Gabbie Hughes picked the best time possible to score her first collegiate hat trick, and now the rest is NCAA postseason history.

Hughes led the No. 8 University of Minnesota Duluth soaring past No. 9 Harvard University 4-0 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. The senior center netted a natural hat trick – the first-ever by a Bulldog player in the NCAA Tournament, and the second-ever hat-trick in the NCAA postseason in program history.

It took just 39 seconds for the Bulldogs to take a lead they would never surrender.  Élizabeth Giguère found Hughes below the circle, and the Lino Lakes, Minn. native beat Crimson goaltender Becky Dutton.

Hughes opened the second period the same way she had drawn the curtain on the first, but did the damage even sooner.  Anna Klein, who had the secondary assist on the first tally, dished the puck from below the extended goal line to Hughes.  The senior center again one-timed the puck going to one knee for her second goal of the game 25 seconds into the second frame to push UMD into a 2-0 advantage.

The hat trick came at 12:21 of the second period, with Klein and Kylie Hanley taking lanes and spreading the Harvard defense with them, Hughes took a clean feed from Giguère, stickhandled and ripped it low for the first hat-trick of her collegiate career.  Despite having put the same amount of shots on goal as the Crimson did through the first 40 minutes (18), the Bulldogs had a commanding 3-0 into the second intermission.

 

 
McKenzie Hewett rounded out UMD's scoring at 6:34 of the third period, dropping the hammer from the slot off a feed from Anneke Linser. The Bulldogs fourth goal of the game locked UMD into its second NCAA Quarterfinal (now Regional Final) appearance in as many years.
 

It wasn't all offense for UMD Thursday night, however, and it started in net with senior goaltender Emma Soderberg, making her first appearance between the pipes in four games.  Soderberg was superb, turning away all 27 shots she faced from the Crimson, and helped keep Harvard scoreless on the lone power play of the game at 7:28 of the third period.  The shutout was the fifth of the season for Soderberg, but more impressively for Soderberg is that it's not her first NCAA shutout.  Soderberg blanked Colgate one year ago in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Erie, Penn. and now has the most NCAA Tournament clean sheets in program history.

"Proud of the group, really liked the way we played and had some really timely goals today that I think turned the momentum in our way," said UMD head coach Maura Crowell.  "I thought we finished really strong in that third period, it was a great way to end it.  We beat a good Harvard team and we are happy to be advancing."

The Bulldogs advance to the Regional Final where they will face the No. 2 University of Minnesota Saturday.  The puck will drop at Ridder Arena at 2:00 p.m. 

BULLDOG NOTES:  Gabbie Hughes joins UMD legend Maria Rooth as the only two players in program history to score a hat trick in the NCAA Tournament … Rooth also netted one against Harvard in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals on March 23, 2001, a 6-3 Bulldog victory (en route to the program's first NCAA title) … Hughes has the only natural NCAA postseason hat trick in program history … Emma Soderberg now has two of the three UMD program NCAA Tournament shutouts … In addition to Soderberg's two, Kim Martin has the other, a 4-0 triumph over the University of Wisconsin in the NCAA Championship game back on March 22, 2008 at the DECC … In all, three players had two or more points for UMD – Élizabeth Giguère had three assists for the Bulldogs, while Anna Klein had two helpers ...  UMD is now 3-0 against Harvard in the NCAA postseason and has never scored fewer than four goals in those three games.