UMD Women Drop Game At Wisconsin 3-1

Click the blog title to view the game box-score.

UMD was outshot in every period, 17-2 in the first period, 14-4 in the second, and 12-8 in the third period, a total of 43-14 for the game, and lost the first game of two in Madison, 3-1. Despite the lopsided shot stats, UMD was only down 2-1 until Wisconsin's Carolyne Prévost scored an empty net goal with 5 seconds left.

Gina Dodge former Duluth Northern Star, finally scored her first career goal after a bunch of chances this season, on a powerplay that cut a 2-0 Wisconsin lead to 2-1.

Katie Wilson WCHA Rookie of the Week Again

Click the blog title to view other players of the week for the last weekend's games

WCHA.COM: WCHA Rookie of the Week

Katie Wilson Fr., F, Minnesota Duluth

Freshman forward Katie Wilson turned in a five-point weekend – including her first collegiate three-goal hat trick – while helping No. 5-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth to a two-game sweep of Boston College in Chesnut Hill, Mass.

The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, scored the game-winning goal for UMD in last Friday (Nov. 27) afternoon’s contest – just :52 seconds into play. Wilson, who was +2 on the outing, also added an assist on Laura Fridfinnson’s third period goal in the Bulldogs’ 3-0 win.

Then last Saturday (Nov. 28), Wilson netted the first hat trick of her Minnesota Duluth career by scoring a goal in each period as the Bulldogs skated to a 5-1 win over the host Eagles. The goals, all at even-strength, opened up scoring in each stanza. With a +2 rating in last Saturday’s game as well, Wilson was a +4 in the series overall.

Currently the No. 2 rookie scorer in NCAA Div. 1 ranks, Wilson is averaging 1.11 points per game, and has 20 points (9g, 11a) in 18 games. She is UMD’s third leading scorer and ranks ninth in the WCHA in scoring with 12 points (5g, 7a) in 12 league outings.

Also nominated this week were: Mira Jalosuo, D, UM; Mary Loken, F, UND; and Brianna Decker, F, UW.

Junior Laura Fridfinnson Set To Break 100 Point Mark

With her 2 goals and 2 assists against Boston College, Junior Laura Fridfinnson now has 99 points in her career and should join teammates Emmanuelle Blais (this year) and Saara Tuominen (last year) in the 100 point club in the series at Wisconsin this Friday/Sunday in Madison.

Saara Tuominen has 127 career points

Emmanuelle Blais now has 106 points

Laura Fridfinnson at 99, should hit 100 career points vs Wisconsin

Katie Wilson Hat Trick Leads tUMD To Sweep of Boston College

Click the blog title to view the game boxscore

Katie Wilson scored in each period for her first career hat trick, while Saara Touminen and Laura Fridfinnson scored a goal each, to lead the Bulldogs to a 5-1 victory, and sweep of the series at Boston College. Wilson and Fridfinnson now have 9 goals each to lead the Bulldogs, two behind Emmanuelle Blais 11 goals.

Blais had 3 assists, while Fridfinnson and Audrey Cournoyer each picked up two. Jenny Harss stopped 24 of 25 shots she faced, and has a .924 saves % with 2.28 GAA after the weekend.

UMD has outscored opponents 58-40 and on the season, while Wilson, Fridfinnson and Blais all averaging better than a point (goal or assist) per game.

The UMD women head to Madison for a series with the Badgers next weekend.

UMD's Katie Wilson (from Mankato series)

UMD Women Shut Out Boston College 3-0

Check out the box score by clicking the blog title..

The Bulldogs scored one goal in each period, with Katie Wilson scored the game winning goal, 52 seconds into the game to jump start the 'Dogs on the road at Boston College. Audrey Cournoyer scored in the second period, and Laura Fridfinnson returned from her shoulder injury to score in the third period.

Jenny Harss stopped all 22 shots she saw for her third shutout of the season (and career.)

UMD Answers Mankato, Splits Series with 7-1 Sunday Win

On Sunday, UMD gave up the first goal, but went on to dominate, winning 7-1. Sarah Murray scored her first goal of the season and second of her career, answering Ida Clark's goal for the Mavericks. UMD scored three powerplay goals in 3 minutes 20 seconds in the second period to break open the game. Two Jamie Rasmussen (her 4th and 5th) goals sandwiched an Emmanualle Blais goal to give UMD a 4-1 lead barely 6 minutes into the period, and Vanessa Thibault once again found the net at 16:13 for her sixth goal of the season. Blais and Audrey Cournoyer scored unassisted, short-handed goals, 22 seconds apart in the third period to finish the scoring for the Bulldogs. Katie Wilson had three assists, while Saara Tuominen, Jessica Wong, Cournoyer, and Thibault each had an assist themselves. UMD outshot Mankato 36-26, holding the Mavericks to 3 shots in the second period.

Jamie Rasmussen blasting her powerplay goal in the 2nd period

Emmanuelle Blais gets behind the defense for a shorthanded breakaway goal

Former Cloquet (CEC) Lumberjack goaltender Paige Thunder saw third period action on Sunday for Mankato

Minnesota-State Mankato Takes First of Two

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The Mavericks' Ashley Young scored with 34.8 seconds left in the third period to finish their comeback from a 2-0 Bulldog lead to win the first game of the two game series in Duluth 3-2.

UMD's Vanessa Thibault cotinued her strong November, scoring the game opening goal with four minutes left in the first period while Jessica Wong scored her fourth goal of the season four minutes into the second period. From then on, Mankato picked up their game and started to take control and the shot clock showed it. UMD led 16-6 in first period shots, and 18-19 after two periods. Mankato outshot UMD 19-8 in the third period, though Jenny Harss held her ground in the third, until Young's game winner. Ida Clark and Kala Buganski scored the first and tying goals for Mankato.

Vanessa Thibault celebrates her goal

Mariia Posa WCHA Rookie of the Week

Click the blog title to view other WCHA Players of the Week

WCHA Rookie of the Week

Mariia Posa, Fr., D, Minnesota Duluth

University of Minnesota Duluth defenseman Mariia Posa, a freshman from Helsinki, Finland, dished out three assists last weekend in the visiting Bulldogs’ two-game sweep of WCHA opponent Ohio State.

Just one week after suiting up for Team Finland in the 2009 Four Nation’s Cup, Posa had assists in the Bulldogs’ first two goals in last Friday (Nov. 13) night’s 3-2 overtime win over the host Buckeyes. It was a career-high for the blue liner and Posa was also a +3 in the plus/minus department.

Posa then dished an assist on national teammate Saara Tuominen’s second period goal in last Saturday (Nov. 14) evening’s 5-3 triumph over Ohio State, giving the Bulldogs a four-point road series.

Through her first 12 UMD skates this season, Posa has five points (1g, 4a).

Also nominated for the award this week were: Sadie Lundquist, F, BSU; Noora Räty, G, UM; Hokey Langan, F, OSU; and Stefanie McKeough, D, UW.

UMD Beats Ohio State 5-3, Sweeps Series

Click the blog title to view the Box Score.

After both teams scored in the first period, UMD doubled up Ohio State in the second period to take the final game lead of 5-3.

Vanessa Thibault and Laura Fridfinnson each scored two and Saara Tuominen scored for the third game in a row (not counting the St. Cloud series she missed), while Emmanuelle Blais had two assists for the Bulldogs. Gina Dodge scored her first college point, with an assist, and four other players (Audrey Cournoyer, Mariia Posa, Katie Wilson, and Kacy Ambroz) also picked up an assist.

Vanessa Thibault

Laura Fridfinnson

I've been told that UMD is slated to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UMD women's hockey next weekend Saturday (6 pm) & Sunday (3 pm) against Minnesota State, Mankato.

UMD Beats Ohio State in 3-2 in Overtime!

Click the blog title to view the game box-score from Columbus.

Jamie Rasmussen scored 31 seconds into overtime to give UMD the 3-2 win in overtime. Saara Tuominen and Emmanuelle Blais scored UMD's regulation goals while Mariia Posa assisted on those goals. Blais and Katie Wilson assisted on the Rasmussen game winner, while Jessica Wong and Laura Fridfinnson picked up assists as well in the game.

UMD outshot Ohio State 36-26 and neither team scored a powerplay goal with UMD going 0-5 and Ohio State 0-4. Of UMD's 36 shots, Rasmussen had *9* of those shots so it seems like the perfect ending, for her to score the game winner.

Jamie Rasmussen

Audrey Cournoyer WCHA Rookie of the Week

From WCHA.COM, Click the blog title to view the rest of the weekly awards!

WCHA Rookie of the Week

Audrey Cournoyer, Fr., F, Minnesota Duluth

Minnesota Duluth‘s Audrey Cournoyer, a freshman from Montreal, Quebec, picked up four assists as the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs split two WCHA games at St. Cloud State last weekend.

Cournoyer had an assist on the only UMD goal in last Friday’s (Nov. 6) 5-1 loss to the host Huskies and then had a helping hand in each of the Bulldogs’ first three goals last Saturday (Nov. 7) – including teammate Laura Fridfinnson’s eventual game-winner, as UMD bounced back with a 5-0 victory over the Huskies.

Cournoyer had a +4 plus/minus rating in last Saturday’s game and a +3 overall in the series. She is UMD’s fifth leading scorer this season with eight points (2g, 6a) in her first 12 games.

Also nominated for the award this week were: Erika Wheelhouse, D, BSU; Lauren Smith, F, MSU; Ashley Furia, F, UND; Hokey Langan, F, OSU.

Cournoyer and Katie Wilson celebrate Wilson's goal, assisted by Cournoyer against St. Cloud

UMD Shouts Out St. Cloud 5-0

On Saturday, UMD reversed their fortunes and did St. Cloud one better, shutting them out 5-0 after the 5-1 loss the Huskies handed them. Over the years, the Bulldog teams have overcome a bad game and situations when everything seems to be against them to perservere and this was another instance of that. Laura Fridfinnonson, out for the third period Friday with her shoulder injury, scored the first Bulldog goal on Saturday, to give UMD a 1-0 lead during the first intermission. Vanessa Thibault scored her second career goal and second in as many games to give UMD a 2-0 lead and Katie Wilson made that 3-0 on her first of two goals with 5 minutes left in the 2nd period. The third line, of Kacy Ambroz, Justine Fisher, and Libby Guzzo worked hard the entire game and that paid off with Ambroz scoring the 4th UMD goal, her second career goal, 26 seconds before Katie Wilson finished the scoring with her second of the game. Jenny Harss stopped all 24 St. Cloud shots for her second shutout of the year and her career.

Audrey Cournoyer picked up 3 assists Saturday against St. Cloud

Katie Wilson, Cournoyer after Wilson's first goal of the night.

Kacy Ambroz as her shot scores her second career goal.

UMD Women Drop Game to St. Cloud 5-1

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The UMD women brought 17 players to St. Cloud, including three goaltenders, with Saara Tuominen and Mariia Posa in Finland for the 4 Nations Cup tournament, and lost the first game of the Friday/Saturday series 5-1 in St. Cloud. The Bulldogs were down 1-0 after 1 period, and 2-0 3 minutes into the second period, before Vanessa Thibault scored her first career goal, on a powerplay. That goal was the only scoring that UMD could put on the National Hockey Center scoreboard. The second period ended with UMD down 3-1. Laura Fridfinnson re-aggrivated her lingering shoulder injury in the second period and sat out the third. Although UMD picked up their game some from the second period, St. Cloud still got two third period goals to finish the game 5-1. UMD was outshot 37-32 for the game, with Huskies Holly Roberts' two goals and 10 shots leading the game.


Vanessa Thibault scored her first career UMD goal in the 5-1 loss

UMD Women Upset #1 Mercyhurst 4-3!

Click the blog title to view the collegehockeystats.net box score...

Behind 39 Jenny Harss saves, the Bulldogs upset the unbeaten #1 team in the country Mercyhurst, 4-3 in Erie, PA.

Saara Tuominen, Laura Fridfinnson, and Audrey Cournoyer scored in the first 9 minutes of the second to give UMD a 3-0 lead, which was cut to 3-1 when Mercyhurst's Bailey Bram scored with 21 seconds left in the period. An Emmanuelle Blais goal 5 minutes into the third period gave UMD back their 3 goal lead, but Mercyhurst's scored back to back goals to cut the lead to the final 4-3 UMD score.

Kirsti Hakala got her first assist of the season and second as a Bulldog, while Blais had two assists, and Jamie Rasmussen and Fridfinnson again assisted on a goal.

UMD heads to St. Cloud next weekend, minus Saara Tuominen and Mariia Posa, who are gone for the 4 Nations Cup tournament. Justine Fisher played defense in the Mercyhurst series, likely to step into Posa's vancancy for the St. Cloud weekend and maybe the rest of the season?

Mercyhurst Beats UMD 5-2

From collegehockeystats.net box score...Click the view the boxscore.

UMD start off well, getting a 2-0 lead on goals by Tara Gray and Laura Fridfinnson... then fell apart, giving up 5 special teams goals to Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst scored 3 powerplay goals, and 2 shorthanded goals (9 seconds apart), all unanswered to win 5-2. UMD was outshot 37-22 for the game, and only got 3 shots in the second period. UMD was also, 0 for 13 on the powerplay besides giving up the two shorthanded goals.

Between the two teams, there were 27 powerplays, and 58 minutes worth of penalties handed out.

Blais & Rasmussen WCHA Players of Week

It seems like a no-brainer really.. with 4 goals and an assist against North Dakota, Emmanuelle Blais was named WCHA offensive player of the week, and Jamie Rasmussen with1 goal and 4 assists is the defensive player of the week for her efforts against the Sioux.

UMD heads to Erie, PA to face unbeaten Mercyhurst this weekend, and after that series, Saara Tuominen and Mariia Posa head to Finland for a week for the 4 Nations Cup tournament, which means they'll miss the series in St. Cloud.

UMD Women Beat North Dakota 3-1, Sweep Series

Click the blog title to view both game's photos.

North Dakota again scored first (goal by Janet Babchishin,) in game 2 on Saturday, but UMD answered with first period goals by Emmanuelle Blais and Jaime Rasmussen (on the powerplay) to take a lead that they never gave up. Saara Tuominen (also on the powerplay) scored the only other goal of the game, in the second period to give UMD the final 3-1 score. Blais, Tuominen, and Rasmussen each had an assist as well, as did Laura Fridfinnson and Sarah Murray. Goaltender Jenny Harss played well again, stopping 22 of 23 shots she faced.

Emmanuelle Blais now has 91 points as a Bulldog, and Laura Fridfinnson has 88 points, as they both chase the 100 point mark.


Kacy Ambroz had one of her strongest games as a Bulldog.

Saara Tuominen scored her second goal of the season, hopefully that gets her back on track as the team leader.

UMD Beats North Dakota 4-1

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North Dakota came into the DECC with the obvious goal of "out physicalling" UMD and in the first period they did that well and had a 1-0 lead in the locker room on a goal by Mary Loken.

UMD came out of the locker room skating MUCH better, with Emmanuelle Blais scoring the first of her hat trick only 24 seconds into the period. The improved skating led to Sioux penalties, and the UMD power play took advantage with Katie Wilson and Blais each scoring powerplay goals in the period. Blais finished her hat trick on another powerplay goal midway through the third period to cap the UMD scoring and victory at 4-1. Jamie Rasmussen and Laura Fridfinnson each had three assists and Jenny Harss stopped 25 of 26 shots she faced for the win. North Dakota's Stephanie Ney, who shut out UMD 4-0 at the DECC last season, stopped 42 of 46 UMD shots in the loss.

Jessica Wong

Jenny Harss stopping North Dakota's Sara Dagenais point blank.

Minnesota Gophers Shut Out, Sweep UMD At Ridder

Once again, from the box score...click the blog title to view the box score from collegehockeystats.net

The UMD women put 29 shots on Gopher goaltender Noora Räty but couldn't 'light the lamp,' while the Minnesota women scored 3 goals on 37 shots against Jenny Harss to complete their sweep of the Dogs. TWO of the Gopher goals were scored short handed, one each against the first and second line power play units of UMD.

UMD returns home to face North Dakota Friday and Saturday nights. The Sioux women have lost two straight (and play Mankato Sunday) since knocking off Wisconsin in their WCHA opener.

UMD Loses 3-1 to Gophers

From the Collegehockeystats.net box score (click the blog title to go view)

The Gophers got a goal in each period to take a 3-0 lead before UMD finally got on the board at 10:51 of the third period on a goal by Emmanuelle Blais. UMD was outshot 38-23 and only managed as many as 10 shots in the third period.

Katie Gilderman, from Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall Mirage received her NCAA clearance and dressed as the backup goaltender for UMD.

UMD Women Pick Up Third Goaltender

Katie Gilderman, former Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall goaltender will be UMD's third goaltender, pending NCAA clearance, that hopefully comes before the Gopher series starts tonight so she can be at Ridder Arena as the backup to Jenny Harss. She only played in one game in 08-09 but obviously will be a better backup goaltender than other players UMD's tried who couldn't skate on the flat goaltender skate blades.

Per the Duluth News Tribune:

Gilderman, a former Proctor-Hermantown-Duluth Marshall girls goalie, played only one game last high school season following knee surgery, yet recovered to pitch in the spring softball season and during the summer.

“During softball, my knee had some swelling and I wore a brace, but it’s strong now. It’s strong enough to handle this, but I just haven’t been on the ice for a while,” said Gilderman, a bio-chemistry major, who earned college academic scholarships. “UMD is a team I watched growing up and I look at this as a huge opportunity. I was not expecting anything like this, but I’m excited about the chance.”

Katie Wilson Honored As WCHA Rookie of the Week

Click on the blog title to see all Players of the Week for this week!

Per the WCHA Release:

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Katherine Wilson Fr., F, Minnesota Duluth

Katherine Wilson scored two goals and added two assists to
help No. 6-ranked Minnesota Duluth sweep WCHA rival and
visiting St. Cloud State last weekend.

The NCAA’s leading rookie scorer, with an average of 1.50
points per game in her first four games, Wilson tallied her first goal
as a Bulldog in last Saturday’s (Oct. 11) 5-3 win over the Huskies. The
native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, had an assist on her team’s first
goal in the first period, scored the second tally of the contest at 6:52
of the opening stanza, and then picked up an assist on UMD’s third
goal in the third period.

Wilson then came back to score the game-winning score last
Sunday (Oct. 11) in the second period in Minnesota Duluth’s 2-0
triumph over St. Cloud State. The freshman Wilson is tied at
the top as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer so far this season with six
points (2g, 4a) in four games and has a four-game point-scoring
streak.

Also nominated for the award
this week were: Keirsten Visser, D,
BSU; and Lauren Smith, F, MSU.

UMD Women Shutout/Sweep St. Cloud, 2-0 Sunday

Click on the blog title to view all of the pictures!

UMD won the second game against SCSU 2-0, on a strong defensive team effort, especially in shutting down the first game star for the Huskies, Caitlin Hogan. Jenny Harss picked up the shutout stopping all 24 shots that came her way in her strongest effort in the short season. Katie Wilson scored the eventual game winner with the first goal of the game and Mariia Posa scored her first career goal.

Mariia Posa

Katie Wilson

UMD Beats St. Cloud 5-3

Click the blog title to view game photos

Despite a hat trick from Huskie Caitlin Hogan (which included a rare 5 on 3 shorthanded goal,) UMD defeated the St. Cloud State Huskies 5-3 at the DECC, Saturday October 10, 2009. Jennifer Harss stopped 20 of 23 shots for the UMD win, while Audrey Cournoyer and Katherine Wilson each scored their first collegiate goals. Laura Fridfinnson (2nd of the season), Jessica Wong (3rd), and Emmanuelle Blais (2nd) also scored for the Bulldogs.

Audrey Cournoyer scored her first UMD goal tonight vs the Huskies.

Laura Fridfinnson and two Huskies players take out Huskie goaltender Ashley Nixon

Jennifer Harss glove save late in the third period.

A Few More Freshmen Pictures

Here's a few more pictures from UMD's series split with Robert Morris University... a few of the freshmen who will contribute to the success of this year's Bulldogs.

German goaltender Jennifer Harss makes a save.

Katherine Wilson of Winnipeg, MB on the backhand.

Audrey Cournoyer from Montreal shoots from a tough angle.

Jessica Wong of Baddeck, Nova Scotia gets behind the defense

You can click a picture to see the larger version of it.

Robert Morris Beats UMD 4-1

Click the blog title to see more game pictures from the series.

UMD dropped game 2 to Robert Morris 4-1, despite outshooting the Colonials 46-23. Many of UMD's shots were from the blue line or wide on the end boards, and RMU packed it in tight on their own net the entire game, covering up for any rebounds that may have been left and not allowing UMD to get deep on net very often. Emmanuelle Blais scored her first of the season for UMD in the 2nd period, a shot that deflected off at least 2 RMU players before ending up in the net, but RMU scored in the third minute of the third period to put the game out of reach and then they went into full defensive mode.

This picture pretty much tells the story of the game.. more Robert Morris players at their own net than UMD players there to put the puck home.

Kacy Ambroz attempts to get a shot on net against RMU

UMD Beats Robert Morris University 5-2

Click the blog title to go see some game pictures....or check out UMDBULLDOGS.COM to check out UMD's recap!

UMD won it's home opener against RMU 5-2 at the DECC October 2nd


, 2009. Laura Fridfinnson had a goal (the game winner) and 3 assists, and Jessica Wong scored twice in the third period to seal the game for the Bulldogs. Jaime Rasmussen and Saara Tuominen also scored their first goals of the season and Jennifer Harss notched her first NCAA win stopping 14 of 16 shots put on her.

#47 Emmanuelle Blais eyes a pass to #9 Katherine Wilson during the first period.

Jamie Rasmussen lets a shot go!

Laura Fridfinnson goes 5-hole on the RMU goaltender!

Post game celebration.

Pos

Season Opens Tonight

Just a reminder, tonight and next Saturday nights' UMD games start at 6 pm instead of the usual 7 pm

News Tribune Article, UMD's Olympic "Losses"

Click the blog title to tread the entire article... It's a really good Kevin Pates, Season Preview type article focusing on UMD's players who've taken a season off to train full time for the upcoming Vancouver Olympics

“We know it’s going to be different, but we we’re not anticipating much of a change. We have a coach who expects hard work and excellence,” says senior defenseman Jamie Rasmussen of Garden Grove, Calif. “We have a smaller roster and we’ve been preparing to be in good shape because we’re all going to get a lot of ice time. We’ve got a lot of new players, but they’re great new players. And we have some great returning players.”

15 Days Until The Season Starts!

Being September 17th, we are 15 days from the UMD women's hockey team taking the ice! This preseason is full of questions, as we have two untested goaltenders and 9 freshmen slated to skate for the Bulldogs this year! Cloquet's Kirsti Hakala returns to the UMD roster after a year on the University of Wisconsin-Superior roster and taking last season off.

I hope to get get a bunch more posted on here before the season starts so stay tuned, it's been a busy few weeks with my website between high school and community college sports shooting but UMD hockey (both teams) always ends up a priority come game time! :)

3 Bulldogs In Pre-Season WCHA All-Star Game vs Team USA

Per the Duluth News Tribune:

Three Minnesota Duluth players have been named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s All-Star team that faces the U.S. Olympic team Sept. 25 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Bulldogs selected are junior defenseman Jaime Rasmussen of Garden Grove, Calif.; senior forward Emmanuelle Blais of LaSalle, Quebec; and junior forward Laura Fridfinnson of Arborg, Manitoba. The team is coached by St. Cloud State’s Jeff Giesen.

UMD's season starts October 2nd/3rd with Robert Morris University coming to the DECC

Dogs Drop Semi-Final Game to Wisconsin

UMD lost Elin Holmlov to a checking from behind penalty in the second period, and gave up four powerplay goals to Wisconsin, to drop the NCAA Semi-Final game in Boston 5-1.

Still a great season for UMD with another Frozen Four appearance! The final appearances in UMD uniforms for seniors Johanna Ellison, Tawni Mattila, Erin Olson, Sara O'Toole, and Myriam Trepanier. Thanks seniors!

Watch UMD's Playoff Game at New Hampshire Online

UMD's playoff game with New Hampshire will be broadcast LIVE on the net at 1 pm Eastern Saturday via New Hampshire's sports website CLICK HERE!!! Just click Watch Now about 5 minutes before game time! GO DOGS!

Bulldogs to Face New Hampshire in Quarterfinals

UMD will head out east Saturday March 14th, for a 1 PM (might be Noon Central time...) rematch of the Semi-Final teams from last season, in this season's quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

I only see two big differences from last season's semi-final,

1. Johanna Ellison be in net for UMD, with Kim Martin most likely not ready to play, having only started skating in the last week or so again. It's not a big drop-off at all, but given Kim Martin's performance against UNH in that game, stopping 41 of 43 shots, with many being HUGE saves, it could be a mental win for UNH not facing Martin.

2. UMD played at home almost the entire second half of the season last year, with only one road series from January 25th through the entire playoff run. This year they've been on the road more the second half of the season and hopefully that helps them in their longest road trip of the season.

If/When I figure out if there will be live internet coverage other than the normal radio coverage I'll post it here.

UMD To Face Wisconsin Friday

With all of the hockey games this weekend I got too busy to put up a post from each game but all should be normal now.

With UMD's first round sweep, and Johanna Ellison's TWO SHUTOUTS of North Dakota this weekend, UMD advances to the WCHA Semifinals to take on Wisconsin Friday.

I believe that UMD needs to win the WCHA tournament, presumably beating Minnesota in the final (if they beat Mankato) to attain a HOME NCAA Quarterfinal game. All three teams have been in the top 4 in the 'Pairwise' rankings, but I cannot see the NCAA giving 3 first round home games to teams from the West when the Frozen Four is being held out East in Boston. Stranger things have happened but I believe that to be the scenario required for a home ice NCAA tourney game.

UMD Sweeps Sioux, Hosts Sioux in WCHA 1st Round

UMD sweeps North Dakota, and Mankato sweeps Ohio State, forcing UMD to now beat North Dakota twice more in the best of 3 first round playoff series at the DECC Friday/Saturday, and if necessary Sunday.

Johanna Ellison picked up both wins, including a 3-0 shutout on Saturday evening. UMD's six goals were scored by six different players on the weekend.

UMD Beats Ohio State 4-1

Sara O'Toole had a goal and an assist, as did Haley Irwin and Jamie Rasmussen, while Elin Holmlov scored a goal in the 4-1 victory over OSU. Joceleyne Larocque had two assists, and Johanna Ellison won another game, stopping 12 of 13 shots faced for UMD.

After it became a 4-1 UMD lead, they tried to let OSU back into the game, taking 4 straight penalties from the 10 minute mark of the third period.

Sara Murray, Myriam Trepanier, Tawni Mattila, and Johanna Ellison received WCHA Scholar Athlete Awards after the game.

Heidi Pelttari Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week

Click the blog title to go read the full press release from WCHA.COM

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week • Heidi Pelttari, Jr., D, Minnesota Duluth
Junior Heidi Pelttari, who has played at forward for the University of Minnesota Duluth most of the season, took a step back into her previous role on the blueline last weekend in the Bulldogs’ two-game conference road series sweep of Bemidji State.
A native of Tampere, Finland, Pelttari had one assist in last Friday’s (Feb. 6) 3-2 win over the host Beavers, with her helper coming on teammate Laura Fridfinnson’s game-winning goal at 5:22 of the second period. Then in game two of the weekend series last Saturday (Feb. 7), Pelttari dished out four assists to help propel the Bulldogs to a 9-0 shutout victory over Bemidji State. Pelttari’s four assists in that game marks a career-high for the multi-positioned player, who played defenseman all weekend. In addition to her five-assist series, Pelttari also put three shots on goal and earned a +2 plus/minus rating as UMD blanked BSU on all 10 of their weekend power-play opportunities.
Through 30 games this season, Pelttari has two goals and 18 assists for 20 points, ranking her fourth in scoring overall among WCHA defensemen..
Also nominated were: Alyssa Grogan, G, UM; Paige Thunder, G, MSU; Shannon Reilly, D, OSU; and Rachel Bible, D, UW.

Dogs Beat Bemidji 3-2

I forgot it was a 2 pm game.. DOH! I went for a 2 hour walk along a bunch of snowmobile trails through the woods with the nice weather and spaced out the early game as it turns out did a lot of people who were at the men's game who would have normally listened. A win is a win at this point in the season, but the 1 for 8 powerplay is NOT a good thing.

Interesting to read the lines that Shannon Miller came up with with Rasmussen out...

First line of Tuominen centering Blais and Friddy, which drops Winberg to the third line with Olson and Mattila. I like Blais and Friddy on the same line with a good play-making center who likes to go get the puck in the corners. They usually only were on the ice together(all 3 of the) as the second powerplay previously.

Irwin's line with O'Toole and Holmlov paid off big with O'Toole and Irwin each scoring and assisting on the others goal.

Jamie Rasmussen Out For Series With Bemidji State

The News Tribune reports that Jamie Rasmussen is out for this weekend's BSU series with a concussion, and Heidi Pelttari will drop back to her defense spot to fill that hole.

Click the link to view the News Tribune series preview!

Ashley Nixon Stops 52 of 55, Beats UMD 4-3

I was going to do a long post about referees Doocy and Storey.. but it would just sound like every other one I've read (or posted myself) so I'll just say that Ashley Nixon stood on her head stopping 52 of 55 shots, many from in close.

UMD was up 3-1 and blew the lead in the second period.

Elin Holmlov had 2 goals for UMD, and Megan McCarthy answered with 2 of her own for SCSU.

Haley Irwin took a stupid (and lazy) tripping penalty at the end of her shift at 17:08 of the third period to pretty much kill any momentum UMD had built after having 2 straight powerplays that peppered Nixon with shots.

Meaghan Pezon didn't play for SCSU so her injury Friday night may be a bad one, but this being the Duluth area, there wasn't any sort of report that I've seen.

Dogs Pound St. Cloud State 7-2

The Dogs dominated (winning 7-2) from the start, with a 16-0 shot advantage before SCSU ever got a shot on Johanna Ellison, who played 2 scoreless periods before giving way to Lana Steck in the third period. The goals Steck gave up were a breakaway all the way off a UMD won faceoff and turnover, and a powerplay goal, neither that you can fault her for really.

Laura Fridfinnson had a hat trick, Jocelyne Larocque had three more assists, while Heidi Pelttari and Saara Tuominen each had 2 assists.

SCSU lost Meaghan Pezon to a leg or ankle injury where she had to be helped off the ice without any weight on that leg, and didn't return to the game.

Megan McCarthy had a goal and assist for SCSU.

Jocelyne Larocque WCHA Offensive Player Of the Week

Minnesota Duluth sophomore defenseman Jocelyne Larocque was one the most important pieces of the Bulldog offense, scoring a goal and dishing out four assists in UMD's win and tie with then No.1-ranked Minnesota last weekend.

The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba assisted on all four of the Bulldogs' second period goals in last Friday's (Jan. 23) 4-2 win over the Gophers, including UMD's scoring burst of three goals in just over three minutes late in the second period. Larocque then scored a power-play goal from the point in the second period of last Saturday's (Jan. 24) game to get Minnesota Duluth on the board for the first time.

The NCAA and WCHA's leading point-getter from the blueline with an average of 1.08 ppg (4-22-26 in 24 games), Larocque was part of a Bulldog penalty-kill unit that forced the Gophers to go 1-of-11 on the power-play during the series. Larocque is on a four-game scoring streak since Jan. 16, having scored two goals and six assists during that string. Over her two-year collegiate career, she has eight goals, 44 assists and 52 points in 63 games.

For those familiar with the Duluth area, Montana Vichorek, who played high school hockey for Cloquet/Esko/Carlton is the Rookie Of the Week.

Montana Vichorek, a freshman defenseman at Bemidji State University from Moose Lake, Minn., recorded her second-career two-assist game during last Saturday's 3-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory over visiting Ohio State and played a huge role in BSU taking the weekend series (Jan. 23-24) from the Buckeyes.

Vichorek led the team with 10 blocks over the weekend, and posted a career-high nine blocks in last Friday's 3-3 overtime tie. Vichorek now has four points in her last five games (four assists), and is tied for the team lead in assists this season with nine (1g,9a=10p). She is the first Beaver defender to eclipse the 10-point mark since the 2005-06 season

UMD/Minnesota Tie 3-3, Minnesota Gets Shootout Point

Down 3-1 in the third period, UMD got goals from Laura Fridfinnson and Sara O'Toole to force overtime, which ended with the score tied 3-3.

Jocelyne Larocque scored UMD's first goal, and O'Toole also picked up two assists to go with her game tying goal.

Johanna Ellison starred again in net for UMD, stopping 37 of 40 shots she faced.

Monique Lamoureux had a goal and assist for the Gophers.

UMD Beats the Gophers 4-2 at Ridder!

Click the blog title to go check out the game box score!

Haley Irwin scored twice, Jocelyne Larocque assisted on ALL FOUR UMD Goals, and Elin Holvlov had three assists; while Johanna Ellison stopped 34 of 36 shots for the victory at Ridder Arena.

Laura Fridfinnson scored a shorthanded goal and Pernilla Winberg scored on the powerplay to round out the UMD scoring.

UMD Sweeps Mankato, Loses Martin to Injury

UMD defeated Mankato 5-0 Friday, in a game that Kim Martin left after 11+ minutes with a leg injury which is now reported to be three-four weeks depending on the outcome of x-rays Monday. Johanna Ellison played the rest of the game securing the shutout and her third win of the season.

Scoring in Friday's game for UMD were Haley Irwin (2 goals), Saara Tuominen, Pernilla Winberg, and Jocelyn Larocque. Winberg has 2 assists and Larocque also added an assist, and Sara O'Toole had 3 assists. Kacy Ambroz picked up her third assist of the season also Friday.

On Saturday UMD won 6-3, with Lana Steck in net, stopping 17 of 20 shots. Haley Irwin scored two more goals, Elin Holmlov scored (after sitting out Friday's game for her ailing back), Jamie Rasmussen and Pernilla Winberg (and 2 assists) also scored, and Sara O'Toole scored on a penalty shot to give UMD 6 goals (not in that exact order.)

UMD/Wisconsin tie 3-3, UMD Wins Shootout

UMD lost a 3-1 lead over Wisconsin in the third period, and nobody scored in overtime, leading to a 3-3 tie. UMD ran out of gas in the third period, having only one practice leading up to the weekend's series, and Wisconsin took advantage of UMD's special teams to score a powerplay and shorthanded goal in the third period for the tie.

Elin Holmlov scored twice and assisted on a Heidi Pelttari goal, and Saara Tuominen scored her 100th career point on an assist to Holmlov's first goal and Kim Martin stopped 34 of 37 shots.

Kelly Nash, Jasmine Giles, and Hilary Knight scored for the badgers, and Jessie Vetter stopped 35 of 38 UMD shots.

In the shootout, Sara O'Toole and Laura Fridfinnson scored for UMD and Kim Martin shut down Hilary Knight and Kelly Nash on their attempts.

UMD needs a huge weekend at Mankato leading to the Gopher series in two weeks (with Team USA in-between the Mankato and Minnesota series.)

UMD Starts 2009 With A Huge Win

Laura Fridfinnson's two goals, sandwiched between a Haley Irwin goal and Jamie Rasmussen goal, carried UMD to a 4-0 shutout win. Kim Martin was solid, and her defense protected her well when she covered the puck..allowing her to stop all 31 shots she faced, making it her 53rd career win and 11th career shutout.

FOUR BULLDOGS TO SUIT UP FOR CANADA'S U-22 TEAM OVER BREAK

From UMDBulldogs.com

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The traditional University of Minnesota Duluth holiday break won't last long for four Bulldog women hockey players.

Canada's National Women's U-22 Team has tapped junior forward Emmanuelle Blais, sophomore forwards Haley Irwin and Laura Fridfinnson, and sophonore defenseman Jocelyne Larocque to suit up for the MLP Nations Cup in Ravensburg, Germany. The tournament -- which will be held from Jan. 2-Jan. 6 -- was formally called the European Air Canada Cup, somewhat fitting since Canada is the six-time defending champion at the MLP Cup, having won every year since the tournament’s inception in 2003 and having lost just once in those 20 games.

Blais, Larocque, Irwin and Fridfinnson are part of a Canada roster that includes 21 of the 22 players who dressed for Canada in a three-game series against the United States’ Women’s Under-22 Select Team in Pierrefonds, QC in August. All four Bulldogs' were also part of 11 current U-22 players who won gold at the 2008 Air Canada Cup. Larocque is also won of six players that won a silver medal with Canada's National Team at the 2008 Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, NY in early November.

Wisconsin Series Schedule Change!

Just a note for those who are not season ticket holders, or those who are coming up to Duluth for the UMD women's series with Wisconsin... The series originally scheduled to be a Friday/Saturday night series, is now a Saturday night/Sunday afternoon series (7 pm/3 pm) as stated in a letter to season ticket holder that UMD sent out this past week.

Princeton Defeats UMD 4-3

I'm not sure what happened to UMD today.. to come out and score in 14 seconds.. then give up right back on a terrible defensive play in front of Martin.. it was sloppier than the NoDak loss.. and is telling.. UMD can be out played physically and will be beaten. Princeton was much more physical, and UMD forgot how to make passes.

The first line was the only one that really did anything good, whether on the powerplay or even-strength, and the [B]entire[/B] defense was just bad today. I wouldn't be surprised to see the 2nd and 3rd lines split up to try and change something come January and the Wisconsin series at the DECC. Just my opinion but, it's time to put Fridfinnson on the third line and move Blais back up to the second line where she belongs...

UMD didnt' really look like they wanted the game until the last couple minutes, which was all first line again. They've gotta find a way to turn it around Sunday and go on Christmas break on a better note.

Dogs Sweep Bemidji State, Winning Saturday 4-1

Tonight's game had a much better flow.. UMD started Johanna Ellison tonight..stopping 20 of 21 shots .. the shot that beat her was a 1 on 0 breakaway(shorthanded for BSU even). Something I mentioned last season.. it seems that almost every time she plays, she end up facing at least one breakaway. Tonight she probably could have challenged the puck b4 the BSU's Erin Cody could get to it, but either way, that was BSU's only goal tonight.

Libby Guzzo scored her first career goal tonight, the game winning goal, after a nice forecheck by freshman Kacy Ambroz caused a BSU turnover with the puck ending up in front of a wide open net for Guzzo to bury.

Tori Shelafoe even dressed and skated a few shifts tonight in only her second game of the season. She's a speedy little player from Forest Lake High School, who will probably play a bigger role next season with the speed she brings.

I don't think Kim Martin is quite right from her concussion following the NoDak Friday night game yet, even though she swept Dartmouth last weekend. You could almost tell for the time she played last night that she wasn't completely there. I wouldn't be surprised if she sat next weekend just to be cautious, with the series against Princeton the final one until January. This said, it's just my observation rather than any fact given by UMD or anyone connected to the team.

UMD Downs BSU 5-2

OK, no offense to Bemidji State.. but what a BORING game. If UMD had kept up the pressure the whole game it may have resembled the 15 goals UMD put up against SCSU back in the Jenny Potter era. Probably half of UMD's shots would amount to actual scoring chances, while a decent number were from farther than the faceoff dots.

Zuzana Tomcikova is almost an exact copy of Riitta Schaublin's freshman season.. rarely going down to the butterfly.. but able to cover a lot of area with her great size. There doesn't seem to be any drop-off from Brookshaw graduating.. just another goaltender stopping a ton of shots every game while the team searches for offense.

One negative for UMD, at the end of the game Emmanuelle Blais blocked a slot that may have missed her pad and hit her skate .. she hobbled to the bench and the ground and was still there after the handshake and was surrounded by staff as everyone headed out. Just judging from how it looked, I think it'd doubtful she'll be on the ice tomorrow but we'll see.

Add: Unfortunatley.. Johanna Ellison gave up a goal with about 4 minutes left.. her defense didn't kill the puck.. BUT because Kim Martin gave up a goal in the first period, Ellison picked up her first win of the season because it was 2-1 when Martin finished the first period.

Jocelyne Larocque WCHA Defensive Player of the Week

This was posted later than normal on WCHA.COM...

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Jocelyne Larocque • So., D, University of Minnesota Duluth

Jocelyne Larocque, a sophomore defenseman from Winnipeg, Manitoba, scored two goals in the University of Minnesota Duluth's 4-1 victory over No. 3-ranked Dartmouth last Saturday (Nov. 29) at the DECC in Duluth, Minn. The Bulldogs also won 2-1 over Dartmouth in the series opener last Friday (Nov. 28).

Larocque scored Minnesota Duluth's second goal of the game in the 4-1 decision - and what turned out to be the game-winning goal - just :15 seconds into the second period on a blast from the left point. Larocque then launched an empty-net goal with one second remaining for her second goal of the contest and of the season. In addition to her two goals, Larocque helped UMD kill 10 of Dartmouth's 11 power-play attempts, earned a +2 plus/minus rating and put eight shots on goal in the two games.

Larocque, who is the sixth ranked defensive scorer in the NCAA and the third in the WCHA, has 12 points (2g,10a) in 14 games.

Also nominated were: Alyssa Grogan, G, UM; Kathleen Rosso, D, MSU; and Alycia Matthews, D, UW.

UMD Wins 4-1, Completes Sweep of 'Big Green' Dartmouth

UMD dominated easily today... breaking the 40 shot mark in the second period. Kim Martin looked like herself the whole game.... I really like UMD's new forecheck and hope it wasn't JUST for this weekend.. they sent 4 into the zone most of the weekend.. and a forward was in position EVERY time to cover the pressing defenseman. While that can cost you occasional breakaways it worked well for them.

Jenni Asserholt has improved vastly from just the first weekend against Minnesota, she doesn't look out of place on the ice anymore after not playing in the North Dakota series, whether it was for injury or to to watch and learn from watching a series maybe... either way she looked comfortable on the ice this weekend.

Hailey Irwin had 11 shots on net and two more goals, and Jocelyne Larocque scored her first two goals (the 2nd was just a clear down ice into an open net with less than 1 second left on the clock) of the season.

Elin Holmlov and Pernilla Winberg each got 3 assists, on the important goals.

Next up, Bemidji State December 4th and 5th, 7:07 starts both nights at the DECC.

UMD Defeats Dartmouth 2-1

UMD 2 Dartmouth 1.... For the most part the puck was in Dartmouth's end the majority of the game.. but UMD still had trouble finding the net, missing *4* different opportunities from 10 feet or less shooting well wide....Kim Martin looked a little shaky but now that I know she had a concussion from last Friday's game where a Sioux were ran her... it makes sense why her game was off last Saturday. After the first period, she looked like the Kim Martin we're used to seeing.

You have to give kudos to BOTH teams tonight.. the 'Lick Brothers' were the referees and this game could have gotten out of hand physically very fast.

After last week's Sioux series, it's also nice to play against a team that DOESN'T slash the goaltender every time the puck is at the net.. Dartmouth did a good job of pulling up after the save.

North Dakota Stuns UMD 4-0

Stephanie Ney stopped all 45 shots UMD put on her, and North Dakota scored 3 goals on Kim Martin in the first 30 minutes.. and went on to shut out UMD 4-0 at the DECC.

UMD had plenty of chances but North Dakota's defense was great in front of their goaltender, not allowing 2nd and 3rd opportunities to get through to the net. North Dakota made UMD's defense look slow today, breaking out the puck at will, a big difference from Saturday's first game.

Dartmouth is up next, Friday night/Saturday afternoon(3:37) series, because the UMD Men play St. Cloud State Saturday night.

UMD Beats North Dakota 6-2

'Hat Trick' Holmlov scores 4 as UMD dominated North Dakota at times.. winning 6-2. A "Natural" hat-trick, plus 1 for 4 goals in a row even! Kirkham played decent but got little help, the Sioux defense never attacked the puck.. rather they turned and skated backwards, and seemed to be afraid of UMD's overall speed.

Lana Steck saw her first NCAA action, playing the last 10:31 of the game.. giving up a goal from the blueline. She's going to be a work in progress.. needing to learn the side to side movement with her pads rather than her skates, which makes her slow going from one side of the net to the other. One good thing is on the three shots she did save (of 4) she controlled the rebounds.

Click the blog title to view the game box score!

Pernills Winberg WCHA Player of the Week, North Dakota Series Preview

First, Click the blog title to view the UMDBULLDOGS.COM Series Preview for this weekend's North Dakota series.. and...

Pernilla Winberg is the WCHA player of the week coming off of the Ohio State Series! Somehow I missed this during the week.

UMD Scores 8, Sweeps OSU!

UMD put 50 shots on goal, scored 3 times on the powerplay, and defeated Ohio State 8-3, to earn the sweep in Columbus, Ohio. 6 UMD goals were scored in the second period after a scoreless first period.

Haley Irwin had a HAT TRICK, to give her four goals on the weeekend! Elin Holmlov scored two more goals, giving her eight on the season.

Jamie Rasmussen and Laura Frifinnson also got goals, while Holmlov (2), Pernilla Winberg(3), Sara O'Toole(2), and Saara Tuominen(2) all had multiple assists.

UMD Shuts Out Ohio State, 3-0

Kim Martin stopped all 26 shots she faced, and UMD got goals from Jaime Rasmussen (powerplay), Haley Irwin (FINALLY her first of the season!) and Laura Fridfinnson to win 3-0 in Columbus.

UMD was 1 of 5 on the powerplay and held OSU scoreless on 7 attempts of their own.

UMD/Wisconsin Tie 2-2...Wisconsin Wins Shootout

UMD and Wisconsin end in a 2-2 tie, but Wisconsin got the extra WCHA poitn by winning the shootout 1-0. UMD had a 2-0 lead but everyone knows a 2-0 lead is dangerous cause the opponent's first goal can give them the confidence to either tie or even win. UMD didn't look all that good in the shootout, but I'm not sure a shootout really makes sense to do. If only is used in conference standings and not by the NCAA and seems to be pointless really.

UMD's next opponent is Ohio State, in Columbus Ohio the weekend after the upcoming 4 Nations Cup Tournament.

Dogs Lose 2-1 at Wisconsin

Badger goaltender Jesse Vetter improved to 9-0-1 on the season, while Kim Martin is now 4-4-1, after UMD dropped today's game in Madison 2-1 to the Badgers. Saara Tuominen scored her 5th goal of the season for UMD, but Wisconsin's Brooke Ammerman scored her 11th of the season for the game winner in the second period.

Both teams took four penalties each, which is a VERY small number between these two teams. Ammerman's goal was scored on the powerplay, while UMD didn't score on their powerplay opportunities.

Dogs SWEEP Mankato!

Elin Holmlov scored a Hat Trick, and Pernilla Winberg assisted on all three of Holmlov's goals to lead UMD to a second straight 5-1 victory over Minnesota-State Mankato. UMD even scored TWO powerplay goals, going 2-6 on the man-advantage.

Mankato came out better tonight, putting 25 shots on Kim Martin, only scoring on a powerplay in the third period.

Next up is Wisconsin, in Madison, Halloween afternoon (2 pm) and Saturday morning (11 am.)

Dogs Dominate, Beat Mankato 5-1

UMD held Mankato to 15 shots total (4 in 1st 9 in 2nd 2 in 3rd) despite being shorthanded 6 times, while getting 48 shots themselves (19-16-13) and defeated Mankato 5-1 at the Decc.

UMD finally came out and played THEIR complete game, which in the past few years hasn't included much powerplay efficiency (0-7 again tonight.) THIS game looked like the UMD team we're accustomed to seeing; they cycled the puck in both zones and completed passes.

The only Mankato goal (by Nina Tikkinen) came on a powerplay five seconds after faceoff that UMD lost in front of Kim Martin.

Jenni Asserholt scored her first career UMD goal, while Elin Holmlov scored her first of the season. Having her (Holmlov) healthy and on the ice is a big deal for this team.

Saara Tuominen and Tawni Mattila each scored their fourth goals of the season and Laura Fridfinnson scored her third of the season. Heidi Pelttari skated as a forward tonight skating mostly with Mattila and Pernilla Winberg, and picked up two assists. Sara O'Toole also picked up two assists.

Click the blog title to see the complete box score.

News Tribune Mankato Series Preview

Click the blog title to go view the complete article...

The Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team isn’t hitting the panic button.

After dropping three of their past four games, the Bulldogs — 2-3-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association — are below .500 for just the second time in school history and the first time since starting the 2003-04 season with a pair of losses to Minnesota State-Mankato.

UMD, coming off a 1-1 tie (2-1 shootout loss) and 3-2 loss at St. Cloud State, hosts the Mavericks in a WCHA series at 7:07 p.m. today and Saturday at the DECC. The Bulldogs also were swept at home by Minnesota on Oct. 10-11.

But UMD coach Shannon Miller is confident the Bulldogs can return to form.

“We’ve got 10 new people in the mix, with staff and players, so there’s a big learning curve,” Miller said. “I think that everyone, including the experienced people, is learning some lessons.

UMD Gives Up Late Goal, Drops to 0-3-1 in WCHA Play

UMD got down 2-0, tied the game at 2 in the third period, but gave up a powerplay goal with 7 seconds left to give St. Cloud State a win and a tie(shootout win) on the weekend. UMD is now 0-3-1 in WCHA play. Click the blog title to see the box score from the game.

Next weekend UMD hosts Minnesota-State Mankato at the DECC, both games at 7:07.

UMD & St. Cloud State Tie 1-1, SCSU WIns A Shootout 2-1

Click the title to go view the box score from today's game at the National Hockey Center.

Emmanuelle Blais scored shorthanded for UMD and Brita Schroeder tied the game 4+1/2 minutes later (both in the third period) and the game stayed tied 1 for the remainder. As has been the trend the last few years, UMD's powerplay was shut out in 10 attempts, BUT their penalty kill was great, killing off 12 of 13 powerplays.

I didn't attend the game and can't imagine how sloppy this game with 23 powerplays between the two teams was.

News Tribune SCSU Series Preview

Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State begin a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association women’s series today, each in search of its first league victory this season.

Click the blog title to go read the entire article, which is free for one week of it's publishing, and free to register to read.

Gopher Dominate, Sweep UMD 2-0

UMD came out slow again and was never able to really gain any momentum, dropping the second game of the series 2-0 to Minnesota. UMD was 0-10 on the power play which will not work against the best teams in the league. UMD's team speed didn't seem to be there at all tonight.

Jocelyne Lamoureux and her sister Monique pretty much dominated UMD all weekend, and the duo each scored a goal tonight and assisted on the others' goal. In 4 Gopher games this season they have 11 points (3 goals 8 assists) between them. The pre-season voters may want to re-think their pre-season rookie of the year pick.

Elin Holmlov didn't play tonight, most likely due to her recurring back problems.

I wanted to come up with something good out of the weekend's series, but right now I'm not sure what the Dogs might have done right.

Next up, St. Cloud State, who just were swept by North Dakota, at the National Hockey Center 2 PM Friday and 5 pm Saturday.

Gopher Salvage Overtime Victory With 25 Seconds Left

Minnesota out-skated and dominated UMD for most of the first 40 minutes of play, and UMD woke up to carry the third period to tie the game at 3-3. UMD has a bunch of chances on a final powerplay to end the third and start overtime, but didn't finish. Minnesota did finish on their opportunity on the powerplay in overtime, scoring with 25 seconds left on the clock for the 4-3 win.

News Tribune Gopher Series Story

Another banner season for No.1-ranked UMD women's hockey?

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association season opener between rivals Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth will have added excitement.

The host Bulldogs (2-0) will raise their fourth NCAA Division I championship banner before tonight’s game and will start league play against the Gophers (1-1) for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Click the blog title to go read the entire story!

This Year's New Faces

With the first home series only 2 days away, UMD has 5 Freshman on this year's roster.

Courtesy of umdbulldogs.com roster, the Freshman biographies:

#11 Kacy Ambrosz

BEFORE UMD: Wrapped up a stellar career at New Prague High School by netting 47 goals and adding 34 assists for 81 points as a senior during the 2007-08 season...a four-time All-State honorable mention selection, Amboz was also selected twice to the All-Metro Third Team, and four times garned All-Conference honors...14 times struck for two or more goals an outing, and notched at least a tally in 22 of 24 games a season ago as a Trojan...ran up a tab of 379 career points at New Prague...was a five year starter on the Trojans softball team as a pitcher and catcher...older brother Matt plays hockey for the University of Nebraska Omaha.

#20 Torri Shelafoe

BEFORE UMD: Led Forest Lake Senior High School with 16 goals and 15 assists during her senior season in 2007-2008...captained the Rangers and was a Metro All-Conference selection her final season, while picking up the Ranger Award...a three-year starter at Forest Lake, she was named an All-Conference honorable mention during her junior season...brother Ryan plays hockey at Hamline University.

#29 Justine Fisher

BEFORE UMD: A 2008 graduate of Dakota Ridge High School, Fisher played three seasons for the Colorado Select organization...helped captain the team to a third place finish at the national tournament during 2007-2008 winter...was selected to the USA Hockey National Development Camp for four straight years (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)

#31 Lana Steck

BEFORE UMD: Backstopped the St. Vital Victorias AA, a team she played on from 2003 to present, prior to suiting up for the Maroon and Gold...helped Team Manitoba's U-17 squad to a silver medal in the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon in 2007...nominated for the Calm Air Junior Team of the Year Award...graduated in 2007 from College Jeanne-Sauve...participated in Afrique 2007 and was selected to receive the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award...also an outstanding soccer player, playing on an elite team that placed fourth and fifth in back to back national titles.

#51 Pernilla Winberg

BEFORE UMD: Perhaps best known in the United States as the player who scored the winning goal in the shootout against Team USA during the 2006 Olympics semi-final game...was Team Sweden’s youngest national team player during the last Winter Olympics and has been a pillar on her national squad since the 2002-2003 season...tallied a goal and three assists in five outings while in Turin in 2006, and has helped Team Sweden win two bronze medals in the IHIF World Championships (2005 and 2007), including leading Sweden with five goals and three assists in 2007...has picked up four gold medals in European Womens Championship Cup play (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005)...was named the best forward by the European Womens Championship Cup in 2008 after notching seven goals and three assists...led Team Sweden with six goals and two assists in three games in the 2005 European Womens Championship Cup.

#84 Jenni Asserholt

BEFORE UMD: A Team Sweden assistant captain, she has been on the Swedish blueline since 2003...earned an Olympic Silver Medal in 2006 with Sweden in Turin, Italy, and picked up two World Championship bronzes in 2007 and 2005...has suited up in 81 games for Team Sweden in her career, and picked up 50 minutes worth of penalties during 2007-2008 for Sweden in 16 national team skates...played for Linkopings HC last season, registering four goals and four assists in 14 regular season contests...dished three assists in four play-off games for the club last winter.

Click on the blog title to go view the roster with complete profiles as well as the players' media guide photos!

Dogs Sweet Niagara University With 6-1 Win

Tawni Mattila scored twice(giving her 3 in 2 days), and Kim Martin allowed just one goal in finishing the sweep of Niagara University! Heidi Pelttari had 2 assists, and Tuominen, Blais, and Fridfinnson all scored their second goal in as many days.

Check out the Box Score from Collegehockeystats.net

Bring on the Goofs ;)

UMD Wins Season Debut 6-2

Click on the blog title to read the collegehockeystats.net box score from the first game of the season!

Pernilla Winberg scored her first NCAA goal (and added an assist)...and UMD came back from 2 early Niagara goals to win 6-2.

Laura Fridfinnson also had a goal and an assist, and Jocelyne Larocque had two assists.

News Tribune Kim Martin Article

Kim Martin will stay in Sweden NEXT season, to focus on the 2010 Olympics.. the News Tribune article reports, Click the blog title to go read the article. If you haven't, register for FREE to view any article within 7 days of it's printing on the News Tribune's website

Niagara Series on B2TV.COM

There is a small ($6.99?? per game, but Im not positive) charge, OR you can buy the Minnesota Duluth season pass for $75 and watch all the UMD men's AND women's hockey games that are broadcast over the net. There are nearly 50 games between the two teams so that's a good deal if you can't be there.

Click the blog title to check it out.

UMDBulldogs.com Niagara and Season Preview

Click on the title to go read the complete article from UMDBulldogs.com

"We are very proud to be the defending national champions as we start a new season with some new people, new goals and new energy," said Miller this week. "The returners have done a great job building this team to the point we are at, but also realize the hardest road is still ahead. We are all very proud to represent UMD and the city of Duluth and will take great pride in doing everything we can to defend our title."

Niagara Series Radio

According to Niagara University's sports website, PurpleEagles.com you can hear their home women's hockey games on their website, so hopefully this information is correct and those who want to try and listen to this weekend's season opening games can do so!

They also mention that you can hear games through yahoo sports college broadcast, but that is a pay service, but you can always go there if you want to pay a little bit.

I'll be trying out the purpleeagles.com version Saturday if it's available, and won't be home Friday to give information if there is indeed a radio broadcast.

Of course, if for some odd reason Tom Hansen travels to Niagara Falls to cover the game for DULUTH radio (I doubt it since they didn't do the much more important St. Lawrence series last season) you can go to warpradio.com to see if it's being covered by our local station instead. The link is to the 710 AM WDSM and good for games that we KNOW they're broadcasting.

WCHA.com League Preview, UMD Preseason Favorite

CLICK the blog title to go to WCHA.COM!

League Coaches Pick Minnesota Duluth to Repeat as WCHA Women's Champion in 2008-09 as Conference Marks 10th Anniversary Season

Minnesota, Wisconsin are coaches' choice to finish second; Minnesota's Gigi Marvin is pre-season WCHA MVP; UMD's Pernilla Winberg is coaches' choice as pre-season WCHA Rookie of Year; Regular season commences weekend of Sept. 27-29 as Wisconsin hosts Quinnipiac while seven teams host exhibitions

Sept. 23, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

MADISON, Wis. - The University of Minnesota Duluth, which swept the national championship, the regular season championship and the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF title in a memorable streak last season, is the pre-season choice to repeat as Western Collegiate Hockey Association champions in 2008-09, according to league coaches.

This the tenth season of WCHA women's play and league teams have won the national championship every season, including the inaugural campaign of 1999-2000. The Bulldogs kept the WCHA's national title streak alive in 2007-08 when they won their fourth national title by defeating two-time defending champion Wisconsin, 4-0, on their home ice in Duluth in the NCAA title game. The victory capped a memorable season for UMD, which went 33-4-1 and also scored an overtime victory over Wisconsin to win the title of the newly-renamed WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF, the league playoff championships.

The Bulldogs received five first-place votes and a total of 47 points in the pre-season poll (the eight league coaches couldn't vote for their own team). They edged Minnesota, which grabbed two first-place votes, and Wisconsin, which had one first place vote, and had a total of 41 points. UMD, Wisconsin and Minnesota were ranked first through third in the national USA Today/US Hockey Magazine preseason college hockey poll as well.

Ohio State rounds out the top four followed by St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, North Dakota and Bemidji State.

For the second straight season, league-member coaches have picked Minnesota senior forward Gigi Marvin as the pre-season most valuable player. Four other players - Wisconsin forwards Meghan Duggan and Erika Lawler plus Minnesota Duluth goaltender Kim Martin, a Patty Kazmaier finalist last year, and teammate Haley Irwin, the forward who led the league in scoring with 60 points last season - also received votes for preseason MVP.

Minnesota Duluth's Pernilla Winberg, a forward from Sweden who was Martin's teammate on the silver medalist Swedish Olympic team in 2006, was voted the league's pre-season rookie of the year. She received half the votes from the eight coaches. Minnesota forward Jocelyne Lamoureux, Ohio State forward Natalie Spooner, and Wisconsin forward Carolyne Prevost also each received a vote.

The opening weekend of the 2008-09 campaign will occur Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26-27, when Wisconsin hosts Quinnipiac for a pair of regular season games at the Kohl Center in Madison and four other WCHA-member teams play exhibition games. On Friday, Bemidji State hosts University of Manitoba, Ohio State hosts Wilfrid Laurier University, Minnesota entertains the University of Saskatchewan, and Minnesota State hosts the Minnesota Whitecaps. On Saturday, exhibition games have Univ. of Saskatchewan at St. Cloud State, North Dakota hosting University of Manitoba, and the U.S. Women's Select Team at Bemidji State. Then on Sunday, Sept. 29, the U.S. Women's Select Team will play at Minnesota.

The battle for the 2008-09 WCHA regular season championship will again consist of a 28-game schedule for each of the league's eight clubs, with each team playing the other seven four times - twice at home and twice on the road. The opening weekend of league competition - October 10-11 - will have defending national champion and WCHA champion Minnesota Duluth hosting Minnesota, the league runner-up last year, St. Cloud State at North Dakota, and Wisconsin at Ohio State. Minnesota State opens WCHA play at North Dakota on Oct. 17-18 and that same weekend Bemidji State opens league play at home against Wisconsin on Oct. 17. The series concludes on Oct. 18 when the Badgers and Beavers will play in the first ever U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame women's game in Eveleth, Minn.

The 2008-09 regular season will conclude the weekend of Feb. 20-22.

The conference's post-season championship tournament will open the weekend of February 27-March 1 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) with a first round, best-of-three series format at campus sites. The No. 1 seeded team will host the No. 8 seed, the No. 2 seed will host the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed will host the No. 5 seed. The four first-round winners will then advance to the 2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8. On Saturday, there will be two semi-final match-ups at 1:07 pm CT and 4:07 pm CT, with the championship game set for Sunday at 1:07 pm CT.

Following two weeks of WCHA playoffs, the NCAA Women's Division 1 championship tournament will commence the weekend of March 13-15 at regional sites (TBA), followed by the 2008 NCAA Women's Frozen Four, to be held March 20-22 at Boston, Mass.

Commissioner Sara Martin said the WCHA is the first women's conference to officially re-introduce the shootout to college hockey, after the option was installed recently by the rules committee. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association also recently announcd plans to use the shootout in it's men's game and Hockey East previously had installed a shootout in the mid-90s, and is among the conferences considering re-instituting it. The men's WCHA has no plans to use the shootout.

An NHL-style three-player shootout will be used to determine a winner for all WCHA games tied after regulation and five-minute overtime.

The NCAA rules and ice hockey committees have allowed conferences the ability to implement this tie-breaker protocol so that every regular-season league game will have a winner while preserving the integrity of the national rankings. Games decided by a shootout will still be considered ties for NCAA purposes so there will be no effect on NCAA records for the purposes of the Pairwise and determining the NCAA tournament field. Bonus points awarded will impact the conference standings only.

The WCHA has also approved the following point system for regular-season play; two (2) points for a win in regulation or overtime, one (1) point for each school if the game is tied at the conclusion of the five-minute overtime period and one (1) point is awarded to the team who wins the shootout. Overtime will continue to be played similar to regulation time with five skaters for each team (penalties excepted).

Team Photos, etc

In updating and re-formatting the layout of this blog, I now have room and the ability to post pictures below the blog entry. Scroll down to the bottom of the page below an entry and one in a while I'll add a new picture there. Right now the small picture is the team receiving their National Championship t-shirts and hats after the game, and the large picture below is obviously, the team saluting the DECC crowd after their Championship win.

Those who've been to this blog multiple times will recognize it as a full version of the cropped photo I previously had in the blog's title bar. THIS full photo is a much better representation of the team. If you have a photo you'd like to submit, use the link above to send it.

Layout Changes

I'm making a few layout changes to this blog to hopefully improve some of the look of it. There won't be any down time and the only thing people may notice is maybe a color change here or there, and three columns instead of two as before.

Season Preview from Umdbulldogs.com

Click the blog title to go view the page!

The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team and 2008 NCAA champions will take to the ice for the Bulldogs first practice of the 2008-2009 season this Monday, September 22 on the UMD campus. UMD, which earned its fourth NCAA title in program history this past March, will no doubt draw the eyes of the rest of the league when they get set to begin their title defense on October 3 in Niagara Falls, New York.

BULLDOG PRESEASON NOTES:

-- The Bulldogs graduated just one player (forward Karine Demeule 16g, 5a) from their 2007-2008 NCAA championship squad, returning 18 players who now own championship rings.

-- Junior goaltender and All-American Kim Martin, who was a top-three Kazmaier finalist as a sophomore, set a single-season UMD records for most wins (31), saves (843) and a save percentage of (.943). Martin is just 11 wins shy of overtaking the Bulldog career goaltender wins record, which is currently held by Riitta Schaublin, who picked up 52 over her four-year career.

-- Sophomore forwards Haley Irwin (the reigning WCHA Scoring Champion in her debut season), and Laura Fridfinnson ended the 2007-08 season on a 16-game scoring streak that started on Jan. 19, 2008. The Bulldogs were 15-1 over that span.

-- Head coach Shannon Miller is the fourth winningest coach all-time in the NCAA after having amassed a 234-61-25 record in nine seasons. Miller has won more NCAA titles (four), holds more NCAA Frozen Four wins (nine), has made more NCAA tournament appearances (seven) and has won more NCAA tournament games (11) than any other head coach in women’s hockey history.

-- Senior blueliner Myriam Trepanier, who was ranked sixth in the NCAA in scoring a season ago and recorded the highest output of a defenseman (31 points) in five years for the Bulldogs, is currently sitting in sixth place all-time among UMD defenseman with 52 career points. She is just 10 points back of cracking the top-five, and 25 from breaking into the top three.

-- Sophomore Haley Irwin, who exploded to opponents nets as a rookie by racking up 60 points in 37 games played, is only 30 points out of a top-ten slot on the ladder of UMD’s career leaders for points.

-- The Bulldogs finished the season by winning 25 of their last 26 games, and will enter the 2008-2009 season on a 10-game winning streak.

-- UMD will showcase five players who played in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, including three (Kim Martin, Pernilla Winberg and Jenni Asserholt) that earned silver medals with Team Sweden.

-- The Bulldogs will host the University of Minnesota at the DECC for their opening home series of the current season. While UMD will unveil its fourth championship banner Oct. 10th in front of the Gophers, it was Minnesota that handed the Bulldogs three of their four losses last year, all by two goals or more.

-- After finishing the year as the NCAA’s highest scoring team last season, averaging an impressive 4.26 tallies a contest, the Bulldogs will return 130 of their 166 goals from 2007-2008. The output of 166 goals was the fourth best recorded by a UMD team in program history.

-- UMD was an assertive 20-2-1 (.910) last season in the comfortable confines of the DECC, and loved Saturday nights, posting a 19-1-1 record (.950).

-- The Bulldogs have won their last four contests that have gone into overtime dating back to March 9, 2007, including both outings during the 2007-2008 season.

Roster Posted on UMDBulldogs.com

As with last season's roster, I condensed the umdbulldogs.com one to fit into the blogger space. Click the blog title to read more..

1 Ellison, Johanna G 5-8 Sr Cloquet, MN
3 Larocque, Jocelyne D 5-6 So Ste Anne, Manitoba
9 Mattila, Tawni F 5-6 Sr Duluth, MN
11 Ambroz, Kacy F 5'7 Fr New Prague, MN
12 Irwin, Haley F 5-7 So Thunder Bay, ONT
13 Gray, Tara D 5-10 So Toronto, ONT
14 Guzzo, Libby F 5-7 So Silver Bay, MN
15 Olson, Erin F 5-9 Sr Elk River, MN
19 Fridfinnson, Laura F 5-8 So Arborg, Manitoba
20 Shelafoe, Torri F 5'3 Fr Forest Lake, MN
21 O'Toole, Sara F 5-5 Sr Burton, NB
22 Murray, Sarah D 5-3 Jr Faribault, MN
23 Tuominen, Saara F 5-6 Jr Ylojarvi, FINLAND
24 Meyer, Amie G 5-8 Sr Deerwood, MN
26 Pelttari, Heidi D 5-5 Jr Tampere, FINLAND
29 Fisher, Justine F 5'4 Fr Littleton, CO
30 Martin, Kim G 5-5 Jr Stockholm, SWEDEN
31 Steck, Lana G 5'6 Fr Winnipeg, Manitoba
47 Blais, Emmanuelle F 5-4 Jr Lasalle, QUE
51 Winberg, Pernilla F 5'5 Fr Malmo, Sweden
72 Holmlov, Elin F 5-9 Jr Knivsta, SWEDEN
81 Trepanier, Myriam D 5-8 Sr St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, QUE
84 Asserholt, Jenni D 5'8 Fr Orebro, Sweden
88 Rasmussen, Jaime D 5-8 Jr Garden Grove, CA