UMDBulldogs.com Sunday story

Facing the possibility of it’s season coming to an end, the University of Minnesota Duluth needed a win in game three of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association best-of-three first-round playoff series and the Bulldogs not only secured the win but made a statement along the way, crushing St. Cloud State University 5-1 on Sunday night at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn.

“Once again our backs were against the wall and we were in a must win situation and our team stepped up and got it done. Every player on our team played fantastic and I’m extremely proud of their courage and performance,” said UMD head coach Shannon Miller.

Senior captain Noemie Marin put the Bulldogs on top at 1:13 in the first period for her 22nd goal of the season with freshman defenseman Heidi Pelttari assisting on the goal.

Freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais would put UMD up 2-0 with a power play goal at 10:25 in the first with the help of Marin.

With time winding down in the second period Minnesota Duluth would take further control of the game with a power play goal at 19:24 by freshman forward Saara Tuominen. Blais and Marin contributed on the play.

At 12:21 in the third period St. Cloud State would score what would become its only goal of the game when Meaghan Pezon scored her 12th goal of the season with Meghan McCarthy and Brittni Kuyper assisting on the goal.

Already in complete control of the contest, sophomore forward Tawni Mattilla enhanced UMD’s lead to 4-1 at 13:58 in the period. Sophomore forward Sara O’Toole and senior defenseman Suvi Vacker assisted on the goal.

But the Bulldogs weren’t done showcasing their mighty offense as Marin would notch her 23rd goal of the season at 16:53 with senior defenseman Jill Sales feeding her the puck.

Freshman goaltender Kim Martin secured her first playoff win in a Bulldog uniform as she stopped 21 shots in the contest to move to 11-5-2 on the season. Goalie Kendall Newell made 21 saves in the loss for the Huskies.

With the win, UMD (22-9-4) advances to the WCHA tournament at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis next Saturday (March 3). The Bulldogs will be facing the University of Minnesota in the semifinal game with a chance to appear in the WCHA championship set for Sunday (March. 4) at stake.

UMD beats St. Cloud, wins playoff series 2 games to 1

Dogs win 5-1, finish off St. Cloud Huskies.

Not seeing Friday or Saturday's games.... fans from [B]BOTH[/B] sides (before the game) were telling me about their disapproval with the way Dan Lick called the series. St. Cloud came out physical, trying to slow down UMD, but ended up in the box I think 4 straight times to start the game (including a Hirsch 5 minute checking from behind.)

UMD seemed to have a little trouble at first with St. Cloud playing a trap, clogging the ice so they couldn't get the puck established in the zone. If they could have been that physical without taking penalties (the first period penalties on both teams were legit it seemed) they might have kept the first period down to 1-0.

St. Cloud earns a game 3 against UMD with 3-1 win

Once again I have to miss this series(yes, sunday also).. here's the UMDBulldogs.com story from Saturday:

The University of Minnesota Duluth’s often feared offense came to a screeching halt on Saturday night in the Bulldogs' Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarter-final game against St. Cloud State University as UMD dropped a close 2-1 contest to the Huskies to force a game three on Sunday in the best-of-three playoff series at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn.

The Huskies (12-17-7) struck early in the contest with a power-play goal at the 5:38 mark in the first period by Laura Fast, her 16th of the season. Holly Roberts assisted Fast on the goal.

The power-play would again prove to be kind to St. Cloud State as Roberts scored her 17th goal of the season at 18:40 in the first with Caitlin Hogan earning the assist.

Just over half-way through the second period, sophomore forward Michaela Lanzl would make it a one goal margin as she notched her 11th goal of the season at 11:51. Senior captain Noemie Marin and sophomore defenseman Myriam Trepanier contributed on the play.

The Bulldogs’ (21-9-4) stood strong until late in the final period when Roberts scored an empty-netted goal unassisted at 18:35 to wrap up the win for the Huskies and force a deciding third game on Sunday afternoon.

UMD out-shot SCSU 36-22 but it just wasn’t to be for Minnesota Duluth this time around after holding on for a 4-3 win over the Huskies the previous night.

Freshman goalie Kim Martin made 19 saves in the contest for the Bulldogs and her counterpart, Kendall Newell, came up with 35 to earn the win for the Huskies.

The two teams are set to clash at 5:37 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 25) in the final game of the best-of-three playoff series with each team looking to advance to the next round of the WCHA playoffs the following weekend in Minneapolis, Minn., at Ridder Arena.

Friday game story

a little late but:

It wasn’t the typical one-sided game one usually sees from the University of Minnesota Duluth when the Bulldogs face St. Cloud State University but it still counted as a win as UMD managed to hold on for a 4-3 victory in the first game of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal playoff series at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn.

Freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first with her 12th goal of the season at 4:36 in the first period on a power play. Senior defenseman Jill Sales fed Blais the puck to earn the assist.

St. Cloud State responded with it’s own goal midway through the period when Holly Roberts rocketed the puck past Bulldog senior netminder Riitta Schaublin for a power play goal. Laura Fast and Hailey Clarkson contributed on the play.

With the two teams tied 1-1 heading into the second and the Bulldogs down a skater due to penalty, things clearly didn’t seem in the Bulldogs favor but junior forward Karine Demeule managed to score a short-handed goal at 5:04 with the assistance of Blais and freshman forward Saara Tuominen.

The Bulldogs would make it a 3-1 contest at 8:41 in the second when Tuominen capitalized on the power play for her 10th goal of the season. Blais and senior captain Noemie Marin assisted her on the play.

Senior forward Jessica Koizumi would make it a 4-1 lead for Minnesota Duluth at 8:25 in the third period with the assist coming from the sophomore forward Michaela Lanzl.

Up by three goals, it was clear Bulldog fans were already mentally celebrating a UMD win but St. Cloud State wasn’t about to let the home fans celebrate just yet.

The Huskies pulled goaltender Lauri St. Jacques to gain an extra attacker and the move paid off for SCSU as Fast struck at the 15:10 mark of the period to chip away at the Bulldogs’ lead. Denelle Maguet and Caitlin Hogan assisted Fast on the goal.

With the final half minute of play ticking away, Hogan would make it a one goal gap as she flicked the puck past Schaublin to bring the score to 4-3.

With the clock winding down, the Huskies desperately tried to get the puck on goal once more but the Bulldogs managed to keep St. Cloud State at bay and hold on for a 4-3 playoff win.

Minnesota Duluth out-shot the Huskies 37-29 and both teams were saddled with 12 penalties apiece in the contest.

Schaublin made 26 saves to earn the win for the Bulldogs, moving her season record to 11-4-2. St. Jacques came up with 33 saves in the Husky loss, falling to 6-9-1 on the season.

UMD (21-8-4) will attempt to wrap-up the best-of-three WCHA first-round playoff series against SCSU (11-1-7) at 7:07 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 24) at Mars Lakeview Arena.

Dogs beat St Cloud 4-3, take 1-0 series lead

The UMDBulldogs.com game recap and collegehockeystats.net stuff aren't online yet but, from what I know, UMD won 4-3 up at Mars/Lakeview arena to take a 1-0 lead in the best of 3 series. If I dont' get the game recap up tonight when I see it online, I'll try to do it early in the morning before the noon high school games but it's slow driving and a snowstorm forecast still.. I'll probably get it up after the UMD men's game tomorrow (by then the SWEEP should be complete) and get tomorrow's game up then also. Hope there was a decent crowd since the casual UMD fan was probably at the DECC for the men's game.

UMDbulldogs.com playoff preview

The University of Minnesota Duluth will host St. Cloud State University this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 23-24) in the first-round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs. The puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m. at Mars Lakeview Arena for Friday and Saturday's contests. If needed, a third game will be played on Sunday at 5:37 p.m. The playoff series between the two squad's will mark the first time UMD and SCSU have faced one another in the playoffs.

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs clinched the No. 2 seed in the WCHA by defeating instate rival the University of Minnesota 7-1 last Saturday (Feb. 17) and sweeping the Gophers with 5-1 win on Sunday (Feb. 18). The series sweep avenges a sweep to the Gophers earlier in the season. No. 7 seed St. Cloud State enters enters this weekend's WCHA playoff series fresh off a 6-1 and 3-1 sweep over the University of North Dakota.

BULLDOG NOTES: Senior captain Noemie Marin enters the series against St. Cloud State as the second leading point scorer in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Marin has 21 goals and 20 assists for 41 points in 28 league games. Her team-leading 21 goals land her first in the league in goal scoring. Marin is tied for 14th in the nation in power play goals with eight in 32 contests. Senior forward Jessica Koizumi is second on the team in points scored with 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points in 29 games played. Freshman forward Saara Tuominen has 31 points, having scored nine goals and 22 assists. Freshman goalie Kim Martin sports the WCHA’s top save percentage with a .960 in league play. Martin is the No. 2 goalie in the nation in saves percentage with a .951. She is second in the WCHA in goals against average with a 1.10.

HUSKY NOTES: Freshman forward Holly Roberts leads St. Cloud State in points this season with 30. She has scored 15 goals and 15 assists in 34 games for the Huskies. Junior forward Laura Fast is second on the team in points with 27, having scored 14 goals and 13 assists in 34 games. Fast finished the regular-season tied for 17th with UMD’s Emmanuelle Blais for point scoring in the WCHA with 24. She scored 13 goals and 11 assists in WCHA contests this season.Freshman forward Caitlin Hogan and senior forward Hailey Clarkson have five power play goals in league play. Roberts finished the regular-season tied for second place in the WCHA in short-handed goals with two. Freshman forwards Meaghan Pezon and Roberts finished tied for sixth in the WCHA for freshman scoring with 19 points.

THE SERIES: Minnesota Duluth holds a 26-6-1 record in the all-time series with St. Cloud State. The Bulldogs won all four regular-season games against the Huskies this season.

WCHA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: For the second week in a row, UMD freshman forward Elin Holmlov has been named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Rookie of the Week. Holmlov had two goals and two assists in the Bulldogs’ two wins (7-1, 5-1) over the University of Minnesota last weekend (Feb. 17-18) that clinched a second place league finish for UMD. The Knivista, Sweden, native is averaging a point per game in 22 WCHA games this season for Minnesota Duluth and her 20 assists are second on the team.


ON THE AIR: For the eighth year, you can hear all the action for the Bulldogs home and away games live. This weekend the games will be covered on 970 AM (WGEE). Ray Schow will be handling the play-by -play duties this weekend. The broadcast can be heard via the internet at: www.umdbulldogs.com. Click on the “Bulldogs on the Air” link. Follow the link to WARP radio and enter in the call letter “WDSM,” then hit “Go.” Finally, click the “Click Here to Listen” link.

UMD/SCSU playoff games switched to Mars Lakeview Arena

For me, this stinks.. They've changed the women's playoffs to 7:07 at Mars Lakeview Arena now rather than the double headers at the DECC. This means.. I'll be at the men's games because of shared tickets this weeked. The closest I'll get to putting up a game 'report' will be copy/paste of the umdbulldogs.com story I guess.

I know the atmosphere of the games at Mars Lakeview were great, but.. the pepband probably has to be at the DECC also rather than Mars so some of the atmosphere goes away. Then there's the few of us who DO go to BOTH teams' games......that cannot go to both obviously this weekend.

Sunday's sweep game story

From UMDBulldogs.com:

f today’s game between the University of Minnesota Duluth and the University of Minnesota is any indication of how the playoffs might pan out for the Bulldogs, the team and all their fans are in for a wild ride as Minnesota Duluth dispatched the Gophers 5-1 in the final regular season game for both squads on Sunday at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn.

With the win, UMD managed to sweep Minnesota this weekend (7-1, 5-1), avenging a sweep by the Gophers over the Bulldogs earlier this season. UMD is now 20-8-4 overall and enter next weekend’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs with 19-6-3 league record. Minnesota falls to 20-11-1 on the season.

"I’m extremely proud of our team and how we pulled together and played together this entire weekend," said UMD head coach Shannon Miller. "Sweeping the Gophers is a big deal for us for league standings and national rankings and for pride itself. Our team played a great weekend and Kim Martin was great as well. We feel good and we feel strong going into the playoffs."

Freshman forward Saara Tuominen would start the offensive charge for the Bulldogs as she came up with an unassisted goal at 6:37 in the first period of play.

Sophomore forward Michaela Lanzl would make it a two goal contest when she managed to jump over the stick of a Minnesota defenseman, sneaking the puck past her, and launching the puck past the Gopher’s netminder at 17:25 in the first period. Senior captain Noemie Marin and freshman forward Elin Holmlov assisted on the goal.

The Bulldogs would make it a 3-0 lead at 1:34 in the second when freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais found the back of the net for her 11th goal of the season with the help of Tuominen and senior defenseman Jill Sales.

Lanzl would show off her speed and offensive power once more when she poked the puck free from the Gophers’ Erica McKenzie, passing the puck onto Marin who scorched the puck into Minnesota’s net at 10:33 for her 21st goal of the season.

With a commanding lead already, and the clock winding down in the second period, sophomore forward Sara O’Toole picked up the puck at the blue line and skated it in to Minnesota’s zone where she rocketed it past the Gophers’ goaltender at 19:11. Senior defenseman Ashly Waggoner earned an assist on the play.

Early in the final period, Minnesota’s Dagney Willey scored on a delayed-penalty at 3:58 in the period but it would be the only puck the Gophers’ could get into the back of the net during the contest.

Despite being out-shot 33-23 by the Gophers, UMD was able to hold down Minnesota’s offense and skate away with a 5-1 win, and the sweep. Each team was saddled with seven penalties for a total of 14-minutes in the box and neither team managed to score with the extra skater.

Freshman goaltender Martin earned the win for the Bulldogs, stopping 32 shots on goal. She is now 10-4-2 on the season. Goalie Kim Hanlon stopped 18 shots for the Gophers. With the loss, she is now 8-6-0.

Minnesota Duluth will be back in action next Friday (Feb. 23) when the Bulldogs host St. Cloud State University in the first-round of the WCHA playoffs at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. The puck is set to drop at 3:37 p.m.

UMD SWEEPS GOPHERS 5-1 Sunday!!

What a big weekend! I'm going to wait and post the UMDBulldogs.com game story... just wanted to post the above pics plus mention:

All 3 WCHA players of the week could come from UMD FRESHMEN this weekend. Elin Holmlov as Rookie of the week, Emmanuelle Blais as Offensive player of the week, and Kim Martin (ok..she DID play both games) as the obvious Defensive player of the week. This is said without knowing what other players did on the weekend.

Dogs ROUT Gopher 7-1, Clinch WCHA 2nd seed!

I don't think ANY of us imagined this game becoming a rout, but holy crap UMD came out skating. Emmanuelle Blais set the tone with 2 goals in the first 2:38 and UMD didn't look back after that.

Blais and Lanzl seemed to take advantage of a speed deficiency of the Gophers early and often, getting around the defense almost at will. Elin Holmlov also got 2 goals for UMD. Koizumi, knee injury and all, was flying all over the ice, playing the 2nd line, IF you can call a line with Blais and Tuominen a "2nd" line. Sara O'Toooooooooooooooooooooooooole saw some ice time as well, coming off a bad back injury.

The whole team came to play and noone seemed to take a shift off for UMD today. The crowd was great also, though I don't think I've ever seen fans bring old frying pans to a game for noise makers!

UMD has clinched the 2nd seed for the WCHA playoffs, regardless of tomorrow's outcome. Tom Hansen(post game radio) said the tentative start of the playoff games next weekend are 4:07, but with the MEN playing at home I'm positive that will change to 3:07 or even 2:37

News Tribune Gopher preview

What: Western Collegiate Hockey Association women’s regular-season finale

When: 3:07 p.m. today, Sunday

Where: Mars Lakeview Arena (1,500)

Rankings: UMD is seventh in the PairWise Rankings; the Gophers are eighth in PairWise. The Bulldogs have a two-point advantage over the Gophers for second in the conference. If UMD ties both or wins at least one game, it seals the No. 2 spot for next week’s WCHA playoffs.

Radio: WDSM 710 AM today; KDAL 610 AM Sunday.

Series: UMD is 13-18-4 against the Gophers and were swept 5-3, 1-0 earlier this season.

coaches

* UMD’s Shannon Miller is 184-54-24 in her eighth season.

* Minnesota’s Laura Halldorson is 275-64-22

gophers update

Minnesota split last weekend’s series against Bemidji State when it was upset in the opener 2-0, which it followed with a 5-3 win. The Gophers are 6-4 in the past 10 games. Offensive leaders include So. F Gigi Marvin (17 goals, 18 assists), Jr. F Bobbi Ross (15-12—27) and Jr. F Whitney Graft (7-18—25). Marvin was recently named to the U.S. National team’s preliminary roster for April’s World Championships. So. G Brittony Chartier (.899 GAA, 2.24 save percentage) and So. G Kim Hanlon (.914; 2.04) split time in goal. The Gophers’ power play is at 23.2 percent and penalty kill is at 86.1 percent.

bulldogs update

UMD swept North Dakota last weekend 4-0, 5-1 and is 7-1-2 in the past 10 games. The Bulldogs are led by Sr. F Noemie Marin (19-17—36), Sr. F Jessica Koizumi (16-15—31); Fr. F Saara Tuominen (7-20—27). Fr. G Kim Martin (.949; 1.41) and Sr. G Riitta Schaublin (.932; 1.66) have recently split time in goal. Martin is expected to start today, Sunday’s starter is TBA. The Bulldogs’ power play is at a lackluster 17.9 percent. Fr. F Elin Holmlov (4-18—22) is the WCHA Rookie of the Week after registering two assists against the Fighting Sioux.

UMDBulldogs.com Gopher weekend preview

BULLDOG NOTES: Senior captain Noemie Marin enters the series against the University of Minnesota as the second leading point scorer in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Marin has 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points in 26 league games this season. Her team-leading 19 goals land her first in the league in goal scoring. Marin is tied for 14th in the nation in power play goals with eight in 30 contests. Senior forward Jessica Koizumi is second on the team in points scored with 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 27 games played. 15 of her 16 goals have come in league play. Freshman forward Saara Tuominen has 27 points this season, having scored seven goals and 20 assists. In WCHA play alone for freshman scoring, Tuominen has six goals and 20 assists for 26 points, for second place. Freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais is tied for fourth in the conference in freshman scoring with teammate Elin Holmlov. Blais has eight goals and 13 assists. Holmlov has three goals and 18 assists. Freshman goalie Kim Martin sports the WCHA’s top save percentage with a .959 in league play. She is third in the nation in goals against average with a 1.41 gaa. Martin is the No. 1 goalie in the nation in saves percentage with a .949. Junior forward Karine Demeule is 10th in league play for goal scoring with 11 goals. The Bulldogs have three players listed in the top 10 in the WCHA in assist scoring.

GOPHER NOTES: With the University of Minnesota's win against Bemidji State, the Gophers have now won 20 games in each of head coach Laura Halldorson's 10 seasons. Sophomore forward Gigi Marvin has a team-leading 35 points this season. She has 17 goals and 18 assists in 29 games so far. Marvin is tied for fifth in the WCHA in point scoring with 30 points in 26 league games. Her 16 goals in conference play place her fourth in the league in goal scoring. Junior forward Bobbi Ross is second on the team in points scored with 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points. In all, the Gophers have 11 players in double digits for points this season.

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Elin Holmlov Rookie of the Week

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Elin Holmlov, Fr., F, University of Minnesota Duluth

Feb. 13, 2007 - Elin Holmlov, a University of Minnesota Duluth freshman forward from Krivista, Sweden, had two assists in the Bulldogs' two Western Collegiate Hockey Association road victories (4-0, 5-1) over North Dakota last weekend, which moved Duluth into second place in the league race.

Holmlov is averaging a point per game in 22 games for the Bulldogs so far this season and her 18 assists are second on the team. She has four goals and 18 assists overall.

View all the weekly awards by clicking the blog title!

Dogs finish sweep 5-1

From UMDBulldogs.com:

The University of Minnesota Duluth’s mighty offense exploded for five goals from five different players in a 5-1 win over the University of North Dakota on Sunday in Grand Forks, N.D.

Senior defenseman Jill Sales put the Bulldogs on top at 16:47 in the first period for her third goal on the season. Sophomore forward Michaela Lanzl assisted on the goal.

The Bulldogs struck again less than half a minute later with a goal by senior forward Jessica Koizumi. Senior captain Noemie Marin and sophomore defenseman Myriam Trepanier assisted on Koizumi’s 16th goal of the season.

After a scoreless second period and up by two goals, Minnesota Duluth found the back of the net early in the third period when senior defenseman Suvi Vacker scored her first goal of the season at 2:56. Junior forward Karine Demeule and sophomore forward Tawni Mattila contributed on the play.

At 8:48 in the third, freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais made it a 4-0 lead for UMD when she scored her eighth goal of the season. Trepanier and freshman forward Saara Tuominen assisted on the goal.

North Dakota scored its first goal of the series on an unassisted goal from Ashley Lynch at the 10:29 mark of the period.

Late in the third, Marin would put to rest any thought of a North Dakota comeback when she scored her team-leading 19th goal of the season at 17:04 on the clock. Koizumi earned an assist on the play.

Freshman goaltender Kim Martin gave up one goal and stopped 13 shots in the contest for the win, moving her record to 8-4-2 on the season. Sophomore Amie Meyer, the Bulldogs’ backup goalie, played for roughly two minutes in the game, facing one shot. She also played roughly five minutes in yesterday’s game.

Brittany Kirkham made 31 saves for North Dakota and drops to 3-25-2 on the season with the loss.

UMD rocketed 36 shots on goal in the contest as opposed to only 15 by North Dakota. With the win, Minnesota Duluth is 18-8-4 overall and 17-6-3 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. North Dakota drops to 3-27-2 and is still winless in league play.

The Bulldogs will wrap-up regular season play next weekend (Feb. 17-18) against the University of Minnesota at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn. The puck is set to drop at 3:07 p.m. in both contests.

Saturday's news tribune Sioux game article

Noemie Marin scored twice and Elin Holmlov and Michaela Lanzl had two assists as the Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team shut out North Dakota 4-0 Saturday in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association women’s game in front of 247 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

The Bulldogs have not given up a goal to the Fighting Sioux since UMD’s 6-1 win Nov. 5, 2005.

The teams finish the series at 2:07 p.m. today. Freshman goalie Kim Martin is expected to start.

The seventh-ranked Bulldogs improve to 17-8-4 overall, 16-6-3 in the WCHA. North Dakota (3-26-2, 0-24-1 WCHA) is winless in conference play and has sealed the No. 8 seed for the WCHA playoffs. North Dakota faces Wisconsin, who secured the WCHA title last weekend when they took three points from the Bulldogs.

UMD senior goalie Riitta Schaublin had 19 saves before she was replaced by Amie Meyer in the third period. Meyer faced just one shot.

North Dakota freshman Brittany Kirkham had 34 saves in the loss.

The Bulldogs had a list of things to accomplish in Saturday’s game, and managed all but one.

“Our [penalty kill] set a goal to be at 100 percent. We set a goal for our power play to start scoring goals [Saturday] — which we didn’t,” UMD coach Shannon Miller said via telephone. “We set a goal to win 60-70 percent of our faceoffs, which we did. We set a goal to score two goals in the second period. We set some goals, We achieved them.”

UMD sophomore Tawni Mattila scored the game-winning goal, unassisted at 12:40 of the first.

Marin added a goal at 5:49 of the second and Demeule’s unassisted goal came at 12:09.

Marin scored the final goal — her 18th of the season — at 16:04 of the third period.

UMD was unable to score during seven power plays. The teams combined for 10 penalties in the final period.

The Fighting Sioux have been challenged offensively this season, and have been outscored 121-36 through 31 games.

UMD senior Jessica Koizumi, who sat the last series with an injury, played the entire game. She went from the third line to skating a regular shift on the second line and special teams.

The Bulldogs finish the regular season next weekend against Minnesota at Mars Lakeview Arena.

Dogs beat Sioux 4-0

I was at the Cloquet section semi-final(Cloquet wins 2-1) and didnt' hear the game, but UMD beats North Dakota 4-0 up at 'The Ralph.'

Riitta stopped 19 shots and let Amie Meyer play the last 5 minutes for a little more game experience. I really think she'll be a good backup to Kim Martin next year, and probably has earned a few spot starts next season. Even saying that, we still need a third goaltender for the just in case scenarios and if Martin has any international events she needs to be at during the season, you have to have that second goaltender on the bench.

Koizumi played today, so hopefully she's feeling good tomorrow and getting the strength back in her knee.

UMD outshot NoDak 38-20 for the game.

UMD heads to North Dakota

The UMDbulldogs.com preview for the North Dakota series is online...

BULLDOG NOTES: Senior captain Noemie Marin enters the series against North Dakota as the second leading point scorer in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Marin has 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 24 league games this season. Her 16 goals land her second in the league in goal scoring. Marin is tied for 12th in the nation in power play goals with eight in 28 contests. Freshman forward Saara Tuominen is currently 11th in the nation in points per game for rookies. Tuominen has 26 points this season, having scored seven goals and 19 assists. In WCHA play alone for freshman scoring, Tuominen has six goals and 19 assists for 25 points, for second place. Freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais is fourth in the conference in freshman scoring with seven goals and 13 assists. Freshman forward Elin Holmlov is fifth in the WCHA in freshman scoring with three goals and 16 assists for 19 points in 18 games. Freshman goalie Kim Martin sports the WCHA’s top save percentage with a .960 in league play. She is fifth nationally in goals against average with a 1.44 gaa. Martin is second in the nation in save percentage with a .950. Bulldog senior goaltender Riitta Schaublin is No. 11 nationally in goals against average with a 1.77. She has a .934 save percentage in WCHA play. Senior forward Jessica Koizumi is currently sixth in the WCHA in point scoring with 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points in 21 games played. Junior forward Karine Demeule is 10th in league play for goal scoring with 10 goals. The Bulldogs have four players listed in the top 10 in the WCHA in assist scoring.

NORTH DAKOTA NOTES: Sophomore forward Samantha Bowers has five goals and three assists for eight points this season. She is tied for the team lead in goals and currently leads the team in assists. Senior forward Alexia Gagnon-Laplante has five goals and two assists on the season. Sophomore forward Randi Motsko has four goals and three assists thus far this season. Seven North Dakota players have five points. Freshman goalie Brittany Kirkham has a 3.56 goals against average this season

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UMD loses 2-1 in Overtime to Wisconsin

It was a fun series, and another great game tonight... Tonight UMD came out firing but Wisconsin really did take the second period to them once again. I think all the hard work, then to give up the first goal with just a minute left in the period deflated UMD for part of the second period.

Riitta Schaublin played great again, stopping numerous shots right in front of her. The game winning goal in overtime was a defensive lapse killing the penalty causing a breakaway.

This weekend was the best I've seen UMD play for a complete weekend in 2 full seasons, so even only taking 1 pt I think it was a great growing weekend with the playoffs coming.

The senior ceremony was nice but interesting... Julianne Jubinville wasn't announced as a senior, so I really hope she decides to come back to school and try to play next season. That is, if she's medically cleared, I want to see her play her senior season.

I'm not sure Michaela Lanzl's decision by the NCAA has been made yet, as she also wasn't announced during the senior ceremony after the game.

News Tribune's Friday game story

Badgers, ’Dogs tie
Jon Nowacki Duluth News Tribune
Published Saturday, February 03, 2007
At first glance, Minnesota Duluth had no business being in its women’s hockey game against Wisconsin on Friday night.

The Bulldogs were playing without four of their top nine forwards and often looked winded. The Badgers, meanwhile, were putting shot after shot on net.

But anyone who thought the Bulldogs were out of it doesn’t know this year’s Bulldogs. The walking wounded can still skate, and they proved it again Friday, rallying for a 1-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association tie against second-ranked Wisconsin before a season-high 975 fans at the DECC as Bulldogs senior Noemie Marin tied the game with 47 seconds left in regulation.

Wisconsin outshot UMD 33-14, but Bulldogs freshman goalie Kim Martin stopped 32 shots. With the tie, Wisconsin increased its unbeaten streak to 14 games while UMD increased its streak to 10.

“For the last month, we’ve been talking about surviving because of all our injuries. It’s amazing,’’ said UMD coach Shannon Miller. “So until we get all our injured players back, we’ll just keep trying to find ways to win games. We got outplayed, but Kim played fantastic tonight, and the team pulled together and got so excited when we scored. I love it. We’re elated.’’

Seventh-ranked UMD (16-7-4) got off to a good start and had some good scoring opportunities in the first period. Instead, it was Wisconsin (24-1-4) jumping to the early lead at 17:57 in the first period when freshman Emily Kranz took a pass from behind the net by Kyla Sanders and lifted a shot just over Martin’s left shoulder and into the net. Martin was flawless the rest of the way, playing technically sound and steady.

“The goalie is the X-factor,’’ said Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson. “You can look at teams on paper and look at this or look at that, but when the goaltender is playing well and she’s seeing things like that, it can be difficult to score.’’

It would stay 1-0 despite Wisconsin dominating the second period and much of the third period, with the Bulldogs getting only one shot on net in roughly a 30-minute stretch.

The Badgers outshot UMD 9-1 in the second period and 13-5 in the third, and it could have been even worse if UMD didn’t have a 6-to-4 advantage in power plays. Power plays were about the only time the Bulldogs could get shots on net, but they never took advantage of them, including a squandered 5-on-2 advantage for 40 seconds midway through the third period.

“I was so happy when we finally scored because our team worked so hard,’’ said Martin, whose .959 save percentage is the best in the league despite missing a good part of the season with knee injuries. “I didn’t mind that we weren’t getting a lot of shots. You don’t need a lot of shots to score. It’s hard for goalies when you’re not getting many shots. I like to see a lot of them.’’

Instead, UMD would rely on Marin’s late-game heroics. Ironically, perhaps Martin’s biggest save came when she wasn’t even on the ice. UMD pulled her with 57.1 seconds remaining after an icing, and Bulldogs forward Saara Tuominen controlled the faceoff. She quickly passed the puck over to Elin Holmlov at the point, and the freshman launched a shot on net.

Badgers goalie Jessie Vetter couldn’t handle the shot and the puck dropped in front of the net with Vetter out of position. Marin reached across her body and grabbed control of it and flipped in a backhander for the game-tying goal.

“I thought at times we were trying to be too fancy and should have shot more, but we didn’t do too bad at controlling the puck,’’ Marin said. “We’re getting things done because of our character and heart, and Kim played awesome. She was the difference. She was a wall tonight.’’

Wisconsin, which suffered its only loss this season to UMD, outshot the Bulldogs 3-1 in overtime but neither team truly was a three in the extra session.

At the very least for Wisconsin, which came into the game needing three points to clinch its second straight WCHA title, the Badgers can feel OK about getting a point.

“We created a few chances, but if we get to two [goals], you don’t have happen at the end what happened,’’ Johnson said. “We iced the puck when we didn’t need to and created a faceoff at the other end, and they pulled their goalie. That’s the nature of our game: Teams look for bounces and teams look for breaks. They got one tonight.’’

* UMD first-line winger Jessica Koizumi missed Friday’s game with an MCL tear. The senior from Simi Valley, Calif., has shown rapid improvement but is still considered day-to-day.

UMD/Wisconsin tie 1-1

Great hockey game from the aspect of a hockey fan. Maybe not the type of game UMD would want to play, getting outshot drastically. Kim Martin kept UMD in the game and allowed them to get the tying goal with herself pulled & the powerplay, Marin scoring off Holmlov's rebound.

The shots were 33-14 for the game. I don't think Jay Mendel refereed a bad game at all, though he COULD have put UMD in the penalty box about a shift before they scored, evening up the players on the ice. It was a fun atmosphere, and the attendance count says 975 but it felt like a larger crowd, even though it was obvious by looking around that it was indeed around 1,000 at best.

Let's do it again tomorrow night, but let's win and make Wisconsin earn the title on Ohio State's ice instead of at the DECC.

News Tribune Weekend Preview

The news tribune preview for the Wisconsin series is available at
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=34844§ion=Sports

UMDBulldogs.com preview for Wisconsin

As always, click the title to go to the FULL page...

BULLDOG NOTES: Senior captain Noemie Marin enters the series against the Badgers as the second leading point scorer in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Marin has 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 22 league games this season. Her 15 goals land her second in the league in goal scoring. Marin is tied for seventh in the nation in power play goals with eight in 26 contests. Freshman Saara Tuominen is currently 10th in the nation in points per game for rookies. Tuominen has 25 points this season, having scored seven goals and 18 assists. In WCHA play alone for freshman scoring, Tuominen has six goals and 18 assists for 24 poins. Freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais is third in the conference in freshman scoring with seven goals and 12 assists. Freshman goalie Kim Martin sports the WCHA’s top save percentage with a .959 in leage play. She is fifth nationally in goals against average with a 1.48 gaa. Martin is second in the nation in saver percentage with a .948. Bulldog senior goaltender Riitta Schaublin is No. 10 nationally in goals against average with a 1.75.

BADGER NOTES: Wisconsin enters the weekend’s series with firm control of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, holding a 18-1-3 record in league play and 39 points. Senior forward Sara Bauer leads the conference in point scoring with 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points in WCHA play. She is No. 3 nationally in points per game having scored 18 goals and 34 assists (52 points) for a 1.86 points per game average. The Badgers also have three more players in the top ten in point scoring in WCHA play alone. Junior forward Jinelle Zaugg currently leads the league in goal scoring with a total of 17 goals in 22 conference games. Junior Meghan Duggan leads the WCHA freshman in scoring with 15 goals, 14 assists and 29 points in 22 league games. Badger senior goalie Christine Dufour is No. 1 nationally in save percentage with a .949. She is also first in goals against average with a 0.91.

SERIES: Minnesota Duluth holds a 17-12-5 advantage in the all-time series with Wisconsin dating back to the 1999-2000 season. The two squads skated to a series split earlier this season with the Bulldogs taking the first game 2-0 before falling to the Badgers in a 1-0 contest the next day. UMD handed Wisconsin its only loss of the season with the 2-0 Bulldog win at the Kohl Center back on Nov. 24th. WCHA front-runner Wisconsin can claim the WCHA regular season crown with a win and a tie or two wins against the second-place Bulldogs.

U of Wisconsin's weekend preview

Click the blog title to go view the page:

The No. 2 Wisconsin women’s hockey team goes head-to-head with No. 7 Minnesota Duluth Feb. 2-3 in a series that could determine the regular season conference champion. In their final road series of the regular season, the Badgers look to improve upon their 13-game unbeaten streak as well as claim the WCHA crown.

For the 24-1-3 Badgers, it will take one win and a tie, or two wins to guarantee their second consecutive WCHA regular season title. Wisconsin has already clinched home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs, though the opponent has yet to be determined.

Women’s hockey fans can watch and listen to Saturday’s contest as Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth will be featured as the USCHO Game of the Week. The audio and video feeds can be found by clicking here. (http://www.uscho.com/agate/item,WGOTW.html)

The last time the two foes met, each team walked away with a shutout victory. The Bulldogs won 2-0 on Nov. 24, issuing the UW its only loss of the season. The Badgers responded the next day with a 1-0 win.

Most recently, the UW has been relentless against its opponents, out-scoring them 39-2 in eight contests since Jan. 1. In addition, Wisconsin has shut out its opponent in six of its last seven games, including both games last weekend against Minnesota State.

Outstanding efforts by Wisconsin veteran Sara Bauer have continued to lead the Cardinal and White. Against MSU, Bauer recorded eight points, including five on Saturday, which tied her best-ever points-performance as a Badger and led to her second WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honor this season.

The 5’3” forward leads the nation in points with 52 (18 goals, 34 assists), which is 15 more than any other player in the WCHA. She stands just two points away from becoming the seventh player in NCAA history to reach 200 career points.

As a team, the UW boasts four of the top five point-scorers in the WCHA. Bauer (52 points), Meghan Duggan (37), Meaghan Mikkelson (35) and Jinelle Zaugg (35) all rank in the top five while Erika Lawler (29 points) is tied for ninth among league players.

In net for the Badgers, after making 20 saves on Jan. 27 to record her 16th career shutout, senior Christine Dufour tied the school record for career shutouts. Jessie Vetter also earned a shutout with 18 saves on Jan. 26 to notch her third consecutive shutout.

Holding a 16-7-3 overall record and 15-5-2 league record, the Bulldogs have rebounded from some early-season losses. In their last nine competitions, UMD is 7-0-2. They most recently took three points from Ohio State after beating them 5-3 Friday and skating to a 1-1 tie Saturday.

Minnesota Duluth’s Noemie Marin and Jessica Koizumi lead the squad in points with 31 and 29, respectively. The two seniors have notched 15 goals apiece this season, with eight and seven, also respectively, scored on the power play.

Senior Riitta Schaublin and freshman Kim Martin share time between the posts for the Bulldogs. Schaublin owns a .925 save percentage and a 1.75 goals-against average. Martin holds a .948 save percentage and a 1.48 goals-against average.

The games are set to begin at 7:07 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

Wisconsin Athletic Communications Erin Starck
2/1/2007 8:54:12 AM

State senators appear receptive to DECC funding --Duluth News Tribune

Don Davis / State Capitol Bureau, Duluth News Tribune
Published Wednesday, January 31, 2007
ST. PAUL — Senators appear ready to fund a Duluth Entertainment Convention Center expansion this year, whether it is paid for with borrowed money or cash.

“I personally think it is time to get this done,” Senate President James Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul, said Tuesday during a committee hearing.

DECC officials and Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth, couldn’t agree more.

“We would take whatever the state would give us,” Mayor Herb Bergson said after the hearing.

But, Prettner Solon added, using cash could get construction under way sooner.

Prettner Solon, Bergson, DECC Executive Director Dan Russell and DECC board Chairman Mark Emmel appeared before the Senate Capital Investment Committee, the panel that decides which construction projects to fund.

Committee Chairman Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon, said the DECC is important because lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty promised the expansion would be funded. This is not a year when the Legislature normally funds construction projects.

“Even though this isn’t an emergency, since it fell through the cracks, we feel justified,” Langseth said.

The DECC wants $37.9 million from the state to add an arena to its existing facility. The total estimated $76 million cost is $9 million more than when lawmakers and Pawlenty failed to fund the DECC a year ago.

The city’s portion of the cost would be paid with a 0.75 percentage point increase in the citywide sales tax on food and drink sales. The University of Minnesota Duluth and the DECC itself also would contribute to the construction cost.

Revenue from the tax increase will not be enough to pay for the addition if construction costs rise much more, Russell said.

Duluth’s delegation told senators the expansion would allow the DECC to host more conventions and other events that need more space than now available. Russell said the center already has the 11th-most conventions in the country.

Construction would mean 300 jobs, mostly for area workers, Russell said. Costs would be lower the sooner construction can begin, he added. Work could start as soon as June 18 if funding is approved early enough.

Langseth and Finance Chairman Richard Cohen, DFL-St. Paul, said no decision will be made about how to finance the DECC until March, at the earliest. A House committee also will take up the matter.

UMD/OSU tie 1-1

Strange that the weekend after Riitta was the defensive player of the week, Kim Martin played both games at OSU. I know Koizumi had/has the flu so Riitta could have easily been sick as well this weekend.

Anyway 1-1 tie today with OSU with both goals scored in the first period. Karine Demeule continues her huge play of late with her 11th goal of the season. Kim Martin stopped 31 of 32 shots in the game.

UMD beats Ohio State 5-3

I didn't get a chance to listen to the game, but 4 third period goals got UMD the win. I'm sure Coach Miller's not happy with only 23 shots on goal. The UMD powerplay has scored in 3 straight games now I believe, which normally isn't newsworthy except that lately, they have been terrible on it.

Heidi Pelttari did indeed play, but was a -2 for her time on the ice. Coming into the season THIS late (and off injuries) is going to be tough for her to catch up, even as an international star.

The Lanzl Koizumi Marin line that saw a little time together last year was the first line tonight, while Karine Demeule and Saara Tuominen (with Blais) combined for the physical line tonigh. That has to be an interesting contrast, Demeule and Tuominen aren't nearly as fast as Blais in open ice.

New WCHA.com UMD article by John Gilbert

Click the blog title to go to the full article.... some highlights:

"We lost Kim Martin at the Four Nations Cup," said Miller, starting her recount with the freshman and former Swedish Olympic star who aggravated an old leg injury. "We got Elin Holmlov back for one game at 100 percent against Ohio State, then she went home to Sweden and hurt her back... Sara O'Toole suffered a back injury in the first game against Niagara... And Samantha Hough twisted her knee while dancing."

Miller was asked if she was not about to outlaw dancing, and was she reconsidering her willingness to send her players back to assorted countries for mid-season tournament play.

"No way, it's what's best for them and for hockey," Miller said. "These players are some of the best young players in the world. They need to come here to get better than they might get in their own countries, then they need to go home and help their countries. You've got to look globally at the big picture. I've coached seven years at the national level."

"I got into a real bad slump," said Schaublin, after blanking St. Cloud. "It was mental. Kim came in, but that wasn't the problem. I had one bad game, a really horrible game against Mankato, and it broke my confidence. I lost my cockiness. It affected me everywhere in life. I don't know what it was, and it came back gradually. Finally, I believe in myself again."

The last quote, by Riitta basically sums up her season perfectly

Riitta Defensive Player of the Week

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Riitta Schaublin, Sr., G, University of Minnesota Duluth

Jan. 23, 2007 - Riitta Schaublin, a veteran goaltender at the University of Minnesota Duluth, is the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for Jan. 23-29.

A senior from Basel, Switzerland, Schaublin made 26 saves in shutting out Bemidji State, 5-0, in the conference series opener last Saturday (Jan. 20) and then stopped 22 of 23 opponent shots in a 3-1 victory last Sunday (Jan. 21) to complete the sweep against the host Beavers.

Schaublin, a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist last season, moved her record to 9-3-2 this season while helping Minnesota Duluth move into second place and extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.

Others nominated this week were: Lisa Chesson, Jr., D, Ohio State; Brittni Kehler; Jr., G., Minnesota State; and Bobbi Jo Slusar, Sr., D, Wisconsin

As always, view the full article by clicking on the blog title!

DECC Arena in Pawlenty's budget plans THIS year

The NEWS Tribune today reports that Tim Pawlenty has included the DECC in his budget requests. The next thing that needs to happen is the state legislature needs to okay the budget.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty included $37.9 million for the proposed Duluth Entertainment Convention Center expansion in his 2008-09 budget, released Monday.

The governor’s $34.4 billion budget proposal includes enough to pay for half of the design and construction costs for the project, which would replace the existing 40-year-old arena with a larger rink and 30 percent more seating.

This will be the second go-around for the DECC measure, which failed to pass during the last legislative session.

“The governor has been a strong supporter of this project … and [said] that he wanted to get it done this session,” DECC Executive Director Dan Russell said. “Obviously, we are very, very thankful for his leadership on this.”

If the state pitches in $37.9 million for the $70 million project, the remainder of the cost would be shared by the city of Duluth, the DECC and the University of Minnesota Duluth. UMD has said its hockey program needs a larger arena with more amenities to compete with other programs in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

The expansion also would provide an opportunity for larger concert and convention business in the city, supporters have said.

In February 2006, Duluth residents approved a 0.75 percentage point addition to the citywide sales tax in restaurants and bars to pay the city’s share of the DECC expansion.

Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth, is the lead author on the bill that would allow Duluth to levy the additional restaurant and bar tax. The DECC will have a presentation before the Senate Capital Investment Committee sometime before Jan. 30.

Prettner Solon said she was pleased by the governor’s support of the DECC expansion but called it “just a starting point.”

State Reps. Mary Murphy, DFL-Hermantown, and Tom Huntley and Mike Jaros, both DFL-Duluth, are authors of the city’s $37.9 million bonding request to help build the $70 million facility.

But Prettner Solon said a bill is being readied to request a one-time allocation for the expansion rather than bonding for it.

“It would allow [us] to let proposals earlier and perhaps cut down on some of our costs,” Prettner Solon said.

The new arena would seat about 8,000 for hockey. The current arena holds, with standing-room space, 5,100.

The project would include a 200- by 85-foot rink, compared to the current 185- by 85-foot rink, and expand the DECC’s parking ramp by 500 spaces.

The proposed expansion enjoys widespread support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, Russell said.

If lawmakers fund the expansion this session, the new arena would be ready in October 2009, he said.

As always, you can go TO the article by clicking on the blog entry title.

UMD Sweeps BSU

From UMDBulldogs.com:

Two goals by senior captain Noemie Marin and one by sophomore Myriam Trepanier further strengthened the University of Minnesota Duluth’s hold on second place in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association by carrying the Bulldogs to a 3-1 win over Bemidji State University on Sunday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (15-7-2, 14-5-1 WCHA) went 2-for-9 on the power play and out-shot the Beavers 33-23 in the contest. With the victory, UMD is now unbeaten in its last seven contests, going 6-0-1 in that span.

Minnesota Duluth is now 33-0-1 against Bemidji State in the all-time series between the two squads. The lone tie for the Beavers came on Feb. 3, 2002 when the Bulldogs and Beavers skated to a 3-3 over-time tie in Duluth, Minn.

The upset-minded Beavers struck first in Sunday's contest when Helena Tageson scored at 7:36 in the first period and the Bulldogs were held at bat until early in the second period.

At 5:11 in the second period, Trepanier evened things up for UMD when she scored her fourth goal of the season on a power play with assistance from junior Karine Demeule and freshman Saara Tuominen.

Less than three minutes later the Bulldogs’ offense would strike again when Marin scored at the 8:07 mark of the second for her 13th goal of the season. Jessica Koizumi assisted Marin on the goal.

Midway through the third period Marin would show why she is ranked second on the team in scoring when she scored a power play goal at 9:12 on the clock for her 14th goal of the season to give the Bulldogs an insurance goal and a 3-1 lead. Freshman Emmanuelle Blais and Koizumi earned assists on the play.

Senior goaltender Riitta Schaublin earned the win for the Bulldogs, making 22 saves in the game. Schaublin moved her record to 9-3-2 win the win. Emily Brookshaw took the loss for Bemidji State, coming up with 30 saves against UMD.

The Bulldogs will travel to Ohio State University next weekend (Jan 26-27) to wrapup the season series with the Buckeyes. The puck is set to drop at 6:07 p.m. in Friday's contest and at 3:07 p.m. on Saturday.

UMD beats Bemidji State 5-0

Wow... I just got home from a day of basketball games and a Cloquet high school boys game, and checked the game stats/results from today. UMD wins 5-0 over BSU. Karine Demeule continues her great play scoring the first two goals of the game, her 9th and 10th. Lanzl also is on a nice streak the last 3 games, with her 6th on the season.

I of course wanted UMD to win, but 5-0 was a surprising result given BSU's recent successes. Riitta Schaublin stopped all 26 shots she faced also. Watch out WCHA, Riitta's definitely back.

UMD even scored a powerplay goal tonight!

UMD at BSU Umdbulldogs.com preview

UMDBulldogs.com has the weekend preview posted:

BULLDOG NOTES: With UMD's sweep over SCSU last weekend, the Bulldogs move into a tie for second place in the WCHA with the University of Minnesota. Both teams sport a 12-5-1 record in conference play with 25 points. The University of Wisconsin leads the WCHA with 31 points and a 14-1-3 record in league play. Senior goalie Riitta Schaublin currently leads the Bulldog goal tending staff in wins with seven. Her record on the season is 7-3-2. Freshman goalie Kim Martin, sidelined due to a knee injury, is 6-4-0 on the season. Schaublin sports a .916 saves percentage and a 1.97 goals against average. Senior forwards Jessica Koizumi (14-11-25) and Noemie Marin (12-13-25) are currently tied for the team lead in points with 25.

BEMIDJI STATE NOTES: The Beavers extended their unbeaten streak to a season-high six games with a sweep over the University of North Dakota (4-1, 1-0) last weekend. The sweep marked the third sweep over UND in the past three meetings with North Dakota. The unbeaten streak is the longest for the Beavers since the 2001-02 season when they had an eight game unbeaten streak. BSU will continue its four game home stand when the Beavers host the Bulldogs this weekend.

As always, click on the blog title to go see the COMPLETE article.

Saara Tuominen Rookie of the week!

From WCHA.com:

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Saara Tuominen, Fr., F, University of Minnesota Duluth

Jan. 16, 2007 - Saara Tuominen, a freshman center at the University of Minnesota Duluth from Ylojarvi, Finland, had one assist in her team's 4-2 victory over St. Cloud State on Jan. 13 and helped the Bulldogs run their unbeaten streak to five.

Tuominen has six goals and 19 points in her rookie season, third best on the team. Others nominated this week were: Jasmine Giles, Fr., F, Wisconsin.

UMD News Tribune Article

Today's article from the 1-0 shutout by Riitta Schaublin to complete the sweep of St. Cloud.

Great article on Riitta getting over the slump she had back in November. Click the blog title to read the entire article.

UMD Sweeps SCSU!

UMD finished the sweep 1-0 today. Michaela Lanzl gets the game winner stuffing the puck in off a scrum in front of Kendall Newell (yes, they got the goaltender for the opponent correct this Sunday game.)

A little scary moment when Karine Demeule limped off the ice with a ankle injury, but she only missed one shift before returning. Lanzl on her goal, ended up "busted open" with a bloody chin when Koizumi landed on top of her after the goal/scrum.

Riitta only saw 17 shots, but you can tell.. she's definitely got her confidence back to 100%.

Very good series to prove to the players that they can still play with teams even with all the injuries. The only negative is, the powerplay still can't find the net, going 0-20 combined for the last 2 weekends.

Saturday's game article, Karine Demeule

Today's news tribune has the game story from Saturday, mostly focusing on Karine Demeule's move to the first line.

Dogs beat St. Cloud 4-2

Great game for UMD, though the second period the penalties slowed the game way down.

Game winning goal was changed from Noemie Marin(announce Marin) to Jill Sales which SHOULD mean Kirsti Hakala gets her first point of this season with an assist. She held Koizumi's bad (bouncing) pass in the zone (even if she did a 360 and landed on her butt to keep it in the zone) and got it to Koizumi who passed to Sales, whose shot was tipped by a SCSU skater in front of her own net for the goal. Not that it's a big deal, but UMD won nonetheless.

Michaela Lanzl was all over the ice, including knocking in the puck during a scrum in from of St. Jacques.

Riitta Shaublin started out a little rough, but in the 3rd period she was the Riitta we're USED to seeing out there. I'm still not sure she's totally for the idea of having to play the puck up ice, but maybe she's getting used to it now.

Hopefully, the sweep happens tomorrow!

News Tribune pre-series story, injuries

This is in today's News Tribune

Wounded ’Dogs get creative
BY CHRISTA LAWLERnews tribune staff writer, Duluth News Tribune
Published Saturday, January 13, 2007
The Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team is making do.

With a barrage of injured players, the ninth-ranked Bulldogs have made some creative adjustments — defender Suvi Vacker played forward last weekend in the second game of a nonconference series against Niagara — and found some unexpected help — both freshman defender Jaime Rasmussen and sophomore forward Jessica Hawkins scored their first collegiate goals in the series.

UMD (11-7-2 overall, 10-5-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) hosts St. Cloud State (8-9-5, 4-9-3) at 3:05 p.m. today and Sunday in a conference series at the DECC. With first-line dabblers Elin Holmlov (back) and Sara O’Toole (back) out indefinitely, junior forward Karine Demeule is slated to skate on the team’s top line with seniors Jessica Koizumi and Noemie Marin.

“She’s a safe player you can put with anybody,” Koizumi said of the Canadian who scored her sixth goal of the season last weekend. “She doesn’t take risks to the point where you are scared to have her out there. Because she is so smart, you can count on her for defense and offense. She starts things up and she’s in the right place at the right time. She can get those goals. She’s a big, tall, physical player.”

An adjustment has been made to Marin’s travel schedule. The senior was invited to her second Canadian National Team camp and was expected to miss Sunday’s game. UMD coach Shannon Miller explained the extenuating circumstances to camp coaches — the Bulldogs’ gap-filled roster — and now Marin is scheduled to leave later than originally planned.

Additionally, Hawkins, Erin Olson and Kirsti Hakala are seeing more ice time than usual. This worked in Hawkin’s favor on Sunday when she scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over the Purple Eagles.

The Bulldogs have taken their adversity and turned it into pep talk fodder.

“We had a meeting about this,” Koizumi said. “It’s more of an opportunity to step up, for people who haven’t stepped up before. We can show the country that we’re a team and we aren’t just a few players. Hopefully things go well this weekend.”

Miller has been satisfied with the Bulldogs’ play, given the situation.

“The biggest thing to consider is we haven’t had the goal scoring we need,” Miller said. “We’ve been snake-bitten with goal scoring. We have six scholarship players out of the lineup and we’re still outplaying our opponent. … I don’t worry unless we aren’t working hard and aren’t creative.”

The opportunities are there, Miller said. UMD outshot the Purple Eagles 43-14 in Sunday’s win.

“We’re doing OK,” Miller said. “We know that the next few weeks are going to be hard. But everybody understands and is accepting responsibility. Everyone is stepping up while we’re waiting for people to heal.”

As always, click on the blog title to go to the actual article

SCSU preview Umdbulldogs.com

UMDBulldogs.com has the weekend series preview up, team notes follow:

BULLDOG NOTES: Despite a rash of injuries that sidelined up to nine UMD players over the weekend, and with another playing with Team Germany, the Bulldogs showed their true grit and determination in pulling out a 3-3 overtime tie and a 2-1 win over Niagara University on Saturday and Sunday. Down 2-0 after the first period, the Bulldogs having not played in a month, overcame some sluggish play when freshman defenseman Jaime Rasmussen scored her first goal of the season at the 2:47 mark of the second. She was assisted on the play by senior captain Noemie Marin. The third period started off with a bang for the Bulldogs as senior forward Jessica Koizumi rocketed the puck into Niagara’s net just 41 seconds into the period. NU scored again at 8:51 in the third period but then UMD freshman forward Saara Tuominen scored the game-tying goal at 13:31 in the period. She was assisted on the goal by freshman defenseman Sarah Murray. Unlike the previous afternoon’s game between UMD and Niagara in which the Bulldogs were down by two goals after the first period, UMD went up 2-0 after the first period and held on to the lead for a 2-1 win. Junior forward Karine Demeule put the Bulldogs on top halfway through the first when she scored her sixth goal of the season at the 9:47 mark. Senior defenseman Jill Sales and freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais assisted on the goal. Late in the first period, sophomore forward Jessica Hawkins intercepted the puck close to center ice and rocketed it past the Purple Eagles’ netminder at the 16:48 mark of the period to score her first collegiate goal. NU scored at the 6:59 mark of the second period but it was all the offense NU could muster throughout the reminder of the game. Despite only two goals, the Bulldogs’ offense caught fire in the contest by out shooting Niagara 43-14. Senior goaltender Riitta Schaublin made 13 saves in the contest for the Bulldogs. With the win, she is now 5-3-2 on the season.

ST. CLOUD STATE NOTES: After skating to a 2-2 overtime tie against non-conference opponent Boston University last Friday, St. Cloud State University capped off the weekend with a 4-1 trouncing of BU on Saturday. Freshman forward Holly Roberts scored both of the Huskies’ goals in the 2-2. In Saturday’s contest, Meaghan Pezon scored two goals for St. Cloud State while co-captain Hailey Clarkson scored her eighth goal of the season and freshman forward Caitlin Hogan scored an empty net goal with 37 seconds left in the third period. The Huskies' goaltender, Lauri St. Jacques, made 34 saves in the win over Boston University to move her record to 4-4-0 on the season.

Click the blog title to see the entire preview.

Bert Blyleven misses out *AGAIN*

I know this blog is usually a women's hockey thing.. but because he keeps getting ripped off, vote after vote I'm copying another blog of mine:

Once again, Bert Blyleven didn't get enough votes for the baseball Hall of Fame. It doesn't make any sense. Below is an associated press story from MSNBC.com:

MINNEAPOLIS - Bert Blyleven wore down opposing hitters over 22 seasons on his way to compiling some impressive statistics.

Now in his 10th year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, Blyleven is hoping he’s wearing down the baseball writers in much the same way.

After getting just 83 votes on his first try, Blyleven received 277 votes in the 2006 results — showing up on 53.3 percent of the ballots. Election requires 75 percent of the votes, which are limited to 10-year members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Players remain on the annual ballot for up to 15 years as long as they get 5 percent of the votes each year.

Because it’s beyond his control, Blyleven will continue being patient. And because he has slowly picked up more votes each year, Blyleven will continue thinking positive about his progress.

“It’s an honor to play the game as long as I did. Whether I make it or not, I still had a lot of fun playing a kid’s game,” Blyleven said Monday from Florida, where he lives when he’s not doing his job as a television analyst for Minnesota Twins games.

Jim Rice, Rich Gossage and Andre Dawson are the other holdovers who finished with more votes than Blyleven last year, and Tony Gwynn, Mark McGwire and Cal Ripken are the headliners among 17 newcomers in the 2007 candidates.

“I vented earlier on, because I wanted my pops there,” Blyleven said, referring to his father, Joe, who died of complications from Parkinson’s disease more than two years ago. “But it’s up to the writers, and I think I’ve learned over the years to be patient. Whatever happens happens.”

Dogs beat Niagara 2-1 Sunday

UMD won 2-1 today, outshooting Niagara 43-14. Sara O'Toole left with a back injury it looked like, where she couldn't even put a skate on the ice. She tried to come back for a shift but as soon as she stepped on the ice she had to crawl on the ice back to the bench. Trainers carried her from the bench to the back.

Jessica Hawkins got her first career goal (first period) and the game winner on a giveaway in the Niagara zone, she walked in and buried the puck go put UMD up 2-0.

With as little credit as I gave Niagara before the series, if they had any offensive prowess at all they'd be back in the national spotlight. Their goaltending stopped 73 of 78 (just about 94%)shots on the weekend but only put 34 shots on net for the 2 games. Allison Rutledge really covered up rebounds well (collegehockeystats.net says their other goaltender played today, but I actually think Rutledge played both games, not 100% sure now.)

UMD & Niagara tie 3-3 Saturday

As the title says, UMD and Niagara tied 3-3.

The lack of a crowd today was terrible. Mind you, the City of Duluth was holding an outdoor skating party 200 feet from the DECC with fireworks. The fireworks 'finale' went off about 2 minutes into overtime and you could hear them clearly while the players were playing.

Today was one of the better officiated games of the season at the DECC. Even with a couple questionable non-calls during the overtime, after UMD took a penalty IN the overtime, a lot of referee's would look to even the teams back up and Evonne Young was given 2 chances to do that.

UMD's first period looked like they hadn't been on the ice in 2 months, but a lot of that HAS to be due to the lines being thrown together, since the flow was better the 2nd and 3rd periods. Jessica Hawkins and Erin Olson saw regular shifts throughout the game and usually kept Niagara bottled up in their own zone.

Suvi Vacker played sparingly, mostly spot shifts at forward to spell Jill Sales who was playing both her defense position plus a wing about every 3rd shift.

Sarah Murray picked up an assist today, but seemed a step behind a few times today leaving Rasmussen to fend for herself 2 on 1.

Paying more attention to Riitta Schaublin today, it seems her problem lately in net is teams are screening her a lot more and she's not seeing the puck or the shot with the congestion in front of her. The defense needs to do a better job of clearing the lanes in front of her.

News Tribune article, bunch of Bulldogs injured

This was in YESTERDAY'S News's Tribune.. I missed the article yesterday so here it is today. Just the injury parts are below:

Heidi Pelttari, a Finnish defender slated to join the team Dec. 29, injured her knee while playing hockey in Europe. She is set for knee surgery this week, but may return by the end of the month.

Swedish freshman forward Elin Holmlov (four goals, 15 assists), who in the Ohio State series finale had finally reached maximum health after surgery for a herniated disk last February, re-aggrevated the injury. She is scheduled to return at the end of the month.

Swedish freshman goalie Kim Martin, who has a .950 save percentage, 1.39 goals against average and three shutouts, has a return date yet to be determined. She has been spotted in and out of the lineup since the Four Nations Cup in November.

Junior forward Samantha Hough is done for the season. She is expected to take a medical red shirt to retain two more seasons of eligibility.

Senior forward Juliane Jubinville, who has been plagued with side effects following a preseason concussion, is not expected to return.

Meanwhile, forward Michaela Lanzl (3-5—8) is playing in a tournament with the German national team and returns Jan. 10.

The good news — a sort of triage system has some players who are almost fully recovered making an early return: senior defender Suvi Vacker, who has been out with a leg injury since the end of November, is expected to play Saturday. She may even see some time at forward, the Finnish player said.

Junior Karine Demeule, who has a back injury, will likely skate. And first-line winger Jessica Koizumi, who recently returned from a Team USA tryout camp, will likely play despite a groin injury.

Go read the complete article by clicking the blog title.

Weekend preview UMDBulldogs.com

The Weekend Preview for the Niagara series is online.

The UMD notes from umdbulldogs.com:

BULLDOG NOTES: Minnesota Duluth seemed to skate two completely different squads against Ohio State University back on Dec. 8-9. After falling 3-0 to the Buckeyes in Friday’s contest, sending the Bulldogs to a program record four-game losing streak, UMD responded in a big way on Saturday, defeating Ohio State 9-1. The Bulldogs had plenty of scoring chances in Friday’s game but came up empty on every one of them. UMD went 0-for-13 on the power play as opposed to 1-for-3 for OSU. Minnesota Duluth also managed to outshoot Ohio State 26-19 in the contest. Senior Riitta Schaublin took the loss for the Bulldogs, making eight saves in the contest. She shared time in goal with freshman Kim Martin who allowed no goals and came up with eight saves. Stuck in the midst of a program record four-game losing streak and needing a win, the Bulldogs’ (10-7-1, 10-5-1 WCHA) offense caught fire, out-shooting the Buckeyes (11-6-1, 7-6-1 WCHA) 50-34 and going 6-for-12 on the power play. Senior captain Noemie Marin started the scoring frenzy for UMD when she rocketed the puck past OSU’s netminder just 30 seconds into the game. She would go on to score two more goals in the contest. Freshman forward Saara Tuominen, sophomore forward Tawni Mattila (two goals in the game), senior forward Jessica Koizumi, freshman forward Elin Holmlov, and sophomore forward Michaela Lanzl, all managed to score goals against Ohio State. Senior defenseman Ashly Waggoner, senior defenseman Jill Sales, freshman defenseman Jaime Rasmussen, junior forward Karine Demeule, freshman forward Emmanuelle Blais, sophomore forward Sara O’Toole, Lanzl, Marin, Tuominen and Koizumi all earned one or more assists in the victory over the Buckeyes. Martin made 33 saves in the contest to earn the victory.

The Niagara preview:

NIAGARA NOTES: Sophomore Ashley Riggs and freshman Alison Malty were honored by College Hockey America for their efforts in Niagara’s split against Wayne State on Dec. 16-17. Riggs led NU to its first win since Nov. 5, with a 6-3 win over Wayne State, assisting on the game-winning goal. She also scored Niagara’s second goal in the first period and added her seventh goal of the season in the third. Riggs moved into ninth place on Niagara’s all-time points list (65) and fifth place on the career goal chart (36). Malty had three assists in the 6-3 win and assisted on the power-play game-winning goal. The Purple Eagles fell to Wayne State 4-2 the next day.

See the full preview by clicking the blog entry title!

Niagara's top player gone this weekend, a few things about Niagara University

Niagara University's Ashley Riggs won't be in Duluth for this weekend's series due to playing for Canada in the U22 (22 yrs old and under) world tournament.

Just some information from their stats page:

Against WCHA teams, Niagara has SPLIT with Bemidji State, been swept by Minnesota, and Lost and Tied against North Dakota. They have played in 6 overtime games, even though they've been outscored 40-57.

Their goaltender Allison Rutledge has played 20 games and has a GAA of 2.72 which isn't that bad really, if they scored 3 goals a game they'd have a winning record.

Lisa Agozzino makes her return to the DECC this weekend after she played 1 season for the Bulldogs. As of right now she has 3 goals 2 assists in the 20 Niagara University games. She didn't seen much ice time as a UMD Freshman, so it's nice to see she's getting some playing time and scoring as her game matures.

Changes done

Ok, my changes are done. The front page of the blog will be all the posts from the last day I've made an entry. On the right hand side, the blog archive is sorted by week. If you want to view all the posts FROM a certain week just click on that week. If you want to view by titles for any week, click the triangle that points to the right and it will drop down the titles for that week.

UMD takes on Niagara University this coming weekend. Finally there's hockey again :) When Umdbulldogs.com has the preview up I'll post it.

Blog Changes

Today I'm going to change this blog to the new "beta" version of blogger that's been updated... It will have an archive on the left side of the page where you can click on blog titles to see previous posts.. OR click on 'older posts' below the blog to read previous posts as well :)

Teddy Bear Toss Distribution; News Tribune

The News Tribune went along as UMD men's and women's hockey players handed out the stuffed animals that were thrown on the ice during the 'Teddy Bear Toss' this year.

There's a great ARTICLE in today's paper about their visit to St. Mary's hospital.

Just a small part OF that article:

For the children at St. Mary’s, MRIs, chemotherapy and IVs are an unfortunate part of everyday life.

However, for a few minutes, five UMD hockey players broke that routine by spreading some joy. Nick Kemp, Mitch Ryan, Matt Niskanen, Vacker and O’Toole didn’t wear Santa suits and bring elves — they wore their game jerseys and brought teddy bears. But the results were the same — smiling, laughing and thankful children caught up in a Christmas moment.

Go read the full article by clicking on this blog title

Midseason stats, from USCHO.COM

To check out the UMD Women's midseason stats go HERE.

7 players have double digit point totals, but the goal production needs to rise the 2nd half of the season

WCHA women's mid-season standings

Now that BSU has swept NoDak, the midseason standings, with most teams off for 3 weeks:

WCHA Women - 2006-2007 Standings

                         Conference Only                    
                    Pts  GP  Record  Win%  GF- GA   

 1 Wisconsin         27  16 12- 1- 3 .844  62- 25   
 2 Minnesota         23  14 11- 2- 1 .821  49- 22   
 3 Minnesota Duluth  21  16 10- 5- 1 .656  60- 25   
 4 Ohio State        15  14  7- 6- 1 .536  36- 35   
 5 Bemidji State     11  14  5- 8- 1 .393  32- 49   
   Minnesota State   11  16  5-10- 1 .344  43- 52   
   St. Cloud State   11  16  4- 9- 3 .344  39- 59   
 8 North Dakota       1  14  0-13- 1 .036  11- 65  

With 3 teams tied for 5th place, the playoff picture probably won't develop until the very last weekend (the weekend UMD plays Minnesota up at Duluth Marshall's Mars Lakeview Arena, btw)

John Gilbert UMD/Ohio State story

The following is an article by John Gilbert about OSU's unbeaten streak ending to UMD, posted on WCHA.com:

As role-reversals go, this was a classic. Ohio State travels to Duluth to face the University of Minnesota Duluth's perennial women's hockey power - a familiar scene during the eight-year history of the two programs. That's where things became unfamiliar.

A two-part quiz is in order: 1. One of the two teams extends its nation's-best unbeaten streak to 10 games (9-0-1) by cruising to a 3-0 shutout victory in the first game. 2. One of the two teams snaps out of its own nine-game (1-7-1) slump, in which it had scored only one goal in the four most recent games - all losses - by winning the second game.

Which team is which? The easy money would say UMD is the answer to question 1, because the Bulldogs have been on hot streaks every year, and had lost only two of 34 previous games against Ohio State; and that Ohio State would be the answer to question 2, because the Buckeyes have always been competitive, but it has been a difficult quest to reach elite status, and besides, UMD had never had such a prolonged slump.

The logical answers would be: wrong, and wrong, Zamboni-breath!

It is the Ohio State Buckeyes who go into the holiday break as the hottest team in the country, by stretching their streak on Erika Vanderveer's 3-0 shutout. Even though their program-record unbeaten run came to an end in the second game at Duluth, the Buckeyes had long left behind their own five-game losing streak during a 2-5 start by rising to 7-6-1 in the WCHA and 10-7-1 overall. Strong goaltending and defensive play, and balanced scoring all came together for coach Jackie Barto, whose objective-setting Buckeyes fittingly started the 9-0-1 streak with a 2-1 victory over Minnesota, and it lasted through the 3-0 victory at Duluth, in which defenseman Tessa Bonhomme scored in the opening minute of both the first and second periods, and team scoring leader Erin Keys, who assisted on the first two goals, made it 3-0 with her 11th goal, only five minutes into the second.





And it is the UMD Bulldogs who stumbled through a school record slump that reached its lowest point when they were shut out by Vanderveer despite 11 power-plays that were both a tribute to the Buckeye penalty-killers, and a study in ineptitude for a Bulldog team that opened the season 8-0 in the WCHA and overall but are now 10-5-1 in the league and 10-7-1 overall. Program record slump? Four straight losses compare to the fact UMD had only lost three in a row twice - last year and in their first season of 1999-2000. And a and had only one winless streak that went as long as four games, in that first season, when they played top-two rated New Hampshire and Minnesota back to back.

Perhaps it was predictable that when OSU's unbeaten streak ended, and UMD's slump was snapped, it would be of seismic proportions - and it was, as Noemie Marin scored three goals and Tawni Mattila two as UMD went 6-12 on power-plays and romped 9-1 by hurling 50 shots at Vanderveer. But even that couldn't dampen the spirit of the Buckeyes and coach Barto.

"They came out hard, and played with purpose, on a mission," said Barto. "Give Duluth credit."

It was considerably easier to be gracious in defeat than in past years, when losses to UMD were pretty consistent, now that the Buckeyes have cracked the nation's top 10, and have moved up impressively enough to stretch the WCHA's "top three" to a "top four" with Wisconsin, Minnesota and UMD.

This time, Barto set some small objectives for little victories in the third period, and after being outshot 45-17 through two periods and eventually trailing 8-0, Katie Mahoney's goal broke Kim Martin's shutout bid and Ohio State outshot the Bulldogs 17-5 in the third period.

Barto had to be upset about the constant stream of Buckeyes going to the penalty box in both games, with 17 infractions for 45 minutes in the first game - 2:47 of it spent facing 5-on-3 power-plays - and 15 for 38 minutes in the second - unusual numbers for a team that entered the weekend in the nation's lowest percentile of being penalized. That resulted in 23 power-plays for UMD in the two games, to 10 for Ohio State. But Barto held her cool.

"The officials do the best they can, and we try to do the best we can," said Barto, in a wonderfully subtle evaluation.

Always organized, Barto sets goals for her teams, but to suggest that is the reason for OSU's record surge is because of those goals is oversimplifying things.

"Within games, I'll set some goals, and I set some pretty high goals for the season before we started," said Barto. "One was to challenge the top teams in the WCHA, and another was to make the NCAAs.

"I think the strength of our team is that we've had outstanding goaltending, and good team defense, and everyone has been contributing," said Barto. "Keys has been a big contributor on offense, and leads us in goals and assists, but during our streak, I think we found that the girls play hard for each other, and everybody works to do the little things that lead to success."

Keys, who played at Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul, has emerged as a strong scorer this season and leads the team with 11-13-24. She plays right wing with Peckles at center, and Jody Heywood at left wing on an all-junior line. But other than second line sophomores Morgan Marziali, who has 7 goals, and Hayley Klassen, who has 5, no other forward has more than four goals.

The scoring of the defense has been a real strength. Senior Amber Bowman (5-17-22) and Bonhomme (9-11-20), a junior, form a formidable first tandem on defense that no other team in the country can match, and junior Lisa Chesson (5-11-16) is close behind.

"Tessa Bonhomme, Amber Bowman, and Lisa Chesson are three of the top defensemen in the league, and they're all among our top scorers," said Barto.

Vanderveer, a senior from Bradford, Ontario, is the pillar of strength in goal who has been the beneficiary of the team's uplifted play this season. She had given up just nine goals in the 9-0-1 streak, and for the whole season she stood 10-2-1 with a 1.31 goals-against and a .954 save percentage, and she made 41 saves in the second game, and the nine goals only raised her goals-against average to 1.86, and lowered her save percentage to .938.

"I don't think we helped her much in that one," said Barto. "Erika is a competitor, and this won't bother her."

As for the slowly evolving parity within the WCHA, Wisconsin, Minnesota and UMD are still there, but Ohio State is leading the way for the rest of the WCHA, where Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, and Bemidji State have improved considerably, and North Dakota is rebuilding.

"I don't think anyone can take a night off any more in our league," said Barto. "We played very well and it was an exciting stretch during our streak, but now we'll have to see what happens as we get closer to the league playoffs and the NCAAs,"

Those objectives are still out there, and another streak can wait until after the holidays.

Noemie Marin 'Bulldog Spotlight'

UMDBulldogs.com has a Noemie Marin spotlight up this week.

After last years news filled off time around Christmas, it's nice this year to have little to talk about during the college hockey break.

Halfway point of the season

With the halfway point of the season here, hopefully the month off gives the team time to get healthy. They need Kim Martin to completely heal from her Four Nations injury that shes' played through, and Hough and Jubinville need to be back as well.

Also the new year should bring about Heidi Pelttari's first Bulldog action as she's expected to be eligible come January.

As mentioned before, the 2nd half of the season brings Niagara University to the DECC in what SHOULD be just a tuneup for UMD.

Sid Meier's Civ IV rocks

I finally broke down and bought Civilization IV after looking at it on the shelf at Wal-Mart for months.... After updating my graphics card driver the game runs good and has better sound than any of the other versions.

One thing though, WHY Leonard Nimoy (aka SPOCK from Star Trek) as the narrator? It is great to hear quotes though when you "discover" a new skill/technology, but Nimoy? Oh well.. it's still not that bad.

The Civ franchise kicks ass of course as always.

News Tribune OSU Saturday story

The NEWS TRIBUNE STORY for the 9-1 UMD win.

It mentions a 'to do' list for Saturday's game:

* Lack of scoring: Coming into the game, UMD had been outscored 27-20 in the past 10 games. On Saturday six UMD players contributed goals. Marin had a hat trick and third-line sophomore Tawni Mattila scored twice.

* Ineffective power play: UMD had 13 power plays — including two 5-on-3 advantages — in Friday’s loss. Six of Saturday’s goals were power play goals.

* A lot of perimeter play with very few actual shots on net: The Bulldogs outshot the Buckeyes 50-34.

Finally! UMD wins 9-1 over OSU

First, the USCHO post I made tonight:
--
The powerplay... well, went 6/12 tonight... the BIG difference is.. the PASSING was crisp and they shot BEFORE OSU could get settled rather than shooting into players as much tonight. Rasmussen and Trepanier still did, but they're the 2nd line powerplay.

UMD won 9-1 today (the men gave up a 3 goal lead 3 times to lose in OT tonight btw) in a longggg game. The game went 2 hours 30 minutes.. I swear a FULL hour of that was the 2nd period. Noemie Marin had a hat trick and Tawni Mattila scored TWICE, hopefully that breaks her out of her scoring funk.

Kim Martin played great, stopping 33 of 34 shots. OSU outshot UMD 17-5 in the 3rd, though UMD outscored them 2-1.
--

It's about time they actually blew someone out.. I think they needed that going into a month break before playing Niagara. Not to sound like a proponent of running up the score, but UMD's powerplay has been non-existent this season and they NEEDED the first line powerplay out there even in the 3rd with the game already decided.

News Tribune Friday story

The Duluth News Tribune story for the Friday OSU game.

OSU beats UMD 3-0

UMD lost to Ohio State 3-0 tonight.... they went 0 for 13 on the powerplay and barely looked like they wanted to score on it. Right now, I can't even think of one "highlight" to UMD's game. Tomorrow's an afternoon/evening doubleheader with the women and OSU and then the Men playing Bemidji(they lost to Bemidji up IN Bemidji tonight).

News Tribune Preview

The NEWS TRIBUNE has a weekend preview article up tonight about the OSU series. Ashly Waggoner has been made an assistant captain. Samantha Hough is now out until January when the season restarts. It's a good preview article, posted for Friday's paper I'm sure.

Ohio State's website preview

Ohio State's preview for this weekend's series at the DECC can be found by clicking HERE!

Just to throw a little JINX in the pot ;) OSU's on a 9 game unbeaten streak. From the OSU press release:

NINE AND COUNTING
During the nine-game unbeaten streak, the Buckeyes are 8-0-1 and are out-scoring their opponents 28-9, including a 13-2 margin in the third period. Opponents are 1-of-45 on the power play for just a 2.2 percent conversion rate. Ohio State has scored nine power play goals and two shorthanded goals.

UMDBULLDOGS.com Ohio State weekend

The UMDBulldogs.com weekend preview for the Ohio State series is up. Click the blog title to go see.

From that story, the OSU notes:

OHIO STATE NOTES: Ohio State swept Minnesota State University-Mankato (2-1 and 4-3) back on Nov. 24-25. The Buckeyes moved to 10-5-1 overall with the victories and 6-5-1 in the WCHA. OSU is riding a nine game (8-0-2) unbeaten streak headed into this weekend's series against the Bulldogs. Buckeye junior Tessa Bonhomme tallied a goal and an assist for OSU in Friday's win. She also had the game-winning goal. Jody Heywood scored the other goal of the game with Shelby Aldous assisting on the goal. Erika Vanderveer made 22 saves in net for OSU. Junior forward Erin Keys tallied two goals and an assist and senior Amber Bowman had three assists in Saturday's game. Vanderveer made 19 saves on the night for the Buckeyes to improve 9-2-1 on the year. Ohio State had 42 shots in the game, while MSU had 22.

As I mentioned before.. UMD must sweep this series to make OSU's games at hand not matter as much, to stay in at least 3rd place for the league playoffs.

UMDBulldogs.com player focus: Jessica Koizumi

Instead of a weekend preview, today, UMDBulldogs.com put up a Jessica Koizumi focus, probably the same one that will be in this weekend's game program.

Updated standings, Collegehockeystats.net

Once again, "borrowing" college hockey stats.net's table code for weekly standings:

WCHA Women - 2006-2007 Standings

                         Conference Only                    Overall
                    Pts  GP  Record  Win%  GF- GA   GP  Record  Win%  GF- GA

 1 Wisconsin         25  14 12- 1- 1 .893  57- 20   18 16- 1- 1 .917  80- 21
 2 Minnesota         19  12  9- 2- 1 .792  40- 21   16 12- 3- 1 .781  57- 33
   Minnesota Duluth  19  14  9- 4- 1 .679  51- 21   16  9- 6- 1 .594  52- 28
 4 Ohio State        13  12  6- 5- 1 .542  32- 26   16 10- 5- 1 .656  55- 31
 5 Minnesota State    9  14  4- 9- 1 .321  36- 46   17  6-10- 1 .382  51- 54
   St. Cloud State    9  14  4- 9- 1 .321  34- 54   18  7- 9- 2 .444  54- 57
 7 Bemidji State      5  10  2- 7- 1 .250  21- 40   16  4-10- 2 .312  32- 56
 8 North Dakota       1  10  0- 9- 1 .050   8- 51   16  3-11- 2 .250  23- 64

At this rate, UMD will finish 3rd in the league, Minnesota has 2 games at hand still and so does OHIO STATE, so this coming weekend at the DECC, UMD needs to sweep OSU to get far enough ahead to not worry about OSU catching up

UMDBulldogs.com story

While there's no Duluth News Tribune story online, UMDBulldogs.com of course has the GAME STORY. The Text:

The power play once again proved to be the decisive factor between the University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team and Harvard University on Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped a 4-0 decision to the Crimson, with three of the goals coming on the power play for Harvard.

The Bulldogs (9-6-1) were assigned 11 penalties for a total of 22 minutes in the contest while Harvard was saddled with five penalties for 10 minutes. UMD went 0-for-5 on the power play and Harvard (11-1-0) went 3-for-11.

“Both teams competed extremely hard tonight and both teams played extremely well. The puck went in for Harvard and didn’t go in for us,” said UMD head coach Shannon Miller.

Harvard’s Caitlin Cahow scored at 8:18 of the first period and scored her second goal of the game at 9:55 in the second period. Sarah Vaillancourt assisted on both goals and Julie Chu assisted on Cahow’s goal in the first period of play.

Jenny Brine put the Crimson up 3-0 near the end of the second period when she scored at the 18:47 mark. Katie Johnston assisted on the goal.

Vaillancourt scored the final goal of the game at 16:48 of the third period. Cori Bassett earned the assist on the play.

Kim Martin, UMD’s freshman netminder, took the loss for the Bulldogs. She made 19 saves in the contest and allowed three goals. Martin split time in goal with senior goaltender Riitta Schaublin, who allowed one goal and came up with nine saves. Harvard’s Christina Kessler earned the win for the Crimson, making 20 saves.

The Bulldogs will be in action on Friday and Saturday against Ohio State University (Dec. 8-9) at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. The puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m. on Friday and at 3:07 p.m. on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon/night is a DOUBLE HEADER... the Men play Bemidji State at 7:07 that night.

Harvard sweeps UMD

I didn't get home to listen to most of the game, but it sounds like Harvard pretty much dominated the Saturday game against UMD, winning again. I'll post the newspaper and umdbulldogs.com stories of course Sunday afternoon

UMD drops game 3-1 to Harvard

Short article from the NEWS TRIBUNE from the Harvard game... UMD spend a ton of time short handed during the game.

The UMDBULLDOGS.Com story.. about the same, with the same quote from coach Miller.

Harvard weekend previews

The weekend series preview from UMDBulldogs.com is up now.

I would imagine the games are on KDAL this weekend since the Men's team is in Alaska and won't start until and hour and half after the women are done. Go to WARPRADIO.com and try KDAL and if that one isn't playing the game put in WDSM and it will be there.