Although it wasn’t included in Bally Sports North’s slate of televised games, Minnesota State took to the outdoor ice with a team loaded with experience on Hockey Day Minnesota’s biggest stage. In fact, of the seven Mavericks who have participated in the event previously, six of them skated their second games on Hockey Day ice in Mankato.

“Both experiences were great on their own … but I think this one was extra special because it’s been a week long event and just to be able to close it out, it’s been pretty great,” said senior Taylor Wemple, who skated for St. Cloud State in the Huskies’ shootout win over over Minnesota Duluth in 2018 on the shores of St. Cloud’s Lake George. 

The list includes senior defenseman, and team captain, Anna Wilgren, who sat out the outdoor game, as she will her team’s remaining games this season, to preserve eligibility after missing much of her senior year on the U.S. women’s hockey residency roster. Wilgren, who played in MSU’s bitterly-cold 2-1 win over Bemidji State in 2019′ event, was one of Team USA’s final three cuts prior to the 2022 Olympic roster reveal at the NHL’s Winter Classic. 

Senior assistant captains Jessia Kondas, Brittyn Fleming and Claire Butorac are also Bemidji veterans along with fellow senior Brooke Bryant. Meanwhile, another transfer, junior Sydney Shearen, skated for the Gophers in their 2-1 win over Ohio State in 2020 at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis.

Butorac, a former Andover High School star, had the added benefit of hosting her alma mater which shut out Edina 4-0 to open Hockey Day’s televised action on Saturday morning. She spent time with the team showing them around the rink at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.

“It was fun just to see all the little girls I used to coach that are in high school now and see my high school coaches and just wish them luck before they got to come out here and experience Mankato,” Butorac.

Teammates who had yet to play in the Hockey Day environment asked those who had for advice going into the weekend but it mostly came down to preparations for the cold. The majority of the conversations, the players said, concentrated on sharing memories they’ll hold onto forever.

“The key of these games is to just have fun,” said Shearen, a Hugo, Minn. native who played her high school hockey for White Bear Lake. “You only get this opportunity once in a lifetime; I was lucky enough to get twice.”

Butorac says this experience easily ranks in her top five as a Maverick.

“It’s awesome, this is a great stadium to play in,” Butorac said. “This town supports our school so much, so I’m very grateful to be a Maverick, especially today.”

The post Twice in a Lifetime Experience appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The purple duo reunited to put a trio of pucks behind current MSU women’s assistant coach, and the program’s most decorated player, Shari (Vogt) Dickerman, in yellow. Dickerman was gracious in defeat, however. 

“Fisher and Bunker seemed to migrate to the same line just like the old days so it was fun to see them kind of shine a little bit,” Dickerman said. “Hopefully the crowd got fired up for those guys back in town.”

Despite a four-year gap in her tenure as a player and/or coach at Minnesota State, Dickerman has either played with or coached nearly all of the alumni game participants and even those she didn’t, like Fisher and Bunker, she knows well.

“This was awesome that this many people were able to make it,” said Dickerman, a four-time All-American and team MVP (2000-04) and Patty Kazmaier Award finalist as a senior.

Fisher said a few of the former players came down Friday and attended the MSU men’s alumni game together followed by a gathering with the whole group on Saturday. Fisher added, “the turnout was massive this year, so it was nice to have 20 girls on each team.”

The former South St. Paul High School star who racked up 173 goals and 345 points in 155 games as a Packer says she doesn’t play much hockey anymore so it was kind of nice to play with different people, Bunker notwithstanding.

“Our objective for the purple team was if you had four in the zone, then you couldn’t go in there,” Fisher quipped. “So we’d always want to keep someone out high cherry picking.”

Like Fisher, Dickerman says she rarely straps on the pads anymore but had a lot of fun in this environment.

“It kind of comes back like riding a bike, only I’m tired after about three minutes,” joked Dickerman who was hoping to only play half the game but went the full 40 minutes when her team’s other goalie unexpectedly could not make it. 

Fisher confirmed there was plenty of trash talk out there but Dickerman was oblivious to all of it. 

“I’m sure the bench was chirping me quite a bit but I couldn’t hear them over in my own area, so I didn’t get to hear any,” Dickerman said with a smile. 

Told of what Fisher said of the purple team’s game plan, Dickerman complimented Fisher’s skating, saying she “still can fly,” before getting in a playful shot of her own.

“Far blue, I think that’s kind of her spot, so that’s why she scored a lot of points.”

The post Welcome Back appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Bemidji State upsets Minnesota to advance to WCHA Championship

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Behind a late goal from alternate captain Stephanie Anderson, Bemidji State upset No. 2 Minnesota, 1-0, to advance to the WCHA Final Face-Off championship game.

Anderson, who transferred from the Gophers after her freshman season, found the back of the net after 51 minutes of scoreless hockey to help the Beavers (21-16-1) move on to the title game for the first time in program history.

“I’m just really, really excited and proud of this team,” Bemidji State coach Jim Scanlan said. “I told them going into the third period that we were 20 minutes away from doing something this program has never ever done, which is play for a championship. To be in this position is truly remarkable and I’m just really, really proud of these girls.”

The Beavers have already set program records in conference (13) and overall (21) wins this season. Now they will play for their first postseason championship under their first-year head coach.

“Right away, this team just came together as a group and has great leadership,” Scanlan said. “I just give them all the credit just because everyone’s come every day to work and they work hard and they have good attitudes and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Despite the loss, the Gophers threw 37 shots at Brittni Mowat, but she stopped each one to seal the win for her team. The Beavers’ defense also chipped in with 18 blocked shots in front of her.

“I didn’t think we played a poor game by any stretch of the imagination,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said. “We had some great chances. When you don’t score, obviously it makes it pretty difficult to win a hockey game. Credit them for blocking shots and some great saves and doing what’snecessary to win a hockey game and advance here in the playoffs.”

After a scoreless first period, Minnesota came out in the middle frame and put up 17 shots on goal, but Mowat turned them all away. The Gophers then went on the power play towards the end of the second period, but still couldn’t get one to go.

“It’s been the same Bemidji hockey for four years since I’ve been here,” Minnesota senior captain Rachel Ramsey said. “Dump and chase, very aggressive, block a lot of shots. They play desperate whether it’s right now or it’s in September. Like I said, you have to give credit to them for how well they played.”

Bemidji State goaltender Brittni Mowat was stellar with 37 saves in BSU’s 1-0 win over the Gophers but deflected credit to her defense for their strong play in front of her. (MHM Photo / Brent Cizek)

Minnesota headed into the third period outshooting Bemidji State by a margin of 27-11. The Beavers stuck to their ways in the final frame, however, clogging things up in the neutral zone and limiting Minnesota’s quality chances.

“I thought our defense played great in front,” Mowat said. “The forwards backchecked hard, and we didn’t give the Gophers too many opportunities, and what they did have, I kind of turned aside and I think a lot of the credit can go to my D.”

Anderson finally broke the stalemate with 8:14 to play in the third period. She carried the puck up into the zone, alone against three Gophers. Anderson made a move to the net and got hauled down, and the puck deflected off of her and into the back of the net.

“I had some space going up towards the end of a shift so I was a little tired,” Anderson said. “They caught up to me and kind of gave my stick a slash and I went down to my right and just the way I was spinning, it hit my shin pad and it went in five-hole. So it was just a lucky bounce and we’ll take it.”

The officials initially reviewed the goal, but the call on the ice stood.

“There was no kicking motion whatsoever by the Bemidij player on the ice,” WCHA head of officials Greg Shephard said after the game. “It was a good goal, that’s what they saw, and that’s how it stands.”

Minnesota had another power-play chance late in the period, but couldn’t pull the trigger on Mowat to tie it up.

The Gophers, now 31-3-4 on the season, will not play for the WCHA championship for the first time since 2008. It was their second loss of the season to Bemidji State, after falling to the Beavers 1-0, back on Nov. 1.

“Obviously that weekend at Minnesota, that was a real turning point for them because they saw, you know what, we can do this, we can compete against these teams,” Scanlan said.

It was just the third loss of the season for Minnesota, who will now await its draw for next weekend’s NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game.

“Just overall, it’s a good lesson for our kids,” Frost said of the loss. “I told them, ‘let it hurt’. This is supposed to hurt. And we’ve got a lifeline next week, knowing that we’re playing, but we’re running out of time to not win hockey games.”

Bemidji State will face Wisconsin in Sunday’s championship game at 1 p.m. CST.

“I’m just happy for the team,” Anderson said. “We’re playing so good this year and we deserve the championship game tomorrow. We played really well today and all year and I’m just happy with how our team played.”

The post Beavers stun Gophers appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

They will be joined by Carolina Hurricanes chief executive officer, and Lester Patrick Award winner, Peter Karmanos, Jr. (Raleigh, N.C.) whose significant contributions to hockey in the United States spans all levels of the sport.

“This is an extraordinary class in that each have contributed in a remarkable fashion to the advancement of our sport,” USA Hockey President, Ron DeGregorio, said in a statement released by USA Hockey. “It’s a truly remarkable collection of individuals, all so very deserving of earning the pinnacle of accomplishment in hockey in the U.S.”

Ron Mason won 924 men’s college hockey games over a 36-season head-coaching career at Lake Superior State University (1966-73), Bowling Green State University (1973-79) and Michigan State University (1979-2002). His win total ranks second in college hockey annals, while his winning percentage (.696, 924-380-83) is among the top 10 in the sport. He led LSSU to the NAIA national championship in 1972 and MSU to the NCAA national title in 1986. Mason guided 22 of his teams (BGSU-1977-79, MSU-1982-90, 1992, 1994-2002) to the NCAA Tournament, tied for second-best all-time. On two occasions he led the Spartans to streaks of nine consecutive NCAA Tournament showings (1982-90, 1994-2002). He was an architect of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in 1972 and went on to capture 10 CCHA regular season championships (BGSU-1976, 1978-79; MSU-1985-86, 1989- 90, 1998-99, 2001) and 13 CCHA postseason crowns (BGSU-1977-79, MSU-1982-85, 1987, 1989-90, 1998, 2000, 2001). The American Hockey Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 1992, Mason was the CCHA Coach of the Year seven times (1976, 1978-79, 1985, 1989-90, 1999). Among the thousands of players Mason mentored were a pair of Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners (Kip Miller, Ryan Miller), 35 All-Americans and more than 50 future NHL players. Mason, who served on both the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee and NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee during his storied career, served as MSU’s director of athletics from 2002-07 following his coaching career. Mason is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the Michigan State, Bowling Green State, Lake Superior State and St. Lawrence University Sports Halls of Fame.

Cindy Curley was one of the pioneers of the U.S. Women’s National Team, playing in the inaugural IIHF Women’s World Championship in 1990. Her 11 goals, 12 assists and 23 points in five games remain single-tournament records at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. Curley also skated for Team USA at the 1992 and 1994 IIHF Women’s World Championships and the 1995 IIHF Women’s Pacific Rim Championship. She received a silver medal at each of the four events. Upon her retirement, she continued to champion girls’ and women’s hockey as a coach and official. Her dedication to improving grassroots hockey opportunities earned her induction into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. Curley has been intimately involved with USA Hockey in a number of capacities, including as an athlete director on the USA Hockey Board of Directors (1995-2006) and as a member of the organization’s youth council (1999-2006), legal counsel (2005-07), girls/women’s section (2000-05) and safety & protective equipment committee (2001-07). Additionally, she was a member of the U.S. Olympic Athlete Advisory Committee from 2005-08. Among the all-time leading scorers at Providence College, Curley was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.

Bill Guerin spent 18 successful seasons in the National Hockey League with the New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. Picked fifth overall by the Devils in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, he played in New Jersey from 1991-97, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995. Guerin was dealt to Edmonton in the midst of the 1997-98 season and was later traded to Boston in 2000-01. The Boston College product earned NHL Second Team All-Star honors in 2001-02 when he posted a career-best 41 goals for the Bruins. In 2003-04, his second of three seasons in Dallas, he racked up a career-high 69 points (34-35), reaching the 30-goal plateau for the third time of his career. Following stints in St. Louis, San Jose and Long Island, Guerin reached Pittsburgh late in the 2008-09 campaign. A few months later, he hoisted the Stanley Cup as a member of the Penguins. When Guerin retired after the 2009-10 season he had earned 429 goals and 427 assists over his 1,263-game career. Additionally, Guerin was picked for four NHL All-Star Games (2001, 2003, 2004, 2007). He wore the Team USA jersey at seven major international events throughout his career, including three Olympic Winter Games (1998, 2002, 2006), two World Cups of Hockey (1996, 2004) and two IIHF World Junior Championships (1989, 1990). He collected an Olympic silver medal in 2002 and helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the 1996 World Cup.

Doug Weight’s NHL career spanned 19 seasons, during which he played for the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks and New York Islanders. After two years at Lake Superior State University (1989-91), Weight stepped into the lineup of the New York Rangers, who had drafted him 34th overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. In 1993, less than two seasons into his pro career, he was traded to the Oilers, for whom he played the next eight seasons. The playmaking center, who served as team captain his final two seasons in Edmonton, set career highs for assists (79) and points (104) during the 1995-96 campaign. After three-plus seasons in St. Louis, Weight was traded to Carolina, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2006. The final five seasons of his career were spent with the Blues (2006-08), Ducks (2008) and lastly the Islanders. In his last year, Weight captained the Islanders and received the 2011 King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions. In 1,238 career NHL games, Weight scored 278 times and racked up 755 assists. Weight put on the U.S. sweater at nine major international competitions, including three Olympic Winter Games (1998, 2002, 2006), three IIHF Men’s World Championships (1993, 1994, 2005), two World Cups of Hockey (1996, 2004) and one IIHF World Junior Championship (1991). The 14 assists and 19 points that he notched for the 1991 U.S. National Junior Team are single-tournament records for the U.S. Later, he helped Team USA to the gold medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and received a silver medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

The owner and chief executive officer of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, Peter Karmanos, Jr., has used his business acumen to build an empire of hockey at all levels of the game in the United States for more than five decades. In 1994, he acquired the Hartford Whalers and two seasons later moved the team to Raleigh, N.C. Since the team’s arrival in North Carolina, the Hurricanes have enjoyed success both on and off the ice, highlighted by winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. In addition, the team has advanced to the conference finals three times in the last 11 seasons and captured the Eastern Conference title in 2002 and 2006. The Hurricanes were recognized as the top hockey franchise and second-ranked franchise in all of sports in 2009 by ESPN in the “Ultimate Standings,” a collection of data and survey results that take into account a team’s on-ice success as well as its community impact and overall fan experience. As retired executive chairman of the board for Detroit-based Compuware, he has sponsored one of America’s most successful youth hockey programs of the same name. Karmanos also owns the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League, the ECHL’s Florida Everblades and several arenas. In 2012 he received USA Hockey’s Distinguished Achievement Award, and in 1998 the NHL honored him with the Lester Patrick Award for his outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

Founded in 1973, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame has enshrined 156 members to date with inductees chosen on the basis of extraordinary contribution to the sport of hockey in the United States.

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Amanda Kessel produced big numbers on a record-setting night for the Gophers (Photo: WCHA.com)

Led by Amanda Kessel’s five-point effort (2 goals, 3 assists), the University of Minnesota women’s hockey team rolled to a 9-1 win over Minnesota State (4-8-2, 2-6-2-1 WCHA) at Ridder Arena and into the NCAA record books. The undefeated Gophers (14-0-0, 10-0-0 WCHA) won their 22nd straight game dating back to Feb. 18 to set a new NCAA record for consecutive victories, eclipsing the previous record of 21 set by Harvard University between Jan. 4 and March 15, 2008.

Senior defenseman Megan Bozek also scored twice while junior forward Kelly Terry chipped in four assists to an offensive machine which did not get started until the game’s second half.

Charging and interference penalties committed by Minnesota’s Sara Davis and Hanna Brandt, respectively, late in the first period gave the Mavericks a 5-on-3 advantage. Just 22 seconds later, MSU capitalized when Lauren Smith took advantage of prone Gopher goaltender, Noora Räty, to tie the game 1-1 and, in the process, score the first opening-period goal allowed by Minnesota this season.

That is how it remained until Bozek’s goal at 10:54 of the second period put the Gophers back up by a goal and opened the floodgates. Minnesota would go on to score seven more goals over the game’s next 22:24 to complete the record-setting rout.

“We set the record with this year’s team, but last year’s team was a big part of it as well,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said, acknowledging the contribution of the 2011-12 Gophers who won their final eight games en route to an NCAA title. “Obviously winning the national championship last year was special—this doesn’t rank up quite as high as that —but this is a pretty neat thing for our program.

“It’s pretty remarkable to win 22 games in a row.”

Bozek added, “Not many people can say that they’ve [set] an NCAA record; it’s been a good start to the year, I’d say.”

In case you were wondering, Harvard finished 32-2-0 in 2008 but did not capture the NCAA championship as the Crimson dropped a 4-1 decision to Wisconsin in the Frozen Four semifinals. Two nights later, Minnesota-Duluth defeated the Badgers 4-0 for its fourth NCAA title.

. . . . . 

Elsewhere in the WCHA …

No. 10 North Dakota (6-5-0, 5-4-0-0 WCHA) received goals from Allison Parizek, Michelle Karvinen, and Monique Lamoureux aided by a pair of Jocelyne Lamoureux assists to defeat Bemidji State 3-1 in Saturday night’s season opener between the regional rivals at the Sanford Center. The Beavers (2-7-2, 1-5-1-0 WCHA) benefited from senior forward Emily Erickson‘s first goal of the year but it wasn’t enough to prevent BSU’s fifth straight loss to North Dakota dating back to a 3-2 victory on Nov. 26, 2011. The two teams will meet again on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm at the Sanford Center.

. . . . . 

Minnesota-Duluth’s Tea Villila battles with St. Cloud State’s Haylea Schmid during UMD’s 4-1 win. (Photo: Tom Nelson, St. Cloud State Athletics)

For the second time in as many days, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs skated to a 4-1 win over the St. Cloud State Huskies at the National Hockey Center. Jenna McParland‘s second goal of the series at 7:51 of the first period proved to be the difference and extended UMD’s unbeaten streak over SCSU to 11 games. The Bulldogs (5-6-1, 4-5-1 WCHA) outshot the Huskies (4-9-1, 2-8-0 WCHA) by a 36-29 margin and went 2-of-6 on the power play while holding St. Cloud State scoreless in two attempts.

. . . . .

Minnesota native Taylor Kuehl‘s (Minnetrista) two goals led the Ohio State Buckeyes (10-4-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) to a 3-1 win over the Wisconsin Badgers (8-4-2-, 4-4-2-2 WCHA) to split the series in Columbus, Ohio.

The post Gophers establish new NCAA victory mark in win over Minnesota State appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Team USA earned precious metal in Finland last week. (Photo: Pekka Rautiainen)

All WCHA teams but St. Cloud State and Bemidji State had last weekend off with attention focused on Finland and the 2012 Four Nation’s Cup, the annual tournament featuring the four of the top women’s hockey teams in the world – the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden.

13 skaters with WCHA ties traveled to Finland with Team USA, the defending tournament champions, including goaltenders Alex Rigsby (UW), Jessie Vetter (UW alum), defensemen Megan Bozek (UM), Lisa Chesson (OSU alum), Milica McMillen (UM-St. Paul), Anne Schleper (UM alum-St. Cloud), and forwards Brianna Decker (UW), Meghan Duggan (UW alum), Sarah Erickson (UM alum-Roseau), Amanda Kessel (UM), Hilary Knight (UW alum), Jocelyne Lamoureux (UND), and Monique Lamoureux (UND).

Seven players on Canada’s roster had Western Collegiate Hockey Association ties as defensemen Tessa Bonhomme (OSU), Jocelyne Larocque (UMD), Meaghan Mikkelson (UW) and Bobbi Jo Slusar (UW) and forwards Haley Irwin (UMD), Caroline Ouellette (UMD), and Natalie Spooner (OSU) all skated for the Canadians.

In addition, Pernilla Winberg (UMD), Annie Svedin (OSU), and Emilia Andersson (MSU) competed for Sweden while UMD’s Tea Villila skated for Finland.

Amanda Kessel keeps a a close eye on the puck (Photo: Pekka Rautiainen)

The U.S. opened the round-robin tournament by shutting out Sweden 4-0 but dropped a 3-1 game to Canada the following day. Team USA closed out pool play with a 15-0 trouncing of the host country, Finland, to set up a rematch on Saturday with their arch rivals north of the border.

In the title game, Team USA turned the tables on Canada with a 3-0 shutout to win the Four Nations Cup for the fifth time (1997, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012) in the 17-year history of the tournament. Schleper, a former Gopher from St. Cloud scored in the game while Kessel’s six points overall (1-5–6) tied her with Knight (6-0–6) for the tournament lead in scoring.

“I’m very happy as to how our team came together this week,” said Katey Stone (Arlington, Mass.), head coach of Team USA in a USA Hockey release. “We played tough, we played smart, we made some adjustments, we had great goaltending, and we played strong (defensively). I’m happy and proud of how (we) played.”

League notes …

Bemidji State

When the Beavers (2-6-2, 1-4-1-0 WCHA, 4 points) take the ice this weekend at the Sanford Center for their series with North Dakota, they will be doing so in a game setting for the first time in 26 days … With a loss and a tie at Maine last weekend, BSU wrapped its non-conference schedule with a 1-2-1 record … last Saturday marked the first time since Nov. 4, 2011 that Bemidji State was not issued a single penalty in a game.

Minnesota

The top-rated Golden Gophers (12-0-0, 8-0-0-0 WCHA, 24 points) are off to the best start in program history and put their unbeaten record on the line Friday and Saturday against Minnesota State at Ridder Arena … Dating back to last season, the Gophers are on a 20-game winning streak, which ties the longest in program history (Feb. 21, 2004 – Nov. 19, 2004) … With her 4-0 shutout of UMD on Nov. 4, Noora Raty is eight away from tying the NCAA record for shutouts (39).

Minnesota-Duluth

The Bulldogs (3-6-1, 2-5-1-0 WCHA, 6 points), return to the ice this weekend when they face St. Cloud State in St. Cloud … The Bulldogs will go nine weeks before they host another WCHA team at AMSOIL Arena … The injury bug has devoured UMD this season with eight of the Bulldogs 19 skaters having missed at least a game this season, five of which have missed four or more games … UMD has converted only two of 33 power-play attempts and UMD’s scoring offense continues to rank as the worst in program history at this point in any of the previous 13 seasons.

Minnesota State

The Mavericks (4-6-2, 2-4-2-1 WCHA, 9 points) return to WCHA play Friday and Saturday when they travel to Minneapolis to face top-ranked and unbeaten Minnesota at Ridder Arena … The Minnesota State penalty-kill did not allow a goal to Wisconsin on nine chances in its Nov. 2-3 series to improve to 27-of-31 (87.15) for the year, a mark that stands third in the WCHA … The Mavericks have made a habit of scoring late as 15 of its 21 (71%) goals have come in the third period.

St. Cloud State

The Huskies (4-7-1, 2-6-0-0 WCHA, 6 points) return to action this weekend as they welcome Minnesota Duluth to the National Hockey & Event Center for a WCHA series following last weekend’s sweep at home of Lindenwood by scores of 2-0 and 7-2 … SCSU outshot Lindenwood 46-21 in game one … sophomore Julie Friend recorded 21 saves in Friday’s shutout and improved her record to 2-3-1 on the season.

Heading to the polls ….

With so many teams out of action, there was very little movement in either poll this week. Ohio state’s move from 9 to 8 in the USCHO poll was the only change to affect a WCHA team.

Players of the Week

WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
Julia Gilbert – Junior, Forward
St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University forward Julia Gilbert, who was named the First Star of both games while scoring three goals and setting up another to lead the Huskies to a non-conference sweep over visiting Lindenwood University last weekend, has been named the WCHA Women’s Offensive Player of the Week for Nov. 14.

A junior from Hermantown, Minn., Gilbert also scored the first goal of both contests, recorded a total of 13 shots on goal and earned a +3 plus/minus rating. In host SCSU’s 2-0 victory over Lindenwood last Friday (Nov. 9) at the National Hockey and Event Center, she tallied her first goal of the season at 15:17 of the first period. Then last Saturday (Nov. 10), Gilbert fired home two goals, again notching the opening tally of the contest at 5:00 of the first period, and drew an assist for three points as the Huskies prevailed 7-2 in the series finale.

Through 11 games played so far this season, Gilbert is tied for fourth in team scoring with four points on three goals and one assist.

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Julie Friend – Sophomore, Goaltender
St. Cloud State University

Goaltender Julie Friend, who recorded her second shutout of the season in St. Cloud State University’s 2-0 home-ice victory over Lindenwood last weekend, is the WCHA Women’s Defensive Player of the Week for Nov. 7.

A sophomore from Minnetonka, Minn., Friend stopped all 21 shots on goal against Lindenwood last Friday afternoon at the National Hockey and Event Center in St. Cloud and also blanked her opponents on all three of their power-play opportunities to earn Third Star of the Game honors. The shutout was the second of the season for Friend, who earlier fashioned a 39-save, 1-0, whitewash of league rival Bemidji State back on Oct. 13.

In 363:05 minutes of time between the pipes for St. Cloud State this season, Friend owns a 2-3-1 overall record with a 2.48 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. Her save percentage ranks fourth overall among WCHA goaltenders.

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Kaitlyn Tougas – Freshman, Forward
Bemidji State University

Bemidji State University forwardKaitlyn Tougas, who scored a goal and added an assist in the Beavers’ two-game non-conference series against visiting Maine last weekend, is the WCHA Women’s Rookie of the Week for Nov. 14.

A freshman right winger from Thunder Bay, Ont., Tougas scored the first goal of the game and also drew an assist in host Bemidji State’s 4-3 loss to the Black Bears last Friday (Nov. 9) at Sanford Center. Her goal came at 10:26 of the first period to stake her club to a 1-0 lead while her assist on freshman Hanna Moher‘s first career goal at 13:18 made it 2-0. In addition to registering two points, Tougas set up several other scoring chances as Bemidji State outshot Maine 60-20. In the series finale last Saturday (Nov. 10), Tougas had two shots on goal in a 2-2 overtime tie.

Tougas is currently tied for sixth in scoring overall among WCHA freshmen with five points (2g, 3a) in 10 games.

Hockey East Rookie of the Week
Megan Armstrong – Freshman, Defenseman
University of New Hampshire (Edina, Minn.)

Armstrong tallied three points (1g, 2a) and six shots on goal on the weekend, including two assists in the 4-2 win against No. 5 Boston University and a goal at Providence in the 2-2 tie.

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Nicole Anderson, PC (Sr., F, Jordan, Minn.) She tallied a three point game to lead the Friars to a comeback win over UConn on Saturday.

Maggie Pendleton, PC (Jr., D, Woodbury, Minn.) Notched three points on the weekend, including her first goal on the season on Sunday vs. UNH.

Audra Richards, Maine (Fr., F, Maplewood, Minn.) Picked up a goal in the 4-3 win over Bemidji Friday and had the winning shootout goal Saturday.

The post Women’s college hockey notebook appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Megan Bozek scored three goals in a Minnesota sweep of UMD in Duluth. (Photo: WCHA.com)

No. 1 Minnesota (12-0-0, 8-0-0 WCHA) at Minnesota-Duluth (3-6-1, 2-5-1 WCHA)

Friday: UM 4  UMD 1
Saturday: UM 4  UMD o

Minnesota extended its winning streak to 18 games in sweeping Minnesota Duluth on the road for the first time since Oct. 26-27, 2007. Freshman Maryanne Menefee scored twice while fellow rookie, Hannah Brandt, and  junior Amanda Kessel each added a pair of assists toward Friday’s win. UMD junior forward, Jamie Kenyon, scored the lone goal of the series for the Bulldogs early in the third period but Gopher goalie Noora Räty stopped all 23 other  UMD shots in the opener. Minnesota-Duluth goaltender, Kayla Black made 23 of her series total of 52 saves on Friday.

In Saturday’s finale, Senior defenseman, Megan Bozek, scored twice–her second and third goals of the series–and Räty made 17 saves in shutting out the Bulldogs. Brandt added two more assists to maintain her team and national points lead at 33 (12-21–33) while Kessel scored her team-leading 15th goal of the season, which also leads the nation. In addition, Bozek’s 18 points (6-12–18) tops all Division I defensemen.

Minnesota State (4-6-2, 2-4-2 WCHA) at Wisconsin (7-3-2, 3-3-2 WCHA)

Friday: UW 2  MSU 0
Saturday: UW 5 MSU 0

Wisconsin goaltender Alex Rigsby, last week’s WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, extended her shutout streak to 189 minutes in blanking the Mavericks twice in Madison. With the exception goaltender Danielle Butters‘ 72 saves in the series, not much went right for MSU in two games at LaBahn Arena. Warroad’s Karley Sylvester contributed an assist in each game for the Badgers.

No. 10 Ohio State (9-3-0, 7-3-0 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (2-7-1, 2-6-0 WCHA)

Friday: OSU 3  SCSU 2
Saturday: OSU 4 SCSU 2

With a goal on Friday and a pair of assists on Saturday,  Ohio State sophomore forward Taylor Kuehl–and reigning WCHA Offensive Player of the Week–of Minnetrista, Minn. helped lead the Buckeyes to a sweep of the Huskies in St. Cloud. Edina’s Ellie Sitek recorded her first goal of the season early in the third period of the series opener but OSU answered just over six minutes later on a Tina Hollwell goal which would become the game winner. SCSU goaltender Julie Friend of Minnetonka took the loss on Friday despite her 32-save effort.

Audrey Hamner had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s loss at home to Ohio State (Photo: St. Cloud State University Athletics)

Andover’s Alex Nelson got the Huskies on the board first on Saturday and a late second-period goal by Audrey Hamner of Wyoming, Minn. gave St. Cloud State a 2-1 lead heading into the third, but Ohio State countered with a trio of third-period goals to put the game away. Kuehl assisted on Hollowell’s empty-net goal at the 19 minute mark to seal the sweep for the Buckeyes.

No. 4 Clarkson (8-2-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) at No. 9 North Dakota (5-5-0, 4-4-0 WCHA)

Friday: CU 3  UND 1
Saturday: UND 3  CU 2

North Dakota freshman goaltender Shelby Amsely-Benzie of Warroad made 23 saves to earn her second win of the season and help UND salvage a split in its non-conference series with visiting Clarkson University on Saturday. Mary Loken, a senior forward from Roseau, assisted on Jocelyne Lamoureux‘s 100th collegiate goal at 3:16 of the second period in the win.

The post WCHA women’s weekend recap appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

ilia Ohio State so. forward, Taylor Kuehl (Minnetrista, MInn.), has been named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. (Photo: WCHA.com)

With four goals and an assist last weekend to help her Ohio State Buckeyes to a sweep of visiting Bemidji State last weekend, sophomore forward, Taylor Kuehl (Minnestrista, Minn.) was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. Kuehl, who registered nine shots and was a +4 plus/minus in the series, is heating up now with six goals in her last four games and 10 points (8-2–10) in 10 games this season.

Minnesota defenseman Milica McMillen scored once in each game of the Gophers’ sweep at North Dakota last weekend and added an assist while helping limit UND to 40 total shots in the series. All that adds up to WCHA Rookie of the Week for the freshman from St. Paul who sits tied for second in overall scoring among WCHA defenseman with 11 points (5-6–11) through 10 games.

Wisconsin junior goaltender, Alex Rigsby was recognized as WCHA Defensive Player of the week after leading the Badgers to a sweep at home of New Hampshire by stopping 50 of 51 Wildcats’ shots.

Heading over to the polls …

After last weekend’s sweep of North Dakota in Grand Forks, Minnesota’s extended its run as U.S. College Hockey Online’s consensus No. 1 team in the nation to a fifth straight week to open the season. North Dakota drops one spot to No. 9 while Ohio State, after a one-week hiatus from the top 10, climbs back in at No. 10. Wisconsin (12) and Minnesota-Duluth (11) each received votes this week but, following a pair of losses to No. 5 Mercyhurst, Minnesota State falls from the 10th spot without receiving a vote.

USCHO’s initial Division III women’s poll finds Gustavus Adolphus ranked No. 3 in the country (one first-place vote) behind Norwich and Plattsburgh, respectively.  Concordia (Moorhead) opens the season at No. 10 with St. Thomas (5), Bethel (2), and St. Scholastica (1) also receiving votes.

Notable …

With 21 saves in Saturday’s 5-1 win over UND, Gopher goaltender Noora Räty earned her 84th career victory to become the school’s all-time leader in that category. Sunday’s win raised her overall record to 85-17-8 and leaves the Espoo, Finland native just 15 wins shy of tying the NCAA record set last season by Mercyhurst’s Hillary Pattenden (100-20-6).

Nicole Anderson’s five-point weekend (3-2–5) for Providence earns the Jordan, Minn. forward Hockey East Player of the week honors. (Photos: Hockey East)

Congratulations go out to Providence senior forward, Nicole Anderson (Jordan, Minn.), as the recipient of this week’s Hockey East Player of the Week award. According to a Hockey East press release, Anderson tallied five points on the weekend (3g,2a), including a hat trick and an assist in the 4-2 win over St. Cloud State on Sunday. During Saturday’s game she tallied an assist on the tying goal with 19.2 seconds left in the game. She finished the weekend with 14 shots on goal and a +3 plus/minus rating.

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North Dakota’s sweep of St. Cloud State was enough to move up two spots to eighth while Minnesota State’s pair of wins (one in a shootout) over Minnesota Duluth allowed the previously-unranked Mavericks to land the 10 spot. Wisconsin’s loss and shootout win at home vs. Bemidji State dropped the Badgers from from the rankings after holding the ninth spot last week.

Ohio State (14), Wisconsin (7), and UMD (1) all received votes.

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