GOPHERS NAME 2016-17 CAPTAINS

The back-to-back defending national champion Golden Gophers have named the team’s 2016-17 captains. Senior Lee Stecklein will continue her duties from last season as captain, while fellow seniors Kate Schipper and Dani Cameranesi will serve as assistant captains.

“I am very excited to announce that Lee Stecklein, Kate Schipper and Dani Cameranesi will be our captains for the 2016-2017 season,” head coach Brad Frost said. “They are all great players, but more importantly, they are the type of people that represent our program in a first class manner. The three of them are team-first, devoted, and very disciplined. We are looking forward to another great year of Gopher women's hockey.”

Stecklein continues leading the Gophers after serving as a co-captain with Hannah Brandt during the 2015-16 season. Prior to last season, she served as an assistant captain during her sophomore year as the first sophomore to wear the 'C' or the 'A' since Bobbi Ross was an assistant captain as a sophomore in 2005-06. Meanwhile, Schipper and Cameranesi enter their first seasons as captains.

As a co-captain during 2015-16, Stecklein was named a Second Team All-American, All-USCHO Second Team, and an All-WCHA First Team honoree. The Roseville, Minn., native also was named an AHCA/CCM Second Team All-American, All-USCHO First Team, and All-WCHA First Team honoree during her sophomore season after missing the 2013-14 season while competing with the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Schipper posted a career-best 40 points (14g-26a) during the 2015-16 season, ranking fifth on the team in points. During her sophomore season, she totaled 22 points (7g-15a). Schipper led the team with three points (1g-2a) in the 2015 NCAA Quarterfinal game against RIT, leading the Gophers to their fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native enters her senior season with 91 career points (28g-63a) in 120 games played.

Cameranesi enters her senior season as a two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist (2015, 2016) and a two-time Second Team All-American (2015, 2016). Last season, she led the Gophers and the WCHA with a career-best 68 points (33g-35a), and was named to the All-WCHA First Team and All-USCHO Second Team. A native of Plymouth, Minn., Cameranesi already ranks ninth in program history with 169 career points (75g-94a).

The Gophers open the season at home against Lindenwood University on Sept. 30-Oct.1. The series will be the first-ever match-up between the two teams.