University of Minnesota Athletics
First Road Series Sends Gophers to Bemidji State
10/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| No. 9 Minnesota (1-2-1) at Bemidji State (1-2-1) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, Oct. 13 | 3 p.m. |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Oct. 14 | 3 p.m. |
| Location | Sanford Center | Bemidji, Minn. |
| Game 1 | Game Day Live | BSU Video | Free Audio | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | Game Day Live | BSU Video | Free Audio | Live Stats |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Bemidji State |
| Social Media | @GopherWHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
Oct. 9, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 9 Golden Gopher women's hockey team travels to Bemidji State for its first road series of the season this weekend. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. CT both Friday and Saturday at the Sanford Center.
An online video stream is available at BSUBeavers.com; free audio and live stats are available at GopherSports.com.
About the Series: No. 9 Minnesota vs. Bemidji State
The Gophers are 69-8-7 all-time against Bemidji State, most recently going 5-2-0 against the Beavers last season. Minnesota and BSU met in the 2017 WCHA First Round with the Gophers winning the series two games to one in the best-of-three round. The teams split a series on the road in Bemidji, Minn., last October before Minnesota swept BSU at home in November 2016.
Scouting the Beavers
Bemidji State (1-2-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) enters this weekend's series after suffering a road sweep at No. 2 Clarkson. The Beavers fell 2-0 in game one and dropped a 5-4 decision in game two. This week's series marks BSU's WCHA opening series after the team opened 2017-18 by hosting Syracuse and tying 0-0 in overtime before winning 5-0.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Jim Scanlan, Bemidji State was picked to finish fifth in the WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Beavers return 16 players from last season's 12-20-3 team along with adding nine newcomers. Thirteen different players have recorded at least one point for BSU in two series so far this season led by sophomore Haley Mack (2g-a), senior captain Emma Terres (1g-2a), sophomore Kiki Radke (1g-2a), and freshman Clair DeGeorge (1g-2a). Fellow seniors forward Summer Thibodeau and goaltender Erin Deters join Terres in serving as captains.
Gophers Open League Play with Ohio State
Minnesota lost 3-2 and tied 5-5 in overtime against Ohio State last weekend. The Gophers were led by Caitlin Reilly (2g-1a), Alex Woken (1g-2a), and Sydney Baldwin (3a) in the series, and Alex Gulstene played both games in net, combining for 60 saves on 68 shots faced.
Immediate Impact
All five of Minnesota's freshmen have seen significant ice time in the first two series of the season 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 (2g-2a), Grace Zumwinkle (3g-1a), Taylor Wente (1g), and Emily Brown (1a) have all registered at least one point on the year.
Special Teams Success
The Gophers have surrendered just one power play goal this season after going 11-for-11 on the penalty kill to start the season. Minnesota leads the WCHA and ranks sixth in the country with a .917 percentage (11-for-12) on the PK. On the power play, Grace Zumwinkle leads the nation with three power-play goals, and the Gophers are tied with Minnesota Duluth for the WCHA lead on the power play, converting on 28.6 percent of attempts at 4-for-14.
Home, Sweet Home
Despite going 1-2-1 at home to start the 2017-18 season, the Gophers have compiled a record of 111-8-11 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 54 career points with 12 goals and 42 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 Bemidji State with an all-time program record of 598-122-50.
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 preseason 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 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 Reilly 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 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. 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 Gophers 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 returns 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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