Amanda Kessel is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She also plays for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey

Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey

The Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota at the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis. The team is one of the members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in Division I...

 program.

Playing career

Prior to high school, she participated for the Madison Capitols Bantam boys’ team in 2005-06 and helped the team to state and regional championships. Kessel attended Shattuck St. Mary's in Minnesota. The 2007 edition of the team captured the 2007 U-19 national championship, while Kessel marked 102 points in 56 games. In her junior year, Kessel registered 44 goals and 56 assists for 100 points. She accomplished the 100 point mark in just 34 games and won her second consecutive U-19 national championship. She tallied 122 points (67 goals and 55 assists in just 46 games) in her final season. She was the team leader by 61 points. Of note, she was ahead of the second place scorer on the team by 61 points.

NCAA

• October 1, 2010: In her first game as a Golden Gopher, Amanda Kessel registered four points (two goals, two assists). The following day, Kessel scored the game-winning goal as the Gophers won by a 3-0 score. The game against Clarkson marked the first time in school history that the Gophers opened a season against a ranked opponent.
• On December 10, Amanda Kessel assisted on a career-high four goals in a conference victory over visiting Ohio State. The Gophers enjoyed a 6-0 league win over No. 10 Ohio State. Her first assist was on Sarah Erickson’s game-winning goal at 8:38 in the first period. She proceeded to assist on Jen Schoullis’ goal at 1:24 in the second period. At 15:37, she had an assists on Anne Schelper’s goal, and earned her last one on Schoullis again at 19:18. Kessel finishes the first half of the season with 20 points on six goals and a team-best (tied) 14 assists. The 20 points rank second in scoring on her team and second in scoring among league rookies overall.
• February 4–5: Amanda Kessel produced three goals and seven points to lead the Golden Gophers to a two-game home-ice series sweep over St. Cloud State. On February 4, she scored two goals and set up two others for four points as the Gophers prevailed by an 8-0 mark. Her four points tied a career game high, which came against Clarkson in her first collegiate game on Oct. 1. The following day, she was involved in all three Gophers goals, as she scored one and assisted on two. One of the assists was Ashley Stenerson’s first collegiate goal.
• March 4, 2010: Kessel scored a hat trick in the semifinal of the 2011 WCHA Frozen Face-off as Minnesota defeated the defending NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs by a 4-2 tally.
• November 18, 2010: 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: Kessel earned her second hat trick of the series as the Gophers defeated New Hampshire by a 6-1 tally.

Team USA

She was a member of both the United States Under-22 Team and Under-18 Team. Kessel played for the United States Under-18 in 2009, and was named the World Under 18 tournament’s most valuable forward. She scored six goals and 13 assists for 19 points to lead Team USA to a gold medal. In the 2008 Under 18 World Championships, played in five games with Team USA and tallied 11 points, ranking third among all players in scoring. Kessel was named to the US team that participated in the 2010 Four Nations Cup

2010 Four Nations Cup

The 2010 4 Nations Cup was held in Clarenville, Newfoundland and St. John's, Newfoundland from November 9 to November 13, 2010. Games were played at the Clarenville Events Centre and Mile One Centre. The 15th edition of the international tournament was held in Newfoundland to help Hockey...

.She did not play due to injury.

Awards and honors

• Directorate Award, Best Forward, 2009 IIHF Under 18 Women's World Championships
• WCHA Pre-Season Rookie of the Year
• WCHA Rookie of the Week (Week of October 5, 2010)
• WCHA Rookie of the Week (Week of December 15, 2010)
• WCHA Offensive Player of the Week (Week of February 7, 2011)
• 2011 WCHA Rookie of the Year
• 2011 All-WCHA Third Team
• 2011 WCHA All-Rookie Team
• WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Week of October 12, 2011)
• WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Week of November 21, 2011)

Personal

Her brother Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel

Philip Joseph Kessel, Jr. is an American professional ice hockey forward, and an alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League . Kessel is a product of USA Hockey's National Development Team and became that program's all-time leader for goals and points in his final...

 was drafted fifth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft

2006 NHL Entry Draft

The 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the 44th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 24, 2006.The draft order for the first 14 picks was decided during a lottery held on April 20, 2006....

 by the Boston Bruins and now plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Like his sister, he also competes internationally for Team USA, winning a silver medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. A younger brother, Blake Kessel

Blake Kessel

Blake Kessel is an American ice hockey defenseman. He was selected by the New York Islanders in the 6th round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He signed an entry level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.-Early life:...

, plays for the New Hampshire Wildcats

New Hampshire Wildcats

The New Hampshire Wildcats, or Cats, are the athletic teams of the University of New Hampshire. The wildcat is the school's official mascot, the colors are UNH Blue and white...

.