University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Murphy, Morrow, Fanale Earn WCHA Weekly Awards
9/29/2025 2:00:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – Three Gophers earned Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) weekly honors following Minnesota's season-opening sweep of Boston College this past weekend at Ridder Arena. Abbey Murphy was named Forward of the Week, freshman Bella Fanale collected her first Rookie of the Week honor, and Sydney Morrow earned her second career WCHA Defender of the Week award.
Murphy becomes the first Gopher to receive Forward of the Week honors this season after a nine-point series. The Evergreen Park, Ill., native tallied one goal and three assists in Thursday's season opener before erupting for a hat trick and two assists on Friday. She finished the weekend with a plus-nine rating and now leads the WCHA in both points and goals.
Fanale wasted no time making her mark in her first collegiate series, scoring Minnesota's opening goal of the season on Thursday and recording her first career multi-goal game. The Webster, N.Y., native added another score and three assists on Friday to finish with six points in her debut series.
Morrow provided steady production from the blue line, collecting three assists in Thursday's win before scoring twice in Friday's match up. The Darien, Conn., native also contributed five blocked shots and posted a plus-seven rating to claim her first WCHA weekly honor of the 2025-26 campaign.
The No. 3 Gophers hit the road for the first time this season with a two-game set at No. 13 Boston University. Minnesota and BU meet at Walter Brown Arena on Friday, Oct. 3 at 5:00 p.m. CT and Saturday, Oct. 4 at 3:00 p.m. CT. Both games will stream live on ESPN+.
WCHA Players of the Week
Forward of the Week: Abbey Murphy, Minnesota
Defender of the Week: Sydney Morrow, Minnesota
Goaltender of the Week: Ève Gascon, Minnesota Duluth
Rookie of the Week: Bella Fanale, Minnesota