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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Close Out Regular Season with Home-and-Home against the Tommies
2/16/2022 3:00:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Top-ranked Minnesota will complete the 2021-22 regular season with a unique Thursday-Saturday series against its newest WCHA rival.
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 1 Golden Gopher Women's Hockey team is set for its final series of the regular season this weekend. Thursday's contest is set for 7:00 pm at St. Thomas Ice Arena, while Saturday's contest will take place at 4:00 pm at Ridder Arena.
Last Time Out: Gophers Sweep the Huskies
The Gophers (24-7-1) earned their second straight sweep and fifth consecutive victory with a pair of wins over St. Cloud State (9-19-3). On Friday, the 'U' started off slow in St. Cloud, allowing two goals in the first period. The 2-0 deficit was the first time Minnesota had been down by multiple goals after 20 minutes this season. The top forward line came through for Minnesota, tallying all five goals to secure a 5-3 victory. Abigail Boreen, Taylor Heise, and Catie Skaja combined for 12 points. On Saturday, Minnesota pulled away in the final two periods to win 5-1 and complete the sweep. Lauren Bench and Makayla Pahl each earned a victory in the series.
Scouting St. Thomas
St. Thomas (5-23-1) currently sits at eighth in the WCHA with a 3-20-1 conference record. After Minnesota's sweep of St. Thomas in January, the Tommies have posted a 1-8-0 record with a road win over St. Cloud State. The Gophers and Tommies are matching up for the third and fourth time in program history after Minnesota took the first two matchups. The WCHA newcomers have battled top teams as of late with recent narrow losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth. The Tommies are missing two players to the Swiss Olympic Team - defender Nicole Vallario and goaltender Saskia Maurer.
Senior Day
Minnesota will celebrate senior day on Saturday at Ridder Arena in the regular season finale. 12 Gophers will be honored - Lauren Bench, Abigail Boreen, Emily Brown, Kyleigh Hanzlik, Taylor Heise, Crystalyn Hengler, Olivia Knowles, Savannah Norcross, Emily Oden, Gracie Ostertag, Amy Potomak, and Catie Skaja. Bench, Brown, and Knowles are in their final year of eligibility and will be skating in their final regular season game at Ridder Arena.
Gophers in Beijing
Nine players with program ties will take home medals at the 2022 games. Early Wednesday morning, Nelli Laitinen and Team Finland took home the Bronze Medal with a 4-0 victory over Switzerland. Eight Gopher representatives and Team USA will battle Team Canada for the Gold Medal on Wednesday night at 10:10 pm CT. Amanda Kessel leads all Gophers in Beijing with seven points.
Captains Climbing the Ranks
Co-captains Olivia Knowles and Emily Brown continue to climb the program record books for games played. Knowles currently sits in a tie for third with 161, while Brown's 160 are good for sixth-most. Knowles is only three games behind Rachael Bona and Rachel Ramsey, who are tied for the program record with 164.
First Period Emphasis
Through 32 games so far this season, Minnesota has scored first in 25 of them. The Maroon and Gold are 19-5-1 in games where they find the back of the net first and 5-2-0 in games in which the opponent scores first. Senior forward Taylor Heise leads the team with seven opening goals this season, including two goals inside the opening 40 seconds. The first 20 minutes have proven pivotal to Minnesota's success this season. When leading after the first period, the Gophers are 17-0-1. When trailing or tied after the first period, the Gophers are 7-7-0.
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Senior Taylor Heise is Minnesota's active career scoring leader and is closing in on the 150-point milestone with 149 career points (61g-88a) in 127 career games. Redshirt senior Amy Potomak (47g-59a) is the second active Gopher to surpass 100 points. Senior Emily Oden (25g-59a) and Fifth-year Emily Brown (19g-63a) are the next closest to the century mark. Fifth-year Olivia Knowles (17g-57a) and senior Abigail Boreen (34g-42a) are nearing 80 career points.
25th Season
The 2021-22 season marks the 25th season of Gopher women's hockey. To celebrate the first quarter-century of Gopher women's hockey, Minnesota will wear special '25 seasons' patches on their jerseys among other celebrations throughout the season.
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 2021-22.
Last Time Out: Gophers Sweep the Huskies
The Gophers (24-7-1) earned their second straight sweep and fifth consecutive victory with a pair of wins over St. Cloud State (9-19-3). On Friday, the 'U' started off slow in St. Cloud, allowing two goals in the first period. The 2-0 deficit was the first time Minnesota had been down by multiple goals after 20 minutes this season. The top forward line came through for Minnesota, tallying all five goals to secure a 5-3 victory. Abigail Boreen, Taylor Heise, and Catie Skaja combined for 12 points. On Saturday, Minnesota pulled away in the final two periods to win 5-1 and complete the sweep. Lauren Bench and Makayla Pahl each earned a victory in the series.
Scouting St. Thomas
St. Thomas (5-23-1) currently sits at eighth in the WCHA with a 3-20-1 conference record. After Minnesota's sweep of St. Thomas in January, the Tommies have posted a 1-8-0 record with a road win over St. Cloud State. The Gophers and Tommies are matching up for the third and fourth time in program history after Minnesota took the first two matchups. The WCHA newcomers have battled top teams as of late with recent narrow losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth. The Tommies are missing two players to the Swiss Olympic Team - defender Nicole Vallario and goaltender Saskia Maurer.
Senior Day
Minnesota will celebrate senior day on Saturday at Ridder Arena in the regular season finale. 12 Gophers will be honored - Lauren Bench, Abigail Boreen, Emily Brown, Kyleigh Hanzlik, Taylor Heise, Crystalyn Hengler, Olivia Knowles, Savannah Norcross, Emily Oden, Gracie Ostertag, Amy Potomak, and Catie Skaja. Bench, Brown, and Knowles are in their final year of eligibility and will be skating in their final regular season game at Ridder Arena.
Gophers in Beijing
Nine players with program ties will take home medals at the 2022 games. Early Wednesday morning, Nelli Laitinen and Team Finland took home the Bronze Medal with a 4-0 victory over Switzerland. Eight Gopher representatives and Team USA will battle Team Canada for the Gold Medal on Wednesday night at 10:10 pm CT. Amanda Kessel leads all Gophers in Beijing with seven points.
Captains Climbing the Ranks
Co-captains Olivia Knowles and Emily Brown continue to climb the program record books for games played. Knowles currently sits in a tie for third with 161, while Brown's 160 are good for sixth-most. Knowles is only three games behind Rachael Bona and Rachel Ramsey, who are tied for the program record with 164.
First Period Emphasis
Through 32 games so far this season, Minnesota has scored first in 25 of them. The Maroon and Gold are 19-5-1 in games where they find the back of the net first and 5-2-0 in games in which the opponent scores first. Senior forward Taylor Heise leads the team with seven opening goals this season, including two goals inside the opening 40 seconds. The first 20 minutes have proven pivotal to Minnesota's success this season. When leading after the first period, the Gophers are 17-0-1. When trailing or tied after the first period, the Gophers are 7-7-0.
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Senior Taylor Heise is Minnesota's active career scoring leader and is closing in on the 150-point milestone with 149 career points (61g-88a) in 127 career games. Redshirt senior Amy Potomak (47g-59a) is the second active Gopher to surpass 100 points. Senior Emily Oden (25g-59a) and Fifth-year Emily Brown (19g-63a) are the next closest to the century mark. Fifth-year Olivia Knowles (17g-57a) and senior Abigail Boreen (34g-42a) are nearing 80 career points.
25th Season
The 2021-22 season marks the 25th season of Gopher women's hockey. To celebrate the first quarter-century of Gopher women's hockey, Minnesota will wear special '25 seasons' patches on their jerseys among other celebrations throughout the season.
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 2021-22.
Highlights: Gophers 2, UMD 3
Friday, February 20
Highlights: Gophers 2, Ohio State 4
Friday, February 13
Highlights: Gophers 1, Ohio State 2
Saturday, February 07
Highlights: Gophers 1, St. Thomas 1
Saturday, February 07