For a program saturated in success since it's inception, the 2011-12 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey season was roller coaster ride in consistency and fortitude. With just five seniors, it was a squad relying heavily on 13 players considered underclassmen and tied a program-high of seven freshmen on its roster. Head coach Shannon Miller knew there would be a massive learning curve – what she didn't realize is that the 2011-12 Bulldogs would end up looking ever-worthy of an NCAA berth come March.
Consistency and discipline became UMD's mantra late in the season, and one look back at the first two months of the season would prove valuable in precisely why. Though the Bulldogs showed flashes of early brilliance with early wins in October over eventual Frozen Four participant Boston College (7-2) and eventual NCAA tournament member North Dakota (6-1), the same UMD squad also struggled to stay above .500 until December 2, using a 5-1 win against St. Cloud State at AMSOIL Arena to pull even overall at 7-7-1 once and for all. It would take another month and a half for the Bulldogs to pull even in the brutal conference race of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, which UMD did on January 27th with a 5-0 win at St. Cloud State.
From there, UMD climbed slowly back into NCAA tournament consideration and contention (is a Bulldog squad truly ever out of it?), rolling out a 9-2 overall record that was punctuated by a 3-1 win over then No. 1 Wisconsin in the WCHA Final Face-Off semifinals at AMSOIL on March 2. The Bulldogs stunned the Badgers' nation leading offense by out shooting Wisconsin 38-33 and protecting the 32 saves senior goaltender Jennifer Harss made between the pipes. With two goals scored from rookies (Jenna McParland and Brigette Lacquette), UMD sent a message that its future arrived sooner than planned, putting the NCAA tournament selection committee on notice that the Bulldogs were the hottest team in the nation.
UMD battled brilliantly against Minnesota the following night (March 3), allowing just one goal (on the power-play) for the game until the Gophers scored an open net tally with six seconds remaining in the contest. Harss was again stoic in goal with 34 saves, but Minnesota's destiny appeared to be calling and despite UMD's best effort, the Bulldogs fell just short of not only the WCHA Final Face-Off crown, but also an NCAA berth.
Perhaps not the ending UMD's five seniors – Harss, defenseman Mariia Posa, forwards Kacy Ambroz and Haley Irwin and goaltender Lana Steck wanted, but the season had many more highlights not reflected in the win-loss column. For a 13th consecutive season, UMD collected 20 or more wins – a feat no other NCAA team has managed to do since the 1999-2000 season.
Four players turned in 30 or more points over the year, including center Irwin, who put up 54 points (16g, 38a) in just 34 games played. Irwin became the sixth member of UMD's 200-point club on Feb. 18 with a power-play goal and ends her career as a Bulldog the fifth-highest scorer in UMD history with 206 points in just 134 games. With 127 career assists, Irwin also wrapped up her time at UMD with the third most helpers in program history.
Junior winger Audrey Cournoyer had a breakout season for the Bulldogs, cashing in 48 points, including a team-high 22 goals. With a combined 53 points in her first two seasons at UMD, Cournoyer's offensive output pushed her into another club – the 100-point club at UMD. She currently has 101 points in 111 games as a Bulldog, and almost as impressively served just one penalty over the course of the 2011-12 season.
Rookie forward McParland ranked third in scoring for the Bulldogs with 32 points, 21 of which were goals, including five game-winners. McParland's goal-haul was the most by a UMD rookie since Irwin netted 23 during her first season back in 2007-08. Junior blueliner Jessica Wong dropped in 30 points from the backline, tying her for the sixth-most points by a defenseman in a single season. Wong has scored 68 points (26g) from the blueline in two seasons, which currently ranks her as the sixth-highest scoring defenseman in Bulldog history. Wong's 26 goals is already the most goals scored by a backliner in the history of the program.
Wong and Irwin were selected All-WCHA Third Team members, while McParland and Lacquette – who had 20 points from the blueline in her own right – were named to the WCHA's All-Rookie Team – a nod of what is to come for a team that will graduate five seniors. Senior forward Kacy Ambroz set a UMD record for consecutive games played, finishing her career with 142 straight appearances as a Bulldog. Ambroz also played in 148 games total, tying her the fourth-most games played in program history.
Senior goaltender Harss now owns the top-two slots for saves in a single season, making the second most saves this past year with 897. She leaves UMD with 2,386 stops in three seasons – the third most by a goaltender and just a little over a hundred short of Riitta Schaublin's mark of 2,494 picked up over four seasons. Harss, who had only three years of eligibility at UMD, also leaves with the third most wins in the program, owning a career record of 57-25-6 and 11 shutouts. She was imperative between the pipes at the end of the season when the Bulldogs made their postseason push, making 64 saves in the WCHA Final Face-Off on back-to-back nights.
The Bulldogs also had a program-high 13 players named to the All-WCHA Team in 2011-12, as well as five players named WCHA Scholar Athletes – two-time selections Cournoyer and Vanessa Thibault, as well as Ambroz, Posa and Steck.
