The No. 4/5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team, who has been in the state of New York since last Thursday (Sept. 23), is in the midst of its longest road stay of the season. UMD will face St. Lawrence University on Thursday in Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y. at 5:00 p.m. CT., and the following day, Friday, the Bulldogs will face-off against No. 11 Penn State University at Appleton Arena for a 3:00 p.m. puck drop.
If this set-up sounds familiar, it is. The Bulldogs played both their opponents in single-game showdowns last season. Though the schedule was reversed (UMD played Penn State first), the three teams all met at the D1 in D.C. Tournament back on Nov. 26-27
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022, 5:00 PM CT, St. Lawrence:1-1-0
Friday, September 30, 2022, 3:00 PM CT, Penn State: 1-1-0
Site: Appleton Arena (3,200), Canton, N.Y.
UMD: 2-0-0
TV/Video: https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/a5346237-9479-316f-80ec-071c09af4903/ncaa-women-s-hockey#bucketId=2
International Stream: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ecachockey/
Live Stats: https://saintsathletics.com/sidearmstats/whockey/summary
A BELL-RINGING REUNION: Ashton Bell's long-awaited return to the ice in a Bulldog sweater was stellar last weekend against Long Island University. The fifth-year senior and now Olympic gold medalist, had one assist in Saturday's 4-1 win before unloading on the Sharks Saturday with her first career hat-trick and additional assist. All told, the Deloraine, Manitoba native had five points (3g, 2a) in her first two games for UMD since the 2021 NCAA Frozen Four semifinals on March 18, 2021.
For her big-time weekend offensive output, Bell was named the first WCHA's Defender of the Week of the season.
HANG ANOTHER ONE UP FOR HUGHES: Gabbie Hughes continued one of the most remarkable careers of any Bulldog in program history Sunday when the graduate senior dished out her 100th career assist. Hughes became the eighth player to ever hit the century mark for helpers, and in the eighth spot, she is just five assists shy of jumping up into the sixth spot.
SUPER START: The Bulldogs sweep of the Sharks last weekend was the 14th opening series sweep by a UMD squad in program history. All-time, the Bulldogs are 36-9-2 in season opening weekends and 10-4 in the Maura Crowell era.
POWERED UP: UMD finished the 2021-22 season with the fourth best power play in the nation, and they started the 2022-23 season right where they left off. The Bulldogs went 3-of-11 last weekend for a 27.3 conversion rate -- last season they finished the year with a 25.6 conversion rate.
THE SERIES:
ST. LAWRENCE: The Bulldogs and Saints met up once last season, a 4-3 overtime win on Nov. 26 in the D1 in D.C. Tournament in Arlington, Virgina.
On Nov. 26, 2021, the Bulldogs overcame a 3-1 deficit before defeating the Saints 4-3 in overtime. Anna Klein cashed in UMD's first goal and made her own history at 5:27 of the first period, but from there SLU scored three unanswered tallies. UMD used a power play to score two goals with the extra skater -- including Elizabeth Giguere's overtime winner. Gabbie Hughes added a goal, as well as McKenzie Hewett. Both Klein and Giguere led UMD with a goal and two assists.
Emma Soderberg made 20 saves for UMD, who outshot SLU 30-23 and went 2-of-5 on its power play.
As a programs, the history between both sides, especially in the NCAA postseason, is extensive. The two sides clashed three times in the NCAA tournament two decades ago, including in the first-ever NCAA title game a 4-2 win for UMD in Minneapolis, Minn. on March 25, 2001, in what doubles as the Bulldogs first ever national title. The two pro-grams met in the NCAA quarterfinals in both 2005 (March 18, 2005, a 3-2 overtime win for the Saints in Wessman Arena in Superior, Wisc.) and then again on on March 18, 2006 in Canton, NY, a 1-0 win for SLU.
The Bulldogs have played in a total of 65 games against teams in the Saints conference -- the ECAC -- and own a 42-19-4 alltime record against the league.
PENN STATE: The Bulldogs have an affection for the Nitty Lions home rink, having made a run to the NCAA Frozen Four championship game last March in University Park, Penn., but the two sides will meet for a second-straight year on netural ice.
All-time, UMD is 2-1 against PSU and 12-3-1 against CHA opponents.
On Nov. 26, 2021 of last season, UMD suffered a 2-3 setback to PSU. The Bulldogs got two goals from senior Klein, and two assists from Giguere and Hughes in UMD's 3-2 loss. The main story was penalties for the Bulldogs, who lost Kylie Hanley at 11:18 of the first and had to ward off a five-minutes major after that. UMD just edged PSU 26-25 in shots on goal, but the Bulldogs were bogged down by 29 penalty minutes on nine penalties, a whopping 6.5 more infractions than UMD has been used to in WCHA play entering that day's skate. In all, there were 17 penalties called against both sides -- UMD went 1-of-7 on the power play, while PSU went 1-of-6. Soderberg had 22 stops -- including 11 on the penalty kill.
UMD's nine penalties for 29 minutes on against the Nitty Lions last November was the most by a Bulldog squad since it posted an identical nine infractions for 29 minutes back on Feb. 22, 2014 against Minnesota.
Additionally, five years ago, two current seniors picked up their first collegiate points against PSU. Now graduate senior Naomi Rogge and fifth-year senior Ashton Bell each recorded an assist that came on Sept. 30, 2017.
WATCH PARTY: Super senior Naomi Rogge has 94 career points (52g, 42a) over 131 games, just six shy of the UMD 100-point club.
Ashton Bell is right behind Rogge on the career climb. The converted defenseman has 91 career points (34g, 57a) and 37 of them have come from the blueline over 57 games.
Bell's 18 goals as a defenseman ranks her in a tie all-time for 8th among UMD blueliners.
Maggie Flaherty begins the year with 44 assists, also the tenth-most among Bulldog defensemen in a career.
Gabbie Hughes, already the seventh-highest point getter in UMD history (72-100=172), will look to climb in career goals, where she sits one out of the 10th slot with 72 and assists, where she is already in eighth with 100.
Hughes also begins the season with the second highest career points per game average in all of the NCAA with a 1.32 ppg.
POWERED PLAY: UMD ranked fourth in the NCAA and second in the WCHA in power play percentage last season with a 25.6 conversion rate.
Luckily for the Bulldogs, no one has had more power play goals over the past five seasons combined than Ashton Bell, who, after last weekend, now has 18 career power play tallies. Over that same span, Naomi Rogge has posted 12, including a career-best seven in 2021. Bell has posted seven power play goals in a season twice -- in both 2019 and 2017. With those seven power play goal season, Bell and Rogge have netted more scores with the skater advantage than any other Bulldogs since the 2010-11 season, respectively. (Brienna Gillanders had nine that season, while Audrey Cournoyer netted seven.)
ALL THE ALL-AMERICANS: For the first time in program history, the Bulldogs are returning three All-Americans to their roster. An impressive feat, especially considering UMD has had a total of 26 All-Americans -- including 15 First Team selections.
Those returners are 2021-22 CCM/AHCA First Team All-American Gabbie Hughes, 2020-21 CCM/AHCA Second Team All-American, as well as a USCHO First Team All-American Ashton Bell and Emma Soderberg, who was both a USCHO Second Team All-American and a 2020-21 CCM/AHCA Women's University Division Ice Hockey All-American.
The trio, all seniors in their Covid extra season of eligibilty, last all hit the ice together in the 2021 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal.
BELL'S BIG RETURN EARNS WCHA DEFENDER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Ashton Bell's return to the Bulldog roster was everything University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey fans expected -- and a little more.
On Monday, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association agreed, and named the fifth-year senior the WCHA's Defender of the Week after her five-point performance against Long Island University over the weekend that helped push the Bulldogs into a lopsided series sweep.
Bell had an assist in Saturday's 4-1 win before offensively unloading on Sunday in East Meadow, N.Y. The senior blueliner from Deloraine, Manitoba scored three goals -- including two power play goals -- en route to her first career hat trick in the Bulldogs dominant 5-0 triumph. Bell, who also had the game-winner, added a power play assist on a feed cross-crease to Gabbie Hughes to give her a total of four points in the contest (3g, 1a). All told, Bell figured in four of UMD's goals Sunday and five of the seven tallies the Bulldogs scored with a goaltender between the pipes.
With the points outburst over the weekend, Bell moves into a tie for the 8th spot all-time for goals by a defenseman with Navada Russell, who also had 18 over her blueline career. Bell also moves to 91 career points over 127 games (34g, 57a) -- the first defenseman to attempt to reach the milestone in a decade. Former forward to defenseman convert Jessica Wong hit it back on Oct. 6, 2012, the last blueliner to join the club. (Wong was a defenseman both her junior and senior seasons, and accumulated 29 goals and 48 assists for 77 points in 83 as a defenseman alone).
BULLDOGS RANKED FOURTH AND FIFTH NATIONALLY: After starting the season in fifth in both national polls, UMD is now fourth in the latest DCU/USCHO national poll. The Bulldogs remain fifth in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
