The University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team repeated history Sunday afternoon at the same time they were rewriting it.

The Bulldogs knocked off the University of Wisconsin in overtime of the championship of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Final Face-Off 5-4, in front of a Maroon and Gold friendly crowd at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. With the triumph, UMD clinches its fourth WCHA playoff championship in school history, as well as ties a program record for most wins in a season (31). It is also the eighth time in nine seasons the WCHA regular season champions have earned the WCHA playoff crown, and UMD becomes the only league team to have won that crown four times (2008, 2003, 2002, 2001)

“It was a great game featuring two great teams,” said head coach Shannon Miller after collecting her 231st career win. “My coaching staff and I knew it would be a contest decided by one goal. It was a very exciting game, both goalies played well and we got lucky.”

The game started immediately in UMD’s favor, as the Bulldogs scored two goals on their first two shots. UMD’s first crack at the scoreboard came at 5:24 into the opening period. Freshman forward Laura Fridfinnson picked up a Haley Irwin face-off win to the left of Badger goaltender Jessie Vetter and walked in between the circles to score through the five-hole. The goal, Fridfinnson’s 18th of the year, also extended the rookie’s scoring current scoring tab, as well as Irwin’s, to 13 games straight.

The Bulldogs, who have had a penchant for scoring in bunches and quickly lately, stretched their lead to 2-0 when junior defenseman Myriam Trepanier ripped a shot from the point past Vetter in the top right corner of the net. Trepanier’s tenth goal of the season came at 6:56 on the power play and was assisted by Saara Tuominen and Elin Holmlov.

Holmlov would give UMD a 3-0 lead when she hooked the puck around Vetter on sheer second effort, despite lying on the ice to the right of the goal. The power play goal, which came at 16:11, did not break the Badgers spirits, however.

Wisconsin took advantage of a hooking penalty called on Irwin at 19:42 and scored just nine seconds later on a Jinnelle Zaugg goal to tighten the score 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

The Badgers managed just six shots in the first period and were held the first seven minutes of the game without puck on net, but reemerged in the second period a different team. Wisconsin dominated offensive play until a Badger penalty at 6:06 gave UMD the break in pace it needed. The Bulldogs scored their fourth goal of the game just 1:02 later when sophomore forward Emmanuelle Blais tucked in a Trepanier blast from the point to give UMD the 4-1 advantage.

Wisconsin would regain some momentum, scoring the game’s fifth power play goal at 15:42 when Jasmine Giles recorded her fourth mark of the season. The Badgers would strike just a minute later with Zaugg netting her second tally of the matinee to bring Wisconsin to within one, leaving the Bulldogs with a slim 4-3 lead into the second intermission.

The Bulldogs and Badgers would battle evenly in the third stanza until Wisconsin scored what appeared to be a controversial goal at 17:11. Martin made the initial save on a Badger attempt, but was hit afterwards, jarring the puck loose. Mallory Deluce knocked in the game-tying tally, and despite further review, the goal stood, evening the score at 4-4.



For only the second time in WCHA playoff championship history, the final game needed extra ice time to decide the winner. UMD would escape a close call five minutes into overtime as Heidi Pelttari saved an open Bulldog net from a scramble in the crease. Zaug attempted a backhand that would glance off Pelttari’s chest and trickle to the right of the UMD net, preserving the 4-4 knot.

Just a minute and a half later, UMD would clinch its fourth WCHA playoff championship when Irwin patiently wristed home a rebound from a blocked Pelttari shot for the thrilling 5-4 overtime triumph.

Both squads had stellar puck-stopping in the crease. Martin turned away 23 shots from the Badgers, while Vetter kept 29 UMD chances from crossing the line. The Badgers, who were two-time WCHA playoff champions in their own right just a year ago, fall to 27-8-3 on the season and will travel to Minneapolis next Saturday to face the University of Minnesota in the NCAA quarterfinals.

UMD, 31-4-1, will host Mercyhurst College next Saturday at the DECC at 2:07 p.m. The two teams met previously at the DECC earlier in the year when the Lakers were ranked No. 2 nationally. The Bulldogs earned a 1-1 overtime tie on Oct. 20 and then a 3-1 victory over Mercyhurst on Oct. 21. The two NCAA powerhouses met last season in the NCAA quarterfinals in Erie, Penn. to the tune of a 3-2 UMD overtime win to clinch a trip to 2007 NCAA Frozen Four. The winner of next Saturday’s showdown will earn a berth to the 2008 NCAA Frozen Four that will be held in Duluth on March 20 and 22.

While facing the No. 7 Lakers won’t be an easy task, the Bulldogs seem to be up for the challenge. “We just beat a team 9-0 last night and another good team in overtime,\" said WCHA Rookie of the Year Irwin. “No matter what gets thrown at us, we can handle it. We are confident. We have to be confident.”



BULLDOG NOTES: Sophomore forward Elin Holmlov was named the WCHA All-Tournament Most Valuable Player…It is the fourth such time a Bulldog player has earned the honor…Holmlov was joined by goaltender Kim Martin, defenseman Myriam Trepanier and Jocelyne Larocque and forward Haley Irwin on the WCHA All-Tournament Team…The five selections is the most UMD has ever had on the honorary squad...Martin earned her 28th win during the contest, tying a single-season record for most wins in a season by a Bulldog netminder.