University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 2 Gophers Host Huskies in WCHA First Round
2/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Feb. 22, 2012
Minnesota Game Notes | St. Cloud State Game Notes 
| Live Audio | Live Video
This Weekend
After wrapping up the regular season last weekend, the Gophers move into the postseason with a best-of-three series in the WCHA First Round. Minnesota plays host to St. Cloud State with games Friday at 7:07 p.m., Saturday at 4:07 p.m., and Sunday at 4:07 p.m. if needed. General admission tickets for the WCHA First Round games are being offered for just $1. Reserved seats are available for $10.
Follow Online
Gophersports.com will carry a free radio broadcast and live blog for both games this weekend. Both games will be covered live with a video webcast available to Gopher All Access subscribers.
National Rankings
Minnesota is listed at No. 2 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national polls. The Gophers received one first-place vote in the USCHO.com poll. St. Cloud State is not listed in either national poll.
Strong Defense
Minnesota has allowed the fewest number of goals allowed among WCHA teams, with just 49 goals allowed this season. Wisconsin is close with 50 goals allowed. Minnesota is first in the nation in scoring defense, allowing an average of 1.44 goals per game.
This week's opponent, St. Cloud State, has allowed the most goals among WCHA teams, with 165 goals allowed this season.
Special Teams
Minnesota scored two power play goals against North Dakota last weekend, giving the team a 24.9 percent power play efficiency for the season (42-169). The Gophers rank second in the WCHA and fourth nationally in power play efficiency.
The Gophers are second in the conference and fifth nationally on the penalty kill, successfully killing 122 of 139 penalties this season (87.8 percent). The Gophers gave up two power play goals to UND last weekend.
Kazmaier Nominees
Thirty players are among the list of nominees for the 15th annual Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, announced on Feb. 20. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey.
Four of the 30 nominees are Golden Gophers in junior goaltender Noora Räty, senior forward Jen Schoullis, sophomore forward Amanda Kessel, and junior defenseman Megan Bozek.
Räty was named a top-three finalist for the award in 2010, and was a top-10 finalist for the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award.
Schleper Moves Up in Record Books
Senior defenseman Anne Schleper had an assist on Jen Schoullis' goal in last Friday's game against UND, giving her 112 career points. She is now tied for second place on Minnesota's all-time list for points by a defenseman. Courtney Kennedy (1998-2001) also had 112 career points. The school record for points by a defenseman is 134 by Winny Brodt (1998-2003).
Bozek Leads the Way
Junior defenseman Megan Bozek ranks first nationally in scoring by defensemen with 39 points on the season, six more points than her closest competitor. She is one of four defensemen in the nation in double figures for goals, with 13 goals on the season.
Moving Up the Ranks
After adding four points in last Saturday's 5-2 win against North Dakota, Megan Bozek has 86 career points and moved up to fourth place on the Minnesota all-time scoring list for defensemen, passing Ronda Curtin (85 points, 1999-2003). Bozek will need 26 more points to move into a tie for third place on the all-time list as current senior Anne Schleper and former Gopher Courtney Kennedy (1998-2001) each have 112 career points.
Bozek also scored her 25th career goal last Saturday and passed Brittny Ralph (24 goals from 1997-99) for fourth in Gopher history in goals by a defenseman.
Top Scorers
Both Amanda Kessel and Jen Schoullis rank among the top scorers in the WCHA. Kessel ranks fifth in the WCHA and sixth nationally in points with 67 (1.97 per game). Schoullis ranks seventh in the NCAA and 13th nationally in points with 55 (1.67 per game).
Offensive Defensemen
Minnesota has three defensemen who rank among the top 10 in the WCHA in scoring by defensemen. Junior Megan Bozek leads the conference with 39 points (1.15 per game). Senior Anne Schleper is sixth with 26 points (0.76 per game), and freshman Rachel Ramsey is eighth with 21 points (0.62).
Raty Ties Season Win Record
With a win against North Dakota last Saturday, junior goalie Noora Räty reached 26 wins for the season. The mark surpassed the previous school record for wins in a season (25 wins), set by Räty in her sophomore season (2010-11).
Räty set the school record for career shutouts when she got her 22nd at St. Cloud State on Feb. 4. She added a shutout at Ohio State (Feb. 10), and currently has 23 in her career and seven this season.
About St. Cloud State
The Huskies are 5-27-2 overall and 4-24-0 in WCHA games this season. They finished the regular season in seventh place in the WCHA. St. Cloud State has scored the fewest goals among WCHA teams this season with 43, and has allowed the most goals with 165.
Senior forward Brittany Toor is the Huskies' leading scorer with 15 points on seven goals and eight assists. Sophomore Molli Mott and freshman Abby Ness each have 13 points on the season. Mott leads the team in goals with nine and Ness leads in assists with 11.
Head coach Jeff Giesen is in his sixth season at St. Cloud State and has a record of 66-125-27.
The Series against SCSU
Minnesota holds a 47-2-1 all-time record against St. Cloud State, including four wins this season. The Gophers won 6-0 and 8-0 in a series at Ridder Arena in October, and won 8-1 and 7-0 in St. Cloud three weeks ago.
Home Sweet Home
The Gophers are 15-1-2 at home in Ridder Arena this season, including a perfect 12-0-0 mark in the first half of the season.
Minnesota is 12-4 on the road this season, splitting at Wisconsin, Bemidji State, North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth, while earning series sweeps at Harvard, Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Ohio State.
Fans in the Stands
Last weekend against North Dakota, Minnesota brought in crowds of 1,925 and 2,157. The Gophers have had six straight home games with 1,500-plus in attendance, including three games with 2,000 or more fans.
The Gophers had a weekend attendance of 5,220 against Wisconsin Jan. 6-7, with 2,554 fans at Ridder for Friday's game and 2,666 fans in attendance on Saturday. Both figures rank among the top 10 all-time attendance numbers for Ridder Arena.
The Gophers have an average home attendance of 1,359 this season, up 50.3 percent from the attendance average of 838 at this point last season. This season, the Gophers have had seven home games with crowds of 1,500 and over. Minnesota did not draw any crowds of 1,500-plus last season.
Up Next
If the Gophers win the series against St. Cloud State, they will move on to play in the WCHA Final Faceoff in Duluth March 2-3.
