University of Minnesota Athletics
NCAA Title Defense Begins with Tigers
3/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| NCAA Quarterfinal: No. 7 Princeton at No. 3 Minnesota | |
| Game Info | Saturday, March 12 | 4 p.m. |
| Location | Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Coverage | Game Day Live | Free Video | Free Audio | |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Princeton |
| Social Media | @GopherWHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
March 8, 2016
Minnesota Game Notes 
| Princeton Game Notes
MINNEAPOLIS - Defending national champion Minnesota (32-4-1) hosts No. 7 Princeton (22-8-2) in the NCAA quarterfinal round at 4 p.m. CT Saturday at Ridder Arena. The game will mark the 10th time in program history Minnesota has hosted an NCAA quarterfinal game.
Tickets for the quarterfinal matchup between the Gophers and Tigers are on sale now via MyGopherSports.com. Reserved chairback seats are $10, and general admission bench seating is priced at $5. Group tickets (10+) are available for $4 as well.
About the 2016 NCAA Tournament Field
The No. 3 seed Gophers secured one of four at-large berths to the national tournament, joining Clarkson, Princeton, and Northeastern to make up the at-large selections. Postseason conference tournament winners No. 1 seed Boston College (Hockey East), No. 2 seed Wisconsin (WCHA), No. 4 seed Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey), and Mercyhurst (College Hockey America) all secured automatic berths.
National Title Defense Begins with Tigers
The Gophers begin their quest for the program's seventh national title and look for back-to-back titles for the third time in program history after winning consecutive titles in 2004 and 2005 and again in 2012 and 2013. This weekend, Minnesota is in search of its 12th overall NCAA Frozen Four appearance.
The Gophers are making their 14th appearance in the NCAA postseason, qualifying for the tournament for the ninth consecutive year. The Gophers hope to make a fifth-straight appearance in the national championship game, having won three of the last four national titles.
Gophers in NCAA Quarterfinal Games
Minnesota is 8-2-0 all-time in NCAA quarterfinal games since the NCAA tournament expanded to eight teams in 2005, including an 8-1-0 mark in games at Ridder Arena. The Gophers and Tigers also met in the quarterfinal round in the 2005-06 season; Minnesota won 2-0 and went on to finish as the NCAA runner-up. Overall, the Gophers are 20-9-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01.
Last Time Out: Gophers Finish as WCHA Runners-Up
The Gophers finished as the WCHA Final Face-off runner-up last weekend, falling to Wisconsin in the championship game by a score of 1-0. Minnesota defeated North Dakota, 2-0, to advance to the WCHA title game led by two points (1g-1a) from Amanda Kessel and a 21-save shutout from Amanda Leveille.
About the Series: Minnesota vs. Princeton
Minnesota owns an 8-0-1 all-time mark against Princeton. Most recently, the Gophers swept the Tigers on the road in Princeton, N.J., with 2-1 and 5-2 wins in November 2014. The teams also played a regular-season series during the 2013-14 season, which Minnesota swept with 6-0 and 9-1 wins at Ridder Arena. In total, Minnesota has won six-straight games against Princeton. The all-time series officially dates back to November 1997 when the Gophers won the first meeting, 6-1, on the road. Minnesota and Princeton also met once during the 1995-96 season when the Gophers were still a club team; the Tigers won, 8-1.
Scouting the Opponent: Princeton
No. 7 Princeton (22-8-2) enters the NCAA tournament after dropping a best-of-three series against St. Lawrence in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals. The Tigers fell 1-0 in game one, won 4-3 in game two, and lost 4-3 in overtime in game three. Princeton's 22 wins on the season marks the most wins in a single season in program history.
Princeton is making its second NCAA tournament appearance. The Tigers made their first appearance in 2006 and lost to Minnesota. The Tigers finished third in this year's ECAC Hockey regular-season standings at 14-6-2 in league games behind ECAC Hockey champion Quinnipiac and runner-up Clarkson. Princeton finished as the 2016 Ivy League champion as well.
Under head coach Jeff Kampersal, Princeton is led by freshman forward Karlie Lund's 39 points (17g-22a). She ranks third in the nation in scoring among rookies with 1.22 points per game. A top-10 finalist for this year's Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, junior defenseman Kelsey Koelzer has also surpassed the 30-point mark with 32 points (17g-15a) and ranks second in the nation in scoring among defensemen at 1.00 points per game. Junior forward Molly Contini rounds out Princeton's top-three scorers with 23 points (9g-14a). Senior goaltender Kimberly Newell is 18-7-2 in 27 appearances with a .941 save percentage and a 1.72 goals against average. Sophomore Alysia DaSilva has seen action in six games as well.
Gophers Senior Class Success Continues
Minnesota's five seniors, Hannah Brandt, Brook Garzone, Amanda Kessel, Amanda Leveille, and Milica McMillen, make up the program's most successful class in program history with an overall record of 145-9-6 for a .925 winning percentage from 2012-13 to 2015-16. The Gophers have outscored their opponents 770-179 during the seniors' four years in Maroon and Gold.
Frost Surpasses Coaching Milestone
With Minnesota's 7-0 win over St. Cloud State (Jan. 22), head coach Brad Frost became the winningest coach in Gopher women's hockey history, surpassing Laura Halldorson (278-67-22) for career coaching wins. Frost owns an all-time mark of 290-45-22 heading into the NCAA tournament.
Leveille Makes Mark in Recordbooks
Amanda Leveille is 26-4-1 this season with 10 shutouts, bringing her career totals to 32 shutouts and a 95-9-5 mark. She ranks second in Minnesota history in both career shutouts and career wins, trailing only Noora Raty (114-17-8 with 43 shutouts). Her 1.16 career goals against average and .947 career save percentage are the best in Minnesota history. Leveille's 95 wins and 32 shutouts both rank fourth in NCAA history.
McMillen Closing in on Scoring Record
Milica McMillen is closing in on the Gophers' program record for career goals by a defenseman. She currently ranks second all-time with 44 goals, trailing only Megan Bozek's total of 47 career goals. Earlier this season, McMillen became the sixth Gopher defensemen in program history to surpass 100-career points, joining Megan Bozek (146), Winny Brodt (134), Rachel Ramsey (130), Anne Schleper (114), and Courtney Kennedy (112). She recorded her 100th-career point in Minnesota's 5-2 win over Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 23). Among all-time Gopher defensemen, McMillen is second in career goals (44), fourth in career points (119) and sixth in career assists (75).
Brandt Continues Climbing in NCAA, WCHA, & Minnesota Ranks
Hannah Brandt is the NCAA's active career scoring leader with 280 career points (114 goals, 166 assists). She is Minnesota's career leader in both points and assists and is second in Gopher history in career goals, trailing only Nadine Muzerall (139). Among all-time WCHA players, Brandt is the all-time assists leader and ranks second in career points chasing Jocelyne Lamoureux (285) and fifth in career goals. Among all-time NCAA players, she is fourth in points, 10th in goals, and second in assists.
Second-Period Scoring
For the season, Minnesota has scored 74 second-period goals, compared to 54 in the first period and 45 in the third period. The Gophers have outscored their opponents 74-16 in the middle frame.
Scoring Leaders
Dani Cameranesi (32g-35a), Hannah Brandt (24g-35a), Sarah Potomak (12g-37a), and Kelly Pannek (22g-25a) are among the nation's top 11 leading scorers, ranked fourth, fifth, ninth, and 11th in points per game, respectively. Minnesota's offense ranks second in the NCAA at 4.73 goals per game. Potomak leads the nation's rookies in scoring with 1.40 points per game as well.
Offensive Defense
As a defensive unit, the Gophers are second in the nation in scoring among defensemen averaging 3.32 points per game. Milica McMillen ranks eighth in the nation among defensemen with 0.77 points per game in 35 games and Megan Wolfe is 10th at 0.70 points per game in 37 games.
Power-Play Leaders
The Gophers enter the NCAA tournament with the nation's top power play at .431 (44/102). Dani Cameranesi leads the nation with 13 power-play goals, which ranks fourth in Gopher all-time single-season records.
Gopher Fans are Nation's Best
Minnesota maintains its hold on the national attendance lead, averaging 1,589 fans per game. At home at Ridder Arena, the Gophers also lead the NCAA with 2,107 fans per game.
Gophers Sign Six for 2016-17
Minnesota announced the addition of six new student-athletes for the 2016-17 season in Lindsay Agnew (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Jr. Chiefs), Serena D'Angelo (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres), Kippin Keller (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka HS), Patti Marshall (Thief River Falls, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary's), Katie Robinson (Kasson, Minn./Dodge County Wildcats), and Alex Woken (Fargo, N.D./Shattuck-St. Mary's).
Home, Sweet Home
Minnesota is 81-3-5 in its last 89 home games, dating back to Feb. 18, 2012.
Winning Ways
Minnesota is 162-10-6 in the team's last 178 games, a stretch that includes an NCAA-record 62-game winning streak (Feb. 28, 2012 through Nov. 17, 2013).
Nine Newcomers Contributing
Minnesota's nine newcomers this season 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. Of the nine players, Potomak (12g-37a), Williamson (4g-10a), Reilly (5g-5a), Skarzynski (2g-7a), Barlow (2g-1a), and Gunderson (2a) have all made their way onto the score sheet.
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: NCAA Frozen Four
The four NCAA quarterfinal winners advance to the 2016 NCAA Women's Frozen Four in Durham, N.H., Friday-Sunday, March 18-20.
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