Author Archives | by Eitan Schoenberg

Gophers men’s hockey beats Michigan in physical home series

Gophers men’s hockey shut out the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines in both games at 3M Arena at Mariucci in a matchup between two of the best offenses in the Big Ten.

Only one team could leave 3M Arena undefeated as Minnesota and Michigan entered the series without a loss in Big Ten play. The Gophers ended the weekend with eight goals, smothering the Wolverines’ offense by not allowing a goal.

Dec. 6

The crowd of 9,200 fans at 3M Arena on Friday night roared as junior forward Matthew Wood buried a rebound to open the scoring 12 minutes into the first period. 

Fifty-five seconds later, junior forward Jimmy Snuggerud ripped a shot past Michigan goaltender Logan Stein on a three-on-two rush while fans cheered after Wood’s goal. 

The Gophers completely dominated first-period play, possessing most of the game’s offensive zone time and outshooting the Wolverines 19-2 with a 2-0 lead entering the final five minutes of the period. 

Minnesota’s scoring flurry continued as junior defender Luke Mittelstadt found senior forward Aaron Huglen in the slot who sniped a shot past Stein for the Gophers’ third goal. 

Minnesota’s early momentum carried over when the teams returned for the second period. Outnumbered by Wolverines, sophomore forward Oliver Moore found Wood in the slot who snapped home his second goal of the game. 

Two more Gophers joined in on the second-period scoring as freshman August Falloon and junior Connor Kurth scored about a minute apart. Michigan replaced Stein for goaltender Cameron Korpi at the start of the third period. 

Gophers sophomore goaltender Nathan Airey turned aside 32 shots, including 14 in the third period, to secure his first career shutout and a 6-0 win.

Dec. 7

The Gophers’ student section was decked out in white for the “ice out” at 3M Arena on Saturday night. Graduate goaltender Liam Souliere took the crease, sticking with the alternating goaltending tandem Gophers head coach Bob Motzko has used most of the season. 

After Saturday’s game, Motzko said he is comfortable cycling between Souliere and Airey. He said it would be a mistake to stop alternating the two as they build off each other’s confidence.

“This is the easiest coaching decision I’ve ever made,” Motzko said laughing. “My wife would hit me if I made a different move right now.”

Michigan started off the contest flying and a penalty within the first minute from Snuggerud added to the visiting team’s momentum. Minnesota’s penalty kill shut down the Wolverines’ power play, which was top 10 in the NCAA.

After the penalty kill, the Gophers gained control of the game by drawing an elbowing penalty  13 minutes into the opening frame. Minnesota’s power play came up short. They received another opportunity after Michigan defender Tyler Duke committed a five-minute major penalty.

Sophomore Sam Rinzel ripped a shot from the high slot that beat Korpi and ignited the home crowd halfway through the five-minute power play. 

The second period had scoring opportunities and one power play for each team but neither beat the goaltenders.

Despite trailing one goal, Michigan’s offense tallied five shots on goal in the third period. The Wolverines pulled Korpi for the extra skater but were unable to establish offense.

Snuggerud fired a shot from Minnesota’s blue line into the empty net with 12 seconds left but was checked by Michigan forward Evan Werner immediately after. Werner delivered a second hit to Snuggerud as he fell. After reviewing the play, the referees ejected Werner for cross-checking.

Michigan racked up 10 penalties and 42 penalty minutes on Saturday alone, while the series overall featured a combined 25 penalties. 

Souliere finished the game with a 22-save shutout as the Gophers completed their sweep of the Wolverines with a 2-0 win. Souliere praised Minnesota’s defensive efforts and said the team remained disciplined throughout the game.

“When we talk about top-to-bottom effort from the team like we had guys down, we’re injured,” Souliere said. “Everyone pulled the rope and we got it out.”

After Michigan State lost to Wisconsin on Friday night, the Gophers are the final undefeated team in the Big Ten. Minnesota hosts Michigan State for their final series of 2024 on Dec. 13 and 14.

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Gophers women’s cross country ends season with top-20 nationals finish

Gophers women’s cross country concluded the 2024 season with an 18th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday.

Minnesota competed with 30 other NCAA cross-country programs and surpassed their pre-NCAA Championships ranking of 23rd by five spots. The Gophers placed better than  Wisconsin and Utah, who were ranked in the top 15 nationally before the meet.

The women’s team’s 18th-place finish comes after two years of missing out on nationals, with their last appearance being a seventh-place finish in 2021.

The Gophers’ finish landed within junior Ali Weimer’s definition of a competitive NCAA Championship performance. She said it was the team’s goal as a self-considered “nationals caliber team” to qualify for nationals and perform above expectations.

“Not just qualifying but competing for a top 15, top 20 spot and not just finishing last,” Weimer said.

Weimer finished in 48th place as the Gophers’ top finisher, making her the team’s top women’s runner at every meet this season. Weimer’s rank was the best from a Gophers junior or younger since 2010, and her time of 20:10.5 was the fifth-fastest NCAA Championships 6K time in program history.

Graduate Emma Atkinson finished second for the Gophers in 93rd place out of the 255 runners. Sophomores Nadia Phillips, Izzy Roemer and senior Erin Reidy finished in the top 150 as Phillips and Roemer crossed the finish line at 148th and 149th, respectively. 

The NCAA Championships was not Minnesota’s first run at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin. The team raced there a month prior in its 13th place finish at the Pre-Nationals meet. However, nine teams at the NCAA Championships did not compete in Pre-Nationals.

Before nationals, Gophers head coach Sarah Hopkins said the familiarity with the course and midwestern conditions helped Minnesota. Hopkins said for a team like Alabama, which did not race in the Pre-Nationals meet, the weather could cause problems.

“Sometimes when you go to a completely different place just unknown makes you a little more nervous,” Hopkins said.

Alabama was consistently ranked seventh through the second half of the season but dropped to 10th at the NCAA Championships.

Hopkins said the team showed more depth this season compared to others at Minnesota’s last NCAA Championships three years ago, where three of the team’s top five finishers were graduates and two were seniors.

Comparatively, three of the Gophers’ top five finishers at nationals were sophomores and juniors. Isabelle Schmitz, who was Minnesota’s seventh and final finisher at nationals, is a freshman.

“We’ve got this young core that isn’t going to just evaporate over the next couple of years which I think will hopefully allow this success to keep building over the next several years too,” Hopkins said.

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Gophers men’s hockey identifies lack of net-front presence

Gophers men’s hockey’s nine-game win streak ended after an upset loss against the unranked Bemidji State Beavers on Saturday. 

Two first-period goals from Bemidji State forward Kirklan Irey were all the Beavers needed in their 3-1 win over the Gophers. Minnesota got on the board late in the third period with a goal from junior Matthew Wood, but Bemidji State held off the Gophers and sealed the game with an empty net goal.

The loss against Bemidji State marked the second time the Gophers outshot their opponents and lost, with the first being a 2-1 overtime loss on Oct. 12 against then-ranked No. 15 Omaha. 

Minnesota’s win streak started with a 7-5 win over Minnesota-Duluth in October and featured 40 goals in nine games. During the Gophers’ last win, a 5-3 victory over the Beavers, they led throughout but staved off a last-minute comeback attempt. 

Heading into the Gophers’ first Big Ten matchup against Penn State, head coach Bob Motzko said Minnesota needed to get “punched in the mouth and fight back,” referring to the team’s unfamiliarity of playing without a lead. 

While Minnesota overcame deficits in wins over Wisconsin, they did not replicate the comeback against Bemidji State.

“We did everything but score a goal,” Motzko said after the loss to Bemidji State. “If we could have got one, we would have had two and three, but we couldn’t get one until the very end.”

Motzko said Bemidji State goaltender Mattias Sholl and his team’s defense were key in the loss. He added the Gophers worked on creating traffic in front of goalies at practice on Monday to drive more scoring opportunities.

“We had many opportunities where we could have done that and it’s a refocus in our game now,” Motzko said.

Freshman Brodie Ziemer had six points during the Gophers’ win streak, including an overtime game-winner against Wisconsin to complete the sweep. Ziemer’s overtime goal was a product of driving the goalie crease as he batted in the puck mid-air.

Minnesota’s attention now shifts back to Big Ten play as they travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Ziemer said his confidence grows from playing Big Ten matchups each weekend.

“It’s a lot of fun, honestly,” Ziemer said. “Going back to away rinks is awesome, and I’m continuing to adjust.”

Ziemer has four points in his last four games and is tied for second in conference points among his teammates. Motzko said he loves Ziemer’s play style and the direction of his development.

“He’s got a tougher-than-nails ability to score,” Motzko said. “He’s getting better and better every day and he’s only scratching the surface of how good he’s going to be.”

Minnesota will head into its third Big Ten series as one of three undefeated teams in conference play. Notre Dame is 1-5-0 in the Big Ten this season with its only win being a 3-2 overtime victory over Wisconsin at the beginning of November.

The Gophers’ first game against the Fighting Irish at Compton Family Ice Arena is Friday night.

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Gophers women’s cross country reframing nerves ahead of NCAA Championships

The Gophers women’s cross country team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with its second-place team finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday. 

Junior Ali Weimer finished as the 6K’s runner-up at 19:48.85, six seconds behind Oklahoma’s Leah Jeruto. Graduate Emma Atkinson finished 11th, while freshman Isabelle Schmitz and sophomore Izzy Roemer finished 15th and 16th, respectively. 

Weimer said she started to feel discomfort around the final kilometer of the race so she eased her pace, allowing Jeruto to pull ahead and win. While she wanted to win, Weimer said she saved her energy for the national meet instead of risking a longer recovery.

Gophers head coach Sarah Hopkins said the team is taking practice lighter to retain energy before nationals. She added nervousness will come into play while on the way to nationals but the team can reframe it to their advantage. 

“The nerves are good and that’s how it helps you run fast,” Hopkins said. “You get endorphins from that and you get adrenaline from that, and that’s what we want. But, we just don’t want it to go so far over the edge that you’re panicked and in a bad mental place.”

Weimer said casual activities, like getting her nails done or hanging out at a coffee shop, help her and her teammates mentally prepare. 

The Gophers finished in second and secured their spot in the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2021. Weimer, Atkinson, Schmitz and Roemer earned All-Region honors for their performances.

Hopkins said this year’s women’s roster is similar to last year’s, but the key difference is their confidence. She said the development that comes with another year of experience for runners like Roemer, and changes in training, separate this year’s ceiling. 

After the Big Ten Championships, Hopkins texted the women’s team and thanked them for trusting her after a year where the team failed to qualify for nationals. Earlier this season, multiple women’s runners expressed dissatisfaction with last year’s performance.

“It would have been easy after last season to question everything and doubt what we were doing,” Hopkins said.

Weimer said her heartbreak and discontent with the last two years are motivating her to break the idea that Minnesota is not competitive as the women’s team did not appear in the cross-country national rankings until the third week of the season. The Gophers are now ranked 23rd for the second straight week.

“Let’s prove that we are capable of doing big things,” Weimer said. “I think going into this week, there’s nothing to lose.”

While the women’s team extended their season, the men’s team finished 10th out of 29 teams and did not receive a bid to the NCAA championships. 

Freshman Aidan Jones was the Gophers’ top runner in the 10K finishing in 29th place and setting a personal record of 30:12.44. Graduate Lucas Florsheim finished in 47th and set a personal record with a time of 30:37.05.

At the Big Ten Championships, Florsheim tied the all-time Minnesota 8K record while Jones’ performance put him at eighth in program history. Florsheim praised Jones for competing with older college runners as a freshman.

“He’s staring down three more years in the NCAA,” Florsheim said before regionals. “He’s coming for all those records if you ask me.”

Florsheim said the consistency of the women’s team this season was inspirational and motivating for the men’s team. He added the women’s team has a solid balance of young and veteran talent to succeed in the future.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to travel with them and train with them,” Florsheim said. “They’ve been absolutely killing it this year.”

The Gophers women’s team will begin competition at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Gophers women’s hockey tallies six-game winning streak

The Gophers women’s hockey team won its sixth consecutive game on Saturday after completing a series sweep on the road against the No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.

Minnesota claimed the series’ first game on Friday 4-1 and outshot Minnesota-Duluth with a season-high 52 shots on goal. Senior forward Abbey Murphy scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second period on a one-timer shot assisted by fifth-year forward Natálie Mlýnková.

The Gophers’ power play and depth came through as the team pulled away with a 3-2 win on Saturday. Freshman defender Gracie Graham tied the game in the first period, followed by senior forward Peyton Hemp scoring the go-ahead goal on the power play.

Murphy’s assist on Graham’s tally was her 150th career point, while her game-winning goal on Friday was her 80th career goal. 

After a scoreless second period, junior forward Emma Conner slammed home her first goal of the season in the final nine minutes of the game to secure the win. 

Junior defender Sydney Morrow and Mlýnková were held pointless in Saturday’s contest, snapping their team-leading six-game point streak. Mlýnková had 10 points during the span, including five goals and two game-winners against Bemidji State, as she sits in second for Minnesota in points and goals.

Gophers head coach Brad Frost said Mlýnková is an important factor in the team’s secondary scoring, and that her ability to produce in critical moments stems from her experience playing for Czechia during the 2022 Beijing Olympics. 

“She’s got incredible skill, so she’s starting to get rewarded now with a lot of her offensive chances,” Frost said. “She’s just a really mature hockey player that does things the right way.”

Freshman goaltender Hannah Clark started in five of the Gophers’ six games during the ongoing win streak after senior Skylar Vetter started in goal for the first three games of the season. Clark has a 6-1-1 record this season and allowed seven goals in her last five starts.

Clark won in her first collegiate start against Boston University on Oct. 6. Frost described Clark as composed and said to expect her to make the starting goaltending spot competitive.

“We expect big things from Hannah here in the future,” Frost said after Clark’s first win.

Before the series against Minnesota-Duluth, Frost emphasized its importance for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) standings and national rankings. The Gophers were ranked third nationally and tied for fourth in points with St. Cloud in the WCHA heading into the series.

Murphy said the team cannot get distracted by rankings and needs to focus on one game at a time. She distances herself from her statistics as well, including last season when she set a career record in goals with 33, tying for the NCAA scoring lead.

“We’re a unit — we’re one whole unit,” Murphy said.

While the rest of the team had a week off from games between the Bemidji State and Minnesota-Duluth series, Murphy and freshman Chloe Primerano traveled to California, Utah and Idaho for the USA vs Canada Rivalry Series. Murphy represented the U. S. and Primerano represented Canada in the first three games of the series.

Murphy scored twice in USA’s 7-2 win on Nov. 6 while Primerano secured the shootout winner for Canada in their 5-4 win on Nov. 8.

“I’d rather have her on my team,” Primerano said as she laughed about playing against Murphy. “She’s an amazing player.”

After the two Gophers battled against each other in one more game on Nov. 10, they rejoined the team ahead of the Minnesota-Duluth series to extend Minnesota’s win streak.

With the win on Saturday, the Gophers jumped the Bulldogs in the WCHA standings and now sit in third place, five points behind Ohio State. 

Minnesota plays a home-and-home series against No. 5 St. Cloud starting Friday with a chance to pull away from them in the WCHA standings.

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Mariana Mesones rediscovers her golf game by not playing golf

It is the time away from the green when Mariana Mesones started to find her game again.

Mesones, a sophomore from Peru, returned to the Gophers women’s golf team in September after taking a gap year and said she had to readjust to balancing college and golf life. She said her golf performance was impacted by her mental state.

During her freshman year, Mesones broke Minnesota’s 18-, 36- and 54-hole records at the Evie Odom Invitational and earned her second consecutive Big Ten Women’s Golfer of the Week honor.

Mesones said she was considered one of the best putters in the Big Ten her freshman year but lost the skills.

A self-described perfectionist off the golf course, Mesones is completely different with a club in hand. She labeled herself a “feel golfer,” focusing more on her confidence than her technique to succeed.

“I feel like the mental aspect is bigger,” Mesones said. “For me, it’s like 99% mental, 1% actual how to hit the ball.”

Mesones said it is difficult to find confidence while in-season since she is constantly golfing and reminded of her struggles. She used the time off to visit her family in Peru and relax with friends, allowing her to recharge and prepare for the spring season.

On the course, Mesones recreates shots she missed during competitions to prove she is capable of making them.

Minnesota’s last tournament as a team was during the first week of October when they placed fourth at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Mesones tied for 37th at the Intercollegiate with a 4-over-par score. Mesones said she expected a better outcome but felt satisfied with her season.

“I feel like all my misses golf-wise relate and it’s together with the lack of confidence that I had,” Mesones said. “There were some moments in time on the golf course that my confidence wasn’t there.”

After the fall season ended, Gophers head coach Matt Higgins said his staff assessed each golfer to identify areas for improvement to then use the offseason to focus on individuals. Higgins said he trusts the athletes to use their time off to improve themselves because they hold each other accountable.

“They’re talented, they have goals, they know what they want to be,” Higgins said.

Mesones praised Minnesota’s coaches and their relationships with athletes. She said they prioritize the golfers’ emotions over their on-course performance.

“They are very focused on you as a person instead of a golfer,” Mesones said.

Mesones was the only golfer on the team available to talk, but several members had individual moments of success during the season.

Three Gophers competed as individuals in the Tommie Invitational in mid-October. Higgins said the tournament allowed athletes who are not consistently in the lineup to get experience.

Junior Ruby Chi tied for sixth place at the Tommie Invitational, scoring 14-over-par as she recorded four birdies in the final 18 holes. Higgins said Chi has been in and out of the lineup but is having the best season of her college career.

The Gophers placed third at the Mary Fossum Invitational in September and Chi finished 20th as she shot 5-over-par for her best finish as a Gopher. Chi’s previous career-best competing for Minnesota was when she shot 18-over-par for a 55th-place finish at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational in April.

Higgins described freshman Reese McCauley as another feel golfer and said he saw major growth from her. Between McCauley’s first and last tournament of the fall season, she improved by shaving off seven strokes from her final score.

“Once she got accustomed to playing college golf and knowing what to expect—playing 36 holes in one day, multiple times—she really grew,” Higgins said.

The Gophers return to the fairways in February 2025 to kick off their spring championship season at the Puerto Rico Classic.

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Gophers cross country’s Ali Weimer reaching for the stars

Gophers women’s cross-country runner Ali Weimer calmly stood alongside a RunnerSpace reporter on a sunny Friday morning in September at Les Bolstad Golf Course as she waited for her live post-race interview to begin.

Described by her teammates as spunky, sassy and a “little ball of energy,” the junior from St. Michael, Minnesota crossed the finish line minutes earlier to win the individual 2024 Roy Griak Invitational title. Weimer’s teammate, graduate Emma Atkinson, immediately followed as the two Gophers finished in first and second place.

“Ali, you won!” a voice behind the camera said before the interview started.

As runners from other teams continued to cross the finish line, Weimer’s demeanor suddenly changed once she processed that her team won the Griak.

“We won?” Weimer said as she covered her mouth. “Shut up. Shut up.”

Not only was Weimer the fourth Minnesota women’s runner to win the 6K at the Griak, but this was also the Gophers women’s cross country’s first win in a meet with more than three teams involved since 2021.

Fast forward two weeks after the Griak and Weimer made headlines again as she set a personal and program record for the second-fastest 6K in Gophers women’s cross-country history at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Oct. 4.

Though she had just set a program record and finished in 9th place, Weimer’s first thought after crossing the finish line was not about herself.

“One of my biggest things that I’m thinking about is like, ‘Okay, so how did the team do?’” Weimer said.

Atkinson finished in 15th place, followed by senior Erin Reidy in 26th as the team placed third overall in the Loyola Invitational.

A top runner since day one

Weimer’s beginnings in the program were unusual, Atkinson said. She added cross-country coaches prefer freshmen to sit out their first year to provide an opportunity for them to acclimate to college athletic and academic life after high school.

However, Weimer did not do this.

As a freshman, Weimer was the Gophers’ top runner in four of six events she competed in and was named 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Freshman of the Year.

Atkinson said having younger women act as team leaders was a change in dynamic for her.

“When I first got here, the top girls, they were fifth years and sixth years,” Atkinson said. “It was very, very different — the team vibes. Going from a sixth-year woman to a little freshman leading the team.”

Weimer said the leadership from older teammates helped her thrive in her freshman year. She added as an upperclassman herself, she needs to be taking in freshmen like recent Big Ten Freshman of the Week Isabelle Schmitz.

Similar to Weimer, Schmitz did not redshirt her freshman cross-country season. Weimer said Schmitz’s work ethic and drive to be a standout freshman is similar to when she first entered the program.

“She’s super hardworking,” Weimer said “If you give her a goal, I think that she’ll go and get it.”

Atkinson said she and Weimer train together in groups at team practices. Outside of practice and meets, Atkinson said she spends a lot of time with Weimer and added that Weimer’s determination extends to off-the-track activities like homework.

“She’s just one of the people that will always be going above and beyond,” Atkinson said. “If there’s a homework assignment and it’s like, ‘Oh, just write a paragraph,’ she’s writing a whole page.”

NCAA Pre-Nationals

The Gophers competed in the Wisconsin NCAA Pre-Nationals meet in Madison on Saturday. Reidy described the Pre-Nationals as a “mid-term” to help the team assess their fitness heading into the end of the season.

Weimer finished as the top Gophers runner in 11th place at Pre-Nationals and set another personal and program record in the 6K. Her time of 19:38.5 shaved eight seconds off her previous personal and program record at the Loyola Invitational, two seconds behind the all-time Gophers 6K record held by Bethany Hasz.

“She’s going to be so successful,” Atkinson said. “I think she’s definitely going to go down that All-American route. I think she could be top in the nation.”

Weimer said while winning individually gives her confidence, her greatest motivator is seeing the team be successful.

“I want the team to be successful because we deserve it,” Weimer said. “We deserve to finish third at Loyola against great teams or win the Griak, and things like that.”

Breaking out of the slump and looking ahead at the Big Ten Championships

Weimer, Reidy and Atkinson shared a similar personal dissatisfaction at the end of the last cross-country and outdoor track seasons.

After speaking with each other and the rest of the team, they identified that their recovery training days were too relaxed. Going forward, recovery practices became more intense, which led to improved results during meets this season, Atkinson said.

“We’ve had so many conversations where we’re like, ‘Okay, we want to be good. How can we hold each other accountable?’” Atkinson said.

Reidy said the Gophers need to focus on the present since looking too far ahead or in the past can distract them. She added that admiring wins for too long can be dangerous for performing well later in the season.

“Winning the Griak and getting third at Loyola, those were all really good highs for our group,” Reidy said. “The best part of our season is yet to come.”

The 2024 Big Ten Championships on Nov. 1 in Champaign, Illinois, are on the horizon for Weimer and Gophers women’s cross country.

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Gophers men’s hockey face rivals in Duluth

Gophers men’s hockey travels north to Duluth to face the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday for their first in-state series of the season.

The No. 6 Gophers enter the weekend with a 1-1 record after losing in the 2024 Ice Breaker Tournament title game in Las Vegas to No. 12 Omaha. The Gophers outshot the Mavericks three-fold but lost 2-1 in overtime.

Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said the team played well in the tournament but had some lapses in intensity and urgency. He added the team should move on from the loss since they had a solid performance overall.

“I’m not going to overanalyze,” Motzko said. “Turn the page and get back to work.”

The Bulldogs are 1-2 this season and are coming off a split series against the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Freshman Jayson Shaugabay and senior Dominic James lead Minnesota-Duluth in points with three each.

Last season, the Gophers split a home-and-home series against the Bulldogs. Minnesota won the first game at 3M Arena at Mariucci 5-1 but lost the second game in Duluth in a shootout despite tallying 50 shots on goal.

The teams have a historic rivalry dating back to 1952. Minnesota holds the lead in the all-time series record but has not won a game on Duluth’s ice under Motzko.

Junior forward Connor Kurth said winning away games with hostile crowd environments is a key element of college hockey. He said he is looking forward to the freshmen’s first experiences playing in a road rivalry series.

“I’m sure they’re really fired up to finally get chirped and have the other student section saying some not-so-nice things to you,” Kurth said.

The series against the Bulldogs will be the first taste of an in-state rivalry for the Gophers’ newcomers. Transfers junior Matthew Wood and graduate Liam Souliere did not play against Duluth with their former teams.

Wood assisted on three goals in Las Vegas, including Kurth’s hat-trick goal against Air Force. Kurth said the two have chemistry, so he hopes to play on a line with Wood more often.

“He knew that was for my hat trick, so he held on to that and gave me an easy tap-in when he could have scored his first,” Kurth said. “It’s just something that you can really build off of.”

Kurth leads the team in scoring after earning his first career hat-trick, including the game-winning goal, in the Gophers’ 7-1 win against Air Force. Motzko described Kurth as a rat goal-scorer because of his strong net-front presence.

“That’s the Connor we’ve been kind of waiting for,” Motzko said.

Minnesota’s six freshmen and two transfers debuted in the Ice Breaker tournament. Freshman Beckett Hendrickson scored his first collegiate goal against Air Force while freshman August Falloon assisted on Minnesota’s lone goal against Omaha. 

Sophomore goaltender Nathan Airey saved 21 shots in the win against Air Force while Souliere had 16 saves in the loss against Omaha.

Last season, goaltender Justen Close started in 37 of the Gophers’ 39 games, leaving Airey to start in two. Kurth said having two potential starting goaltenders this year in Souliere and Airey is a luxury. 

“Not a lot of schools are fortunate enough to have that,” Kurth said. “We know either way, whoever is kicking that night, that they’re going to be ready, and they’re going to be able to make a bunch of big saves for us.”

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Gophers women’s hockey’s top line strengthening on-ice chemistry

Gophers women’s hockey’s top line of seniors Abbey Murphy, Ella Huber and junior Josefin Bouveng combined for the game-winning goal to complete the sweep over Boston University (BU) at Ridder Arena on Sunday. 

Minnesota took the first game of the season-opening home series on Friday with a late goal from Murphy on a power play. The game was scoreless until Murphy’s third-period strike, and the Gophers won 1-0.

During the second period on Sunday, Bouveng carried the puck into the offensive zone, setting up Murphy for a shot that was blocked in front of the net. Huber pounced on the rebound and scored to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead over BU.

The Gophers’ first line has nine of the team’s 17 goals this season. Last season, they combined for over half of the team’s total goal-scoring.

Huber’s first goal of the season gave the Gophers their first multi-goal lead of the series. Minnesota held onto that lead and swept BU with a 5-2 win.

Image by Eitan Schoenberg

Murphy drove Minnesota’s offense last season with an NCAA-leading 33 goals, while Huber and Bouveng had 19 and 18 goals, respectively. The three forwards scored 70 of the 135 goals last season.

Neither of the top lines in last year’s national championship game between Wisconsin and Ohio State accounted for more than half of their team’s scoring. Wisconsin’s top line recorded 38% of the team’s goals, while Ohio State’s had 22%.

Image by Eitan Schoenberg

Gophers head coach Brad Frost said he put the three of them on a line together last season after noticing their chemistry. He said he combined them again this season because of last year’s success.

“They’re all a little different, but they all bring something special to the table,” Frost said.

Huber called Bouveng a playmaker and said she compliments her linemates’ play styles. Bouveng was second in points on the team last year and led the team with 31 assists.

“Her skill is just unmatched,” Huber said. “She makes plays that I’ve just never even seen before.”

While their line came together last season, Murphy and Huber’s chemistry predates their careers as Gophers. The two played youth hockey together for the Chicago Mission when they were teenagers.

“Half the time I don’t even have to look where I’m passing because I know it’s going to end up on her stick,” Huber said.

Having years of experience playing together, Huber praised Murphy’s leadership and goal-scoring abilities. Similarly, Frost said Murphy was a player they can depend on to score big goals in big moments. 

On Sunday, Murphy scored on a penalty shot to break the 1-1 tie in the second period. Murphy had three goals in the Gophers’ first series of the season against UConn, including the overtime winner to complete Minnesota’s sweep over the Huskies. Murphy has two of the Gophers’ game-winning goals this season and led the team with seven last season.

 

Murphy said she did not have a move in mind before taking the penalty shot but decided as she got closer to the goal. She said early in the season is the time to experiment with plays, so she attempted a new move.

The Gophers’ top line returns to Ridder Arena on Oct. 18 with sights on taking down No. 1 Wisconsin.

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New faces of Gophers women’s hockey find their role in series sweep

Seven players made their Gophers women’s hockey debut as the team opened their season with a road series sweep over the No. 9 UConn Huskies Saturday.

Two scored their first goals as Gophers over the weekend. Freshman Chloe Primerano tallied her first Gopher and collegiate goal on a powerplay during the first period on Friday, while fifth-year transfer Natálie Mlýnková tied the game in the third period on Saturday.

Minnesota started the series on Friday with four goals in the first period, enough to claim a 4-1 win. The victory gave Gophers head coach Brad Frost his 500th career win, putting him sixth all-time in NCAA women’s hockey career wins.

The Gophers erased two different UConn leads to win 3-2 in overtime on Saturday. Senior captain Abbey Murphy scored the overtime game-winner, her third goal of the weekend.

Primerano added two assists on Saturday, including the lone assist on Murphy’s overtime winner, for a total of three points over the weekend. 

Frost said Primerano, a 17-year-old defender from North Vancouver, British Columbia, came to Minnesota with a lot of media attention surrounding her. In February, Frost compared Primerano’s publicity in Canada to that of Connor Bedard, the 2023 NHL first-overall draft pick and North Vancouver native. 

“She’s über-talented, skates really well, sees it well, shoots it extremely hard and accurately,” Frost said. “She’s just a rink rat and loves to play. It’s going to be super exciting just to watch her and her progression.”

Primerano was not the only player from British Columbia to debut this weekend for the Gophers. Freshman Gracie Graham appeared in the lineup for both games against the Huskies. Primerano said having Graham with her made the adjustment easier.

“It’s always great having someone that you know and coming in with a friend,” Primerano said.

Primerano played on a defensive pair with junior transfer Sydney Morrow, who also made her Gopher debut over the weekend.

Before making their Gopher debuts, Morrow and Mlýnková, who played at Colgate and Vermont last season, respectively, talked about their first impressions of Minnesota as transfer students. Both said they adjusted well and found their community within Minnesota.

Morrow praised the Gophers players’ dedication to hockey as well as the program’s history of Olympians. Mlýnková, who represented Czechia in the 2022 Olympic Games, was standing next to Morrow and laughed.

Mlýnková said she believes her role on the team is to bring maturity and leadership as she has four years of college and 10 years of international experience. 

“I think I’m someone that’s very disciplined on the ice and off the ice,” Mlýnková said. “I want to step up my game, learn more and get the most out of the last year I have.”

Morrow, who grew up in Connecticut, said the 2014 national championship game between Minnesota and Clarkson in Hamden, Connecticut was the first hockey game she attended in person. She said knowing the Gophers’ history of excellence was why she chose the program after leaving Colgate.

“I want to be the best and I know this program is going to challenge me to do that,” Morrow said. “I think the constant competition and ability for me to raise a bar at such an awesome program was definitely a big ‘why’ for me.”

Minnesota is Morrow’s third team in her college hockey career, playing for Colgate last year and Ohio State her freshman year. Morrow played against Minnesota three times her freshman year and appeared in a shootout but was never rostered for a regulation win against the Gophers. 

Last year at Colgate, Morrow had over a point per game as a defender and was named to the All-USCHO third team. Mlýnková was Vermont’s leading scorer last season and won Hockey East Player of the Year.

In her four years at Vermont, Mlýnková never played against the Gophers. She said she expects a different style of hockey in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) compared to Hockey East.

Mlýnková will get her first taste of WCHA hockey as a Gopher and Morrow will return to her former campus on Oct. 11 when the Gophers travel to Ohio State to take on the reigning NCAA national champions.

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