Greg May Embraces Pressure to End Minnesota's Title Drought
Ten years after the Gophers' last NCAA championship, new head coach Greg May says his program embraces the expectation rather than dodging it.
Minnesota's last NCAA women's hockey title came in 2016, the end of a run that produced four championships in five years and five straight trips to the national final. Every one of them had Brad Frost behind the bench.
Frost is gone. After 19 seasons and a 556-131-43 record, he was replaced this offseason by former assistant Greg May, and the new coach isn't pretending the job comes without weight.
"The pressure is real here at Minnesota," May said. "We don't shy away from it. We don't hide from it. I would actually say we embrace it. The players that we recruit to come here are players that want it. And trust me, we're dying to get a national championship back here as much as our fan base is."
The roster turned over at the top. Abbey Murphy, the second overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft, is gone along with Josefin Bouveng and Jamie Nelson. On the blue line, Nelli Laitinen and Sydney Morrow also moved on to the PWHL.
May's answer up front is volume rather than a single finisher.
"It's going to be a lot more by committee this year," he said. "We don't have number 18 to look down the bench or to send over the ice. And at the end of the day, let's call it what it was. She's someone that we knew could score a goal or two a game when we needed her to."
Minnesota returns Ava Lindsay, Bella Fanale, Sarah Paul, Emma Kreisz, Madison Kaiser, Tereza Plosova and Kendra Distad, and added Ashley Allard and Julia Schalin through the transfer portal. Incoming rookies include Adrianna Milani, Rachel Piggot and Maddie McCullough. Chloe Primerano, Gracie Graham and Molly Jordan are back on defense, with Lauren Goldsworthy arriving from Minnesota State, and goaltenders Hannah Clark and Layla Hemp both return.
Primerano, for her part, describes a room that feels different.
"Obviously, we have a lot of returners, but it's just a different vibe in the locker room," she said. "The WCHA is really tough and you have to come prepared every single night. These past few years we haven't had the most success and we know that. We know we haven't won anything in a really long time."
