University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Host WCHA Rival Minnesota Duluth Friday and Saturday
11/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Nov. 1, 2011
The Golden Gopher women's hockey team returns home for two games against WCHA rival Minnesota Duluth at Ridder Arena. Friday's game starts at 6:00 p.m. while Saturday's game starts at 4:00 p.m.
This weekend, the Gophers are featuring several promotions. On Friday and Saturday, Minnesota will be holding a food drive. Fans who bring a donation to Second Harvest Heartland, either a nonperishable food item or a monetary donation, will get a free admission.
Friday is the second Student Night of the season. U of M students always get free admission to Gopher women's hockey games, but this weekend, students also get free pizza. Students will need to show their UCard to get free admission and free food.
In the national rankings, Minnesota is listed at No. 3 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national polls. The Gophers were No. 2 last week, and fell one spot after getting a split at Bemidji State last weekend. Minnesota Duluth moved up to No. 4 in the polls after a win and a tie against North Dakota last weekend.
Minnesota is the top team in the nation on the penalty kill, and is currently 38-40 (95.0 percent) on the penalty kill this season. Minnesota allowed a power play goal against Union in the season opener, and did not allow another opponent to score on the power play until last Saturday at Bemidji State. The Gophers are averaging just 8.6 penalty minutes per game, which is the second-lowest in the WCHA (Wisconsin averages 7.4 penalty minutes per game).
Minnesota has the fewest number of goals allowed in WCHA play, with just eight goals allowed in eight WCHA games and nine goals allowed overall. The next closest team is Wisconsin, with 16 goals allowed, 15 coming in WCHA games.
Minnesota ranks second in the nation and first in the WCHA in scoring defense, averaging 0.90 points per game. Junior defenseman Megan Bozek and freshman defenseman Rachel Ramsey both rank among the nation's top 20 in points per game by a defenseman. Bozek is eighth nationally and third in the WCHA with 1.20 points per game. Bozek has five goals on the season, including three gamewinners. She needs just one goal to match her season totals from her freshman and sophomore seasons as she scored six goals in each of her first two seaosns with the Gophers. Bozek has 59 career points to rank ninth on the Minnesota all-time scoring list for defensemen. Ramsey is 20th nationally and eighth in the conference with 0.70 points per game.
The Gophers are fourth in the nation in scoring margin, winning by an average of 3.50 goals. Minnesota has outscored its opponents 44-9 in 10 games this season, including a 34-8 margin against WCHA opponents.
Junior goalie Noora Räty has started nine of 10 games for the Gophers this season. She has 140 saves on the season, with nine goals allowed in the first eight games. Last Friday, Räty got her 50th career win, and now has a record of 50-14-6. She is the third goalie in Gopher women's hockey history to reach 50 wins, as Erica Killewald and Jody Horak also reached the milestone. Räty leads the WCHA and ranks fourth nationally in goals against average at 1.04. She's also first in the WCHA (fourth nationally) in save percentage at .948. She has three shutouts so far this season (ranks first in the conference and second nationally).
Senior Jen Schoullis captured the first hat trick of her Gopher career with three goals against Bemidji State last Friday. Schoullis has 48 career goals, including six this season. She is the third current Gopher with a hat trick in her career (Amanda Kessel, Sarah Erickson), and the second Gopher to score a hat trick this season (Amanda Kessel).
The UMD Bulldogs are 4-3-1 on the season, including a 1-2-1 mark in WCHA action. Last weekend, Minnesota Duluth hosted North Dakota and won convincingly by a 6-1 margin on Friday. On Saturday, UMD and UND tied 1-1, with Duluth getting the shootout win.
Junior forward Audrey Cournoyer is the Bulldogs' leading scorer with six goals and seven assists for 13 points. Junior forward Katherine Wilson also has six goals on the season, plus five assists for 11 points. Junior goaltender Jennifer Harss has been the regular starter for UMD this season. Harss has a 2.75 goals against average and a save percentage of .906.
Minnesota holds a 30-21-6 all-time record against Minnesota Duluth, with a 15-6-3 mark in home games. Last season, the Gophers dropped both games in Duluth, and earned a win and a tie in the two games in Minneapolis.
