The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will begin the 2023 portion of the 2022-23 schedule this weekend when the Bulldogs head to Madison Wisc. to face the No. 2 University of Wisconsin in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action at La Bahn Arena. The Saturday-Sunday series will get underway Saturday at 1:00 p.m. before wrapping up Sunday at noon.

Date:  January 7-8, 2023,  1:00 p.m. Saturday, 12:00 p.m. Saturday

Site: La Bahn Arena (2,273), Madison, Wisc.

           UMD: 13-6-1 (7-6-1)

           Wisconsin: 16-3-1 (12-1-1)

Video: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/page/home

Live Stats: https://uwbadgers.com/sidearmstats/whockey/summary

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are now 34-59-15 against the Badgers in 106 all-time meetings after each side settled for a series split back on Oct. 28-29 at AMSOIL Arena. It was the second-straight UMD and Wisconsin series split for a second consecutive series.

The Bulldogs earned a series split against then No. 3 Wisconsin at AMSOIL, defeating the Badgers 2-1 Friday night and suffering a wild 4-3 setback Saturday.

On Friday night, the Badgers put a plethora of shots on goal in the first period – 16 to the Bulldogs six, but their first real break came off a UMD turnover in the neutral zone that Lacey Eden buried to give UW the lead at 18:18 of the first period.

From there, the Bulldogs started to push back offensively, outshooting the Badgers 8-7 in the second frame and 9-5 in the third to force the eventual game-tying goal.

At the 17:10 mark of the third period, Maggie Flaherty's shot from the left face-off dot was tipped to Gabbie Hughes on the back post, and Hughes slammed it in knot the game up at 1-1. As a result, another WCHA 3-on-3 overtime awaited the Bulldogs, and this time, UMD delivered. After both sides had skated for 4:03 of extra time, Nina Jobst-Smith scored her seond career overtime game-winner to seal UMD's fate.

UMD had three different goal scorers in Saturday's skate, including a power play goal from Hanna Baskin in the firrst period and another by Gabby Krause at 5:30 of the second.  Wisconsin then reeled off three even strength, taking a 4-2 lead early in the third before Ashton Bell struck on the power play to make it a 4-3 game at 10:59 of the third period.

UMD thought it had found an equalizer from Naomi Rogge with 1:52 remaining, but a Wisconsin challenge on the Bulldogs just offsides on the play stood, and UMD was stripped of its extra skater goal, handing Wisconsin the wild win in the process.

Emma Soderberg had 22 saves for the Bulldogs.  UMD was 2-of-4 on its power play, while Wisconsin, outshot 38-26 in the skate, went 1-of-1.  .

Eight different players logged a point for UMD in the series, including four players that recorded a point in each game on the weekend … Gabbie Hughes (1g,1a), Nina Jobst-Smith (1g,1a), Clara Van Wieren (2a) and Naomi Rogge (2a) all had two points against the Badgers

A QUICK LOOK AT THE BADGERS: The Badgers boast the nation's top scoring offense, averaging 5.25 goals a game through 20 outings. Wisconsin's scoring leaders are juniors Lacey Eden (13g, 15a) and Casey O'Brien (9g, 19a), who each have 28 points. Senior goaltender Cami Kronish has the third most shutouts this season with five. The Badgers splt last weekend at No. 4 Quinnipiac. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD's last series was back on Dec. 9-10 at AMSOIL Arena against St. Thomas, a win and split in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association series.

On Friday afternoon (game one), UMD trounced the Tommies, scoring three goals in the opening frame before cruising to a 8-1 victory. Ashton Bell led all scorers with four points on two goals and two assists, while Mannon McMahon and Gabbie Hughes each posted three points on a goal and two assists. In all, five players had multiple point games with senior Anneke Linser adding a goal and an assist, and freshman defenseman Tova Henderson dishing out a career-best two assists.

Saturday afternoon was a entirely different story for the Bulldogs, who after putting 56 shots on goal Friday, recorded 49 on net Saturday.  UMD was forced to settle for a 1-1 overtime and eventual league mandated shootout loss for the extra WCHA point.

McMahon netted the Bulldogs lone goal 3:18 into the second period with assists to Taylor Anderson and Bell, but a power play goal by UST at 14:31 of the third period tied the game at 1-1. Despite UMD having outshot the Tommies 19-5 in the third period, 6-2 in overtime and 49-15 over the entire contest, the Bulldogs ended up with a tie.

Rookie goaltender Hailey MacLeod ended up with 14 saves in her third career start.

NOTES FROM THE UST SERIES:  UMD is now 5-0-1 against the Tommies since their inclusion into the WCHA. Over those six games, the Bulldogs have outscored UST 29-4 in those six skates for an average of 4.83 goals per game.

--The Bulldogs outscored the Tommies 9-2 in the December series, but outshot them a whopping 105-29.

--Ashton Bell led all scorers with five points in the series on two goals and three assists. Mannon McMahon had the second most points with two goals and two assists for four points.

BELL POCKETS SECOND DEFENDER OF THE MONTH AWARD: After posting the most points per game of any defenseman in the WCHA over the month of December, UMD women's hockey fifth-year senior Ashton Bell was named the leagues Defender of the Month on Tuesday.

The Deloraine, Manitoba native averaged 1.25 points per game over four games, helping lead the Bulldogs to a 2-1-1 record last month, including an overtime win over No. 1 Ohio State University. Bell compiled two goals and three assists for five points in those skates.

Currently, Bell has 20 points (9g, 11a) through her first 20 games this season, the third most in the WCHA, where she also has third most power goals among all skaters. Bell was also the WCHA's Defender of the Month for September and is a two-time Defender of the Week so far this season.

Bell moved into the 20th all-time scorer in UMD program history with 106 points (40g, 66a) in early December, and now ranks ninth all-time among blueline scorers with 65 points (23g, 42a) in 74 games as a defenseman.  Bell also has jumped to third among all defenseman in career goals scored with 23, and her current total of nine goals on the season already ranks ninth in a single season by a Bulldog blueliner.

GAMES GALORE: A plethora of Bulldogs have now ascended on to the top-10 list for all-time games played in program history. Three players currently rank in the top-nine slots -- Naomi Rogge in fifth with 149 games played, and Gabbie Hughes and Anneke Linser with 146 games played in a tie for ninth. Two players sit just outside the top-10 -- Ashton Bell, with 145 games played, and Taylor Anderson, with 144.

For more than a decade, a trio of former Bulldog players who all graduated in the same year (and played all four seasons together), were together in the top-10 for career games played -- Jamie Rasmussen (157), Sarah Murray (153) and Emmanuelle Blias (145) from 2006-2010.

COUNTDOWN TO 200: Senior graduate center Gabbie Hughes is now just seven points shy of the 200 career points mark. With 76 goals and 115 assists in 146 games, Hughes is sitting at 193 points -- only seven players in program history have ever reached the 200 point mark, the last, Hailey Irwin in 2011-12.

Hughes is also now just eight assists shy of cracking into the NCAA's career top-25 assist record book, that begins at 124 career assists. Three other Bulldogs are in that heralded club -- Jenny Potter (148), Caroline Ouellette (137) and Haley Irwin (127).

SODERBERG'S STALK OF THE RECORD BOOKS: Emma Soderberg has quitely climbed her way into the UMD goaltending annuals in a number of catergories, and is now tied for the sixth most wins in program history with 44 -- to tie her with Patricia Sautter Elsmore. Soderberg's all-time record is 44-22-0, while Sautter Elsmore's record was 44-5-4

Soderberg is also one shutout away from a career tie with fellow Swedes Kim Martin, who had 16 shutouts as a Bulldog, and her .929 saves percentage is the fifth-highest in program history.

HONOR THY DEFENSE: Ashton Bell's second WCHA Defender of the Month award is the fourth total monthly award won by a UMD player in just four months. Of the eight WCHA Player of the Week awards earned by the Bulldogs, six of them have gone to defenseman and one to a goaltender.

MCMAHON ON THE MOVE: Senior forward Mannon McMahon has tied a career-best 19 points in a season already, having posted a career best seven goals to pair with 12 assists. McMahon led all scorers with six points in December (2g, 4a), and is currently on a three-game scoring streak to begin the new year.

The speedy forward was coming off the best offensive season of her career after scoring four goals and 15 assists for 19 points last year in 40 games.

BLUEPRINT BLUELINERS: In Ashton Bell and Maggie Flaherty, UMD has its most dominant defensive pair in a decade, and the numbers to back the claim.

Bell stormed into the top-10 list of all-time scoring defenseman in December, and now sits ninth all-time with 66 points (23g, 43a) in just 74 games from the blueline. Bell already ranks third among defensemen in goals scored with 23, and right now has the ninth most in a single-season with nine. (Bell already has the third most goals by a defenseman in a single season -- 11 -- compiled over the 2019-20 season.)

Flaherty has 62 career points (14g, 48a) over 134, good enough for the 11th most points by a defenseman in program history.  With 48 career assists, Flaherty is in a tie with Jessica Wong for the ninth most by their position at UMD.

With 16 goals between them, they have already scored the most goals by a pair of defensemen in a season since Krista McArthur scored 15, and both Larissa Luther and Navada Russell netted five apiece. Pick either bluliner to pair with McArhtur, and the last time a defensive duo scored 16 or more points was the 2002-03 season at 20.

THE POWERED PLAY CAREER OF ASHTON BELL: No player in a decade has scored more goals on the power play for UMD than Ashton Bell, who has already rung up four so far this season.

The senior blueliner has 20 over her 145 games career so far -- the most by a Bulldog players since Haley Irwin finished her 134 game career with 20 in 2012. The last UMD player to notch more than 20 power plays in a career? Laura Fridfinnson, who posted 22 over 151 games from 2007-11.

MAKING A CAREER OF IT: Gabbie Hughes not only moved into ninth in all-time goals with 76 , she also ranks fifth all-time in assists with 117.

Hughes currently ranks in the top-five among all active NCAA players over a career for points, points per game, goals, assists, assists per game and game-winning goals.

The Lino Lakes, Minn. ranks third among all current NCAA players with 193 career points, third in points per game (1.32 ppg), third in assists (117), fifth in game-winning goals (17), fifth in assists per game (0.80), and seventh in goals (76). Among all WCHA players, Hughes ranks second in points (one point from a tie from first), first in points per game and game-winning goals, second in assists, fifth in assists per game and fourth in goals.

Hughes isn't the only current Bulldog on the career NCAA charts. Ashton Bell ranks fourth overall and second in the WCHA with 20 power play goals, while senior goaltender Emma Soderberg owns the eighth best saves percentage and tops in the WCHA at .929, while also ranked third in shutouts. Soderberg also owns the WCHA's current most career wins and fifth in the NCAA with 44.

EXPERIENCED APPLICANTS ONLY: The Bulldogs have a experienced ladden group of players, nine of whom have skated in 114 or more games and five that have played 144 or more.  Even more impressive, UMD boasts 18 players who have played in an NCAA Championship game and 12 that have skated in back-to-back NCAA Frozen Fours.

POINT TAKEN: Gabbie Hughes, who currently leads the Bulldogs with 25 points (5g, 20a), has also recorded points in 14 of her first 19 games, and has turned in multiple point skates eight times.

BULLDOG BITS: Gabbie Hughes is fifth in the NCAA with a 1.05 assists per game average ... Hughes also ranks second in the WCHA and seveth in the NCAA in face-off wins 242 ... two UMD players are averaging one or more points a game -- Hughes at 1.32 ppg and Ashton Bell at 1.00 ppg ... Bell and Maggie Flaherty are part of a tie for sixth in the NCAA with four power play goals ... Emma Soderberg's four shutouts rank her in a tie for eighth in the NCAA.

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 (and Olympic gold medalist) Ashton Bell and (olympian) 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.

2022-23 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

12/15-19/22 - Ashton Bell joined former Bulldog All-Americans Elizabeth Giguère and Jocelyne Larocque in the December rivalry series for Canada, who faced the U.S. and former UMD goaltender and goaltender coach Maddie Rooney.  Former Bulldog great and All-American and four-time Olympic gold medalist Caroline Ouellette was also an assistant coach for Team Canada.

12/10/22 vs UST -- UMD's Hockey Hits Back double-header with Sophie's Squad -- the organization that Gabbie Hughes helped create, earns more than $9,000 in one day.

11/10/22 vs Harvard -- Gabbie Hughes scores career goal No. 75, tying her for the ninth most in UMD history.

11/18/22 vs Harvard -- Ashton Bell becomes just the third defenseman and 24th overall player in program history to record 100 career points on a late in game assist.

The trio of Bell, Rogge and Hughes is the first 100 point members to skate together in a season since Jessica Wong (also a forward to defense convert), Pernilla Winberg and Katie Wilson did it in 2012-13 – a decade ago.

11/12/22 at SCSU -- Naomi Rogge scores a goal to become the 23rd member of the 100 career point club.

9/24/22 -- Ashton Bell makes her triumphant return from the Canadian Olympic Team to the Bulldogs. The fifth-year senior became the first UMD player since Maddie Rooney did it with the U.S. in 2018 to win a gold medal and resume college eligibilty.

Bell is joined Rooney, Hailey Irwin (Canada, 2010), Caroline Ouellette (Canada, 2002) and Jenny Potter (U.S., 1998) as the fifth UMD player to win gold and either return to a college roster (Bell, Rooney, Irwin) or take the medal into a college career (Ouellette, Potter).