2003–04 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey season

2003–04 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey season
WCHA Final Faceoff champions Frozen Four, Champions
Conference	1 WCHA
Home ice	Ridder Arena
Rankings
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine	1
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports	1
Record
Overall	30–4–2
Conference	19–3–2
Home	17–3–0
Road	11–1–2
Neutral	2–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Laura Halldorson
Assistant coaches	Joel Johnson Brad Frost
Captain(s)	Kelsey Bills La Toya Clarke
Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey seasons « 2002–03 2004–05 »

The Golden Gophers accumulated an overall record of 30–4–2, and a 19–3–2 WCHA record in the 2003–04 campaign. The Golden Gophers swept the WCHA honors, winning the regular season championship and the WCHA Final Five with a 4–2 win over in-state rivals Minnesota Duluth.

Regular season

Standings

2003–04 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
	Conference									Overall
	GP	W	L	T	SOW	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota†*	24	19	3	2	–	40	95	40		36	30	4	2	161	60
Wisconsin	24	18	5	1	–	37	81	34		34	25	6	3	122	50
Minnesota Duluth	24	15	8	1	–	31	110	52		34	20	12	2	148	79
Minnesota State	24	9	11	4	–	22	45	62		34	16	14	4	75	81
Ohio State	24	10	12	2	–	22	51	69		35	16	16	3	83	90
St. Cloud State	24	4	19	1	–	9	53	107		32	7	24	1	74	137
Bemidji State	24	3	20	1	–	7	29	100		34	5	27	2	48	139
Championship: † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Updated July 21, 2024

The Gophers went undefeated in the first half of the season, posting a 13–0–1 record. The Golden Gophers were the top team in the country for 18 of the 23 weeks in both the U.S. College Hockey Online and USA Today polls.

Schedule

Source

As of September 13, 2024.

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 17	7:05	Ohio State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 6–3	1,059	1–0–0 (1–0–0)
October 18	7:05	Ohio State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 7–0	1,258	2–0–0 (2–0–0)
October 25	2:05	at #6 Wisconsin	#1	Kohl Center • Madison, WI	Horak	W 3–0	1,124	3–0–0 (3–0–0)
October 26	2:05	at #6 Wisconsin	#1	Kohl Center • Madison, WI	Horak	W 3–1	1,022	4–0–0 (4–0–0)
October 31	4:05	St. Cloud State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 4–1	554	5–0–0 (5–0–0)
November 1	2:05	St. Cloud State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 5–3	1,058	6–0–0 (6–0–0)
November 15	2:00	at Brown*		Meehan Auditorium • Providence, RI	Horak	W 5–2	187	7–0–0 (6–0–0)
November 16	12:00	at Brown*		Meehan Auditorium • Providence, RI	Horak	W 8–1	105	8–0–0 (6–0–0)
November 22	4:05	at Minnesota State		Midwest Wireless Civic Center • Mankato, MN	Horak	T 1–1	234	8–0–1 (6–0–1)
November 23	4:05	at Minnesota State		Midwest Wireless Civic Center • Mankato, MN	Reinen	W 4–0	307	9–0–1 (7–0–1)
November 29	2:05	North Dakota*		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 6–2	1,236	10–0–1 (7–0–1)
November 30	2:05	North Dakota*		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Reinen	W 10–1	1,063	11–0–1 (7–0–1)
December 5	7:05	Bemidji State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 7–0	894	12–0–1 (8–0–1)
December 6	4:05	Bemidji State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 6–1	876	13–0–1 (9–0–1)
January 9	7:05	at Minnesota Duluth		Duluth Entertainment Convention Center • Duluth, MN	Horak	L 1–4	1,489	13–1–1 (9–1–1)
January 10	7:05	at Minnesota Duluth		Duluth Entertainment Convention Center • Duluth, MN	Horak	W 4–3 OT	1,587	14–1–1 (10–1–1)
January 16	7:05	Mercyhurst*		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 5–1	985	15–1–1 (10–1–1)
January 17	7:05	Mercyhurst*		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 3–1	1,143	16–1–1 (10–1–1)
January 24	1:05	Minnesota State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 3–2	1,050	17–1–1 (11–1–1)
January 25	1:05	Minnesota State		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	L 2–3 OT	1,540	17–2–1 (11–2–1)
January 31	2:05	at Bemidji State		John S. Glas Field House • Bemidji, MN	Horak	W 4–1	130	18–2–1 (12–2–1)
February 1	2:05	at Bemidji State		John S. Glas Field House • Bemidji, MN	Reinen	W 4–0	296	19–2–1 (13–2–1)
February 7	1:05	#1 Dartmouth*	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	L 2–3	1,115	19–3–1 (13–2–1)
February 8	1:05	#1 Dartmouse*	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 7–3	2,214	20–3–1 (13–2–1)
February 13	7:05	Wisconsin		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	L 1–2 OT	1,029	20–4–1 (13–3–1)
February 14	7:05	Wisconsin		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Reinen	W 2–1	1,869	21–4–1 (14–3–1)
February 20	7:05	at Ohio State	#1	Ohio State University Ice Rink • Columbus, OH	Horak	T 1–1	416	21–4–2 (14–3–2)
February 21	7:05	at Ohio State	#1	Ohio State University Ice Rink • Columbus, OH	Reinen	W 6–0	431	22–4–2 (15–3–2)
February 28	2:05	#6 Minnesota Duluth	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Horak	W 4–2	3,142	23–4–2 (16–3–2)
February 29	2:05	#6 Minnesota Duluth	#2	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Reinen	W 7–5	2,359	24–4–2 (17–3–2)
March 5	4:05	at St. Cloud State	#1	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN	Horak	W 3–1	540	25–4–2 (18–3–2)
March 6	7:05	at St. Cloud State	#1	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN	Reinen	W 7–5	1,078	26–4–2 (19–3–2)
WCHA Tournament
March 13	4:05	Ohio State*		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (WCHA Final Faceoff, Semifinal Game)	Horak	W 5–1	1,262	27–4–2 (19–3–2)
March 14	4:10	Minnesota Duluth*		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN (WCHA Final Faceoff, Championship Game)	Horak	W 4–2	1,500	28–4–2 (19–3–2)
NCAA Tournament
March 26	5:05	vs. Dartmouth*		Dunkin' Donuts Center • Providence, RI (NCAA Frozen Four)	Horak	W 5–1	–	29–4–2 (19–3–2)
March 28	4:05	vs. #2 Harvard*	#1	Dunkin' Donuts Center • Providence, RI (NCAA Championship Game)	Horak	W 6–2	3,522	30–4–2 (19–3–2)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll.

Roster

Source:

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	DoB	Hometown	Previous team
1		Brenda Reinen	Junior	G	5' 6" (1.68 m)		Sun Prairie, Wisconsin	Sun Prairie High School
3		Jerilyn Glenn	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)		Ham Lake, Minnesota	Forest Lake Area High School
4		Andrea Nichols	Freshman	F	5' 2" (1.57 m)		Mountain Iron, Minnesota	Hibbing High School
5		Chelsey Brodt	Sophomore	D	5' 4" (1.63 m)	1983-12-07	Roseville, Minnesota	Roseville Area High School
7		Krissy Wendell	Sophomore	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)	1981-09-12	Brooklyn Park, Minnesota	Park Center Senior High School
8		Noelle Sutton	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)		Maple Grove, Minnesota	Maple Grove High School
10		Krista Johnson	Sophomore	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)		Blaine, Minnesota	Blaine High School
11		Ashley Albrecht	Sophomore	D	5' 4" (1.63 m)		South Saint Paul, Minnesota	South Saint Paul Secondary
12		Stacy Troumbly	Junior	F/D	5' 2" (1.57 m)		Bovey, Minnesota	Hibbing High School
13		Maggie Souba	Freshman	F/D	5' 5" (1.65 m)		Moorhead, Minnesota	Moorhead High School
14		La Toya Clarke	Senior	F	5' 4" (1.63 m)	1981-06-11	Pickering, Ontario	Dunbarton High School
15		Kelsey Bills	Senior	F/D	5' 3" (1.6 m)		Carstairs, Alberta	Hugh Sutherland
17		Becky Wacker	Freshman	F	5' 4" (1.63 m)		York, Maine	York High School
18		Kelly Stephens	Junior	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)	1983-06-04	Shoreline, Washington	Shorewood High School
19		Melissa Coulombe	Senior	F/D	5' 4" (1.63 m)		St. Pierre-Jolys, Manitoba	St. Pierre Collegiate
20		Natalie Darwitz	Junior	F	5' 3" (1.6 m)	1983-10-13	Eagan, Minnesota	Eagan High School
21		Allie Sanchez	Sophomore	D	5' 6" (1.68 m)		Saint Paul, Minnesota	Johnson High School
25		Lyndsay Wall	Freshman	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)	1985-05-12	Churchville, New York	Churchville-Chili High School
27		Jody Horak	Junior	G	5' 7" (1.7 m)		Blaine, Minnesota	Blaine High School

Postseason

On March 28, 2004 Halldorson and the Golden Gophers defeated Harvard, 6–2, to win their first NCAA Championship and her third national championship in six years.

Awards and honors

• Laura Halldorson, American Hockey Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year, her third honor since 1998.