2009–10 WCHA women's ice hockey season

The 2009–10 Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's ice hockey season marked the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive ice hockey among Western Collegiate Hockey Association members.

Preseason[]

Sept. 24:The Badgers are the preseason pick to win the Western Collegiate Hockey Association women’s title, according to a poll of league coaches. Wisconsin went 34-2-5 last season en route to its third NCAA title in four years. The Badgers collected six first-place votes and 48 points in a poll of the eight coaches. Defending WCHA champion Minnesota, placed second with 43 points and two first-place votes. Minnesota Duluth, with 38 points, was selected to finish third. All three of those teams qualified for the NCAA Frozen Four last season.^[1]

WCHA Preseason Coaches’ Poll[]

Place	School	First Place Votes	Total Points
1	Wisconsin	(6)	48
2	Minnesota	(2)	43
3	Minnesota Duluth	(0)	38
4	St. Cloud State	(0)	29
5	Ohio State	(0)	23
6	North Dakota	(0)	20
7	MSU Mankato	(0)	16
8	Bemidji State	(0)	7

^[2]

Preseason ECAC awards[]

Player of the Year voting

Player	School	Votes
Brooke Ammerman	Wisconsin	5
Natalie Spooner	Ohio State	2
Saara Tuominen	Minnesota Duluth	1

Rookie of the Year voting

Player	School	Votes
Brianna Decker	Wisconsin	6
Hokey Langan	Ohio State	1
Jennifer Hars	Minnesota Duluth	1

CIS Exhibition[]

Date	Location	NCAA school	CIS team	Score
Fri. Sept 25	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	Manitoba	ND, 3-1^[3]
Sat. Sept 26	Columbus, OH	Ohio State	Wilfrid Laurier^[4]	Tie, 1-1 (Ohio State scores in shootout)^[5]
Sat. Sept 26	Grand Forks, ND	North Dakota	Manitoba	Man, 3-2^[6]

US Olympic exhibition games[]

Throughout the season, various NCAA schools will play the United States Olympic Hockey team.

On September 25, Natalie Darwitz was named the Player of the Game for Team USA.

Date	Location	NCAA school	Score
September 25	Xcel Energy Center	WCHA All-Stars	6-1, US ^[7]
September 26	National Hockey Center	St. Cloud State^[8]	USA, 13-0^[9]
January 5	Madison, WI	Wisconsin	9-0^[10]
January 12	Ridder Arena	Minnesota	8-5^[11]

WCHA All-Star Team[]

On September 25, a group of WCHA All-Stars will play the US Olympic Team. The head coach of the WCHA All-Stars is Jeff Giesen from St. Cloud State. Assisting him are Maria Lewis from North Dakota and Heather Farrell from Bemidji State. The Athletic Trainer is Stef Arndt from St. Cloud State. The roster is as follows:

Position	Name	Class	School
G	Alyssa Grogan	Minnesota	So
G	Ashley Nixon	Jr.	St. Cloud State
G	Zuzana Tomcikova	So.	Bemidji State
D	Brittany Haverstock	So.	Wisconsin
D	Danielle Hirsch	Sr.	St. Cloud State
D	Kelly Lewis	Jr.	North Dakota
D	Jaime Rasmussen	Sr.	Minnesota Duluth
D	Shannon Reilly	Jr.	Ohio State
D	Anne Schleper	So.	Minnesota
D	Holly Snyder	Sr.	Minnesota State
F	Brooke Ammerman	So.	Wisconsin
F	Emmanuelle Blais	Sr.	Minnesota Duluth
F	Mallory Deluce	Jr.	Wisconsin
F	Laura Fridfinnson	Jr.	Minnesota Duluth
F	Jasmine Giles	Sr.	Wisconsin
F	Caitlin Hogan	Sr.	St. Cloud State
F	Christina Lee	Sr.	Minnesota State
F	Laura McIntosh	So.	Ohio State
F	Holly Roberts	Sr.	St. Cloud State
F	Natalie Spooner	So.	Ohio State
F	Emily West	Jr.	Minnesota
F	Alyssa Wiebe	So.	North Dakota

^[12]

Regular season[]

2009–10 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota	22	17	2	3	3	40	79	29	28	21	3	4	93	34
Minnesota-Duluth	22	15	5	2	1	33	68	42	28	19	7	2	88	57
Wisconsin	22	12	9	1	0	25	63	49	28	15	10	3	81	61
Bemidji State	22	7	8	7	3	24	41	48	28	8	13	7	50	70
St. Cloud State	22	8	10	4	3	23	49	61	28	11	11	6	70	81
Ohio State	22	10	10	2	0	22	70	71	28	13	11	4	91	84
Minnesota State	22	2	15	5	3	12	36	74	26	4	17	5	45	87
North Dakota	22	4	16	2	0	10	31	63	26	5	17	4	45	74

Players of the week[]

Throughout the conference regular season, WCHA officials name a player of the week each Monday.

Week	Player of the week
10/05/09	Chelsey Jones, Minnesota^[13]
10/12/09	Sarah Erickson, Minnesota
10/19/09	Emmi Leinonen, Minnesota State
10/26/09	Emmanuelle Blais, Minnesota Duluth ^[14]
11/02/09	Meaghan Pezon, St. Cloud State ^[15]
11/09/09	Raelyn LaRocque, Ohio State ^[16]
11/16/09	Holly Roberts, St. Cloud State
11/23/09
11/30/09

12/7/09
12/14/09
12/21/09
12/28/08
1/4/10	Felicia Nelson, St. Cloud State^[17]
1/11/10	Sarah Erickson, Minnesota ^[18]
1/18/10	Natalie Spooner , Ohio State ^[19]
1/25/10	Carolyne Prevost, Wisconsin^[20]
2/1/10
2/8/10
2/15/10	Holly Roberts, St. Cloud State ^[21]
2/22/10
3/1/10
3/8/10

Defensive players of the week[]

Throughout the conference regular season, WCHA officials name a Defensive player of the week each Monday.

Week	Player of the week
10/05/09	Jorid Dagfinrud, North Dakota
10/12/09	Zuzana Tomcikova, Bemidji State
10/19/09	Noora Räty, Minnesota
10/26/09	Jaime Rasmussen, Minnesota Duluth
11/02/09	Becca Ruegsegger, Wisconsin
11/09/09	Zuzana Tomcikova, Bemidji State
11/16/09	Anne Schleper, Minnesota
12/07/09	Noora Räty, Minnesota and Jennifer Harss, Minnesota-Duluth^[22]
01/04/10	Chelsea Knapp, Ohio State
01/11/10	Becca Ruegsegger, Wisconsin
01/18/10	Zuzana Tomcikova, Bemidji State and Ashley Nixon, St. Cloud State
01/25/10	Noora Raty, Minnesota
02/17/10	Alli Altmann, MSU-Mankato

Rookie of the week[]

Throughout the conference regular season, WCHA officials name a Defensive player of the week each Monday.

Week	Player of the week
10/05/09	Brianna Decker, Wisconsin
10/12/09	Katherine Wilson, Minnesota Duluth
10/19/09	Minttu Tuominen, Ohio State
10/26/09	Noora Räty, Minnesota
11/02/09	Hokey Langan, Ohio State
11/09/09	Audrey Cournoyer, Minnesota Duluth
11/16/09	Mariia Posa, Minnesota Duluth
11/23/09
11/30/09
01/04/10	Mary Loken, North Dakota
01/11/10	Erika Wheelhouse, Bemidji State
01/18/10	Jessica Wong, Minnesota Duluth
01/25/10	Hokey Langan, Ohio State
02/15/10	Hokey Langan, Ohio State

Postseason[]

WCHA Tournament[]

Quarterfinals[]

Date	Time	Teams	Score	Notes
02/26/2010	7:00 PM	Ohio State at Wisconsin	OSU, 3-1	Natalie Spooner gets a hat trick^[23]
02/27/2010	7:00 PM	Ohio State at Wisconsin	OSU, 4-3 (OT)	Buckeyes win series 2-0

Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Notes
Feb. 26	Ridder Arena	Minnesota vs. MSU Mankato	5-8
Feb. 27	Ridder Arena	Minnesota vs. MSU Mankato	3-4 (3 OT)	Emily West gets the game winner

February 27: After 3 hours and 47 minutes, Emily West scored at 1:16 of triple overtime to eliminate the MSU-Mankato Mavericks.^[24]

Date	Opponent	Location	Score	Notes
Feb. 26	St. Cloud State	St. Cloud	0-3
Feb. 27	St. Cloud State	St. Cloud	2-1	End 14 game playoff losing streak
Feb. 28	St. Cloud State		4-1	Advance to first ever WCHA Final Face-Off

February 27: Bemidji State ends its 14 game playoff losing streak in a 2-1 victory over St. Cloud State. ^[25]

Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Notes
Feb. 26	Heritage Center	North Dakota	6-2	Emmanuelle Blais scores 4 goals^[26]
Feb. 27	Heritage Center	North Dakota	3-1	Sweep series

Semifinals[]

Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Notes
Mar. 6	Ridder Arena	Minnesota vs. Ohio State	5-4 2OT

Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Notes
Mar. 6	Ridder Arena	Minnesota Duluth vs. Bemidji State	7-3

Finals[]

March 7: The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-2 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis to win the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF playoff championship. It is the Bulldogs fifth WCHA playoff championship. This was their first postseason victory over the Golden Gophers since 2003. In addition, the Bulldogs lost three previous league playoff games against the Gophers at Ridder Arena. ^[27]

Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Notes
March 7	Ridder Arena	Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth	Minn Duluth, 3-2	Bulldogs fifth championship

NCAA Tournament[]

March 8: Two teams from the WCHA will compete for the 10th NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship. The University of Minnesota will be the host school for the 2010 Frozen Four, to be held March 19 and 21 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. WCHA Tournament champion University of Minnesota Duluth, and at-large selection Minnesota will be two of eight competing teams.

Minnesota Duluth (28-8-2) is seeded Number 2 and the Bulldogs will host the New Hampshire Wildcats (19-8-5) on Saturday, March 13 at 2:00 pm central standard time. The Golden Gophers (25-8-5) are the number 3 seed, and will host the Clarkson Golden Eagles (23-11-5), on March 13 at 4:00 pm central standard time. Minnesota Duluth won the Forzen Four for the first three years that the tournament was held (2001, 2002 and 2003). The Golden Gophers proceeded to win the next two Frozen Four tournaments (2004 and 2005). ^[28] Neither team has won since.

WCHA Awards and honors[]

Honor	Selection
Player of the Year	(Tie) Felicia Nelson, St. Cloud State and Zuzana Tomcikova, Bemidji State ^[29]
Coach of the Year	Steve Sertich, Bemidji State
Freshman of the Year	Hokey Langan, Ohio State
Student Athlete of the Year	Caitlin Hogan, St. Cloud State
Defensive Player of the Year,	Anne Schleper, Minnesota
Scoring Champion	Hokey Langan, Ohio State
Goaltending Champion	Noora Raty, Minnesota
WCHA First Team	Natalie Spooner, F, Ohio State
	Emmanuelle Blais, F, Minnesota Duluth
	Emily West, F, Minnesota
	Anne Schleper, D, Minnesota
	Jaime Rasmussen, D, Minnesota Duluth
	Noora Raty, G, Minnesota
WCHA Second Team	Felicia Nelson, F, St. Cloud State
	Hokey Langan, F, Ohio State
	Holly Roberts, F, St. Cloud State
	Laura Fridfinnson, F, Minnesota Duluth
	Megan Bozek, D, Minnesota
	Rachel Davis, D, Ohio State
	Zuzana Tomcikova, G, Bemidji State
WCHA Third Team	Brooke Ammerman, F, Wisconsin
	Caitlin Hogan, F, St. Cloud State
	Montana Vicharek, D, Bemidji State
	Stefanie McKeough, D, Wisconsin
	Jennifer Harss, G, Minnesota Duluth
All-Freshman Team	Hokey Langan, F, Ohio State
	Katherine Wilson, F, Minnesota Duluth
	Brianne Decker, F, Wisconsin
	Megan Bozek, D, Minnesota
	Stefanie McKeough, D, Wisconsin
	Noora Raty, G, Minnesota

WCHA all-academic team[]

National awards and honors[]

Patty Kazmaier Award nominees[]

There are 45 nominees for the Patty Kazmaier Award. Ten of the nominees are from Western Collegiate Hockey Association-member teams.

Player	Position	Class	School	Nationality
Emmanuelle Blais	Forward	Senior	Univ. of Minnesota Duluth	Canada
Laura Fridfinnson	Forward	Junior	Univ. of Minnesota Duluth	Canada
Caitlin Hogan	Forward	Senior	St. Cloud State Univ.	United States
Hokey Langan	Forward	Freshman	Ohio State	Canada
Felicia Nelson	Forward	Senior	St. Cloud State Univ.	Canada
Noora Räty	Goalie	Freshman	Minnesota	Finland
Anne Schleper	Defense	Sophomore	Minnesota	United States
Natalie Spooner	Forward	Sophomore	Ohio State	Canada
Zuzana Tomcikova	Goaltender	Sophomore	Bemidji State Univ.	Slovenia
Emily West	Forward	Junior	Minnesota	United States

^[30]

2010 Olympics[]

Active players[]

The following active WCHA players will represent their respective countries in Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Player	NCAA school	Nationality	Position	Goals	Assists	Points	Medal
Elin Holmlöv	Minnesota-Duluth	Sweden	Forward				4th Place
Haley Irwin	Minnesota-Duluth	Canada	Forward				Gold
Jocelyne Lamoureux	North Dakota	United States	Forward				Silver
Monique Lamoureux	North Dakota	United States	Forward				Silver
Heidi Pelttari	Minnesota State	Finland	Forward				Bronze
Mariia Posa	Minnesota State	Finland	Forward				Bronze
Noora Raty	Minnesota	Finland	Goaltender				Bronze
Nina Tikkinen ^[31]	Minnesota State	Finland	Forward				Bronze
Zuzana Tomčíková ‎	Bemidji State	Slovakia	Goaltender				8th
Saara Tuominen^[32]	Minnesota Duluth	Finland	Forward				Bronze

References[]

[1] ttp://www.uwbadgers.com/mobile/mobile_story.aspx?sportid=138&storyID=19111

[2] ttp://www.uwbadgers.com/mobile/mobile_story.aspx?sportid=138&storyID=19111

[3] ttp://www.fightingsioux.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=58668&SPID=6403&DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=204801833

[4] ttp://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&KEY=&SPID=10407&SPSID=87740

[5] ttp://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87741&SPID=10407&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=204802525

[6] ttp://www.fightingsioux.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=58668&SPID=6403&DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=204802313

[7] ttp://www.usahockey.com/Qwest%20Tour%202009/default.aspx?id=270528&DetailedNews=yes

[8] ttp://www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics/sports/hockey-womens/schedule.asp

[9] ttp://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=TU_02&id=270568

[10] ttp://www.usahockey.com/Qwest%20Tour%202009/default.aspx?id=277422&DetailedNews=yes

[11] ttp://www.usahockey.com/Qwest%20Tour%202009/default.aspx?id=277742&DetailedNews=yes

[12] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/090909aah.html?SPSID=38864&SPID=3323&DB_OEM_ID=8400

[13] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/100709aaa.html

[14] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/102809aab.html

[15] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/110409aab.html

[16] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/111109aaa.html

[17] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/010610aad.html

[18] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011310aaa.html

[19] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/012010aac.html

[20] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/012710aaa.html

[21] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/021710aab.html

[22] ttp://www.umdbulldogs.com/teams-womens-hockey.php?id=4738&page=news

[23] ttp://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87741&SPID=10407&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=204896833

[24] ttp://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38864&SPID=3323&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=204897322

[25] ttp://www.bsubeavers.com/news/default/18/2323/

[26] ttp://www.collegehockeystats.net/boxes/wmndndk1.f26

[27] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/030710aab.html

[28] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/030810aaa.html

[29] ttp://www.wcha.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/wcha/sports/w-hockey/auto_pdf/wchaw-2010awards-030410

[30] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/021810aaa.html

[31] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011410aaa.html

[32] ttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011310aac.html

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