University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Face Lakers
11/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
| No. 6 Minnesota (7-4-1) at Mercyhurst (2-6-2) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, Nov. 10 | 2 p.m. CT |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Nov. 11 | 1 p.m. CT |
| Location | Mercyhurst Ice Center | Erie, Pa. |
| Game 1 | Game Day Live | Mercyhurst Video | Free Audio | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | Game Day Live | Mercyhurst Video | Free Audio | Live Stats |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Mercyhurst |
| Social Media | @GopherWHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
Nov. 6, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 6 Golden Gopher women's hockey team travels to Erie, Pa., for a non-conference series at Mercyhurst this week. The Gophers and Lakers face off at 2 p.m. CT Friday and 1 p.m. CT Saturday at Mercyhurst Ice Center.
About the Series: Minnesota vs. Mercyhurst
Minnesota is 6-1-0 all-time against Mercyhurst in a series dating back to January 2001. Minnesota won the first six meetings between the two teams but most recently fell 5-4 in the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal round in Boston, Mass.
Scouting the Lakers
Mercyhurst (2-6-2, 2-1-1 CHA) enters this week's series after posting a 3-1 win and 1-1 overtime tie on the road at Penn State last weekend. The Lakers return home this week after three weeks on the road, during which the team split a series at Lindenwood and dropped two games at Colgate before last week's series with the Nittany Lions.
Junior forward Vilma Tanskanen (5g-1a) and freshman forward Alexa Vasko (6a) lead the Lakers with six points followed by freshman forward Summer-Rae Dobson (3g-2a) and senior forward Brooke Hartwick (2g-3a). Tanskanen is one of three players to transfer to Mercyhurst from North Dakota, joining sophomore forward Emma Nuutinen and freshman goaltender Kennedy Blair.
Defensively, junior goaltender Sarah McDonnell has appeared in seven games (1-3-2) with a .903 save percentage and a 2.36 goals against average while Blair has four appearance (1-3-0) with a .880 save percentage and a 3.28 goals against average.
Last Time Out: Gophers Improve to 6-0-0 in Road Games
Minnesota (7-4-1, 6-3-1-0 WCHA) remained perfect on the road with a WCHA sweep at Minnesota State last week. The Gophers won 6-1 and 5-2, combining for their highest offensive output of the season, and 15 skaters had at least one point in the series. Grace Zumwinkle (1g-4a), Cara Piazza (2g-2a), Sophie Skarzynski (1g-2a), Kippin Keller (1g-2a), and Taylor Wente (1g-2a) led the way against the Mavericks, and Sidney Peters and Alex Gulstene each earned one win in net.
Offensive Defensemen
Sydney Baldwin (2g-11a) and Patti Marshall (1g-10a) lead the WCHA in scoring among defensemen as Baldwin averages 1.08 points per game and Marshall averages 0.92 points per game. Both are among the nation's top-10 defensive scorers as well.
Immediate Impact
All five of Minnesota's freshmen have seen significant ice time already this season with all four skaters picking up their first collegiate points and goaltender Alex Gulstene playing in five games (3-1-1). Grace Zumwinkle (6g-6a), Olivia Knowles (2g-6a), Taylor Wente (4g-2a), and Emily Brown (4a) have all registered at least four points on the year.
Special Teams Play
Grace Zumwinkle is tied for the NCAA lead with five power-play goals this season. Minnesota leads the WCHA and ranks eighth in the NCAA on the power play, converting on 25.0 percent of attempts at 9-for-36. The Gophers rank third in the league and 15th in the nation at 85.3 percent (29-for-34) on the penalty kill.
Clutch Scoring
Senior Cara Piazza is tied for the NCAA lead with three game-winning goals this season, most recently netting the game-winner in game one against Minnesota State last week.
Scoring Milestone
Sydney Baldwin recorded her 50th career point with an assist against Merrimack (Sept. 29). She leads the team with 13 points (2g-11a) on the season, and her career total stands at 62 career points with 14 goals and 48 assists.
Twenty Years of Gopher Women's Hockey
The Gophers enter this weekend's series with Mercyhurst with an all-time program record of 604-124-50. 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.
Up Next: Gophers to Host Huskies
Minnesota returns home to host St. Cloud State next week. The Gophers and Huskies face off at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17 and 4 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 18. The series is High School Weekend; high school teams receive FREE admission by submitting their roster to gsm@umn.edu at least seven days in advance.
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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