The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team embraced its new season of playoff hockey Friday afternoon, and the result spoke for itself.

Ignited by three second period goals, the Bulldogs unloaded on No. 7 Bemidji State University 5-1 in the opening game of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association  first round playoffs to defeat the Beavers on their home ice at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn.  While BSU swept UMD over the regular season, the Bulldogs were confident in their game plan heading into Friday's contest.

"We had a good game plan and we highlighted the things we could improve against Bemidji, while at the same time highlighting things we knew we could take advantage of that they did," said head coach Maura Crowell, who earned her first playoff win with UMD in the triumph.  "We played a complete 60 minutes and I am really proud of them.  We worked really hard, we withstood everything they threw at us and it's just playing great hockey at the right time."

The Beavers entered the afternoon as the only team that UMD had been shutout twice against during the regular season, but the regular season seemed in the distant past when junior forward Katherine McGovern opened the Bulldog scoring late in the first period.

After taking the second period ice with 1-0 lead, UMD kept the heat on BSU goaltender Brittni Mowat, and the result was a goal by senior center Michela Cava a mere 15 seconds into the second stanza.  McGovern struck again for the Bulldogs 1:20 after Cava's goal, and just like that, UMD owned a 3-0 advantage on the road against the nation's seventh-ranked team.  

BSU's lone goal of the contest -- that finally broke up three unanswered tallies by UMD -- came with 3:15 left in the second period, but the Bulldogs responded almost immediately with an Ashleigh Brykaliuk power play goal 1:18 later to push the lead back up to three goals at 4-1.  Brykaliuk's goal marked the 99th career point for the junior winger, who now has 44 goals and 55 assists as a Bulldog over her three year career.  

Enter Brykaliuk's linemate, Lara Stalder, who had already assisted on UMD's second and fourth goals, when she found the twine for herself at the 7:18 mark of the third period, sealing any chance of a Beaver comeback and muting any question that the Bulldogs could compete all in one goal.

While BSU outshot UMD 34-27 and 13-8 in the third period, it was the Bulldog defense that held the line on the Beavers all day.  In addition to keeping BSU scoreless on two power play attempts, UMD senior goaltender Kayla Black made 33 saves en route to her 55th career win.

UMD will attempt to do something Saturday it hasn't since the 2011-12 season -- sweep an opponent in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.  Game time for game two of the series will get underway at the Sanford Center at 2:07 p.m.