# 2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey season

The 2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey season represented the University of Minnesota during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season. They were coached by Brad Frost in his 16th season. The Golden Gophers won the 2023 WCHA women's ice hockey tournament and advanced to the Frozen Four of the 2023 NCAA tournament, where they lost to Wisconsin 2–3 in overtime.

## Offseason
### Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Notes |
| Josefin Bouveng | Forward | Sweden | Played for Sweden at the 2022 Winter Olympics |
| Allie Franco | Forward/Defense | United States | Attended Hill-Murray HS |
| Nelli Laitinen | Defense | Finland | Won a bronze medal with Finland at the 2022 Winter Olympics |
| Madison Kaiser | Forward | United States | Member of the U.S. women's U18 team in 2021 |
| Abbey Murphy | Forward | United States | Returning to the team after taking a year off to play in the 2022 Winter Olympics |
| Lizi Norton | Defense | United States | Transfer from Minnesota Duluth |
| Grace Zumwinkle | Forward | United States | Returning for her 5th year after taking a year off to play in the 2022 Winter Olympics |

## Regular season
### Standings

2022–23 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 |
| #2 Ohio State † | 28 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 119 | 52 | 40 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 169 | 71 |
| #3 Minnesota * | 28 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 68 | 126 | 52 | 39 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 177 | 72 |
| #1 Wisconsin | 27 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 113 | 46 | 40 | 29 | 10 | 2 | 169 | 67 |
| #7 Minnesota Duluth | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 54 | 87 | 44 | 39 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 125 | 53 |
| #12 St. Cloud State | 28 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 57 | 82 | 37 | 18 | 18 | 1 | 87 | 96 |
| Minnesota State | 28 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 55 | 92 | 36 | 15 | 20 | 1 | 91 | 105 |
| St. Thomas | 28 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 30 | 110 | 36 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 53 | 130 |
| Bemidji State | 28 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 130 | 36 | 5 | 30 | 1 | 40 | 154 |
| Championship: March 4, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com; updated March 19, 2023 ||||||||||||||||

### Schedule

Source
    As of March 3, 2023.
| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| Oct 7 | 6:00 pm | Bemidji State | #2 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Pahl | W 6–0 | — | 1–0–0 (1–0–0) |
| Oct 8 | 2:00 pm | Bemidji State | #2 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 4–1 | 1,259 | 2–0–0 (2–0–0) |
| Oct 14 | 3:00 pm | at Minnesota State | #2 | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, MN | Vetter | W 11–0 | 105 | 3–0–0 (3–0–0) |
| Oct 15 | 2:00 pm | Minnesota State | #2 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Pahl | W 9–4 | 1,225 | 4–0–0 (4–0–0) |
| Oct 21 | 6:00 pm | at St. Cloud State | #2 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN | Vetter | W 4–2 | 437 | 5–0–0 (5–0–0) |
| Oct 22 | 2:00 pm | St. Cloud State | #2 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 2–1 | 1,553 | 6–0–0 (6–0–0) |
| Oct 28 | 5:00 pm | at #1 Ohio State | #2 | The Ohio State University Ice Rink • Columbus, OH | Vetter | W 4–2 | 421 | 7–0–0 (7–0–0) |
| Oct 29 | 2:00 pm | at #1 Ohio State | #2 | The Ohio State University Ice Rink • Columbus, OH | Vetter | T 4–4 $^{2OT}$ | 319 | 7–0–1 (7–0–1) |
| Nov 4 | 6:00 pm | #5 Minnesota Duluth | #1 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,032 | 8–0–1 (8–0–1) |
| Nov 5 | 2:00 pm | #5 Minnesota Duluth | #1 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 5–3 | 2,280 | 9–0–1 (9–0–1) |
| Nov 7 | 7:00 pm | vs. St. Cloud State* | #1 | Andover Community Center • Andover, MN (2022 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women's Face-Off Classic) | Vetter | L 1–4 | 1,250 | 9–1–1 (9–0–1–1) |
| Nov 19 | 2:00 pm | at #3 Wisconsin | #1 | LaBahn Arena • Madison, WI | Vetter | T 3–3 $^{SO}$ | 2,273 | 9–1–2 (9–0–2–2) |
| Nov 20 | 2:00 pm | at #3 Wisconsin | #1 | LaBahn Arena • Madison, WI | Vetter | L 1–4 | 2,273 | 9–2–2 (9–1–2–2) |
| Nov 25 | 6:00 pm | vs. #12 Penn State* | #3 | Lifeguard Arena • Henderson, NV (Henderson Collegiate Hockey Showcase) | Pahl | W 5–1 | 250 | 10–2–2 (9–1–2–2) |
| Nov 26 | 6:00 pm | vs. #5 Yale* | #3 | Dollar Loan Center • Henderson, NV (Henderson Collegiate Hockey Showcase) | Vetter | L 3–4 | — | 10–3–2 (9–1–2–2) |
| Dec 2 | 6:00 pm | Minnesota State | #5 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 4–1 | 1,643 | 11–3–2 (10–1–2–2) |
| Dec 3 | 2:00 pm | at Minnesota State | #5 | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, MN | Vetter | W 6–0 | 206 | 12–3–2 (11–1–2–2) |
| Dec 9 | 6:00 pm | #14 St. Cloud State | #6 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 6–0 | 2,007 | 13–3–2 (12–1–2–2) |
| Dec 10 | 3:00 pm | at #14 St. Cloud State | #6 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN | Vetter | W 9–0 | 472 | 14–3–2 (13–1–2–2) |
| Jan 6 | 6:00 pm | Merrimack* | #5 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (East/West Showcase) | Vetter | W 9–2 | 2,207 | 15–3–2 (13–1–2–2) |
| Jan 7 | 4:30 pm | New Hampshire* | #5 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (East/West Showcase) | Pahl | W 8–1 | 2,249 | 16–3–2 (13–1–2–2) |
| Jan 13 | 6:00 pm | St. Thomas | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 5–0 | 1,813 | 17–3–2 (14–1–2–2) |
| Jan 14 | 2:00 pm | St. Thomas | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 4–1 | 2,210 | 18–3–2 (15–1–2–2) |
| Jan 20 | 3:00 pm | at Bemidji State | #3 | Sanford Center • Bemidji, MN | Vetter | W 7–0 | 401 | 19–3–2 (16–1–2–2) |
| Jan 21 | 2:00 pm | at Bemidji State | #3 | Sanford Center • Bemidji, MN | Vetter | W 4–1 | 428 | 20–3–2 (17–1–2–2) |
| Jan 27 | 3:00 pm | at #6 Minnesota Duluth | #3 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, MN | Vetter | W 3–1 | 1,125 | 21–3–2 (18–1–2–2) |
| Jan 28 | 3:00 pm | at #6 Minnesota Duluth | #3 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, MN | Vetter | W 4–3 | 2,094 | 22–3–2 (19–1–2–2) |
| Feb 3 | 6:00 pm | #1 Ohio State | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | W 4–2 | 2,848 | 23–3–2 (20–1–2–2) |
| Feb 4 | 2:00 pm | #1 Ohio State | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | L 1–5 | 2,865 | 23–4–2 (20–2–2–2) |
| Feb 10 | 6:00 pm | #8 Wisconsin | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | T 2–2 $^{SO}$ | 3,539 | 23–4–3 (20–2–3–3) |
| Feb 11 | 2:00 pm | #8 Wisconsin | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN | Vetter | L 5–7 | 3,539 | 23–5–3 (20–3–3–3) |
| Feb 17 | 6:00 pm | at St. Thomas | #4 | St. Thomas Ice Arena • St. Paul, MN | Vetter | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 594 | 24–5–3 (21–3–3–3) |
| Feb 18 | 6:00 pm | at St. Thomas | #4 | St. Thomas Ice Arena • St. Paul, MN | Vetter | W 4–2 | 776 | 25–5–3 (22–3–3–3) |
| WCHA Tournament |||||||||
| Feb 24 | 6:00 pm | St. Thomas | #4 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (First round) | Vetter | W 7–0 | 1,224 | 26–5–3 (22–3–3–3) |
| Feb 25 | 2:00 pm | St. Thomas | #4 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (First round) | Vetter | W 6–2 | 1,289 | 27–5–3 (22–3–3–3) |
| Mar 3 | 5:00 pm | vs. #6 Wisconsin | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (Semifinals) | Vetter | W 4–2 | 2,334 | 28–5–3 (22–3–3–3) |
| Mar 4 | 2:00 pm | vs. #1 Ohio State | #3 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (Championship) | Vetter | W 3–1 | 2,616 | 29–5–3 (22–3–3–3) |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 11 | 2:00 pm | vs. #7 Minnesota Duluth* | #2 | Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (National Quarterfinals) | Vetter | W 3–0 | 2,328 | 30–5–3 (22–3–3–3) |
| Mar 17 | 6:00 pm | vs. #6 Wisconsin* | #2 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, MN (Frozen Four Semifinal Game) | Vetter | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 3,425 | 30–6–3 (22–3–3–3) |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. |||||||||

### Roster

Source:

## Awards and honors

* On October 17, 2022, Grace Zumwinkle was named WCHA Forward of the Week for the eighth time.
* On October 17, 2022, Skylar Vetter was honored with her second WCHA Goaltender of the Week.
* On October 31, 2022, Taylor Heise was named WCHA Forward of the Week.
* On October 31, 2022, Skylar Vetter was honored with her third WCHA Goaltender of the Week.
* On November 1, 2022, Skylar Vetter was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Month for October.
* On November 1, 2022, Abbey Murphy was awarded with her first-ever WCHA Forward of the Month.
* On December 12, 2022, Taylor Heise was again named WCHA Forward of the Week.
* On December 12, 2022, Skylar Vetter was named WCHA Goaltender of the Week.
* On January 3, 2023, Skylar Vetter was awarded her second WCHA Goaltender of the Month this season for posting 3 shutouts and only 1 goal against during December.
* On January 4, 2023, Taylor Heise was named National Player of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association for December.
* On January 4, 2023, Skylar Vetter was acknowledged as the National Goaltender of the Month for her impersonation of a brick wall during December 2022.
* On January 9, 2023, Grace Zumwinkle was named WCHA Forward of the Week.
* On January 23, 2023, Taylor Heise was again acknowledged as the WCHA Forward of the Week.
* On January 23, 2023, Madison Kaiser was awarded with her first WCHA Rookie of the Week.