University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 2 Gophers to Host Saints to Open 2015
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| No. 2 Minnesota (16-1-2) vs. St. Lawrence (8-6-2) | |
| Game 1 | Sunday, Jan. 4 | 4 p.m. |
| Game 2 | Tuesday, Jan. 6 | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Game 1 | Game Day Live | BTN Plus Video | Free Audio | |
| Game 2 | Game Day Live | BTN Plus Video | Free Audio | |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | St. Lawrence |
| Social Media | @GopherWHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
Dec. 30, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS - After a four-week break from competition, No. 2 Minnesota (16-1-2, 9-1-2-0 WCHA) returns to action to host St. Lawrence (8-6-2, 5-3-1 ECAC Hockey) on Sunday, Jan. 4 and Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Free audio and live stats will be available at GopherSports.com, and both games will be streamed online via BTN Plus (subscription required).
FROZEN FOUR 4-PACK GIVEAWAY ON JAN. 4
The Gophers are pleased to offer a Frozen Four four-pack ticket giveaway to fans during their Sunday, Jan. 4 game. Fans should tweet using the hashtag "#GWH" during Sunday's game to enter for a chance to win four tickets to the 2015 Frozen Four at Ridder Arena. One winner will be chosen randomly.
ABOUT THE SERIES: MINNESOTA VS. ST. LAWRENCE
Minnesota is 8-1-1 all-time against St. Lawrence, and the series dates back to a 6-1 Gopher win on Jan. 6, 1998. The teams last met during the 2012-13 regular season when Minnesota earned a road sweep over the Saints, winning 5-0 and 6-0 on Oct. 12-13, 2012. Junior Milica McMillen scored her first career goal in the team's 5-0 win at St. Lawrence.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: ST. LAWRENCE SAINTS
St. Lawrence (8-6-2, 5-3-1 ECAC Hockey) enters this week's series with a 4-1-1 mark in its last six games, including a 5-4 overtime win over Harvard and most recently defeating Colgate and falling to Cornell in their final games of 2014. The Saints face Minnesota State on Saturday before taking on the Gophers Sunday and Tuesday.
The Saints are led by junior forward Jenna Marks (8g-10a), sophomore forward Brooke Webster (11g-5a) and freshman forward Kennedy Marchment (7g-9a). Marchment's seven goals include three game-winners, and she is tied for fourth among the nation's rookies with 1.00 points per game. Sophomore Amanda Boulier (3g-6a) and senior Kirsten Padalis (2g-7a) rank among the nation's top 25 defensive scorers and lead the Saints' blue line.
Senior Carmen MacDonald has seen the majority of minutes in net for the Saints with a 7-5-2 record in 15 appearances. Her 2.36 goals against average and .920 save percentage rank among the nation's top 20 goaltenders. She has one shutout in 13 starts this year.
St. Lawrence ranks seventh in the nation in scoring, averaging 3.19 goals per game, while allowing 2.69 goals per game. The team's 6.5 penalty minutes per game is among the fewest per game in the NCAA.
GOPHER QUICK HITS
- Dani Cameranesi leads the nation with five game-winning goals.
- Kelly Pannek has 12 points (3g-9a) during a career-best five-game point streak.
- Hannah Brandt leads the WCHA and ranks third in the nation with 37 points (16g-21a).
- Amanda Leveille ranks third among Gophers all-time with 20 career shutouts.
LAST TIME OUT: GOPHERS SWEEP HUSKIES
In its last series Dec. 5-6, Minnesota swept St. Cloud State, winning 12-0 and 7-0. Hannah Brandt (2g-7a), Rachael Bona (2g-4a), Dani Cameranesi (6a) and Kelly Pannek (6a) led the Gopher offense as 15 of Minnesota's 16 skaters recorded at least one point in the series and 11 different Gophers scored at least one goal. Sidney Peters and Amanda Leveille each earned one shutout win in net as well.
The Gophers tied Minnesota's program record with 12 goals in a 12-0 win over the Huskies in game one. Brandt and Cameranesi set a new Gopher program record with six assists each in the win, and Brandt's seven points (1g-6a) tied the Minnesota record for individual points in a game. Paige Haley and Nina Rodgers each scored their first career goals as well. Peters made 18 saves in her second career shutout.
Six different Gophers scored goals as Minnesota completed the sweep with a 7-0 win in game two of the series. Sydney Baldwin's first career goal was the game-winner, and Kelsey Cline recorded a career-high three assists. Milica McMillen scored two goals, including her NCAA-best seventh power-play goal of the year. Leveille made 14 saves in her 20th career shutout.
HOME, SWEET HOME
Minnesota continues a seven-game home stand this weekend as the Gophers play their first five games of 2015 at home at Ridder Arena. The Gophers are 51-2-2 in their last 55 home games, dating back to Feb. 18, 2012. This season, Minnesota leads the nation in home attendance, averaging 1,917 fans per game in nine home games.
2015 FROZEN FOUR TICKETS NOW ON SALE
The 2015 NCAA Women's Frozen Four will take place March 20 and 22 at Ridder Arena, and tickets are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased online at MyGopherSports.com, in person at the Mariucci Arena Box Office, or by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER.
OFFENSIVE DEFENSE
The Gophers' defensemen lead the WCHA blue-liners in scoring, averaging 3.63 points per game. McMillen (10g-8a) ranks fifth in the nation and leads the WCHA defensemen with 18 points in 19 games for a 0.95 points per game average this year. Fellow Gopher blue-liners Rachel Ramsey (4g-12a) and Lee Stecklein (12a) are among the nation's top 20 defensive scorers as well.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
As Minnesota begins the second half of the regular season, 10 Gophers are in double-figures for scoring, led by Hannah Brandt (16g-21a), Dani Cameranesi (15g-15a) and Rachael Bona (6g-17a). All 18 skaters have at least one point, and 14 players have scored at least one goal. Brandt and Cameranesi lead the WCHA and rank third and fourth in the NCAA with 2.06 points per game and 1.67 points per game, respectively. Brandt's 16 goals lead the WCHA and rank fourth in the nation.
With 86 goals in 19 games, the Gophers' offense leads the WCHA and ranks second in the nation, averaging 4.53 goals per game behind Boston College (5.94). Meanwhile, Minnesota's 1.11 goals against average is second in the WCHA and fourth in the NCAA.
LEVEILLE LEADS WCHA GOALTENDERS
Goaltender Amanda Leveille ranks second in the WCHA and sixth in the nation with both a 1.29 goals against average. She also lands second in the league and fifth in the NCAA with a .942 save percentage. Leveille leads the WCHA and ranks second in the nation with a .900 winning percentage (13-1-1).
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Milica McMillen leads the NCAA with seven power-play goals each this season, and the Gophers have the nation's top power-play unit, converting on 27 of 74 opportunities for a .365 percentage.
SENIOR CLASS BOASTS IMPRESSIVE WINNING PERCENTAGE
Minnesota's senior class of Rachael Bona, Meghan Lorence, Rachel Ramsey, Shyler Sletta owns a 129-8-5 overall record for a .926 winning percentage during their time in Maroon & Gold, including a 16-1-2 mark this season.
WINNING WAYS
Minnesota is 111-4-4 in the team's last 119 games, a stretch that includes an NCAA-record 62-game winning streak (Feb. 28, 2012 through Nov. 17, 2013).
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Minnesota has scored 15 goals in the final two minutes of a period this season, including nine goals in the final 60 seconds. Dani Cameranesi has scored six of the 15 late goals, including two goals with 19:59 on the clock. Four of the eight goals in the final 60 seconds have been scored with less than 10 seconds remaining.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Gophers are 52-0-1 in their last 53 true road games (not including neutral-site games); Minnesota's last true road loss was a 4-2 loss at Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 13, 2012. Including all games away from Ridder Arena, Minnesota is 59-1-1 since Jan. 14, 2012.
SCORING MILESTONES
Hannah Brandt is closing in on 200 career points, entering the second half of the regular season with 184 career points on 72 goals and 112 assists. Brandt is 16 points away from becoming the seventh Gopher all-time to reach the 200-point mark. In addition, Milica McMillen's next assist will be her 50th in Maroon & Gold. Maryanne Menefee (41g-47a), Meghan Lorence (43g-41a) and McMillen (34g-49a) are all getting close to the 100-career point mark as well.
Five Gophers have scored their first career goals this season in Cara Piazza (Oct. 3), Kelly Pannek (Oct. 31), Paige Haley (Dec. 5), Nina Rodgers (Dec. 5) and Sydney Baldwin (Dec. 6).
GOPHERS SIGN THREE FOR 2015-16
The Gophers have signed Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, British Columbia), Sophie Skarzynski (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Taylor Williamson (Edina, Minn.) to attend the University of Minnesota and join the team for the 2015-16 academic year.
NATIONAL TEAM ACTION
Minnesota had representatives on three of the four teams participating in the 2014 Four Nations Cup as current Gophers Hannah Brandt (2a), Dani Cameranesi (2g-2a) and Lee Stecklein (1a) joined alum Megan Bozek in taking home silver with the U.S. Women's National Team. Fellow alumni Kelly Terry played in all four games and earned gold with Canada, and Mira Jalosuo played in three games for Finland. Cameranesi finished the tournament tied for the scoring lead with four points.
Most recently, Brandt, Cameranesi, Milica McMillen and Stecklein along with alumni Bozek and Anne Schleper trained at the U.S. Women's National Team Winter Training Camp in Blaine, Minn., Dec. 27-31.
Associate head coach Joel Johnson will serve as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team at the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women's World Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., Jan. 5-12. Two future Gophers are set to represent their home countries in the tournament as forward Sarah Potomak will skate for Canada and forward Sophie Skarzynski will skate for the U.S.
SECOND HALF SCHEDULE
Seven of Minnesota's first 10 games to open 2015 are at home beginning with the upcoming series against St. Lawrence (Jan. 4/6). The Gophers then host Wisconsin (Jan. 10-11), Minnesota State (Jan. 16) and Ohio State (Jan. 30-31). The team's second half road trips include Minnesota State (Jan. 17), St. Cloud State (Jan. 23-24), North Dakota (Feb. 6-7) and Bemidji State (Feb. 20-21); the Gophers also host Minnesota Duluth Feb. 13-14.
The postseason kicks off with the WCHA First Round Feb. 27 through March 1 before the 2015 WCHA FINAL FACEOFF hosted by North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D., March 7-8. The NCAA quarterfinal round is set for March 13-15, and the 2015 NCAA Women's Frozen Four returns to Ridder Arena March 20 and 22.
ROOKIES FINDING THEIR WAY
All four Gopher freshmen have recorded their first collegiate points. Kelly Pannek (4g-16a) ranks third in scoring among the nation's rookies, averaging 1.05 points per game, and Cara Piazza (4g-3a), Sydney Baldwin (1g-3a) and Nina Rodgers (2g-1a) have made their way onto the score sheet as well.
UP NEXT: GOPHERS HOST RIVAL BADGERS
A top-three battle pits No. 2 Minnesota against No. 3 Wisconsin as the Gophers remain home at Ridder Arena to host their border rival next weekend. The Gophers and Badgers face off at 4:30 p.m. CT Saturday and 2 p.m. CT Sunday. Saturday's game will air live on the Big Ten Network, and Sunday's game will be streamed online via BTN Plus (subscription required).
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