University of Minnesota Athletics
Trip to Minnesota State Awaits Gophers
10/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| No. 6 Minnesota (5-4-1) at Minnesota State (2-5-1) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, Nov. 3 | 7 p.m. |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Nov. 4 | 3 p.m. |
| Location | Verizon 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 |
Oct. 30, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 6 Golden Gopher women's hockey team is on the road three of the next four weeks, beginning with a trip to Mankato, Minn., for a WCHA series with Minnesota State. Puck drop is at 7:07 p.m. CT Friday and 3:07 p.m. CT Saturday at the Verizon Center.
Gophers Battle Badgers in Tight Games
Minnesota (5-4-1, 4-3-1-0 WCHA) gave top-ranked Wisconsin all it could handle last weekend but fell in two one-goal games, dropping a 3-2 decision in game one before falling 2-1 in overtime in game two. Lindsay Agnew, Sophie Skarzynski, and Grace Zumwinkle scored goals for the Gophers against the Badgers, and Sidney Peters played both games in net, combining for 39 saves on 44 shots faced.
Twenty Years of Gopher Women's Hockey
The Gophers enter this weekend's series with Minnesota State with an all-time program record of 602-124-50. The 2017-18 season marks the 21st season in Gopher women's hockey history, and Minnesota secured the program's 599th and 600th all-time wins on the road at Bemidji State earlier this season.
About the Series: Minnesota vs. Minnesota State
The Gophers are 80-3-3 all-time against Minnesota State, dating back to an 8-1 win on Nov. 20, 1998. Minnesota has won 35-straight games against the Mavericks, including five games last year, during which Minnesota outscored MSU, 28-7.
Scouting the Mavericks
Minnesota State (2-5-1, 1-3-0 WCHA) enters this week's series after splitting a series at home with St. Cloud State for the team's first WCHA win of the year. The Mavericks won 3-1 over the Huskies in game two, snapping a five-game losing streak after losing 4-2 in game one. MSU opened the season with a win and a tie on the road at Lindenwood before dropping back-to-back series to Robert Morris and Wisconsin.
Junior forward Jordan McLaughlin leads the Mavericks with seven points (3g-4a), followed by freshman forward Brittyn Fleming's team-high six assists. Senior forward Amanda Conway is tied for the team lead with three goals as well. Defensively, junior goaltender Kathryn Bidulka has appeared in six games (1-4-0) with a .901 save percentage and a 2.83 goals against average while sophomore Chloe Crosby has three appearances (1-1-1) with a .913 save percentage and a 2.49 goals against average.
Offensive Defensemen
Sydney Baldwin (1g-10a) and Patti Marshall (1g-9a) lead the WCHA in scoring among defensemen as Baldwin averages 1.10 points per game and Marshall averages 1.00 points per game.
Immediate Impact
All five of Minnesota's freshmen have already seen significant ice time with all four skaters picking up their first collegiate points and goaltender Alex Gulstene playing in five games (2-1-1). Grace Zumwinkle (5g-2a), Olivia Knowles (2g-5a), Taylor Wente (3g), and Emily Brown (3a) have all registered at least three points on the year.
Special Teams Play
Grace Zumwinkle is tied for the NCAA lead with five power-play goals this season. After going 2-for-4 on the power play against Wisconsin, Minnesota leads the WCHA and ranks eighth in the NCAA on the power play, converting on 25.9 percent of attempts at 7-for-27.
The Gophers were perfect on the penalty kill against the Badgers, holding Wisconsin scoreless on four power plays. Minnesota now ranks third in the WCHA and 19th in the nation at 85.2 percent (23-for-27) on the penalty kill.
Scoring Milestone
Sydney Baldwin recorded her 50th career point with an assist against Merrimack (Sept. 29). She leads the team with 11 points (1g-10a) on the season, and her career total stands at 60 career points with 13 goals and 47 assists.
Up Next: On the Road Again
Minnesota is on the road three of the next four weeks. After traveling to Mankato, Minn., for this weekend's series at Minnesota State, the Gophers travel to Mercyhurst (Nov. 10-11) and then host St. Cloud State (Nov. 17-18) before traveling to Lindenwood (Nov. 25-26).
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 engineering. 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 defense Emily Brown (Blaine, Minn.), goaltender Alex Gulstene (Vancouver, B.C.), defense 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 Reilly lead this year's team.
Pannek and Potomak Centralized with National Teams
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 National 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 Women'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 finished as WCHA regular season runner-up for the second-straight year and tied for third at the WCHA Final Face-Off. 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.
WCHA Final Faceoff, NCAA Frozen Four Return to Ridder Arena
Minnesota will 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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