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Photo by: Bjorn Franke
Gophers Set for WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena
3/4/2022 9:59:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Minnesota, who clinched the WCHA regular season title on Feb. 19, looks to earn its seventh tournament title and sixth conference sweep in program history.
MINNEAPOLIS – The top-ranked Golden Gopher Women's Hockey team faces four-seeded Minnesota Duluth in the semifinals of the WCHA Final Faceoff on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Ridder Arena. The winner will face either two- seeded Ohio State or three-seeded Wisconsin in the conference championship.
Last Time Out: Gophers Sweep Tommies for Second Straight Weekend
The Gophers (28-7-1) kicked off postseason play with a sweep over St. Thomas (5-27-1) in the WCHA Quarterfinals. On Friday, Minnesota shut down the Tommies, 4-0 behind multi-point games from Abigail Boreen, Amy Potomak, and Audrey Wethington. On Saturday, the Gophers advanced to the WCHA Final Faceoff with a 5-1 win. Senior forwards Catie Skaja, who tallied the first two goals of the game, and Taylor Heise led the Maroon and Gold offensive. Graduate goaltender Lauren Bench stopped 27 shots over the series to secure her second series sweep of the season. Minnesota outshot St. Thomas 113-28 over the two games.
Scouting the Field
The 2022 WCHA Final Faceoff tournament field consists of four top-10 teams in the nation. Your top-ranked Golden Gophers will face four-seeded, no. 7/8 Minnesota Duluth. The other semifinal matchup will see no. 2 Ohio State face no. 4 Wisconsin for a spot in Sunday's championship. The Badgers lead all WCHA teams with nine conference tournament titles, trailed by the Gophers (7), Bulldogs (5), and Buckeyes (1).
WCHA Champions
Minnesota finished the regular season with a 26-7-1 overall record and 21-6-1 conference record to finish at the top of the WCHA for the 11th time in program history. It's the Gophers' first regular season conference title since 2018-19. After a 1-3 start to conference play, the 'U' posted a 20-3-1 record to lift the Julianne Bye Cup.
WCHA Playoffs
Minnesota will head into the conference tournament semifinals with a 53-17 record in the WCHA tournament. The Gophers are looking for their first WCHA Final Faceoff title since 2017-18. The winner of Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth and Ohio State vs. Wisconsin will meet at 1:00 pm on Sunday for the championship.
Award Season
Senior Taylor Heise's list of accolades got a lot longer this week as the forward was named WCHA Player of the Year, WCHA Offensive Player of the Year, HCA National Co-Player of the Month, and WCHA Player of the Month for the second straight month, and a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Heise is the first Gopher to win conference player of the year since Sydney Baldwin in 2018. Freshman forward Peyton Hemp followed through on her preseason Rookie of the Year honor by being selected as WCHA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Hemp is Minnesota's 10th conference rookie of the year in program history and first since Madeline Wethington in 2020.
First Period Emphasis
Through 36 regular season games, Minnesota has scored first in 29 of them. The Maroon and Gold are 23-5-1 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 21-0-1. When trailing or tied after the first period, the Gophers are 7-7-0.
New Program Record
Fifth-year defender and co-captain Olivia Knowles made program history on Saturday by skating in her 165th game with the Gophers. Knowles broke the previous record of 164, held by Rachel Ramsey and Rachael (Bona) Guentzel. Fifth-year defender and co-captain Emily Brown moved into a tie for second place with her 164th game played on Saturday.
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Senior Taylor Heise continues to climb the program ranks as Minnesota's active career scoring leader with 158 career points (66g-92a) in 131 career games. Redshirt senior Amy Potomak (48g-60a) is the second active Gopher to surpass 100 points. Senior Abigail Boreen (36g-49a), senior Emily Oden (26g-59a) and fifth-year Emily Brown (19g-64a) are the next closest to the century mark. Fifth-year Olivia Knowles (17g-58a) is closing in on 80 career points. Amy Potomak is one goal away from 50 career goals, while junior defender Madeline Wethington is one point shy of 50 for her career.
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 Tommies for Second Straight Weekend
The Gophers (28-7-1) kicked off postseason play with a sweep over St. Thomas (5-27-1) in the WCHA Quarterfinals. On Friday, Minnesota shut down the Tommies, 4-0 behind multi-point games from Abigail Boreen, Amy Potomak, and Audrey Wethington. On Saturday, the Gophers advanced to the WCHA Final Faceoff with a 5-1 win. Senior forwards Catie Skaja, who tallied the first two goals of the game, and Taylor Heise led the Maroon and Gold offensive. Graduate goaltender Lauren Bench stopped 27 shots over the series to secure her second series sweep of the season. Minnesota outshot St. Thomas 113-28 over the two games.
Scouting the Field
The 2022 WCHA Final Faceoff tournament field consists of four top-10 teams in the nation. Your top-ranked Golden Gophers will face four-seeded, no. 7/8 Minnesota Duluth. The other semifinal matchup will see no. 2 Ohio State face no. 4 Wisconsin for a spot in Sunday's championship. The Badgers lead all WCHA teams with nine conference tournament titles, trailed by the Gophers (7), Bulldogs (5), and Buckeyes (1).
WCHA Champions
Minnesota finished the regular season with a 26-7-1 overall record and 21-6-1 conference record to finish at the top of the WCHA for the 11th time in program history. It's the Gophers' first regular season conference title since 2018-19. After a 1-3 start to conference play, the 'U' posted a 20-3-1 record to lift the Julianne Bye Cup.
WCHA Playoffs
Minnesota will head into the conference tournament semifinals with a 53-17 record in the WCHA tournament. The Gophers are looking for their first WCHA Final Faceoff title since 2017-18. The winner of Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth and Ohio State vs. Wisconsin will meet at 1:00 pm on Sunday for the championship.
Award Season
Senior Taylor Heise's list of accolades got a lot longer this week as the forward was named WCHA Player of the Year, WCHA Offensive Player of the Year, HCA National Co-Player of the Month, and WCHA Player of the Month for the second straight month, and a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Heise is the first Gopher to win conference player of the year since Sydney Baldwin in 2018. Freshman forward Peyton Hemp followed through on her preseason Rookie of the Year honor by being selected as WCHA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Hemp is Minnesota's 10th conference rookie of the year in program history and first since Madeline Wethington in 2020.
First Period Emphasis
Through 36 regular season games, Minnesota has scored first in 29 of them. The Maroon and Gold are 23-5-1 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 21-0-1. When trailing or tied after the first period, the Gophers are 7-7-0.
New Program Record
Fifth-year defender and co-captain Olivia Knowles made program history on Saturday by skating in her 165th game with the Gophers. Knowles broke the previous record of 164, held by Rachel Ramsey and Rachael (Bona) Guentzel. Fifth-year defender and co-captain Emily Brown moved into a tie for second place with her 164th game played on Saturday.
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Senior Taylor Heise continues to climb the program ranks as Minnesota's active career scoring leader with 158 career points (66g-92a) in 131 career games. Redshirt senior Amy Potomak (48g-60a) is the second active Gopher to surpass 100 points. Senior Abigail Boreen (36g-49a), senior Emily Oden (26g-59a) and fifth-year Emily Brown (19g-64a) are the next closest to the century mark. Fifth-year Olivia Knowles (17g-58a) is closing in on 80 career points. Amy Potomak is one goal away from 50 career goals, while junior defender Madeline Wethington is one point shy of 50 for her career.
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.
WCHA Postseason Hype
Monday, March 02
Highlights: Gophers 6, St. Cloud State 1
Sunday, March 01
Highlights: Gophers 4, St. Cloud State 1
Saturday, February 28
Abbey Murphy Breaks Goals Record
Saturday, February 28