Power Play Club

Reminder: PPC membership for 2024-2025 open at all levels!
First member-exclusive Chalk Talk scheduled for October 19

Registration to the Power Play Club for the 2024-2025 season remains open at all levels! Your annual membership enrollment donations are our biggest source of financial support for the team.

Locker Sponsor level – Please consider sponsoring a GWH player's or coach's locker through our top membership tier. The donor's name is posted on a nameplate next to the locker, and donors will have an opportunity to meet with their respective player(s) at our event in January (with pictures and a team meal). We are looking for additional sponsors so that each player has two for the season. A minimum $600 donation (per locker) is required, though any amount over and above that is encouraged. If you are interested, either as a renewing or new Locker Sponsor, please contact Bob Milligan at milligandanes@gmail.com as soon as possible but do not submit a donation at this time; donation instructions for Locker Sponsors will be sent at the start of November.

Basic Membership level – A minimum donation of $50 is required for our basic membership tier, which includes up to two adults and any children at same address. Online registration is preferred at z.umn.edu/PPC24; click the "Make A Gift" button on that page and follow the instructions. To register offline, download the form here and send it in to the listed address, with a check payable to the "University of Minnesota".

Chalk Talk access – Exclusive access to our three in-person Chalk Talk events is included with Power Play Club membership at either level. Come join us pre-game to hear from one of the GWH coaches as we discuss team strategy and the previous contest. The first Chalk Talk for 2024-2025 is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, at 1:30 p.m., prior to the second game of the series against Wisconsin, likely in the Ridder Arena weight room on the suite (upper) level.

Goals for a Goal program returns for the new season!

Our Goals for a Goal program – a pledge-per-goal campaign – is back for the 2024-2025 season! Register your pledge for every goal the Gophers score this year, with the option to double your pledge for power play tallies. Pledges can be submitted electronically through the online form at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal. Following the conclusion of the season, you will receive an email with your pledge total and giving instructions. We once again thank everyone who participated in the program in 2023-2024, raising $4,300 for the Minnesota Women's Hockey program.

SEASON OPENER!!
#2 Minnesota Golden Gophers at #9 Univ. of Connecticut Huskies
Friday, September 27 at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT
Saturday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. CT
Toscano Family Ice Forum – Storrs, Connecticut

The puck drops on the 28th season of University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Women's Hockey as they open action on the road, taking on the defending Hockey East champion University of Connecticut Huskies. The teams will take to the ice this Friday, September 27 at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT, then square off again Saturday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. CT at the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, CT.

Game coverage – Both contests will have video streaming through the ESPN+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday). Dan Hamann is also back for another year of free audio play-by-play streaming via GopherSports.com (Friday / Saturday). Live stats will also be available via GopherSports.com.

Last season against UConn – The Gophers hosted the Huskies at Ridder Arena to open the 2024 portion of last season's schedule. Abbey Murphy recorded 3 points Friday on a goal & two assists and Madeline Wethington lit the lamp in each game as Minnesota swept the series, 5-3 & 3-1. UConn took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the opener on goals by Kathryn Stockdale and Ainsley Svetek (PP), but Murphy and Maggie Nicholson evened the score before the second intermission. Madeline Wethington put the Gophers ahead 8:19 into the third period and Audrey Wethington doubled the lead less than three minutes later; the Huskies scored 68 seconds after that to pull back within one, but Peyton Hemp converted a late power play and Lucy Morgan made 29 saves for the win. In the rematch, Madeline Wethington put Minnesota up just 2:48 into the contest, and Josefin Bouveng (PP) & Lauren O'Hara scored in the second period. UConn's Megan Woodworth netted her second goal of the weekend early in the third stanza, but Skylar Vetter shut the door on the Huskies the rest of the way to get the win. UConn netminder Tia Chan played both games, stopping 67 combined shots.

Analyzing the Huskies – As mentioned above, Connecticut enters the 2024-2025 season coming off their program-first Hockey East regular-season and playoff tournament championships. They went 22-7-5 during the regular season, 19-4-4 in conference play, and followed that up with wins over Holy Cross (4-2), Boston College (2-1, OT) and Northeastern (1-0, OT) to capture the league playoff title. However, they fell 1-0 in double-overtime to Minnesota Duluth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to bring their season to an end.

Buffalo, MN, native Jada Habisch (#25) is back with the Huskies for her graduate student season, having led them with 28 points and 17 goals last year. However, UConn lost their top assist generator from last season, Coryn Tormala (6g, 18a), to graduation. Senior Riley Grimley (#97) was third in team scoring in 2023-2024 with 8 goals and 11 assists, while junior Brooke Campbell (#14) is the next-highest returning scorer with 9 goals & 9 assists. Additionally, UConn has added freshman Claire Murdoch (#7), a Toronto native who tallied 51 goals and 124 points in 42 games last year with the Burlington Barracudas and notched more than a point per game with Canada at the U-18 World Championships.

Between the pipes, Tia Chan (#88) and Megan Warrener (#1) both return as seniors. Chen saw a majority of the playing time last season with 24 starts (and one relief appearance), going 13-7-4 with 8 shutouts, a 1.30 goals-against average, and a .951 save percentage, while Warrener went 12-1-1 in 14 starts (plus 3 relief appearances) with a 1.01 GAA and .958 SV%. Sophomore Shannon Moran (#35) appeared in 3 games last year but only saw 9 minutes of playing time, making 3 saves.

Last weekend for UConn – The Huskies hosted Quinnipiac in an exhibition game this past Saturday, winning 2-1 in overtime. The Bobcats scored first when Emerson Jarvis lit the lamp early in the second period, but Riley Grimley evened the score for UConn later in the stanza. After a scoreless third frame, Ava Rinker tallied 44 seconds into the overtime period, with an assist to Grimley, to give the Huskies the win.

Gopher season preview – Minnesota enters with 10 new faces

Returning their top seven scorers from 2023-2024, a senior goaltender, and a lot of potential by way of the freshman class and incoming transfers, the Gopher Women's Hockey team garnered the #3 position in both initial national polls, climbing to #2 in the updated USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll yesterday.

Senior co-captain Abbey Murphy led the way last year with an NCAA-high 33 goals plus 29 assists for 62 points, earning her a Top 10 Finalist selection for the Patty Kazmaier Award. Josefin Bouveng also reached the 50-point mark, lighting the lamp 19 times and dishing out a team-high 31 assists. Ella Huber, Peyton Hemp, Emma Kreisz, Ava Lindsay, and Nelli Laitinen each surpassed the 20-point mark, with Huber and Hemp posting double-digit goal counts. The team is bolstered by the additions of transfers grad student Natalie Mlýnková (from Vermont) and junior Sydney Morrow (from Colgate); Mlýnková was last season's Hockey East Player of the Year, tallying 32 points on 17 goals and 15 assists, while Morrow – a defender – posted 39 points on 13 goals & 26 assists last year with the Raiders. WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year and Canadian U-18 standout Chloe Primerano, 2024 Ms. Hockey Minnesota Ayla Puppe, and Ms. Hockey finalist Kate Kosobud highlight the incoming freshman skaters which also include Kendra Distad, Gracie Graham, and Carly Humphrey.

The blueline will see the biggest change for the Gophers this season compared to last, with six new faces joining four returners. Laitinen leads the way among the returning Gophers, along with Maggie Nicholson, Allie Franco, and Elly Klepinger. Junior Krista Parkkonen (from Vermont) joins Morrow as a transfer who will bolster the defense, and Graham, Humphrey, Kosobud, and Primerano come in as freshmen.

Skylar Vetter is back for another season between the pipes wearing the Maroon & Gold; in her first three seasons, she has a career 45-15-5 record and 11 shutouts in her 65 starts (with another 10 relief appearances), a 1.96 goals-against average, and a .924 save percentage. She will be joined by incoming freshman Hannah Clark, a 2023 gold medalist and 2024 bronze medalist at the IIHF Women's U18 World Championships with Canada (during which she went 6-1-0 with a 1.16 GAA and .935 SV%). Junior Sophia Johnson remains the Gophers' third goaltender, earning WCHA Scholar-Athlete and WCHA All-Academic recognition last season; she has yet to see any official game action.

Around the WCHA...

UMD upsets Ohio State in Columbus, twice – The home-opening series did not go as planned for the defending national champion Buckeyes. Jordyn Petrie put Ohio State up 1-0 just 1:39 into the opener on Saturday, but Minnesota Duluth goaltender Ève Gascon stopped the other 39 shots she faced, Olivia Wallin knotted the score late in the second period, and Ida Karlsson – already having an assist on Wallin's goal – lit the lamp with 23.3 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory. Sunday's rematch saw the teams exchange the lead; Emma Peschel had a goal & an assist as OSU took a 3-2 advantage after two periods, but UMD freshman Caitlin Kraemer scored twice in the final 20 minutes (after an earlier assist) and Gascon made another 36 saves for the 4-3 Bulldogs victory and series sweep.

St. Cloud State rolls through Lindenwood – Emma Gentry tallied a 4-point weekend with 3 goals and an assist, Greta Henderson lit the lamp twice, Brieja Parent recorded a goal & an assist in her SCSU debut, and Sanni Ahola stopped a combined 38 of 40 shots as the Huskies earned a non-conference road sweep of the Lions, 4-0 and 6-2.

Upcoming games – Ohio State will remain in league play, going on the road for a Friday-Saturday series at Bemidji State. Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth will each host Atlantic Hockey America (formerly CHA) squads in non-conference play; the Badgers will play Lindenwood on Friday & Saturday, while the Bulldogs will face Syracuse on Saturday & Sunday. The remaining three WCHA teams will each face the University of Manitoba in exhibition action this weekend; the Bisons will play St. Cloud State on Friday evening, Minnesota State on Saturday evening (in Richmond, MN), and St. Thomas on Sunday afternoon.

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.