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Photo by: Bjorn Franke
Minnesota Opens Second Half with East/West Showcase
1/5/2023 8:46:00 PM | Women's Hockey
The No. 4/5 Gophers will face Merrimack at 6:00 pm on Friday and New Hampshire at 4:30 pm on Saturday at Ridder Arena.
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 4/5 Golden Gopher women's hockey team (14-3-2) opens the second half of the season with the East/West Showcase. Minnesota will face Merrimack (7-13-1) on Friday at 6:00 pm and New Hampshire (7-14-0) at 4:30 pm on Saturday at Ridder Arena. St. Cloud State will face New Hampshire on Friday at 2:30 pm and Merrimack at 1:00 pm on Saturday. All games will be available on B1G+.
Last Time Out
Minnesota closed out the first half of the 2022-23 season on a four-game winning streak with sweeps over Minnesota State and No. 14 St. Cloud State. Behind stellar play from sophomore goaltender Skylar Vetter, the Gophers ended 2022 with three consecutive shutouts. Fifth-year Forward Taylor Heise tallied 15 points over the final four games including two separate five-point games.
Scouting the Opposition
Minnesota faces Merrimack (7-13-1) for the third time in program history after splitting a series at Ridder Arena to open the 2017-18 season. Gopher captain Grace Zumwinkle scored her first collegiate goal in a 4-3 loss to the Warriors on Sept. 29, 2017. Merrimack currently sits in ninth place in the Hockey East Conference. The Gophers will face New Hampshire (7-14-0) for the 19th time in program history and the first time since 2012 on Saturday. The Maroon and Gold are 10-5-3 all-time against UNH with six wins in the last seven meetings. The Wildcats are currently in eighth place in the Hockey East Conference and opened 2023 with a 4-2 win over Saint Anselm College on Jan. 2. New Hampshire and Merrimack split a home-and-home series in November.
December Dominance
Taylor Heise and Skylar Vetter dominated the accolade list in the month of December. Heise was named HCA National Player of the Month after recording 15 points in only four games. She was also named WCHA Forward of the Week on Dec. 12 after her nine-point weekend against No. 14 St. Cloud State. Vetter matched Heise with a national award of her own as she was named HCA National Goaltender of the Month for the first time in her career. The Sophomore posted a 4-0-0 record with three consecutive shutouts to close out December. Vetter's strong performances earned her WCHA Goaltender of the Month honors and two separate WCHA Goaltender of the Week honors. The Lakeville, Minn., native has been named conference goaltender of the month twice this year and conference goaltender of the week five times.
Race for the WCHA
Minnesota currently sits in a tie for first place in the WCHA regular season standings with a 13-1-2 record (41 points in 16 conference games). The 'U' is even with Ohio State (41 points in 16 games) in the race for the Julianne Bye Cup. Wisconsin (37 points in 14 conference games) and Minnesota Duluth (21 points in 14 conference games) sit in third and fourth, respectively as the only other WCHA teams with a conference record above .500.
Zumwinkle Eyes 100
Fifth-year forward Grace Zumwinkle currently sits at 97 career goals, which is tied for sixth in program history with Kelly Stephens. The Excelsior, Minn., native is second on the team in points (31) and has found the scoresheet in 17/19 games this season. Zumwinkle also sits in second place in program history in career shots with 723, trailing only Nadine Muzerall (726).
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Fifth-year forward Taylor Heise continues to climb the program ranks as she moved into 10th place in program history in points with 194 (80g-114a) in 153 career games. Heise trails Gigi Marvin by one point for ninth place all-time and is six points away from becoming the ninth Gopher to reach 200 career points. Catie Skaja (38g-57a) is the closest active skater to the century mark after Abigail Boreen and Emily Oden reached the 100-career-point milestone in December.
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 456-96-37 record with four national titles and seven conference titles. Associate head coach Natalie Darwitz is back behind the bench for her fourth season and is joined by assistant coach 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.
Last Time Out
Minnesota closed out the first half of the 2022-23 season on a four-game winning streak with sweeps over Minnesota State and No. 14 St. Cloud State. Behind stellar play from sophomore goaltender Skylar Vetter, the Gophers ended 2022 with three consecutive shutouts. Fifth-year Forward Taylor Heise tallied 15 points over the final four games including two separate five-point games.
Scouting the Opposition
Minnesota faces Merrimack (7-13-1) for the third time in program history after splitting a series at Ridder Arena to open the 2017-18 season. Gopher captain Grace Zumwinkle scored her first collegiate goal in a 4-3 loss to the Warriors on Sept. 29, 2017. Merrimack currently sits in ninth place in the Hockey East Conference. The Gophers will face New Hampshire (7-14-0) for the 19th time in program history and the first time since 2012 on Saturday. The Maroon and Gold are 10-5-3 all-time against UNH with six wins in the last seven meetings. The Wildcats are currently in eighth place in the Hockey East Conference and opened 2023 with a 4-2 win over Saint Anselm College on Jan. 2. New Hampshire and Merrimack split a home-and-home series in November.
December Dominance
Taylor Heise and Skylar Vetter dominated the accolade list in the month of December. Heise was named HCA National Player of the Month after recording 15 points in only four games. She was also named WCHA Forward of the Week on Dec. 12 after her nine-point weekend against No. 14 St. Cloud State. Vetter matched Heise with a national award of her own as she was named HCA National Goaltender of the Month for the first time in her career. The Sophomore posted a 4-0-0 record with three consecutive shutouts to close out December. Vetter's strong performances earned her WCHA Goaltender of the Month honors and two separate WCHA Goaltender of the Week honors. The Lakeville, Minn., native has been named conference goaltender of the month twice this year and conference goaltender of the week five times.
Race for the WCHA
Minnesota currently sits in a tie for first place in the WCHA regular season standings with a 13-1-2 record (41 points in 16 conference games). The 'U' is even with Ohio State (41 points in 16 games) in the race for the Julianne Bye Cup. Wisconsin (37 points in 14 conference games) and Minnesota Duluth (21 points in 14 conference games) sit in third and fourth, respectively as the only other WCHA teams with a conference record above .500.
Zumwinkle Eyes 100
Fifth-year forward Grace Zumwinkle currently sits at 97 career goals, which is tied for sixth in program history with Kelly Stephens. The Excelsior, Minn., native is second on the team in points (31) and has found the scoresheet in 17/19 games this season. Zumwinkle also sits in second place in program history in career shots with 723, trailing only Nadine Muzerall (726).
Scoring Milestones on the Horizon
Fifth-year forward Taylor Heise continues to climb the program ranks as she moved into 10th place in program history in points with 194 (80g-114a) in 153 career games. Heise trails Gigi Marvin by one point for ninth place all-time and is six points away from becoming the ninth Gopher to reach 200 career points. Catie Skaja (38g-57a) is the closest active skater to the century mark after Abigail Boreen and Emily Oden reached the 100-career-point milestone in December.
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 456-96-37 record with four national titles and seven conference titles. Associate head coach Natalie Darwitz is back behind the bench for her fourth season and is joined by assistant coach 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.
Press Conference: Greg May Introduction
Monday, March 23
Greg "Boom" May Named Head Coach
Sunday, March 22
NCAA Hockey Hype
Friday, March 13
Ridder Arena Transformation
Friday, March 13