University of Minnesota Athletics
Trip to Minnesota State Up Next
1/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| No. 4 Minnesota at Minnesota State | |
| Game 1 | Friday, Feb. 3 | 7 p.m. |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Feb. 4 | 3 p.m. |
| Location | Verizon Wireless Center | Mankato, Minn. |
| Game 1 | Game Day Live | MSU Video | Free Audio | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | Game Day Live | MSU Video | Free Audio | Live Stats |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Minnesota State |
| Social Media | @GopherWHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
Jan. 30, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS - The back-to-back defending national champion University of Minnesota women's hockey team is back on the road at Minnesota State this week. The Gophers and Mavericks face off at 7 p.m. CT Friday and 3 p.m. CT Saturday.
About the Series: No. 4 Minnesota at Minnesota State
The Gophers are 78-3-3 all-time against the Mavericks, and Minnesota enters this week's series riding a 44-game unbeaten streak (43-0-1) against Minnesota State that dates back to Dec. 7, 2007. Most recently, the Gophers defeated the Mavericks 5-3 in this year's U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women's Faceoff Classic at Braemar Arena in Edina, Minn. Minnesota also swept MSU with 5-0 and 8-1 wins at home at Ridder Arena in early November.
Scouting the Opponent: Minnesota State
Since facing the Gophers in its first game of 2017, Minnesota State (6-20-3, 3-17-2-0 WCHA) is 0-6-1. Under the direction of second-year head coach John Harrington, the Mavericks return home this weekend after back-to-back road series at St. Cloud State and at Wisconsin. Most recently, MSU fell 5-0 and 6-1 on the road at UW.
In 29 games this season, sophomore forward Emily Antony (7g-7a), junior forward Lindsey Coleman (5g-8a), and sophomore forward Corbin Boyd (2g-10a) are the team's top-three scorers. Twenty Mavericks have recorded at least one point on the year. All three goaltenders have seen action with senior Brianna Quade playing the majority of minutes with 22 games played. She is 3-14-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 3.03 goals against average, while sophomore Kathryn Bidulka is 3-6-1 in 10 appearances with .874 save percentage and a 3.18 goals against average.
The Mavericks ended the 2015-16 season in eighth place in the WCHA, finishing with an overall record of 3-29-4 (0-25-3-0 WCHA). The Mavericks' season ended when they were swept by Wisconsin in the first round of the WCHA postseason.
Last Time Out: Gophers Sweep Huskies
The No. 4 Gophers (19-5-3, 15-4-3-2 WCHA) enter this weekend's series after a road sweep over St. Cloud State last week. Minnesota won 2-1 in game one and 5-0 in game two led by Lee Stecklein's four-point series (1g-3a). Eleven different players recorded at least one point as Minnesota used a balanced offense to earn its second road sweep of the season. Sidney Peters made 12 saves in net each game, including securing her sixth shutout of the year.
Home, Sweet Home
Following this week's series, the Gophers return home for the final two weeks of the regular season, hosting North Dakota (Feb. 10-11) and Wisconsin (18-19). Including a mark of 11-0-1 in 2016-17, the Gophers have compiled a record of 106-4-8 in home games at Ridder Arena dating back to the 2011-12 season. Since 2011-12, Minnesota has a .932 winning percentage at home.
Night Owls
Minnesota remains undefeated in night games this season, going 9-0-1 in games beginning later than 4:07 p.m. Meanwhile, the Gophers are 10-5-2 in games beginning at 4:07 p.m. and earlier.
Team-Best Point Streak
Junior forward Kelly Pannek has at least one point in 24 of Minnesota's 26 games this season. She had 44 points (14g-30a) during a 20-game point streak from Oct. 14 to Jan. 20. Pannek's point streak included at least one assist in 19 of 20 games.
Gophers Rank Among NCAA's Best
Pannek leads the country with 51 points (14g-37a), 1.37 points per game, 37 assists, and 1.37 assists per game. Sarah Potomak (15g-24a) is tied for sixth in the NCAA with 39 points and 1.50 points per game and is tied for the NCAA lead with six game-winning goals. In addition, Lee Stecklein (3g-15a) and Megan Wolfe (6g-12a) are among the NCAA's top-scoring defensemen. Stecklein ranks seventh in the nation with 0.75 points per game with Wolfe right behind her in eighth at 0.72 points per game.
Special Teams Play
Despite going 0-for-15 on the power play in its last five games, Minnesota still leads the NCAA at 22-for-80 (27.5 percent) this season. Kelly Pannek's team-high six power-play goals are tied for second in the NCAA and lead the WCHA. Minnesota also leads the nation in fewest penalty minutes per game at 5.9 minutes per game in 27 games. Minnesota's penalty kill leads the WCHA and ranks second in the NCAA at 69-for-75 for 92.0 percent as well.
Scoring Milestones
Senior assistant captains Dani Cameranesi (93g-108a) and Kate Schipper (36g-73a) each reached career scoring milestones against Wisconsin (Dec. 3). Cameranesi became the eighth Gopher all-time to reach 200 career points while Schipper led Minnesota with a three-point weekend (2g-1a) to become the 33rd Gopher to surpass 100 career points. Earlier this season, junior forward Kelly Pannek (51g-93a) became the 32nd player in Gophers history to surpass 100 career points with two points (1g-1a) against Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 15).
Gopher Rookies Contribute
All six of Minnesota's freshmen have found their way on to the scoresheet for the Maroon & Gold this season. Most recently, Kippin Keller (1g-1a) scored her first career goal in the Gophers' 2-1 win at St. Cloud State (Jan. 27). Patti Marshall (1g-7a) has played in all 25 games this season, and Katie Robinson (1g-1a) scored her first career goal against Minnesota State (Jan. 8). Lindsay Agnew (3g-2a) has played in 24 games, missing one game while competing with Canada's National Women's Development Team. Freshman goaltender Serena D'Angelo has appeared in four games, and Alex Woken (1g-3a) appeared in the first 15 games of the year before being sidelined due to injury.
Frost Secures 300th Win
Head coach Brad Frost secured his 300th career coaching victory with the Gophers' road sweep at Ohio State (Oct. 21-22). He enters this weekend's series with an all-time mark of 312-50-25. This year marks Frost's 10th season at the helm of the Gophers. Last season Frost became the winningest coach in Gopher women's hockey history, surpassing Laura Halldorson (278-67-22) for career coaching wins.
Cameranesi Leaving Scoring Mark
Senior forward Dani Cameranesi is Gophers' active career scoring leader with 201 career points (93g-108a) to tie for seventh in Minnesota history. Cameranesi's 93 goals are seventh in Gopher women's hockey history, her 108 assists are tied for seventh, and her 32 power-play goals are tied for third all-time.
Stecklein Named Hockey Humanitarian Award Nominee
Senior defenseman Lee Stecklein is one of 15 nominees for the 2017 Hockey Humanitarian Award. Award is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen - a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.
Johnson Honored by AHCA
The American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) has honored Gophers associate head coach Joel Johnson at the 2017 recipient of the AHCA Women's Hockey Assistant Coach Award. Johnson will be recognized during the 2017 AHCA Convention in Naples, Fla., in April. Johnson has been a member of the University of Minnesota women's hockey coaching staff for 12 years, including two stints from 1999-2004 and again in 2010 to the present. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2014 and has been on staff for six of Minnesota's seven national titles. Under Johnson's direction, five Gopher defensemen have represented their countries in the Olympic Games, and he has coached seven Gopher defensemen to All-American accolades. He is one of the top defensive coaches in the country.
Gophers Add Six for 2017-18
The Gophers and head coach Brad Frost have announced the addition of six incoming players to join the University of Minnesota women's hockey team for the 2017-18 season. Emily Brown (Blaine, Minn.), Alex Gulstene (Vancouver, British Columbia), Olivia Knowles (Campbell River, British Columbia), Amy Potomak (Aldergrove British Columbia), Taylor Wente (Maple Grove, Minn.), and Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.) make up the newest class of Gophers.
Future Gophers Medal at U-18 World Championship
Five future Gophers took home medals at the 2017 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship in Prerov and Zlin, Czech Republic last week. Alex Gulstene (Vancouver, British Columbia), Taylor Wente (Plymouth, Minn.), and Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.) won gold with the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team under the direction of Gophers associate head coach Joel Johnson, and Amy Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.) and Olivia Knowles (Campbell River, B.C.) earned silver with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team.
Five Gophers Representatives Medal at Nations Cup
Gopher alums Mira Jalosuo and Noora Raty won gold with Finland while current Gophers Sarah Potomak and Lindsay Agnew joined Minnesota alumna Sarah Davis in taking home silver with Canada's National Women's Development Team at this year's Nations Cup, which took place in Füssen, Germany and Telfs, Austria.
Six Gophers Medal at Four Nations Cup
All six Golden Gopher representatives took home medals at the 2016 Four Nations Cup. Lee Stecklein, Hannah Brandt, Megan Bozek, and Anne Schleper won gold with the U.S. Women's National Team while Sarah Davis took home silver with Canada's National Women's Team as the rivals met in the gold-medal game. Meanwhile, Noora Raty and Finland won 2-1 over Sweden for bronze in Vierumäki, Finland.
Nine Alumni Continue Careers
Nine Gopher alumni are continuing their hockey careers by playing professional hockey in the NWHL and CWHL this season: Gigi Marvin (Boston Pride, NWHL), Megan Bozek (Buffalo Beauts, NWHL), Anne Schleper (Buffalo Beauts, NWHL), Jordyn Burns (Buffalo Beauts, NWHL), Amanda Leveille (Buffalo Beauts, NWHL), Amanda Kessel (New York Riveters, NWHL), Milica McMillen (New York Riveters, NWHL), Sarah Davis (Calgary Inferno, CWHL), and Kelly Terry (Toronto Furies, CWHL).
Alumnae Selected For All-Star Games
Minnesota alums Megan Bozek, Amanda Kessel, and Gigi Marvin have been chosen to compete in the NWHL All-Star Game, and Kelly Terry has been selected for the CWHL All-Star Game. Both leagues are holding their All-Star weekends Feb. 11-12.
WCHA Tabs Minnesota to Finish Second
The Gophers were chosen to finish second in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's preseason poll of the league's eight head coaches. The Gophers collected two first-place votes and 44 points in the annual preseason poll. Wisconsin led the way with four first-place votes and 48 points, and North Dakota (36 points) and Minnesota Duluth (30 points) rounded out the top four teams in third and fourth place, respectively.
Gopher Fans are Nation's Best
The Gophers have been the nation's attendance leader for four-straight years, most recently averaging 1,671 fans per game last year. At home at Ridder Arena, the Gophers also led the NCAA with 2,125 fans per game in 2015-16. Minnesota looks to lead the nation in attendance for the fifth-straight year on its quest for the program's eighth national championship.
Up Next: Gophers to Host Fighting Hawks
Minnesota returns home for the final two weeks of the regular season, beginning with a series hosting North Dakota next weekend. The Gophers and Fighting Hawks face off at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Feb. 10 and 4 p.m. CT Saturday, Feb. 11.
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