Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Friday, July 22, 2022

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit
Friday, July 22nd

Seven Gophers named AHCA All-American Scholars; four earn Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition

Several members of the 2021-2022 Gopher Women's Hockey team were recognized for their work in the classroom this past academic year, with two sets of awards announced in the past 8 days.

Maggie Nicholson, Audrey Wethington, and Madeline Wethington each earned dual recognition. The trio was joined by Emily Brown as four of the University of Minnesota's 79 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars announced last Thursday, July 14. Nicholson and the Wethingtons were then joined by Lauren Bench, Peyton Hemp, Emily Oden, and Gracie Ostertag in being honored as All-American Scholars by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) this past Wednesday, July 20.

Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. AHCA All-American Scholars must have attained a 3.75 GPA for each semester, along with appearing in at least 40% of their team's games (with exceptions made for injured players and back-up goaltenders).

Congratulations, ladies, on the excellent work!!

GWH alumna, two-time Olympian Dani Cameranesi announces retirement from U.S. Women's National Team

Two-time Olympic women's hockey player and Golden Gopher great Dani Cameranesi announced her retirement from the U.S. Women's National Team this past Wednesday, July 20. Cameranesi's international career finishes with 58 points on 24 goals and 34 assists in 87 games, earning an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in 2018, silver in 2022, and two golds (2015 & 2019) and a silver (2021) at the IIHF Women's World Championships. (Photo courtesy of USA Hockey)

In her collegiate career, Cameranesi's 201 points and 93 goals place her seventh in both categories among Golden Gopher scorers all-time. She earned two NCAA Championships in 2015 & 2016 and was a Patty Kazmaier Award Top-Ten Finalist both of those seasons. Following college, Cameranesi spent one season (2018-19) with the Buffalo Beauts and has played within the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association the last three seasons.

Congratulations, Dani, on a fantastic career and on well-representing the Gopher Women's Hockey program & the University of Minnesota! Enjoy your retirement!!

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Power Play Club 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 www.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.

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Thursday, July 13, 2022

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit
Thursday, July 13th

Gophers sign graduate transfer Norton for 2022-2023 season

Gopher Women's Hockey and head coach Brad Frost announced Friday that defender Lizi Norton will join the team as a graduate transfer for the 2022-2023 season. The left-handed Norton is a native of Orono, MN, recording 32 points on 6 goals and 26 assists with the UMD Bulldogs in her collegiate career to-date.

Norton will be the fifth new member of the Gophers this fall, joining incoming freshmen Josefin Bouveng, Allie Franco, Madison Kaiser and Nelli Laitinen; she also becomes the team's ninth fifth-year skater for the upcoming season. She has also received multiple honors for her classroom work, being a three-time WCHA Scholar Athlete and WCHA All-Academic Team honoree.

Welcome, Lizi!! We look forward to seeing you on the ice this fall!!

2022 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Women's Face-Off Classic featuring Gophers, SCSU added to schedule in November


The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum announced last Thursday that the Gopher Women's Hockey team will participate in the 2022 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women's Face-Off Classic, facing St. Cloud State at the Andover Community Center on Monday, November 7, at 7 p.m. CST.

As noted in the press release, Minnesota will be looking to defend its Hall of Fame Face-Off Classic victory from last season, a 5-1 result over the Huskies. The upcoming contest is additional to the previously-announced four WCHA meetings planned between the two squads in 2022-2023; while it will count in the overall regular-season standings, it will be treated as a non-conference game. More event details and ticket information will be announced at a later date.

The Gophers' schedule of conference games (plus the HOF Face-Off Classic) can be found here. The announcement of other non-conference contests is expected soon.

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at www.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.

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Thursday, July 7, 2022

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit
Thursday, July 7th

Recently-retired BSU athletics director Tracy Dill named Western Collegiate Hockey Association Interim Commissioner

The Board of Directors of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association approved the appointment of recently-retired Bemidji State University athletics director Tracy Dill as the league's Interim Commissioner, starting August 1. Dill takes over for Jennifer Flowers, who resigned the commissioner position in mid-June after three seasons.

Per comments from WCHA Board Chair Kevin Buisman in the announcement naming Dill to the position on Tuesday (July 5), a national search for a full-time replacement will commence at a date to be determined next spring. The league decided to not hold that search at this time due to the on-going work of the NCAA’s Transformation Committee to re-draft that body’s Constitution, and the present uncertainty while that process is occurring.

Four Gopher alumnae signed with Whitecaps for 2022-2023


The free-agent signing action in the Premier Hockey Federation has been fast and furious with the league's six teams combining for 58 signings between May 1 and July 3. Included in that have been four Gopher Women's Hockey alumnae who have all inked agreements to play with the Minnesota Whitecaps for the 2022-2023 season.

Sydney Baldwin came to terms with the 'Caps on May 24; she will begin her fourth season in St. Paul this fall. After spending a season in Europe and then joining the Whitecaps in 2021-2022, Patti Marshall signed for her second year in the PHF on June 15. Following the past five seasons with the Gophers, Olivia Knowles signed on June 23 to remain in Minnesota. Finally, decorated goaltender Amanda Leveille will return for a seventh PHF season and her fifth in St. Paul, coming to terms on June 29.

The Whitecaps currently sit in the middle of the PHF pack with 9 total signings to-date. The Buffalo Beauts lead the way with 16 free-agent signings, while the Boston Pride have yet to announce any.

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at www.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.


Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit
Tuesday, June 21st

NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee proposes rule changes for video review challenges and major penalty options

The NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee proposed several rules changes during its meeting last week in Indianapolis. Those proposals will now go to the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for approval on July 20, and would go into effect for the 2022-2023 season.

The most notable proposal is a reform of the video review and coaches' challenge system for reviewable plays. While no limit to the number of challenges was indicated, a first unsuccessful challenge would lead to a timeout being charged and any subsequent unsuccessful challenges would result in a minor penalty for delay of game. Additionally, “several reviewable plays will require a coaches' challenge for review, including goaltender contact, offsides infractions and high sticking the puck that leads to a goal. Referees continue to have discretion to review most aspects of the scoring of a goal and players where a major penalty is being considered.”

Additional discussion centered on the discontinuation of an automatic game misconduct or disqualification penalty for major infractions such as checking-from-behind and head contact. The committee approved a proposal allowing officials the option of issuing a major (five-minute) penalty without an ejection.

Another point of business was the review of overtime procedures for regular-season contests. The committee decided to maintain the practice of a mandatory five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period with the option for a shootout in situations where the game remains tied after OT (based on the host school's conference policy).

Kaiser, Team USA take silver at U18 Women's Worlds

We send a shout-out to incoming Gopher Women's Hockey freshman Madison Kaiser (photo courtesy of USA Hockey) and the rest of U.S. Women's U18 National Team following their silver-medal performance at the 2022 IIHF Women's U18 World Championship earlier this month in Madison, WI. Kaiser finished with a goal and 4 assists for 5 points, along with a +4 plus-minus rating. Unfortunately, the Americans came up short in the championship game; Canada built a 3-0 second period lead which Team USA trimmed to one, but the Canadians took home the gold with a 3-2 victory.

The Americans were the top seed for the playoff round after winning all three of their preliminary games, 6-1 over Sweden in their opener, 5-0 over Finland, and a surprising 7-0 shutout of the Canadians. With the quarterfinal bye, Team USA defeated Sweden again, 3-2 in come-from-behind fashion in the semis to advance to the title game.

Canada struggled early in the tournament, losing to Finland for the first time ever at the U18 Worlds, 2-0 on day 1. They did defeat Sweden, 3-1 in their second game, but their preliminary-round loss to Team USA sent them to 3rd place in Group A and a quarterfinal contest. That quarterfinal turned into Canada's own 7-0 blowout win as they downed Slovakia, and they avenged their earlier loss to Finland with a 2-1 semifinal victory.

Finland claimed the bronze medal with a 3-0 win over Sweden. That contest, too, was a measure of redemption for the Finns after having lost to the Swedes preliminary round (4-3).

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at www.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.

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Sunday, June 12, 2022

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit
Sunday, June 12th

PPC Board Notes – Board meeting Tuesday, June 21 at 7 pm;
additional volunteers needed to fill positions

The next meeting of the Power Play Club Board of Directors will be held online via Zoom on Tuesday evening, June 21, at 7 p.m. As always, the meeting is open to all enrolled Power Play Club members (2021-2022 membership applies for off-season meetings); if you are interested in attending, please contact PPC vice president Dave Malerich at vicepresident@powerplayclub.org.

The board will not be meeting in July, but will resume in 2022-2023 season planning in August.

Support GWH through service to the Power Play Club! Our request remains open for help fulfilling several remaining vacancies on the PPC board or to assist with other club responsibilities. If you are interested, please contact PPC president Bill Johnson at president@powerplayclub.org.

16 Gopher women's hockey players named Academic All-Big Ten

Sixteen (16) members of the Gopher Women's Hockey team were recognized as Academic All-Big Ten honorees over the past two weeks. Abigail Boreen, Josey Dunne, Taylor Heise, Crystalyn Hengler, Olivia King, Maggie Nicholson, Gracie Ostertag, Makayla Pahl, Audrey Wethington, and Madeline Wethington were named as honorees on June 1, and Lauren Bench, Emily Brown, Olivia Knowles, Emily Oden, Amy Potomak, and Catie Skaja were additionally recognized on June 8. Audrey Wethington was additionally recognized as achieving a 4.0 grade point average for the year!

The group were part of 99 U. of M. student-athletics from spring and at-large sports earning Academic All-Big Ten accolades for the 2021-22 academic year, bringing the total number student-athletes recognized from all Golden Gopher varsity sports to 331. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten merits, student-athletes must be on a varsity team, have been enrolled full time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

We send our congratulations on these honors to all 16 players!!

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Gopher women's hockey team and all Univ. of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics at www.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.

The Two-Minute Minor - An Edition of the Penalty Box Post - Sunday, May 29, 2022

The Two-Minute Minor
An edition of the Penalty Box Post
Sunday, May 29th

Gopher Women's Hockey names 2022-2023 team captains

Returning seniors Abigail Boreen, Taylor Heise, Gracie Ostertag, and Grace Zumwinkle have been selected as captains of the Gopher Women's Hockey team for the 2022-2023 season, per an announcement from head coach Brad Frost on Thursday. As noted in the press release, all four will wear the captain's 'C', an occurrence which last happened in 2010-2011.

Zumwinkle served as captain in the 2020-2021 season before her year away with Team USA for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Heise and Ostertag served as captains in 2021-2022, leading the team to the program's 11th WCHA Regular-Season Championship. Boreen joins the other three as a first-time captain.

Congratulations, ladies!! We'll see you this autumn!!

Halldorson retires from University of Minnesota after 25+ years

The Power Play Club sends gracious and well-deserved congratulations, thank yous, and wishes of good luck to inaugural Gopher Women's Hockey head coach Laura Halldorson, who is retiring from the University of Minnesota after more than 25 years of service.

After leading the women's hockey team through its first 10 seasons of competition, amassing a 278-67-22 record (78.7% winning percentage) and 3 national championships (2000, 2004 & 2005), Halldorson turned the program over to Brad Frost in 2007 and took a role at the Golden Gopher Fund inside the U. of M. Athletics Department. She has been an ardent supporter of all Gopher student-athletes and their respective teams since then, and she has partnered closely with the Power Play Club Board of Directors in the club's fundraising efforts over that period. Halldorson's retirement was celebrated at the U. this past Monday, May 23. (Photo courtesy of Brad Frost on Twitter)

Thank you again, Coach Halldorson, for your service and support!!

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Power Play Club 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 www.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.

The Two-Minute Minor - An Edition of the Penalty Box Post - May 22, 2022

The Two-Minute Minor
An edition of the Penalty Box Post
Sunday, May 22nd

Correction...

The Minnesota Women's Hockey schedule of 2022-2023 WCHA games published in this past Tuesday's Penalty Box Post erroneously listed an October series at Minnesota Duluth. We apologize for the error. Here is the corrected list.

Oct. 7-8 – vs. Bemdiji State
Oct. 14-15 – (home & home) vs. MN State
Oct. 21-22 – (home & home) vs. SCSU
Oct. 28-29 – at Ohio State
Nov. 4-5 – vs. Minnesota Duluth
Nov. 18-19 – at Wisconsin
Dec. 2-3 – (home & home) vs. MN State
Dec. 9-10 – (home & home) vs. SCSU
-- Winter Holiday Break --
Jan. 13-14 – vs. St. ThomasJan. 20-21 – at Bemidji state
Jan. 27-28 – at Minnesota Duluth
Feb. 3-4 – vs. Ohio State
Feb. 10-11 – vs. Wisconsin (Senior Wknd)
Feb. 17-18 – at St. Thomas
-- End of Regular Season --

Feb. 24-26 – WCHA Quarterfinals
(best 2 of 3 at higher seeds)

March 3 & 4 – WCHA Final Faceoff
at Ridder Arena

As before, game times and non-conference contests will be announced at a later date.

Heise honored as CoSIDA Academic All-District selection

Gopher Women's Hockey senior forward Taylor Heise added to her collection of awards from the 2021-2022 season, being one of five University of Minnesota student-athletes named as Academic All-District® honorees for at-large sports by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday. Heise, Lindsay Eliasen (rowing), Ona Loper (gymnastics), Ben Meyers (men's hockey) and Lexy Ramler (gymnastics) join 13 Gopher student-athletes already recognized as Academic All-District® selections for 2021-2022 in their respective sports.

Heise and the four others honored this past week advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in June. Congratulations, Taylor!!

Ridder to host WCHA Final Faceoff in 2023 and 2024

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced Wednesday that Ridder Arena will continue to host the Final Faceoff conference semifinals and playoff championship through 2024, marking the 24th and 25th seasons of the league. The two-year extension will be the eighth- & ninth-consecutive years Ridder has hosted the event and the 16th & 17th times overall.

As noted in the press release from the conference, the selection was made following a vetting process and recommendation by the league’s staff and a vote of approval by the WCHA Board of Directors. (Ridder Arena photo by Justin Wolford)

Idalski returns to WCHA as new head coach at St. Cloud State

In other conference news, St. Cloud State University named Brian Idalski as the sixth head coach of its women's hockey team on Thursday. He returns to the WCHA after spending 11 seasons (2007-2018) as head coach at the University of North Dakota.

Since leaving UND, Idalski spent three years as the head coach of the KRS Vanke Rays in Russia's Women's Hockey League, winning the regular-season championship in 2020-2021 and playoff championships in 2020 & 2022. He also served as head coach of China's Women's Olympic team for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Power Play Club 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 www.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.

Penalty Box Post - Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Penalty Box Post
Tuesday, May 17th

Gophers, WCHA release 2022-2023 league-game schedules

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association yesterday released its preliminary composite conference-game schedule for all eight league member teams. The University of Minnesota followed that with the specific Gopher Women's Hockey schedule which included some updates. (Note that, for any remaining discrepancies, we are defaulting to the U. of M. release.)

The Gophers will open WCHA play on October 7 & 8 at home against Bemidji State, followed by back-to-back home-and-home series against Minnesota State and St. Cloud State. Minnesota will complete its season series against both the Mavericks & Huskies early, with consecutive home-and-homes again in December. The Gophers will open the second-half of the year much like they did in 2021-2022, facing St. Thomas on January 13 & 14. Senior Weekend at Ridder Arena will feature the Border Battle against Wisconsin on February 10 & 11. Here's the quick rundown.

Oct. 7-8 – vs. Bemdiji State
Oct. 8-9 – at Minnesota Duluth
Oct. 14-15 – (home & home) vs. MN State
Oct. 21-22 – (home & home) vs. SCSU
Oct. 28-29 – at Ohio State
Nov. 4-5 – vs. Minnesota Duluth
Nov. 18-19 – at Wisconsin
Dec. 2-3 – (home & home) vs. MN State
Dec. 9-10 – (home & home) vs. SCSU
-- Winter Holiday Break --
Jan. 13-14 – vs. St. Thomas

Jan. 20-21 – at Bemidji state
Jan. 27-28 – at Minnesota Duluth
Feb. 3-4 – vs. Ohio State
Feb. 10-11 – vs. Wisconsin (Senior Wknd)
Feb. 17-18 – at St. Thomas
-- End of Regular Season --
Feb. 24-26 – WCHA Quarterfinals
(best 2 of 3 at higher seeds)

March 3 & 4 – WCHA Final Faceoff
at Ridder Arena

Game times and non-conference contests will be announced at a later date.

Gopher netminding duo headed to USA Hockey Goalie Camp

Gopher Women's Hockey's Makayla Pahl and Skylar Vetter were named yesterday as two of the 29 players invited to the 2022 USA Hockey National Goaltending Camp, being held this coming weekend – May 19-22 – at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.
As noted in the press release, the four days will consist of on-ice training, skill development, video analysis and team building activities, with a stated goal of “allow[ing] the group to compete among their peers, grow their game, self-evaluate and learn from an experienced camp staff.”

Congratulations, Makalya & Skylar, on your selections!!

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Power Play Club 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 www.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.

The Two-Minute Minor - An Edition of the Penalty Box Post - April 29, 2022

The Two-Minute Minor
An Edition of the Penalty Box Post
Friday, April 29th

Next PPC Board Meeting – Tuesday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m.

The Power Play Club Board of Directors will be meeting online via Zoom on Tuesday evening, May 10, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting is open to all enrolled Power Play Club members (2021-2022 membership applies for off-season meetings); if you are interested in attending, please contact PPC vice president Dave Malerich at vicepresident@powerplayclub.org.

As has become our tradition at the May meeting, GWH head coach Brad Frost will be in attendance to discuss the upcoming season's schedule – both the game calendar and PPC events – plus fundraising & target projects and other related topics.

Support GWH through service to the Power Play Club! We continue to ask for your assistance fulfilling several remaining vacancies on the PPC board or with other club responsibilities. While board meetings have routinely occurred monthly during the off-season and as-necessary once the new season begins, we are discussing the possibility of spreading them out across the full year. If you are interested in a board or other volunteer position, please contact PPC president Bill Johnson at president@powerplayclub.org.

GWH roster update: Several '21-22 seniors returning for '22-23

Following the announcement of Grace Zumwinkle's return to Gopher Women's Hockey on April 20, the team has followed that up with updates regarding the other seniors with remaining eligibility.

In order announced (and pictured below, left to right), it was confirmed that Gracie Ostertag, Crystalyn Hengler, Savannah Norcross, Emily Oden, Catie Skaja, Abigail Boreen, and Taylor Heise will all be back in Maroon & Gold for the 2022-2023 season, looking to defend their WCHA regular-season championship and also bring home some post-season hardware.

We look forward to seeing all our returning players this fall!!

Alumnae news: Räty claims 2nd WHL Cup with KRS Vanke Rays

Gopher Women's Hockey alumna and goaltending stand-out Noora Räty won her second Russian Women's Hockey League WHL Cup championship as a member of the KRS Vanke Rays. The Vanke Rays completed a 3 games-to-none finals sweep of Scythian with a 2-1 shootout victory in Game 3 this past Tuesday (April 26) after winning 3-1 in Game 1 and 3-2 in Game 2. They also claimed the title in 2020.

Räty played every minute of the finals, stopping a combined 87 of 91 shots during the run of play for a .956 save percentage and 1.27 goals-against average. She also shut down the three Scythian shooters she faced in the Game 3 shootout to clinch the Cup. Across all three playoff rounds, she posted a 6-1-1 record (as the game with the shootout goes down as a tie for goaltending stats) with a .950 SV% and 1.30 GAA; she was also a perfect 11-0-0 in her regular-season appearances with a .964 SV%, a 0.94 GAA, and 3 shutouts. Congratulations, Noora!!

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Power Play Club 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 www.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.


The Two-Minute Minor - An edition of the Penalty Box Post - Thursday, April 21, 2022

The Two-Minute Minor
An Edition of the Penalty Box Post
Thursday, April 21st

Hemp, Brown honored at 2022 Golden Goldy Awards

Gopher Women's Hockey's Emily Brown and Peyton Hemp were recognized during the 16th annual Golden Goldys, the University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Department's internal awards ceremony honoring the top student-athletes at the school.

Hemp was named as the Female Rookie of the Year across all Golden Gopher varsity athletics. The award follows Hemp's awards as National Rookie of the Year, WCHA Rookie of the Year, and three-time WCHA Rookie of the Month selection. She led WCHA freshmen in points (32) and goals (12).

Brown was joined by Gopher Men's Swimming and Diving's Cameron Kelley as recipients of the Land O' Lakes Outstanding Achievement Award in Leadership and Service, which recognizes one men's and one women's team student-athlete who are accomplished in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. As noted in the award announcement, Brown was the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, an active leadership council member and three-time recipient of the Leadership U Certificate of Excellence, and has volunteered numerous hours of community service work.

Additionally, Brown was one of nine recipients of a Leadership U Certificate of Excellence. To receive a certificate, individuals must accomplish the following items: attend and engage in Leadership U programming with fellow student-athletes, complete and debrief behavioral and emotional intelligence assessments, reflect on Speaker Series professional guests' insights and actively engage with the Leadership U staff and fellow student-athletes.

Congratulations Emily and Peyton on these awards!!

Departure of Potomak, return of Grace Zumwinkle announced

The Gopher Women's Hockey team provided a pair of updates on the status of players who have completed their senior seasons but have eligibility remaining if they choose to use it.

The first announcement was made on Sunday, April 10, that Amy Potomak's Gopher career has come to a close. Potomak recorded 111 points on 49 goals and 62 assists, with 7 of those goals being gamewinners. Thank you, Amy, for proudly representing the U. of M., and we we wish you all the best in your next adventure!

On the flip side, the team announced yesterday (Wednesday, April 20) that 2022 Team USA Olympian Grace Zumwinkle will be returning to the U. for her fifth season. In 133 career games with the Gophers, Zumwinkle has 148 points on 84 goals (13 gamewinners) and 64 assists. She recorded her first career Olympic goal this past February in Beijing, coming in a preliminary-round contest against the Russian Olympic Committee team; she also posted a +3 plus-minus rating in the tournament. Also of note, Grace will join her younger sister Emily on the Gopher roster. Welcome back, Grace! We look forward to your return this fall!

GWH alumnae news: Kessel named first participant in Penguins' Executive Management Program – Also announced yesterday, the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins named Gopher Women's Hockey alumna Amanda Kessel as the inaugural participant in their new Executive Management Program. As noted in the press release, the program “offers candidates, with a focus on women and minority athletes, a one-year opportunity to work alongside executives within the Penguins partnership, marketing, communication and broadcast departments, as well as hockey operations. The first-of-its-kind program will consist of a rotation through different departments to expose participants to all aspects of the sports business, and includes graduate school educational and community service components.” Congratulations and continued best wishes, Amanda!

Copyright © 2022 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

Follow the Power Play Club 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 www.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.