Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey
| Minnesota Golden Gophers | |
|---|---|
 Current season
|
|
 |
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| University | Minnesota |
| Conference | WCHA |
| Head coach | Brad Frost 9th year, 258–41–21 |
| Arena |
Ridder Arena Capacity: 3,400 |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Colors | Maroon and Gold |
| Fight song | Minnesota Rouser |
| NCAA Tournament Champions | |
| 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 | |
| NCAA Tournament Frozen Four | |
| 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 | |
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | |
| 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 | |
| Conference Tournament Champions | |
| 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014 | |
| Conference Regular Season Champions | |
| 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 | |
The Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota at the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis. The team is one of the members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in Division I. The Golden Gophers have won six NCAA Championships as well as an American Women's College Hockey Alliance Championship. In the WCHA, they have also been regular season champions 8 times and tournament champions five times. In addition to their overall success as a competitive team, the Gophers have also been ranked in the nation's top two teams for attendance since becoming a varsity sport, and the team holds the second largest single-game attendance record for women’s collegiate hockey, drawing 6,854 fans for the first Minnesota women's hockey game on November 2, 1997. The team also holds the distinction of having the longest winning streak in women's or men's college hockey at 62 games from February 17, 2012 to November 17, 2013, winning back-to-back NCAA titles during the stretch.
In 2004-2005, Minnesota also won back-to-back NCAA Championships. Natalie Darwitz was a three-time All American, and three-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier award. Darwitz left the program with the career scoring mark at Minnesota in three years and set two NCAA single-season record with 114 points (42 Goals, 72 Assists) and most assists in 40 games in her final season. Minnesota Gophers women's hockey players have won the Patty Kazmaier Award twice (Krissy Wendell [2005] and Amanda Kessel [2013]), as well as having all three finalists in 2013.
The Gophers have had two head coaches to date: Laura Halldorson and Brad Frost. Halldorson was the head coach for eleven years, from the 1997-1998 season to the 2006-2007 season. Her overall coaching record was 278-67-22 with the Gophers, a winning percentage of .787. During that time, the Gophers won four of their five WCHA championships and three of their national championships. They averaged 28 wins per season and appeared in eight out of ten national tournaments, reaching seven finals. In addition, the Gophers experienced their best season in 2004-2005 with a 36-2-2 record. In the 2007-2008 season, Brad Frost became the temporary head coach. He had previously been an assistant coach. In his first year as head coach, Frost led the Gophers to a 21-game winning streak, with the season's record ending with 27 wins, 7 losses, and 4 ties but also ended with a conference record of 21-5-2, which ranked second in the WCHA. The Gophers made another NCAA regional appearance and post-season Frost was awarded WCHA Coach of the Year. In the 2008-2009 season, his temporary coaching status was lifted and he was named permanent head coach of the Gophers. That same season he led the Gophers to a record of 32-5-3 and to another WCHA championship. Frost then coached the Gophers into back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four championships in 2012 & 2013, which were encompassed in their 62-game winning streak.
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