University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 4 Gophers Set for NCAA Frozen Four Competition
3/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
The No. 4 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team will compete in its fifth-straight NCAA Frozen Four appearance. The Golden Gophers will look to defend their back-to- back national championships this weekend, March 24 & 26 at Minnesota’s own Mariucci Arena. The Gophers will take on No. 1 seed New Hampshire on Friday at 7 p.m. Wisconsin will be the home team for the first semifinal game at 4 p.m., and will face St. Lawrence. The winner of each game advances to the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets for the Frozen Four can be purchased on the University of Minnesota athletic site, www.gophersports.com or by calling the Gopher ticket office at (612)- 624-8080 or 1 -800-UGOPHER.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SET TO HOST 2006 NCAA FROZEN FOUR
The NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Committee has selected the University of Minnesota and Mariucci Arena as the site of the 2006 NCAA Frozen Four. The 2006 tournament marks the second time the Golden Gophers have hosted the Women's Frozen Four. Minnesota hosted the inaugural Women's Frozen Four in 2001 drawing 5,114 during the two-day tournament. Mariucci Arena was also the site of the 1999 American Women's College Hockey Alliance National Championship. The tournament drew an audience of 4,954, including 2,507 for the championship game. The Golden Gophers have led the nation in attendance since becoming a varsity sport in 1997-98. In addition, Minnesota holds the largest single-game attendance record when the Golden Gophers drew 6,854 fans for the first Minnesota women's hockey game, Nov. 2, 1997.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS ONLINE/RADIO
Minnesota games can be followed through the radio 106.1 FM and its website, www.gophersports.com and through www.wccoradio.com. Pat Blondin will call out all the Gopher action on both sites.
FIVE STRAIGHT YEARS
The Gophers will be making their fifth straight NCAA Frozen Four appearance this year. The Gophers’ reign started in the 2002 when Minnesota tied for third overall in the nation. The Maroon and Gold made its second appearance at the 2003 Frozen Four in Duluth, Minn., finishing fourth. In 2004 the Maroon and Gold won their first championship with a 6-2 victory over Harvard, while following with another championship last year with a 4-3 win again over the Crimson.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Minnesota lost four Olympians and two goalies from last year’s championship team. This year’s squad has five seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and seven freshmen. After going 17-8-1 through January, Minnesota has held an 11-2-0 since February and 5-2 against ranked opponents.
NEW HAMPSHIRE UPDATE
New Hampshire earned a 3-1 win last Friday night to advance the Wildcats to their first NCAA Frozen Four appearance. The Wildcats hold an impressive 33-2-1 overall record and a 19-1-1 mark in the Hockey East. UNH received the HEA automatic berth by winning the league tournament, extended its NCAA single-season record unbeaten streak to 29 games (28-0-1) and tied the NCAA-record win streak of 17 games. Their two losses on the season came to Brown on Oct. 30th and Boston College on Nov. 5. The Wildcats also tied Maine, 5-5 on Jan. 13. Since then, UNH has won 17-straight games, including a 6-0 win in the HEA Championship. UNH’s leading scorer is sophomore forward Jennifer Hitchcock. In 36 games played, Hitchcock holds 29 goals, 34 assists and 63 points, ranking first in the nation. Sadie Wright-Ward has 63 points (28-32), while Sam Faber has 51 points. Junior goalie Melissa Bourdon has played in 31 games and holds a .931 percent save percentage and a 1.06 goals against average. UNH holds a 30.7 percent on the power play and a 90.2 percent on the penalty kill.
SEMIFINAL GAME 1
St. Lawrence and Wisconsin will face each other for the first time since January of 2003. The two teams have only faced each other twice before the NCAA Frozen Four. In the first meeting between the two, the Saints lost, 1-0 in Canton, N.Y. on Nov. 23, 2001. SLU won the last contest, 2-1 on January 7, 2003.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Patty Kazmaier top-three finalist Sabrina Harbec scored and unassisted goal at 13:27 of the second period to lift St. Lawrence to a 1-0 win over Minnesota Duluth and its third straight NCAA Frozen Four appearance. SLU held the most wins in the ECAC, posting a 16 -2-2 record. They fell to Harvard in the ECAC tournament championship, 3-1. The Saints have posted 31 wins, four losses and two ties entering the Frozen Four. It is the first 30- win season for the Saints in school history. Harbec leads the team with 25 goals and 36 assists for 61 points. Jess Moffat had 24 saves in the win over UMD. She holds a .940 percent save percentage and a 1.29 goals against average. Wisconsin won the WCHA regular season with a 24-3-1 mark in league action. Overall, the Badgers posted a record of 34-4-1. Of their four losses, two came to Frozen Four opponents in New Hampshire (2-1 loss) on Nov. 27 and to Minnesota (3- 1 loss) on Feb. 10. Since falling to the Gophers, UW has won the last 10 games of the season. The Badgers swept the WCHA championships when they defeated Minnesota, 4-1 in the WCHA title game on March 12. It is the first time that the Badgers have reached the Frozen Four in school history. Sara Bauer, a Patty Kazmaier top-three finalist, holds a team-high 57 points.
GOPHER OLYMPIANS TO MAKE APPEARANCES
Golden Gopher Olympian Natalie Darwitz is scheduled to sign autographs in between the 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. games. Autographs will be held on the concourse level of Mariucci Arena. Krissy Wendell will be the keynote speaker for USA Hockey’s Patty Kazmaier banquet, March 25 at the Radisson Metrodome.
IN POST-SEASON PLAY
The Gophers will look to defend their back-to-back national championships this weekend, starting Friday night. The Gophers hold a 5-3-1 mark in the NCAA tournament, dating back to the 2002 season. Minnesota has won its last five NCAA games. Minnesota defeated Dartmouth and Harvard in the 2005 NCAA Frozen Four in the semifinal and championship game. The Gophers followed with a 6-1 win over Providence in last year’s NCAA Regional playoff game, 6-1. Minnesota, who held the No. 1 seed, defeated the Big Green in the national semifinal game, 7-2 and followed with a 4-3 win over the Crimson in the championship game on March 27. Dating back to the Gophers’ first year as a varsity sport, Minnesota holds an 9-5-1 mark in national postseason play. In the Gophers’ first three years before women’s ice hockey was an NCAA-sanctioned sport, Minnesota held a 3-3 record in the AWCHA.
