University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Start Second Season This Weekend
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
GOPHERS START SECOND SEASON THIS WEEKEND
The No. 1 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team begins its second season this weekend as the Maroon and Gold hosts Bemidji State in the first round of the WCHA playoff championships. In a best two-out-of-three series, Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:07 p.m., followed by 4:07 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (if needed). If the Gophers defeat the Beavers, Minnesota will advance to the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF next weekend, also at Ridder Arena.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
All games against BSU can be found on gophersports.com through the audio/video feed of the website’s Gold Zone.
FINAL FACEOFF ALL-SESSION TICKETS AVAILABLE
Full-session tickets for the 2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF championship are currently on sale at the University of Minnesota Ticket Office. Three-game session tickets for the women's championship are available at three prices: $20 for a reserved seat, $18 for general admission, and $15 for seniors and youth (age 18 and under). Tickets may be purchased by calling the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080, or 1-800-U-Gopher, or online at Gophersports.com The two semifinal games will be played on Saturday, March 7 at 1:00 pm CT and 4:00 pm CT. The WCHA Championship game is Sunday, March 8 at 1:00 pm CT.
GOPHERS EARN WCHA REGULAR SEASON TITLE
It went down to the final game of the season, but Minnesota defeated St. Cloud State, 3-1, last Saturday at Ridder Arena to earn the school’s fifth Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title and the first since 2005. The Golden Gophers (28-3-3 overall) won the conference title with 51 conference points, one more than border-rival Wisconsin. The Gophers enter the league playoffs as the top ranked women’s team in the country in both national polls ahead of No. 2-ranked Wisconsin and No. 4 Minnesota Duluth and as the No. 1 playoff seed in the league. The Gophers’ ranking is based on a 23-2-3 conference mark and they swept conference opponents 11 times this season, including the season finale against St. Cloud State, en route to the championship. Minnesota’s other regular season WCHA championships came in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005.
WCHA SCORING AND GOALTENDING CHAMPIONS
The Golden Gophers also had the 2008-09 conference scoring and goaltending champions. Rookie forward Monique Lamoureux finished the regular season as the WCHA scoring champ, tallying 61 of her 67 points against conference opponents. The last time the Gophers had a WCHA scoring champion came in 2005-06 when Erica McKenzie scored 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points against league members. Since the start of the WCHA in 1999-2000, Minnesota has garnered the scoring champion award four times. Natalie Darwitz tallied 72 points against conference teams in 2004-05, while Ronda Curtin had 36 points in 2001-02.
Minnesota freshman Alyssa Grogan captured the WCHA’s Goaltending Champion award when she posted a goals-against average of 1.37 during conference action. The Gophers’ last award honoree came in 2005-06 when Kim Hanlon had a conference-best 1.19 GAA. Others receiving the award was Erica Killewald (2000-01) and Jody Horak (2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05).
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Bemidji State finished the WCHA regular season with a 3-22-3 conference record and is 6-23-5 in overall action. In the Beavers’ last action, they fell in a series to No. 2 Wisconsin last Friday and Saturday night. In last Friday’s action, BSU did not allow a Badger goal until the 19:01 mark of the second period, but Wisconsin came back in the third to score two additional goals for a 3-0 final. BSU starting goalie Zuzana Tomcikova had 13 saves in the first, 10 in the second and 12 in the third for 35 saves. In the final regular season game, Wisconsin scored three times in the first period to take an early 3-0 lead. However, BSU rallied in the second with goals from Erin Babineau and Annie Bauerfeld. Wisconsin’s Hilary Knight scored her second goal of the game in the second, while Erika Lawler scored a short-handed goal in the third to put the game at the 5-2 Wisconsin final. Tomcikova set a career-high 49 saves in the loss. BSU is led in scoring by Erin Cody, who has 26 points in her sophomore campaign. Erin Johnson is second with 20 points, followed by Annie Bauerfeld with 19. Arguably, the Beavers’ strongest position comes in goal with Tomcikova. In 29 games played, Tomcikova (Bratislava, Slovakia) is a member of the Slovakian national team and led her team in the Pre-Olympic qualification tournament this past November.
