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 According to a poll of league coaches, Wisconsin was the preseason pick to win the WCHA title. Defending WCHA champion Minnesota placed second in the poll; Minnesota Duluth placed third. All three of the teams qualified for the NCAA Frozen Four in the previous season.
Brooke Ammerman and Brianna Decker of Wisconsin were voted Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason Rookie of the Year, respectively.
Exhibition games
Exhibition games against Canadian teams Three games were played against Canadian Interuniversity Sport teams. Date Location NCAA team CIS team Score September 25 Grand Forks, ND North Dakota ManitobaND, 3-1 September 26 Columbus, OH Ohio State Wilfrid Laurier 1–1, Ohio State scores in shootout September 26 Grand Forks, ND North Dakota ManitobaMan, 3-2
US Olympic exhibition games
Throughout the season, various NCAA schools played against the United States Olympic Hockey team.
Date Location NCAA team Score September 25 Xcel Energy Center WCHA All-Stars 6–1, USA September 26 National Hockey Center St. Cloud State 13–0, USA January 5 Madison, WI Wisconsin 9–0, USA January 12 Ridder Arena Minnesota 8–5, USA
WCHA All-Star Team The head coach of the WCHA All-Stars was Jeff Giesen of St. Cloud State, with Maria Lewis of North Dakota and Heather Farrell of Bemidji State serving as assistant coaches. The Athletic Trainer was Stef Arndt of St. Cloud State. WCHA All-Star Team Position Name Class SchoolG Alyssa Grogan So. MinnesotaG 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 DakotaD 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 Note: G = goaltender, D = defense, F = forwardSo. = Sophomore, Jr. = Junior, Sr. = Senior
Regular season
Standings
In season honors
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, Minnesotahttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/100709aaa.html 10/12/09 Sarah Erickson, Minnesota 10/19/09 Emmi Leinonen, Minnesota State 10/26/09 Emmanuelle Blais, Minnesota Duluthhttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/102809aab.html 11/02/09 Meaghan Pezon, St. Cloud State 11/09/09 Raelyn LaRocque, Ohio Statehttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/111109aaa.html 11/16/09 Holly Roberts, St. Cloud State 11/23/09 11/30/09 12/7/09 12/14/09 12/21/09 12/28/09 1/4/10 Felicia Nelson, St. Cloud State 1/11/10 Sarah Erickson, Minnesotahttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011310aaa.html 1/18/10 Natalie Spooner, Ohio Statehttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/012010aac.html 1/25/10 Carolyne Prevost, Wisconsin 2/1/10 2/8/10 2/15/10 Holly Roberts, St. Cloud State 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 01/04/10Chelsea 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 Freshman 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 Megan Bozek, Minnesota 11/30/09 12/07/09 12/14/09 Megan Bozek, Minnesota 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 Teams Score NotesFebruary 26 Ohio State at Wisconsin OSU, 3-1 Natalie Spooner gets a hat trickFebruary 27 Ohio State at WisconsinOSU, 4-3 (OT)
Date Location Opponent Score February 26 Ridder Arena Minnesota vs. MSU Mankato 5-8 February 27 Ridder Arena Minnesota vs. MSU Mankato 3-4 (3 OT) February 27: After 3 hours and 47 minutes, Emily West scored at 1:16 of triple overtime to eliminate the MSU-Mankato Mavericks.http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38864&SPID=3323&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=204897322
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.
Date Location Opponent Score Notes Feb. 26 Heritage Center North Dakota 6-2 Emmanuelle Blais scores 4 goals Feb. 27 Heritage Center North Dakota 3-1 Sweep series
Semifinals Date Location Opponent Score Notes Ridder Arena Minnesota vs. Ohio State
Date Location Opponent Score Notes Ridder Arena Minnesota Duluth vs. Bemidji State
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.http://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/030710aab.html
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 Frozen 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).http://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/030810aaa.html Neither team has won since.
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WCHA awards and honors Honor Selection Player of the Year (Tie) Felicia Nelson, St. Cloud State and Zuzana Tomcikova, Bemidji Statehttp://www.wcha.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/wcha/sports/w-hockey/auto_pdf/wchaw-2010awards-030410 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 DuluthEmily 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, WisconsinCaitlin 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 Of the 45 nominees for the Patty Kazmaier Award, ten were from the WCHA. Player Position Class School Nationality Emmanuelle Blais Forward Senior Univ. of Minnesota Duluth Laura Fridfinnson Forward Junior Univ. of Minnesota Duluth Caitlin Hogan Forward Senior St. Cloud State Univ. Hokey Langan Forward Freshman Ohio State Felicia Nelson Forward Senior St. Cloud State Univ. Noora Räty Goalie Freshman Minnesota Anne Schleper Defense Sophomore Minnesota Natalie Spooner Forward Sophomore Ohio State Zuzana Tomcikova Goaltender Sophomore Bemidji State Univ. Emily West Forward Junior Minnesota
2010 Olympics
Active players Ten active WCHA players represented their respective countries in ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Player NCAA team Nationality Position Medal Elin Holmlöv Minnesota Duluth Forward 4th Place Haley Irwin Minnesota Duluth ForwardGold Jocelyne Lamoureux North Dakota ForwardSilver Monique Lamoureux North Dakota ForwardSilver Heidi Pelttari Minnesota State ForwardBronze Mariia Posa Minnesota State ForwardBronze Noora Raty Minnesota GoaltenderBronze Nina Tikkinen Minnesota State ForwardBronzehttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011410aaa.html Zuzana Tomčíková Bemidji State Goaltender8th place Saara Tuominenhttp://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011310aac.html Minnesota Duluth ForwardBronze
Former players The following former NCAA players will represent their respective countries in Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Player NCAA team Nationality Position Medal Natalie Darwitz Minnesota ForwardSilver Meghan Duggan Wisconsin ForwardSilver Molly Engstrom Wisconsin DefenceSilver Hilary Knight Wisconsin ForwardSilver Gigi Marvin Minnesota ForwardSilver Meghan Mikkelson Wisconsin ForwardGold Caroline Ouellette Minnesota Duluth ForwardGold Jessie Vetter Wisconsin GoaltenderSilver Jinelle Zaugg Wisconsin ForwardSilver
See also National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship 2009–10 College Hockey America women's ice hockey season 2009–10 Eastern College Athletic Conference women's ice hockey season 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's champions
References