March 6-7, 2021 / Ridder Arena / Minneapolis, Minn
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MARCH 6-7, 2021 / RIDDER ARENA / MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. COMMISSIONER’S WELCOME To the BEST fans in college hockey: Welcome to the 2021 WCHA Final Faceoff! We are proud to once again bring the premier women’s college hockey tournament to Minneapolis and Ridder Arena. We all have a front row seat as the top four teams in the WCHA compete for the Final Faceoff trophy and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Historic Ridder Arena will serve as the backdrop for our tremendous student-athletes to showcase their skills for you this weekend. A special thank you to the University of Minnesota for serving as our host and working alongside us to provide an atmosphere that equals the magnitude of this championship. This season has been unlike any other. The level of pride I feel having watched our teams, staffs and offi cials persevere through the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic is immense. Nothing Jennifer Flowers about the 2020-21 season has been easy. We have fought very hard to get to this point and provide these Commissioner outstanding young women the chance to compete for a title. A very special thank you to our entire WCHA membership for your commitment and patience as we have navigated this season. I am also incredibly proud of the work being done off the ice. Our student-athletes took their time away from hockey this summer and fall to get involved in their communities and on their campuses. Important work is being done in the areas of social and racial injustice, as well as civic engagement. All WCHA student-athletes eligible to vote in the 2020 Election were registered, as part of a voter initiative that was led by their peers. An important and needed initiative in college hockey was announced in mid-February with the introduction of College Hockey for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. #CollegeHockey4DEI includes representatives from all NCAA Division I hockey conferences. The WCHA is proud to be represented on the committee by Bemidji State student-athlete Tina Kampa, Minnesota Duluth head coach Maura Crowell and myself. #CollegeHockey4DEI is focused on making the game of hockey, the game we all love, the very best it can be. We enter this weekend with the one constant through all of this: the excellence of our teams! This weekend’s Final Faceoff will feature four teams currently ranked in the Top-5 in the country. Truly the BEST of the BEST. Thank you to our 2021 Final Faceoff supporting partners: adidas, Flo Hockey, Howie’s Hockey Tape, JLG Ice, Kowalski’s, Krampade, Sterling Trophy and SPX Sports. Your support of our league and our student-athletes is meaningful and appreciated. We could not create this championship experience without you. And fi nally, thank you to all of you, the fans, for supporting your teams all season long! We could not have made it to this point without you. We are excited to bring you the very best in collegiate women’s hockey this weekend! We are: Leaders. Elite. Champions. Determined. Scholars. Role Models. Competitors. Olympians. Athletes. Women. WE ARE WCHA! With gratitude, Jennifer Flowers WCHA Vice President & Women’s League Commissioner 1 2021 WCHA FINAL FACEOFF TABLE OF CONTENTS WCHA Mission WELCOME LETTER .............................................................................................................1 2021 FINAL FACEOFF PREVIEW ......................................................................................4 The WCHA exists to achieve the highest level of competitive excellence in an environment that supports the academic and personal growth of all student 2021 FINAL FACEOFF BRACKET......................................................................................5 athletes. ABOUT THE WCHA .........................................................................................................6 WCHA Purpose FINAL 2020-21 WCHA STANDINGS AND STATISTICS ...................................................8 The WCHA is dedicated to outreach, education and support of men’s and 2020-21 ALL-WCHA TEAMS....................................................................................10 women’s intercollegiate ice hockey competition in furtherance of the student- athletes that participate and its Member institutions, all under conditions 2020-21 WCHA INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS .......................................................... 12 compatible with the objectives, functions, and responsibilities of institutions of higher learning. The WCHA is organized for the purpose of continuing NO. 1 SEED WISCONSIN ......................................................................................................14 and improving competition in men’s and women’s ice hockey, both among its Members and with other interested institutions of higher learning. This NO. 2 SEED MINNESOTA DULUTH .......................................................................................16 Association will provide a forum in which the representation of the Members will meet periodically for the discussion of mutual problems, the elimination NO. 3 SEED OHIO STATE ............................................................................................... 18 of misunderstandings, the exchange of information and the determination of policies and procedures for ice hockey competition among Members. NO. 4 SEED MINNESOTA ..............................................................................................20 WCHA POSTSEASON HISTORY..................................................................................... 22 WCHA Objectives WCHA PLAYOFF RESULTS (2000-20) .................................................................... 24 • Maintaining the highest standard of valuing excellence on the ice and in the classroom. FINAL FACEOFF MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS ..............................................................27 • Foster sportsmanship, fair play, and mutual respect by all Members of the WCHA. WCHA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS .............................................................................. 28 • Insisting on the strict adherence to the concepts of compliance, integrity, accountability and ethical social conduct by student-athletes, coaches and administrators. • Maintain Association membership standards that refl ect the sport’s dynamic culture and ensure the preeminence of the WCHA in NCAA Division I Ice Hockey. • Promote the development of hockey in our society to expand the opportunities for maintaining competitive and fi nancial viability of our Association Member institutions. OFFICIAL TAPE SUPPLIER OF THE WORLD’S HIGHEST QUALITY #STICKWITHTHEBEST | HOWIESHOCKEYTAPE.COM 2 2021 WCHA FINAL FACEOFF 3 2021 WCHA FINAL FACEOFF 2021 FINAL FACEOFF A stellar fi eld featuring four top-10 programs will compete Wisconsin is led by WCHA Scoring Champion Daryl Watts, in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s 2021 Final who registered 31 points on 15 goals and a league-leading Faceoff March 6-7 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. 16 assists this season. The Badgers have held the nation’s No. 1 ranking for 14 of 15 weeks in 2020-21 and enter the No. 2/1 Wisconsin, No. 3/3 Ohio State, No. 4/4 Minnesota postseason riding an 8-1-1 mark in their last 10 games. and No. 5/5 Minnesota Duluth will vie for the WCHA Championship Trophy and an automatic NCAA tournament The Bulldogs return to the Final Faceoff for the fourth time berth at the premier conference tournament in women’s in the last fi ve years. UMD won its fi fth – and most recent – college hockey. Final Faceoff championship in 2010. Regular-season champion Wisconsin clinched its ninth Minnesota Duluth was in contention for the Julianne Bye WCHA league title – and second in a row – on the season’s Cup on the fi nal day of the regular season and comes into fi nal day with a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win over the Final Faceoff having won six of its last seven outings, Minnesota Duluth. The Badgers will meet fourth-seeded including a 4-2 win over Wisconsin on Feb. 26. Minnesota in next Saturday’s fi rst semifi nal at 1:07 p.m. CT. Wisconsin fi nished 3-0-1 against the Gophers this season. The Buckeyes are making their fourth-straight Final Faceoff semifi nal appearance for the fi rst time in program Second-seeded Minnesota Duluth will face No. 3 seed and history and are seeking to defend their 2020 Final Faceoff defending Final Faceoff champion Ohio State in the second title. semifi nal next Saturday at 5:07 p.m. CT. The two teams split their only series of the season on Jan. 15-16 in Duluth. Ohio State became the fi rst team in WCHA postseason The home-standing Bulldogs took the series opener, 2-0, history to win back-to-back overtime contests en route before Ohio State rebounded the following day with a the Final Faceoff championship. The Buckeyes boast the shutout of their own, winning 1-0. nation’s No. 2 penalty-kill unit, having snuffed out 52-of- 54 (.951) opponent power plays this season. The 2021 WCHA Final Faceoff will be held March 6-7, 2021 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Annually featuring The Gophers are making their 22nd-consecutive a collection of the nation’s highest-ranked programs appearance in the semifi nals and boast one of the highest- and best players, the WCHA’s four remaining teams will scoring offenses in the country, having registered 62 goals compete for the league’s playoff championship and an this season, the third-most in the NCAA. automatic berth in the 2021 NCAA tournament. All games will stream live on FloHockey.tv. Minnesota is led by senior forward Grace Zumwinkle, who scored a WCHA-best and NCAA-leading