University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Colgate
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Minnesota to Host Colgate in Season-Opener
9/23/2019 11:57:00 AM | Women's Hockey
The 2019 NCAA runner-up Gophers host the 2018 NCAA runner-up Raiders on Friday and Saturday at Ridder Arena.
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 2 University of Minnesota begins the 2019-20 regular season by hosting 2018 NCAA runner-up Colgate at Ridder Arena this weekend. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. CT on Friday, Sept. 27 and 4:07 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 28.
Season-Opening Promotions
The Gophers will raise the program's 2019 WCHA regular-season championship banner before Friday's game, along with doing a Gopher Women's Hockey pennant giveaway and post-game autographs for fans. Friday is Faculty & Staff Day and Saturday is Student Day at Ridder Arena as well. Saturday's game features a Cub Family 4-Pack ticket package where fans can receive four tickets, four hot dogs, four popcorns, four soft drinks, and $5 off $50 at Cub. Saturday also marks Community Weekend for Eden Prairie, Chaska, and Wayzata.
About the Raiders
Colgate saw its 2018-19 season come to an end in the ECAC Hockey semifinals, falling to NCAA semifinalist Clarkson by a score of 2-0. The Raiders posted an overall record of 23-10-5 and finished tied for second in the ECAC Hockey regular-season standings at 15-4-3. The 2019-20 season marks head coach Greg Fargo's eighth year at the helm of the program, and the Raiders have eight newcomers, made up of seven freshmen and one transfer, joining 13 returners to make up this year's roster.
Last Time Out: Gophers Win Preseason Exhibition Games
Minnesota hosted the Toronto Junior Aeros and the 2019 NWHL Isobel Cup champion Minnesota Whitecaps in a pair of exhibition games to kick off the season, earning a 9-2 win over the Aeros before topping the Whitecaps by a score of 5-1. Taylor Heise (3g-3a) led the Gophers with six points over the weekend followed by Amy Potomak (3g-2a) and Crystalyn Hengler (4a). Grace Zumwinkle (2g-1a) and Emily Oden (2g-1a) both recorded multiple goals as well, and in total 14 different players recorded at least one point in the team's two exhibition contests.
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Sarah Potomak is Minnesota's active career scoring leader, tied for 24th in program history with 133 career points (46g-87a); she is closing in on 50 career goals as well. Grace Zumwinkle (42g-37a) is approaching 100 career points and 50 career goals, and Emily Brown (8g-31a) and Alex Woken (22g-21a) are both closing in on 50 career points.
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. 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.
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 returned for his 13th season at the helm of the program with a .820 winning percentage in his first 12 seasons. The Gophers returned 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 returned 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 accomplished the ultimate in collegiate athletics, winning the first women's national team 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. Gopher goalie Erica Killewald was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Winny Brodt was selected as the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and joined Nadine Muzerall on the All-WCHA First Team while Courtney Kennedy, Crystal Nicholas, Laura Slominski, and Ambria Thomas earned All-WCHA Second Team honors.
23rd Season of Gopher Women's Hockey
The 2019-20 season marks the 23rd season of Gopher women's hockey. Minnesota enters the season with a 653-137-53 all-time record.
Home, Sweet Home
The 2019-20 season marks the 18th season of Ridder Arena serving as the home of Gopher women's hockey. Minnesota starts the season with an all-time record of 285-46-21 in home games at Ridder Arena, dating back to the 2002-03 season.
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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