All it took was 14 seconds into overtime Friday night at AMSOIL Arena for Ashton Bell to decide the game was over, and just like that, it was.

Bell's skate over the blueline and then subsequent drive to the net for the game-winner gave the No. 4/5 University of Minnesota Duluth a 2-1 win over Minnesota State University, Mankato, and it extended the Bulldogs current winning streak to five games -- the program's longest win streak to start a season since 2007-08.  

UMD's start to the game differed from its finish, however, and it was the Mavericks that found a way on to the AMSOIL scoreboard first.  MSU's Kennedy Bobyck scored a shorthanded goal at just 4:51 of the first period to give the Mavericks their first and only lead of the game.  UMD battled back at the 12:56, and Gabbie Hughes extended her current scoring streak to five-games with a wrap around pass across the crease to Kylie Hanley on the doorstop.  Hanley shoveled the puck high and behind MSU goaltender Lauren Barbro for the 1-1 equalizer.

Despite a UMD shot-on-goal advantage of 42-15, the Bulldogs needed extra time to finally dispose of the Mavericks.  With another helper from Hughes, Bell skated through both the neutral zone and the MSU defensive zone before moving from left to right across the crease to tuck the puck past Barbro for the game-winner 14 seconds into overtime -- Bell's second game-winner of the young season.

Emma Soderberg made 14 saves for the Bulldogs in the win, while Barbo had 42 for MSU, who falls to 0-3-0 both overall and in the WCHA. Neither team connected on its power play -- UMD, who improves to 5-0-0, went 0-of-2 and the Mavericks 0-of-1.

Both squads will do it all again tomorrow afternoon for a matinee puck drop at 3:00 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena.

BULLDOG NOTES:  Gabbie Hughes now has a current streak of nine points (1g, 8a) over her first eight games of the season ... the two assists lift Hughes past Erika Holst and into the sixth slot all-time for career assists with 105 ... in just 40 career games as a defenseman, Ashton Bell has now scored 16 -- the 10th most in UMD history from the blueline ... three of UMD's five game-winning goals so far this season have been scored by defenseman ... Bell has two while Maggie Flaherty has one ... Kylie Hanley's goal was the first goal of the season for the senior captain.