University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Travel to BC For Regional
3/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNESOTA TRAVELS TO BOSTON COLLEGE FOR NCAAS
The No. 3 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team will travel to Boston College to compete in the 2011 NCAA Regional, Saturday, March 12. The Golden Gophers and the Eagles will battle at 1 p.m. (ET, noon CT) at Kelley Rink on the BC campus. The winner of the game advances to the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four, held in Erie, Pa.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Boston College will provide a free video webcast of the game on its website, bceagles.cstv.com or through NCAA.com. Minnesota will also provide a free audio broadcast as well as a live in-game blog on gophersports.com.
THE NCAA FIELD
Three conferences were awarded automatic bids for the 2011 tournament. The remaining five teams were selected at-large. The automatic qualifying conferences and their representatives are the WCHA, Wisconsin; ECAC Hockey, Cornell; and Hockey East, Boston College. Boston University, Dartmouth, Mercyhurst, Minnesota Duluth, and Minnesota were all selected as at-large teams. The winner of the Minnesota/Boston College game will face the winner of the Wisconsin/Minnesota Duluth game. A full breakdown is listed below:
NCAA Field
Minnesota Duluth at No. 1 Wisconsin, March 12, 7 p.m. (CT)
Minnesota at No. 4 Boston College, March 12, 1 p.m. (ET)
Dartmouth at No. 2 Cornell, March 12, 2 p.m. (ET)
Mercyhurst at No. 3 Boston University, March 12, 3 p.m. (ET)
GOPHERS IN THE NCAA REGIONALS
The NCAA expanded the women’s hockey tournament from four to eight in the 2005. The 2011 NCAA Regional, or Quarterfinal, marks the sixth time Minnesota will compete in NCAA regional competition. Since the expansion, Minnesota has only missed one year (2007). The 2011 appearance is also the first year the Gophers will be on the road for the NCAA Regional. Minnesota hosted Providence (2005), Princeton (2006), Wisconsin (2008), Boston College (2009) and Clarkson (2010). Of the six times competing in the NCAA Regional, Minnesota advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four, four times, missing only the 2008 national championship. The Gophers went on to win the national championship in 2005 and was the runner-up in 2006.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Boston College enters the NCAA Regionals with a 23-6-6 overall record and hold the overall No. 4 seed. BC finished second in the Hockey East regular season standings behind Boston University, who is seeded No. 3 in the NCAA tournament. Coming off their first Hockey East Tournament Championship, the Eagles defeated Northeastern, 3-1. Boston College’s biggest threats arguably are its two Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalists in Molly Schaus and Kelli Stack. Schaus and Gopher goalie Noora Raty are the only two goalies to crack the top 10. Schaus boasts a 1.41 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. Stack leads the Eagles in scoring with 34 goals and 22 assists for 56 points and holds 207 career points. She was also named the Hockey East Championships’ most valuable player. Both Stack and Schaus played in the 2010 Winter Olympics for the United States. The next Eagle scorers are Mary Restuccia (11-27--38), Taylor Wasylk (14-9--23) and Danielle Welch (10-13--23).
THE LAST TIME
Minnesota and Boston College have only competed against each other four times in school history, the last being in the 2009 NCAA Regionals. Minnesota (3-0-1 against BC) jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first period, March 14, 2009. The Gophers’ Gigi Marvin scored two power-play goals just 46 seconds in and again at 3:15 in the first. BC’s Mary Restuccia scored at 4:35, but Minnesota’s Rachael Drazan scored at 8:17, while Brittany Francis scored at 8:59 to put the game at 4-1. The Eagles battled back when Restuccia scored a power-play goal in the second. BC’s Meghan Fardelmann added another power-play goal at 5:28 in the third to close the gap to one, but Minnesota held on for the win and advanced to the Frozen Four. Molly Schaus had 28 saves in the game, while Alyssa Grogan had 25 and the win.
GOPHER/EAGLE CONNECTIONS
Minnesota and Boston College have a few connections between the two teams. Multiple players from each team have played together at the international level through USA Hockey. Along with that, three of the coaches even played together. Minnesota’s assistant Natalie Darwitz and Boston College’s head coach Katie King and assistant coach Courtney Kennedy all played together in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. Kennedy was also an All-American for the Gophers and helped Minnesota to a national championship in 2000. She was coached by both Joel Johnson and Brad Frost during her Gopher tenure.
AGAINST WHEA TEAMS
The Golden Gophers are 22-8-2 all-time against Hockey East Teams, including 3-0-1 against Boston College. The NCAA quarterfinal marks the first time Minnesota will face a team from the Hockey East conference this year. The Gophers went 5-0-0 against non-conference teams this season and breaking it down, went 4-0-0 against ECAC teams (Clarkson and Harvard) and 1-0-0 against a CHA team (Wayne State).
ALL-WCHA HONORS
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced the All-WCHA Team, prior to the conference championships. The Golden Gophers were well-represented in the awards with goaltender Noora Raty and Anne Schleper on the first team, while defenseman Megan Bozek and Amanda Kessel were named third-team honorees. Kessel also walked away with the WCHA Rookie of the Year award, Minnesota’s fifth overall honoree in the category. The 2010-11 season marks the second-straight year Raty and Schleper have been named on the first team. Bozek also collects her second All-WCHA honor as she was a second team selection last year. Along with the All-WCHA honors, freshman Kelly Terry and Baylee Gillanders was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team, as well as award winner Kessel.
IN THE CLASSROOM
The Gophers had 10 named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. To make the academic team, a student-athlete must be in its second year at the institution, a letterwinner and hold a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The Gopher recipients were Megan Bozek, Samantha Downey, Sarah Erickson, Alyssa Grogan, Mira Jalosuo, Becky Kortum, Nikki Ludwigson, Jenny Lura, Noora Räty and Anne Schleper. Ludwigson was also named a WCHA Scholar Athlete when she held a GPA of 3.50 or higher.
GOPHERS IN THE REGULAR SEASON
The Gophers opened the first month of competition with a rough start, going 5-4-0 in October. However, Minnesota rebounded and finished the first half of the season, 13-6-0 heading into the winter break. After its 2-0 loss to Bemidji State (12/3), Minnesota went on a tear, going undefeated in the next 10 games. Finishing the regular season with a 23-8-2 overall record, Minnesota went 18-8-2 in the WCHA and a second-place tie in the league. Although the Gophers finished second, Minnesota Duluth held the tie-breaker heading into the WCHA Championship with a 1-2-1 record in head-to-head play.
MINNESOTA IN THE WCHA CHAMPIONSHIP
With the three-seed in the WCHA tournament championship, Minnesota drew No. 6 seed Ohio State in the WCHA First Round. The Gophers defeated OSU, 3-2 and 4-2, respectively, to advance to the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF. Facing Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal, the Bulldogs scored first with a goal from Audrey Cournoyer. Minnesota, however, powered back as Amanda Kessel and Kelly Terry combined for four goals. Kessel scored her first collegiate hat trick, while Terry scored her 15th goal of the season en route to a 4-2 win. The Gophers played Wisconsin for the WCHA tournament title. Sarah Erickson put the Gophers up, 2-0 after one. Sarah Davis added a goal at 10:50 in the second to put Minnesota up, 3-0. UW added a quick two goals at 14:34 and 15:12 to put the game at 3-2. Jen Schoullis scored at 18:13 for a 4-2 lead heading into the third. Wisconsin, however, added two goals at 13:38 and 15:45 to send the game into overtime. Then at 14:11 Wisconsin’s Kelly Nash scored the gamewinner to give Minnesota a 5-4 overtime loss.
FINDING THE NET
Since Minnesota’s loss to Wisconsin (1/29), the Gopher line of Amanda Kessel, Sarah Erickson and Jen Schoullis have led the Gophers’ scoring driving with 54 points. In the past 10 games, Kessel and Erickson have each contributed 20 points, followed by Schoullis with 14. In that span, the trio also scored five power-play goals, three short-handed goals and five game-winning goals.
RATY A PATTY KAZMAIER FINALIST
The USA Hockey Foundation announced that Minnesota’s Noora Raty has been named a top-10 Patty Kazmaier finalist. The award, annually bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey, will be presented at a brunch ceremony on March 19 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Frozen Four (March 18 & 20). This is the second straight year Räty has been named a Patty Kazmaier finalist.
Räty is one of four finalists hailing from the from the WCHA. Along with Minnesota’s Räty is Minnesota Duluth’s Haley Irwin and Wisconsin’s Meghan Duggan and Hilary Knight. Also nominated is Mercyhurst’s Meghan Agosta and Vicki Bendus, Cornell’s Laura Fortino and Rebecca Johnston and Boston College’s Molly Schaus and Kelli Stack.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Minnesota holds arguably one of the nation’s best goalies in sophomore Noora Räty (pronounced RAH-too). A returning All-American and Finland’s starting goaltender in the 2010 Winter Olympics, Räty holds a .944 save percentage and a 1.70 goals against average this year. She currently ranks third in the country in save percentage. With the win over Minnesota Duluth last weekend, Raty won her 25th game of the season, setting a school record for wins in season. She also had a career-high 51 saves in the 5-4 overtime loss to Wisconsin during the WCHA Championship game.
Räty is tied for first in the nation with nine shutouts, also setting a school record. On the season, Räty has shut out the likes of Clarkson (Oct. 1), Wayne State (Oct. 9), St. Cloud State (Oct. 22, Oct. 23), Minnesota State (Nov. 19, Jan. 7), Ohio State (Dec. 10), Minnesota Duluth (Jan. 15) and Bemidji State (Feb. 12). She and Jenny Lura also combined for two additional shutouts against Harvard (Nov. 26) and SCSU (Feb. 4). Overall, Räty has 16 shutouts in her career, ranking third in school history.
GOPHERS AND THE WEEKLY CONFERENCE AWARDS
Minnesota collected 11 weekly honors by six individuals this season. Amanda Kessel had four awards (rookie and offensive), while Noora Räty had three (defensive). Anne Schleper (offensive), Megan Bozek (defensive), Kelly Terry (rookie) and Sarah Davis (rookie) all received an award once this year.
REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
Sarah Erickson reached 100 career points two weeks ago to become the 18th Gopher in school history to accomplish the feat. She has already scored eight points in post-season play (WCHA First Round and WCHA FINAL FACEOFF). In the WCHA championship game alone, Erickson had three points and five during the tournament. The last Gophers to accomplish the 100-point feat was Emily West and Brittany Francis in 2009-10. Jen Schoullis is also closing the gap, currently sitting at 92 career points. Minnesota’s all-time leader in scorer came from Gopher assistant coach Natalie Darwitz with 246 career points in just 99 games played.
The No. 3 University of Minnesota women’s hockey team will travel to Boston College to compete in the 2011 NCAA Regional, Saturday, March 12. The Golden Gophers and the Eagles will battle at 1 p.m. (ET, noon CT) at Kelley Rink on the BC campus. The winner of the game advances to the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four, held in Erie, Pa.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Boston College will provide a free video webcast of the game on its website, bceagles.cstv.com or through NCAA.com. Minnesota will also provide a free audio broadcast as well as a live in-game blog on gophersports.com.
THE NCAA FIELD
Three conferences were awarded automatic bids for the 2011 tournament. The remaining five teams were selected at-large. The automatic qualifying conferences and their representatives are the WCHA, Wisconsin; ECAC Hockey, Cornell; and Hockey East, Boston College. Boston University, Dartmouth, Mercyhurst, Minnesota Duluth, and Minnesota were all selected as at-large teams. The winner of the Minnesota/Boston College game will face the winner of the Wisconsin/Minnesota Duluth game. A full breakdown is listed below:
NCAA Field
Minnesota Duluth at No. 1 Wisconsin, March 12, 7 p.m. (CT)
Minnesota at No. 4 Boston College, March 12, 1 p.m. (ET)
Dartmouth at No. 2 Cornell, March 12, 2 p.m. (ET)
Mercyhurst at No. 3 Boston University, March 12, 3 p.m. (ET)
GOPHERS IN THE NCAA REGIONALS
The NCAA expanded the women’s hockey tournament from four to eight in the 2005. The 2011 NCAA Regional, or Quarterfinal, marks the sixth time Minnesota will compete in NCAA regional competition. Since the expansion, Minnesota has only missed one year (2007). The 2011 appearance is also the first year the Gophers will be on the road for the NCAA Regional. Minnesota hosted Providence (2005), Princeton (2006), Wisconsin (2008), Boston College (2009) and Clarkson (2010). Of the six times competing in the NCAA Regional, Minnesota advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four, four times, missing only the 2008 national championship. The Gophers went on to win the national championship in 2005 and was the runner-up in 2006.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Boston College enters the NCAA Regionals with a 23-6-6 overall record and hold the overall No. 4 seed. BC finished second in the Hockey East regular season standings behind Boston University, who is seeded No. 3 in the NCAA tournament. Coming off their first Hockey East Tournament Championship, the Eagles defeated Northeastern, 3-1. Boston College’s biggest threats arguably are its two Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalists in Molly Schaus and Kelli Stack. Schaus and Gopher goalie Noora Raty are the only two goalies to crack the top 10. Schaus boasts a 1.41 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. Stack leads the Eagles in scoring with 34 goals and 22 assists for 56 points and holds 207 career points. She was also named the Hockey East Championships’ most valuable player. Both Stack and Schaus played in the 2010 Winter Olympics for the United States. The next Eagle scorers are Mary Restuccia (11-27--38), Taylor Wasylk (14-9--23) and Danielle Welch (10-13--23).
THE LAST TIME
Minnesota and Boston College have only competed against each other four times in school history, the last being in the 2009 NCAA Regionals. Minnesota (3-0-1 against BC) jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first period, March 14, 2009. The Gophers’ Gigi Marvin scored two power-play goals just 46 seconds in and again at 3:15 in the first. BC’s Mary Restuccia scored at 4:35, but Minnesota’s Rachael Drazan scored at 8:17, while Brittany Francis scored at 8:59 to put the game at 4-1. The Eagles battled back when Restuccia scored a power-play goal in the second. BC’s Meghan Fardelmann added another power-play goal at 5:28 in the third to close the gap to one, but Minnesota held on for the win and advanced to the Frozen Four. Molly Schaus had 28 saves in the game, while Alyssa Grogan had 25 and the win.
GOPHER/EAGLE CONNECTIONS
Minnesota and Boston College have a few connections between the two teams. Multiple players from each team have played together at the international level through USA Hockey. Along with that, three of the coaches even played together. Minnesota’s assistant Natalie Darwitz and Boston College’s head coach Katie King and assistant coach Courtney Kennedy all played together in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. Kennedy was also an All-American for the Gophers and helped Minnesota to a national championship in 2000. She was coached by both Joel Johnson and Brad Frost during her Gopher tenure.
AGAINST WHEA TEAMS
The Golden Gophers are 22-8-2 all-time against Hockey East Teams, including 3-0-1 against Boston College. The NCAA quarterfinal marks the first time Minnesota will face a team from the Hockey East conference this year. The Gophers went 5-0-0 against non-conference teams this season and breaking it down, went 4-0-0 against ECAC teams (Clarkson and Harvard) and 1-0-0 against a CHA team (Wayne State).
ALL-WCHA HONORS
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced the All-WCHA Team, prior to the conference championships. The Golden Gophers were well-represented in the awards with goaltender Noora Raty and Anne Schleper on the first team, while defenseman Megan Bozek and Amanda Kessel were named third-team honorees. Kessel also walked away with the WCHA Rookie of the Year award, Minnesota’s fifth overall honoree in the category. The 2010-11 season marks the second-straight year Raty and Schleper have been named on the first team. Bozek also collects her second All-WCHA honor as she was a second team selection last year. Along with the All-WCHA honors, freshman Kelly Terry and Baylee Gillanders was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team, as well as award winner Kessel.
IN THE CLASSROOM
The Gophers had 10 named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. To make the academic team, a student-athlete must be in its second year at the institution, a letterwinner and hold a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The Gopher recipients were Megan Bozek, Samantha Downey, Sarah Erickson, Alyssa Grogan, Mira Jalosuo, Becky Kortum, Nikki Ludwigson, Jenny Lura, Noora Räty and Anne Schleper. Ludwigson was also named a WCHA Scholar Athlete when she held a GPA of 3.50 or higher.
GOPHERS IN THE REGULAR SEASON
The Gophers opened the first month of competition with a rough start, going 5-4-0 in October. However, Minnesota rebounded and finished the first half of the season, 13-6-0 heading into the winter break. After its 2-0 loss to Bemidji State (12/3), Minnesota went on a tear, going undefeated in the next 10 games. Finishing the regular season with a 23-8-2 overall record, Minnesota went 18-8-2 in the WCHA and a second-place tie in the league. Although the Gophers finished second, Minnesota Duluth held the tie-breaker heading into the WCHA Championship with a 1-2-1 record in head-to-head play.
MINNESOTA IN THE WCHA CHAMPIONSHIP
With the three-seed in the WCHA tournament championship, Minnesota drew No. 6 seed Ohio State in the WCHA First Round. The Gophers defeated OSU, 3-2 and 4-2, respectively, to advance to the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF. Facing Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal, the Bulldogs scored first with a goal from Audrey Cournoyer. Minnesota, however, powered back as Amanda Kessel and Kelly Terry combined for four goals. Kessel scored her first collegiate hat trick, while Terry scored her 15th goal of the season en route to a 4-2 win. The Gophers played Wisconsin for the WCHA tournament title. Sarah Erickson put the Gophers up, 2-0 after one. Sarah Davis added a goal at 10:50 in the second to put Minnesota up, 3-0. UW added a quick two goals at 14:34 and 15:12 to put the game at 3-2. Jen Schoullis scored at 18:13 for a 4-2 lead heading into the third. Wisconsin, however, added two goals at 13:38 and 15:45 to send the game into overtime. Then at 14:11 Wisconsin’s Kelly Nash scored the gamewinner to give Minnesota a 5-4 overtime loss.
FINDING THE NET
Since Minnesota’s loss to Wisconsin (1/29), the Gopher line of Amanda Kessel, Sarah Erickson and Jen Schoullis have led the Gophers’ scoring driving with 54 points. In the past 10 games, Kessel and Erickson have each contributed 20 points, followed by Schoullis with 14. In that span, the trio also scored five power-play goals, three short-handed goals and five game-winning goals.
RATY A PATTY KAZMAIER FINALIST
The USA Hockey Foundation announced that Minnesota’s Noora Raty has been named a top-10 Patty Kazmaier finalist. The award, annually bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey, will be presented at a brunch ceremony on March 19 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Frozen Four (March 18 & 20). This is the second straight year Räty has been named a Patty Kazmaier finalist.
Räty is one of four finalists hailing from the from the WCHA. Along with Minnesota’s Räty is Minnesota Duluth’s Haley Irwin and Wisconsin’s Meghan Duggan and Hilary Knight. Also nominated is Mercyhurst’s Meghan Agosta and Vicki Bendus, Cornell’s Laura Fortino and Rebecca Johnston and Boston College’s Molly Schaus and Kelli Stack.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Minnesota holds arguably one of the nation’s best goalies in sophomore Noora Räty (pronounced RAH-too). A returning All-American and Finland’s starting goaltender in the 2010 Winter Olympics, Räty holds a .944 save percentage and a 1.70 goals against average this year. She currently ranks third in the country in save percentage. With the win over Minnesota Duluth last weekend, Raty won her 25th game of the season, setting a school record for wins in season. She also had a career-high 51 saves in the 5-4 overtime loss to Wisconsin during the WCHA Championship game.
Räty is tied for first in the nation with nine shutouts, also setting a school record. On the season, Räty has shut out the likes of Clarkson (Oct. 1), Wayne State (Oct. 9), St. Cloud State (Oct. 22, Oct. 23), Minnesota State (Nov. 19, Jan. 7), Ohio State (Dec. 10), Minnesota Duluth (Jan. 15) and Bemidji State (Feb. 12). She and Jenny Lura also combined for two additional shutouts against Harvard (Nov. 26) and SCSU (Feb. 4). Overall, Räty has 16 shutouts in her career, ranking third in school history.
GOPHERS AND THE WEEKLY CONFERENCE AWARDS
Minnesota collected 11 weekly honors by six individuals this season. Amanda Kessel had four awards (rookie and offensive), while Noora Räty had three (defensive). Anne Schleper (offensive), Megan Bozek (defensive), Kelly Terry (rookie) and Sarah Davis (rookie) all received an award once this year.
REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
Sarah Erickson reached 100 career points two weeks ago to become the 18th Gopher in school history to accomplish the feat. She has already scored eight points in post-season play (WCHA First Round and WCHA FINAL FACEOFF). In the WCHA championship game alone, Erickson had three points and five during the tournament. The last Gophers to accomplish the 100-point feat was Emily West and Brittany Francis in 2009-10. Jen Schoullis is also closing the gap, currently sitting at 92 career points. Minnesota’s all-time leader in scorer came from Gopher assistant coach Natalie Darwitz with 246 career points in just 99 games played.
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