2019 Women's Frozen Four Final Thoughts

This past weekend I went up to Hamden, CT to cover the 2019 women's Frozen Four for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Those articles can be found below, but I also wanted to add some thoughts on the weekend and experience. It was a fantastic experience catching up with old friends, meeting several people I've interacted with, and of course, getting to once again cover the University of Minnesota's run in person.

Nicole Schammel gets her Frozen Four moment as Minnesota shuts out Cornell to advance to the national championship game: http://www.startribune.com/gophers-women-s-hockey-tops-cornell-2-0-to-advance-to-national-title-game/507538602/

"It's fierce and special, mixed with a dash of familiarity." On the Minnesota-Wisconsin rivalry being contested over a national championship: http://www.startribune.com/rivals-minnesota-wisconsin-to-play-for-women-s-hockey-championship/507572422/

"These years have been the best years of our lives." Why Minnesota was both disappointed to lose in the national championship game and grateful to get the opportunity: http://www.startribune.com/gophers-women-s-hockey-loses-2-0-to-badgers-in-national-championship/507591282/

An early look at the 2019-20 Gophers team: http://www.startribune.com/gophers-have-talent-to-rebound-from-ncaa-title-game-loss/507616532/

Some final thoughts that didn't fit into a story:

Top 10 2017-18 Features Nate Wrote (or) Welcome Back!

Welcome back!

With summer unofficially coming to an end after the Minnesota State Fair closing up shop for another year, September marks a new year of hockey.

It's time to prepare for the 2018-19 college hockey season. School has begun around the country. Ice sheets are ready to go. Same with captain's practices. Countdowns until opening night remains somewhere in the 20s to 40s.

Starbucks brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte, perhaps the biggest sign fall peeks around the corner.

Prior to any preseason coverage, however, and on the one-year anniversary of The Athletic Minnesota launching, I wanted to showcase some of my favorite features from the site in the year since launching. Give them one last bit of love before turning my attention towards the future.

Feature: When they needed it most, Gopher women found a way to beat the best (The Athletic)

With her team’s center of attention turning towards needing two wins, internally Sidney Peters spent much of the weekend focusing on a single droplet of water.

It’s a trick Peters, a kinesiology major, picked up to help concentrate. During stoppages of play Minnesota’s redshirt senior goaltender will spray her water bottle in the air and try to watch the droplets falling down.

“It’s a way to keep my eyes awake. You have all these little muscles in your eyes. When you’re zoning out and not getting a lot of shots, you can lose control,” she said. “It’s also a focal point for me. It helps me to stay focused and deal with the anxiety that’s inevitable as an athlete.”

Inevitably there was anxiety.

Two hours before Saturday’s WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, any plans of the Gophers making the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid disappeared 1,100 miles away. Minnesota players and coaches found out through scoreboard watching that UConn upset Hockey East regular-season champion Boston College. Hockey East’s automatic bid would go to a team outside the top eight in the Pairwise Rankings, taking away an at-large spot in the eight-team field.

That spot would have been Minnesota’s.

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Game Story: Minnesota wins WCHA Final Faceoff Championship (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Only once the puck crossed the red line and into the empty net was Minnesota able to celebrate Sunday.

With Minnesota holding on to a one-goal lead against the top-ranked Badgers, Wisconsin spent nearly two minutes in the Gopher end before Nicole Schammel sealed the game by skating in alone and scoring an empty-netter with 13.3 seconds remaining.

“It felt pretty good once that went in,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost, noting Patrik Stefan’s missed empty net attempt in the NHL as reason to not count a goal before it happened. “Once it crossed the line I felt good.”

The Gophers celebrated again once the final whistle was blown, defeating Wisconsin 3-1 Sunday to take home the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff championship. Sidney Peters made 31 saves Sunday as her team claimed victory over the Badgers for the first time in five attempts this season.

Minnesota (23-10-4), winning the tournament for the first time since 2014, earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The eight-team field will be announced Sunday evening.

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Feature: Taylor Williamson "overcame the impossible" to get back to Gophers (The Athletic)

During the first period of Minnesota’s first game, Taylor Williamson quietly left the bench. She didn’t return for over three months.

To get back to her spot at Ridder Arena, where Minnesota will this weekend try to escape the NCAA tournament bubble and win an automatic bid through the WCHA Final Faceoff, was far from a guarantee.

“I was the only person who in my head thought I could do it,” Williamson told The Athletic. “If you would have asked the doctors, my coaches, my teammates, the way they would had seen me at my lowest point, easily people would have said there’s no way Taylor is going to make it.”

Nothing has been easy for Williamson in a year which saw the 21-year-old undergo brain surgery, be diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder and, in her words, overcome the impossible.

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BLOG: Taylor Williamson, Luke Notermann out for the foreseeable future

Both Minnesota hockey teams will be without a forward for the foreseeable future.

Junior Taylor Williamson and sophomore forward Luke Notermann are missing time on the ice this season.

In Williamson's case, she at least suited up Friday during Minnesota's season opening 4-3 loss to Merrimack. The Edina, MN native didn't leave the bench for the locker room yet wasn't playing during the second and third periods. She was scrtached in Sunday's 4-1 win.

"She's out indefinitely with an injury," head coach Brad Frost said Sunday of Williamson, the 2015 Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award winner.

Williamson spent the latter part of 2016-17 on the team's second line, flourishing with a stretch where she had 4 goals in 5 games. This season Frost started her on the third line with Kippin Keller and freshman Taylor Wente.

Losing Williamson for an extended period of time puts a strain on the Gopher blue line. Thanks in part to three potential forwards gone for Olympic duty, Minnesota only has 18 skaters (12 forwards and 6 defenders). Junior Sophie Skarzynski went from defender to forward Sunday.

"Hopefully we can keep five D back there," said Frost."We don't have many more options unless we can pull somebody from the stands."

On the men's side, every eligible forward skated in Minnesota's 6-2 exhibition victory over Alberta. That left out transfer Connor Hurley and Notermann, who head coach Don Lucia said was unable to play.

He likely will be unable to play for a while.

"We're hoping (Luke)'ll be back playing, at least skating, but as of now it appears that he'll be missing the year," said Lucia.

Notermann had one assist in 10 games last season for the Gophers, filling in spot duty throughout the second half of 2016-17. Being without Notermann leaves five forwards - Darian Romanko, Jack Ramsey, Ryan Norman, Joey Marooney and freshman Cullen Munson - in the mix for three spots on Minnesota's fourth line. All five were rotating at times, with Romanko being a constant presence, during Sunday's exhibition.

Gophers stand united with USWNT, turn down chance to play in World Championships

One of the biggest stories in hockey right now is the ongoing stalemate between the United States Women's National Team and USA Hockey.

The USWNT is currently threatening to boycott the upcoming World Championships (being played in Plymouth, MI) over a year-long negotiation over fair wages and support. (For a full timeline, click here.) As a team they have been standing together

Two current Gophers, Lee Stecklein and Kelly Pannek, and several Minnesota alums (Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Amanda Kessel, and Gigi Marvin) are members of the US senior team.

Show us what #BeBoldForChange means to you. pic.twitter.com/P1iZqNtucw

— Lee Stecklein (@LeeSteck2) March 24, 2017

While the two have had been negotiating, USA Hockey took the step of contacting replacement players before the championships begin March 31st. Several collegians, including at least Minnesota players, have said no to the opportunity to represent their country.

***

Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can do what others can’t. I said no to USAH & will not play in the 2017WC #BeBoldForChange

— Cara Piazza (@carr_81) March 24, 2017

***

Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can do what others can’t. I said no to USAH & will not play in the 2017WC #BeBoldForChange

— Sydney Baldwin (@sydbaldwin9) March 24, 2017

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Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can do what others can’t. I said no to USAH & will not play in the 2017WC #BeBoldForChange

— Taylor Williamson (@twilly_7) March 24, 2017

***
I'll update this if any more (i.e. Dani Cameranesi) post the same message.

UPDATE: Cameranesi did.

#BeBoldForChange pic.twitter.com/FIbz69wRpP

— Dani Cameranesi (@DaniCam9) March 24, 2017

UPDATE #2 (March 25th): Gopher freshman defender Patti Marshall turned down USA Hockey as well.

Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can do what others can’t. I said no to USAH & will not play in the 2017WC #BeBoldForChange

— Patti Marshall (@pattimarshall16) March 25, 2017 

2017 NCAA Tournament: Gophers get back Dani Cameranesi

Mixed in with national championship banners, Minnesota getting a star player back late in the season is quickly becoming a Gopher signature move.

In this case the player is senior co-captain Dani Cameranesi, who surprisingly returned last week for Minnesota from a lower body injury suffered nearly two months ago. She will be in the lineup today for the team's NCAA Quarterfinal on the road against Minnesota Duluth.

Puck drop is at 2:30 and can be streamed here.

Cameranesi was cleared a few days prior to the WCHA Final Faceoff, according to head coach Brad Frost.

Feature: Gopher women's hockey team glad Taylor Williamson finding the net (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

(This originally appeared in the February 18th St. Paul Pioneer Press)

The Gophers women’s hockey team waited much of the season for Taylor Williamson to break out and score.

In the lead-up to Minnesota’s final Western Collegiate Hockey Association series of the season this weekend against rival Wisconsin, secondary scoring for the Gophers is on the rise after the team got 65 percent of its goals during the first two months from its top line.

It eventually reached a point where coach Brad Frost stopped bringing up the subject.

“We really struggled with people scoring in the first half other than our first line. We’ve talked to our players about it,” Frost said. “We actually came back from Christmas break and said, ‘We’re not going to mention secondary scoring anymore.’ You guys know you have to score, but let’s focus on the process of scoring rather than the actual outcome of scoring.”

Some extra scoring would come in handy this weekend with the No. 4-ranked Gophers (23-5-3, 19-4-3-2 WCHA) playing host to No.-1-ranked Wisconsin (27-2-2, 22-2-2-2). The teams square off at Ridder Arena in 3 p.m. games on Saturday and Sunday.

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