannah Norcross, Lizi Norton, Emily Oden, Gracie Ostertag, Makayla Pahl, Catie Skaja, and Grace Zumwinkle – for proudly representing the Maroon & Gold over the past several seasons!!
We send thanks to the entire GWH team on another great campaign, and we look forward to seeing you again in the fall!!
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