Power Play Club

PPC Chalk Talk – this Saturday, February 1 at 12:30 p.m.

Again, the third and final Power Play Club Chalk Talk of the 2024-2025 season with a member of the GWH coaching staff is scheduled for Saturday, February 1 at 12:30 p.m., before the Gophers host the second game of their series against Ohio State. We will be meeting in the Ridder Arena Weight Room on the upper level across the hall from the suites. This is an exclusive event for enrolled 2024-2025 club members, and we hope to see many of you there!!

GWH Senior Celebration – Thursday, February 20
RSVPs due by Monday, February 10

The 2025 Gopher Women's Hockey Senior Celebration is scheduled for Thursday, February 20, at Club Cambria in Huntington Bank Stadium. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. with the meal and program to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children, with payment collected at the event. RSVPs are due by Monday, February 10 to Ashley Holmes by email at holme965@umn.edu or by text at 612-296-0057. More information is available in the event flyer here.

PPC All-Member Meeting – Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m.

The annual Power Play Club All-Member Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at 12 p.m. in the Baseline Tennis Center Club Room. This is an opportunity to touch base with other Power Play Club members and to provide feedback on the operation of the club and the Gopher Women's Hockey game experience. We will also have a Board of Directors election, including for the offices of president and vice president. All enrolled 2024-2025 club members are invited and encouraged to attend.

Goals for a Goal

As the Gopher Women's Hockey team has surpassed the century mark in goals scored this season, we continue to ask for your help to convert each of those goals into a donation back to the team. Enroll in our Goals for a Goal pledge-per-goal program by submitting your pledge at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double the pledge for power play tallies! Through 27 games, Minnesota has lit the lamp 105 times with 23 of those coming on the power play!

#3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (21-5-1, 15-4-1-0 WCHA)
vs. #2 Ohio State University Buckeyes (20-5-3, 14-5-3-2 WCHA)
Friday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 p.m.
Ridder Arena

In a top-three matchup both nationally and in the WCHA league standings, the Gopher Women's Hockey team hosts The Ohio State University Buckeyes at Ridder Arena. The action begins Friday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 p.m.

Game coverage – Both contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service (Friday / Saturday). Free audio play-by-play on GopherSports.com continues Friday & Saturday, and live stats can be found here.

Promotions this weekend – The Gopher Women's Hockey team will be celebrating Fan Appreciation Day on Friday with extra t-shirt tosses, in-seat deliveries and more happening throughout the game! Cub Family 4 Pack ticket packages are also available for Friday's contest here. Saturday is Alumni Day and National Girls & Women in Sports Day, and select GWH players will be signing autographs after the game!

Traffic alerts – Multiple Golden Gopher athletic events are scheduled for both Friday and Saturday. In addition to Women's Hockey at 6 p.m. on Friday, both the Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving teams are holding a meet at Freeman Aquatic Center at 5 p.m. and Gopher Men's Hockey is playing at 3M Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday is extra busy, so much so that the university has issued an official Traffic & Parking Advisory, with Gopher Men's Basketball (11 a.m.), Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving (11 a.m.), Women's Hockey (2 p.m.), Gymnastics (4 p.m.), and Men's Hockey (5 p.m.) all competing at home.

This season against Ohio State – The Gopher Women's Hockey team was only able to get one WCHA standings point in their October trip to Columbus, losing to the Buckeyes, 4-3, in the series opener, playing them to a 1-1 tie in the rematch, but falling 2-1 in a seven-round shootout. Minnesota never led in the series despite goals by Abbey Murphy, Emma Kreisz, Gracie Graham & Josefine Bouveng, plus two assists from Nelli Laitinen; Murphy also had an assist and scored in Saturday's shootout. Joy Dunne, Jocelyne Amos, and Jenna Buglioni each tallied a goal and an assist for OSU in Friday's contest, with Buglioni's goal being the eventual game-winner. Jordyn Petrie scored in the first period on Saturday, and Dunne & Amos lit the lamp in the shootout. Skylar Vetter made 21 saves for Minnesota in the opener and Hannah Clark stopped 29 shots through overtime Saturday, while Amanda Thiele played both games for the Buckeyes, making a combined 52 saves.

Analyzing the Buckeyes – On total league points, Ohio State is in a second-place tie with the Gophers at 45; however, because they have played two additional conference games entering this weekend, they trail on points percentage. Still, the Buckeyes have been ranked #2 in the national polls, ahead of #3 Minnesota, for much of the season.

Sophomores Joy Dunne (#16) and Jocelyne Amos (#17) are tied with a team-high 17 goals apiece; Dunne is also OSU's overall scoring leader, adding 19 assists for 36 points, while Amos has 17 assists for 34 points. Grad student Jenna Buglioni (#10) has also eclipsed the 30-point mark, tallying 15 goals & 16 assists. Two others have surpassed the 20-point threshold, as grad student Kiara Zanon (#11) has 10 goals & 16 assists and junior Emma Peschel (#7) has 5 goals & 19 helpers. Also of note, freshman Jordyn Petrie (#19) has lit the lamp 12 times.

Four different goaltenders have seen action for OSU this season. Grad student Amanda Thiele (#30) has started 18 of the Buckeyes' 28 games, posting a 12-4-2 record with one shutout, a 2.04 goals-against average, and an .892 save percentage. Junior Hailey MacLeod (#35), in her first season in Columbus after two years at Minnesota Duluth, is 7-1-1 in her 9 starts with 3 shutouts, a 1.49 GAA, and a .915 SV%. Junior Lexington Secreto (#34) won her lone start of the season against Stonehill in late October, posting a 9-save shutout, while freshman Genny Klein (#1) stopped 13 of 14 shots (.929 SV%) in a 36-minute relief appearance in OSU's first game against Mercyhurst.

Recent action for Ohio State – Early last week, the Buckeyes defeated Mercyhurst on the road, 5-1; Joy Dunne led all scorers with a goal & an assist, and Hailey MacLeod stopped 15 of 16 shots.

Returning to Columbus, Sloane Matthews & Kiara Zanon each tallied two goals & an assist and Dunne added a goal & two assists as the Buckeyes swept Minnesota State, 5-2 & 4-1, outshooting the Mavericks 78-33. Amanda Thiele stopped 13 of 15 shots Friday and MacLeod made 17 saves on 18 shots Saturday for OSU. Taylor Otremba, JuliAnna Gadzik, and Claire Vekich lit the lamp for MSU.

Gophers earn Field Trip Day, Hockey Day MN sweep of Beavers

The Gopher Women's Hockey team benefitted from several nice passes and a three-goal series from Abbey Murphy – including Saturday's game-winner – to sweep Bemidji State, winning Friday's Field Trip Day game 4-1 and Saturday's outdoor Hockey Day Minnesota contest 3-1.

After a scoreless opening period on Friday in front of a Ridder Arena-record crowd of 3,700 spectators, Peyton Hemp buried a pass from Ella Huber in the second stanza and Audrey Wethington did the same off a Sydney Morrow feed in the third. The Beavers cut their deficit in half just over two minutes later with a goal credited to Mya Hendrick, but Murphy scored on a sharp-angle shot with 3:15 to play and added an empty-netter with 41.9 seconds to go. Hannah Clark made 17 saves, while BSU's Eva Filippova stopped 34 shots.

Emma Kreisz scored 7 minutes into Saturday's contest off a crisp pass from Emma Conner. Murphy followed with her third goal of the weekend 3½ minutes later, splitting two Bemidji State defenders on her way to the net. Gracie Graham was the beneficiary of a Peyton Hemp pass, lighting the lamp in the second period to push the Gopher lead to 3-0. Bemidji State's Morgan Smith converted on a 5-on-3 power play, but the Gopher defense held the Beavers to only one shot on goal in the third period and Clark finished with 10 saves for the victory. Kaitlin Groess stopped 35 shots for BSU.

Murphy reaches ninth on GWH career goals list – With her performance against the Beavers, Abbey Murphy improved to ninth on Minnesota Women's Hockey's all-time career goals list, moving into a tie with Dani Cameranesi at 93. She sits behind both Taylor Heise & Kelly Stephens, who are tied for seventh with 97 collegiate goals.

Rosters announced for upcoming international play

Bouveng, Kreisz headed to Olympic qualifying – Current Gopher Women's Hockey forwards Josefin Bouveng & Emma Kreisz were named to their respective national teams to play in final-round Olympic qualification tournaments coming up on February 6-9.

Bouveng was named to Sweden's Women's National Team roster yesterday for the "Group H" qualifier they are hosting in the city of Gävle. They will be facing Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Kreisz was named to the roster of Team Hungary last week. They will be playing in the "Group I" qualifier against Austria, Slovakia, and host nation Germany in the city of Bremerhaven. Before the tournament, they are also scheduled to play the Germans in an exhibition contest in Kassel this Saturday, February 1.

A third qualifier ("Group G") will be hosted by Japan and includes China, France, and Poland.

The winners of each of the three groups will advance to the 2026 Winter Games in Milan & Cortina, Italy. The United States, Canada, Czechia, Finland, Switzerland, and (if reinstated) Russia have already qualified due to their current world rankings, and Italy will also compete as the host nation.

Congratulations and good luck, Josefin & Emma!!

USA-Canada Rivalry Series: GWH alums Heise, Pannek, Zumwinkle named to American roster – Minnesota Women's Hockey alumnae Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, and Grace Zumwinkle, all currently members of the PWHL's Minnesota Frost, were named among 21 players who will comprise the U.S. Women's National Team roster for the fourth and fifth games of the 2024-2025 Rivalry Series against Canada. The squads will meet next Thursday, February 6 at 7 p.m. Atlantic Time / 5 p.m. Central at Scotiabank Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saturday, February 8 at 7 p.m. AT / 5 p.m. CT at Credit Union Place in Summerside, P.E.I. Tickets are available through Hockey Canada & TicketMaster.ca, and both games will be televised on NHL Network. Canada leads this year's series, winning two of the first three games played in November. Good luck Taylor, Kelly & Grace!!

Around the WCHA...

Brausen named head coach at St. Thomas – The University of St. Thomas named Bethany Brausen as head coach of the Tommies Women's Hockey team on Sunday (January 26), removing the interim tag from her title. She assumed the interim head coaching role in November, and had served as the Tommies top assistant coach or acting head coach since joining the program in 2021. Brausen is a Gopher Women's Hockey alumna and a member of the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Championship teams. We send Bethany our congratulations and best wishes.

Tommies upset Bulldogs... twice – The announcement of Brausen's hiring follows surprising results from Mendota Heights earlier in the weekend. Behind a five-point performance (1g, 4a) from Lauren Stenslie, two goals & an assist by Rylie Bartz, 73 saves from Dani Strom, and game-winning tallies by Ilsa Lindaman & Ella Boerger, St. Thomas came from behind twice to sweep Minnesota Duluth, 3-2 and 4-3 (OT). In Thursday's series opener, Maddie Brown pulled the Tommies even, 2-2, midway through the third period, and Lindman scored with 25.5 seconds remaining. The rematch Friday saw Stenslie net the tying goal in the third period and Boerger lit the lamp 3:05 into overtime. UMD's Mary Kate O'Brien and Danielle Burgen each tallied a goal & an assist in the series and Ève Gascon stopped a combined 37 shots.

Badgers get win, tie, bonus point vs. Huskies – Laney Potter, Cassie Hall, and Lacey Eden each recorded a goal & an assist as Wisconsin defeated St. Cloud State 5-2 Saturday despite a 44-save performance by Sanni Ahola. Ally Qualley gave SCSU a brief lead Sunday, but Eden and Kirsten Simms both converted power plays to put Wisconsin ahead; however, Laura Zimmermann scored for the Huskies 8:42 into the third period, and Emilia Kyrkkö finished with 30 saves for a 2-2 overtime tie. The Badgers earned the bonus point as Simms netted the only goal of the subsequent shootout.

Upcoming games – All four league series this week feature Friday & Saturday contests. Two will start with Friday afternoon games as St. Thomas plays St. Cloud State home-and-home, beginning in St. Cloud, and Bemidji State hosts Minnesota State. Meanwhile, Wisconsin heads north to face Minnesota Duluth.

Standings (* clinched home ice for WCHA playoff quarterfinals):
1. Wisconsin* – 60 points (.909 pts%), 19-1-2-1, 0-0 in OT (25-1-2 overall)
2. Minnesota – 45 points (.750 pts%), 15-4-1-0, 1-0 in OT (21-5-1 overall)
3. Ohio State – 45 points (.682 pts%), 14-5-3-2, 2-0 in OT (20-5-3 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 35 points (.583 pts%), 10-8-2-2, 0-1 in OT (15-9-2 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 25 points (.417 pts%), 7-9-4-1, 1-0 in OT (12-9-5 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 16 points (.267 pts%), 4-15-1-0, 0-3 in OT (10-15-1 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 14 points (.233 pts%), 4-15-1-1, 1-1 in OT (7-17-2 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 6 points (.100 pts%), 2-18-0-0, 0-0 in OT (4-22-1 overall)

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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.