The wait to get back on the ice against another Western Collegiate Hockey opponent is over for the No. 7 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team. The Bulldogs will host Minnesota State University, Mankato at AMSOIL Arena in a Saturday-Sunday series with 3:07 p.m. game times set for both contests. Saturday UMD will wear its 1950's Bulldog men's hockey inspired vintage jerseys that are currently being auctioned off online. For more information, go to https://umdbulldogs.com/auctions/
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THE SERIES: All-time, the Bulldogs are 72-7-9 against the Mavericks, and are unbeaten in their last 15 outings. UMD opened the 2020-21 season with a sweep of the Mavericks back on Nov. 20-21 by scores of 5-0 and 7-3.
In game one of the series, senior defenseman Ashton Bell led all scorers with a power play goal and two assists. All told, five different players scored goals and three players posted multiple point games, including Bell with three points (1g, 2a), Anna Klein (1g, 1a) and Gabbie Hughes (2a). Clara Van Wieren also netted the first goal of her brand new career.
Not to be outdone, junior goaltender Emma Soderberg calmly earned the first shutout of her career with 22 saves, and was a big reason UMD held the Mavericks scoreless on six power-play attempts.
In a matinee skate on game two (Nov 21), UMD scored an overwhelming seven goals against the Mavericks, en route to a 7-3 win in the first completed WCHA series of the season. The Bulldogs were led by junior winger Anneke Linser's four points on two goals and two assists, as well as two goals each for junior Kylie Hanley (who also added an assist) and Klein. All told, six players had multiple-point outings and UMD put up the most goals in a regular-season game in six seasons.
11 players registered at least a point in the series, including seven that recorded three or more. Bell led all scorers with five points on a goal and four assists, and Klein had a team-high three goals to go with an assist. Linser recorded four points (2g, 2a) in the game two skate, a weekend single-game high among UMD players.
UMD's seven goals on Nov. 21 against MSU was the most it had put up since Jan. 23, 2015, when the Bulldogs scored 12 goals against MSU in Mankato. It was also the most goals scored in a series (12), also from the same weekend -- UMD scored 16 on Jan. 23-24, 2015 (where UMD registered scores of 12-0 and 4-0, respectively).
A LOOK AT THE MAVERICKS: While MSU has managed to play 18 games, the Mavericks are just 7-10-1 and last split with St. Cloud State back on Feb. 5-6 by scores of 0-4 and 4-2. The Mavericks are led by sophomore forward Kelsey King and freshman Jamie Nelson, who each have 13 points in those 18 games. King also owns a team-high eight goals. Sophomore Calla Frank has started in 15 of MSU's 18 games, and has a 2.57 GAA and .909 saves percentage.
LAST TIME OUT: 21 days from this upcoming Saturday, UMD swept St. Cloud State at AMSOIL by scores of 4-1 and 6-0.
In UMD's 4-1 win back on Jan. 29, senior winger Anna Klein started the UMD scoring spree 4:05 into the contest with a shorthanded goal -- her second of the seaon. The Bulldogs stretched that lead to 2-0 at 12:51 when Anneke Linser buried a left-to-right rebound from Mannon McMahon. Gabbie Hughes extended UMD's scoring early in the second period to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead that SCSU would cut to 3-1 late in the period. Clara Van Wieren's sixth goal of the season early in the third period lifted UMD 4-1 over the Huskies.
The following afternoon, Hughes scored a goal and added a milestone assist to help the Bulldogs sweep SCSU Saturday night. The Bulldogs had four other players register two points outings -- Ashton Bell (1g, 1a) and Klein (1g, 1a), McKenzie Hewett (2g) and Katie Davis (2a) but it was Hughes who stole the spotlight, becoming the 21st player in UMD history to reach 100 career points.
NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES: All-time, the Bulldogs are 73-14-7 against the Huskies and finish the season 4-0 in head-to-head showdowns. UMD is unbeaten (7-0-1-1) in their last eight games with SCSU. After outscoring SCSU 10-1 in their last series, UMD outscored the Huskies 19-2 this season and 35-6 over their last eight games.
--In game two against the Huskies on Jan. 30, Emma Soderberg picked up her fifth shutout of the season. The junior goaltender has allowed just three goals in her last six games.
--Senior forward Anna Klein led UMD in scoring against SCSU this season, ringing the Huskies up for four goals and five assists for nine points in just four games. Gabbie Hughes finishes with six points in four games (3g, 3a) and Naomi Rogge had three goals and two assists against SCSU
HUGHES IS HISTORIC: Gabbie Hughes became UMD's 21st member of the 100 point club on Jan. 30.
The junior center broke open a scoreless game at 3:24 in the second period, fighting to get her stick on a cross-crease feed from Anna Klein for the 1-0 lead and her 99th career point. Hughes, whose career statline currently tips towards assists, fittingly hit the historic mark doing just that less than three and a half minutes later. Klein's goal off a Ashton Bell rebound at 6:51 of the period credited Hughes with the second assist, and just like that, Hughes joined arguably one of the most exclusive clubs in UMD program history.
With 42 goals and 58 assists for 100 points in just 80 games, Hughes becomes just the eighth player in program history to reach the 100-point plateau in 80 or less games Hughes is also the first player since Lara Stalder hit the mark on on Oct. 8, 2016. If Hughes hits the mark this year, she will become the first junior since current UMD assistant coach Ashleigh Brykaliuk to get to the Brykaliuk reached 100 points on Feb. 27, 2016 of her junior campaign.
Hughes was just one of two players in the past eight years to register 51 or more points, as well as 30 or more assists. Only Lara Stalder has compiled more points in the past eight seasons -- Stalder turned in 56 points (23g, 33a) in 35 games in 2016-17.
SODERBERG BY THE NUMBERS: Any way you look at it, Emma Soderberg is surging. Nationally, Soderberg ranks second in both goals against (0.94) and saves percentage (.963), and her five shutouts rank her in a tie for second. In the WCHA, Soderberg leads all goaltenders in almost every catergory, and has allowed a league-low 11 goals in 12 games. In fact, Soderberg has allowed just three goals in her last six games, and three of those games were shutouts.
But what's almost as staggering is where Soderberg is currently stacking up in the UMD record books. Soderberg's stats right now in GAA (0.94) and saves percentage (.963) would rank her first in a single-season among all UMD goaltenders. With 21 career games played, Soderberg sits first with a .951 saves percentage and a 1.24 GAA.
BULLDOGS GET DEFENSIVE: Just weeks after owning the nation's best offense, UMD has flipped the narrative to defense.
The Bulldogs currently own the WCHA's lowest goals against on games played (1.08), as well as the fewest goals again (13). UMD also ranks as the third lowest goals against in the nation, and In fact, through 12 games, UMD has allowed just 13 goals -- which ranks the Bulldogs second in the NCAA among teams that have played nine or more games. While allowing just 13 goals, UMD has outscored its opponents with 37 goals.
KLEIN CONTINUES TO HAVE THE REIGNS AS UMD'S TOP SCORER: Senior Anna Klein continues to lead UMD and has compiled nine goals and seven assists for 16 points over 12 games so far. That points per game average of 1.33 ranks fifth in the NCAA among players who have skated in three or more games and second in the WCHA. Klein ranks third in the NCAA and second in the WCHA with a goals per game average of 0.75 among players who have played in three or more games, and leads the NCAA and WCHA with two shorthanded goals. The Edina, Minn. native has also scored 3 game-winning goals, which ties her for the second most in the NCAA and is tied for the lead in the WCHA. Klein has registered two or more points in over half of the games she has played this season (6).
CROWELL CLOSES IN ON THE CENTURY MARK: UMD head coach Maura Crowell, currently in her sixth season at the helm of the Bulldogs, enters the weekend four wins shy of 100 with 96.
BELL AND KLEIN EXTEND CONSECUTIVE GAME STREAKS: Both seniors Ashton Bell and Anna Klein have played 118 straight-games, and are now just one shy for the all-time second slot of 119 consecutive games played by Sarah Murray in (2006-10).
