Power Play Club

Goals for a Goal

Entering 2025, the Gophers have tallied 61 goals this season, fifteen (15) of which have come on the power play! We are still looking for help converting each of those goals into donations back to the team through our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program! Submit your pledge at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the pledge for power play tallies! GO GOPHERS!!

Power Play Club Event Reminders…

Brunch with the Coaches this Saturday (Jan. 4) – Registrants for our annual Brunch with the Coaches are reminded that the event will start at 8:45 a.m. Saturday in the 3M Arena at Mariucci Club Room. Enter through the Sundet Lobby on the southwest corner of the arena (closest to the Ridder lobby) and take the elevator to the 3rd floor. We look forward to hearing from Bemidji State University assistant coach & Beavers alumna Emma Sobieck and Gopher head coach Brad Frost.

Locker Sponsor gathering, January 11 – Locker Sponsorship tier members of the Power Play Club are reminded that our special event is scheduled for Saturday, January 11, before the second game of the series against St. Thomas. You are asked to arrive in the Ridder Arena lobby no later than 8:45 a.m.

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women's Face-Off Classic
#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-4-1, 9-4-1-0 WCHA)
vs.
Bemidji State University Beavers (3-14-1, 2-12-0-0 WCHA)
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
Lakeville Hasse Arena

The Gopher Women's Hockey team and Bemidji State University Beavers lead off the 2025 portion of the season, meeting in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women's Face-Off Classic, played this year at Lakeville Hasse Arena, 8525 - 215th Street W (County Road 70) in Lakeville, on New Year's Day, this Wednesday, January 1. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Note that, while this game will count in the teams' overall records for the season, it is not a WCHA league game and will not count in the conference standings.

Tickets are still available through the Lakeville Booster Club. Seats are $16.75 each (including fees) and must be purchased online.

Game coverage update: Video streaming will be available for this game through the B1G+ subscription service. Audio play-by-play with Dan Hamann can be found on GopherSports.com. Live stats can be found here.

This season against Bemidji State – At the Sanford Center in Bemidji at the start of November, the Gophers went a combined 4-for-7 on the power play as Natalie Mlynkova and Abbey Murphy each lit the lamp twice with the advantage in 2-1 and 4-1 victories over the Beavers. Mlynkova also scored once at even strength for a three-goal weekend, Murphy added an assist to her two goals, Emma Kreisz found the back of the net as well, Ella Huber dished out 3 assists, and Hannah Clark made 27 saves on a combined 29 shots for the two wins. Izy Fairchild and Morgan Smith each scored for BSU, and Kaitlin Groess stopped 55 shots between the pipes.

Analyzing the Beavers – Bemidji State finds itself at the bottom of the WCHA standings, with their only wins in league play coming in a home series sweep of St. Thomas in mid-November. They also got a win and a tie in non-conference action at Sanford Center against Lindenwood, but they were swept by Robert Morris earlier in the season. They've been outscored 66-28 in all contests, and are also at the bottom of the league rankings in shots-on-goal per game and penalty kill percentage.

Redshirt freshman and former Gopher Isa Goettl (#9) leads the Beavers in total points with 9, coming on 3 goals and 6 assists. Sophomore Hailey Armstrong (#29) is BSU's goals leader with 6 while dishing out a pair of assists for 8 points, while freshman Morgan Smith (#21) also has 8 points on 5 goals & 3 assists. Sophomore Kate Johnson (#14) is fourth in total scoring with 6 points on a goal and 5 helpers.

Four different goaltenders have seen action for Bemidji State. Freshman Kaitlin Groess (#1) has had the majority of ice time, going 3-10-0 in her 13 starts, posting a 3.18 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. Sophomore Eva Filippova (#30) and grad student Josie Bothun (#33) each started two games but are winless; Filippova has a 3.93 GAA and .885 SV%, while Bothun has a 5.88 GAA and .813 SV%. Freshman Lauren Mooney (#35) stopped 21 of 24 shots (.875 SV%) in a 3-3 tie against Lindenwood.

Last action for Bemidji State – Visiting Minnesota State in Mankato on December 13 & 14, the Beavers were on the wrong end of a 5-0 shutout to open the series; Madison Mashuga netted a hat trick for the Mavericks and Hailey Hansen needed only 12 saves for the clean sheet. BSU got its own hat trick from freshman Morgan Smith in the rematch, but they never led as Jamie Nelson & Claire Vekich each lit the lamp twice for MSU and Mackenzie Bourgerie netted the game-winning goal in a 5-3 Mavericks victory and weekend sweep.

Primerano playing with Canada at IIHF U-18 Women's Worlds

We provide a reminder that Gopher Women's Hockey freshman defender Chloe Primerano was named to the roster of Canada's Under-18 Women's National Team which plays at the 2025 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship in Vantaa, Finland, from January 4 through 12.

The U-18 tournament has switched format to two groups of equal strength. Canada will face Slovakia, Switzerland, and Czechia in Group B preliminary round play before the elimination round. Group A features the United States, Finland, Japan, and Sweden.

We again send Chloe best wishes for a good tournament in Finland!!

BSU head coach Fryklund at U-18 Women's Worlds – We also provide a reminder that Bemidji State Beavers head coach Amber Fryklund will be serving as an assistant coach for Team USA at the IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship, and will miss Wednesday's game along with BSU's contests in the East-West Showcase at Ridder Arena this coming weekend.

Upcoming GWH Event and Game Notes...

Skate with the Gophers, January 11 – Following the second game of the series against St. Thomas on Saturday, January 11, the Skate with the Gophers event returns to the Ridder Arena ice. Fans are encouraged to attend this fun time with the team, though you must have a ticket to the game and register in advance at z.umn.edu/WHOSkate2025.

Field Trip Day game (January 24) SOLD OUT – The Gopher Women's Hockey "Field Trip Day" game at Ridder Arena against Bemidji State on Friday, January 24 at noon is sold out. If you are still in need of tickets to the game, you are encouraged to check the SEATGEEK secondary market.

Around the WCHA...

East-West Showcase at Ridder – Following Wednesday's contest in Lakeville, the Gophers and Beavers will relocate to Ridder Arena where they will each face Brown and Penn State in non-conference action on Friday and Saturday. Watch for another issue of the Penalty Box Post on Thursday (Jan. 2) with our preview of the event!

Other upcoming games – Ohio State and Wisconsin will square off in a #1-vs.-#2 battle later this week, starting Thursday in Madison before playing outside in The Friendly Confines Big Ten Hockey Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday. Minnesota Duluth will host a Thursday-Friday non-conference series against Syracuse, and Minnesota State will make the trip to Missouri to face Lindenwood Friday & Saturday. St. Thomas and St. Cloud State will play an exhibition contest Saturday in St. Louis Park.

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Follow the Power Play Club online at www.powerplayclub.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PowerPlayClubMN, or on X at x.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 X at x.com/GopherWHockey.