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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Tie for WCHA Preseason Favorite
9/18/2018 12:05:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Minnesota and Wisconsin both received 33 points to lead the WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 3 University of Minnesota women's hockey team tied for the top spot in the 2018-19 WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced Tuesday. The Gophers and rival Wisconsin Badgers both recorded 33 points in the annual preseason poll of the league's seven head coaches.
Defending WCHA Final Faceoff champion Minnesota and defending WCHA regular season champion Wisconsin collected all seven first-place votes in the poll as the Badgers had four votes and the Gophers received three. Ohio State earned 24 points to edge Minnesota Duluth by one point and secure the third spot in the poll while Bemidji State (16), St. Cloud State (12), and Minnesota State (6) rounded out this year's poll.
Freshman forward Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.) was named the league's preseason rookie of the year, collecting five votes. Fellow Gophers rookie Amy Potomak, a redshirt freshman, also received one vote.
Heise joins the Maroon & Gold after an impressive career at Red Wing High School. A four-time USA Today American Family Insurance All-USA honoree, Heise was named the 2018 USA Today High School Sports All-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year and the 2018 Minnesota Ms. Hockey award recipient as a senior. As a member of U.S. Women's Under-18 Team, Heise was a three-time gold medalist at the 2018, 2017, and 2016 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championships as well.
New this season, the WCHA announced a Preseason All-WCHA Team. Gophers redshirt senior Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) and redshirt junior Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.) both earned a place on the Preseason All-WCHA Team; Pannek also received votes for Preseason WCHA Player of the Year.
Pannek and Potomak both return to the Maroon & Gold this year after red-shirting the 2017-18 season while training with their respective national teams. Pannek returns to Minnesota for her redshirt senior season as an Olympic gold medalist after helping Team USA to gold at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games; she has 155 career points (56g-99a) as a Gopher and is Minnesota's active career scoring leader. Meanwhile, Potomak returns to the lineup for Minnesota after being centralized with Canada's National Women's Team leading up to the Olympic Games. She was released from the team prior to the Olympic Games. Potomak has 107 career points (35g-72a) in her first two seasons with the Gophers.
Season tickets for the 2018-19 Gopher women's hockey season are on sale now with general admission tickets starting at just $79. Minnesota hosts the University of British Columbia in an exhibition game at Ridder Arena this Sunday; admission is free and game time is set for 4:07 p.m. CT. The Gophers then officially open the 2018-19 season by hosting Mercyhurst less than one week later when the defending WCHA Final Faceoff champions begin their quest for a historic eighth national title on Friday, Sept. 28.
2018-19 WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll
T1. Wisconsin (4), 33 points
T1. Minnesota (3), 33
3. Ohio State, 24
4. Minnesota Duluth, 23
5. Bemidji State, 16
6. St. Cloud State, 12
7. Minnesota State, 6
Note: Poll based on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.
2018-19 WCHA Preseason Awards
Preseason WCHA Player of the Year:
Maddie Rooney, RS-Jr., G, Minnesota Duluth (3 votes)
Others receiving votes: Kelly Pannek, RS-Sr., F, Minnesota (2); Emily Clark, RS-Sr., F, Wisconsin (1); Annie Pankowski, RS-Sr., F, Wisconsin (1)
Preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year:
Taylor Heise, Fr., F, Minnesota (5)
Others receiving votes: Amy Potomak, RS-Fr., F, Minnesota (1); Sophie Shirley, Fr., F, Wisconsin (1)
Preseason All-WCHA Team
Forwards: Kelly Pannek, RS-Sr., Minnesota; Emily Clark, RS-Sr., Wisconsin; Annie Pankowski, RS-Sr., Wisconsin and Sarah Potomak, RS-Jr., Minnesota (tie)
Defense: Jincy Dunne, RS-Jr., Ohio State and Mikaela Gardner, Sr., Wisconsin
Goaltender: Maddie Rooney, RS-Jr., Minnesota Duluth
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically by position)
Forwards: Emma Maltais, So., Ohio State; Clair DeGeorge, So., Bemidji State; Abby Roque, Jr., Wisconsin
Defense: Maddie Rolfes, RS-Sr., Wisconsin Mak Langei, So., Bemidji State; Patti Marshall, Jr., Minnesota
Goaltender: Kristen Campbell, RS-Jr., Wisconsin
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Defending WCHA Final Faceoff champion Minnesota and defending WCHA regular season champion Wisconsin collected all seven first-place votes in the poll as the Badgers had four votes and the Gophers received three. Ohio State earned 24 points to edge Minnesota Duluth by one point and secure the third spot in the poll while Bemidji State (16), St. Cloud State (12), and Minnesota State (6) rounded out this year's poll.
Freshman forward Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.) was named the league's preseason rookie of the year, collecting five votes. Fellow Gophers rookie Amy Potomak, a redshirt freshman, also received one vote.
Heise joins the Maroon & Gold after an impressive career at Red Wing High School. A four-time USA Today American Family Insurance All-USA honoree, Heise was named the 2018 USA Today High School Sports All-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year and the 2018 Minnesota Ms. Hockey award recipient as a senior. As a member of U.S. Women's Under-18 Team, Heise was a three-time gold medalist at the 2018, 2017, and 2016 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championships as well.
New this season, the WCHA announced a Preseason All-WCHA Team. Gophers redshirt senior Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) and redshirt junior Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.) both earned a place on the Preseason All-WCHA Team; Pannek also received votes for Preseason WCHA Player of the Year.
Pannek and Potomak both return to the Maroon & Gold this year after red-shirting the 2017-18 season while training with their respective national teams. Pannek returns to Minnesota for her redshirt senior season as an Olympic gold medalist after helping Team USA to gold at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games; she has 155 career points (56g-99a) as a Gopher and is Minnesota's active career scoring leader. Meanwhile, Potomak returns to the lineup for Minnesota after being centralized with Canada's National Women's Team leading up to the Olympic Games. She was released from the team prior to the Olympic Games. Potomak has 107 career points (35g-72a) in her first two seasons with the Gophers.
Season tickets for the 2018-19 Gopher women's hockey season are on sale now with general admission tickets starting at just $79. Minnesota hosts the University of British Columbia in an exhibition game at Ridder Arena this Sunday; admission is free and game time is set for 4:07 p.m. CT. The Gophers then officially open the 2018-19 season by hosting Mercyhurst less than one week later when the defending WCHA Final Faceoff champions begin their quest for a historic eighth national title on Friday, Sept. 28.
2018-19 WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll
T1. Wisconsin (4), 33 points
T1. Minnesota (3), 33
3. Ohio State, 24
4. Minnesota Duluth, 23
5. Bemidji State, 16
6. St. Cloud State, 12
7. Minnesota State, 6
Note: Poll based on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.
2018-19 WCHA Preseason Awards
Preseason WCHA Player of the Year:
Maddie Rooney, RS-Jr., G, Minnesota Duluth (3 votes)
Others receiving votes: Kelly Pannek, RS-Sr., F, Minnesota (2); Emily Clark, RS-Sr., F, Wisconsin (1); Annie Pankowski, RS-Sr., F, Wisconsin (1)
Preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year:
Taylor Heise, Fr., F, Minnesota (5)
Others receiving votes: Amy Potomak, RS-Fr., F, Minnesota (1); Sophie Shirley, Fr., F, Wisconsin (1)
Preseason All-WCHA Team
Forwards: Kelly Pannek, RS-Sr., Minnesota; Emily Clark, RS-Sr., Wisconsin; Annie Pankowski, RS-Sr., Wisconsin and Sarah Potomak, RS-Jr., Minnesota (tie)
Defense: Jincy Dunne, RS-Jr., Ohio State and Mikaela Gardner, Sr., Wisconsin
Goaltender: Maddie Rooney, RS-Jr., Minnesota Duluth
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically by position)
Forwards: Emma Maltais, So., Ohio State; Clair DeGeorge, So., Bemidji State; Abby Roque, Jr., Wisconsin
Defense: Maddie Rolfes, RS-Sr., Wisconsin Mak Langei, So., Bemidji State; Patti Marshall, Jr., Minnesota
Goaltender: Kristen Campbell, RS-Jr., Wisconsin
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