University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 2 Minnesota Heads to Ohio State This Weekend
2/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Feb. 8, 2012
This Weekend
Minnesota continues on a three-week road stretch with a pair of games at Ohio State State this weekend. Friday's game starts at 6 p.m. central (7 p.m. local to site). Saturday's game will begin at 3 p.m. central (4 p.m. local to site). The games will be held at the OSU Hockey Arena in Columbus.
Follow Online
Gophersports.com will carry a free radio broadcast and live blog for both games this weekend. Dan Hamann is the Gophers' play-by-play announcer, in his fourth season with the Gophers. Alyssa Grogan will provide color commentary. 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, moving up one spot from its No. 3 ranking last week. Ohio State is not ranked in either poll, but is receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll.
The Gophers are listed at No. 2 in the PairWise Rankings and No. 2 in the RPI.
WCHA First Round
With the wins at St. Cloud State last weekend, the Gophers have secured home ice advantage for the WCHA First Round playoff games Feb. 24-26. The first round will consist of a best-of-three series. Game times will be 7:07 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, 4:07 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25 and 4:07 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26 (if needed). Tickets for WCHA First Round games are available on mygophersports.com
Staying Out of the Box
Minnesota averages the second-fewest penalty minutes per game among WCHA teams, with an average of just 9.2. That number is down significantly compared to last season when the Gophers averaged 12.47 penalty minutes per game.
Strong Defense
Minnesota has the fewest number of goals allowed in WCHA play, with just 35 goals allowed in 24 WCHA games and 41 goals allowed overall. The next closest team is Wisconsin, with 43 goals allowed, 37 of those coming in WCHA games.
Minnesota ranks first in the nation in scoring defense, allowing an average of 1.37 goals per game.
More WCHA Honors
Sophomore Amanda Kessel, who produced eight scoring points to lead the Golden Gophers to a two-game conference road sweep at St. Cloud State last weekend, has been named the WCHA Women's Offensive Player of the Week for February 8. This marks the third time this season she has been so honored (also on Oct. 12 and Nov. 23).
Kessel collected a career-best six points and was named the No. 1 Star of the Game in last Friday's (Feb. 3) 8-1 victory over the host Huskies with two goals and four assists. Kessel then added two more points with a goal and an assist as the Gophers completed the sweep over SCSU with a 7-0 win. In addition to her eight points in the series, she also earned a +4 plus/minus rating and put five shots on goal.
Kessel is Minnesota's top scorer (fourth in WCHA) with 58 points (24g, 34a) in 30 games played.
Kessel's honor marks the third straight week that a Gopher player has earned a WCHA weekly award as Emily West was honored on Feb. 1 and Rachael Bona earned a WCHA award on Jan. 25.
Tops in the Nation
Junior goalie Noora Räty has started 29 of 30 games for the Gophers this season. Räty ranks first in the nation in goals against average with a 1.41. She has 588 saves on the season, with 41 goals allowed. Räty ranks fifth nationally and second in the WCHA in save percentage with a 93.6.
Against St. Cloud State on Feb. 4, Räty recorded her 22nd career shutout to set the school record. She was previously tied with Erica Killewald, who had 21 career shutouts from 1998-2001, for first place on Minnesota's all-time list. With the shutout against the Huskies, Räty took sole posession of the school record.
A Career Day
Against St. Cloud State last Friday, Amanda Kessel tallied two goals and four assists for six point, marking her career-best for points in a game. Kessel is one of nine players in Gopher women's hockey history to score six points in a game, a mark that ranks second in the Minnesota record book.
Megan Bozek had a career-best four assists in a game when she collected four assists in last Friday's win against the Huskies.
Anne Schleper tied her career-high for points in a game with four points on a goal and three assists in last Friday's 8-1 victory. Schleper has had four games with four points in her Gopher career.
Bozek Leads the Way
Junior defenseman Megan Bozek ranks first nationally and in scoring by defensemen with 32 points on the season, four more points than her closest competitor. Bozek ranks first in the WCHA and third nationally in points per game among defensement with 1.07 ppg this season. She is one of three defensemen in the nation in double figures for goals, with 10 goals this season.
After collecting six assists against St. Cloud State last weekend, Bozek has 79 career points and moved into sixth place on the Minnesota all-time scoring list for defensemen. She is tied with Anya Miller (2004-08) for fifth in Gopher history in goals by a defenseman with 22.
Top Scorers
Both Amanda Kessel and Jen Schoullis rank among the top scorers in the WCHA. Kessel is tied for fourth in the league with 1.93 points per game, and Schoullis is seventh with 1.69 points per game.
About Ohio State
The Buckeyes are 15-11-4 on the season, and 12-11-1 in WCHA games. Senior forwards Natalie Spooner and Laura McIntosh are the leading scorers for Ohio State. Spooner has 27 goals and 16 assists for 43 points, and ranks ninth in the WCHA in points per game with and average of 1.54 per game. McIntosh has nine goals and 23 assists for 32 points and ranks 13th in the WCHA in points.
Nate Handrahan is the Buckeyes' coach, in his first season at Ohio State. His career record as a head coach is 67-120-18.
Four players on the OSU roster hail from Minnesota. Forward Taylor Kuehl is from Minnetrista and went to Mound-Westonka H.S., Kelly Wild is from Mendota Heights and Cretin-Derham Hall, Melissa Feste hails from Bloomington and Eden Prairie H.S., and Madison Marcotte is from White Bear Lake and attended White Bear Lake H.S.
The Series against Ohio State
Minnesota holds a lopsided 48-7-1 all-time record against Ohio State since the teams first met in the 1999-2000 season. Earlier this season, the Gophers won two games at Ridder Arena. The game scores were 4-1 and 3-1 on Dec. 10-11.
The last time the teams met in Columbus, the Gophers came away with two wins. In January 2011, Minnesota swept the series 4-2 and 8-1 at OSU Ice Arena.
Coaching the Gophers
Brad Frost returns for his fifth season as the Golden Gophers' head coach, his 12th season overall with the Minnesota program. Frost started as an assistant coach in the 2000-01 season and was elevated to associate head coach following the 2005-06 season. He was named the interim head coach in summer of 2007, and was officially named the head coach of the Gophers following the 2007-08 campaign.
Frost holds a career coaching record of 135-35-16 (.766).
Up Next
Minnesota returns home for a series against North Dakota at Ridder Arena Feb. 17-18. The Gophers will celebrate the senior class before Saturday's game. In honor of Fan Appreciation Weekend, tickets for the games against North Dakota are just $1.
