After being eliminated by Wisconsin in last year’s Frozen Four, the Gophers women’s hockey team will not be satisfied with just another Frozen Four appearance.

Their new team motto, ‘More is Required,’ is one of their motivators to push themselves further in the tournament this year in hopes of bringing home the Gophers’ first national championship since the 2015-16 season.

“We understood that if we wanted to continue to be just a Frozen Four team, then we could continue to do the same things we have in the past,” senior blue liner Sydney Morrow said. “But we’re trying to take that extra step this year, whether it’s extra work outside of the rink, whatever it is, so that we can be that championship-bound team.”

“If we want to get over the hump and get back to winning national championships, it’s going to take more each and every day,” coach Brad Frost said. “Our players are aware of that, we’re aware of that as coaches and excited to see where it goes.”

A huge help to ensure the Gopher Women’s Hockey team makes it to the championship game is the return of last year’s star, Abbey Murphy. The forward opted to return to the U of M for one more season last spring, rather than enter into the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s 2025 draft class.

Having led the nation with 242 shots and seven game-winning goals, Murphy’s return is a massive help for a team with three new transfers and seven incoming freshmen.

“That leadership presence she brings to our team and her calmness, it’s really helpful, especially for all our new players — and even myself and our other returners,” Frost said. “So, we’re just super grateful that she chose to come back and join us this year.”

The Gophers are host to Boston College for a quick two-game series to open the season starting Thursday. They’ll make their first road trip out to Boston University On Oct. 3.

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