The No. 6/7 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team made up for lost on ice time and then some Friday afternoon at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn.

The Bulldogs offensively unloaded on Bemidji State University in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown, scoring five goals in the first period alone en route to a 9-0 thrashing of the Beavers.  Senior forward Élizabeth Giguère led all scorers in the contest, hitting a milestone of her own -- 250 career points -- midway through the third period.  In all, 12 UMD players notched at least a point, while five players had at least two points.

Senior center Gabbie Hughes started the scoring uproar just 2:26 into the period, ripping a feed from Giguère five-hole for her seventh goal of the season.  At the 11:33 mark, McKenzie Hewett popped in a rebound at the doorstep for her first goal of the year, pushing UMD to an early 2-0 lead.  Hewett's goal, assisted by Mannon McMahon and Anneke Linser, was the Bulldogs seventh power play goal of the season.  



Anna Klein stretched the Bulldogs lead to 3-0 at 14:36, assisted by Giguère and Hughes, and just 35 seconds later, sophomore winger Clara Van Wieren found herself all alone for the put back rebound to put UMD 4-0.  Linser put the wraps on a Bulldog fifth goal of the period, burying the puck at 18:59 to hand UMD a 5-0 offensive onslaught after just 20 minutes of action.

Newly converted defenseman Kylie Hanley scored the lone goal of the second period, adding to UMD's goal total at 17:29, smacking home a rebound for her third goal in two games and first as a Bulldog blueliner.

Kylie Skinner and Klein added tallies in the third period, and on senior winger Klein's goal at 9:09 of the frame, Giguère rang up her fourth assist of the game, and the whopping 250th point of her already storied college hockey career.  Giguère is now the tenth player in NCAA history* to reach 250 career points. 

Naomi Rogge added the Bulldogs second power play goal of the game at 15:12, giving Giguère her fifth assist of the contest -- the most points in a game by a Bulldog player since the 2012-13 season.  

Emma Soderberg, just days off a plane from helping Sweden qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics, picked up her third shutout of the season, and the Bulldogs third clean sheet in as many games.  Soderberg had 20 saves for UMD, who has now played 180 minutes as a team without allowing a goal.  Hannah Hogenson had 41 stops for the Beavers, who fell to 2-7-2 overall and 1-7-1 in the WCHA.

The Bulldogs (5-4-0, 5-4-0) who have now scored 18 goals in their last three skates,  will hit the ice again tomorrow afternoon against BSU.  The series finale is set to begin at 2:01 p.m.


 (*Note: NCAA women's hockey officially began in the 2000-01 season.  Former UMD All-American Jenny Potter accrued 256 points in just 102 career games between 1999-2003, but is not credited for the 1999-00 season in the NCAA record books).