The Penalty Box Post
Friday, September 8th
PPC member registration open at all levels!!
Membership enrollment for the the Power Play Club, the official booster organization of University of Minnesota Women's Hockey, is open at all levels for 2023-2024!! Join us in supporting Gopher Women's Hockey in their 27th season of competition, their 25th year as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Information on how to register can be found on our membership page on powerplayclub.org or this week's earlier enrollment announcement.
GWH single-game tickets ON SALE, promotions announced
Single-game tickets for the 2023-2024 season Gopher Women's Hockey are now on sale; you can buy yours or purchase season tickets here. Additionally, the promotions calendar has also been published, starting with the 2023 WCHA Final Faceoff Champions banner raising and $2 Tuesday concessions special at the regular-season home opener on October 17 against St. Cloud State.
Professional Women's Hockey League free agency... WH alumnae Pannek, Stecklein sign with Minnesota
U.S. National Team members Lee Stecklein and Kelly Pannek became the first two Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae to sign PWHL contracts, coming to terms with the Minnesota franchise during the league's pre-draft free agency period. They will be joined by another Team USA veteran, Northeastern University alumna Kendall Coyne Schofield. The trio was introduced at a press conference Wednesday with Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz. (Video courtesy of The Hockey News)
Four of the other five PWHL teams also announced their pre-draft free agent signings over the past three days:
Ottawa – forward Emily Clark, forward Brianne Jenner, goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer
Toronto – defender Renata Fast, forward Sarah Nurse, forward Blayre Turnbull
Boston – goaltender Aerin Frankel, defender Megan Keller, forward Hilary Knight
Montreal – goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, forward Marie-Philip Poulin, forward Laura Stacey
We will continue to follow additional news from the league, including the announcement of New York's free agent signings, selections from the inaugural draft scheduled for Monday, September 18, and subsequent post-draft signings.
Congratulations, Kelly and Lee, and best wishes in this new opportunity!!
Gophers name Ashley Holmes new Director of Operations
The Gopher Women's Hockey Team and head coach Brad Frost named Ashley Holmes the new Director of Operations in an announcement yesterday. Holmes, an alumna of North Dakota women's hockey (2008-2012), comes to the U. of M. after serving as an assistant coach at Augsburg University since 2014. (Photo courtesy of Augsburg University.)
Holmes succeeds Jessica Scott, who was promoted to full-time assistant coach of the Golden Gophers earlier this summer.
Congratulations and welcome to the Gopher Women's Hockey family, Ashley!!
In memoriam: PPC member Mary (Peterzen) Barlet
It is with sadness that we share the passing of Power Play Club member Mary (Peterzen) Barlet on August 8. Mary, with her husband John, was a regular attendee of Gopher Women's Hockey games both at Ridder Arena and on the road at other WCHA arenas. She was also a supporter of several other sports teams including Golden Gopher Softball, the Minnesota Lynx, and the Minnesota Whitecaps. A Celebration of Life is scheduled for next Saturday, September 16, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, 519 Oak Grove Street, Minneapolis, with visitation at 10:30 a.m. A full obituary can be found here.
We send our deepest condolences to John and their entire family.
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Follow the Power Play Club online at www.powerplayclub.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PowerPlayClubMN, or on Twitter at twitter.com/powerplayclub.
Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at gophersports.com. You can also find the Gopher women's hockey team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GopherWomensHockey and on Twitter at twitter.com/GopherWHockey.