Gophers to Open 2021 with Bulldogs

MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 2 Golden Gopher women's hockey team resumes competition in 2021 by hosting No. 6 Minnesota Duluth at 6:07 p.m. CT on Monday, Jan. 4 and 5:07 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at Ridder Arena.

Last Time Out: Gophers Sweep Mavericks
Minnesota (5-1-0) concluded the 2020 portion of the schedule by sweeping Minnesota State in a home-and-home series with the Mavericks. The Gophers earned a 5-1 win in game one win on the road and closed out the series with a 2-1 win at home. Crystalyn Hengler (3a), Grace Zumwinkle (2g), Abigail Boreen (2g), Olivia Knowles (1g-1a), Audrey Wethington (1g-1a), and Emily Oden (2a) led the Gophers with multiple points against the Mavericks, and Lauren Bench and Makayla Pahl each earned one win in net for the Maroon & Gold.

About the Series
Minnesota has an overall record of 63-29-10 in 102 games against Minnesota Duluth, in a series dating back to November 1998. Last season, Minnesota was 2-1-1 against Minnesota Duluth, including splitting a series at Ridder Arena. Most recently, the Gophers earned a road sweep over the Bulldogs earlier this season with 4-2 and 2-1 wins led by two points each from Emily Oden (1g-1a), Catie Skaja (1g-1a), and Abbey Murphy (1g-1a).

Freshmen Firsts
Freshmen Josey Dunne (Nov. 21), Anne Cherkowski (Nov. 27), Abbey Murphy (Nov. 27), and Audrey Wethington (Dec. 11) all scored their first collegiate goals during the first half of the season. Cherkowski (1g-2a) and Murphy (1g-2a) lead the way in scoring among rookies while Wethington (1g-1a) and Dunne (1g-1a) also have multiple points on the year. Maggie Nicholson (1a) has recorded her first career assist, and Addie Burton and Tella Jungels have also made their college debuts to round out Minnesota's rookie class.

Notable Notes

Through six games this season, 15 different Gophers have at least one point while 12 different skaters have scored goals.
Grace Zumwinkle (5g-1a) leads the Gophers in scoring with six points in six games.
Crystalyn Hengler had a career-high three assists in the series sweep over Minnesota State.
Abigail Boreen had her first career two-goal game in Minnesota's 5-1 win at Minnesota State.
Makayla Pahl earned her first career win in her first career start in Minnesota's 2-1 win over Minnesota State.

Scoring Milestones
Senior Grace Zumwinkle is Minnesota's active career scoring leader with 130 career points (72g-58a) in 119 career games; her 72 career goals rank tied for 12th among all-time Gophers. Junior Emily Oden (17g-34a) recorded her 50th career point against Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 27) while junior Taylor Heise (32g-49a) and senior Emily Brown (14g-46a) are nearing 50 career assists as well.

Aye, Aye Captains
Seniors Emily Brown and Grace Zumwinkle are serving as team captains while fellow seniors Olivia Knowles and Taylor Wente are assistant captains for the Gophers.

24th Season
The 2020-21 season marks the 24th season of Gopher women's hockey. Six games in to the season, Minnesota has an all-time record of 685-144-56.

Home, Sweet Home
The 2020-21 season marks the 19th season of Ridder Arena serving as the home of Gopher women's hockey. Minnesota's season-opening win over Ohio State marked a historic 300th win for the Maroon & Gold at Ridder Arena. The Gophers enter this weekend's series with an all-time record of 301-50-22 in home games at Ridder Arena, dating back to the 2002-03 season.

Who's New?
Eight newcomers joined the Gophers for the 2020-21 season. Goaltender Lauren Bench (Eagan, Minn./Burnsville High School) has transferred to Minnesota as a graduate student after completing her undergraduate degree at Bemidji State while freshmen forward Addie Burton (Orono, Minn./Blake School), forward Anne Cherkowski (Coldstream, B.C./Pursuit of Excellence), defense Josey Dunne (O'Fallon, Mo./Chicago Mission), forward Tella Jungels (Edina, Minn./Edina High School), forward Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill./Chicago Mission), defense Maggie Nicholson (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka High School), and forward Audrey Wethington (Edina, Minn./Blake School) complete the newest class of Gophers.

Who's Back?
Head coach Brad Frost is back for his 14th season at the helm of the program with a .818 winning percentage in his first 13 seasons. The Gophers returned 15 players from last year's team, including eight of Minnesota's top-10 scorers from 2019-20. Senior Grace Zumwinkle (25g-20a), junior Taylor Heise (18g-25a), and redshirt junior Amy Potomak (18g-18a) are Minnesota's top returning scorers from a year ago while the Maroon & Gold also returned five of the team's top six defense from last season led by seniors Emily Brown and Olivia Knowles.

Gophers in the Pros
Four University of Minnesota alumnae are competing in the NWHL this season as Amanda Leveille, Meghan Lorence, Chelsey Brodt-Rosenthal, and Winny Brodt-Brown have signed with the Minnesota Whitecaps for 2020-21.

Meanwhile, 10 Gopher women's hockey alums are on regional rosters for the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association (PWHPA) this season: Sarah Potomak (Calgary); Amanda Kessel and Gigi Marvin (New Hampshire); Sydney Scobee, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, Nicole Schammel, and Noora Raty (Minnesota).

In addition, Patti Marshall (Brynas IF in Sweden), Alex Woken (Mad Dogs Mannheim in Germany), Katie Robinson (TPS Naisten Liiga in Finland), and Megan Bozek and Noora Raty (Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays) are playing professional hockey in Europe this season.

2019-20 Season in Review
Minnesota wrapped up the 23rd season of Gopher women's hockey as NCAA Tournament qualifiers and WCHA regular-season runners-up along with tying for third at the WCHA Final Faceoff in 2019-20. The Gophers posted a record of 27-6-3 before the season was cut short prior to the NCAA quarterfinal round when the NCAA announced it was ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns on March 12, 2020. The Maroon & Gold said goodbye to six graduating seniors in head coach Brad Frost's 13th season at the helm of the program.

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 2020-21.

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Bench

Abigail Boreen

Emily Brown

Addie Burton

Anne Cherkowski

Josey Dunne

Taylor Heise

Crystalyn Hengler

Tella Jungels

Olivia Knowles

Patti Marshall

Abbey Murphy

Maggie Nicholson

Emily Oden

Makayla Pahl

Kelly Pannek

Amy Potomak

Sarah Potomak

Katie Robinson

Nicole Schammel

Sydney Scobee

Catie Skaja

Taylor Wente

Audrey Wethington

Alex Woken

Grace Zumwinkle