GOPHERS TAKE ON DEFENDING CHAMPS, NO. 1 MINNESOTA DULUTH
The University of Minnesota women's hockey team opens the Western Collegiate Hockey Association season with a road series to none other than Minnesota Duluth, the defending national champions. The Gophers and the Bulldogs will battle Friday and Saturday at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center in Duluth, Minn.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Minnesota's road games this weekend can be found on www.gophersports.com via audio broadcast. Fans who wish to listen to the games online can do so by signing up for the Gold Zone on the Minnesota website. Dan Hamann will provide the play-by-play for the Gopher games.
GOPHER TRAVEL BLOG
The University of Minnesota will hold a travel blog for this weekend's trip to Duluth and the DECC. The blog, which will be located on www.gophersports.com, will be updated throughout the course of the weekend.
NO REST FOR THE WEARY
Minnesota enters one of its toughest stretches in its schedule starting this weekend. Following a series against Minnesota Duluth, the Gophers host No. 9 Ohio State, Oct. 17-18 at Ridder Arena. The Maroon and Gold hit the road again for a series at Wisconsin, Oct. 24 & 26 during the Badger homecoming festivities. After the border battle, Minnesota and St. Cloud State will compete in a home-and-home series, Oct. 31 (Ridder Arena) and Nov. 1 (National Hockey Center).
ROCK RIDDER NIGHT SET FOR OCT. 17
University of Minnesota women's hockey team will host a “Rock Ridder' event on Friday, Oct. 17 in a 7 p.m. game against Ohio State. In conjunction with Second Harvest Heartland, a local food shelf organization, every fan who donates a non-perishable or canned food item will receive free admission. Fans who are not able to donate food, can receive $2 admission for the game. The University of Minnesota hopes to break its Ridder Arena attendance record of 3,251 fans, which was set in 2007. Second Harvest Heartland is the Upper Midwest's largest hunger-relief and forms the cornerstone of organizations working together to alleviate hunger in 59 county service areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Along with free admission with food items, promotional giveaways will also be held during the two intermissions, winning a chance at a Guitar Hero set and $500 worth of free gasoline from Holiday Station.
THE SERIES
The Gophers and Bulldogs will compete in their 43rd and 44th meeting this weekend, 22-16-4. Minnesota held a 3-1-0 record against the WCHA champions last year, including a split at the DECC on Nov. 17-18 of 2007. Kim Martin shutout the Gophers with a 50-save performance in a 5-0 win. The next day, it was the Gophers and Kim Hanlon who had a shutout by a score of 3-0 to earn the split.
