The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team may have lost to the top-seeded University of Wisconsin, but the Bulldogs mere presence at Ridder Arena Saturday afternoon spoke volumes about what lies ahead for UMD.
The No. 3 Badgers used a four-goal second period to push past the Bulldogs 5-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Face-Off semifinals, but for a team that was never expected to hit the ice of the conference semifinals, just being in Minneapolis, Minn. was a small victory.
"It's a tough way to end the season, but Wisconsin is a very talented team and that second period was the difference maker," said Bulldog head coach Maura Crowell. "The third goal was kind of that back breaking moment where you are down three to a team like Wisconsin and its just hard to come back from that."
UMD trailed by just a single goal after the first 20 minutes of action, but a Badger goal 21 seconds into the second period lifted the Badger lead to 2-0. Wisconsin then rattled off three goals in the last five minutes of the period and that 5-0 deficit was just too much for a Bulldog squad that had been outshot 32-11 over the first two periods.
Senior goaltender Kayla Black made 38 saves in her final game between the pipes for the Bulldogs and will leave UMD as its all-time saves leader with 2998 saves in 121 games. Junior forward Lara Stalder led the Bulldogs with four shots, but the Bulldogs were outshot 43-17 in the contest. Â
Black is one of three seniors that UMD will graduate this spring, along with senior center Michela Cava (19-19=38) and goaltender Karissa Grapp (2.40 GAA). But with just eight players that had played in a WCHA semifinal playoff game until Saturday, UMD will return a roster full of experience next season.
"We were hoping for better today and unfortunately we didn't get that but we only graduate three seniors this year," said Crowell. "We have a lot of people that just experienced something really important in their playing careers and that will make us that much better next year."
