A trio of University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey players earned USCHO All-American honors Friday, including USCHO First Team selection, Ashton Bell.  Bell was followed by USCHO Second Team member Emma Soderberg, and USCHO Third Team honoree Anna Klein.  It marks the most USCHO All-Americans for the Bulldog program since Lara Stalder (First Team) and Sidney Morin (Third Team) picked up nods after the 2016-17 season.

Bell, who was already named a 2020-21 CCM/AHCA Women's University Division Ice Hockey Second Team All-Americans last month, is again UMD's first blueliner to land the heralded honors in 10 years -- Jocelyne Larcoque, a two-time selection, was the Bulldogs last All-American blueliner in 2010-11.  Soderberg, also named a 2020-21 CCM/AHCA Second Team All-American, is once more the first goaltender in 14 years, following in the footsteps of fellow Swede Kim Martin, who earned the honor in 2007-08.

Bell, coming off the biggest goal of her collegiate career after scoring the game-winning tally against Colgate University to earn UMD it's first NCAA Frozen Four berth in more than a decade, has been piling up the accolades ever since the Deloraine, Manitoba native moved to defense ahead of her junior campaign.  Bell finished the season the seventh-highest scoring defenseman in the nation and second highest in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 14 points on four goals and 10 assists.  The offensive blueliner was named the WCHA's Defenseman of the Year, as well as an All-WCHA First Team selection, and also turned in a plus/minus rating of +19 over the season.

Soderberg was ranked in the top-two in the NCAA in at least three categories for almost the entire season, and finishes the year with a 1.56 GAA and .944 saves percentage -- only one goaltender that played in more than 10 games had a higher saves percentage than the Jarved, Sweden product.  Tied for the second most shutouts in the nation (6), Soderberg cleaned up every WCHA honor available to her, ending with the WCHA Goaltender of the Year and All-WCHA First Team honors.  Named the WCHA's 2020-21 Goaltending Champion, Soderberg was a three-times named the WCHA Goaltender of the Month.

Klein led the Bulldogs in scoring this season, ringing up 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in just 19 games -- the fourth most points in the WCHA and 11th in the NCAA.  The Edina, Minn. native had a 1.16 points per game average and led the NCAA with two shorthanded goals. The  All-WCHA Second Team member was tied for fourth in the WCHA with three game-winning goals, and additionally put up multiple point games eight times -- half of her skates.  The assistant captain was named the WCHA Forward of the Month for December, and was also the WCHA's Forward of the Week for Dec. 4-11.


Bell joins only Lacrocque (2011, 2009, both First Team)  as the only UMD defensemen to land First Team All-American honors. Soderberg becomes the third Bulldog goaltender to garner First or Second Team All-American status -- Martin (2008, First Team) and Riitta Schaublin (2006, First Team) were the other two.