Oct. 3, 2006

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MADISON, Wisc. - Top-ranked Wisconsin celebrated its national championship from last season on Sept. 29 and then opened the 2006-2007 season with two home victories over Quinnpiac in the opening weekend of the women's Western Collegiate Hockey Association season. The Badgers (2-0), the pre-season No. 1 team in the preseason national polls, ?scored 3-0 and 5-1 victories over Quinnipiac at the Kohl Center last Friday and Saturday in one of two series which launched the women's WCHA's eighth season.

St. Cloud State (1-0-1) gave new coach Jeff Giesen a 4-0 season-opening victory over Robert Morris University in non-conference action on Friday, Sept. 29th, in the National Hockey Center, and a 3-3 overtime tie on Saturday, Sept. 30th, against RMU.

Minnesota State opened its season Oct. 1 with a 6-1 beating of Robert Morris in Mankato.

In exhibiton games, Wilfrid Laurier edged Ohio State, 2-1 in Columbus, Bemidji State, under new coach Steve Sertich, tied Manitoba, 3-3, and forward Randy Motsko (So., Fairbanks, Alaska) scored two goals in the third period to lead?North Dakota? to a 5-3 exhibition win over Manitoba on Saturday.

The Minnesota Whitecaps, consisting of many former Olympic players,?beat Minnesota, 4-2, on Sept. 29, but Minnesota Duluth beat the Whitecaps, 6-1, on Sept. 30 in a pair of exhibitions.

League Play Opens Oct. 6-7 with Two Conference Series The battle for the 2006-07 WCHA regular season championship will again consist of a 28-game schedule for each of the league¹s eight clubs, with each team playing the other seven four times ­ twice at home and twice on the road. The first weekend of league competition ­ will have defending WCHA champion Wisconsin hosting St. Cloud State and Minnesota State hosting Minnesota Duluth, ranked No.?7 in this week's U.S. College Hockey Online poll.

Other conference openers for 2006-07, by school, are: Bemidji State (Oct. 13-14 vs St. Cloud State), Minnesota, which is ranked No.?5 in?this week's USCHO?poll, (Oct. 13-14 vs Minnesota State), Minnesota State (Oct. 13-14 at Minnesota), North Dakota (Oct. 14-15 at Minnesota Duluth), and Ohio State (Oct. 13-14 vs Wisconsin).

The University of Wisconsin swept all sorts of awards last season in women's collegiate hockey so it was no surprise that the eight member head coaches in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association have installed the defending national champions as the pre-season favorite for the league's regular season championship in 2006-07.

Coach Mark Johnson's Badgers, who finished 36-4-1 overall in 2005-06 while winning the WCHA regular season and playoff championship before taking its first national championship, received seven of eight first-place votes and earned 49 points to finish atop the poll. Points are determined on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis and coaches do not vote for their own team.

The University of Minnesota, which lost to the Badgers in the national championship game, was tabbed to finish second by the head coaches. Coach Laura Halldorson's Golden Gophers, who finished second in 2005-06 and posted a 29-11-1 overall record, had one first place vote and 43 total points.

The University of Minnesota Duluth finished third in this season's pre-season coaches' poll with 37 points. Coach Shannon Miller's Bulldogs had a 22-9-3 record and qualified for the NCAA tournament last season.

St. Cloud State University, under new coach Jeff Giesen, was picked to finish fourth in the poll with 28 points. The Huskies went 18-18-1 last season when Giesen served as an assistant coach.

Rounding out the pre-season forecast by the head coaches were the Minnesota State University Mavericks (11-21-4), picked fifth (24 points), the Ohio State University Buckeyes (13-18-5), selected sixth (23 points), the Bemidji State University Beavers (11-23-2), chosen seventh (13 points), and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (7-27-2), chosen eighth (7 points.

Like St. Cloud State, Bemidji State also welcomes a new head coach this year as Steve Sertich, the brother of long-time UMD and Michigan Tech men's coach Mike Sertich and father of 2005 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Marty Sertich, takes over the Beavers.

In voting for the 2006-07 pre-season WCHA Player of the Year, Wisconsin senior forward Sara Bauer received six of eight votes. Bauer, the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, WCHA Player of the Year, and an All-American First Teamer, had 22 goals, 36 assists and 58 points a year ago to lead the Badgers. Also named with one vote each were Minnesota forward Erica McKenzie, a junior All-WCHA forward who led the WCHA in scoring with 18 goals and 40 points in league play, and Minnesota Duluth freshman goalie Kim Martin, who led Sweden to a silver medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

This Week in the WCHA
Friday, October 6
New Hampshire vs Bemidji State @ Easton Shootout, Minneapolis, MN, 4:07 pm CT (nc); Minnesota Duluth @ Minnesota State, 7:07 pm CT; St. Cloud State @ Wisconsin, 7:07 pm CT; Maine vs Minnesota @ Easton Shootout, Minneapolis, MN, 7:07 pm CT; Northeastern @ Ohio State, 7:07 pm ET (nc).

Saturday, October 7
Rensselaer @ North Dakota, 2:07 pm CT (nc); Minnesota Duluth @ Minnesota State, 3:07 pm CT; Maine vs Bemidji State @ Easton Shootout, Minneapolis, MN, 4:07 pm CT (nc); St. Cloud State @ Wisconsin, 7:07 pm CT; Northeastern @ Ohio State, 7:07 pm ET (nc); New Hampshire vs Minnesota @ Easton Shootout, Minneapolis, MN, 7:07 pm CT (nc).

Sunday, October 8
Rensselaer @ North Dakota, 2:07 pm (nc)

Last Week's WCHA Results
Friday, September 29
Quinnipiac 0 @ Wisconsin 3 (nc)
Robert Morris 0 @ St. Cloud State 4 (nc)
Univ. of Manitoba 3 @ Bemidji State 3 (x)
Minnesota Whitecaps 4 @ Minnesota 2 (x)

Saturday, September 30
Wilfrid Laurier 2 @ Ohio State 2 (x)
Robert Morris 3 @ St. Cloud State 3 (ot) (nc)
Quinnipiac 1 at Wisconsin 5 (nc)
Minnesota Whitecaps 1 @ Minnesota Duluth 6 (x)
Univ. of Manitoba 3 @ North Dakota 5 (x)

Sunday, October 1
Robert Morris 0 @ Minnesota State 6 (nc)

WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
Lindsay Macy, Minnesota State
Macy, a 5-foot-11 inch junior forward from Ellendale, Minn.,playing her first game for the Mavericks since transferring from Wisconsin.?scored two goals and had two assists to help lead Minnesota State to a 6-0 season-opening win over visiting Robert Morris University. Macy played the previous two seasons at the University of Wisconsin. She also put a team-high nine shots on goal against Robert Morris. Others Nominated: Jinelle Zaugg, Wisconsin.

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Lauri St. Jacques, St. Cloud State
St. Jacques, a senior goaltender from Sturgeon Falls, Ont., backstopped the Huskies to their first shutout victory of the 2006-07 season on Friday, Sept. 29, against Robert Morris University. The?assistant captain for the Huskies collected 20 saves in the 4-0 win and 59:56 minutes of playing time.? St. Jacques now has five shutouts in her career at SCSU. Others Nominated: Maggie Fisher, D, Minnesota State; Bobbi-Jo Slusar, D, Wisconsin.

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Holly Roberts, F, St. Cloud State
In her first collegiate series on Sept. 29-30, Roberts, a freshman from St. Cloud, Minn.,?scored two goals against Robert Morris University. The Huskies earned a 4-0 shutout victory on Friday, Sept. 29, and a 3-3 tie on Saturday, Sept. 30. On the weekend, Roberts totaled 11 shots. Others Nominated: Kyla Sanders, F, Wisconsin; Ida Clark, D, Minnesota State

WCHA Weekly Team Notes

Bemidji State Beavers
Bemidji State skated to a 3-3 overtime tie with the University of Manitoba in an exhibition game which saw the teams combine for 23 penalties for 46 minutes (Bemidji State recorded 14 penalties for 28 minutes) ... in the second period. the Beavers took the lead on a shorthanded goal by Nikki Eckebrecht (Hamilton, ON) at 2:33 ... it was the first short handed goal for the Beavers since November 11, 2005 when Kate Robinson (Shanty Bay, ON) recorded a short handed goal against Mercyhurst College ... after Manitoba scored twice in two minutes, Bemidji tied the game when Franny Dorr (Roseville, MN) would net her first collegiate goal to tie the game back up, but once again Manitoba would answer and score the go ahead goal with :31 left in the period ... in the third period Bemidji State got a power-play goal from?Kate Robinson (Shanty Bay, ON) ... junior goaltender Emily Brookshaw (Webster, WI) stopped all eight shots she faced in 31:53 minutes of playing time while freshman goaltender Jessica Ptachick (Burnsville, Minn.) recorded five saves while letting in three goals ... BSU is now 2-0-1 all-time versus Manitoba ... Bemidji State will travel to Minneapolis to play in the Easton Shootout at Ridder Arena ... the Beavers will play the?No. 2 ?team in the nation, the University of New Hampshire, on Oct. 6 and continue its play in the Easton Shootout and play the University of Maine the next day ... both games are at 4:07 pm ... this will be the first? meeting between Bemidji State and New Hampshire and it will be the third meeting between BSU and Maine ... the last meeting with Maine was a weekend series on Oct. 14-15, 2000 where Maine swept the Beavers.

Minnesota Golden Gophers
No.?5 Minnesota?opened the 2006-07 season with a 4-2 exhibition loss to the Minnesota Whitecaps at Ridder Arena ... the Golden Gophers struck first with an unassisted goal from Becky Wacker, but the Whitecaps came from behind and scored three straight goals, including one in the first and two in the second period. Erica McKenzie cut the Whitecaps' lead to one in the third period with senior captain Andrea Nichols assisting on the play ... however, the Whitecaps added their final goal at 16:20 of the third to put the game at a 4-2 final ... playing for the Whitecaps were four Olympians in former Gopher Natalie Darwitz (U.S.), Tricia Dunn-Luoma (U.S), Kristin King (U.S.) and Caroline Ouellette (Canada) ... also playing in the game were former Gophers Chelsey and Winny Brodt, Ashley Albrecht and Bethany (Peterson) Winter ... Minnesota opens the regular season when it hosts the Easton Shootout, Oct. 6-7, at Ridder Arena ... the Gophers play Maine on Friday and New Hampshire on Saturday with both games starting at 7:07 pm ... it will be the first meeting in school history between the Gophers and the Maine Black Bears ... Saturday's contest marks the 13th time the Maroon and Gold will face UNH ... the last time the Gophers faced the Wildcats was in the NCAA semifinal game on March 24, 2006 ... Minnesota won the contest, 5-4, to advance to the NCAA Championship game ... Bobbi Ross netted an NCAA record four goals in a game against UNH ... the Gophers return 87 percent of their scoring from last year's runner-up team ... Minnesota returns its top-six scorers, including WCHA Scoring Champion Erica McKenzie and WCHA Rookie of the Year Gigi Marvin ... Minnesota lost five seniors from last year's team, including three defensemen.

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
No.?7 Minnesota Duluth converted four of five second period power-play opportunities en route to a 6-1 exhibition win over the Minnesota Whitecaps at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center this pastweekend ... sophomore Sara O'Toole opened up the scoring for UMD at the 4:54 mark of the second period ... about five minutes later, the Bulldogs went up 2-0 on a goal from senior Noemie Marin and O'Toole?scored again at the 13:46 mark of the second period ... the Whitecaps scored their only goal - a power-play at 15:18 of the second period - when Kristin King slipped the puck past freshman goaltender Kim Martin, but UMD answered as freshman Emmanuelle Blais scored with 2:10 remaining ... the Bulldogs added two more goals (from Marin and junior Karine Demule) ... O'Toole, Marin, Koizumi, freshman defender Jaime Rasmussen, sophomore center Tawni Mattila all picked up a pair of points for UMD, which outshot the Whitecaps, 35-24, including 12-4 in the second period ... the Bulldogs were four-of-eight on the power-play ... senior All-American Riitta Schaublin made 12 saves before giving way to Martin 9:39 into the second period ... Martin, a 2006 Olympic silver medalist with Sweden, turned aside 11 of 12 shots ... Megan Van Beusekom had 29 stops for the Whitecaps ... UMD will launch their 2006-07 season and their quest for a fourth NCAA championship this Friday and Saturday (Oct. 6-7) when they travel to Mankato, Minn. to face Minnesota State University in a two-game?WCHA series ... UMD went 3-0-1 against the Mavericks in 2005-06 and 25-2-2 lifetime.

Minnesota State Mavericks
In her first regular-season game as a Maverick last Sunday night, junior forward Lindsay Macy scored two goals and had two assists to help lead Minnesota State to a 6-0 season-opening win over visiting Robert Morris University ... Macy played the previous two seasons at the University of Wisconsin ... senior forward Shera Vis also totaled four points in Sunday's win, recording each in the third period on one goal and three assists ... her power-play goal marked the first of the season for the Mavericks ... junior goaltender Britni Kehler recorded her eighth career shutout, making 21 saves against Robert Morris ... she ranks second in career wins at MSU with 17 ... the Mavericks attempted 111 shots against RMU - including 51 in the second period, placing 59 on goal ... 2005-06 WCHA All-Rookie Team selection Maggie Fisher, who led the Mavericks with 16 goals and 23 points as a freshman last season, scored the game's first goal in the first period against Robert Morris ... she added an assist in the second period, and registered her second goal of the night in the third period ... freshman defenseman Ida Clark had two assists against RMU.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux
North Dakota rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second period to score a 5-3 exhibition victory over University of Manitoba on Sept. 30 ... forward Randy Motsko (So., Fairbanks, AK) scored two goals in the third period ... Andrea Cook's goal at 18:42 of the second narrowed the margin to 2-1 after two ... UND outshot the Bisons 17-1 in the second period and 40-17 for the game ... North Dakota tied it at 6:51 of the third on a shorthanded goal by sophomore Melissa Jaques and took the lead at 10:21 on a goal by freshman Jenny Porter ... Motsko tallied shorthanded at 15:12 of the third period?to give the Sioux a 4-2 lead, and after a power-play goal by Manitoba's Leanne Kisil at 15:51 of the third cut the UND lead to 4-3, Motsko scored again with :50 seconds left ... UND played two goalies against Manitoba, with Brittany Kirkham starting and making seven saves and Jody Karnik relieving Kirkham and also making seven saves ... North Dakota will open their regular season with a two-game series against Rensselaer ... the games are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday afternoons at Ralph Engelstad Arena ... both will start at 2:07 pm.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Junior Erin Keys scored the lone Ohio State goal in the 2-1 exhibition game loss?to Wilfrid Laurier on Sept. 30, although the Buckeyes out-shot the Golden Hawks, 39-16 ... keys cut the score to 2-1 with a power-play goal 12:29 into the second period ... she knocked in a pass from fellow junior Lisa Chesson ... OSU was 1-for-6 on the power-play and 8-for-9 on the penalty-kill ... senior Erika Vanderveer and sophomore Liana Bonanno split the time in the Ohio State goal ... each goaltender made seven saves ... Ohio State opens its 2006-07 season with a two-game series against Northeastern Oct. 6-7 at OSU Ice Rink ... both games begin at 7:07 pm ... the home stand continues Oct. 13-14 when the Buckeyes begin their WCHA slate with a series against the defending NCAA champion Wisconsin Badgers ... after redshirting the 2005-06 season, defenseman Tessa Bonhomme returns to Ohio State for her junior year ... Bonhomme spent five months participating with the Canadian Centralization Program, competing for a roster spot on the 2006 Winter Olympic team ... although she missed the final cut, Bonhomme competed with the Canadian Under-22 Team in January ... she was named captain of the team and helped lead it to a 3-1 record ... she was named to the U-22 team for the third time in her career in August ... the Buckeyes set a program record last season with three All-WCHA honorees and returns two of those student-athletes for 2006-07 ... senior defenseman Amber Bowman was a first team selection and junior blueliner Chesson named to the third team ... it was the first conference honor for both ... departed forward Jana Harrigan, who concluded her eligibility in 2005-06, was a first team All-WCHA selection as well as a AHCA Second Team All-American.

St. Cloud State Huskies
The Huskies'??victory over Robert Morris on?Sept. 29?marked head coach Jeff Giesen's first career victory ... Giesen is the third head coach at St. Cloud State since the inception of the women's program in 1998 ... he replaces Jason Lesteberg, who served as head coach at SCSU from 2002-06 ... Giesen becomes the second women's hockey head coach in SCSU history to?record his/her first career victory in a season-opening game ... SCSU's first women's hockey head coach, Kerry Brodt Wethington, tallied her first career victory on Nov. 6, 1998, in the historic first-ever season-opening game against St. Mary's, 4-2 ... in last Friday's game, senior forward Jackie Jensen and sophomore forward Michelle Moen scored second period and first year forward Holly Roberts and Katie Kemmerer chipped in their first goal as a Husky in the third period ... earning the shutout victory in goal last Friday was senior assistant captain Lauri. St. Jacques, who?made 20 saves ... the Huskies are now 3-6-0 all-time in season-opening games and are 41-66-11 all-time in game two of the series ... on Saturday, Sept. 30th, the Huskies fought back from a 3-1 deficit to force a 3-3? tie against Robert Morris ... Sammy Nixon (Blaine, MN) scored a first period goal at 16:46 ... after RMU gained a 3-1 lead, the he Huskies got back into synch with a goal at 13:32 by? Roberts (St. Cloud, MN) ... freshman forward Meaghan Pezon (Eden Prairie, MN) tied the game at 14:49 of the second ... SCSU out-shot Robert Morris, 46-17 ... junior goaltender Carmen Lizee (High Prairie, AB) started last Saturday's game for SCSU and posted seven saves ... she was relieved in the second period by junior Kendall Newell (Phoenix, AZ), who also made seven saves and was the goalie of record for the Huskies ... St.Cloud?State opens its 2006-07 league season on Oct. 6-7 with a trip to the University of Wisconsin - the defending NCAA champs.

Wisconsin Badgers
No. 1-ranked Wisconsin is now on a school record 14-game winning streak dating back to last Feb. 11 ... freshmen accounted for three of Wisconsin's eight goals in the weekend sweep of Quinnipiac ... sophomore goalie Jessie Vetter made 13 saves last Friday to extend her shutout streak to 260:42 ... Vetter has not allowed a goal since the first period of UW's NCAA quarterfinal against Mercyhurst ... senior captain Bobbi-Jo Slusar scored what proved to be the game-winner 7:35 into the first period of last Friday's?3-0 win over Quinnipiac ... junior Jinelle Zaugg gave UW a 2-0 lead mid-way through the second period and freshman Kyla Sanders notched her first collegiate goal early in the third?in front of 1,777 fans ... Zaugg continued her strong play last Saturday, registering a goal and two assists to lead Wisconsin to a 5-1 win ... senior Christine Dufour made 15 saves to earn her 30th career triumph in just her 37th game ... Zaugg gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead 2:58 into the contest with a power-play goal ... Quinnipiac tied the game 10 minutes later and UW scored three times in the second period to break the game open as senior Sara Bauer, sophomore Erika Lawler and freshman Jasmine Giles all recorded their first goals of the season ... freshman Meghan Duggan added a late goal to close out the 5-1 win ... the Badgers return to the Kohl Center on Oct. 6-7 to host St. Cloud State in the league-opening series for both teams ... Wisconsin is 26-4-0 all-time against the Huskies, including 15-1-0 in their last 16 meetings ... the Badgers hold a 13-1-0 advantage against the Huskies in games played in Madison or Middleton, Wis ... UW is 6-0-0 against SCSU at the Kohl Center Both games are set to face-off at 7:07 pm.

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