# 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

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 | Manitoba | ND, 3-1 |
| September 26 | Columbus, OH | Ohio State | Wilfrid Laurier | 1–1, Ohio State scores in shootout |
| September 26 | Grand Forks, ND | North Dakota | Manitoba | Man, 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 | School |
| G | Alyssa Grogan | So. | Minnesota |
| 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 |
| Note: G = goaltender, D = defense, F = forward So. = Sophomore, Jr. = Junior, Sr. = Senior ||||

## Regular season
### Standings

2009–10 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | SOW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Minnesota Duluth†* | 28 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 90 | 55 | 41 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 138 | 83 |
| Minnesota† | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 43 | 91 | 49 | 40 | 26 | 9 | 5 | 129 | 74 |
| St. Cloud State | 28 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 70 | 77 | 37 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 96 | 103 |
| Wisconsin | 28 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 84 | 63 | 36 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 107 | 82 |
| Ohio State | 28 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 90 | 94 | 37 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 122 | 117 |
| Bemidji State | 28 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 28 | 47 | 64 | 38 | 12 | 19 | 7 | 65 | 98 |
| Minnesota State | 28 | 5 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 49 | 92 | 34 | 7 | 22 | 5 | 66 | 117 |
| North Dakota | 28 | 7 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 44 | 71 | 34 | 8 | 22 | 4 | 61 | 92 |
| Championship: † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Updated July 21, 2024 ||||||||||||||||||

## 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, Minnesota |
| 10/12/09 | Sarah Erickson, Minnesota |
| 10/19/09 | Emmi Leinonen, Minnesota State |
| 10/26/09 | Emmanuelle Blais, Minnesota Duluth |
| 11/02/09 | Meaghan Pezon, St. Cloud State |
| 11/09/09 | Raelyn LaRocque, Ohio State |
| 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 |
| 1/11/10 | Sarah Erickson, Minnesota |
| 1/18/10 | Natalie Spooner, Ohio State |
| 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 |
| 01/04/10 | 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 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 | Notes |
| February 26 | Ohio State at Wisconsin | OSU, 3-1 | Natalie Spooner gets a hat trick |
| February 27 | Ohio State at Wisconsin | OSU, 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.
| 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.
| 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). Neither team has won since.
| Record | Win % | R32 | S16 | E8 | F4 | CG |
| 0–0 | | | | | | |

## WCHA awards and honors

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

## 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 | 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 | Minnesota State | Finland | Forward | Bronze |
| Zuzana Tomčíková | Bemidji State | Slovakia | Goaltender | 8th place |
| Saara Tuominen | Minnesota Duluth | Finland | Forward | Bronze |

### 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 | United States | Forward | Silver |
| Meghan Duggan | Wisconsin | United States | Forward | Silver |
| Molly Engstrom | Wisconsin | United States | Defence | Silver |
| Hilary Knight | Wisconsin | United States | Forward | Silver |
| Gigi Marvin | Minnesota | United States | Forward | Silver |
| Meghan Mikkelson | Wisconsin | Canada | Forward | Gold |
| Caroline Ouellette | Minnesota Duluth | Canada | Forward | Gold |
| Jessie Vetter | Wisconsin | United States | Goaltender | Silver |
| Jinelle Zaugg | Wisconsin | United States | Forward | Silver |