2011–12 WCHA women's ice hockey season

2011–12 Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's ice hockey season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	September 2011 - March, 2012
Number of teams	8
Tournament
Champion	To Be Determined
Runners-up	To Be Determined
Top scorer	To Be Determined
Ice hockey seasons
← 10–11 12–13 →

The 2011–12 WCHA women's ice hockey season marked the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive ice hockey among Western Collegiate Hockey Association members.

Exhibition

Date	NCAA school	CIS school	Score	NCAA goal scorers
Sept. 23	North Dakota	Manitoba	ND, 11-0	Sara Dagenais, Mary Loken, Alyssa Wiebe (2), Monique Weber, Jocelyne Lamoureux (2), Andrea Dalen, Allison Parizek, Monique Weber, Ashley Holmes
Sept. 23	Ohio State	Wilfrid Laurier	Ohio State, 3-1	Kayla Sullivan, Danielle Gagne, Melissa Feste
Sept. 24	North Dakokta	Manitoba	ND, 10-0	Alyssa Wiebe, Jocelyne Lamoureux (2), Josefine Jacobsen (3), Monique Lamoureux, Monique Weber, Andrea Dalen, Michelle Karvinen

• September 24: Freshman Josefine Jakobsen recorded a hat-trick as the Fighting Sioux defeated the Manitoba Bisons women's ice hockey program by a 10-0 tally. Of note, the European freshmen that combined for 11 points in the game. Michelle Karvinen had four points, while Andrea Dalen had three points.

Regular season

WCHA logo for Breast Cancer Awareness during the month of October 2011

September

• September 24: Karley Sylvester was the first Wisconsin Badgers freshman of the campaign to net a goal.
• On September 25, 2011, Hilary Knight scored her fifth career hat trick in a 13-0 defeat of the Lindenwood Lions. In addition, Briana Decker scored her third career hat trick. The 13 goals scored by the Badgers were tied for third most in the NCAA women's ice hockey all-time list for most goals scored in a game by a team.

October

• October 14: Laura McIntosh notched her first goal of the season to give the Ohio State Buckeyes a 2-1 lead. Said goal would stand as the game-winner. In addition, she picked up an assist on a Hokey Langan goal. The assist made McIntosh Ohio State’s all-time leader in career points against WCHA opponents. She surpassed Jana Harrigan’s 110 league points set in 2006.
• October 15-16: Michelle Karvinen produced five points, and earned a +5 plus/minus rating as the Fighting Sioux swept the Vermont Catamounts. In a 9-1 win on October 15, 2011, Karvinen scored two goals and set up another for a three point performance. She assisted on Jocelyne Lamoureux’s game-winning goal at 2:58 of the first period. The following day, she accumulated two more assists in a 4-1 win. For the second consecutive game, she assisted on the game winning goal, as Monique Lamoureux scored at 15:11 of the second period.
• October 21: In its WCHA home opener, the top line of the Fighting Sioux combined for thirteen points as they bested the Ohio State Buckeyes by an 11-1 margin. Monique Lamoureux-Kolls tied a North Dakota record with a 5-point game. In the contest, 13 different Sioux skaters registered at least one point. Michelle Karvinen scored a hat trick and logged one assist for four points. In addition, Josefine Jakobsen and Jocelyne Lamoureux each had 4-point games. Several program records were broken in the game including: most goals scored in a game (11), largest margin of victory (10), and largest margin of victory over a conference opponent (10).

November

• Nov. 18-19: Carolyne Prevost became the 17th player in program history to record 100 career points. In a victory over RPI, she netted the first goal of the game for Wisconsin. She would also record an assist in the match. The following day, Prevost recorded six points in the finale against RPI. It was a team-high for any Wisconsin skater this season. She scored two goals, including the game winner, and helped on four other goals to establish a new career high for most points in one game.
• November 18: Minnesota skater Amanda Kessel registered 5 points (including four goals)as the Golden Gophers defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats by an 11-0 tally. New Hampshire starting goalie Jenn Gilligan made 27 saves but allowed eight goals in two periods. She was replaced by Moe Bradley in the third period. Bradley stopped 11 of 14 shots as the Wildcats suffered their worst loss in the 35 year history of the program.
• November 19: Amanda Kessel earned her second hat trick of the series as the Gophers defeated New Hampshire by a 6-1 tally. Senior Jen Schoullis factored on every goal, as she tied the Gophers record for assists in a game with five. With three points in the first period, Schoullis also set a career record for points in a period.
• November 25: In Wisconsin's fifth shutout of the season, Brianna Decker and Hilary Knight netted two goals apiece in a 5-0 victory over St. Cloud State. Brianna Decker extended her point scoring streak to 26 games, a program record, while Alex Rigsby earned her 10th career shutout.

Standings

2011–12 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
	Conference									Overall
	GP	W	L	T	SW	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#1 Wisconsin	28	23	3	2	1	72	113	44		37	31	4	2	170	53
#2 Minnesota	28	21	5	2	1	66	113	43		37	30	5	2	167	50
#6 North Dakota	28	16	9	3	2	53	116	75		36	22	11	3	154	89
#9 Minnesota-Duluth	28	15	12	1	1	47	91	61		36	21	13	1	121	77
Ohio State	28	13	14	1	1	41	75	96		36	16	16	4	99	115
Bemidji State	28	11	15	2	0	35	70	73		37	17	17	3	101	85
Minnesota State	28	3	24	1	0	10	37	105		36	7	28	1	64	133
St. Cloud State	28	4	24	0	0	12	32	150		36	5	29	2	37	130
Championship: Minnesota † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Current rankings: USCHO.com Division I women's poll

In-season honors

Players of the week

Week	Player of the week
October 4	Kathleen Rogan, MSU
October 11	Natalie Spooner, Ohio State Amanda Kessel, Minnesota
October 18	Laura MacIntosh, Ohio State
October 25	Monique Lamoureux, North Dakota
November 1	Katherine Wilson, Minnesota-Duluth
November 8	Jocelyne Lamoureux, North Dakota
November 15	Not awarded
November 22	Amanda Kessel (Minnesota) Carolyne Prevost, Wisconsin

Defensive players of the week

Week	Player of the week
October 4	Zuzana Tomcikova, Bemidji State
October 11	Erika Wheelhouse, Bemidji State
October 18	Alex Rigbsy, Wisconsin
October 25	Alex Rigsby, Wisconsin
November 1	Lisa Steffes, Ohio State
November 8	Noora Raty, Minnesota
November 15	Not awarded
November 22	Candice Molle, North Dakota

Rookies of the week

Week	Player of the week
October 4	Blayre Turnbull, Wisconsin
October 11	Meghan Lorence, Minnesota
October 18	Michelle Karvinen, North Dakota
October 25	Michelle Karvinen, North Dakota
November 1	Rachael Kelly, Bemidji State
November 8	Michelle Karvinen, North Dakota
November 15	Not awarded
November 22	Taylor Kuehl, Ohio State

WCHA playoffs

Quarterfinals

• North Dakota - Bemidji State 3:1, 2:0
• Minnesota-Duluth - Ohio State 4:3, 3:2 OT
• Minnesota - St. Cloud State 6:1, 6:0
• Wisconsin - Minnesota State 7:0, 4:0

Semifinals

• Minnesota - North Dakota 6:0
• Minnesota Duluth - Wisconsin 3:1

Final

• Minnesota - Minnesota Duluth 2:0