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Photo by: Molly Kaiser
Gophers Ready to Drop the Puck on 2022-23
10/6/2022 12:01:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Minnesota will raise its 2022 WCHA Championship banner prior to puck drop on Friday.
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 2 seeded Golden Gopher women's hockey team drops the puck on the 2022-23 season, the 26th in program history, with a conference series against the Bemidji State Beavers (2-1-1) on Friday and Saturday at Ridder Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 pm on Friday and 2:00 pm on Saturday.
Raising a Banner
The Gophers look to build upon last year's squad that won the program's 11th WCHA Regular Season Championship. The Maroon and Gold posted a 29-9-1 record and entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed before falling to Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals. The Gophers will raise their 2022 WCHA Championship banner roughly 15 minutes before puck drop on Friday.
Scouting the Beavers
The Beavers travel to Ridder Arena with four games already under their belt after a sweep of Lindenwood and a loss and tie against No. 10 Clarkson. Bemidji State is led by stout defense and junior goaltender Hannah Hogenson, who brings a 2.90 GAA and .900 Sv % into this weekend's series. The Anchorage, Alaska native recorded a combined 127 saves against the Gophers in three games last year. Minnesota leads the all-time series 86-9-7 and has won the last 14 meetings. At Ridder Arena, the Gophers are 40-5-3 all-time against the Beavers.
2022-23 Roster Preview
Minnesota returns 20 players from last year's roster, including the highest-scoring line in college hockey of Taylor Heise, the reigning Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Abigail Boreen and Catie Skaja. Fifth-year forward Grace Zumwinkle and sophomore forward Abbey Murphy also return to the lineup after donning the red, white and blue for Team USA in the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Gophers also added four freshmen – Josefin Bouveng (Swedish Olympian), Nelli Laitinen (Finnish Olympian), Madison Kaiser and Allie Franco. Lizi Norton, a fifth-year defender, transferred to the 'U' from Minnesota Duluth to round out the 27-player roster. Â
National Recognition
The Gophers enter the 2022-23 season ranked second in both national polls. Minnesota was ranked fourth entering last season before climbing to the top spot in the month of February. In September, Taylor Heise was named Preseason Player of the Year and a member of the Preseason All-WCHA Team by the WCHA coaches with Grace Zumwinkle named as an honorable mention. The Gophers were also picked in the coaches' poll to repeat as conference champions.
Between the Pipes
Minnesota will rely on a goaltending trio of senior Makayla Pahl, sophomore Skylar Vetter and senior Olivia King this season. Last season, Pahl posted a 9-1-0 record with a 1.70 GAA and .934 Sv%, while Vetter went 6-2-0 with a 1.57 GAA and a .926 Sv% in her first season in Maroon and Gold. Both Pahl and Vetter were honored with a WCHA Goaltender of the Week honor. King saw action in four games last season (1.15 GAA, .909 Sv%) including a shift as a skater against St. Thomas.
MVP
This August, Fifth-year forward Taylor Heise was named MVP and Best Forward of the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship after leading all players in points (18) and goals (7) in her first action with the USA Senior National Team. Her 18 points rank second all-time in a single Women's Worlds tournament. Along with Heise, Amanda Kessel and Boston College alumna Alex Carpenter made up Team USA's dominant 'Patty Kaz' line. Heise and Kessel were each named to the Media All-Stars Team.
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Fifth-year forward Taylor Heise continues to climb the program ranks as Minnesota's active career scoring leader with 160 career points (67g-93a) in 134 career games. Fifth-year forward Grace Zumwinkle, who ranks 10th in program history in goals (84), is two points away from reaching the 150 career points. Fifth-year forwards Abigail Boreen (39g-50a), Emily Oden (27g-61a) and Catie Skaja (33g-47a) are the closest active skaters to the century mark.
Home Grown
The 2022-23 Gopher Women's Hockey roster includes 20 players who hail from Minnesota, the most in program history. Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Massachusetts, Finland and Sweden are also represented in the largest roster in program history.
Behind the Bench
Head coach Brad Frost is back for his 16th season as the bench boss of Gopher Women's Hockey. Under Frost's guidance, the program has posted a 442-93-36 record with four national titles and seven conference titles. Natalie Darwitz is back behind the bench for her fourth season as assistant coach and is joined by newly promoted Jessica Scott, who served as the program's Director of Operations for the last three seasons.
Quest for Eighth National Title
Minnesota has won seven national championships (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016) and looks for a historic eighth title national crown in 2022-23.
Raising a Banner
The Gophers look to build upon last year's squad that won the program's 11th WCHA Regular Season Championship. The Maroon and Gold posted a 29-9-1 record and entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed before falling to Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals. The Gophers will raise their 2022 WCHA Championship banner roughly 15 minutes before puck drop on Friday.
Scouting the Beavers
The Beavers travel to Ridder Arena with four games already under their belt after a sweep of Lindenwood and a loss and tie against No. 10 Clarkson. Bemidji State is led by stout defense and junior goaltender Hannah Hogenson, who brings a 2.90 GAA and .900 Sv % into this weekend's series. The Anchorage, Alaska native recorded a combined 127 saves against the Gophers in three games last year. Minnesota leads the all-time series 86-9-7 and has won the last 14 meetings. At Ridder Arena, the Gophers are 40-5-3 all-time against the Beavers.
2022-23 Roster Preview
Minnesota returns 20 players from last year's roster, including the highest-scoring line in college hockey of Taylor Heise, the reigning Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Abigail Boreen and Catie Skaja. Fifth-year forward Grace Zumwinkle and sophomore forward Abbey Murphy also return to the lineup after donning the red, white and blue for Team USA in the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Gophers also added four freshmen – Josefin Bouveng (Swedish Olympian), Nelli Laitinen (Finnish Olympian), Madison Kaiser and Allie Franco. Lizi Norton, a fifth-year defender, transferred to the 'U' from Minnesota Duluth to round out the 27-player roster. Â
National Recognition
The Gophers enter the 2022-23 season ranked second in both national polls. Minnesota was ranked fourth entering last season before climbing to the top spot in the month of February. In September, Taylor Heise was named Preseason Player of the Year and a member of the Preseason All-WCHA Team by the WCHA coaches with Grace Zumwinkle named as an honorable mention. The Gophers were also picked in the coaches' poll to repeat as conference champions.
Between the Pipes
Minnesota will rely on a goaltending trio of senior Makayla Pahl, sophomore Skylar Vetter and senior Olivia King this season. Last season, Pahl posted a 9-1-0 record with a 1.70 GAA and .934 Sv%, while Vetter went 6-2-0 with a 1.57 GAA and a .926 Sv% in her first season in Maroon and Gold. Both Pahl and Vetter were honored with a WCHA Goaltender of the Week honor. King saw action in four games last season (1.15 GAA, .909 Sv%) including a shift as a skater against St. Thomas.
MVP
This August, Fifth-year forward Taylor Heise was named MVP and Best Forward of the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship after leading all players in points (18) and goals (7) in her first action with the USA Senior National Team. Her 18 points rank second all-time in a single Women's Worlds tournament. Along with Heise, Amanda Kessel and Boston College alumna Alex Carpenter made up Team USA's dominant 'Patty Kaz' line. Heise and Kessel were each named to the Media All-Stars Team.
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Fifth-year forward Taylor Heise continues to climb the program ranks as Minnesota's active career scoring leader with 160 career points (67g-93a) in 134 career games. Fifth-year forward Grace Zumwinkle, who ranks 10th in program history in goals (84), is two points away from reaching the 150 career points. Fifth-year forwards Abigail Boreen (39g-50a), Emily Oden (27g-61a) and Catie Skaja (33g-47a) are the closest active skaters to the century mark.
Home Grown
The 2022-23 Gopher Women's Hockey roster includes 20 players who hail from Minnesota, the most in program history. Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Massachusetts, Finland and Sweden are also represented in the largest roster in program history.
Behind the Bench
Head coach Brad Frost is back for his 16th season as the bench boss of Gopher Women's Hockey. Under Frost's guidance, the program has posted a 442-93-36 record with four national titles and seven conference titles. Natalie Darwitz is back behind the bench for her fourth season as assistant coach and is joined by newly promoted Jessica Scott, who served as the program's Director of Operations for the last three seasons.
Quest for Eighth National Title
Minnesota has won seven national championships (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016) and looks for a historic eighth title national crown in 2022-23.
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