For the first time in over a decade, the No. 8 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will return to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons Thursday when it steps on to the ice of Ridder Arena to take on No. 9 Harvard University. The Bulldogs -- who swept the Crimson earlier in the season in Cambridge, Mass. will be playing in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time after the NCAA expanded the postseason field to 11 teams to create three First Round contests.
UMD IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: UMD heads back into the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010 and 2011. This will mark the tenth time in program history the Bulldogs have received an NCAA Tournament bid, and the third of the Maura Crowell era. In all, UMD has gone to the NCAA Tournament (or right into the NCAA Frozen Four (2001, 2002, 20003) for 13 times in its history.
UMD will play in the first-ever First Round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday after the NCAA expanded its tournament field from eight to 11 teams. Just one season ago, UMD upended fourth-seeded Colgate University on March 15, 2021, using overtime at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Penn. to knock out the Raiders in a 1-0 and advance to the program's eighth Frozen Four.
All-time, the Bulldogs are 16-7 in the NCAA postseason, including 11-3 in the NCAA Frozen Four and 5-4 in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The NCAA didn't adopt a quarterfinal game until the 2004-05 season, and prior to that, UMD had played in and won the first three NCAA titles in 2001, 2002 and 2003, going a perfect 6-0 in the NCAA postseason.
UMD AND HARVARD IN NCAA POSTSEASON PLAY: The Bulldogs and Crimson have met just twice in the NCAA postseason, and both meetings came in the early days of the UMD program.
The Bulldogs are 2-0 against Harvard on college women's hockey biggest stage. Notably, the Crimson share one of UMD's all-time great program moments. The Bulldogs defeated Harvard on March 23, 2003 in the DECC after two overtimes to win the 2003 NCAA title by a score of 4-3 -- UMD's third straight-title.
UMD vs Harvard
NCAA Tournament History
March 23, 2003 - NCAA Championship
Duluth, Minn. (DECC)
UMD 4, Harvard 3 2 (2OT)
March 23, 2001 - NCAA Semifinals
Minneapolis, Minn. (Mariucci Arena)
UMD 6, Harvard 3
Another factor to consider: UMD and Harvard have never met outside of the state of Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament.
THE SERIES:UMD is 14-5-1 all-time against Harvard and has won five-straight games, including four consecutive road wins in Cambridge after sweeping the Crimson in two games back on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 earlier this season.
UMD swept then No. 10 Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. 5-2 in game one and then 4-3 the following afternoon. The Bulldogs were led by the six points of Gabbie Hughes (4g, 2a) and Elizabeth Giguere (1g, 5a) and four points of Anna Klein (2g, 2a).
In game one, the Bulldogs offense simply overwhelmed the Crimson from start to finish, with three players posting two or more points in the 5-2 win. Hughes led the way with two goals and an assist, Klein added a goal and an assist, and Giguere posted two assists. UMD senior goaltender Emma Soderberg was impressive between the pipes with 23 saves, including one off the tip of her stick in the second period that was so incredible it had to be reviewed by officials. The Bulldogs outshot Harvard 29-25 and went 1-of-4 with an extra skater, while the Crimson went 2-of-6.
In the second game of the series, the Bulldog line of seniors Giguère, Hughes and Klein accounted for all the goals scored in the 4-3 triumph, with Hughes posting two and Giguere and Klein each adding one. Harvard took the first lead of the game midway through the first period and retook it in the second, on a power play, but UMD answered every time, securing the series shutout behind Soderberg's 23 stops in the game. The Bulldogs outshot the Crimson 33-26 and went 1-of-3 on the power play. Harvard's Becky Dutton had 29 saves for the Crimson, who went an impressive 2-of-3 with an extra skater.
MORE NOTES FROM THE HARVARD SERIES: Elizabeth Giguere has a whopping 16 points (6g, 10a) against Harvard in eight career games for a 2.00 points per game average. Giguere figured in all four goals the Bulldogs scored on Saturday and a total of six points (1g, 5a) on the weekend.the first skate, while the Gophers held on for a 2-1 triumph the following day.
--The Bulldogs are 5-1 against the Crimson with head coach Maura Crowell at the helm.
--Harvard is just one of 10 teams UMD played against this season, and one of three non-conference opponents. The Bulldogs went 3-1 against non-WCHA foes.
LAST TIME OUT: UMD fell 5-1 to then top-ranked Minnesota last Saturday in the WCHA Final Face-Off semifinals at Ridder Arena.
Minnesota book-ended the first period with a goal 51 seconds in and then at 19:48, a deflection that found its way past Jojo Chobak. The Gophers added one goal in the second period at 3:18, and opened the third period with a goal just 14 seconds into the frame.
UMD was chasing a 4-0 Minnesota advantage when its top-line finally broke through at 3:56 of the third period. From behind the net, Gabbie Hughes found Élizabeth at the top of the right circle and Giguère's blast it to make it a 4-1 semifinal.
UMD pushed the rest of the third, but Lauren Bench and Minnesota didn't concede any other goals to the Bulldogs. The Gophers added an empty net tally at 17:16 to run their lead, and eventual final score, to 5-1.
Chobak, making her first ever WCHA Final Face-Off start, had 34 saves for UMD. Bench had 21 for Minnesota, who outshot the Bulldogs 39-22 in the game. Both teams went 0-of-1 on their power plays.
NOTES FROM THE MINNESOTA WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF SEMIFINALS: All-time, UMD is 31-66-10 against the Gophers. The Bulldogs are now 4-9 in WCHA postseason play against the Gophers, but UMD still owns a 3-2 record in WCHA title games against Minnesota.
--The Bulldogs have not won a semifinal game since the beat the Gophers 2-1 back on March 4, 2017. Ironically, after dropping Minnesota out of the league playoff title, the Gophers came back to defeat UMD 1-0 in the NCAA Quarterfinals seven days later at AMSOIL Arena.
--All-time, UMD is now 8-11 in WCHA semifinal games and 45-25 in all WCHA postseason play.
RANK AND FILE: The Bulldogs have played, once again, one of the hardest schedules in the nation over the regular season. With 15 of UMD's games against top-10 teams -- including two non-conference top-10 skates -- the Bulldogs are 7-8 (.466).
UMD earned series splits with all three WCHA teams currently ahead of them NCAA seedings -- Minnesota, Ohio State (twice) and Wisconsin. The Bulldogs also swept then No. 10 Harvard Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
UMD's trio of Élizabeth Giguère, Gabbie Hughes and Anna Klein have raised their games against ranked teams. In 15 games, Klein leads all Bulldog scorers with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points (1.46 ppg). Hughes has eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points (1.40 ppg), while Giguere has rung up ranked teams for 10 goals and 10 assists for 19 points (1.33ppg) over those 15 elevated games.
Against top-10 teams in 2021-22
Anna Klein - 15 Games:
7g, 15a = 22 points (1.46 ppg)
Gabbie Hughes - 15 Games:
8g, 13a = 21 points (1.40 ppg)
Élizabeth Giguère - 15 Games
10g, 10a = 20 points (1.33 ppg)
A FINALIST FOR HISTORY, GABBIE HUGHES: Senior center Gabbie Hughes is one of just three Division I women's college hockey players to be both a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award and the Patty Kazmaier Award. Hughes joins Annie Pankowski (Wisconsin 2019) and Chandra Gunn (Northeastern 2004, 2003), who are the only other players in history to be finalists for both awards.
HOW GOOD IS GIGUERE? Not good, GREAT. Élizabeth Giguère, a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier award for a fourth-straight season, now has 288 career points -- which makes her the third-highest point-getter in all of NCAA Division I women's college hockey history. Giguère also ranks third all-time in assists with 168 -- just three helpers shy of overtaking second. With 26 game-winning goals, she sits sixth, and one more game-winner would move her up to third. Her 120 goals also ties her for ninth all-time in the NCAA in goals scored. Giguère has skated in a whopping 173 consecutive collegiate games, and has averaged a 1.66 points per game clip throughout her career.
SEEING DOUBLE: The Bulldogs have had two goaltenders sharing time in net this season, senior Emma Soderberg and sophomore Jojo Chobak. Sodberg started the first 20 games of the season before she starred for Sweden between the pipes in the 2022 Olympics, starting all four games for Sweden and collecting 137 saves in those skates. In Sodberg's relief, Chobak starred in her own right, including shutouts against Ohio State and Wisconsin. Chobak is 10-4-1 overall, while Soderberg is 14-7-0. Chobak was in goal last weekend against the Minnesota --Soderberg skated in the NCAA postseason twice a season ago. UMD's duo is its first in net since then Freshman Maddie Rooney and then senior Kayla Black each played in 19 games back in 2015-16.
HIGHLY OFFENSIVE BULLDOGS: UMD has had an abundance of offense this season, having now compiled 127 goals through 36 games. Their 127 goals are the fifth most scored this season in the NCAA, and ranks them sixth nationally while their 3.53 goals per game average ranks eighth. It also marks the 10th highest goals per game clip for UMD in its 24 season history.
