The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team returns to AMOIL Arena this weekend to host St. Thomas University. A new Western Collegiate Hockey Association member this season, UST will visit Duluth, Minn. for the first time Friday night at 6:01 p.m. The series will conclude Saturday with a 3:01 p.m. puck drop.
BULLDOG QUICK HITS
GOALS GALORE: UMD currently has 99 goals through 27 games -- UMD has not scored more than 100 goals in an entire season since the 2016-17 (note the 20-21 season was only 19 games). The Bulldogs have only scored 99 or more goals three times since in a decade (UMD had 110 in 2016-17 and 99 in 19-20).
HUGHES CONTINUES TO LEAD NATION IN POINTS, ASSISTS PER GAME AND TOTAL ASSISTS -- Senior center Gabbie Hughes leads the nation with a 1.78 points per game average through 27 games. Senior forward Élizabeth Giguère sits fifth with a 1.67 ppg average, while Anna Klein ranks 13th at 1.41.
Hughes also leads the country with 32 assists and a NCAA-high 1.19 assists per game. Giguere is tied for fourth in the NCAA with 28 assists and ranks fifth with a 1.04 average.
THE GREAT GIGUERE -- Élizabeth Giguère is currently first among all active players in the NCAA for career assists (161) and second in points (277). Giguère also ranks second in points per game (1.69), second in assists per game (0.98), second in goals (116) and first in game-winning goals (25).
VAN WIEREN ON FIVE-GAME SCORING STREAK: Sophomore forward Clara Van Wieren has scored at least a point in her last five skates. Van Wieren, who had the secondary assist on UMD's goal last Saturday night, has two goals and three assists over that five game span. She currently has the Bulldogs longest scoring streak.
CHILLED CHOBAK: For a second time in three weeks, sophomore goaltender Jojo Chobak shutout at top-3 team last weekend. While UMD starter Emma Soderberg has been unflappable at the Olympics, Chobak has rallied the Bulldogs. In relief, Chobak has posted a 5-2 record and is averaging 28.1 saves a contest. Chobak has a 1.86 GAA for the season and a .935 saves percentage. Chobak has not played in enough games to rank in the WCHA, but her saves percentage is currently the second highest in the league.
THE SERIES: UMD is 2-0 all-time against the Tommies after the first-ever meeting between the two programs in October.
It's been awhile, but UMD's first and only series against the Tommies was back on Oct. 23-24, a sweep of St. Thomas in Mendota Heights, Minn. by scores of 3-0 and 7-0.
In the first meeting of the two sides in history on Oct. 23, UMD registered a 3-0 win. UMD peppered the Tommies with 35 shots on goal to 21, and had two players notch two points -- linemates Gabbie Hughes (1g, 1a) and Anna Klein (2a). Senior goaltender Emma Soderberg made all 21 stops on all the shots she faced for her eighth career shutout and second of the season.
The following day, the Bulldogs defeated the Tommies 7-0 to sweep the WCHA series. Senior forward Kylie Hanley and sophomore forward Clara Van Wieren each notched two goals, while senior center Naomi Rogge led all scorers with three points on a goal and two assists for three points.
Soderberg and Jojo Chobak split duties between the pipes for the Bulldogs, with Soderberg making five saves in 39:42 minutes and Chobak two in 20 minutes. UMD outshot the Tommies 43-7 in the game -- a program low allowed by the Bulldogs.
MORE NOTES FROM THE FIRST ST. THOMAS SERIES: The Bulldogs held STU to just seven shots in their second game of the series, besting an six-year old program record of nine shots in a game. The Bulldogs had twice before held opponents to just nine shots -- the last time was on Jan. 23, 2015 against Minnesota State.
--UMD has back-to-back shutouts and 120 minutes of no goals against for the first time since it blanked BSU 2-0 and 4-0 on Jan. 5 and Jan. 17, 2020.
LAST TIME OUT: UMD split with then No. 3/4 Wisconsin last weekend in Madison, Wisc. by scores of 3-0 and 1-5.
On Friday night, Jojo Chobak made a career-high 45 saves to help UMD beat the Badgers 3-0, the first UW loss at home by a Bulldog side in almost seven years.
Outshot heavily in every period, rookie Gabby Krause scored UMD's first goal at 3:42 of the first period. Elizabth Giguere put the Bulldogs up 2-0 at 11:36 before icing the game herself when an empty net goal with 15 seconds remaining in game.
All told, the story was Chobak, who made 45 saves on 45 Badger shots. UW outshot UMD 45-16 in the contest.
In Saturday's 5-1 loss, the scoreboard slanted for the Badgers but the shot chart did not. UW edged UMD in the final shots on goal count 29-27, and the Bulldogs and Badgers each had nine shots apiece in both the second and third period. UMD sophomore goaltender Chobak had 24 saves and senior defenseman Kailee Skinner had the lone Bulldog goal early in the third period.
NOTES FROM THE WISCONSIN SERIES: The Bulldogs are now 33-56-15 all-time against the Badgers. It was the first series played between the two sides that did not include an overtime since Feb. 2019.
--It was UMD's first shutout of the Badgers since Feb. 6, 2015 (also in Madison)
--UMD's shot total of 16 against the Badgers last Friday was its lowest team effort since March 9, 2019, when the Bulldogs only mustered nine shots on goal against Minnesota.
--Three Bulldog players now have three or more points against the Badgers this season in four games – Elizabeth Giguere, who leads the team with five points on two goals and three assists, Gabbie Hughes (2g, 1a) and Clara Van Wieren (4a).
THAT WINNING FEELING: With 18 wins, the Bulldogs have tied their second-most wins of the Maura Crowell era. Crowell ran up 25 wins in 2016-17, and also had 18 in 19-20.
RANK AND FILE: In their own right, the Bulldogs have fought their way up the national rankings this season. While it has never been ranked lower than No. 8 all season, this week's No. 4 ranking is UMD's highest since the end of its season ranking from last March after a 2021 NCAA Frozen Four appearance.
The Bulldogs have played, once again, the hardest schedule in the nation up to this point. With 14 of UMD's 27 games against top-10 teams -- including two non-conference top-10 skates -- the Bulldogs are 7-7 (.500).
UMD has earned series splits with all three teams currently ahead of them in the national and PairWise rankings -- Minnesota, Ohio State (twice) and Wisconsin. The Bulldogs swept then No. 10 Harvard Dec. 31 and Jan. 1
UMD's top trio of Élizabeth Giguère, Gabbie Hughes and Anna Klein have raised their games against ranked teams. In 14 games, Klein leads all Bulldog scorers with seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points (1.50 ppg). Hughes has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points (1.42 ppg), while Giguere has rung up ranked teams for nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points (1.435ppg) over those 14 elevated games.
HUGHES ON A HAUL: Gabbie Hughes has led the NCAA in points per game for over two months, and currently has a 1.78 ppg game clip. Hughes also leads the nations with 32 assists -- the NCAA-high, and an NCAA-best 1.19 assists per game.
One catergory that may get overlooked is that Hughes, a center, ranks fifth in the NCAA for face-off wins among 247 players ranked -- including second in the WCHA. Hughes has 352 wins from the dot
Equally as impressive is Hughes assault on the career record books at UMD. The assistant senior captain now has 157 career points (65g, 92a) in just 114 games, and is now tied in ninth all-time for points and career assissts.
Hughes is three helpers away from Lara Stalder, who is currently in eighth place with 94 assists over her All-American career at UMD. Hughes was the seventh-fastest player in program history to score 150 points.
POWERED PLAY: The Bulldogs rank fifth in the NCAA with a 24.7 conversion rate on 18-of-73 attempts.
HIGHLY OFFENSIVE BULLDOGS: UMD has had an abundance of offense so far this season, having now compiled 99 goals through its first 27 games. While their 99 goals are the fifth most scored this season in the NCAA, the Bulldogs rank seventh nationally with a 3.67 goals per game average --which only ranks them fourth in the WCHA.
A TRIO OF OFFENSIVE TROUBLE: UMD's line of Gabbie Hughes, Elizabeth Giguère, and Anna Klein, with three of the top-10 scorers in the nation, is the second-most offensively prolific line in the nation. The trio is averaging 1.92 goals per game -- UMD as a whole is averaging 3.80 goals per game. Only Wisconsin's first line of Daryl Watts, Casey O'Brien and Makenna Webster is averaging more goals a game (2.15).
FAST START, BEST START: UMD is 15-2 overall when it scores first and 10-3 with a lead after the first period. The Bulldogs are almost untouchable with a lead after two periods of play -- UMD is 14-1 in those games so far this season.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME: The Bulldogs are 11-4 this season outside the confines of AMSOIL Arena, and just 6-4 on home ice.
Six of the Bulldogs eight home games have been against teams ranked in the top-five, while four games have come against the No. 1 or No. 2 teams in the country.
KLEIN TAKES OVER RECORD: Anna Klein Set a program record for consecutive games played (now at 152), a mark that had been held by Sidney Morin (2013-2017) until Jan. 28. The durable captain has never missed a game in more than 4 and a half years of college hockey.
Notably, graduate transfer Elizabeth Giguere has also never missed a collegiate game over her career for a total of 164 consecutive skates. Giguere skated in 136 consecutive games over her four year playing career at Clarkson University.
**While the NCAA does not track a career games played record, UMD's record is 157, currently held by Jaime Rasmussen, who skated in 157 games between 2006-2010.
THE CENTURY CLUB: When Anna Klein joined the 100 career point club on Dec. 3, she joined fellow teammates Gabbie Hughes (156 career points) and Elizabeth Giguere (275 career points). Klein currently has 117 career points.
They are the first trio of 100 points club members since the 2012-13 season (Jessica Wong, Pernilla Winberg and Katie Wilson, and Audrey Cournoyer all had 100 or more points over that season.) In all, UMD has had three or more members of the 100 career point club on its roster eight times in program history.
