University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, November 15
6:07 PM
University of Minnesota
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Bemidji State
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Photo by: Kristin Ostrowski
Top-Ranked Gophers to Host Beavers
11/11/2019 1:00:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Minnesota welcomes Bemidji State to Ridder Arena this Friday and Saturday.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The top-ranked Golden Gophers return to action at home by hosting Bemidji State this week. Puck drop is set for 6:07 p.m. CT Friday and 4:07 p.m. CT Saturday at Ridder Arena.
Last Time Out: Gophers Top Hamline in Exhibition Action
Minnesota (10-1-1, 6-1-1-1 WCHA) played Hamline in a mid-week exhibition game last week, topping the 2018-19 NCAA Division III runner-up by a score of 9-0. Taylor Heise (3g-1a) led the Gophers with a hat trick and Grace Zumwinkle (2g) was one of seven players to tally two points on the evening. Makayla Pahl played her first complete game for the Maroon & Gold in net, finishing with 13 saves. Hamline is coached by Gophers alumna Natalie Darwitz, who is in her fifth season at the helm of the squad.
Notable Notes
Minnesota is 76-9-7 all-time against Bemidji State in a series that dates back to November 1998. The Gophers have won the last four games against the Beavers, going 4-0-0 in two regular-season series a year ago.
About the Beavers
Bemidji State (3-6-1, 2-4-0 WCHA) enters this weekend's series looking to snap a four-game losing streak as the team was swept on the road at Wisconsin (Nov. 26-27) and dropped a series at home to Ohio State (Nov. 1-2) in its last two series. The Beavers are led by senior Haley Mack's eight points (7g-1a); junior Lauren Bench has played the majority of minutes in net for the Beavers with a .903 save percentage and a 2.89 goals against average. BSU went 13-21-2 overall last season, and head coach Jim Scanlan enters his sixth season with the Beavers.
Scoring Milestones
Sarah Potomak is Minnesota's active career scoring leader, ranked 19th in Gophers' history with 147 career points (53g-94a). She is chasing Bobbi Ross (75g-77a), who ranks 18th in program history with 152 points. The next point for Grace Zumwinkle (53g-46a) will be her 100th career point as a Gopher; she is on the verge of becoming the 35th Gopher in program history to reach the century mark. Emily Brown (12g-36a) is also closing in on 50 career points, entering this week's series with 48 career points. Alex Woken (29g-29a) and Taylor Heise (21g-33a) have both surpassed the 50-career points mark this season as well.
Offensive Defense
Minnesota's blue line leads the nation in scoring among defense with 11 goals on the season, including an NCAA-high four game-winning goals. Five of Minnesota's six defense have already scored their first goals of the season, and all six have multiple points on the year: Emily Brown (4g-5a), Olivia Knowles (3g-4a), Madeline Wethington (2g-3a), Crystalyn Hengler (1g-3a), Gracie Ostertag (1g-4a), and Patti Marshall (4a).
Gopher Nation
Minnesota has played games in 14 states, and Tennessee is set to become the 15th state this season when the Gophers travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Country Classic (Nov. 29-30). The Gophers have competed in Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Up Next: Minnesota Duluth
The Gophers close out the first half of the regular season with five games away from Ridder Arena, beginning with next weekend's WCHA series at Minnesota Duluth. The Gophers and Bulldogs face off at 3:07 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn.
Who's New?
Four newcomers joined the Gophers for the 2019-20 season in defense Madeline Wethington (Edina, Minn./Blake School), forward Sydney Shearen (Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake High School), goaltender Makayla Pahl (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Mayo High School), and goaltender Olivia King (Garrison, Minn./Brainerd High School).
Who's Back?
Head coach Brad Frost is back for his 13th season at the helm of the program with a .820 winning percentage in his first 12 seasons. The Gophers return 18 players from last year's NCAA runner-up squad, including two of the WCHA's top-five defensive scorers from a year ago in Emily Brown, who ranked second among WCHA defense with 27 points (4g-23a) last season, and Patti Marshall, who ranked fifth in the conference among blue-liners with 21 points (2g-19a).
The Gophers also return over 70% of their scoring from a year ago, including seven of Minnesota's top-10 scorers from 2018-19. Junior Grace Zumwinkle (25g-16a), sophomore Taylor Heise (13g-22a), and redshirt sophomore Amy Potomak (11g-20a) each surpassed the 30-point mark a year ago. Redshirt senior Sarah Potomak is Minnesota's active career scoring leader as well.
Twenty Years Ago
This season marks the 20-year anniversary of Minnesota's 1999-2000 AWCHA national championship season. Under the direction of head coach Laura Halldorsen, the 1999-2000 Gophers became the first women's team to win a national title in Minnesota history. After defeating rival Minnesota Duluth by a score of 3-2 in the national semifinal, the Gophers went on to defeat Brown, 4-2, to claim the national title.
2018-19 Season in Review
Minnesota wrapped up the 22nd season of Gopher women's hockey as NCAA and WCHA Final Faceoff runners-up in 2018-19. The Maroon & Gold took home the program's 10th WCHA regular-season title and said goodbye to eight graduating seniors in head coach Brad Frost's 12th season at the helm of the program. The Gophers posted an overall record of 32-6-1 as they fell one game short of a national title.
Quest for Eighth National Title Continues
Minnesota has won seven national championships (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016) and looks for a historic eighth title national crown in 2019-20.
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Last Time Out: Gophers Top Hamline in Exhibition Action
Minnesota (10-1-1, 6-1-1-1 WCHA) played Hamline in a mid-week exhibition game last week, topping the 2018-19 NCAA Division III runner-up by a score of 9-0. Taylor Heise (3g-1a) led the Gophers with a hat trick and Grace Zumwinkle (2g) was one of seven players to tally two points on the evening. Makayla Pahl played her first complete game for the Maroon & Gold in net, finishing with 13 saves. Hamline is coached by Gophers alumna Natalie Darwitz, who is in her fifth season at the helm of the squad.
Notable Notes
- Minnesota ranks second in the WCHA and third in the nation with an average of 4.42 goals per game.
- Five Gophers are in double figures for scoring led by Grace Zumwinkle (11g-9a) and Taylor Heise (8g-11a).
- The Gophers are led by Grace Zumwinkle's 1.67 points per game.
Minnesota is 76-9-7 all-time against Bemidji State in a series that dates back to November 1998. The Gophers have won the last four games against the Beavers, going 4-0-0 in two regular-season series a year ago.
About the Beavers
Bemidji State (3-6-1, 2-4-0 WCHA) enters this weekend's series looking to snap a four-game losing streak as the team was swept on the road at Wisconsin (Nov. 26-27) and dropped a series at home to Ohio State (Nov. 1-2) in its last two series. The Beavers are led by senior Haley Mack's eight points (7g-1a); junior Lauren Bench has played the majority of minutes in net for the Beavers with a .903 save percentage and a 2.89 goals against average. BSU went 13-21-2 overall last season, and head coach Jim Scanlan enters his sixth season with the Beavers.
Scoring Milestones
Sarah Potomak is Minnesota's active career scoring leader, ranked 19th in Gophers' history with 147 career points (53g-94a). She is chasing Bobbi Ross (75g-77a), who ranks 18th in program history with 152 points. The next point for Grace Zumwinkle (53g-46a) will be her 100th career point as a Gopher; she is on the verge of becoming the 35th Gopher in program history to reach the century mark. Emily Brown (12g-36a) is also closing in on 50 career points, entering this week's series with 48 career points. Alex Woken (29g-29a) and Taylor Heise (21g-33a) have both surpassed the 50-career points mark this season as well.
Offensive Defense
Minnesota's blue line leads the nation in scoring among defense with 11 goals on the season, including an NCAA-high four game-winning goals. Five of Minnesota's six defense have already scored their first goals of the season, and all six have multiple points on the year: Emily Brown (4g-5a), Olivia Knowles (3g-4a), Madeline Wethington (2g-3a), Crystalyn Hengler (1g-3a), Gracie Ostertag (1g-4a), and Patti Marshall (4a).
Gopher Nation
Minnesota has played games in 14 states, and Tennessee is set to become the 15th state this season when the Gophers travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Country Classic (Nov. 29-30). The Gophers have competed in Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Up Next: Minnesota Duluth
The Gophers close out the first half of the regular season with five games away from Ridder Arena, beginning with next weekend's WCHA series at Minnesota Duluth. The Gophers and Bulldogs face off at 3:07 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn.
Who's New?
Four newcomers joined the Gophers for the 2019-20 season in defense Madeline Wethington (Edina, Minn./Blake School), forward Sydney Shearen (Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake High School), goaltender Makayla Pahl (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Mayo High School), and goaltender Olivia King (Garrison, Minn./Brainerd High School).
Who's Back?
Head coach Brad Frost is back for his 13th season at the helm of the program with a .820 winning percentage in his first 12 seasons. The Gophers return 18 players from last year's NCAA runner-up squad, including two of the WCHA's top-five defensive scorers from a year ago in Emily Brown, who ranked second among WCHA defense with 27 points (4g-23a) last season, and Patti Marshall, who ranked fifth in the conference among blue-liners with 21 points (2g-19a).
The Gophers also return over 70% of their scoring from a year ago, including seven of Minnesota's top-10 scorers from 2018-19. Junior Grace Zumwinkle (25g-16a), sophomore Taylor Heise (13g-22a), and redshirt sophomore Amy Potomak (11g-20a) each surpassed the 30-point mark a year ago. Redshirt senior Sarah Potomak is Minnesota's active career scoring leader as well.
Twenty Years Ago
This season marks the 20-year anniversary of Minnesota's 1999-2000 AWCHA national championship season. Under the direction of head coach Laura Halldorsen, the 1999-2000 Gophers became the first women's team to win a national title in Minnesota history. After defeating rival Minnesota Duluth by a score of 3-2 in the national semifinal, the Gophers went on to defeat Brown, 4-2, to claim the national title.
2018-19 Season in Review
Minnesota wrapped up the 22nd season of Gopher women's hockey as NCAA and WCHA Final Faceoff runners-up in 2018-19. The Maroon & Gold took home the program's 10th WCHA regular-season title and said goodbye to eight graduating seniors in head coach Brad Frost's 12th season at the helm of the program. The Gophers posted an overall record of 32-6-1 as they fell one game short of a national title.
Quest for Eighth National Title Continues
Minnesota has won seven national championships (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016) and looks for a historic eighth title national crown in 2019-20.
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