Darwitz, Wendell-Pohl named Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
We send many congratulations to Minnesota Women's Hockey alumnae Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl following yesterday's announcement that they are two of the seven Class of 2024 inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto!!
Darwitz's induction to the HHOF in Toronto follows her induction into the IIHF Hall of Fame last month. In 55 combined games at the Olympics & World Championships, Darwitz scored 43 goals and dished out 40 assists for 83 points with Team USA. Over her three-year, 99-game Gopher career, she tallied 246 points on 102 goals and 144 assists, enough to still be #1 in the U. of M. records for points-per-game & assists-per-game (with 2.48 & 1.45, respectively)
Across 39 combined Olympic and World Championship contests, Wendell-Pohl recorded 25 goals and 44 assists for 69 points, also with Team USA. Playing 101 games in the Maroon & Gold, her 237 points on 106 goals and 131 assists put her second (behind Natalie) on the points-per-game & assists-per-game lists (with 2.35 & 1.30, respectively) and also second for goals-per-game (1.05, trailing Nadine Muzerall's 1.08).
The pair led the Gophers to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2003-2024 & 2004-2005.
The Hockey Hall of Fame will celebrate an “Induction Weekend” of events starting November 8 and concluding with the induction ceremony November 11 in Toronto. More details will be posted to the 2024 Induction Celebration website.
Seven 2023-2024 Gophers recognized for academic excellence
Congratulations are also in order for seven members of the 2023-2024 Gopher Women's Hockey team who recently received accolades for their academic performance.
We first send a shout-out to Allie Franco, Lucy Morgan, Solveig Neunzert, Maggie Nicholson, Audrey Wethington and Madeline Wethington after they were named to the AHCA's eighth-annual Division I 'Krampade All-American Scholars' list on Monday, June 17. To qualify, a student-athlete must have attained a 3.75 GPA for each semester, and had to appear in 40% of their team’s games (with exceptions granted for injuries and back-up goaltenders).
Peyton Hemp joined Madeline Wethington as two of ten U. of M. student-athletes named to the 2024 Academic All-District Men's & Women's At-Large Teams, selected by College Sports Communicator and announced yesterday (June 25). Among the qualifying criteria, undergraduate student-athletes must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale), while graduate student-athletes must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale) as both an undergraduate and a grad student (unless they are in their first semester as a graduate student and don't have an established graduate GPA). Additionally, Wethington has been selected as a CSC Academic All-America® finalist, advancing to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members; the NCAA and NAIA Women's At-Large Academic All-America® First-, Second- and Third-Team honorees will be announced on Tuesday, July 16.
PWHL: Gopher alums Brandt, Brown sign extensions with Boston
We also recognize Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae Hannah Brandt and Emily Brown, who were among four players to sign contract extensions with PWHL Boston. Brandt & Brown each received two-year extensions, keeping them with the current Walter Cup runners-up through the 2025-2026 season.
Both were selected by Boston in the inaugural PWHL Draft last summer – Brandt in the 5th round (21st overall) and Brown in the 8th round (46th overall). In the 2024 PWHL season (regular season and playoffs combined), Brandt tallied 12 points on 6 goals & 6 assists, while Brown added 6 points on a goal and 5 assists.
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