Grace Zumwinkle, Gophers women's hockey gear up to chase down that elusive NCAA title

Grace Zumwinkle's first experience with hockey came when she was in kindergarten. And it ended in tears as other kids skated circles around her.

Her parents Mike, who played football at St. John's, and Lori, a former St. Benedict tennis player, were supportive but also helped her understand that if she wanted to play, she had to see it through.

"Playing competitive sports comes with a bunch of highs and a bunch of lows," Grace said, "and they have been instrumental in giving me parental advice."

Zumwinkle, a star forward on a loaded Gophers women's hockey team, initially credited both her father and mother for passing along the talent to play hockey. But who gave her that big shot?

"I'll have to say my dad," she said with a laugh.

A Zumwinkle slapshot has goaltenders reaching for its vapor trail while it hits the back of the net. If it hits a post, the post turns into a musical instrument. Her shot has dented masks. The last time a radar gun was around, Zumwinkle said she hit 85 miles an hour. So she eventually learned how to skate by opponents — and she really learned how to score, as she's fourth in the country with 52 points on 22 goals and 30 assists.

Zumwinkle, the sixth Gopher to score at least 100 career goals (106), is tied for the NCAA lead with eight game-winning goals this season.

As impressive as that is, Zumwinkle isn't even leading her own team in scoring. Taylor Heise leads with 57 points and has 25 goals. Two of the best players in college hockey are Gophers but play on different lines, a testament to the team's depth.

As far as seeing things through, Zumwinkle is striving to finish off her college career in style. The former Breck star is nearing the end of a two-year plan to bring glory to the Gophers and USA hockey. She redshirted last year to play for the U.S. Olympic team as it participated in the Beijing Games. The team won a silver medal, just missing on its ultimate goal after a 3-2 loss to Canada in the final.

Redshirting in 2021-22 also allowed her to play this season with her younger sister, Emily, which has been a highlight.

But now it's time to attend to some unfinished business. The postseason is here.

The Gophers, 25-5-3, lost in the WCHA Final Faceoff to Ohio State last season, and then were knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Minnesota Duluth. Zumwinkle is one of several fifth-year seniors who returned to the program for one more chance at a title. The WCHA playoffs begin Friday with a first-round matchup with St. Thomas at Ridder Arena. The winner of the best-of-three series moves on to the WCHA Final Faceoff, held next weekend at Ridder.

After that, it's on to the NCAA tournament, where the Gophers, ranked fourth in the USCHO.com poll, could eventually run into top-ranked Ohio State. Minnesota hasn't won it all since back-to-back national titles in 2015 and 2016.

"You look back and it seems like the season is just starting and you are going to be on the ice for the first practice," Zumwinkle said. "Now it's that unsaid motivation. You don't have to tell people to bring their full intensity. It's do-or-die now, and you never know what is going to happen, so you want to put your best foot forward."

That didn't happen last weekend in a two-game series against the same Tommies team that they face on Friday. St. Thomas, 8-25-1, is coached by Joel Johnson, who coached Zumwinkle and Team USA in the Olympics. The Gophers needed overtime to win 2-1 last Friday before winning 4-2 on Saturday. Playing the same team four consecutive times isn't ideal, especially when the first two games were tougher than expected.

"It's such a great reminder that you can put up over 50 shots in a game and give up less than 20," Gophers coach Brad Frost said, "but goaltending matters."

So does a powerful shot. And if the Gophers get into trouble during the postseason, the solution might be to just get the puck to Zumwinkle.