University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, March 24
Hamden, CT
1:30 PM
University of Minnesota
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Wisconsin
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Photo by: Susan McPherson
Gophers to Face Badgers for NCAA Title
3/23/2019 4:10:00 PM | Women's Hockey
No. 2 Minnesota faces No. 1 Wisconsin in the 2019 NCAA national championship game at 1:30 p.m. CT Sunday.
HAMDEN, Conn. -- The University of Minnesota women's hockey team continues its quest for its eighth national title by making the program's 10th all-time appearance in the national championship game this weekend as the No. 2 Golden Gophers (32-5-1) face top-ranked Wisconsin (34-4-2) for the 2019 national crown at 1:30 p.m. CT Sunday at the People's United Center in Hamden, Conn.
2019 NCAA Frozen Four Semifinal Rewind
Nicole Schammel scored the game-winning goal on the power play and Alex Gulstene earned a 15-save shutout to lead Minnesota to a 2-0 win over Cornell in the first NCAA Frozen Four semifinal on Friday. Sarah Potomak sealed the win with an empty-net goal as the Gophers used staunch defense and clutch scoring to seal their semifinal win.
The second semifinal saw Wisconsin top defending national champion Clarkson by a score of 5-0. The game remained scoreless after the first period, and the Badgers led 1-0 after two periods before sealing the game with four third-period goals.
2019 NCAA Frozen Four: How They Got Here
No. 2 seed Minnesota used a 5-2 win over Princeton to advance to the Frozen Four while top-seeded Wisconsin, the WCHA Final Faceoff champion, defeated CHA tournament champion Syracuse 4-0 in the quarterfinal round. The other two quarterfinal games required overtime as Cornell upset No. 3 seed and Hockey East tournament champion Northeastern, 3-2 in overtime, and No. 4 seed Clarkson, the ECAC Hockey tournament champion, prevailed over Boston College, 2-1 in overtime.
Gophers in the NCAA Postseason
Minnesota is making its 12th-straight and 17th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason. The 2019 WCHA regular-season champion Gophers have won four of the last seven national championships, and Minnesota has only missed the NCAA tournament twice in its 19-year history. Overall, the Gophers are 26-11-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01, including Friday's semifinal win over Cornell.
Gophers at the Frozen Four
Minnesota returns to the NCAA Frozen Four after a one year hiatus and is making the program's 14th overall Frozen Four appearance. The Gophers are 15-8-1 at the Frozen Four. This season marks Minnesota's 10th ever appearance in the national championship game; the Gophers are 7-2-0 in all-time national title games, including going 6-2-0 in NCAA championship games since the NCAA took over the national tournament in the 2000-01 season.
Gophers Balances Frozen Four Veterans and Newcomers
Fourteen Gophers are making their Frozen Four debuts this season as Minnesota's freshmen and sophomores, along with transfers Sydney Scobee and Jackie Pieper, make their first-ever Frozen Four appearances. Meanwhile, 11 Gophers have competed at two Frozen Fours, and redshirt senior Kelly Pannek leads the way as a three-time NCAA Frozen Four participant and two-time national champion. Seven Gophers have previously played in the national championship game in Kelly Pannek, Tianna Gunderson, Sophie Skarzynski, Taylor Williamson, Sierra Smith, Emma May, and Sarah Potomak.Â
About the Series: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin
Minnesota has a 52-38-11 all-time record against the Badgers in a series dating back to February 1998. The Gophers and Badgers split two series during the 2018-19 regular season with Minnesota winning 1-0 and falling 4-1 on the road in Madison, Wis., in late October before losing 2-1 and winning 3-1 at Ridder Arena in mid-January. Most recently, the Gophers fell 3-1 to the Badgers in the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game. The Gophers and Badgers have met in seven all-time NCAA tournament games with Minnesota holding a slight advantage at 4-3-0. The seven games include two NCAA championship meetings with the Badgers winning 3-0 in 2006 and the Gophers winning 4-2 in 2012.
Scoring Leaders
In 38 games, Nicole Schammel (16g-31a), Grace Zumwinkle (25g-16a), and Taylor Heise (13g-22a) lead the Gophers in scoring. Schammel is tied for the lead among WCHA players with 31 assists while Zumwinkle is second in the league with 25 goals. Heise is fourth in scoring among WCHA rookies with 35 points.Â
Spreading the Wealth
Ten Gopher forwards have scored at least nine goals this season and, in total, 19 different skaters have scored goals. Eight Gophers have at least 25 points, and 15 different players have reached double figures for scoring. Fifteen different players have scored game-winning goals for Minnesota led by Taylor Heise (5) and Nicole Schammel (4).
Nation's Top-Scoring Offense
The Gophers have the NCAA tournament field's top-scoring offense averaging 4.21 goals per game while allowing just 1.76 goals per game. Minnesota's 160 goals for this season is the best in the NCAA. The Gophers had a 14-game winning streak from Nov. 2 to Jan. 12, outscoring opponents, 74-24.
Special, Special Teams
The Gophers rank second in the NCAA with a .257 power-play percentage (26-for-101). Meanwhile, the Gophers are third in the WCHA with a penalty kill percentage of .862 (75-for-87).
2019 Senior Salute
The Gophers celebrated their eight seniors Tianna Gunderson, Emma May, Kelly Pannek, Jackie Pieper, Nicole Schammel, Sophie Skarzynski, Sierra Smith, and Taylor Williamson during the team's series with Minnesota State (Feb. 15-16). Over the last four seasons, Minnesota has posted an overall record of 117-28-10 in 153 games from 2015-16 to 2018-19. The Gophers went 75-19-10 in WCHA regular-season games over the last four years. The Gophers seniors have hung three banners during the last four seasons as Minnesota won the 2016 national championship, took home the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff title, and most recently won the 2019 WCHA regular-season championship.
Coaching Milestone
Minnesota's 1-0 win over Wisconsin (Oct. 27) marked the 350th career win for head coach Brad Frost, whose all-time coaching record now stands at 375-69-31. Frost is in his 12th season at the helm of the program.
Scoring MilestonesÂ
Kelly Pannek is Minnesota's active career scoring leader ranked 10th all-time with 186 points (72g-114a). She chases Gigi Marvin in ninth place (87g-108a). Pannek's 114 career assists are tied for sixth in program history; she recorded her 100th career assist in Minnesota's season-opener. Sarah Potomak is tied for 24th in program history with 133 career points (46g-87a) as well.
First-Career Goals
Six Gopher rookies have scored their first collegiate goals as Amy Potomak (Sept. 28) and Taylor Heise (Sept. 29) scored in Minnesota's season-opening weekend while Catie Skaja found the back of the net against Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 5), and Emily Oden scored her first two career goals against St. Cloud State (Oct. 13). Abigail Boreen netted her first collegiate goal against St. Cloud State (Nov. 17), and Crystalyn Hengler found the back of the net against Ohio State (Jan. 26).
WCHA Regular-Season Champions
This season Minnesota won the program's 10th WCHA regular-season title and the Gophers' first since the 2014-15 season as the Maroon & Gold wrapped up the regular season with a road sweep at Bemidji State to secure six league points. The Gophers finished with 58 points, two points ahead of regular-season runner-up Wisconsin with 56 points. As regular-season champions, Minnesota won the first-ever Julianne Bye Cup, the new WCHA regular-season championship trophy named in honor of long-time women's hockey advocate Julianne Bye.
Gophers Finish as WCHA Final Faceoff Runner-Up
Minnesota fell to Wisconsin by a score of 3-1 in the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game after posting a 4-1 win over Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal round. Nicole Schammel led all players with three points in the WCHA Final Faceoff, scoring two goals including the game-winner against the Bulldogs and recording an assist on Minnesota's lone goal against Wisconsin. Grace Zumwinkle (2g) and Emily Brown (2a) had multiple points for the Gophers in the WCHA tournament as well.
Eight Gophers Named WCHA Scholar-Athletes
Eight representatives from the University of Minnesota women's hockey team are among the 65 WCHA women's and men's student-athletes who were honored as 2018-19 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award recipients. Nicole Schammel and Taylor Williamson led the way as three-time award recipients for the Maroon & Gold while Tianna Gunderson, Patti Marshall, Kelly Pannek, and Alex Woken all earned their second WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award of their careers. Fellow Gophers Emily Brown and Taylor Wente received their first WCHA Scholar-Athlete honors this season.
Gophers Named to World Championship Roster
Kelly Pannek and Gopher alums Lee Stecklein, Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, and Amanda Kessel are among those named to the U.S. Women's National Team Roster for the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, which will be held April 4-14 in Espoo, Finland.
Gophers Medal at Four Nations Cup
Kelly Pannek joined Gopher alums Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Amanda Kessel, and Gigi Marvin in winning gold with the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2018 Four Nations Cup. Fellow Gophers alumna Noora Raty won bronze with Finland in the tournament, while redshirt junior Sarah Potomak was named to Canada's National Women's Team for the tournament but was unable to participate due to injury.
Pannek Serving as Captain
Kelly Pannek is Minnesota's captain this year. Pannek returned to Minnesota for her redshirt senior season as an Olympic gold medalist after helping Team USA to gold at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
Twenty Years of WCHA Women's Hockey
The 2018-19 season marks the league's 20th anniversary season. Throughout the season, the WCHA has celebrated the past, present, and future of college hockey's premier conference. Gopher greats Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Natalie Darwitz, Amanda Kessel, Gigi Marvin, Noora Raty, and Krissy Wendell were among the 20 players named to the WCHA's 20th Anniversary Team.
Gophers Sign Three for 2019-20
Three incoming student-athletes are joining the Gophers for 2019-20 in goaltender Makayla Pahl (Rochester, Minn.), forward Sydney Shearen (Hugo, Minn.), and defense Madeline Wethington (Edina, Minn.). Wethington received the 2019 Minnesota Ms. Hockey award and led Blake to a Section 6AA runner-up showing while Shearen led White Bear Lake to the Section 4AA title and finished with 25 points (14g-11a) in 25 games played. Pahl was a 2019 Let's Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year award finalist and posted a .940 save percentage with a 2.50 goals against average in 21 games for Rochester Mayo this season.
Nationwide Gophers
After Minnesota played in the Windjammer Classic (Nov. 23-24), Vermont became the 14th state where the Gophers have competed in program history: Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Home, Sweet Home
The 2018-19 season marks the 17th season of Ridder Arena serving as the home of Gopher women's hockey. Minnesota has an all-time record of 285-46-21 in home games at Ridder Arena, including a 17-4-0 mark in 2018-19, dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Quest for Eighth National Title in 2018-19
Minnesota has won four of the last seven national championships and has seven national titles overall (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016). The team looks for a historic eighth title national crown in 2018-19.
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2019 NCAA Frozen Four Semifinal Rewind
Nicole Schammel scored the game-winning goal on the power play and Alex Gulstene earned a 15-save shutout to lead Minnesota to a 2-0 win over Cornell in the first NCAA Frozen Four semifinal on Friday. Sarah Potomak sealed the win with an empty-net goal as the Gophers used staunch defense and clutch scoring to seal their semifinal win.
The second semifinal saw Wisconsin top defending national champion Clarkson by a score of 5-0. The game remained scoreless after the first period, and the Badgers led 1-0 after two periods before sealing the game with four third-period goals.
2019 NCAA Frozen Four: How They Got Here
No. 2 seed Minnesota used a 5-2 win over Princeton to advance to the Frozen Four while top-seeded Wisconsin, the WCHA Final Faceoff champion, defeated CHA tournament champion Syracuse 4-0 in the quarterfinal round. The other two quarterfinal games required overtime as Cornell upset No. 3 seed and Hockey East tournament champion Northeastern, 3-2 in overtime, and No. 4 seed Clarkson, the ECAC Hockey tournament champion, prevailed over Boston College, 2-1 in overtime.
Gophers in the NCAA Postseason
Minnesota is making its 12th-straight and 17th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason. The 2019 WCHA regular-season champion Gophers have won four of the last seven national championships, and Minnesota has only missed the NCAA tournament twice in its 19-year history. Overall, the Gophers are 26-11-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01, including Friday's semifinal win over Cornell.
Gophers at the Frozen Four
Minnesota returns to the NCAA Frozen Four after a one year hiatus and is making the program's 14th overall Frozen Four appearance. The Gophers are 15-8-1 at the Frozen Four. This season marks Minnesota's 10th ever appearance in the national championship game; the Gophers are 7-2-0 in all-time national title games, including going 6-2-0 in NCAA championship games since the NCAA took over the national tournament in the 2000-01 season.
Gophers Balances Frozen Four Veterans and Newcomers
Fourteen Gophers are making their Frozen Four debuts this season as Minnesota's freshmen and sophomores, along with transfers Sydney Scobee and Jackie Pieper, make their first-ever Frozen Four appearances. Meanwhile, 11 Gophers have competed at two Frozen Fours, and redshirt senior Kelly Pannek leads the way as a three-time NCAA Frozen Four participant and two-time national champion. Seven Gophers have previously played in the national championship game in Kelly Pannek, Tianna Gunderson, Sophie Skarzynski, Taylor Williamson, Sierra Smith, Emma May, and Sarah Potomak.Â
About the Series: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin
Minnesota has a 52-38-11 all-time record against the Badgers in a series dating back to February 1998. The Gophers and Badgers split two series during the 2018-19 regular season with Minnesota winning 1-0 and falling 4-1 on the road in Madison, Wis., in late October before losing 2-1 and winning 3-1 at Ridder Arena in mid-January. Most recently, the Gophers fell 3-1 to the Badgers in the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game. The Gophers and Badgers have met in seven all-time NCAA tournament games with Minnesota holding a slight advantage at 4-3-0. The seven games include two NCAA championship meetings with the Badgers winning 3-0 in 2006 and the Gophers winning 4-2 in 2012.
Scoring Leaders
In 38 games, Nicole Schammel (16g-31a), Grace Zumwinkle (25g-16a), and Taylor Heise (13g-22a) lead the Gophers in scoring. Schammel is tied for the lead among WCHA players with 31 assists while Zumwinkle is second in the league with 25 goals. Heise is fourth in scoring among WCHA rookies with 35 points.Â
Spreading the Wealth
Ten Gopher forwards have scored at least nine goals this season and, in total, 19 different skaters have scored goals. Eight Gophers have at least 25 points, and 15 different players have reached double figures for scoring. Fifteen different players have scored game-winning goals for Minnesota led by Taylor Heise (5) and Nicole Schammel (4).
Nation's Top-Scoring Offense
The Gophers have the NCAA tournament field's top-scoring offense averaging 4.21 goals per game while allowing just 1.76 goals per game. Minnesota's 160 goals for this season is the best in the NCAA. The Gophers had a 14-game winning streak from Nov. 2 to Jan. 12, outscoring opponents, 74-24.
Special, Special Teams
The Gophers rank second in the NCAA with a .257 power-play percentage (26-for-101). Meanwhile, the Gophers are third in the WCHA with a penalty kill percentage of .862 (75-for-87).
2019 Senior Salute
The Gophers celebrated their eight seniors Tianna Gunderson, Emma May, Kelly Pannek, Jackie Pieper, Nicole Schammel, Sophie Skarzynski, Sierra Smith, and Taylor Williamson during the team's series with Minnesota State (Feb. 15-16). Over the last four seasons, Minnesota has posted an overall record of 117-28-10 in 153 games from 2015-16 to 2018-19. The Gophers went 75-19-10 in WCHA regular-season games over the last four years. The Gophers seniors have hung three banners during the last four seasons as Minnesota won the 2016 national championship, took home the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff title, and most recently won the 2019 WCHA regular-season championship.
Coaching Milestone
Minnesota's 1-0 win over Wisconsin (Oct. 27) marked the 350th career win for head coach Brad Frost, whose all-time coaching record now stands at 375-69-31. Frost is in his 12th season at the helm of the program.
Scoring MilestonesÂ
Kelly Pannek is Minnesota's active career scoring leader ranked 10th all-time with 186 points (72g-114a). She chases Gigi Marvin in ninth place (87g-108a). Pannek's 114 career assists are tied for sixth in program history; she recorded her 100th career assist in Minnesota's season-opener. Sarah Potomak is tied for 24th in program history with 133 career points (46g-87a) as well.
First-Career Goals
Six Gopher rookies have scored their first collegiate goals as Amy Potomak (Sept. 28) and Taylor Heise (Sept. 29) scored in Minnesota's season-opening weekend while Catie Skaja found the back of the net against Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 5), and Emily Oden scored her first two career goals against St. Cloud State (Oct. 13). Abigail Boreen netted her first collegiate goal against St. Cloud State (Nov. 17), and Crystalyn Hengler found the back of the net against Ohio State (Jan. 26).
WCHA Regular-Season Champions
This season Minnesota won the program's 10th WCHA regular-season title and the Gophers' first since the 2014-15 season as the Maroon & Gold wrapped up the regular season with a road sweep at Bemidji State to secure six league points. The Gophers finished with 58 points, two points ahead of regular-season runner-up Wisconsin with 56 points. As regular-season champions, Minnesota won the first-ever Julianne Bye Cup, the new WCHA regular-season championship trophy named in honor of long-time women's hockey advocate Julianne Bye.
Gophers Finish as WCHA Final Faceoff Runner-Up
Minnesota fell to Wisconsin by a score of 3-1 in the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game after posting a 4-1 win over Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal round. Nicole Schammel led all players with three points in the WCHA Final Faceoff, scoring two goals including the game-winner against the Bulldogs and recording an assist on Minnesota's lone goal against Wisconsin. Grace Zumwinkle (2g) and Emily Brown (2a) had multiple points for the Gophers in the WCHA tournament as well.
Eight Gophers Named WCHA Scholar-Athletes
Eight representatives from the University of Minnesota women's hockey team are among the 65 WCHA women's and men's student-athletes who were honored as 2018-19 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award recipients. Nicole Schammel and Taylor Williamson led the way as three-time award recipients for the Maroon & Gold while Tianna Gunderson, Patti Marshall, Kelly Pannek, and Alex Woken all earned their second WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award of their careers. Fellow Gophers Emily Brown and Taylor Wente received their first WCHA Scholar-Athlete honors this season.
Gophers Named to World Championship Roster
Kelly Pannek and Gopher alums Lee Stecklein, Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, and Amanda Kessel are among those named to the U.S. Women's National Team Roster for the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, which will be held April 4-14 in Espoo, Finland.
Gophers Medal at Four Nations Cup
Kelly Pannek joined Gopher alums Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Amanda Kessel, and Gigi Marvin in winning gold with the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2018 Four Nations Cup. Fellow Gophers alumna Noora Raty won bronze with Finland in the tournament, while redshirt junior Sarah Potomak was named to Canada's National Women's Team for the tournament but was unable to participate due to injury.
Pannek Serving as Captain
Kelly Pannek is Minnesota's captain this year. Pannek returned to Minnesota for her redshirt senior season as an Olympic gold medalist after helping Team USA to gold at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
Twenty Years of WCHA Women's Hockey
The 2018-19 season marks the league's 20th anniversary season. Throughout the season, the WCHA has celebrated the past, present, and future of college hockey's premier conference. Gopher greats Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Natalie Darwitz, Amanda Kessel, Gigi Marvin, Noora Raty, and Krissy Wendell were among the 20 players named to the WCHA's 20th Anniversary Team.
Gophers Sign Three for 2019-20
Three incoming student-athletes are joining the Gophers for 2019-20 in goaltender Makayla Pahl (Rochester, Minn.), forward Sydney Shearen (Hugo, Minn.), and defense Madeline Wethington (Edina, Minn.). Wethington received the 2019 Minnesota Ms. Hockey award and led Blake to a Section 6AA runner-up showing while Shearen led White Bear Lake to the Section 4AA title and finished with 25 points (14g-11a) in 25 games played. Pahl was a 2019 Let's Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year award finalist and posted a .940 save percentage with a 2.50 goals against average in 21 games for Rochester Mayo this season.
Nationwide Gophers
After Minnesota played in the Windjammer Classic (Nov. 23-24), Vermont became the 14th state where the Gophers have competed in program history: Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Home, Sweet Home
The 2018-19 season marks the 17th season of Ridder Arena serving as the home of Gopher women's hockey. Minnesota has an all-time record of 285-46-21 in home games at Ridder Arena, including a 17-4-0 mark in 2018-19, dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Quest for Eighth National Title in 2018-19
Minnesota has won four of the last seven national championships and has seven national titles overall (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016). The team looks for a historic eighth title national crown in 2018-19.
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