Gopher womens hockey awaits #1 Ohio St., coached by former U star Muzerall
[anvplayer video=”5160472″ station=”998122″]
A clash of women’s college hockey powerhouses looms this weekend as #3 Minnesota hosts #1-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State.
The Gophers come into the weekend riding a 12-game win streak. Ohio State has won their last ten games.
Friday night’s game at Ridder Arena begins at 6:00 p.m., with a 2:00 p.m. start for game two on Saturday.
Click the video box on this page to watch KSTP Sports’ interviews with Gopher women’s hockey head coach Brad Frost and senior captain Taylor Heise
While the Buckeyes hold the top ranking in the national polls, the Gophers lead the WCHA conference standings with their 19-1-2 record. Their 59 points have them two points up on Ohio State, so this weekend’s series could be pivotal in determining the conference’s regular season champion. Each team plays two more series’ after this weekend.
Ohio State head coach and former Gophers player Nadine Muzerall (Courtesy: Ohio State Athletics)
The Gophers took four points from an available six in the teams’ series in Columbus earlier this season.
Nadine Muzerall is in her seventh season as Ohio State’s head coach. She scored 139 as a player at Minnesota and still stands as the program’s all-time leading-scorer. She was a two-time All-American, and two-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award – given to the nation’s top women’s college hockey player.
As an assistant coach with the Gophers from 2011-2016, Muzerall was part of a staff that won national championships in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016.
She guided the Buckeyes to their first national championship last year, making Ohio State the 5th program (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Clarkson) to win a national title since the NCAA began sanctioning women’s hockey in 2001.