Minnesota Golden Gophers women ' s ice hockey The Minnesota Golden Gophers women ’ s ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota at the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis . The team is one of the members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association ( WCHA ) and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) in Division I . The Lady Gophers have won two NCAA Championships as well as a American Women ' s College Hockey Alliance championships . They have also been Western Collegiate Hockey Association champions five times . In addition to their overall success as a competitive team , the Gophers have also been ranked in the nation ' s top two teams for attendance since becoming a varsity sport , and the team holds the largest single - game attendance record for women ’ s collegiate hockey , drawing 6 , 854 fans for the first Minnesota women ' s hockey game on November 2 , 1997 . In 2004 - 2005 , Minnesota won back - to - back NCAA Ice Hockey Championships . Natalie Darwitz was a three - time All American , and three - time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier award . Darwitz left the program with the career scoring mark at Minnesota in three years and set two NCAA single - season record with 114 points ( 42 Goals , 72 Assists ) and most assists in 40 games in her final season . Coaches . The Gophers have had two head coaches to date : Laura Halldorson and Brad Frost . Halldorson was the head coach for eleven years , from the 1997 - 1998 season to the 2006 - 2007 season . Her overall coaching record was 278 - 67 - 22 with the Gophers , a winning percentage of . 787 . During that time , the Gophers won four of their five WCHA championships and all three of their national championships . They averaged 28 wins per season and appeared in eight out of ten national tournaments , reaching seven finals . In addition , the Gophers experienced their best season in 2004 - 2005 with a 36 - 2 - 2 record . In the 2007 - 2008 season , Brad Frost became the temporary head coach . He had previously been an assistant coach . In his first year as head coach , Frost led the Gophers to a 21 - game winning streak , the second longest streak in the University of Minnesota ’ s history . The season ’ s record ended with 27 wins , 7 losses , and 4 ties but also ended with a conference record of 21 - 5 - 2 which ranked second in the WCHA . The Gophers made another NCAA regional appearance and post - season Frost was awarded WCHA Coach of the Year . In the 2008 - 2009 season , his temporary coaching status was lifted and he was named permanent head coach of the Gophers . That same season he led the Gophers to a record of 32 - 5 - 3 and to another WCHA championship . The Golden Gophers have had a cross state rivalry with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs . The Gophers handed the Bulldogs their first ever conference loss 4 - 3 in a sold out game at Pioneer Hall on February 11 , 2000 . Team History . Minnesota put its first women ' s team on the ice , in 1997 - 98 and Nadine Muzerall , a Canadian who graduated from Kimball Union Academy in Meriden , N . H . , was among its initial recruits . In 2009 - 10 , Noora Räty was just the second freshman to be a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award . Räty leads the NCAA in several goaltending categories . She leads the NCAA in goals - against average ( 1 . 24 ) , save percentage ( . 951 ) and shutouts ( 7 ) , while ranking third in winning percentage ( . 792 ) . Her won loss record for the year is 17 - 3 - 4 . In addition , Raty was the WCHA goaltending champion and earned numerous honours including All - WCHA First Team and All - WCHA Rookie Team . During the season , she was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week four times and WCHA Rookie of the Week on two occasions . She set a school record for most assists in one season by a goaltender ( 3 ) . Minnesota Duluth rivalry . Minnesota - Duluth , had been a traditional rival to the Gophers in men ' s hockey . In 1998 , Minnesota Duluth announced that it was going to assemble a women ' s team for the 1999 - 2000 season . Duluth gave a three - year , $ 210 , 000 contract to Shannon Miller , who coached Canada to the 1998 Olympic final in Nagano . Miller recruited players from Canada , Finland and Sweden , including four Olympians . The rivalry was fuelled when Miller took two players from Minnesota : star forward Jenny Schmidgall , whose 93 points led the nation , and defenseman Brittny Ralph , who would serve as the Bulldogs ' captain . In the 1999 - 2000 season , Duluth would lose just once to the Gophers in their first five meetings , which included a 2 - 0 Bulldogs victory in the final of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament . Season by season results . " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties " Arenas . The Lady Gophers have called two ice rinks home . From their 1997 - 1998 season to their 2001 - 2002 season the Lady Gophers shared their home ice with the men ’ s team at Mariucci Arena . Then in the 2002 - 2003 season , the Lady Gophers received a rink of their own : Ridder Arena . Ridder Arena is the first and ( to date ) only arena to be dedicated to a women ’ s hockey team . Individual Seasonal Records . Best Plus / Minus Record in a Season : + 74 Krissy Wendell 2004 - 2005 Most Goals in a Season : 49 Nadine Muzerall 1999 - 2000 Most Assists in a Season : 72 Natalie Darwitz 2004 - 2005 Most Points in a Season : 114 Natalie Darwitz 2004 - 2005 Notable players . Erica Killewald . Erica Killewald ranks first in career saves ( 2 , 385 ) and shutouts ( 21 ) , second in wins ( 73 ) and sixth in goals - against average ( 1 . 88 ) . She also owns four of the top seven winningest seasons for a goaltender . Killewald will be remembered as the winning goaltender for the first ever women ’ s hockey game at Minnesota . She led Minnesota to an 8 - 0 win over Augsburg in front of a record crowd at Mariucci Arena on Nov . 2 , 1997 . After an 18 - win freshman season that saw her finish tied for second in the nation with five shutouts , Killewald led the Golden Gophers to a third - place finish at the 1999 AWCHA National Championship . During that sophomore season , Killewald held opponents to two or fewer goals in 23 of 26 starts and led nation in goals against average ( 1 . 24 ) and save percentage ( . 947 ) . She would be named the Golden Gophers most improved and most valuable player . At the 2000 AWCHA National Championship , Killewald stopped 74 of 78 shots in the tournament , and earned most valuable player honors . On the season , she posted a 17 - 6 - 1 record , including an 8 - 0 - 1 mark in 10 games during the tram ’ s 21 - game unbeaten streak . In a 2 - 2 tie at archrival Minnesota Duluth , Killewald made 51 saves to set a school record . Killewald wrapped up her collegiate career in 2000 - 01 as part of the Golden Gophers first ever WCHA Regular Season Championship . On the season , Kilewald accumulated a 19 - 8 - 2 record . She would lead the WCHA in goals - against average ( 2 . 12 ) and save percentage ( . 914 ) to earn First Team All - WCHA honors . During her overall career at Minnesota , Killewald compiled a 73 - 23 - 9 career record . Kilewald was also a member of the WCHA All - Academic Team . She would graduate with a degree in kinesiology and is currently a radiologic technologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit . Nadine Muzerall . Nadine Muzerall is Minnesota ’ s all time leader with 139 career goals , including a record 40 power - play goals . She was a member of the inaugural team of University of Minnesota women ’ s hockey . In her freshman season , she had a 32 - goal , 32 - assist performance to earn Women ’ s Hockey News Second Team All - American , Patty Kazmaier Award Finalist and team most valuable player accolades . During her 1998 - 99 sophomore season , Muzerall was named a Second Team AWCHA All - American , and was part of the third - place finish at the 1999 AWCHA National Championship . She compiled totals of 30 goals , 18 assists and 48 points . Her numbers ranked in the top 20 nationally in seven offensive categories . Muzerall scored the game - winning goal in the 2000 national championship win over Brown ( Minnesota would win 4 - 2 ) and earned all - tournament honors with three goals and an assist in two games . For the season , Muzerall scored 49 goals , 28 assists and 77 points . Her 49 goals led the nation , power - play goals ( 16 ) , power - play points ( 27 ) and game - winning goals ( 9 ) . Her 49 goals sit atop the Minnesota season record book . In a 10 - 0 win over Bemidji State , Muzerall set school records with five goals and seven points . During the season , Muzerall went on a 20 - game point streak , earned First Team All - WCHA and Minnesota team most valuable player honors . Muzerall finished her collegiate career in 2000 - 01 . She was part of the first ever WCHA Regular Season Championship , with contributions of 28 goals and 18 assists . For her efforts , she was named a Patty Kazmaier Award Finalist for the second time in her career . In the Minnesota career record book , Muzerall finished her career first in goals ( 139 ) , goals - per - game ( 1 . 08 ) , power - play goals ( 40 ) and shots ( 726 ) , third in points ( 235 ) , fourth in plus / minus ( + 149 ) , fifth in shorthanded goals ( 4 ) and sixth in assists ( 96 ) . She graduated with a degree in family social science . In 2003 , she became head coach of the Northfield Mount Hermon School girls ’ hockey team in Gill , Massachusetts .