The home schedule for the Gophers women's hockey team this season featured a challenging February with a series against top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State, followed by a set against traditional rival Wisconsin.

Those four games drew an announced average attendance of 2,529 to Ridder Arena and helped the Gophers post a strong increase in fans over last season.

In their 16 regular-season home games, the Gophers had an announced average of 2,079, an increase of 658 — or 45.8% — from their 2021-22 totals. When the number of scanned tickets are examined, the Gophers drew an average of 1,555 — an increase of 72.3% from the 2021-22 total of 901.

"It's been great,'' Gophers coach Brad Frost said. "A lot of credit goes to our marketing department and [coordinator] Jeff Petersen and our ticket office. They've done such a good job of getting to these youth teams and having them and their parents come to games.''

Frost's team plays St. Thomas on Friday through Sunday (if necessary) in a best-of-three WCHA quarterfinal playoff series, and he pointed to tickets that range from $5 to $10 as a strong selling point.

"I just really believe Gophers women's hockey is one of the best and cheapest products out there,'' he said. "To get a $5 ticket or an $8 ticket and watch some Olympians and see some really good hockey, it means a lot and it's been really fun to see. It certainly gives our players a jump and a boost.''