University of Minnesota Athletics
WCHA Slate to Begin with Ohio State
10/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| No. 4 Minnesota (1-1-0) vs. Ohio State (2-0-0) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, Oct. 6 | 7 p.m. |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Oct. 7 | 3 p.m. |
| Location | Ridder Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Tickets | GopherSports.com/Tickets |
| 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 | Ohio State |
| Social Media | @GopherWHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
Oct. 3, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 4 University of Minnesota women's hockey team begins WCHA play by hosting Ohio State this weekend. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT Friday and 3 p.m. CT Saturday at Ridder Arena.
An online video stream is available via BTN Plus ($); free audio and live stats are available at GopherSports.com.
Upcoming Promotions
Celebrate 20 years of Gopher Women's Hockey on Friday when the first 500 fans will receive a commemorative rally towel. Saturday at Ridder Arena is Jersey Day and Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day. Wear a hockey jersey and receive a discounted ticket at the Ridder Arena box office. University of Minnesota faculty and staff are also eligible to receive a discounted ticket by presenting their University of Minnesota ID at the ticket window.
About the Series: Minnesota vs. Ohio State
Minnesota holds a record of 70-8-4 in its all-time series against Ohio State. The teams met four times last season, with the Gophers going 3-0-1. Sarah Potomak (4g-1a) and Patti Marshall (4a) led Minnesota to its three victories against Ohio State.
Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State finished the 2016-17 season with a record of 14-18-5. The Buckeyes saw their season end when OSU fell to North Dakota in the WCHA First Round. Sophomore Maddy Field led the team last season, posting a total of 30 points (14g-16a). Sophomore Kassidy Sauve defended the Buckeyes' net for 36 games, posting a .942 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average.
Ohio State graduated two seniors last season, while adding seven incoming freshmen for the 2017-18 season. The newcomers include Maggie Cory (Lino Lakes, Minn.), Amanda Zeglen (Calgary, Alberta), McKenna Wesloh (Zimmerman, Minn.), Lisa Bruno (Whitby, Ontario), Liz Schepers (Mound, Minn.), Tatum Skaggs (Hartland, Wis.), and Emma Maltais (Burlington, Ontario). Junior forward Charly Dahlquist (North Dakota) and junior forward Grace Zarzecki (Harvard) join the Buckeyes as transfers this season as well.
Under the direction of Nadine Muzerall, who is in her second season as the head coach of Buckeyes, OSU started off the 2017-18 season with a home sweep over RPI, winning 4-1 and 4-0. Freshmen forwards Tatum Skaggs (3g-1a) and Emma Maltais (1g-2a) lead the Buckeyes in scoring this season with Kassidy Sauve playing both games in net with a 0.50 goals against average and a .979 save percentage.
Gophers Split with Merrimack
Minnesota split its season-opening series with Merrimack last weekend. The Gophers fell 4-3 in game one before winning 4-1 in game two. Nicole Schammel (2g-2a), Kippin Keller (1g-2a), Olivia Knowles (1g-2a), and Patti Marshall (3a) led the Gophers in the series. Grace Zumwinkle also record two goals in the series while Sydney Baldwin posted two assists. In total, nine Gophers recorded at least one point in the team's season-opening series.
Immediate Impact
All five of Minnesota's freshmen saw significant ice time last weekend with all four skaters picking up their first collegiate point and goaltender Alex Gulstene securing her first career win in her first career start. Olivia Knowles (1g-2a), Grace Zumwinkle (2g), Taylor Wente (1g), and Emily Brown (1a) all contributed to the Gophers' scoring against Merrimack.
Home, Sweet Home
Including a 1-1-0 mark to start the 2017-18 season, the Gophers have compiled a record of 111-7-10 in home games at Ridder Arena dating back to the 2011-12 season.
Scoring Milestone
Sydney Baldwin recorded her 50th career point with an assist in game one against Merrimack. She currently stands at 50 career points with 12 goals and 38 assists.
Twenty Years of Gopher Women's Hockey
The 2017-18 season marks the 21st season in Gopher women's hockey history. Minnesota enters this weekend's series with Ohio State with an all-time program record of 598-121-49.
Gophers Tabbed as League Favorite
Minnesota has been named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's preseason favorite heading into the 2017-18 season. The Gophers collected four first-place votes and 34 points in the annual preseason poll of the league's seven head coaches.
The Gophers edged back-to-back defending WCHA champion Wisconsin by one point in the league's pre-season poll as the Badgers posted 33 points with three first-place votes. Minnesota Duluth and Ohio State tied for third in the poll with 23 points each while Bemidji State (14 points), St. Cloud State (11 points), and Minnesota State (9 points) rounded out the poll.
Frost Enters Second Decade
Head coach Brad Frost is back for his 11th season at the helm of the program with a career record of 319-53-27 in his first 10 seasons. Last season, the Gophers celebrated Frost's 300th career coaching victory with a road sweep at Ohio State in October 2016.
Duo Serving as Captains
Seniors Sydney Baldwin and Cara Piazza are serving as the Gophers' co-captains this year. The duo was part of back-to-back national championship teams their freshmen and sophomore years at the University of Minnesota, and they have helped the program advance to three-straight NCAA Frozen Fours.
Baldwin, a health services management and human resources development major, the Minnetonka, Minn., native is a two-time WCHA All-Academic Team and Academic All-Big Ten team honoree along with earning WCHA Scholar Athlete accolades this past season. Piazza is a two-time WCHA Scholar Athlete, WCHA All-Academic Team, and Academic All-Big Ten Team honoree who is studying mechanical engineer-ing. The Darien, Ill., product is the first Illinois native to captain the team since Megan Bozek in 2012-13.
Zumwinkle Leads Incoming Class
WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.) leads Minnesota's talented freshmen class, which also includes defenseman Emily Brown (Blaine, Minn.), goaltender Alex Gulstene (Vancouver, B.C.), defenseman Olivia Knowles (Campbell River, B.C.), and forward Taylor Wente (Maple Grove, Minn.). Junior forward Jackie Pieper (Edina, Minn.), who spent three years at Merrimack College, rounds out Minnesota's newcomers.
Who's Back?
Minnesota returns 16 players from last year's team, which advanced to the program's sixth-straight NCAA Frozen Four. Co-captains Sydney Baldwin and Cara Piazza and fellow seniors Sidney Peters and Caitlin Reil-ly lead this year's team.
Pannek and Potomak Centralized with National Teams
In addition to losing six seniors to graduation last spring, the 2017-18 Gophers are without the services of senior Kelly Pannek and junior Sarah Potomak, who are currently centralized with the U.S. Women's Na-tional Team and Canadian National Women's Team, respectively, in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
In total, 11 current and former Gophers are Olympic hopefuls. Seven players with Golden Gopher ties are among the 23 players named to the 2017-18 U.S. Women's National Team in Pannek, Megan Bozek ('13), Hannah Brandt ('16), Dani Cameranesi ('17), Amanda Kessel ('16), Gigi Marvin ('09), Lee Stecklein ('17). 2017-18 signee Amy Potomak joins older sister Sarah in being centralized with Canada's National Wom-en's Team, and Noora Raty ('13) and Mira Jalosuo ('13) are expected to represent Finland in the 2018 Olympic Games as well.
Season Recap: A Look Back at 2016-17
Minnesota's 2016-17 season came to a close in the semifinal round of the 2017 NCAA Women's Frozen Four. The Gophers posted an overall record of 26-8-5 while going 19-4-5 in WCHA play. Minnesota fin-ished as WCHA regular season runner-up for the second-straight year and tied for third at the WCHA Final Face-Off. Under the leadership of senior captains Lee Stecklein, Dani Cameranesi, and Kate Schipper, Minnesota produced two of the nation's top-10 scorers, multiple All-Americans for the sixth-straight year, a program-record 17 WCHA All-Academic Team honorees, and the NCAA's second-ranked power-play.
Gophers in the NCAA Tournament
Minnesota made its 10th-straight and 15th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason last year. The Go-phers saw their streak of NCAA title game appearances come to an end at five but made the program's sixth-straight and 13th overall appearance at the Frozen Four. Since 2011-12, the Gophers are 15-2-0 in NCAA games. Minnesota owns an all-time record of 24-10-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01 as well.
WCHA Final Faceoff, NCAA Frozen Four Return to Ridder Arena
Minnesota will once again serve as host of the WCHA Final Faceoff in 2017-18, marking the 11th time the league's postseason tournament has been held at Ridder Arena. The NCAA Women's Frozen Four also re-turns to Ridder Arena this season, marking the fourth time the national championship will be played on the Gophers' home ice. Ridder Arena hosted the NCAA Women's Frozen Four in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
Quest for Eighth National Title in 2017-18
Despite falling short of a third-straight national title in 2017, Minnesota has still won four of the last six national championships and has seven national titles overall (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016). The program looks for a historic eighth title national crown in 2017-18.
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