The undefeated Minnesota women’s team is again the top-ranked team in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll. Minnesota (8-0-0) earned all 15 first-place votes as it has all season long. Wisconsin stays second, while Cornell is again in the No. 3 slot. North Dakota moves up two spots to No. 4, Clarkson retains the … Read more
Over the first decade of NCAA tournaments, Minnesota-Duluth won half of them. In the three years since that fifth NCAA championship in 2010, coach Shannon Miller’s Bulldogs have not won an NCAA tournament game, including missing out on the national tournament altogether in consecutive years for the first time. In 2013, Minnesota-Duluth did not even … Read more
Minnesota is again a unanimous No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll as all 15 first-place votes this week went the Gophers’ way. The rest of the poll has a decidedly different look from last week. Wisconsin jumps two spots to No. 2, Cornell rises two to No. 3, Boston College falls a … Read more
Candace and Arlan ponder how good Minnesota is, as well as the rest of the contenders in the WCHA,
Minnesota ran its season record to 4-0 last weekend with a two-game sweep of Wisconsin and the Gophers remain the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll this week. Boston College stays second, followed by Clarkson at No. 3 and the Badgers in the fourth slot. Cornell, ranked No. 4 last week, falls … Read more
Minnesota State kicked off its season by hosting Mercyhurst in a nonconference series, taking the first contest, 4-2, before falling by a 3-2 score in the second game. While that split should be encouraging, the Mavericks also split with the Lakers two years ago in the season’s second weekend, and then went on to finish … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth missed out on the NCAA tournament for a second consecutive year and only the third time in its history. Even worse, for the first time the Bulldogs failed to advance to the conference semifinals after being swept at home in the quarters by Ohio State. A big reason why is that the team’s goal … Read more
After enjoying one of its best seasons two years ago, Bemidji State struggled mightily in 2012-13. The Beavers allowed the most goals in conference play, and only St. Cloud State scored fewer. The top two scorers graduated, so BSU will need to rebuild around younger players like sophomore Kaitlyn Tougas and transfers Kristine Grenier … Read more
After scoring 212 goals during its last NCAA Championship season in 2010-11, Wisconsin’s offensive output dropped to 103 goals a year ago. Brianna Decker, who tallied a point on more than half of those, is now gone. That doesn’t bode well for a return to potency this season. “The thing that helps us, especially in … Read more
Ohio State continued its renaissance under Nate Handrahan, getting back to the conference semifinals for the first time in three years and being ranked as high as sixth. But for a slump after the new year, the Buckeyes could even have made their way into their first NCAA tournament. “You look at them last year … Read more
This promises to be a transitional year in the WCHA, as players like Brianna Decker, Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, and Noora Räty that have formed the identity of the conference have completed their eligibility. Their former schools all bring in strong recruiting classes, so while the personnel losses leave the door open a crack for … Read more
While many contending teams view the Olympic year as an additional challenge that results in the absence of key players, for St. Cloud State an Olympic year represents opportunity. The Huskies parlayed a talented senior class and depleted rosters of some conference foes to finish a program-best third in the WCHA in 2009-10, the previous … Read more
A wide variance exists in how the coming season might unfold for Minnesota. Teams often struggle after saying goodbye to a franchise goaltender, and the Gophers graduated the winningest goalie in NCAA history in Noora Räty. “As of right now, Amanda Leveille is going to get the start for us,” coach Brad Frost said. “She’s … Read more
Defending national champion Minnesota starts the 2013-14 season where it ended 2012-13 – ranked in the top spot of the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll. The Gophers earned 14 of 15 first-place votes, with No. 2 Boston College getting the other No. 1 nod. Clarkson comes in at No. 3, followed by Cornell at No. … Read more
Minnesota has won the last two women’s Frozen Four championships and according to a preseason poll of the WCHA head coaches, the Gophers are the pick to win the conference in 2013-14. Minnesota garnered seven of eight first-place votes and 49 of a possible 50 voting points. 2013 WCHA PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL In addition, Minnesota … Read more
Shera Fetter will be coaching alongside her husband, Jim Fetter, this season as the former Elmira women’s assistant is the new assistant at St. Cloud State, where Jim has been an assistant the past two seasons. “That’s probably the bonus [coaching with her husband], but she’s somebody that I interviewed before and with different circumstances, … Read more
Minnesota announced Tuesday that it will host the 2014 Hockey City Classic outdoor doubleheader Jan. 17 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Minnesota forward Amanda Kessel has been named a finalist for the 2013 Sportswoman of the Year Award in the Team Sport Category by the Women’s Sports Foundation. Currently training with the United States women’s national team that will play in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Kessel, who will be a senior in 2014-15, … Read more
Mandy Hansen has been named Minnesota’s assistant director of athletic communications and will serve as the primary media contact for women’s hockey. Hansen brings more than eight years of communications experience to the department, including serving as the media liaison for the 2011 NCAA women’s hockey championship team at Wisconsin.
Former Minnesota women’s captain Sarah Erickson has been named the new head women’s coach at Concordia (Minn.). Erickson, who captained for the Gophers in both the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, replaces Brett Bruininks, who left to take the women’s assistant position at Minnesota State. Erickson becomes the sixth head coach in the history of the … Read more