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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Position Preview: Defense
9/12/2019 9:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Take a look at the Gophers' defensive corps for the 2019-20 season.
MINNEAPOLIS – The Golden Gopher women's hockey team returns 18 players from its 2018-19 team and adds four newcomers to make up the program's 2019-20 roster. The team is under the direction of head coach Brad Frost, who returns for his 13th season at the helm of the Maroon & Gold. Break down the Gophers' roster by position, beginning with the defense.
Who's Back?
The Gophers return six of seven defense from the 2018-19 squad led by seniors Patti Marshall and Katie Robinson and juniors Emily Brown and Olivia Knowles. Sophomores Gracie Ostertag and Crystalyn Hengler are back after seeing significant playing time as freshmen last season as well. The Gophers 2018-19 defensive corps allowed just 1.76 goals per game for the season and combined for 505 blocked shots.
Who's New?
Madeline Wethington, recently named the Preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year, is the Gophers' lone newcomer on the blue line this season. Wethington joins the Gophers from the Blake School where she was a four-time all-state, four-time all-conference, and three-time all-metro honoree. The Edina, Minn., native was named 2019 Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award recipient and the 2019 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year. Wethington is also a three-time gold medalist with the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team.
Frost on the Gopher Defense:
"We have six defensemen who can really play. The addition of Madeline Wethington, who is one of the best defensemen in her class, certainly gives us great depth. There's a lot of freedom when you have six defense that you can play instead of four or five. We'll be using these players in all situations throughout the year. We're going to depend heavily on them. We're excited to see their progression as they go."
Notable: League's Top Defensive Scorers
The Gophers return 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), and Patti Marshall, who ranked fifth in the conference among blue-liners with 21 points (2g-19a).
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Who's Back?
The Gophers return six of seven defense from the 2018-19 squad led by seniors Patti Marshall and Katie Robinson and juniors Emily Brown and Olivia Knowles. Sophomores Gracie Ostertag and Crystalyn Hengler are back after seeing significant playing time as freshmen last season as well. The Gophers 2018-19 defensive corps allowed just 1.76 goals per game for the season and combined for 505 blocked shots.
Who's New?
Madeline Wethington, recently named the Preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year, is the Gophers' lone newcomer on the blue line this season. Wethington joins the Gophers from the Blake School where she was a four-time all-state, four-time all-conference, and three-time all-metro honoree. The Edina, Minn., native was named 2019 Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award recipient and the 2019 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year. Wethington is also a three-time gold medalist with the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team.
Frost on the Gopher Defense:
"We have six defensemen who can really play. The addition of Madeline Wethington, who is one of the best defensemen in her class, certainly gives us great depth. There's a lot of freedom when you have six defense that you can play instead of four or five. We'll be using these players in all situations throughout the year. We're going to depend heavily on them. We're excited to see their progression as they go."
Notable: League's Top Defensive Scorers
The Gophers return 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), and Patti Marshall, who ranked fifth in the conference among blue-liners with 21 points (2g-19a).
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