University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
St. Thomas
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Minnesota, St. Thomas Set For Second Series of Season
1/9/2025 4:24:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team (15-5-1, 9-4-1 WCHA) is set to host the St. Thomas Tommies (5-13-2, 2-11-1 WCHA) in the Gophers' first conference series of the second half of the season. Puck drop is set for Friday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m. CT and Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. CT. Each game will be streamed live on B1G+, with Saturday's game also being broadcast on FOX 9+.
Minnesota previously faced off against St. Thomas this season, sweeping the Tommies in their series from Dec. 6-7.
Last Time Out
The Maroon and Gold are coming off a three-game week, opening up the New Year with matchups against Bemidji State, Brown, and No. 12 Penn State. The Gophers took down the Beavers 4-1 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic on Jan. 1 at Lakeville Hasse Arena. Minnesota then returned to Ridder Arena to host the East/West Showcase, winning 9-1 against Brown on Jan. 3, then falling 6-2 against No. 12 Penn State on Jan. 4. Junior defender Sydney Morrow earned WCHA Defender of the Week on Jan. 6, following her four point (3g-1a) performance throughout the week.
Scouting the Tommies
Interim head coach Bethany Brausen and the St. Thomas women's hockey squad will make their return to the ice after hosting the Gophers at home from Dec. 6-7, which resulted in a Maroon & Gold sweep to close out the first half of the season. The Tommies hold a 5-13-2 (2-11-1 WCHA) record on the season so far. Minnesota is 18-0-0 all-time against St. Thomas.
Multiple Contributors
The Maroon and Gold have had various players make an impact through the first half of the season. Redshirt-senior Abbey Murphy leads the team with 37 points (17g-20a). Murphy has notched at least one point in 17 out of the Gophers' 21 games, including 12 multi-point games. Following Murphy is fifth-year forward Natalie Mlynkova and senior forward Ella Huber, who have each tallied 25 points (12g-13a and 6g-19a, respectively). Junior Sydney Morrow leads Minnesota defenders with 17 points on the season (8g-9a), with five of her goals coming on the power play. Following Morrow is junior Nelli Laitinen with 12 points (3g-9a) on the season so far.
Freshman goaltender Hannah Clark holds a 11-3-1 record on the season with a .915 save percentage. Clark recorded her first career shutout in the Gophers' 5-0 victory over St. Thomas on Dec. 6.
Milestones on the Horizon
The University of Minnesota women's hockey program sits at an all-time overall record of 792-181-64 and is on pace to reach the 800-win mark this season. Abbey Murphy has recorded 87 career goals and will be in pursuit of the century mark this season. Josefin Bouveng sits at 85 career points, and will seek to become the fifth active Gopher to reach 100. Ella Huber has tallied 43 career goals and is on pace to reach the 50 mark this season.
WCHA Weekly Honors
Four Gophers have earned WCHA Weekly Awards throughout the 2024-25 season so far: forward Abbey Murphy (Nov. 18, Dec. 9), goaltender Hannah Clark (Nov. 18), defender Chloe Primerano (Dec. 9), and defender Sydney Morrow (Jan. 6).
Murphy Named Co-National Player of the Month
On Jan. 3, redshirt-senior forward Abbey Murphy was named December's Co-National Player of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association, sharing the award with Syracuse's Bryan Saarela. It was the first such honor of Murphy's career, and makes her the most recent Gopher to earn it after Taylor Heise in Dec. 2022.
Gophers in International Play
Freshman defender Chloe Primerano and future Gopher forward Bella Fanale have both been competing in the 2025 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship since Jan. 4. Primerano, a North Vancouver, British Columbia native, has been representing her home nation of Canada while Fanale, a Webster, N.Y. native, has been suiting up for the United States. Both players were named captain of their respective national U18 squads.
Gophers in the Pros
Nine Gopher women's hockey alumnae are rostered (including reserves) across four PWHL squads: Hannah Brandt and Emily Brown (Boston Fleet); Taylor Heise, Lucy Morgan, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, and Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost); Abigail Boreen (Victoire de Montréal); Olivia Knowles (New York Sirens).
Minnesota Adds Six to the 2025-26 Freshman Class
Head coach Brad Frost and the Golden Gopher women's hockey program announced the addition of six incoming student-athletes to the 2025-26 signing class: defender Sydney Bailey (Rogers, Minn.), forward Sienna D'Alessandro (Pointe-Claire, Quebec), forward Bella Fanale (Webster, N.Y.), goaltender Layla Hemp (Chanhassen, Minn.), forward Avery Hovland (West Fargo, N.D.), and forward Tereza Plosova (Šimonovice, Czechia).
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 2024-25.