The Penalty Box Post
Thursday, April 20th
PPC Board of Directors meeting – May 2 at 7:00 p.m.
The next meeting of the Power Play Club Board of Directors is scheduled for Tuesday, May 2, at 7:00 p.m. This will be an online meeting held over Zoom. GWH head coach Brad Frost will be in attendance to recap the past season and discuss his priorities for 2023-2024. Board meetings are open to all enrolled club members, and 2022-2023 membership will apply during the off-season; if you wish to attend, please contact club vice president Dave Malerich at dmalerich@yahoo.com.
Team USA wins World Championship over hosts Canada
Czechs claim bronze over Swiss; Finland tops Sweden for 5th place
Hilary Knight recorded a hat trick, scoring the game-winning goal and a critical insurance tally, giving Team USA a 6-3 victory over Canada to claim gold at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship (USA Hockey recap here). Knight's three goals extended her World Championship career scoring record past the century mark to 101 points. Amanda Kessel assisted on two of Knight's goals and Taylor Heise recorded an assist on the game-winner. The Americans battled back from three one-goal deficits, with Abbey Murphy lighting the lamp for Team USA's first goal of the night. Goaltender Aerin Frankel preserved the victory with a 24-save performance. Brianne Jenner tallied two goals and an assist for the Canadians and Ann-Renee Desbiens made 16 saves.
The victory marks Team USA's first major tournament gold medal in four years (2019 Women's Worlds), breaking Canada's three-tournament winning streak (2021 & 2022 Worlds, 2022 Winter Olympics).
Czechia claimed its second-straight World Championship bronze medal, defeating Switzerland 3-2. The Czechs and Swiss both won their quarterfinal matchups – over Finland and Japan, respectively – but fell in the semifinals.
Finland defeated Sweden 3-1 in the 5th place game to move back into Group A for the 2024 Women's World Championship. After losing in the quarterfinals, both teams rebounded with Placement Round (consolation bracket) victories – over Germany & Japan, respectively – to advance to the tournament's final day.
Gophers at the World Championship
Taylor Heise finished as the highest-scoring Golden Gopher representative at the tournament, tied for 3rd overall with 12 points on a goal and 11 assists. She also posted a +9 plus-minus rating and was named as one of Team USA's top three players for the tournament.
Finland's Nelli Laitinen finished third in scoring among all defenders, tallying 10 points on 3 goals and 7 assists, with a +8 rating.
Amanda Kessel got hot during the playoff round, recording 6 points in Team USA's final three games and being named the American player of the game in their semifinal win over Czechia. She finished with 9 points on 5 goals and 4 assists, with a +7 rating.
Abbey Murphy lit the lamp three times in the playoff round, tallying 8 points for Team USA in total on 5 goals & 3 assists and posting a +8 rating.
While Josefin Bouveng only lit the lamp once, it was critical as the lone goal in Team Sweden's 1-0 shutout victory over Japan in the placement round.
Lee Stecklein was solid on the blueline for the Americans, posting a +6 rating while dishing out an assist.
Kelly Pannek finished with an assist for Team USA.
Incoming Gopher Emma Kreisz did not score for Hungary.
Gopher alumna Megan Bozek announces Team USA retirement
2012 & 2013 NCAA champion Megan Bozek announced her retirement from the U.S. Women's National Hockey team yesterday. She finishes her Team USA career as a two-time Olympic Silver Medalist (2014, 2022) and four-time Women's World Championship Gold Medalist (2013, 2016, 2017 & 2019), recording 58 points on 17 goals and 41 assists in 111 games wearing the Red, White & Blue. In the Gopher Women's Hockey record book, Bozek still holds the lead in all three career defensive scoring categories, tallying 146 points on 47 goals and 99 assists; she was also a Top-3 Finalist for the 2013 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
Journalist Nicole Haase caught up with Bozek for a career retrospective and discussion of her future. The article includes comments from Gopher head coach Brad Frost and Minnesota & national squad teammate Lee Stecklein.
Congratulations and thank you, Megan, on your wonderful career!! Best wishes on your next adventure!!
Utica, NY, to host 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and USA Hockey jointly announced this past Sunday that Utica, New York, will be the host city for the 2024 Women's World Championship (IIHF announcement here, USA Hockey announcement here). The 31-game schedule is tentatively planned for April 4-14 and will be played at the adjacent Adirondack Bank Center and Utica University Nexus Center.
The 2024 event will be the fifth time the United States has hosted the tournament, having last done so in 2017 in Plymouth, Michigan. The World Championship was last played in the state of New York in 1994 in Lake Placid.
As noted in the USA Hockey release, the historic Adirondack Bank Center (opened in 1960) is home of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, and is designated as a National Historic Civic Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Utica University Nexus Center, which opened last year, is home of the Utica University women’s ice hockey team.
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