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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Season in Review: Look Back at 2018-19
4/4/2019 3:05:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Minnesota wrapped up the 22nd season of Gopher women’s hockey in 2018-19.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota women's hockey team wrapped up the 22nd season of Gopher women's hockey as NCAA and WCHA Final Faceoff runners-up. 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 Golden Gophers posted an overall record of 32-6-1 as they fell one game short of the program's eighth national championship.
Notable Notes
Minnesota played in its 10th all-time national championship game but fell short of the program's eighth national title with a 2-0 loss to border rival Wisconsin in front of 3,423 fans in the 2019 NCAA Frozen Four final. The WCHA regular season champion Gophers surrendered one goal in each of the first two periods and could not solve Wisconsin netminder Kristin Campbell, who finished with 27 saves. Alex Gulstene made 30 saves, including multiple stops one-on-one against the Badgers, to lead the Maroon & Gold.
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 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal round. Sarah Potomak sealed the win with an empty-net goal as the Gophers used staunch defense, including 30 blocked shots, and clutch scoring to seal their semifinal win.
2019 NCAA Quarterfinal Rewind
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.
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.
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.
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 posted an overall record of 117-29-10 in 154 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 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.
Gophers in the NCAA Postseason
Minnesota made its 12th-straight and 17th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason in 2018-19. The 2019 WCHA regular-season champion Gophers have won four of the last eight national championships, and Minnesota has only missed the NCAA tournament twice in its 19-year history. Overall, the Gophers are 26-12-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01, including going 2-1-0 this season.
Gophers at the Frozen Four
Minnesota returned to the NCAA Frozen Four after a one year hiatus and made the program's 14th overall Frozen Four appearance this season. The Gophers own a 15-9-1 mark at the Frozen Four. This season marked Minnesota's 10th ever appearance in the national championship game; the Gophers are 7-3-0 in all-time national title games, including going 6-3-0 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 made their Frozen Four debuts this season as Minnesota's freshmen and sophomores, along with transfers Sydney Scobee and Jackie Pieper, played in their first-ever Frozen Four games. Meanwhile, 11 Gophers competed in their third Frozen Fours. Redshirt senior Kelly Pannek led the way as a four-time NCAA Frozen Four participant and two-time national champion.
Scoring Leaders
In 39 games, Nicole Schammel (16g-31a), Grace Zumwinkle (25g-16a), and Taylor Heise (13g-22a) led the Gophers in scoring this season. Schammel's 47 points and 31 assists both ranked second among all WCHA players while Zumwinkle ranked second in the league with 25 goals for the season. Heise ranked third in scoring among WCHA rookies with 35 points.
Spreading the Wealth
Ten Gopher forwards scored at least nine goals this season and, in total, 19 different skaters scored goals. Eight Gophers recorded at least 25 points, and 15 different players reached double figures for scoring. Fifteen different players scored game-winning goals for Minnesota led by Taylor Heise (5) and Nicole Schammel (4).
Nation's Top-Scoring Offense
The Gophers led the nation with 160 goals this season; Minnesota ranked second in the country averaging 4.10 goals per game while allowing just 1.77 goals per game. The Gophers had a 14-game winning streak from Nov. 2 to Jan. 12 during which the Maroon & Gold outscored opponents, 74-24.
Special, Special Teams
The Gophers ended the season with the WCHA's best and the NCAA's second best power play at 25.2 percent (26-for-103). Meanwhile, the Gophers were third in the WCHA and 11th in the nation at 86.4 percent (76-for-88) on the penalty kill.
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 stands at 375-70-31 at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season as Frost wrapped up his 12th season at the helm of the program.
Scoring Milestones
Kelly Pannek finished her career ranked 10th among all-time Gophers with 186 points (72g-114a). Her 114 career assists tied for sixth in program history; she recorded her 100th career assist in Minnesota's 2018-19 season-opener. Sarah Potomak is now Minnesota's active career scoring leader, tied for 24th in program history with 133 career points (46g-87a). In addition, five Gophers reached 50 career points during the 2018-19 season in Grace Zumwinkle (Nov. 3), Sophie Skarzynski (Jan. 12), Taylor Wente (Feb. 22), Patti Marshall (Feb. 23), and Taylor Williamson (March 16).
First-Career Goals
Six of Minnesota's seven freshmen 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).
Eight Gophers Named WCHA Scholar-Athletes
Eight representatives from the University of Minnesota women's hockey team were 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 were named to the U.S. Women's National Team Roster for the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, set for 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 served as Minnesota's captain this season, returning 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 marked the league's 20th anniversary season. Throughout the season, the WCHA 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 signed with 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 marked 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 Continues in 2019-20
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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Notable Notes
- Minnesota was 21-0-0 when leading at the first intermission this season, and the Gophers improved to 26-0-0 when leading at the second intermission.
- When allowing only one goal this season, Minnesota was perfect at 11-0-0.
- Grace Zumwinkle tied for second in the nation with seven power-play goals this season.
- Emily Brown led the WCHA with 15 points (2g-13a) on the power play.
- Patti Marshall led the WCHA with a +44 plus/minus rating for the season.
- Nicole Schammel had at least one point in 30 of 39 games this season.
- Minnesota was a combined 10-0-0 against ECAC Hockey, CHA, and Hockey East teams; all six of the Gophers' losses were to WCHA opponents.
Minnesota played in its 10th all-time national championship game but fell short of the program's eighth national title with a 2-0 loss to border rival Wisconsin in front of 3,423 fans in the 2019 NCAA Frozen Four final. The WCHA regular season champion Gophers surrendered one goal in each of the first two periods and could not solve Wisconsin netminder Kristin Campbell, who finished with 27 saves. Alex Gulstene made 30 saves, including multiple stops one-on-one against the Badgers, to lead the Maroon & Gold.
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 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal round. Sarah Potomak sealed the win with an empty-net goal as the Gophers used staunch defense, including 30 blocked shots, and clutch scoring to seal their semifinal win.
2019 NCAA Quarterfinal Rewind
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.
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.
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.
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 posted an overall record of 117-29-10 in 154 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 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.
Gophers in the NCAA Postseason
Minnesota made its 12th-straight and 17th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason in 2018-19. The 2019 WCHA regular-season champion Gophers have won four of the last eight national championships, and Minnesota has only missed the NCAA tournament twice in its 19-year history. Overall, the Gophers are 26-12-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01, including going 2-1-0 this season.
Gophers at the Frozen Four
Minnesota returned to the NCAA Frozen Four after a one year hiatus and made the program's 14th overall Frozen Four appearance this season. The Gophers own a 15-9-1 mark at the Frozen Four. This season marked Minnesota's 10th ever appearance in the national championship game; the Gophers are 7-3-0 in all-time national title games, including going 6-3-0 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 made their Frozen Four debuts this season as Minnesota's freshmen and sophomores, along with transfers Sydney Scobee and Jackie Pieper, played in their first-ever Frozen Four games. Meanwhile, 11 Gophers competed in their third Frozen Fours. Redshirt senior Kelly Pannek led the way as a four-time NCAA Frozen Four participant and two-time national champion.
Scoring Leaders
In 39 games, Nicole Schammel (16g-31a), Grace Zumwinkle (25g-16a), and Taylor Heise (13g-22a) led the Gophers in scoring this season. Schammel's 47 points and 31 assists both ranked second among all WCHA players while Zumwinkle ranked second in the league with 25 goals for the season. Heise ranked third in scoring among WCHA rookies with 35 points.
Spreading the Wealth
Ten Gopher forwards scored at least nine goals this season and, in total, 19 different skaters scored goals. Eight Gophers recorded at least 25 points, and 15 different players reached double figures for scoring. Fifteen different players scored game-winning goals for Minnesota led by Taylor Heise (5) and Nicole Schammel (4).
Nation's Top-Scoring Offense
The Gophers led the nation with 160 goals this season; Minnesota ranked second in the country averaging 4.10 goals per game while allowing just 1.77 goals per game. The Gophers had a 14-game winning streak from Nov. 2 to Jan. 12 during which the Maroon & Gold outscored opponents, 74-24.
Special, Special Teams
The Gophers ended the season with the WCHA's best and the NCAA's second best power play at 25.2 percent (26-for-103). Meanwhile, the Gophers were third in the WCHA and 11th in the nation at 86.4 percent (76-for-88) on the penalty kill.
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 stands at 375-70-31 at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season as Frost wrapped up his 12th season at the helm of the program.
Scoring Milestones
Kelly Pannek finished her career ranked 10th among all-time Gophers with 186 points (72g-114a). Her 114 career assists tied for sixth in program history; she recorded her 100th career assist in Minnesota's 2018-19 season-opener. Sarah Potomak is now Minnesota's active career scoring leader, tied for 24th in program history with 133 career points (46g-87a). In addition, five Gophers reached 50 career points during the 2018-19 season in Grace Zumwinkle (Nov. 3), Sophie Skarzynski (Jan. 12), Taylor Wente (Feb. 22), Patti Marshall (Feb. 23), and Taylor Williamson (March 16).
First-Career Goals
Six of Minnesota's seven freshmen 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).
Eight Gophers Named WCHA Scholar-Athletes
Eight representatives from the University of Minnesota women's hockey team were 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 were named to the U.S. Women's National Team Roster for the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, set for 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 served as Minnesota's captain this season, returning 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 marked the league's 20th anniversary season. Throughout the season, the WCHA 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 signed with 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 marked 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 Continues in 2019-20
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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