Gophers Set to Compete For National Title

MINNESOTA SET TO COMPETE FOR A NATIONAL TITLE
The No. 3 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team will compete in its home rink as the University of Minnesota is set to host the 2010 Frozen Four, this weekend at Ridder Arena. Semifinal games are at 5 p.m./8 p.m. Friday, while the championship is at noon on Sunday. The Golden Gophers earned a 3-2 overtime win against Clarkson to advance to their seventh NCAA Frozen Four appearance.
 
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
The semifinal games can be found on NCAA.com via video stream. USCHO’s Brian Schulz will provide the play-by-play, while former Gopher coach Laura Halldorson and Gopher alum Winny Brodt Brown will assist with color. Also assisting is Harvard alum, Caitlin Cahow. An audio stream will be available from the Gold Zone on gophersports.com this weekend as well as on the radio, KLBB 1220 AM (if advancing on Sunday). Live results for the game can also be found on gophersports.com as well as on NCAA.com

2010 FROZEN FOUR IS HERE
The 2010 tournament marks the third time in 10 years the Golden Gophers will host the Women's Frozen Four and the first time in Ridder Arena. Minnesota hosted the inaugural Women's Frozen Four in 2001 and again in 2006 in Mariucci Arena. Mariucci Arena was the site of the 2001 and the 2006 Frozen Fours. In the two-day championship in 2006, Minnesota drew 7,577 fans. The university opened the doors to Ridder Arena at the start of the 2002-03 season. Ridder Arena, which seats approximately 3,400 people, has been host to a variety of events, including six WCHA conference championships and the Minnesota state girls’ tournament in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The only arena in the nation built solely for a women’s hockey team, Minnesota’s largest single-game attendance came on January 6, 2007, when 3,251 fans entered the doors.

FROZEN FOUR TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets are available for the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four, which can be purchased through the Gopher ticket office. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 612-624-8080 (1-800 UGOPHER) or on the gopher website: gophersports.com. Game times for the semifinals are at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on March 19 and the championship game is set for noon on Sunday.

WE MEET AGAIN
Friday’s match-up is the sixth time this season the Gophers and the Bulldogs have tangled this year. The two teams have been very similar throughout the season. Minnesota won the first series when UMD came to Ridder Arena and defeated the Bulldogs, 3-1 and 3-0 on October 16-17. Minnesota then visited the DECC on Feb. 5-6 and fell by the exact same scores in the series, 3-1 and 3-0. Minnesota and UMD both tied for the regular season title with 43 conference points. In their fifth meeting in the WCHA Championship game, the Bulldogs earned a 3-2 victory over the Gophers.

ABOUT THE UMD BULLDOGS
UMD enters the NCAA Frozen Four with a 29-8-2 overall record and finished the WCHA conference season with a 20-6-2 mark. Boasting one of the most potent offensive lines in the country is their three top scorers. The Bulldogs are led in scoring by first-team All-WCHA honoree Emmanuelle Blais, who has 29 goals and 32 assists for 61 points. She is followed by Laura Fridfinnson  with 51 points and Katherine Wilson with 43 points. In net for UMD is freshman goaltender Jennifer Harss. She has played in 37 games this season and holds a .933 save percentage and a 2.07 goals against average.

NO LOVE LOST
Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth has one of the best rivalries in women’s Division I hockey. Dating back to when UMD started its program in 1999-2000, the Gophers hold a slight lead in the all-time series at 26-20-5. This weekend also marks the seventh NCAA Frozen Four appearance.

ABOUT THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst has held the No. 1 ranking for a majority of the season and enter the NCAA Frozen Four with a 30-2-3 overall record and a College Hockey America conference record of 14-1-1. The Lakers defeated Boston University, 4-1, to advance to the Frozen Four. Mercyhurst had three named as top-10 Patty Kazmaier finalists in Vicki Bendus, Jesse Scanzano and Bailey Bram with Bendus being a top-three finalist. Bendus and Scanzano are tied for the team lead with 65 points, while Bram has 56 points. The Lakers average 4.74 goals per game and have only allowed 1.60 goals per game. Laker goaltender Hillary Pattenden holds a save percentage of .922 and a GAA of 1.57.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is riding an 11-game unbeaten streak and a 10-game win streak entering the Frozen Four. After a 4-3 overtime win against Clarkson in the ECAC championship, the Big Red had a convincing 6-2 win over Harvard last Friday. Cornell enters the Frozen Four with 20-8-6 overall record and a 14-2-6 mark in the ECAC. Catherine White leads the Big Red in scoring with 41 points, while Chelsea Karpenko and Laura Fortino rank second with 31 points.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA COMPETITION
The 2010 Frozen Four marks the seventh trip to the big dance. The Gophers’ first trek came in 2002 to New Hampshire and continued to go to the Frozen Four five-straight years. After a two-year hiatus in 2007 and 2008, the Gophers returned to the Frozen Four last year and fell to Mercyhurst, 5-4, in Boston. Minnesota’s record in the NCAA Frozen Four is 5-5-1. Minnesota has three national championships to its name with two being NCAA-sanctioned titles in 2004 and 2005.

THE LAST FROZEN FOUR IN MINNEAPOLIS
The University of Minnesota hosted the Frozen Four in 2006 and was the national runner up. Minnesota competed in one its most memorable Frozen Four games when Bobbi Ross scored an NCAA record four-goal game to help the Gophers upend the No. 1 seed New Hampshire and a run at the national championship. The Gophers, however, fell to Wisconsin, 3-0, in the championship game.

FROST A FINALIST FOR NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Minnesota head coach Brad Frost is one of eight coaches to be named finalists for the AHCA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Award. The award will be presented during the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Convention on Friday, April 30, in Naples, FL. To be a finalist for this award, you must either be voted Coach of the Year in your conference, or take your team to the NCAA Frozen Four. The winner will be announced this weekend during the NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Frozen Four in Minneapolis. Among the list is Providence’s Bob Deraney, Cornell’s  Doug Derraugh, Syracuse’s Paul Flanagan, UMD’s Shannon Miller, Quinnipiac’s Rick Seeley, Bemidji State’s Steve Sertich and Mercyhurst’s Michael Sisti.

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