From the minute the University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team hit the ice Friday night, one thing was clear -- the Bulldogs were finally home.

UMD played confidently in its AMSOIL Arena opener, knocking off Minnesota State University, Mankato 4-2 to pick up the Bulldogs first Western Collegiate Hockey Association win.  After six-straight games on the road, the triumph was also both the first home and conference win for first-year coach Maura Crowell, who made her debut at AMSOIL Friday night.

"It's a nice feeling," Crowell said. "I forget this is our first win at home, really, because we've been playing for so long. It's a big achievement for us as a team, and certainly a special moment for me as a coach."
 

The Bulldogs lit the lamp early in the skate when Katherine McGovern cashed in a beautiful passing sequence from Demi Crossman and Maria Lindh, rewarding UMD's power play 4:47 into the first period.  

Despite shelling the Mavericks 18-4 in the opening stanza, the Bulldogs lead was still just 1-0 when MSU was awarded a penalty shot five minutes into the second period.  Rookie netminder Maddie Rooney -- making her third UMD start and first ever in Duluth -- did what hasn't been done by a Bulldog goaltender since Feb. 19, 2010 -- she stonewalled the penalty shot attempt.

While the 1-0 score held through the second period, the offensive dam finally broke for the Bulldogs in the third period.  Lara Stalder added her fifth goal of the season 1:41 into the stanza, a cannon that Stalder regathered and ripped into the top corner to give UMD the 2-0 lead and its second power play tally of the night.  While the Mavericks cut the lead to 2-1 at the 9:47 mark, the Bulldogs again pushed their lead to two goals on a Morgan Morse rebound score at 12:42. Less than two minutes later, sophomore defenseman Catherine Daoust iced the game with a blast through traffic to give the Bulldogs the 4-1 lead.  MSU scored a late goal with 45 seconds remaining off a face-off that made the box score look better for the Mavericks, who managed just two shots on goal in the third period to UMD's 13.

Overall, the Bulldogs put a season-high 41 shots on goal to MSU's 12.  Rooney made just 10 saves, while her counterpart in the Maverick goal, Brianna Quade, turned away 37.  The Bulldogs, who entered tonight 1-for-19 on the man advantage, were 2-of-6 on the power play but allowed MSU one goal with an extra skater in four attempts.  Three players registered two points, including rookie forward Morse with a goal and assist, McGovern, who also landed a goal and an assist and Crossman, who had two helpers on the evening.

UMD will be looking for its second sweep of the new season and first in league play tomorrow afternoon when the Bulldogs wrap up the series at 3:07 p.m. at AMSOIL. 

BULLDOG NOTES:  The win was the first-ever collegiate triumph for netminder Maddie Rooney ... Rooney's penalty shot stop was the first by a UMD goaltender since Jennifer Harss robbed Bemidji State University's Erin Cody in Bemidji, Minn. on Feb. 19, 2010 ... Ashleigh Brykaliuk now leads UMD with seven points on two goals and five assists after dishing an assist Friday night ... Lara Stalder sits atop the Bulldogs goal scoring lead with five in seven games ... The Bulldogs have now won nine-consecutive games against the Mavericks, dating back to the 2012-13 season.