Minnesota Whitecaps

Minnesota Whitecaps
City	Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Minnesota
League	Western Women's Hockey League
Founded	2004 (2004)
Head coach	Jack Brodt

The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional women's ice hockey team in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL). The team play its home games in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area. The Whitecaps do not have a home rink, and so must reach out to Minnesota youth hockey programs that can either afford to buy ice time at rinks suitable for Whitecaps home games or have had that ice time donated to them. In exchange, the Whitecaps use part of that ice time to put on clinics for the youth players, who receive free tickets to the games and whose hockey associations receive 100 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales. Some programs have raised more than $1,500 in a single night from the arrangement.^[1]

History

The Whitecaps had been part of the Western Women's Hockey League from the fall of 2004 until the summer of 2006. In July 2006 it was announced that team along with other WWHL teams would be joining the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) for the 2006-07 season. However, this was short lived as the NWHL and WWHL could not reach an agreement upon a playoff schedule. As a result, the merger was not consummated. With the collapse of the NWHL in the summer of 2007, the Western Women's Hockey League was a completely independent league ^[2]. The Whitecaps have also 2 junior teams: U19 and U17 ^{[3] [4]}.

Season-by-season

• See also: 2004–05 WWHL season
• See also: 2005–06 WWHL season
• See also: 2006–07 WWHL season
• See also: 2007–08 WWHL season
• See also: 2008–09 WWHL season
• See also: 2009–10 WWHL season
• See also: 2010–11 WWHL season

-

Year	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
2004–05	12	8	3	1	34	23	40
2005–06	24	11	8	5	79	65	27
2006–07	24	13	9	1	74	64	28
2007–08	24	15	6	1	70	50	33
2008–09	22	18	3	1	181	44	38
2009–10	12	10	2	0	44	24	20
2010–11	18	17	1	0	120	43	35

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points,

Season standings

= Indicates First Place finish

= Indicates championship

Year	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs
2004-05	Western Women's Hockey League	2nd	Lost in First Round
2005-06	Western Women's Hockey League	3rd	Lost Final
2006-07	Western Women's Hockey League	3rd	Lost Final
2007-08	Western Women's Hockey League	2rd	Lost Final
2008-09	Western Women's Hockey League	2nd	WWHL Champions but lost the Clarkson Cup final game [5]
2009-10	Western Women's Hockey League	1st Overall	WWHL Champions and Won Clarkson Cup [6]
2010-11	Western Women's Hockey League	1st Overall	WWHL Champions but lost Clarkson Cup

Notes

2008-09

• January 16: The Whitecaps participated in Hockey Day Minnesota. The team played the USA Selects Team.
• March 8: The Whitecaps defeated the Calgary Oval X-Treme on March 8 in the WWHL Championship game shutting out Calgary by a score of 2-0. The Minnesota Whitecaps also won the semi-final game on March 7 against the Edmonton Chimos by a score of 4-0.
• March 21: The Whitecaps participated in the inaugural Clarkson Cup. The final game pitted the Montreal Stars, the top team from the Canadian Women's Hockey League, against the Minnesota Whitecaps, the top team from the WWHL.^[7] Montreal won the Cup by a score of 3-1. Sanya Sandahl was selected as Minnesota's player of the game.

2009-10

• November 16: Chisago Lakes was host to the first scrimmage of the season between the Whitecaps and the USA National team.
• December 21: Jenny Potter, Angela Ruggiero, Julie Chu, Natalie Darwitz, Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom, Lisa Chesson, Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej and Karen Thatcher all former Minnesota Whitecaps will be playing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games on February 12–28.^[8]
• On February 8, 2010, the Whitecaps clinched the WWHL Championship. The first game of the series on Friday February 5, was held at Minnetonka’s Pagel Ice Arena hosted by Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association. The Whitecaps beat Strathmore by a score of 6-3. Game two of the series was hosted by the NOVAS Girls High School Hockey team on Saturday, February 6, at Victory Memorial Ice Arena. The Whitecaps will look forward to competing in the Clarkson Cup Championship in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada from March 26-28.
• March 28: The Whitecaps defeat the Brampton Thunder by a score of 4-0 to win the Clarkson Cup.^{[9] [10]}

2010-11

Exhibition

Date	Opponent	Location	Score	Goal scorers
Fri Oct 1	Minnesota Duluth	Duluth, MN	3-4 (Shootout)	Jenny Potter, Iya Gavrilova, Saara Tuominen [11]
Fri, Oct 08	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Ridder Arena	2-3	Allie Thunstrom, Saara Tuominen[12]
Fri Oct 22	Bemidji State Beavers	Eveleth, MN	3-1	Allie Thunstrom, Iya Gavrilova, Jenny Potter[13]
Sat Oct 23	Bemidji State Beavers	Eveleth, MN	1-5	Jessica Koizumi[14]

Edmonton Chimos

• December 3rd to 5th: The Whitecaps hosted the Edmonton Chimos, the longest run senior women's hockey team in North America. The first game was held at Andover Ice Arena and goals were scored by several Olympians including Gigi Marvin and Allie Thunstrom (Minnesota) and Meaghan Mikkelson (Edmonton), respectively. The following day, both teams faced off at Minnetonka's Pagel Arena. In a closely fought game, Meaghan Pezon scored the game winning goal as the Whitecaps won by a 4-3 tally. The final game had a charitable tone as donations for the local Chaska area food shelf and Toys-For-Tots were accepted before game time. Despite a 2-2 score after the first period, the Whitecaps opened the game with three unanswered goal to grab a 5-2 win. After the game the players from both teams signed autographs.

Manitoba Maple Leafs

• January 15th: The Whitecaps took on the Manitoba Maple Leafs in a battle of the border game. The Whitecaps worked with St. Luke’s Orthopedics & Sports Medicine training to instruct young players on how to exercise using proper techniques. Amy Stech scored first for the Minnesota Whitecaps while Briana Jentner scored the second goal of the game. Manitoba replied with a goal in the first minute of play with an unassisted goal from Crystal Sager. Allie Thunstrom scored to give the Whitecaps a 3-1 lead. Maple Leafs skater Chantal Larocque scored twice to tie the game. In the third period, Amy Stech opened the scoring for Minnesota. Allie Sanchez would provide the Whitecaps with a 5-3 lead. Allie Thunstrom and Meaghan Pezon put the puck behind Manitoba goalie Melissa Kanzelman to increase the lead. Manitoba skater Crystal Sager made it 7-4 Minnesota, but Thunstrom scored to extend the lead to four goals. Briana Jentner would score again, and Thunstrom would get the hat trick for a 10-4 lead. Manitoba’s Melissa Jacques made it 10 –5 Whitecaps as that would be the final tally.

Strathmore Rockies

• January 31 to February 2, 2011: The Whitecaps travelled to Strathmore, Alberta to play the Strathmore Rockies in a three game series. Game one and two were held at the Strathmore Family Arena. The final game was at the Edge School Ice Arena. In the first game, the final score was 8-3 as the Whitecaps fired fifty shots against Rockies goaltender Amanda Squire. The following day, the Whitecaps took advantage of four Rockies penalties in the first period to jump to a 2-0 lead. Gigi Marvin would score two goals as the Whitecaps bested the Rockies by a 6-3 tally. On February 2, the Whitecaps and Rockies faced off at 8:30 am. Strathmore opened the scoring but quickly fell behind by a 2-1 score. Gigi Marvin had a hat trick as the Whitecaps won 9-3 and swept the series.

Current Roster

Goalies
Number		Player	Former Team	Hometown
39		Megan Van Beusekom	Minnesota Whitecaps	Loretto, Minnesota
30		Kim Hanlon	University of Minnesota	Blaine, Minnesota
20		Sanya Sandahl	Cornell University	Duluth, Minnesota

Defense
Number		Player	Former Team	Hometown
33		Rachael Drazan	USA National Team	Orono, Minnesota
21		Allie Sanchez	University of Minnesota	St. Paul, Minnesota
12		Jenny Schnickel	Minnesota Whitecaps	Coon Rapids, Minnesota
7		Briana Jentner	Minnesota Whitecaps	Akron, Ohio
5		Winny Brodt :Captain	USA National team	Roseville, Minnesota
2		Chelsey Brodt	Minnesota Whitecaps	Roseville, Minnesota
Forwards
Number		Player	Former Team	Hometown
77		Amy Stech	University of Maine	Duluth, Minnesota
29		Christina Lee	Minnesota State University Mankato	Maple Plain, Minnesota
27		Maggie Fisher	Mnnesota State University Mankato	South St. Paul, Minnesota
25		Iya Gavrilova	Russia National Team	Krasnoyarsk, Russia
22		Megan McCarthy	St. Cloud State University	Eden Prairie, Minnesota
19		Erin Keys	Ohio State University	St. Paul, Minnesota
16		Jenny Potter	USA National Team	Edina, Minnesota
15		Allie Thunstrom	USA National Team	Maplewood, Minnesota
11		Krissy Wendell-Pohl	University of Minnesota	Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
10		Brooke White-Lancette	USA National Team	Berkeley, California
9		Gisele Marvin	University of Minnesota	Warroad, Minnesota
8		Meaghan Pezon	St. Cloud State University	Eden Prairie, Minnesota
6		Kelli Blankenship	University of Minnesota	Miami, Florida
2		Sammy Nixon	St. Cloud State University	Blaine, Minnesota

^[15]

Coaching Staff

• General Manager:
• Head Coach: Jack Brodt
• Assistant Coach: Dwayne Schmidgall
• Assistant Coach: Jim Minkoff
• Director of Marketing: Kristie Minkoff
• Team Physician: Dr. Howard Fidler
• Athletic Trainer: Dr. Andy Masis

^[16]

Awards and honors

• Natalie Darwitz, Western Women’s Hockey League Most Valuable Player (2006–07)^[17]
• 2008 Breaking Barriers Award^[18]: Presented at National Girls and Women in Sports Day in St. Paul
• 2009 Clarkson Cup Top role model: Julie Chu
• 2009 Clarkson Cup Top defense: Caitlin Cahow
• In March 2010, the Whitecaps became the first American team to win the Clarkson Cup ^[19]

• 2010 Clarkson Cup Most Valuable Player: Julie Chu
• 2010 Clarkson Cup Final, Player of the Game, Brooke White-Lancette

Notable players

• Caitlin Cahow
• Lisa Chesson
• Julie Chu
• Natalie Darwitz
• Molly Engstrom
• Jenny Potter
• Manon Rheaume
• Angela Ruggiero
• Karen Thatcher
• Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej
• Brooke White-Lancette

References

1. ^ Andrew Baker, Whitecaps have talent but lack cash, http://www.mndaily.com/2010/10/12/whitecaps-talent-exceeds-cash, Mndaily.com, october 12 2010.
2. ^ Pat Borzi, Women Pay for a Chance to Play, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/sports/hockey/26ice.html?_r=1, NY Times in January 26, 2007
3. ^ http://www.minnesotawhitecaps.com/jr-whitecaps/jr-whitecaps-blue-u-19/
4. ^ http://www.minnesotawhitecaps.com/jr-whitecaps/jr-whitecaps-silver-u17/
5. ^ Montreal wins first Clarkson Cup, http://www.iihf.com/channels0809/ww/news/news-singleview/article/montreal-wins-first-clarkson-cup.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=2068&cHash=9e147782a4
6. ^ Minnesota wins Clarkson Cup, http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/article/clarkson-cup-goes-to-us.html?tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1267398000&tx_ttnews%5BpL%5D=2674799&tx_ttnews%5Barc%5D=1&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=187&cHash=93d3bd2c57
7. ^ http://www.minnesotawhitecaps.com/news/2008-2009/
8. ^ http://www.minnesotawhitecaps.com/news/2009-2010/
9. ^ IIHF, Minnesota wins Clarkson Cup, http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/article/clarkson-cup-goes-to-us.html?tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1267398000&tx_ttnews%5BpL%5D=2674799&tx_ttnews%5Barc%5D=1&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=187&cHash=93d3bd2c57 , 28 march 2010
10. ^ Randy Starkman, Whitecaps swamp Thunder to win Clarkson Cup,http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/786856--whitecaps-swamp-thunder-to-win-clarkson-cup , the star.com , March 29 2010.
11. ^ http://www.umdbulldogs.com/teams-womens-hockey.php?id=5229&page=news
12. ^ http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38867&SPID=3323&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=205008955
13. ^ http://www.bsubeavers.com/media/2010-11/women%27s%20hockey/game01.htm
14. ^ http://www.bsubeavers.com/media/2010-11/women%27s%20hockey/game08.htm
15. ^ http://www.westernwomenshockeyleague.com/leagues/rosters.cfm?leagueID=3639&teamID=267930&clientID=1754
16. ^ http://www.minnesotawhitecaps.com/contact/
17. ^ http://eastonhockey.com/natalie-darwitz.html
18. ^ http://www.minnesotawhitecaps.com/news/2007-2008/
19. ^ Dan Robson, Minnesota Whitecaps capture Clarkson Cup, http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2010/03/28/sp-clarkson-cup-final.html, CBC-sport.ca, March 28, 2010.

External links

• Minnesota Whitecaps Website
• Minnesota Whitecaps on Facebook
• Minnesota Whitecaps on Twitter
• photo gallery
• WWHL official site

See also

• Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL)
• Clarkson Cup
• 2010 Clarkson Cup