The Minnesota Golden Gophers attempted to win the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history. Offseason June 18: Six University of Minnesota players have been named to the United States Under-22 Team. Megan Bozek, Sarah Erickson, Amanda Kessel, Anne Schleper, Jen Schoullis and Emily West have all been named to the team. The Minnesota contingent is the largest group from one school. The U22 team will depart from the Festival early and travel to Toronto to compete in the three-game Under-22 Series against Canada from August 18–21. June 18: Brad Frost announced the hiring of Joel Johnson as an assistant coach. Johnson was the head coach of the Bethel University men's hockey team. Previously, he was an assistant coach during the Golden Gophers' 2000 and 2004 national championships. Johnson replaces Jamie Wood, who accepted an associate head coaching position at the University of New Hampshire. Exhibition Regular season October 1: In her first game as a Golden Gopher, Amanda Kessel registered four points (two goals, two assists). The following day, Kessel scored the game-winning goal as the Gophers won by a 3-0 score. The game against Clarkson marked the first time in school history that the Gophers opened a season against a ranked opponent. October 9: With the 1-0 shutout over Wayne State, the Gophers have not allowed a goal in 180 minutes. Dating back to the 2009-10 season, Minnesota has not allowed a goal in 200:45 minutes played. October 22–23: Anne Schleper had six points (1 goal, 5 assists), including four points on the power-play. In the first game, Schleper tied a career-high with four points. She assisted on Sarah Davis' game-winning power-play goal. The following day, Schleper assisted on two of Minnesota's three power-play goals. Schleper is the first defender to earn the league's weekly offensive honor since Minnesota Duluth's Jocelyne Larocque on Jan. 28, 2009. October 22–23: Noora Räty recorded back to back shutouts against the St. Cloud State Huskies. She held the Huskies scoreless as Minnesota swept the series by scores of 5-0 and 3-0, respectively. Raty played the full 120:00 minutes of the series. She accumulated14 saves in the first game, while posting 18 in the second game. In the season, she has yet to allow a goal, holding a 1.000 save percentage and a 0.00 goalsagainst average. The January 29, 2011 game between Wisconsin and Minnesota was played before a women's college