University of Minnesota Athletics
2007-08 Gopher Women's Hockey Season Recap
4/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
2007-08 SEASON RECAP
The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team finished the 2007-08 season with a 27-7-4 overall record and a 21-5-2 mark in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Golden Gophers finished second in the WCHA regular season standings, advanced to the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF and returned to NCAA post-season action after a year hiatus. The Gophers came up just short of their goal to make the NCAA Frozen Four, losing to Wisconsin, 3-2 in overtime at the NCAA Regionals.
FROST NAMED HEAD COACH
On April 16, the interim tag was lifted from Brad Frost’s title and become the second coach in the Gopher women’s hockey history. Frost, finished a stellar season as the interim head coach in March. During the 2007-08 campaign, Frost led the Gophers to a second-place finish in the WCHA regular season standings and a berth at the NCAA Championships. During the course of the year, Frost and the Gophers held a No. 4 national ranking and went on a 21-game unbeaten streak, going 19-0-2 during that span.
For his on-ice accomplishments, Frost was voted by his peers as the 2008 WCHA Coach of the Year and was named a finalist for the American Hockey Coaches’ Association’s National Coach of the Year. Along with his accolades, Frost coached seven Gophers to All-WCHA honors, including juniors Gigi Marvin and Rachael Drazan as first-team All-WCHA selections and are currently on the United States National Team. Marvin went on to become a Patty Kazmaier finalist, the Gophers’ first since 2005, as well as a second-team All-American. Following his announcement as head coach, Frost was also named an assistant coach to the United States Four Nation’s Cup team, which competes in November.
GOING UNBEATEN
Minnesota held the longest unbeaten streak by either a men’s or women’s Division I hockey team this season when the Gophers went 21-straight games without a loss. During that span, the Maroon and Gold held a 19-0-2 mark, which started on Nov. 18 against Minnesota Duluth and ended Feb. 23 against Wisconsin. Minnesota outscored its opponents 82-29 in that time.
MARVIN NAMED A PATTY KAZMAIER FINALIST AND ALL-AMERICAN
Gigi Marvin was named a top 10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. It was Marvin’s first honor and the Golden Gophers' first finalist since the 2004-05 campaign. In its 11th year, the award annually recognizes the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Marvin was also a second-team All-American this season. She ranked second in the conference in scoring and eighth in the nation.
NIFTY FIFTY
Marvin recorded a season-high 54 points this past season and finished the year with a five-game scoring streak. Erica McKenzie was the last Gophers’ player to reach the milestone when she notched 53 points in 2005-06. Marvin’s previous career best was a 46-point output during her freshman year in 2005-06.
Marvin was a key to Minnesota’s success as the Gophers were 22-3-4 when she scored a point. She finished the end of the year scoring in 15 of the team’s last 16 games with the only game she failed to score coming in the 5-1 loss to Wisconsin at the end of the WCHA regular season. Marvin had 16 multiple-point games in her junior campaign.
GOPHER HONOR ROLL
Seven Gophers earned WCHA individual honors and head coach Brad Frost was named the conference’s Coach of the Year after leading the Gophers to a second place league finish. Juniors Gigi Marvin and Rachel Drazan both earned first-team honors, while seniors Erica McKenzie and Anya Miller collected second-team laurels. Senior Bobbi Ross and junior Melanie Gagnon received third-team accolades and freshman Jenny Lura was named to the league’s all-rookie team.
On the academic side, Minnesota had 12 earn All-WCHA Academic honors, which are sophomores and older who are letterwinners and have a 3.0 grade point average or higher. Earning the award was Kelli Blankenship, Rachael Drazan, Melanie Gagnon, Whitney Graft, Jaimie Horton, Gigi Marvin, Michelle Maunu, Erica McKenzie, Anya Miller, Bobbi Ross, Dagney Willey and Alexandra Zebro. Marvin, Maunu and Miller were WCHA Scholar Athletes, which are student-athletes who are above a 3.5 GPA.
TEAM AWARDS
Gigi Marvin and Bobbi Ross were named the team’s most valuable players for the second straight year, announced at the team’s annual banquet. Marvin earned the team's honor after a stellar season for the Maroon and Gold. A first-team All-WCHA honoree, Marvin finished second overall in conference scoring with 38 points. She led the Gophers with 54 points, including 24 on the power play. A three-time WCHA Offensive Player of the Week, Marvin was also a member of the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF all-tournament team. Ross finished her senior season with 41 points, which tied for second on the team. A three-time captain, Ross also finished her career as a three-time team MVP, coming at the end of her sophomore, junior and senior campaigns. Ross, who was the 2005 WCHA Rookie of the Year, earned third-team All-WCHA honors in back-to-back years.
The most improved award went to sophomore defenseman Alexandra Zebro. The Bonnie Olein Unsung Hero Award, which is named after the team's former equipment manager, went to senior Jenelle Philipczyk for the second-straight year. Emily West garnered the plus/minus award when she held a mark of +20 in 34 games played. The Highest GPA award also belonged to Marvin. In her past spring and fall semesters, the communications major had a 3.889 grade point average. Rachael Drazan earned the Ridder Award, which is chosen by the Power Play Club in memory of Bob Ridder. The award is given to the player who has had the most impact within the community.
The entire Gopher senior class, Whitney Graft, Erica McKenzie, Anya Miller, Philipczyk and Ross were awarded the GWH Award, which is given to the player that best exemplifies the Gopher Women’s Hockey Creed. “I will represent myself, the team and the University of Minnesota with...class, integrity, honesty, dependability, responsibility, a positive attitude, an unselfish and “team-first” attitude, accountability, a strong work ethic, loyalty an appreciation for privileges and an awareness of my role as a member of Gopher Women’s Hockey.”
GOPHERS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS
The University of Minnesota celebrated its 10-year anniversary against Minnesota Duluth, Oct. 26-27. Since the inception of the program in 1997-98, Gopher women’s hockey team has gone on to win three national championships in 2000, 2004 and 2005 and has made eight national championship appearances. Dating back to the start of the WCHA in 1999-2000, the Gophers have made their mark at the conference level, winning four WCHA regular season championships and three tournament championships. In its first 10 years of existence, the Gopher women’s hockey program held an impressive overall record of 278 wins, 67 losses and 22 ties, winning 80 percent of the games.
GOPHER SENIOR CLASS
The Gophers will say goodbye to their senior class, Whitney Graft, Erica McKenzie, Anya Miller, Jenelle Philipczyk and Bobbi Ross. Impeccable leaders both on and off the ice, the seniors were the cornerstone fo the 2007-08 success. This group of seniors played in two national championship games and won over 110 games in their careers. All five were members of the Academic All-WCHA team at one point, while three of the five were All-WCHA selections (McKenzie, Miller and Ross).
RETURNING NEXT SEASON
The Gophers will return 15 letterwinners for the 2008-09 season. The Gophers lose three of their five top scorers in Erica McKenzie, Bobbi Ross and Anya Miller. Leading the pack of returners are first-team All-WCHA selections Gigi Marvin and Rachael Drazan. Marvin led the team in scoring with 54 points, while Drazan was second among defensemen in scoring and led them in plus/minus rating of +19.
