March 20, 2024

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, March 20, 2024

March 20, 2024

Goals for a Goal: Gophers finish 2023-2024 with 135 goals

Our thanks to everyone who submitted a pledge to the Power Play Club's Goals for a Goal program to provide additional financial support for the Gopher Women's Hockey team. Concluding the 2023-2024 season, the Gophers finished with 135 goals, 37 of which were scored on the power play!!

Those of you who pledged should watch your email inbox for an invoice and remittance instructions from the Golden Gopher Fund at some point in the next month. We appreciate your contributions to this and our other fundraisers for GWH!!

Madeline Wethington reaches career 100-point mark

Expanding on a note from our Two-Minute Minor following last Saturday's NCAA quarterfinal contest, Madeline Wethington's assist on Josefin Bouveng's first-period goal was her 100th career point, making her the 7th Gopher Women's Hockey blueliner to reach the century mark. Additionally, her 27 goals and 73 assists also place her seventh all-time in both categories among Minnesota defenders!! Congratulations and thank you, Madeline!!

Laitinen, Bouveng headed to 2024 Women's World Championship

We send wishes of congratulations and good luck to Gopher Women's Hockey sophomores Nelli Laitinen & Josefin Bouveng upon being named to their respective countries' national teams for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championships!!

Laitinen was named to the Finland Women's National Team on March 11, while Bouveng was announced on the Sweden Women's National Team roster yesterday (March 19). This will be Laitinen's fourth and Bouveng's third Women's World Championship. Both also played on their countries' teams at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

The 2024 Women's World Championship is being held at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, NY, from April 3 through 14, with preliminary round games through April 9 and the playoff round starting April 11. Single-game tickets are on sale at 2024.womensworlds.hockey/tickets.

We again also wish good luck to current Gopher Abbey Murphy and alumnae Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle as they head to the U.S. Women's National Team Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, NY, March 27-30 ahead of the Team USA roster selection for the World Championship. That roster is expected to be named on March 31.

Duluth, AMSOIL Arena to host 2025 WCHA Final Faceoff

In case you missed the news, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) announced during this year's playoff championship game on March 10 that AMSOIL Arena in Duluth will host the 2025 Kwik Trip Final Faceoff.

The announcement comes after the 2024 Final Faceoff was the ninth-consecutive year the event was held at Ridder Arena. Duluth previously hosted the league's championship weekend in 2008 & 2012. The playoff championship has also been contested in Bloomington, Rochester, Blaine, Grand Forks, and Bemidji.

Daniel, O'Brien, Simms named Kazmaier Award Top 3 Finalists

Following up from last week, Cornell's Izzy Daniel and Wisconsin's Casey O'Brien & Kirsten Simms were named the Top 3 Finalists for the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented to the top NCAA Division I women's hockey player.

The presentation of the award will be held as part of the NCAA Frozen Four weekend festivities this Saturday, March 23, at 12:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. CT at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, NH. The event is free and open to the public, and will be televised live on NHL Network.

Copyright © 2024 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

You can receive the Penalty Box Post newsletter via email by signing up here.

Follow the Power Play Club online at www.powerplayclub.org, 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 gophersports.com. You can also find the Gopher women's hockey team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GopherWomensHockey and on Twitter/X at twitter.com/GopherWHockey.

Power Play Club

March 17, 2024

The Two-Minute Minor - An edition of the Penalty Box Post - Sunday, March 17, 2024

Power Play Club

March 17, 2024

NCAA Quarterfinal: Gophers fall at Clarkson, 3-2 in 4 OT

NCAA Frozen Four – Whittemore Center Arena, Durham, NH
Semifinals – Friday, March 22
#1 Ohio State vs. #4 Clarkson – 4:00 pm ET / 3:00 pm CT
#2 Wisconsin vs. #3 Colgate – 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT
Video from both games streamed for free on ESPN+

Championship – Sunday, March 24 at 4:00 pm ET / 3:00 pm CT
Televised on ESPNU

The new record for the longest game in Minnesota Women's Hockey history also ended its season as Clarkson outlasted the Gophers 3-2 in a four-overtime marathon in their NCAA Women's National Collegiate Tournament quarterfinal in Potsdam, NY. Golden Knights goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk made 61 saves, including 36 in OT, and Dominique Petrie buried a power-play rebound – her second goal of the contest – at the 5:44 mark of the fourth extra period.

Josefin Bouveng and Ella Huber put Minnesota up 2-0, but Haley Winn netted a power play goal for the Knights to cut the Gophers' lead to one before the first intermission. The 2-1 margin held until late in regulation when Petrie tallied with an extra attacker to send the contest to overtime. The teams battled through three overtime periods before Petrie's game-winning goal in the fourth. Lucy Morgan made 53 saves for Minnesota, 34 in OT. Recording an assist in the first period, Madeline Wethington became the seventh defender in program history to reach the 100-point mark.

The Gophers finish with an overall record of 27-10-2.

Minnesota-Clarkson game Recaps

U. of M. recap – Gophers Fall in 4OT Heartbreaker to Clarkson
Joe Nelson for Bring Me the Sports / SI.com – Gophers fall to Clarkson in 4-overtime NCAA Tournament thriller
Rachel Blount, Star Tribune – Gophers women's hockey ousted by Clarkson in four overtimes in NCAA quarterfinals
Sydney Wolf, The Rink Live – Clarkson outlasts Minnesota in 4OT, heads to Women's Frozen Four

Other quarterfinal Results
#1 Ohio State blows out Minnesota Duluth, 9-0 – Olivia Mobley tallied 2 goals and an assist, Jocelyn Amos added a goal & two assists, Hannah Bilka lit the lamp twice, and Raygan Kirk needed only 16 saves for the Buckeyes to shut out the Bulldogs a fifth time this season. Ève Gascon & Hailey MacLeod combined for 30 saves for UMD.

#2 Wisconsin shuts out St. Lawrence, 4-0 – Casey O'Brien tallied just 16 seconds into the contest, Sarah Wozniewicz doubled the lead in the 3rd period, and Laila Edward lit the lamp twice after an earlier assist for the Badgers while Ava McNaughton stopped all 25 shots she faced. Emma-Sofie Nordström made 43 saves for the Saints.

#3 Colgate knocks off Cornell, 3-1 – Allyson Simpson lit the lamp for the Raiders with 4:11 remaining in regulation, assisted by Elyssa Biederman, to break a 1-1 tie, and Biederman added an empty-netter right before the final horn. Kristýna Kaltounková gave Colgate an initial lead in the first period, but Kaitlin Jockims evened the score for the Big Red in the 2nd. Kayle Osborne stopped 19 of 20 shots for the Radiers, while Cornell's Annelies Bergmann made 31 saves.

Thank you seniors Josey Dunne, Lucy Morgan, Solveig Neunzert, Maggie Nicholson, Taylor Stewart, Audrey Wethington & Madeline Wethington for proudly representing the Gopher Women's Hockey program and the U. of M.!! We send thanks to the entire GWH team on another great season, and we look forward to seeing you in the fall!

Copyright © 2024 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

You can receive the Penalty Box Post newsletter via email by signing up here.

Power Play Club

March 13, 2024

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Power Play Club

March 13, 2024

Goals for a Goal: Counting continues into NCAA Tournament

As the Gopher Women's Hockey team enters NCAA Tournament play, we continue to count the goals they've scored this season. And it's not too late to enroll in the Power Play Club's Goals for a Goal campaign to convert each of those goals into a donation back to the team! Headed into the Big Dance, they have lit the lamp 133 times, with 37 of them coming on the power play!!

Pledges per goal can be submitted online, with the option to double your pledge for power-play tallies. The Golden Gopher Fund will send out invoices following the completion of the season. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!

NCAA Tournament – Single-elimination

Quarterfinal – #5-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (27-9-2)
at #4-seeded Clarkson Golden Knights (32-4-2)
Saturday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. CT
Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

The Golden Gophers have earned a bid to their third-straight NCAA Women's Ice Hockey National Collegiate Tournament but are headed on the road for the quarterfinal round. Earning the #5 seed, they travel to northern New York state for a meeting against the 4th-seeded Clarkson University Golden Knights at Cheel Arena in Potsdam.

TIME CHANGE – Game time this Saturday, March 16, is now set for 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT. This is an hour earlier than originally reported.

Tickets are on sale through the Clarkson University ticket office here.

Game coverage – Video of Saturday's game will streamed on the ESPN+ subscription service. Free audio play-by-play with announcer Dan Hamann will be streamed on GopherSports.com starting 15 to 20 minutes before puck drop here. Free live stats will be available here.

Previously against Clarkson – The Golden Gophers and Golden Knights have met twice previously in NCAA Tournament games with Clarkson coming out victorious both times, defeating Minnesota 5-4 in the 2014 National Championship game and 4-3 in the 2017 Frozen Four semifinals. In the latter contest, Gophers Kate Schipper, Sarah Potomak, and Sophie Skarzynski lit the lamp to erase 3 different one-goal deficits, but Clarkson's Rhyen McGill netted the game-winning goal on rebound with 1:31 to play. Sidney Peters made 21 saves for Minnesota, while Shea Tiley stopped 28 shots for the Knights.

Analyzing the Golden Knights – Though posting a better overall record than Colgate thanks to a 11-0-1 non-conference mark, Clarkson finished the regular season second in the ECAC behind the Raiders with an 18-3-1 league record. After sweeping Princeton in the best-of-3 conference quarterfinals, 3-2 (2OT) & 6-3, they knocked off rival St. Lawrence 3-1 in the semis before falling to Colgate 3-0 in the ECAC Championship.

Clarkson averaged 3.45 goals per game across all contests, good for fourth in the ECAC, and they feature six players who have surpassed the 30-point mark. Senior Nicole Gosling (#21) had a team-high 37 points, is tied for the team-lead with 14 goals, and has dished out 23 assists. Junior defender Haley Winn (#4) is second in total scoring, dishing out 27 assists while lighting the lamp 9 times herself for 36 points. Former Gopher Anne Cherkowski (Sr., #24) and grad student Dominique Petrie (#29) each have 33 points; Cherkowski joins Gosling with 14 goals and has 19 assists, while Petrie has 13 goals & 20 assists. Grad students Darcie Lappan (#27) and Brooke McQuigge (#26) each have 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points.

Defense has been a strength of the Knights, recording NCAA bests for opposing scoring at 1.18 goals-per-game and penalty kill rate at 91.8%. Senior Michelle Pasiechnyk (#1) has been Clarkson's primary goaltender, going 24-4-1 (one no-decision) in 30 starts with 8 shutouts, a 1.31 goals-against average, and a .943 save percentage. Sophomore Julia Minotti (#31) boasts even better stats with an 8-0-1 record, 5 shutouts, a meager 0.57 GAA, and a .965 SV%. Juniors Alexa Madrid (#30) & Holly Gruber (#35) have seen only limited action; Madrid made a brief 4-minute appearance against Harvard this season, not facing a shot on goal, while Gruber appeared in a pair of games in 2022-2023.

Last weekend for Clarkson – In the ECAC semifinals against St. Lawrence, Haley Winn and Sena Catterall gave the Knights a 2-0 lead early in the second period, though Rachel Bjorgan lit the lamp for the Saints just 77 seconds later to pull within one. However, Michelle Pasiechnyk was perfect after that, finishing with 31 saves in total, and Catterall tallied her second goal of the game into an empty net for the 3-1 victory. The Knights and Colgate squared off for the ECAC Championship and played a scoreless first 48 minutes until Madeline Palumbo lit the lamp for the Raiders. Colgate's Kayle Osborne kept Clarkson off the board with 30 saves while Elyssa Biederman tacked on an empty-netter and Emma Pais scored after that for the 3-0 shutout. Pasiechnyk made another 38 saves.

2024 Patty Kazmaier Award Top 3 Finalists to be Named Today

The announcement of the Top 3 Finalists for the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented to the best player in Division I Women's Ice Hockey, is expected today (Wednesday, March 13). We send one more shoutout to Gopher Women's Hockey forward Abbey Murphy on being named a Top 10 Finalist!

The Top 3 Finalist announcement will be shared on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, with more details posted on pattykaz.com.

WCHA 2023-2024 Award Winners

Wrapping up the WCHA season for another year, we share the announcements of the league's award winners for 2023-2024.

Forward of the Year – Kirsten Simms, Wisconsin
Defender of the Year – Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin
Goaltender of the Year – Sanni Ahola, St. Cloud State
Rookie of the Year – Joy Dunne, Ohio State
Coach of the Year – Nadine Muzerall, Ohio State
Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year – Clara Van Wieren, Minnesota Duluth
Player of the Year – Kirsten Simms, Wisconsin

Dickerman Named New Coach at MSU after Harrington Retires

Minnesota State University women's hockey alumna Shari (Vogt) Dickerman was promoted to head coach of the Mavericks earlier this week after John Harrington stepped down from the position. Dickerman becomes the fifth head coach in the history of the MSU program, having been a member of the coaching staff since 2009, and briefly served as Acting Head Coach in during the 2023-2024 season.

As a goaltender for the Mavericks, Dickerman was named to the 2004 Division I All-American Second Team and was a Top 10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award that year. She was also a two-time All-WCHA First Team selection. Her 3,590 career saves at MSU are 5th all-time in the NCAA Women's Division I record book.

Prior to coaching at her alma mater, Dickerman spent one year as an assistant coach for the girls Prep 19U team at Shattuck-St. Mary's and was an assistant coach at Mankato West High School before that. More recently, she served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and the 2023 & 2024 Rivalry Series against Canada.

Harrington will remain in the MSU Athletics Department for the remainder of the academic year, serving as Special Assistant to the Athletic Director before his full retirement from the school on June 30. A 1980 U.S. Olympian on the "Miracle on Ice" team, he finished with an 85-198-25 overall record in nine seasons leading the Mavericks. We send him our best wishes on a happy retirement.

2024 World Championship Medal-round Tickets on Sale Today

Single-game tickets for the medal round of the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship – including quarterfinal & semifinal contests and the bronze & gold-medal games – will go on sale today (Wednesday, March 13) at 12 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. CT at 2024.womensworlds.hockey/tickets.

Single-game tickets for the preliminary round are also on sale using the link above. The tournament is hosted this year by the United States at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York, starting Wednesday, April 3. The playoff round begins with the quarterfinals on Thursday, April 11, and runs through the medal games on Sunday, April 14. More tournament information can be found on the event's website here.

Other NCAA Tournament Matchups – First Round

Cornell (24-7-1) vs. Stonehill (21-15-2) – at Colgate
Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT

Minnesota Duluth (20-13-4) vs. Connecticut (25-7-5) – at Ohio State
Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT

St. Lawrence (27-10-0) vs. Penn State (22-12-3) – at Wisconsin
Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT

Quarterfinals

Cornell / Stonehill at #3-seed Colgate (31-6-1)
TIME CHANGE – Saturday, March 16 at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT

St. Lawrence / Penn State at #2-seed Wisconsin (33-5-0)
Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT

Minnesota Duluth / Connecticut at #1-seed Ohio State (32-4-0)
Saturday, March 16 at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT

Copyright © 2024 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

You can receive the Penalty Box Post newsletter via email by signing up here.

Power Play Club

March 11, 2024

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Monday, March 11, 2024

Power Play Club

March 11, 2024

NCAA Quarterfinal
#5 Minnesota Golden Gophers
at #4 Clarkson Golden Knights
Saturday, March 16
2:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. CT
Cheel Arena – Potsdam, NY

Tickets on sale today – Monday, March 11 – at 1 p.m. ET / Noon CT
through the Clarkson University ticket office here.

All seating is general admission with a first-come, first-served policy.

Note: Game time has been updated from 2 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET.

Murphy named 2024 Patty Kazmaier Award Top-10 finalist

Gopher Women's Hockey junior forward & alternate captain Abbey Murphy was named a Top-10 finalist for the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented by the USA Hockey Foundation to the top NCAA Division I women's hockey player!

Murphy remains the national goal leader with 33 while dishing out 26 assists to put her in a third-place tie for total scoring with 59 points. She also leads the nation with 13 power-play goals and is second for goals-per-game average (0.89). She was named to the All-WCHA Second Team last week, her third All-WCHA honor, and earned three WCHA Forward of the Week and two WCHA Forward of the Month honors. Murphy becomes the 39th player in Minnesota program history to be named a Kazmaier Award Top-10 finalist.

The top-three finalists are expected to be announced next Wednesday, March 13, with the winner being revealed on Saturday, March 23 at the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four in Durham, N.H. Congratulations and good luck, Abbey!!

Murphy, 3 GWH alumnae invited to Team USA evaluation camp
Roster for 2024 IIHF World Championship to be named at end of camp

Current Gopher Abbey Murphy was part of more news yesterday (Thursday, March 7) as she and Minnesota Women's Hockey alumnae Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek & Grace Zumwinkle were named to the 39-player invitee list for the U.S. Women's National Team Evaluation Camp by USA Hockey. The camp will be held March 27 through 30 in Lake Placid, New York.

The 2024 U.S. Women’s National Team will be named at the conclusion of camp – likely on Sunday, March 31 – and will compete at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Utica, NY, running April 3 through 14 at the Adirondack Bank Center. Team USA is the defending world champion after winning gold last year in Brampton, Ontario.

We send our congratulations and wishes of good luck to Abbey, Taylor, Kelly, and Grace!!

Canadian Women's World Championship roster set – We also note that Canada named its 23-player national team roster for the 2024 Women’s World Championship yesterday. Twenty (20) members of the team are returners from the 2023 silver medalist squad.

We will watch for more World Championship team roster announcements as the tournament approaches.

Copyright © 2024 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

You can receive the Penalty Box Post newsletter via email by signing up here.

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Power Play Club

March 11, 2024

The Penalty Box Post - NCAA Bracket Update - Sunday, March 10, 2024

Power Play Club

March 11, 2024

Gophers fall to Wisconsin in WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals

A power-play goal from Peyton Hemp with 3:44 remaining regulation gave the Gophers a late lead in their WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal against Wisconsin and Skylar Vetter made 38 saves, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Badgers in overtime, 4-3.

Kirsten Simms put the Badgers up within the first minute of the contest, but Josefin Bouveng and Ella Huber gave the Gophers a 2-1 first-intermission lead. Simms converted a second-period power play to knot the score before Hemp's goal put Minnesota ahead again. Unfortunately, Casey O'Brien was able to even the score with just 8.8 seconds remaining, banking a shot off of Vetter into the net. Vetter made 3 saves in OT but couldn't stop a backhander from Lacey Eden 7:59 into the extra period, sending Wisconsin to the WCHA Championship Game. Ava McNaughton made 20 saves for the Badgers. Bouveng led the Gophers in scoring, adding an assist to her goal.

First semifinal: Ohio State 5, Minnesota Duluth 0 – Buckeyes netminder Raygan Kirk needed only 17 saves to post a clean sheet as OSU shut out UMD for the fourth time in five meetings this season. At the other end of the ice, Joy Dunne & Kiara Zanon scored 44 seconds apart in the first period and the Buckeyes never looked back. Dunne added a later assist and Emma Peschel also tallied a goal & an assist for OSU, while Hailey MacLeod stopped 39 shots for the Bulldogs.

Championship: Wisconsin 6, Ohio State 3 – Coming off their overtime semifinal victory, the Badgers scored on two of their first three shots on goal against the Buckeyes to go up 2-0. OSU pulled within one early in the second period, but Wisconsin rattled off the next four goals – including two on the power play and one short-handed – to extend their lead to 6-1. Laila Edwards & Casey O'Brien each recorded two goals & two assists for the Badgers and Ava McNaughton made 30 saves. Hannah Bilka lit the lamp twice for the Buckeyes in the final five minutes and Raygan Kirk stopped 16 shots.

All-Tournament Team –

F - Laila Edwards, Wisconsin
F - Casey O'Brien, Wisconsin
F - Kirsten Simms, Wisconsin
D - Emma Peschel, Ohio State
D - Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin
G - Ava McNaughton, Wisconsin

Most Outstanding Player – Casey O'Brien

NCAA Tournament – Single-elimination
Quarterfinal – #5-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (27-9-2)
at #4-seeded Clarkson Golden Knights (32-4-2)
Saturday, March 16 at 3:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. CT
Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

The Golden Gophers are headed to their third-straight Big Dance but will have to go on the road to open the tournament. Earning the #5 seed, they will head to northern New York state for a meeting against the 4th-seeded Clarkson University Golden Knights at Cheel Arena in Potsdam. Game time this Saturday, March 16, is set for 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT.

Ticket information is to be announced and we'll share it when it becomes available. More information about this game will be posted in our regular issue of the Penalty Box Post on Wednesday.

Other NCAA Tournament Matchups – First Round

Cornell (24-7-1) vs. Stonehill (21-15-2) – at Colgate
Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT

Minnesota Duluth (20-13-4) vs. Connecticut (25-7-5) – at Ohio State
Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT

St. Lawrence (27-10-0) vs. Penn State (22-12-3) – at Wisconsin
Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT

Quarterfinals

Cornell / Stonehill at #3-seed Colgate (31-6-1)
Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT

St. Lawrence / Penn State at #2-seed Wisconsin (33-5-0)
Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT

Minnesota Duluth / Connecticut at #1-seed Ohio State (32-4-0)
Saturday, March 16 at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT

Copyright © 2024 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

You can receive the Penalty Box Post newsletter via email by signing up here.

Power Play Club

March 6, 2024

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Power Play Club

March 6, 2024

Goals for a Goal: Total increases to 130 goals!

The Power Play Club's Goals for a Goal campaign is collecting pledges for every goal scored by the Gopher Women's Hockey Team, with the resulting donations used to support Ridder Arena improvements. Goals scored in the postseason are included in the count, and so far the team has recorded 130 goals, 36 of which have come on the power play!!

If you have not yet made a pledge, you still have the opportunity to do so online. The Golden Gopher Fund will send out invoices following the completion of the season. Thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!

Laitinen, A. Wethington named WCHA season award finalists

GWH sophomore Nelli Laitinen was named a top-three finalist for WCHA Defender of the Year on Monday, and senior Audrey Wethington was announced as a finalist for WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year yesterday.

Laitinen has scored six goals, dished out 15 helpers, and blocked 56 shots this season; she was named to the All-WCHA Second Team last week. On the ice, Wethington has 15 points on 4 goals & 11 assists; off the ice, the biology major earned her 3rd WCHA Scholar-Athlete honor, which goes to student-athletes averaging 3.50 on a 4.0 scale for their previous two semesters or three quarters of instruction. Congratulations, Nelli & Audrey!!

The 2023-2024 WCHA Forward of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goaltender of the Year and Rookie of the Year, as presented by Sterling Trophy, will be announced later today (Wednesday, March 6). The Coach of the Year, Outstanding Scholar-Athlete, and overall 2023-2024 WCHA Player of the Year will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, March 7.

2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Face-off at Ridder Arena

Semifinals – Friday, March 8
#1 Ohio State (1st seed) vs. #8 MN Duluth (4th seed) – 1:00 p.m.
#5 Minnesota (3rd seed) vs. #2 Wisconsin (2nd seed) – 4:30 p.m.

Championship – Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m.

Ridder Arena hosts the WCHA Final Faceoff for the ninth-consecutive year, featuring four of the top eight teams in the nation and repeating the pairings from last season. Top ranked and top seeded Ohio State will face Minnesota Duluth in the first semifinal this Friday, March 8, at 1:00 p.m. The 3rd-seeded Golden Gophers will face 2nd-seeded Wisconsin in a fifth round of the Border Battle this season, playing in the second semifinal at 4:30 p.m. The winners will advance to the championship game on Saturday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m.

Gopher sports calendar – Please note that the Gopher Men's Hockey team will be hosting a Big Ten Conference quarterfinal series against Penn State this weekend, with Game 1 on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Game 2 Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Additionally, Gopher Men's Swimming & Diving is hosting a meet at the Jean Freeman Aquatic Center on Saturday with the finals scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Final Faceoff attendees should please plan accordingly.

Tournament television/video coverage – Continuing the WCHA's partnership, all three Final Faceoff contests will have video streaming on the B1G+ subscription service. Additionally, all three will also be broadcast on FOX 9+ in the Twin Cities, with streaming of that station through Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, and YouTube TV.

Ticket information – All-session packages and single-session tickets can be purchased from the University of Minnesota Ticket Office through GopherSports.com or by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER during normal business hours (M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

All-session packages are $40 for reserved chairback seating, $30 for adult general admission (bench) seating, $22.50 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $12 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

Semifinal Friday tickets are $24 for reserved chairback seating, $17 for adult general admission (bench) seating, $14.50 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $8.50 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

Championship Saturday tickets are $27 for reserved chairback seating, $21 for adult general admission (bench) seating, $15.50 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $10 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

How they got here:

Gophers eliminate Minnesota State in three games to advance

Scoring on three of their four 3rd-period shots on goal, 6th-seeded Minnesota State upset Minnesota 5-4 in Game 1 of their WCHA quarterfinal series. However, the Gophers responded with a five-goal first-period outburst in Game 2 en route to a 7-1 victory and posted stout defense to shutout the Mavericks 3-0 in Game 3 to win the series and advance.

Minnesota's first forward line accounted for 11 of the team's 14 goals. Josefin Bouveng led the Maroon & Gold with a 10-point weekend, lighting the lamp twice on Saturday & twice more on Sunday while dishing out 6 assists across the three games. Ella Huber tallied a team-high five goals in the series, netting a hat trick Friday and tallying Sunday's game-winning goal; she also recorded two assists for a 7-point performance. Abbey Murphy found the back of the next twice on Saturday while getting six assists as well (two in each game). Jamie Nelson led the Mavericks with two goals & an assist, all coming on Friday.

Between the pipes, Skylar Vetter took Friday's loss despite a 23-save effort; Lucy Morgan started Saturday & Sunday, stopping 28 of the combined 29 shots she faced to earn the two wins. MSU's Hailey Hansen made 32 saves in just under four periods of action but got tagged for nine goals; Suzette Faucher entered in relief Saturday and started Sunday, stopping 57 of 61 shots.

Wisconsin took second in the WCHA standings with a 23-5-0-0 (2-1 in OT) conference record, plus a perfect 6-0-0 mark in non-conference action. Lauren Stenslie lit the lamp twice for 7th-seeded St. Thomas in Game 1 of their quarterfinal series, but the Badgers got two goals & an assist from Kirsten Simms and a goal & two assists from Britta Curl to earn a 4-2 victory. Wisconsin routed the Tommies 9-1 in Game 2 to sweep the series; Curl added two goals & two assists to finish with a 7-point weekend, Casey O'Brien also tallied 2 goals & 2 assists, and Simms dished out 3 helpers. Former Gopher goaltender Olivia King saw her collegiate career come to an end, making 51 saves for St. Thomas.

Ohio State earned their second-straight WCHA regular-season championship with a dominant 26-2-0-0 (2-0 in OT) conference record plus a 3-1-0 mark in non-conference play. The Buckeyes routed 8th-seeded Bemidji State in the quarterfinals, 10-1 and 8-0. Jenna Buglioni posted a 3-goal, 3-assist series, Jenn Gardiner added 3 goals & 2 assists, Cayla Barnes and Joy Dunne each tallied 2 goals & 2 assists, and Kiara Zanon dished out 5 helpers. Olivia Dronen netted the lone goal for the Beavers, scoring unassisted.

Minnesota Duluth finished fourth in the conference standings, posting a 15-11-2-0 (1-0 in OT) mark in WCHA play and going 3-1-2 in non-conference action. The Bulldogs shut out St. Cloud State in the quarterfinals, winning 5-0 and 2-0. Reece Hunt tallied points on all five UMD goals in the opener, scoring the first goal herself and assisting on the other four, and Hailey MacLeod stopped all 20 shots she faced. Bulldog captain Mannon McMahon, having recorded two assists Friday, scored both goals on Saturday; that was plenty as Ève Gascon posted a 27-save shutout performance. Huskies goaltenders Sanni Ahola and Jojo Chobak combined for 55 saves.

Final Faceoff Semifinal Matchups

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin – Both the Gophers and Badgers are nearly certain to receive NCAA Tournament bids regardless of this weekend's results, but, while Wisconsin is likely to host a regional, Minnesota needs at least one win if not two (plus outside help) to avoid having to go on the road to open the “Big Dance”.

Wisconsin went 3-1-0 against Minnesota in the regular season, taking 8 of the 12 conference standings points. At Ridder Arena in December, the Gophers won the opener 5-3 but the Badgers salvaged a split with a 5-1 victory. Last month at Madison, Minnesota battled back in the Friday game to force overtime but lost in the extra period, 4-3; Wisconsin completed the weekend sweep with a 4-0 Saturday shutout. Josefin Bouveng led the Gopher scoring in the season series with 4 points on 3 goals & an assist, Abbey Murphy tallied 2 goals & 2 assists, and Nelli Laitinen added a goal and 2 helpers. Kirsten Simms recorded 4 goals & 4 assists for the Badgers, Lacey Eden tallied 3 goals and 2 assists, and Britta Curl and Maddi Wheeler each added two goals & an assist. Wisconsin had a 143-92 shots-on-goal advantage in the series. Lucy Morgan earned Minnesota's lone win in two starts, posting an .896 save percentage and 3.50 goals-against average, while Skylar Vetter recorded an .882 SV% and 4.44 GAA. Badger freshman Ava McNaughton stopped 40 of 41 shots over her two games for a 0.50 GAA and .976 SV%, but Jane Gervais yielded the other 8 Gopher goals, resulting in an .843 SV% and 3.99 GAA.

Ohio State vs. Minnesota Duluth – As with last year, the Buckeyes are comfortably in the NCAA Tourney field and the Bulldogs appear to be safely in as well but could use a good weekend showing.

While UMD held Ohio State to only 11 goals in their season series – an average under three per game – the Bulldogs were shut out in three of the four contests and outshot by a combined 149-60. The Buckeyes earned 5-2 and 2-0 victories in Duluth in October, then blanked the Bulldogs 3-0 and 1-0 in Columbus in January. Hannah Bilka led OSU with 5 points against UMD on 2 goals & 3 assists, Hadley Hartmetz tallied a hat trick in their first meeting and later added an assist, and Sloane Matthews recorded a goal and 3 assists. Katie Davis and Reece Hunt scored the Bulldogs' goals. Raygan Kirk stopped all 30 shots she faced for the Buckeyes and Amanda Thiele made 28 saves (.933 save percentage and 1.00 goals-against average). UMD netminder Ève Gascon made 103 saves across three games, posting a 2.36 GAA and .936 SV%, while Hailey MacLeod stopped 35 of 38 shots in her lone start (.921 SV%).

Current Pairwise Rankings

Top 10 plus other teams still active in respective conference tournaments
1. Ohio State (31-3-0 overall record, 69.731 NPI)
2. Wisconsin (31-5-0, 65.984)
3. Clarkson (31-3-2, 64.752)
4. Colgate (29-6-1, 64.256)
5. Minnesota (27-8-2, 62.767)
6. Cornell (24-6-1, 61.184)
7. St. Lawrence (27-9-0, 60.466)
8. Minnesota Duluth (20-12-4, 58.981)
9. Quinnipiac (25-11-1, 58.461)
10. Connecticut (23-7-5, 56.739)
12. Northeastern (24-10-3, 54.643)
14. Penn State* (22-12-3, 54.569)
17. Boston College (15-13-7, 52.404)
18. New Hampshire (18-15-2, 52.894)
30. Stonehill (20-15-4, 47.730)
32. Franklin Pierce (18-15-1, 47.829)

The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, March 10 at Noon ET / 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNews. * Penn State has already qualified as the CHA Playoff Champion. The playoff champions from the ECAC, Hockey East, NEWHA, and WCHA also earn autobids to the 11-team field. Rankings and NPI calculations courtesy of USCHO.com.

Copyright © 2024 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

You can receive the Penalty Box Post newsletter via email by signing up here.

Power Play Club

March 4, 2024

The Two-Minute Minor - An Edition of the Penalty Box Post - Monday, March 4, 2024

Power Play Club

March 4, 2024

Gophers to face Wisconsin in Final Faceoff second semifinal Friday;
Minnesota Duluth and Ohio State to meet in first game

All four WCHA quarterfinal series completed with the higher-seeded home teams advancing, as Minnesota eliminated Minnesota State, Ohio State defeated Bemidji State, Wisconsin knocked out St. Thomas, and Minnesota Duluth bested St. Cloud State. As a result, the 3rd-seeded Gophers will face the Badgers in the second of the Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal games, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. this upcoming Friday, March 8, at Ridder Arena. The Buckeyes and Bulldogs will square off in the first semifinal at 1:00 p.m. Friday's winners will advance to the championship game Saturday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m.

We will recap the quarterfinal series and preview the Final Faceoff match-ups in our regular edition of the Penalty Box Post later this week. The WCHA has created a Final Faceoff Tournament Central site loaded with information.

Final Faceoff Ticket Information – All-session packages and single-session tickets can be purchased from the University of Minnesota Ticket Office through GopherSports.com or by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER during normal business hours (M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

All-session packages are $40 for reserved chairback seating, $30 for adult general admission (bench) seating, $22.50 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $12 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

Semifinal Friday tickets are $24 for reserved chairback seating, $17 for adult general admission (bench) seating, $14.50 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $8.50 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

Championship Saturday tickets are $27 for reserved chairback seating, $21 for adult general admission (bench) seating, $15.50 for general admission for seniors, students & youth, and $10 per ticket for general admission groups of 10 or more.

Copyright © 2024 Power Play Club, All rights reserved.

You can receive the Penalty Box Post newsletter via email by signing up here.

Power Play Club

February 28, 2024

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Power Play Club

February 28, 2024

Goals for a Goal - Gophers complete regular-season with 116 goals (35 on PP)

Through the 34-game regular season, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has lit the lamp 116 times with 35 of those coming on the power play! Registration is still open for our Goals for a Goal program to convert each of those goals – plus those scored in the postseason – into a donation to the GWH program! Pledges per goal scored should be submitted electronically at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double your pledge for power-play conversions. Thanks and GO GOPHERS!!

Gopher Women's Hockey online auction raises over $2,200

Our thanks to everyone who submitted a bid to the Gophers Women's Hockey online auction. After expenses, a net of $2,256 was raised by the Golden Gopher Fund for the team, going into the Women's Hockey Enhancement Fund! We appreciate your support!

WCHA Playoff Quarterfinals (best-of-three) at Ridder Arena
#4/4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (25-7-2, 19-7-2-2 in WCHA)
vs.
Minnesota State University Mavericks (12-23-0, 6-22-0-0)
Friday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m.
(if necessary) Sunday, March 3 at 3:00 p.m.

The Gopher Women's Hockey team enters the WCHA Playoff Tournament as the #3 seed, hosting the 6th-seeded Minnesota State University Mavericks in a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Ridder Arena. Action begins Friday evening, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m. If necessary, a deciding Game 3 will be played Sunday, March 3 at 3:00 p.m.

Game coverage – Video from all three contests will be streamed on the B1G+ subscription service. As always, free audio play-by-play will be streamed on GopherSports.com starting 15 to 20 minutes before puck drop (Friday & Saturday; Sunday's link to be provided as necessary).

This season against Minnesota State – The Gophers completed a season sweep of the Mavericks in a pair of home-and-home series, though the combined goal differential was only 5 as three of the four games were decided by a single goal. Minnesota earned 3-1 and 2-1 victories in early November, then posted 4-3 and 2-1 (OT) wins at the end of January. Abbey Murphy led the Gophers with 5 points against MSU on 3 goals and 2 assists, including a two-goal, one-assist performance on January 26 at Ridder Arena. Peyton Hemp added two goals & two assists, while Josefin Bouveng, Ella Huber, Emma Kreisz, and Nelli Laitinen each recorded a goal and 3 assists. Jamie Nelson posted two goals and an assist for the Mavericks against Minnesota, all coming on January 26, while Alexis Paddington and Lilie Ramirez each dished out two helpers. Skylar Vetter & Lucy Morgan split the four games for the Gophers; Vetter stopped 57 of 61 shots, while Morgan made 35 saves on 37 shots. MSU netminder Suzette Faucher entered the first meeting in relief and started the second & third contests, making a combined 63 saves but yielding 8 goals; Hailey Hansen started the first game before leaving due to injury, but was back to start the fourth contest, stopping a combined 43 of 46 shots.

Analyzing the Mavericks – Finishing 6th in the WCHA regular season standings, Minnesota State saw three big streaks in their results. After opening the season with a non-conference series sweep, they dropped their next 10 games; they won 8 of the following 10 (including four non-conference victories) but then suffered another 9-game losing streak. They're 2-2-0 in their last four contests.

MSU averaged 2.60 goals per game across all contests, good for fourth in the WCHA, but 39 of their 91 goals came in non-conference action; considering only league play, they were sixth with a 1.86 average. Four Mavericks each recorded more than 20 points on the season (all games). Senior Sydney Langseth (#3) had a team-high 31 points and 17 assists while lighting the lamp 14 times herself. Senior Jamie Nelson (#10) led the Mavericks with 18 goals and added 9 assists for 27 points. Sophomore Whitney Tuttle (#7) recorded 25 points on 10 goals & 15 assists, while classmate Taylor Otremba (#24) tallied 21 points on 8 goals & 13 helpers.

Junior Suzette Faucher (#31) posted a 3-10-0 record between the pipes for MSU, with a 3.47 goals-against average and an .884 save percentage. Freshman Hailey Hansen (#33) saw much of the action late in the season, entering the playoffs with a 3-8-0 record, one shutout, a 2.81 GAA and .898 SV%. Sophomore Avery Stilwell (#1) remains the Mavericks' emergency backup. However, as we noted in January, senior Lauren Barbro was no longer listed on the Minnesota State roster after going 6-5-0 in 11 starts earlier in the year with one shutout, a 2.62 GAA, and a .904 SV%.

Last weekend for Minnesota State – After already locking in their 6th-place finish in the conference standings, the Mavericks played a home-and-home series against a St. Thomas squad looking to escape the cellar. The Tommies took a 2-0 lead at the second intermission of the opener in Mankato and Rylee Bartz hit an empty-netter with 44.6 seconds left; that wasn't the end as Alexis Paddington & Jamie Nelson lit the lamp for Minnesota State over the next 21.4 seconds, but St. Thomas held on for the 3-2 win. MSU and UST traded goals throughout the rematch in Mendota Heights with neither taking a lead of more than one; Paddington tallied her 2nd and 3rd goals of the weekend and Nelson added a goal & an assist, but the contest finished regulation tied 4-4. Bartz then tallied her second game-winning goal in as many days, finding the back of the net 36 seconds into overtime for a 5-4 Tommies victory and series sweep. Calla Frank earned both wins for St. Thomas with 51 saves, while Hailey Hansen stopped a combined 31 shots for Minnesota State.

Gophers conclude regular-season with tie, win against UMD

Gopher Women's Hockey claimed five points in their final series of the 2023-2024 regular season, playing Minnesota Duluth to a 1-1 tie Friday with a 1-0 shootout win for the extra point followed by a 4-2 victory on Senior Day Saturday.

Mary Kate O'Brien lit the lamp unassisted for the Bulldogs in the first period of the opener, capitalizing on a Gopher turnover, but Abbey Murphy evened the score on a second-stanza power play, her 30th goal, 50th point, and 12th PPG of the season. From there, Gopher goaltender Skylar Vetter and Bulldog netminder Hailey MacLeod locked things down; the contest went to and through overtime as Vetter and MacLeod each made 26 saves. Ella Huber beat MacLeod in the first round of the shootout, and UMD failed to score on its three attempts with two saves by Vetter.

Madison Kaiser put Minnesota up with the team's second power-play conversion of the weekend in the first period Saturday, and Peyton Hemp doubled the lead in the second frame. The teams exchanged goals in the third; Mannon McMahon cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 2-1 just 1:18 into the stanza but Emma Kreisz restored the Gophers' two-goal lead with another power-play tally and 5:22 remaining. O'Brien netted her second goal of the series with an extra attacker and 1:15 to play, but Murphy broke free and scored into an empty net with 5.5 seconds remaining. Lucy Morgan stopped 23 of 25 shots for the win, while UMD's Ève Gascon made 26 saves.

Hemp and Kaiser each had an assist to accompany their respective goals in the series, and Ava Lindsay dished out three helpers in Saturday's contest.

Gigi Marvin nets first PWHL goal, Abby Boreen rejoins MN roster

Gopher Women's Hockey alumna Gigi Marvin, a three-time U.S. Olympian having previously played in the Western Women's Hockey League, Canadian Women's Hockey League, and Premier Hockey Federation, tallied her first goal in the Professional Women's Hockey League as a member of the Boston franchise in their 2-0 win over Minnesota this past Sunday at the Xcel Energy Center. Marvin has also recorded 3 assists in Boston's 12 games so far this season. Congratulations, Gigi!!

Prior to Sunday's contest, the PWHL announced that Gopher alumna Abby Boreen had signed a second 10-day Standard Player Agreement with Minnesota. Boreen returned to the lineup against Boston and also played last night against Toronto, her sixth and seventh games of the season. In her first call-up, she recorded two goals and an assist. Under league rules, Boreen will only be available through the end of the current agreement due to her status as a full-time graduate student at the U. of M.

The spot Boreen filled on Minnesota's roster opened when the team designated yet another Gopher alum, top draft pick Taylor Heise, to long-term injured reserve. We send wishes to Taylor for a full and quick recovery.

Around the WCHA

Buckeyes, Badgers split marquee series in Madison – In a meeting of the top two teams in the national rankings, Ohio State and Wisconsin each claimed a come-from-behind win to split their weekend series at LaBahn Arena. Maddi Wheeler put the Badgers up 1-0 in the second period on Friday, but Kiara Zanon, Makenna Webster, and Jenna Buglioni (power play, empty net) responded for a 3-1 Buckeyes victory. Kenzie Hauswirth lit the lamp twice to put OSU up 2-0 after 20 minutes of Saturday's rematch, but Casey O'Brien pulled Wisconsin within one in the second stanza and knotted the score midway through the third. Laila Edwards also tallied twice, putting the Badgers ahead just 68 seconds later and tacking on an empty-netter in the final 10 seconds for a 4-2 win.

Huskies sweep Beavers in Bemidji – Greta Henderson recorded a hat trick Friday and added an assist Saturday, Emma Gentry netted her own hat trick Saturday after a goal & an assist on Friday, Katie Kaufman tallied two goals and two assists in the series, and Jojo Chobak & Sanni Ahola combined to stop 35 of 38 shots as St. Cloud State earned a road sweep of Bemidji State, 5-1 & 6-2. Shelby Breiland, Talya Hendrickson, and Olivia Dronen lit the lamp for BSU, and Eva Filippova & Abbie Thompson combined for 61 saves.

Other playoff quarterfinals / Best-of-3 / March 1, 2, and (if necessary) 3

#5-seed St. Cloud State University at #4-seed University of Minnesota Duluth
Friday at 4:00 p.m. CT / Saturday & Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CT
#7-seed University of St. Thomas at #2-seed University of Wisconsin
Friday at 5:00 p.m. CT / Saturday & Sunday at 4:00 p.m. CT
#8-seed Bemidji State University at #1-seed Ohio State University
Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET / Saturday & Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET

Final regular-season standings:
1. Ohio State – 76 points (.905 pts%), 26-2-0-0, 2-0 in OT (29-3-0 overall)
2. Wisconsin – 68 points (.810 pts%), 23-5-0-0, 2-1 in OT (29-5-0 overall)
3. Minnesota – 62 points (.738 pts%), 19-7-2-2, 1-2 in OT (25-7-2 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth – 46 points (.548 pts%), 15-11-2-0, 1-0 in OT (18-12-4 overall)
5. St. Cloud State – 41 points (.488 pts%), 12-14-2-1, 0-2 in OT (17-15-2 overall)
6. Minnesota State – 20 points (.238 pts%), 6-22-0-0, 1-3 in OT (12-23-0 overall)
7. St. Thomas – 13 points (.155 pts%), 4-23-1-1, 1-0 in OT (10-24-1 overall)
8. Bemidji State – 10 points (.119 pts%), 3-24-1-0, 1-1 in OT (4-28-2 overall)

Power Play Club

February 26, 2024

Penalty Box Post Quick Hit - Monday, February 26, 2024

Power Play Club

February 26, 2024

WCHA playoff quarterfinal pairings set;
Minnesota to face Minnesota State in best-of-three series

As was determined following the weekend of February 16 & 17, the Gopher Women's Hockey team finished as the #3 seed for the WCHA playoffs. After this past weekend's action, Minnesota posted a 19-7-2-2 conference record (1-2 in OT). As a result, the Gophers will face Minnesota State in a best-of-3 conference quarterfinal series at Ridder Arena next weekend, the first playoff meeting of the two squads since 2015.

Game times are set for...

Friday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 3 at 3:00 p.m. (if necessary)

We'll have more details with our full series preview in our regular Penalty Box Post later this week.

Season ticket holders should have received tickets for the quarterfinal series as part of their package, and should contact the U. of M. Ticket Office at 1-800-U-GOPHER with any questions or concerns. Tickets for each of the three contests are available to purchase on the ticket office website.

All-session packages and single-session tickets for the 2024 WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena are on sale through the U. of M. Ticket Office; please refer to the website for prices.

Game times are set as follows:

Semifinal Game 1: Friday, March 8 at 1:00 p.m. CT
Semifinal Game 2: Friday, March 8 at 4:30 p.m. CT (approximately)
Championship Game: Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. CT

Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the 3M Arena at Mariucci Box Offices or by phone at 1-800-U-GOPHER. All tickets purchased in advance will be issued electronically.

Other WCHA quarterfinal pairings
Best 2-out-of-3 / Friday, Saturday, and (if necessary) Sunday, March 1-3

#5-seed St. Cloud State University at #4-seed University of Minnesota Duluth
Friday at 4:00 p.m. CT / Saturday & Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CT

#7-seed University of St. Thomas at #2-seed University of Wisconsin
Friday at 5:00 p.m. CT / Saturday & Sunday at 4:00 p.m. CT

#8-seed Bemidji State University at #1-seed Ohio State University
Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET / Saturday & Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET

More information about the entire WCHA Playoff Tournament is available here.

Incoming Gopher Ayla Puppe named 2024 Minnesota Ms. Hockey

We send our congratulations to incoming Gopher Women's Hockey freshman Ayla Puppe, who was named 2024 Minnesota Ms. Hockey yesterday following her senior year performance as a member of the Northfield H.S. Raiders girls hockey team. Puppe finished the season with 111 points on 61 goals and 50 assists in 30 games. She becomes the 21st Ms. Hockey winner committed to the University of Minnesota for college.

As noted in the announcement from Let's Play Hockey, Puppe played parts of six seasons with Northfield and in her high school career scored 185 goals and added 140 assists for 325 points in 135 games.

Power Play Club

February 22, 2024

The Penalty Box Post - Wednesday, February 22, 2024 / The Two Minute Minor - Thursday, February 23, 2024

Power Play Club

February 22, 2024

PPC Chalk Talk – Saturday, February 24 at 12:30 pm

We look forward to seeing many of our fellow Power Play Club members for our final Chalk Talk of the season this Saturday, February 24, at 12:30 p.m., prior to the Gophers' second game against Minnesota Duluth. The event will be held in the Ridder Arena Weight Room on the upper level across the hall from the suites, and is an exclusive event for enrolled 2023-2024 club members.

Goals for a Goal: Gophers' total reaches 111 and counting

Scoring 3 more goals last weekend, the Gopher Women's Hockey team has lit the lamp 111 times with 32 of those coming on the power play with one series left to go in the regular season! We encourage our club members and other GWH fans to submit a pledge through our Goals for a Goal program to donate for each of those goals and those yet to come this weekend and in the playoffs! Pledges should be submitted electronically at z.umn.edu/GoalsForAGoal, with the option to double your pledge for power-play conversions. We once again send our thanks, and GO GOPHERS!!

Senior Weekend / Regular Season Finale
#4/4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (24-7-1, 18-7-1-1 in WCHA)
vs.
#8/8 Univ. of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (18-11-3, 15-10-1-0)

Friday, February 23 at 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m.
Ridder Arena

The 2023-2024 regular season concludes with Senior Weekend for the Gopher Women's Hockey team at Ridder Arena. Adding to that, they face the rival Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in a national top-ten series, starting Friday evening, February 23 at 6:00 p.m. and continuing Saturday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m.

"Senior" recognition on Saturday – All fans are encouraged to arrive early for Saturday's contest as the team recognizes its graduate student and senior players during a special pre-game ceremony!!

Game coverage – Video from both contests will be streamed on the B1G+ subscription service, and free audio play-by-play will be on GopherSports.com (Friday and Saturday) starting 15 to 20 minutes before puck drop.

This season against Minnesota Duluth – Minnesota returned from a November series at AMSOIL Arena with back-to-back 3-1 victories over UMD, never trailing during the weekend. Though the Bulldogs took a 14-4 shots-on-goal advantage after the first 20 minutes of the opener, the game remained scoreless. Abbey Murphy put the Gophers in front in the second period, burying a one-timer on a power play. Hanna Baskin evened the score for Minnesota Duluth 9:13 into the third period, but Taylor Stewart lit the lamp less than two minutes later to restore the lead, Peyton Hemp added an empty-netter, and Skylar Vetter stopped 32 of 33 shots for the win. After another scoreless first period in the rematch, Ella Huber completed a nice passing play from Murphy & Josefin Bouveng to again put Minnesota ahead. Later in the second, Murphy got free on a short-handed breakaway; her first shot was stopped, but she collected the rebound, spun, and scored for a 2-0 lead. Gabby Krause pulled the Bulldogs within one in the third stanza, but Hemp netted the Gophers' second shorty of the game 47 seconds later and Lucy Morgan made 28 saves on 29 shots. Bouveng & Audrey Wethington each dished out two assists in the series. UMD netminder Ève Gascon recorded a combined 62 saves in the two contests.

Analyzing the Bulldogs – Minnesota Duluth is firmly on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, sitting in ninth place in the latest Pairwise Ranking estimates. They are the highest team in the national rankings having double-digits losses for the season. Still, following a four-game skid against Ohio State and Wisconsin to end January, they are undefeated (5-0-1) so far in February, passing St. Cloud State for fourth place in the WCHA standings and clinching home ice for the opening round of the league playoffs.

Offensively, UMD is in the middle of the pack among WCHA teams, averaging 2.44 goals per game. Graduate transfer Reece Hunt (#29) is leading the Bulldogs with 17 goals and 28 totals points, along with dishing out 11 assists. Another grad student, forward Mannon McMahon (#16), just set a Minnesota Duluth record for playing in her 166th consecutive game at the school; she and senior Olivia Wallin (#14) are tied with a team-high 15 assists. McMahon is second in total scoring, lighting the lamp 10 times for 25 points, while Wallin has 5 goals for 20 points. The veteran leadership continues as senior Clara Van Wieran (#25) has 21 points on 12 goals and 9 assists.

Between the pipes, sophomore Hailey MacLeod (#35) and Ève Gascon (#1) have been solid as each posted their 5th shutout this past weekend (more on that momentarily). Gascon's fifth clean sheet set a new UMD freshman record; she's got an 8-7-2 record with a 1.52 goals-against average and .951 save percentage. MacLeod is 10-4-1 in her 15 starts, sporting a 1.14 GAA and .958 SV%. Another freshman, Anna Byczek (#31), has not seen any official action.

Last weekend for Minnesota Duluth – In a goaltending showdown, the Bulldogs earned a 1-0 win and a 0-0 tie against the visiting St. Cloud State Huskies. Jojo Chobak made 28 saves for SCSU in the opener, but yielded a third-period goal to UMD's Clara Van Wieran while Hailey MacLeod stopped all 39 shots she faced at the other end; the win earned MacLeod the WCHA Goaltender of the Week honor. In the rematch, Chobak and Ève Gascon posted matching shutouts; Chobak stopped another 30 shots, while Gascon made 39 saves, including one on an overtime penalty shot, earning her the award as WCHA Rookie of he Week. The subsequent shootout after the tie was not so great for the netminders, though, as five of the six shooters lit the lamp; Hanna Baskin and Van Wieran scored for the Bulldogs but Olivia Wallin missed, while Emma Gentry, Laura Zimmerman, and Sofianna Sundelin found the back of the net for the Huskies to take the third WCHA standings point.

Gophers fall twice to Badgers – Josefin Bouveng scored twice in the third period of Minnesota's opener at Wisconsin last Friday, her second coming on a power play with an extra attacker to knot the score at 3-3 and force overtime. However, Laila Edwards lit the lamp for the Badgers in the extra session to defeat the Gophers, 4-3. Peyton Hemp opened the scoring in the first period, but Wisconsin tallied twice in the second stanza for a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. Bouveng's first goal evened the score at 2-2 early in the third, but Britta Curl gave the Badgers another lead before Bouveng's second goal late in regulation. Skylar Vetter made 31 saves and Abbey Murphy dished out a pair of assists; Jane Gervais stopped 26 shots for Wisconsin. In the rematch, Badgers goaltender Ava McNaughton stopped all 17 shots she faced and Kirsten Simms posted a 3-point performance on two goals & an assist en route to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Gophers; Lucy Morgan made 27 saves for the Maroon & Gold.

Minnesota to host Minnesota State in WCHA Quarterfinals – Following last weekend's results around the WCHA (see our league recap below for summaries of the other two series), the Gopher Women's Hockey team will finish 3rd in the conference regular-season standings and will host the 6th-place Minnesota State Mavericks at Ridder Arena to open the playoffs. The best-of-three series will be played Friday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m.; and (if necessary) Sunday, March 3 at 3:00 p.m.

Eleven (11) Gophers honored as WCHA Scholar-Athletes;
Twenty (20) named to 2023-2024 WCHA All-Academic Team

Showing their skills in the classroom to go with those on the ice, eleven (11) members of the Gopher Women's Hockey team were named among 85 players honored as WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award winners yesterday.

Madeline Wethington was named a WCHA Scholar-Athlete for the fourth time in her career while Maggie Nicholson and Audrey Wethington earned their third distinction. Peyton Hemp and Skylar Vetter became two-time honorees, while Josefin Bouveng, Allie Franco, Sophia Johnson, Lucy Morgan, Solveig Neunzert and Taylor Stewart earned the honor for the first time.

Those eleven plus an additional nine (9) Minnesota Women's Hockey players – Emma Conner, Josey Dunne, Ella Huber, Madison Kaiser, Nelli Laitinen, Sadie Lindsay, Abbey Murphy, Tristana Tatur and Emily Zumwinkle – were honored as members of the 2023-2024 WCHA All-Academic Team. The 20 Gopher representatives were the most from any member school, with 125 total student-athletes recognized.

WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award recipients have achieved at least sophomore status in their academic careers and have a GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale in their previous two semesters or three quarters. WCHA All-Academic Team members have achieved at least sophomore status and have a GPA of at least 3.0 in their previous two semesters or three quarters.

We congratulate all twenty Gopher players on their great work!!

GWH alumnae Hannah Brandt, Taylor Heise, Lee Stecklein named to WCHA's 25th Anniversary Top-25 Team

Minnesota Women's Hockey alumnae Hannah Brandt, Taylor Heise, and Lee Stecklein have been named to the WCHA 25th Anniversary Team!! The trio join Krissy (Wendell) Pohl, Natalie Darwitz, Amanda Kessel, and Noora Räty as Gopher representatives on the Top-25 team.

Brandt is the Golden Gophers' all-time leading career scorer with 285 points, also holding the top spot for career assists with 170 while lighting the lamp a second-best 116 times. Her +236 plus-minus rating is also a program record. The three-time NCAA champion (2013, 2015 and 2016) was a four-time All-WCHA First Team honoree, WCHA Rookie of the Year in 2012-2013, and WCHA Player of the Year and WCHA Scoring Champion in both 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. Additionally, Brandt was a three-time All-America selection, a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist four times, and a top three finalist for the Kazmaier Award twice.

Heise, the 2022 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, holds the team record for appearing in 173 games. Over that time, she recorded 227 points – sixth in program history – on 97 goals (t-7th) and 130 assists (5th). Her 9 short-handed goals are fourth in the Gopher record book. Heise was also a top ten finalist for the Kazmaier Award in 2023, a First Team All-American in both 2022 and 2023, a three-time All-WCHA selection, and a member of the 2018-2019 WCHA All-Rookie Team. She was was the WCHA scoring champion and named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, further being honored as the league’s 2021-2022 overall Player of the Year.

Stecklein is also a three-time NCAA champion (2013, 2015 and 2016), three-time All-America award winner, three-time All-WCHA First Team selection, and two-time Academic All-America honoree. During her time with the Gophers, she recorded 93 points – seventh in program history by a defender – on 20 goals and 73 assists. Stecklein is now a veteran member of the USA Hockey program, representing the United States as a three-time Olympian, winning gold in 2018 and silver in 2014 & 2022.

We congratulation all seven Gopher Women's Hockey representatives selected to the 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team!!

Incoming Gophers Puppe, Kosobud honored for high school play

We send a shout-out to two members of the Gopher Women's Hockey freshman class of 2024-2025 who have been recognized for their senior year performances with their respective high school teams!

Kate Kosobud (Moorhead H.S.) and Ayla Puppe (Northfield H.S.) have been named top-five finalists for the 2024 Minnesota Ms. Hockey award by Let's Play Hockey. Kosobud, the lone defender among the finalists, recorded 37 points on 10 goals and 27 assists this season. Puppe was additionally named to the Star Tribune's All-Metro First Team after breaking the century mark for scoring; through last week's section playoffs, she had tallied 110 points on 49 goals and 61 assists. (Pictures courtesy of Let's Play Hockey)

The winner will be announced at the Ms. Hockey Banquet this Sunday, February 25, at the Saint Paul Rivercentre, along with the Jori Jones Award given to the state’s top senior goaltender.

Around the WCHA...

Buckeyes clinch WCHA Regular-Season Championship with sweep of Tommies – Hannah Bilka lit the lamp four times including a hat trick on Friday, Jenn Gardiner added two goals & two assists, four other OSU players each posted 4-point weekends, and seventeen (17) Buckeyes in total each recorded at least one point as they routed St. Thomas, 12-1 and 4-1. The two wins made Ohio State back-to-back WCHA Regular Season Champions, claiming the Julianne Bye Trophy. Maria Cooper and Ella Boerger scored for UST, who were outshot 103-20 in the two contests.

Mavericks sweep Beavers in Mankato – Taylor Otremba tallied two goals & two assists, Sydney Langseth added two goals and an assist, and Hailey Hansen stopped 35 of a combined 37 shots, including all 21 she faced on Friday, to lead Minnesota State to 4-0 and 5-2 wins at home against Bemidji State. Alyssa Watkins and Riley Reeves scored for BSU and Eva Filippova made a combined 47 saves.

Upcoming games – Only pride and the national rankings will be on the line when #1 Ohio State makes their shortest road trip within the conference, visiting #2 Wisconsin. Meanwhile, eyes will be watching the other two series as only the bottom two positions in the league standings remain undecided; Minnesota State will face St. Thomas in a home-and-home matchup starting in Mankato, while Bemidji State hosts St. Cloud State.

Standings: (* clinched final position in standings; top four host league quarterfinals)
1. Ohio State* – 73 points (.936 pts%), 25-1-0-0, 2-0 in OT (28-2-0 overall)
2. Wisconsin* – 65 points (.833 pts%), 22-4-0-0, 2-1 in OT (28-4-0 overall)
3. Minnesota* – 57 points (.731 pts%), 18-7-1-1, 1-2 in OT (24-7-1 overall)
4. Minn. Duluth* – 45 points (.577 pts%), 15-10-1-0, 1-0 in OT (18-11-3 overall)
5. St. Cloud State* – 35 points (.449 pts%), 10-14-2-1, 0-2 in OT (15-15-2 overall)
6. Minnesota State* – 19 points (.244 pts%), 6-20-0-0, 1-2 in OT (12-21-0 overall)
7. Bemidji State – 10 points (.128 pts%), 3-22-1-0, 1-1 in OT (4-26-2 overall)
8. St. Thomas – 8 points (.103 pts%), 2-23-1-1, 0-0 in OT (8-24-1 overall)