2020–21 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey season

The Minnesota Golden Gophers represented the University of Minnesota in WCHA women's ice hockey during the 2020-21 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season. The program did not qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, snapping its streak of 12 consecutive tournament appearances. Among the season highlights, Grace Zumwinkle was recognized as a Second-Team All-America selection.

2020–21 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey season
Conference	WCHA
Rankings
USCHO.com	6
Record
Overall	11-8-1
Conference	11-7-1
Home	4-5-1
Road	7-3-0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Brad Frost (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Joel Johnson Bethany Brausen
Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 »

In the aftermath of the Frozen Four, it was announced that the Golden Gophers were invited to participate in the Smashville NCAA Women's Hockey Showcase in November at the Ford Ice Center, practice facility of the NHL's Nashville Predators. Also participating in the tournament were Division I women's hockey programs Boston College, Colgate and Mercyhurst.^[1]

Offseason

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Notes
Anne Cherkowski	Forward	Canada	Competed with Canadian National Under-18 Team, serving as an alternate captain for the silver medal roster at the 2020 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship

Regular season

Standings

2020–21 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference									Overall
	GP	W	L	T	SW	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#1 Wisconsin † *	16	12	3	1	0	36	62	25		21	17	3	1	79	33
#4 Minnesota-Duluth	16	11	5	0	0	34	50	23		23	12	7	0	55	33
#3 Ohio State	16	11	5	0	0	32	42	32		20	13	7	0	56	42
#6 Minnesota	19	11	7	0	1	36	62	40		20	11	8	1	65	45
Minnesota State	20	7	12	1	0	20	38	56		20	7	12	1	38	56
St. Cloud State	19	6	12	1	0	18.5	32	62		19	6	12	1	32	62
Bemidji State	20	2	16	2	1	12.5	24	72		20	2	16	2	24	72
Championship: March 8, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com; updated March 25, 2021

Schedule

Source:^[2]

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Decision	Result	Record
Regular Season
Nov 21	#5 Ohio State	#4	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Bench	W 4–0	1–0–0 (1–0–0)
Nov 22	#5 Ohio State	#4	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Bench	L 1–2	1–1–0 (1–1–0)
Nov 27	#6 Minnesota Duluth	#3	AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, MN	Bench	W 4–2	2–1–0 (2–1–0)
Nov 28	#6 Minnesota Duluth	#3	AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, MN	Bench	W 2–1	3–1–0 (3–1–0)
Dec 10	at Minnesota State	#3	Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, MN	Bench	W 5–1	4–1–0 (4–1–0)
Dec 11	Minnesota State	#3	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Pahl	W 2–1	5–1–0 (5–1–0)
Jan 7	St. Cloud State	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Bench	W 2–1	6–1–0 (6–1–0)
Jan 9	St. Cloud State	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Pahl	W 4–1	7–1–0 (7–1–0)
Jan 10	at St. Cloud State	#2	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN	Bench	W 4–0	8–1–0 (8–1–0)
Jan 15	at #2 Wisconsin	#1	LaBahn Arena • Madison, WI	Bench	L 0–5	8–2–0 (8–2–0)
Jan 16	at #2 Wisconsin	#1	LaBahn Arena • Madison, WI	Bench	L 3–6	8–3–0 (8–3–0)
Jan 29	at #3 Ohio State	#2	The Ohio State University Ice Rink • Columbus, OH	Bench	W 7–4	9–3–0 (9–3–0)
Jan 30	at #3 Ohio State	#2	The Ohio State University Ice Rink • Columbus, OH	Pahl	L 1–3	9–4–0 (9–4–0)
Feb 5	#1 Wisconsin	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Bench	L 3–4 ^OT	9–5–0 (9–5–0)
Feb 6	#1 Wisconsin	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Pahl	T 2–2 ^OT	9–5–1 (9–5–1)
Feb 12	#4 Ohio State	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Pahl	L 1–2	9–6–1 (9–6–1)
Feb 13	#4 Ohio State	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Bench	L 2–3	9–7–1 (9–7–1)
Feb 19	at Bemidji State	#4	Sanford Center • Bemidji, MN	Bench	W 6–1	10–7–1 (10–7–1)
Feb 20	at Bemidji State	#4	Sanford Center • Bemidji, MN	Pahl	W 9–1	11–7–1 (11–7–1)
WCHA Final Faceoff
Mar 6	#1 Wisconsin	#4	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Pahl	L 3–5	11–8–1 (11–8–1)
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll.

Roster

Source:^[3]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	DoB	Hometown	Previous team
1		Olivia King	Sophomore	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)	2001-01-05	Garrison, Minnesota	Brainerd High School
2		Emily Brown	Freshman	D	5' 7" (1.7 m)	1998-12-30	Blaine, Minnesota	Blaine High School
3		Catie Skaja	Junior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	1999-06-28	New Prague, Minnesota	New Prague High School
4		Audrey Wethington	Freshman	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	2002-04-01	Edina, Minnesota	Blake School
5		Madeline Wethington	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	2000-07-14	Edina, Minnesota	Blake School
6		Gracie Ostertag	Junior	D	5' 7" (1.7 m)	2000-02-14	Shakopee, Minnesota	Shattuck-Saint Mary's
7		Sydney Shearen	Sophomore	F	5' 4" (1.63 m)	2001-08-02	Hugo, Minnesota	White Bear Lake High School
9		Taylor Heise	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	2000-03-17	Lake City, Minnesota	Red Wing High School
11		Anne Cherkowski	Freshman	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)	2002-07-06	Coldstream, British Columbia	George Eliot Secondary
12		Grace Zumwinkle	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	1999-04-23	Excelsior, Minnesota	Breck School
13		Crystalyn Hengler	Junior	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)	1999-09-11	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Eden Prairie High School
14		Maggie Nicholson	Freshman	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	2002-03-21	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Minnetonka High School
16		Amy Potomak	Junior	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)	1999-06-25	Aldergrove, British Columbia	George Eliot Secondary
17		Josey Dunne	Freshman	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	2002-02-11	O'Fallon, Missouri	Heritage Christian Academy
18		Abbey Murphy	Freshman	F	5' 5" (1.65 m)	2002-04-14	Evergreen Park, Illinois	Mother McAuley High School
19		Tella Jungels	Freshman	F	5' 4" (1.63 m)	2002-01-30	Edina, Minnesota	Edina High School
21		Emily Oden	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	1999-11-14	Edina, Minnesota	Edina High School
22		Abigail Boreen	Junior	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)	2000-04-03	Somerset, Wisconsin	Hill-Murray School
24		Olivia Knowles	Senior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	1999-01-24	Campbell River, British Columbia	Penticton Secondary School
26		Addie Burton	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	2001-11-30	Orono, Minnesota	Blake School
28		Taylor Wente	Senior	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)	1999-04-01	Plymouth, Minnesota	Maple Grove High School
33		Makayla Pahl	Sophomore	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	2001-07-28	Rochester, Minnesota	Mayo High School
35		Lauren Bench	Senior	G	5' 10" (1.78 m)	1997-11-21	Eagan, Minnesota	Bemidji State Beavers (WCHA)

Awards and honors

• Lauren Bench, Hockey Commissioners Association Women's Goaltender of the Month (November 2020) ^[4]
• Grace Zumwinkle, 2020-21 CCM/AHCA Second Team All-American^[5]

References

1. Dani Pluchinsky (March 24, 2021). "Raiders to Compete in NCAA Women's Hockey Showcase: Colgate Joins Boston College, Mercyhurst and Minnesota". gocolgateraiders.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
2. "2020–21 Women's Hockey Schedule". University of Minnesota. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
3. "2020-21 Women's Hockey Roster". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
4. "Minnesota's Lauren Bench Honored as National Goaltender of the Month". wcha.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
5. "Five Hockey East Players Players Named CCM/AHCA Women's All-Americans - NCAA #1 seed Northeastern boasts four players on the two teams". hockeyeastonline.com. March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.