University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHER WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM WAITS FOR NCAA BID ANNOUNCEMENT
3/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Kennedy Named Kazmaier Finalist, WCHA-Women's League Player of the Year
Senior Courtney Kennedy (Woburn, Mass./Buckingham Browne & Nichols) was named one of three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which signifies the top player in women's college hockey. The award will be announced at the Patty Kazmaier Award Banquet, March 24, at the Radisson Hotel Metrodome in Minneapolis. The two other finalists are Harvard forwards Jennifer Botterill and Tammy Shewchuk.
Kennedy was named the WCHA-Women's League Player of the Year at the conference tournament banquet in Rochester, Minn., on Wednesday. She was one of four University of Minnesota players to capture all- conference honors.
Kennedy also tabbed Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading the Gophers to the WCHA regular-season title and a conference- low 2.19 goals against average. Kennedy continues to lead the Gophers in plus/minus rating with a +39 rating. She leads the team with 19 power-play assists and is second on the team with 20 power-play points. She led all defense in the league in scoring with 41 points on 10 goals and 31 assists. Kennedy was a second-team All-WCHA selection last season.
Other WCHA-Women's League Awards
Senior goalie Erica Killewald (Troy, Mich./Troy) joined Courtney Kennedy as a All-WCHA Women's League First Team honoree. Killewald, the MVP of the AWCHA National Championship a year ago, led the conference during the regular-season in goals against average at 2.12 and save percentage at .914, allowing 62 goals and collecting 657 saves.
Senior Ambria Thomas (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) repeated as a second-team All-WCHA pick at forward. Thomas ranked second among Gophers with 49 points on 25 goals and 24 assists. She ranked third in the WCHA with 11 power-play goals.
First-year La Toya Clarke (Pickering, Ontario/Dunbarton Secondary) capped an outstanding rookie season with second-team All-WCHA accord. The Gophers' leading scorer ranked fifth in the conference with 53 points on 21 goals and 32 assists. She ranked third in scoring among first-year players, and fourth in overall assists and power-play points.
Minnesota head coach Laura Halldorson shares Coach of the Year honors with St. Cloud State's Kerry Wethington. Halldorson led the Gophers to the regular-season crown with an 18-4-2 conference mark, 23- 7-2 overall.
Minnesota Loses Twice at WCHA-Women's League Tournament
Ohio State goalie April Stojak stopped 28 Minnesota shots in leading the Buckeyes to a 4-0 upset victory over the Golden Gophers in the WCHA-Women's League Tournament semifinals on Friday. The Gophers outshot the Buckeyes by a 28-18 margin but were able to fire just one shot on a solid penalty kill squad during four power play opportunities. Ohio State, 13-1-0 when leading after one period, tallied the game's first goal at the 15:58 mark of the first period on a shot by Katie Frohreich, who gathered a pass from Melissa Pirie in the corner and pushed the puck at toward the goal. Despite a bad angle, the puck somehow eluded Gopher goalie Erica Killewald and found the back of the net to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead. Ohio State increased its lead in the second period on a goal from Jeanne Chapple, off assists from Shana Frost and Emily Hudak. Minnesota turned up the pressure offensively in the third period, firing 17 shots on goal. Ohio State iced the victory with two third-period goals, both scored by Corinne Rosen.
An even-strength goal by Stephanie Millar at the 8:35 mark of the third period was the difference as Wisconsin pulled out a 4-3 comeback victory over Minnesota in the third-place game on Saturday. The Badgers' win was the first over the Golden Gophers in 10 meetings. The Gophers owned the lead and the momentum, heading into the third period with a 3-2 lead. Before the loss, Minnesota was 20-1-0 when leading after the first two periods. The Badgers tied the score on an unassisted goal by Nicole Uliasz, 5:51 into the period. Millar scored the gamewinner nearly three minutes later off assists from Meghan Hunter and Sis Paulsen. Minnesota had a golden opportunity to tie the score at the 7:22 mark of the third period, when La Toya Clarke broke away from the Wisconsin defense for a one-on-one duel with Badger goalie Jackie MacMillan. Clarke darted to the right and fired, but MacMillan dove and made the save. Minnesota outshot Wisconsin by a 36- 22 margin. MacMillan collected 33 saves in net for Wisconsin, while Erica Killewald stopped 18 shots for Minnesota.
Muzerall Back on Track
After going a career-long seven games without a goal, Nadine Muzerall (Mississauga, Ont./Kimball Union Academy) has scored 16 goals and 24 points in her last 15 games. She scored her fourth hat trick of the season and 15th of her career in the victory at Ohio State on Feb. 16, and two goals in each of the two games against Wisconsin on Feb. 24- 25. The four goals against Wisconsin earned Muzerall national player of the week honors from United States College Hockey Online.
During its four-year history, Minnesota is 74-6-4 when Muzerall scores a goal. The Gophers are 21-18-5 when she plays and does not score a goal. Muzerall is fifth in the country and leads all Gophers with 28 goals this season. Muzerall was one of 10 nominees for this year's Patty Kazmaier Award.
Special Teams Are Special
The Gophers have scored power-play goals in 15 of 18 games they have played in 2001 and have scored at least one power-play goal in 28 of 34 games this season. Minnesota's power-play is operating at 30.2 percent for the season, the only team in the country with a power play operating over 30 percent. Minnesota's penalty kill is working at 83.0 percent, which is 10th nationally but first among WCHA-Women's League teams.
Balancing Act
Of 12 players with three or more game-winning goals in the WCHA, five are Golden Gophers. La Toya Clarke, Nadine Muzerall and Ambria Thomas are tied for second in the WCHA with four. Ronda Curtin and Courtney Kennedy has three and four other players have contributed game-winners this season.
Next Up
Minnesota will wait to hear its fate concerning the inaugural NCAA Women's Frozen Four. The announcement by the NCAA Committee will be made on Sunday, March 18. The semifinals will be played Friday, March 23, at 4 and 7:30 p.m. The third-place and championship games will be played Sunday, March 25, at 1 and 5 p.m.
