For Gophers women, first things first

The slogan for the Gophers women's hockey team could be "Bring Jen Home."

Junior center Jen Schoullis is from Erie, Pa., the site of this year's women's Frozen Four.

Before any team advances that far, though, there are conference tournaments and the NCAA quarterfinals.

The WCHA Final Faceoff is this weekend at Ridder Arena. If tradition holds, the eventual NCAA champ is in the field. Three of the four teams competing have won every national title the past 11 years.

The Gophers won the third and final AWCHA tournament in 2000 and then captured back-to-back NCAA titles in '04 and '05. They will play five-time national champion Minnesota Duluth at 7 p.m. Friday. At 4 p.m., three-time national champion Wisconsin meets North Dakota.

"[This field] is probably just like any national tournament," U coach Brad Frost said.

Or stronger. The Badgers are the No. 1 team in the latest women's PairWise ratings. The champions of the three conference tournaments advance, along with the next five highest PairWise teams. The Gophers are No. 4 in those rankings and, like Wisconsin and UMD, probably will make the NCAAs no matter what happens this weekend. UMD is tied for No. 5 in the PairWise. North Dakota is tied for No. 8, so the Sioux's NCAA status is shaky.

After going 5-4 in October, the Gophers have lost only one game per month. "We are not going to lose this month -- I hope not," right winger Sarah Erickson said. "We are playing as well as we can."

Especially Schoullis and Erickson, junior linemates on the team's top line along with freshman Amanda Kessel.

"Our season turned around once those guys started scoring and producing for us," Frost said. In the past eight games, Kessel has 16 points, Erickson 15 and Schoullis 11.

Kessel is a skilled, finesse player. Erickson is a natural goal-scorer with a quick release and a hard, accurate shot. Schoullis is the grinder.

Frost put them together to start the season, broke them up and then reunited them.

"We both started in a slump," Erickson said, referring to herself and Schoullis, one of five hockey-playing housemates. "We knew if we just worked hard [good] things will come."

WCHA awards Gophers freshman winger Amanda Kessel has been named the WCHA's rookie of the year while junior defenseman Anne Schleper and sophomore goalie Noora Raty were named to the all-conference first team. Other Gophers honored were sophomore Megan Bozek, picked for the all-WCHA third team, and freshman defenseman Baylee Gillanders, named to the all-rookie team.

Wisconsin senior forward Meghan Duggan was named the WCHA player of the year and Mark Johnson of the Badgers the coach of the year.

Raty also has been named one of 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award given to the nation's best player.