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Photo by: Jim Rosvold
Season in Review: Look Back at 2019-20
3/26/2020 8:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
The Gophers said goodbye to six graduating seniors in head coach Brad Frost’s 13th season at the helm of the program.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota women's hockey team 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. The Maroon & Gold said goodbye to six graduating seniors in head coach Brad Frost's 13th season at the helm of the program.
Minnesota 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.
Notable Notes
NCAA Tournament: How They Qualified
Mercyhurst (CHA), Princeton (ECAC Hockey), No. 3 seed Northeastern (Hockey East), and Ohio State (WCHA) earned automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments while No. 4 seed Minnesota, No. 1 seed Cornell, No. 2 seed Wisconsin, and Clarkson earned at-large bids. The four NCAA quarterfinal match-ups had Minnesota (27-6-3) hosting Ohio State (24-8-6), Cornell (28-2-3) hosting Mercyhurst (21-10-5), Wisconsin (28-5-3) hosting Clarkson (25-6-6), and Northeastern (32-4-2) hosting Princeton (26-6-1), but none of the games were contested.
WCHA Regular-Season Rewind
The Gophers finished second in the WCHA regular-season standings with 54 points after posting a WCHA record of 17-5-2-1 (W-L-T-SoW) in 24 league games. Wisconsin (28-5-3, 17-4-3-2 WCHA) won the league's regular-season crown with 56 points. Ohio State (24-8-6, 13-6-5-2) and Minnesota Duluth (18-12-6, 11-8-5-3) rounded out the top four teams with 46 points and 41 points, respectively.
WCHA Final Faceoff Rewind
Minnesota (27-6-3) fell to eventual WCHA Final Faceoff champion Ohio State in the WCHA semifinals. The Gophers dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Buckeyes despite two goals from Amy Potomak and one from Taylor Heise along with a 24-save effort from Sydney Scobee. Ohio State won the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game with a 1-0 overtime win over Wisconsin, which defeated Minnesota Duluth 4-1 in the other semifinal game.
Senior Salute
The Gophers celebrated their six seniors, captain Patti Marshall, assistant captain Alex Woken, Kippin Keller, Sarah Potomak, Katie Robinson, and Sydney Scobee during their final regular-season series. The senior class led Minnesota to an overall record of 109-31-12 in 152 games (.757 winning percentage) from 2016-17 to 2019-20. They earned their fourth NCAA tournament berth this season after finishing as NCAA runners-up last year. The class raised banners as 2019 WCHA regular-season champions and 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff champions, and these six Gophers combined for 128 goals and 222 assists for 350 points as a class.
Gophers in the NCAA Postseason
Minnesota earned its 13th-straight and 18th-overall NCAA tournament berth in 2019-20. The 2020 WCHA regular-season runner-up Gophers have won seven national championships, and Minnesota has only missed the NCAA tournament twice in its 20-year history. Overall, the Gophers are 26-12-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01. The Gophers are 11-3 all-time in NCAA quarterfinal games since the tournament expanded to eight teams in 2005. A year ago, Minnesota defeated Princeton 5-2 in the NCAA quarterfinal round.
Scoring Leaders
In 36 games, the line of Sarah Potomak (19g-27a), Grace Zumwinkle (25g-20a), and Taylor Heise (18g-25a) led Minnesota in scoring, combining for 134 points this season. Amy Potomak (18g-18a) and Alex Woken (16g-16a) each surpassed the 30-point mark for the season as well. Zumwinkle's 25 goals were tops on the team, and S. Potomak had a team-high 27 assists.
Spreading the Wealth
Nine players scored at least five goals this season and, in total, 19 different players recorded at least one point on the year. Fourteen different players reached double figures for scoring. Twelve different players scored game-winning goals for Minnesota led by Sarah Potomak, Grace Zumwinkle, and Madeline Wethington with four each.
Scoring Milestones
Sarah Potomak finished her career ranked 11th among all-time Gophers with 179 career points (65g-114a). Her 114 career assists tied for sixth in program history; she also tied for seventh with a +153 plus/minus, ranked 16th with 504 career shots on goal, and tied for 18th with 65 career goals. This season, Potomak scored her 50th career goal (Oct. 11), reached 150 career points (Nov. 15), and recorded her 100th career assist (Jan. 4).
Grace Zumwinkle, who recorded her 100th career point in Minnesota's sweep over Bemidji State (Nov. 15-16), is now Minnesota's active career scoring leader. Zumwinkle ranks 29th among all-time Gophers with 124 career points (67g-57a). She is also tied for 13th with 510 career shots on goal and tied for 15th with 67 career goals.
Five Gophers reached 50 career points during the 2019-20 season in Amy Potomak, Alex Woken, Taylor Heise, Emily Brown, and Olivia Knowles, and Patti Marshall recorded her 50th career assist against Harvard (Nov. 30).
Coaching Milestone
Minnesota's 3-0 win over Minnesota State (Feb. 22) marked head coach Brad Frost's 400th career win at the helm of the Gophers. Frost's career coaching record stands at 402-76-34 at the end of the 2019-20 season. He ranks fifth among all-time NCAA national collegiate women's hockey coaches with 402 wins.
League's Best Goaltending
Sydney Scobee was named the WCHA Goaltending Champion with a 1.63 goals against average, 17 wins, and six shutouts in 24 WCHA league games. She was honored as WCHA Goaltender of the Year and earned a place on the All-WCHA First Team. For the season, Scobee ranked third in the NCAA with eight shutouts on the year. Her 1.68 goals against average ranked sixth among NCAA goaltenders, and she ranked 15th in the nation with a .928 save percentage.
Career-High Scoring
Eight Gophers reached career-highs for points this season: Grace Zumwinkle (25g-20a), Taylor Heise (18g-25a), Amy Potomak (18g-18a), Alex Woken (16g-16a), Emily Oden (7g-18a), Catie Skaja (7g-7a), Gracie Ostertag (1g-10a), and Abigail Boreen (2g-8a).
Gophers Earn WCHA Academic Honors
Senior forward Alex Woken, a Neuroscience major planning to become a veterinarian, became the fourth Gopher in program history to be named WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year this season. She joins Kelly Terry (2014), Gigi Marvin (2009), and Shannon Kennedy (Co-Student Athlete of the Year in 2000). Woken joined Emily Brown, Taylor Heise, Gracie Ostertag, Sarah Potomak, and Taylor Wente to make up Minnesota's six WCHA Scholar Athletes. In addition, 13 Gophers were among the student-athletes honored as part of the 2019-20 WCHA All-Academic Team: Brown, Heise, Ostertag, S. Potomak, Wente, Woken, Olivia Knowles, Patti Marshall, Emily Oden, Amy Potomak, Katie Robinson, Catie Skaja, and Grace Zumwinkle.
Gopher Nation
With games against Boston College and Harvard at the Country Classic in Nashville, Tenn., this season, Tennessee became the 15th state in which Minnesota has played games since the first year of the program in 1997-98. The Gophers have competed in Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Gophers Celebrate Hockey Day Minnesota
Minnesota played its second outdoor game in program history when the Gophers hosted the Buckeyes outdoors at Parade Stadium in downtown Minneapolis as part of this year's Hockey Day Minnesota celebration. With a 2-1 win over Ohio State, the Gophers remained undefeated in outdoor games after the program's first-ever outdoor game saw the Maroon & Gold earn a 4-0 win over Minnesota State in the Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium on Jan. 17, 2014.
Gophers in the NWHL
Seven University of Minnesota alumnae played for the Minnesota Whitecaps this year. Sydney Baldwin, Winny Brodt Brown, Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal, Kelsey Cline, Amanda Leveille, Meghan Lorence, and Nicole Schammel made up the Gophers in the NWHL this season.
Gophers in the PWHPA
Eight Gopher women's hockey alums spent the 2019-20 season participating in the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association (PWHPA) in Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Amanda Kessel, Gigi Marvin, Kelly Pannek, Noora Raty, and Lee Stecklein.
Gophers Add Seven for 2020-21
Head coach Brad Frost and the Gopher women's hockey program announced the addition for seven incoming student-athletes for the 2020-21 season. 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) make up the newest class of Gophers.
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 became the first women's team to win a national 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.
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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Minnesota 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.
Notable Notes
- Minnesota led the WCHA and ranked second in the nation at 92.1 percent (82-for-89) on the penalty kill this season.
- Grace Zumwinkle, Sarah Potomak, and Madeline Wethington each scored a team-best four game-winning goals.
- Minnesota was 24-1-1 when leading at the second intermission this season.
- When allowing only one goal this season, Minnesota was perfect at 8-0-0.
- Amy Potomak and Alex Woken tied for the team lead with four power-play goals each.
- Sarah Potomak led the WCHA with a +39 plus/minus rating while Olivia Knowles led all WCHA defense at +35 for the year.
- Gracie Ostertag led the team and ranked 15th in the WCHA with 50 blocked shots.
- Grace Zumwinkle and Amy Potomak each had at least one point in 26 of 36 games this season.
- All six of the Gophers' losses this season were to WCHA opponents.
NCAA Tournament: How They Qualified
Mercyhurst (CHA), Princeton (ECAC Hockey), No. 3 seed Northeastern (Hockey East), and Ohio State (WCHA) earned automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments while No. 4 seed Minnesota, No. 1 seed Cornell, No. 2 seed Wisconsin, and Clarkson earned at-large bids. The four NCAA quarterfinal match-ups had Minnesota (27-6-3) hosting Ohio State (24-8-6), Cornell (28-2-3) hosting Mercyhurst (21-10-5), Wisconsin (28-5-3) hosting Clarkson (25-6-6), and Northeastern (32-4-2) hosting Princeton (26-6-1), but none of the games were contested.
WCHA Regular-Season Rewind
The Gophers finished second in the WCHA regular-season standings with 54 points after posting a WCHA record of 17-5-2-1 (W-L-T-SoW) in 24 league games. Wisconsin (28-5-3, 17-4-3-2 WCHA) won the league's regular-season crown with 56 points. Ohio State (24-8-6, 13-6-5-2) and Minnesota Duluth (18-12-6, 11-8-5-3) rounded out the top four teams with 46 points and 41 points, respectively.
WCHA Final Faceoff Rewind
Minnesota (27-6-3) fell to eventual WCHA Final Faceoff champion Ohio State in the WCHA semifinals. The Gophers dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Buckeyes despite two goals from Amy Potomak and one from Taylor Heise along with a 24-save effort from Sydney Scobee. Ohio State won the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game with a 1-0 overtime win over Wisconsin, which defeated Minnesota Duluth 4-1 in the other semifinal game.
Senior Salute
The Gophers celebrated their six seniors, captain Patti Marshall, assistant captain Alex Woken, Kippin Keller, Sarah Potomak, Katie Robinson, and Sydney Scobee during their final regular-season series. The senior class led Minnesota to an overall record of 109-31-12 in 152 games (.757 winning percentage) from 2016-17 to 2019-20. They earned their fourth NCAA tournament berth this season after finishing as NCAA runners-up last year. The class raised banners as 2019 WCHA regular-season champions and 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff champions, and these six Gophers combined for 128 goals and 222 assists for 350 points as a class.
Gophers in the NCAA Postseason
Minnesota earned its 13th-straight and 18th-overall NCAA tournament berth in 2019-20. The 2020 WCHA regular-season runner-up Gophers have won seven national championships, and Minnesota has only missed the NCAA tournament twice in its 20-year history. Overall, the Gophers are 26-12-1 in NCAA tournament games since 2000-01. The Gophers are 11-3 all-time in NCAA quarterfinal games since the tournament expanded to eight teams in 2005. A year ago, Minnesota defeated Princeton 5-2 in the NCAA quarterfinal round.
Scoring Leaders
In 36 games, the line of Sarah Potomak (19g-27a), Grace Zumwinkle (25g-20a), and Taylor Heise (18g-25a) led Minnesota in scoring, combining for 134 points this season. Amy Potomak (18g-18a) and Alex Woken (16g-16a) each surpassed the 30-point mark for the season as well. Zumwinkle's 25 goals were tops on the team, and S. Potomak had a team-high 27 assists.
Spreading the Wealth
Nine players scored at least five goals this season and, in total, 19 different players recorded at least one point on the year. Fourteen different players reached double figures for scoring. Twelve different players scored game-winning goals for Minnesota led by Sarah Potomak, Grace Zumwinkle, and Madeline Wethington with four each.
Scoring Milestones
Sarah Potomak finished her career ranked 11th among all-time Gophers with 179 career points (65g-114a). Her 114 career assists tied for sixth in program history; she also tied for seventh with a +153 plus/minus, ranked 16th with 504 career shots on goal, and tied for 18th with 65 career goals. This season, Potomak scored her 50th career goal (Oct. 11), reached 150 career points (Nov. 15), and recorded her 100th career assist (Jan. 4).
Grace Zumwinkle, who recorded her 100th career point in Minnesota's sweep over Bemidji State (Nov. 15-16), is now Minnesota's active career scoring leader. Zumwinkle ranks 29th among all-time Gophers with 124 career points (67g-57a). She is also tied for 13th with 510 career shots on goal and tied for 15th with 67 career goals.
Five Gophers reached 50 career points during the 2019-20 season in Amy Potomak, Alex Woken, Taylor Heise, Emily Brown, and Olivia Knowles, and Patti Marshall recorded her 50th career assist against Harvard (Nov. 30).
Coaching Milestone
Minnesota's 3-0 win over Minnesota State (Feb. 22) marked head coach Brad Frost's 400th career win at the helm of the Gophers. Frost's career coaching record stands at 402-76-34 at the end of the 2019-20 season. He ranks fifth among all-time NCAA national collegiate women's hockey coaches with 402 wins.
League's Best Goaltending
Sydney Scobee was named the WCHA Goaltending Champion with a 1.63 goals against average, 17 wins, and six shutouts in 24 WCHA league games. She was honored as WCHA Goaltender of the Year and earned a place on the All-WCHA First Team. For the season, Scobee ranked third in the NCAA with eight shutouts on the year. Her 1.68 goals against average ranked sixth among NCAA goaltenders, and she ranked 15th in the nation with a .928 save percentage.
Career-High Scoring
Eight Gophers reached career-highs for points this season: Grace Zumwinkle (25g-20a), Taylor Heise (18g-25a), Amy Potomak (18g-18a), Alex Woken (16g-16a), Emily Oden (7g-18a), Catie Skaja (7g-7a), Gracie Ostertag (1g-10a), and Abigail Boreen (2g-8a).
Gophers Earn WCHA Academic Honors
Senior forward Alex Woken, a Neuroscience major planning to become a veterinarian, became the fourth Gopher in program history to be named WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year this season. She joins Kelly Terry (2014), Gigi Marvin (2009), and Shannon Kennedy (Co-Student Athlete of the Year in 2000). Woken joined Emily Brown, Taylor Heise, Gracie Ostertag, Sarah Potomak, and Taylor Wente to make up Minnesota's six WCHA Scholar Athletes. In addition, 13 Gophers were among the student-athletes honored as part of the 2019-20 WCHA All-Academic Team: Brown, Heise, Ostertag, S. Potomak, Wente, Woken, Olivia Knowles, Patti Marshall, Emily Oden, Amy Potomak, Katie Robinson, Catie Skaja, and Grace Zumwinkle.
Gopher Nation
With games against Boston College and Harvard at the Country Classic in Nashville, Tenn., this season, Tennessee became the 15th state in which Minnesota has played games since the first year of the program in 1997-98. The Gophers have competed in Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Gophers Celebrate Hockey Day Minnesota
Minnesota played its second outdoor game in program history when the Gophers hosted the Buckeyes outdoors at Parade Stadium in downtown Minneapolis as part of this year's Hockey Day Minnesota celebration. With a 2-1 win over Ohio State, the Gophers remained undefeated in outdoor games after the program's first-ever outdoor game saw the Maroon & Gold earn a 4-0 win over Minnesota State in the Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium on Jan. 17, 2014.
Gophers in the NWHL
Seven University of Minnesota alumnae played for the Minnesota Whitecaps this year. Sydney Baldwin, Winny Brodt Brown, Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal, Kelsey Cline, Amanda Leveille, Meghan Lorence, and Nicole Schammel made up the Gophers in the NWHL this season.
Gophers in the PWHPA
Eight Gopher women's hockey alums spent the 2019-20 season participating in the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association (PWHPA) in Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Amanda Kessel, Gigi Marvin, Kelly Pannek, Noora Raty, and Lee Stecklein.
Gophers Add Seven for 2020-21
Head coach Brad Frost and the Gopher women's hockey program announced the addition for seven incoming student-athletes for the 2020-21 season. 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) make up the newest class of Gophers.
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 became the first women's team to win a national 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.
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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