University of Minnesota Athletics
Home Opener Pits Gophers vs. Huskies
10/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| No. 1 Minnesota (2-0-0) vs. St. Cloud State (2-0-0) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, Oct. 9 | 7 p.m. |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Oct. 10 | 4 p.m. |
| Location | Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels | METRO Green Line Update |
| Game 1 | Game Day Live | BTN2Go Video | Free Audio | |
| Game 2 | Game Day Live | BTN2Go Video | Free Audio | |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | St. Cloud State |
| Social Media | @GopherWHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
Oct. 5, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 1 University of Minnesota women's hockey team (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) returns to the ice at Ridder Arena to open WCHA play at home by hosting St. Cloud State (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) this week. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT Friday and 4 p.m. CT Saturday.
BOGO Tickets, Banner-Raising & Faculty/Staff Appreciation
Fans can take advantage of a Break the Ice BOGO ticket special this weekend, enjoying the start of the season with buy one, get one free tickets for the series. Buy one ticket to Friday's home-opening game and get one free for Saturday's series finale.
Prior to Friday's game, join the Gophers in celebrating the 2015 NCAA title with a banner-raising ceremony during pre-game festivities at Ridder Arena. Fans will receive a free replica mini-banner while supplies last. Minnesota's home-opener will also feature a free giveaway of the official 2015-16 Gopher women's hockey team poster while supplies last.
Saturday's game is University of Minnesota Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. All University of Minnesota faculty and staff members are invited to enjoy free admission using the online promotional code. Tickets must be ordered online in advance at MyGopherSports.com. In addition, faculty and staff members will receive a free Golden Gopher USB drive while supplies last.
About the Series: Minnesota vs. St. Cloud State
Minnesota enters this weekend's series with a 67-3-2 all-time record against St. Cloud State. The Gophers have won the last 25 meetings between the two teams, most recently earning a 4-0, 7-1 series sweep on the road in St. Cloud, Minn., on Jan. 23-24, 2015.
Scouting the Opponent: St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) opened the 2015-16 season with a road sweep at Merrimack College last weekend, recording 6-4 and 6-2 victories over the Warriors. The Huskies were led by senior Lexi Slattery (3g-1a) and sophomore Brittney Anderson (4a) with four points each. Goaltenders Taylor Crosby and Katie Fitzgerald each played one game in net.
The Huskies posted an 8-28-1 overall record and went 5-22-1 in WCHA play last season. SCSU returns its top scorer from last season in Molly Illikainen, who led the Huskies with 10 goals and 19 points, and goaltender Katie Fitzgerald, who had a .902 save percentage and a 3.02 goals against average last year. Head coach Eric Rud returns for his second season behind the Huskies' bench.
St. Cloud State has eight newcomers this season: freshmen forwards Ivy Dynek, Megan Lalor, Hannah Potrykus, Jordan Stewart, Julia Tylke and Suvi Ollikainen, and transfer goaltenders Madeleine Dahl (Union College) and Taylor Crosby (Northeastern).
Last Time Out: Gophers Earn Road Sweep at Penn State
The Gophers opened the season with a non-conference road sweep at Penn State last weekend as Minnesota won 2-0 and 5-0 over the Nittany Lions. Kelly Pannek (2g-1a) and Sarah Potomak (1g-2a) led the Gophers with three points each, and Hannah Brandt (2g), Cara Piazza (2a), Lee Stecklein (2a), and Megan Wolfe (1g-1a) each recorded multiple points in the series.
Defensively, Minnesota opened the season with 120 shutout minutes. In Thursday's 2-0 win, Amanda Leveille made 20 saves before Sidney Peters stopped all seven shots she faced in Friday's 5-0 win. Leveille earned her 23rd career shutout to move into sole possession of the number two ranking in Gopher women's hockey history behind career-leader Noora Raty (43 career shutouts); Leveille ranks 10th in NCAA history.
Two of the Gophers' nine newcomers registered their first career points last weekend. Sarah Potomak scored her first goal as a Gopher in Minnesota's season-opener with an empty-net goal, and Taylor Williamson recorded an assist in Friday's 5-0 win.
Career Record Watch: Brandt Poised to Make History
Hannah Brandt is the NCAA's active career scoring leader with 223 career points (92 goals, 131 assists). She ranks fifth in Minnesota history and 16th in NCAA history. Brandt needs just 24 more points to surpass Natalie Darwitz (246 points) as the Gophers' all-time career scoring leader. She needs just eight goals to become the fourth Gopher all-time to reach 100-career goals (Nadine Muzerall, 139; Krissy Wendell, 106; Natalie Darwitz, 102) as well.
Scoring Milestone on Horizon for McMillen
Milica McMillen is closing in on the 100-career point mark. She enters this weekend's series with 93 career points on 36 goals and 57 assists. Just five Gopher defensemen in program history have surpassed 100-career points: Megan Bozek (146), Winny Brodt (134), Rachel Ramsey (130), Anne Schleper (114), and Courtney Kennedy (112).
Point Streaks
Kelly Pannek is on a four-game point streak dating back to the 2015 NCAA Women's Frozen Four semifinal game against Wisconsin on March 20, 2015. Meanwhile, Cara Piazza and Sarah Potomak both have points in each of Minnesota's games so far this season.
PK Leaders
The Gophers are one of seven teams with a perfect penalty kill unit so far this season. Minnesota is 4-for-4 in penalty killing, joining Boston College (7-for-7), Boston University (6-for-6), Clarkson (5-for-5), Connecticut (10-for-10), Mercyhurst (2-for-2) and RIT (4-for-4) as NCAA leaders.
Minnesota in Home-Openers
The Gophers are 12-1-0 in home-openers at Ridder Arena since the facility opened in Oct. 2002. Minnesota has won its last six home-openers, including three shutout victories in the last five seasons. In 13 seasons at Ridder Arena, Minnesota has a 221-33-15 (.849) record on its home ice.
Last weekend, the Gophers improved to 18-1-0 in season-openers, including a 7-0-0 mark in season-opening games on the road after defeating Penn State, 2-0, to kick off the 2015-16 season.
Home, Sweet Home
The Gophers ended the 2014-15 season on a 17-game home unbeaten streak (15-0-2). The Gophers are 63-2-4 in their last 69 home games, dating back to Feb. 18, 2012. In 2014-15, Minnesota was 19-1-3 at home and led the nation in attendance, averaging 1,634 fans per game and 2,037 fans per home game.
Minnesota is 132-6-5 in the team's last 143 games, a stretch that includes an NCAA-record 62-game winning streak (Feb. 28, 2012 through Nov. 17, 2013).
Maroon & Gold Roster Breakdown
Minnesota returns 16 players from its 2015 national championship team, including seven of its top 10 scorers from a year ago led by senior Hannah Brandt and junior Dani Cameranesi. Brandt led the Gophers and ranked second in the nation with 74 points (34 goals, 40 assists), while Cameranesi posted her career-best 65 points (23 goals, 42 assists) as a sophomore in 2014-15.
The Gophers also return All-American defensemen Lee Stecklein and Milica McMillen to strengthen the blue line. The team will look to Megan Wolfe and Sydney Baldwin along with the addition of freshmen Sophie Skarzynski and Anna Barlow to further bolster the defensive corps.
Senior goaltender Amanda Leveille suits up for her final season in Maroon & Gold, following a junior season with a 1.18 GAA and a .946 save percentage. Leveille's goals against average ranked third in the national rankings, while her save percentage ranked second in the NCAA in 2014-15.
The 2015-16 season marks Brad Frost's ninth season as the head coach of the Gophers. Frost enters his ninth year at the helm with an overall record of 258-41-21 (.839). After two wins last weekend, Frost needs just 19 more wins to surpass Laura Halldorson (278-67-22) as the winningest coach in Gopher women's hockey history.
Gophers Add Nine Newcomers
Minnesota has added nine newcomers for 2015-16, made up of seven true freshmen and two transfers. The newest Gophers are Anna Barlow (South St. Paul, Minn.), Tianna Gunderson (Roseau, Minn.), Emma May (Eagan, Minn.), Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.), Caitlin Reilly (Chanhassen, Minn.), Sophie Skarzynski (Lake Forest, Ill.), Nicole Schammel (Red Wing, Minn.), Sierra Smith (Stillwater, Minn.), and Taylor Williamson (Edina, Minn.). Reilly, a transfer from Penn State, and Schammel, a transfer from Minnesota State, join the Maroon & Gold as sophomores. Schammel will sit out the 2015-16 season due to WCHA in-league transfer rules.
A Look at the 2015-16 Schedule
Minnesota's 2015-16 schedule features two exhibition games against the Minnesota Whitecaps, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game, an always-challenging WCHA slate, and the return of the WCHA FINAL FACEOFF to Ridder Arena. In addition to Penn State, the Gophers' non-conference schedule also includes a series against Yale at Ridder Arena Nov. 20-21.
Duo Serving as Team Captains
Senior Hannah Brandt and junior Lee Stecklein have been named Minnesota's captains this season. Brandt is in her first season as a team captain, and Stecklein was an assistant captain last year.
Looking Back at Minnesota's Sixth National Title
Minnesota capped its 2014-15 season by winning the program's third NCAA title in the last four years and its sixth overall national crown. The Gophers finished the season with an overall record of 34-3-4. Last season's Gophers also captured the program's ninth WCHA regular-season title.
Top-seeded Minnesota defeated No. 3 seed Harvard by a score of 4-1 in the 2015 NCAA Women's Frozen Four national championship game at Ridder Arena. Minnesota advanced to its fourth-straight NCAA title game with a 3-1 win over fourth-seeded Wisconsin in front of a sold-out crowd at Ridder Arena in the Frozen Four semifinal round.
Up Next: Gophers Travel to Ohio State
Minnesota heads back on the road next weekend, traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA). The Gophers and Buckeyes face off at 5 p.m. CT Friday and 1 p.m. CT Saturday at OSU Ice Arena.
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