The No. 7/8 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will continue its first road stand of the season when it travels north to Bemidji State University to take on the Beavers Friday and Saturday in the Sanford Center. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association series will get underway at 3:00 p.m., followed by a 2:00 p.m. start on Saturday.
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999: It's been exactly 25 years since the UMD women's hockey program hit the ice for its first NCAA season at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. The Bulldog program will celebrate the season (along with the WCHA's 25th Anniversary season) all year long, highlighted by a 25th Anniversary Team that will be unveiled each week throughout the regular season.
As a program, UMD has compiled 540 wins overall, along with 398 WCHA wins. While the Bulldogs are five-time NCAA champions, they have also skated in seven NCAA title tilts -- including just two seasons ago (2021). As a program, UMD, which has made the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons, has punched its postseason ticket 14 times, and has made eight NCAA Frozen Four appearances -- including two over the past three seasons.
THE 400 WCHA WIN CLUB: The Bulldogs are just two triumphs away from 400 wins in the most exclusive club in all of Division I women's hockey.
Currently at 398 WCHA wins, the Bulldogs are set to become the third league team to reach the mark, which will double as the third fastest program to get to 400 wins.
The Bulldogs have gotten 88 of those wins against Bemidji State prior to this weekend's series, and 87 against
Minnesota State. The third-most wins have come against St. Cloud State (81), while the Bulldog have all-time triumphs against Ohio State with 74.
MCMAHON STREAKS ON: Graduate senior Mannon McMahon has now played the fourth most consecutive games in program history.
The forward has skated in 140 straight-games to date, putting her behind Sidney Morin in third with 147 games, Ashton Bell at No. 2 with 164, and Anna Klein, who owns a program-best 165 consecutive games played.
UMD's all-time games played record was set last season by Naomi Rogge, and stands at 168 games. McMahon is currently 13 games away from cracking into the top-10 games played of all-time.
THE SERIES: UMD is 88-22-4 all-time against the Beavers after sweeping them in all four games last season. After posting a 4-0 record against BSU, UMD has beaten the Beavers in its last nine head-to-head contests. The Bulldogs outscored the Beavers 24-2 overall while having outshot them 134-56 in 2022-23. Of any team UMD has played in its program history, the Bulldogs have the most wins (88) against the Beavers.
Last season, UMD averaged six goals a game vs. BSU while holding the Beavers to a 0,50 GAA. Mannon McMahon is the returning leading scorer for the Bulldogs against BSU with six points (1g, 5a) in four games last season, while Clara Van Wieren and Nina Jobst-Smith both recorded five (Van Wieren 2g, 3a), Jobst-Smith (1g, 4a).
In their last series sweep against BSU on Feb. 17-18 in Bemidji, Minn., UMD swept the Beavers by scores of 6-0 and 5-1.
Naomi Rogge had the lone first period goal in game one before UMD's offense scored five unanswered goals in the second period, including three power play goals in less than five minutes to run out the frame.Rogge (1g, 2a) and Gabbie Hughes (3a) led all scorers with three points on, while then redshirt reshman Mary Kate O'Brien had two goals. Three other players notched two points -- Ashton Bell (1g, 1a), Maggie Flaherty (2a) and Mannon McMahon (2a). Emma Soderberg earned the 21st shutout of her career and 10th of the season with 12 saves.
On following afternoon, UMD found itself trailing quickly in the opening period -- 37 seconds in to be exact. But the Bulldogs got a first period goal from McMahon to tie it before again blowing up the scoreboard in the second period with two goals from Taylor Anderson that bookended a goal by Hughes. Then freshman defenseman Tova Henderson added the first goal of her collegiate career at 16:48 of the third, and the Bulldogs defeated the Beavers 5-1 behind five unanswered goals.
UMD vs. Bemidji State - 88-22-4 All-Time
(Last 10 games)
Feb. 18, 2023 5-1 Win Away
Feb.17, 2023 6-0 Win Away
Jan. 14, 2023 5-0 Win Home
Jan. 13, 2023 8-1 Win Home
Jan. 15, 2022 3-0 Win Home
Jan. 14, 2022 8-2 Win Home
Nov. 20, 2021 4-1 Win Away
Nov. 19, 2021 9-0 Win Away
Jan. 23, 2021 1-0 Win OT Away
Jan. 22, 2021 0-1 Loss OT Away
BEAVERS TO BULLDOGS: Graduate student Reece Hunt and UMD assistant coach Emma Sobieck both spent the last few seasons with BSU.
Hunt was a four-year forward for the Beavers who compiled 20 goals and 39 asssits for 59 points in 126 games.
Sobieck spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach after a successful college career at BSU which inlcuded 146 games played for the Beavers between 2014 and 2018 -- a whopping 145 consecutively. During that time, Sobieck accumulated 48 points, which included 21 goals.
UMD-BSU HIGHLIGHT: UMD has won more games against Bemidji State than any other program over the past 25 years -- 88, to be exact.
UMD-BSU EXTRA: On Feb. 29, 2020, BSU etched out a 2-1 win over the No. 9 UMD at AMSOIL Arena in the second game of the WCHA First Round in the second-longest game in NCAA history, as well as the longest WCHA game ever. The contest, which began at 4:07 p.m. and lasted until 8:57 p.m. was in its entirety four hours and 50 minutes long (4:50) with an on ice time of 128:43 minutes. The game blew past UMD's previous length record of 4:24 (119:26 minutes) set back on March 21, 2010 in the NCAA title game. UMD went on to defeat the Beavers the following day, March 1, 2020, 4-1 to advance to the WCHA's Final Face-Off.
LAST TIME OUT: UMD swept Minnesota State in Mankato last weekend by scores of 3-1 Friday and 4-1 Saturday/ In game one, Mary Kate O'Brien made it a 1-0 game at 7:03 of the first period with her firs goal of the season.
The Mavericks landed the lone goal of the second period, a power play, and after two periods of play, UMD and MSU were tied at 1-1.
Reece Hunt put the Bulldogs up for good with her first game-winner of the season at 9:58 of the third period. Hunt popped the puck through traffic in the crease and buried it for her third goal in four games. UMD iced the game officially late in the frame when Hanna Baskin found the back of the net for the first time this season at the 17:28 mark to stretch UMD's lead to 3-1. Sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod picked up her second win of the season, and turned in a 29 save performance to secure it for the Bulldogs.
On Saturday, junior forward Gabby Krause scored the game's first goal at 6:21 of the first period, but the Mavericks equalized at the 2:28 mark of the second period. O'Brien buried it for UMD less than 90 seconds later to retake a 2-1 lead – a lead UMD would never again relinquish. Jenna Lawry doubled that margin before the halfway point of the frame after poking the puck away from a skating MSU player and unloading it from the circle for her first goal of the season and a 3-1 Bulldog advantage, and Krause added her second goal of the game at 13:06 of the third to make it a 4-1 final.
UMD was a perfect 1-of-1 on its power play while holding MSU scoreless in two attempts. The Bulldogs also outshot the Mavericks 25-22, and got 21 saves from rookie goaltender Ève Gascon.
NOTES FROM THE MSU SERIES: UMD is 87-9-10 all-time against the Mavericks and is 8-1-1 in the last 10 head-to-head action between the teams. The Bulldogs are also an impressive 29-3-6 against MSU over the Maura Crowell era.
--Gabby Krause and Mary Kate O'Brien both logged two points Saturday – Krause two goals and O'Brien a goal and an assist. O'Brien led all Bulldogs in scoring with three points on the weekend (2g, 1a).
--While UMD is unbeaten against the Mavericks in seven games, the sweep on the road against MSU is the first since the Bulldogs did it back on Nov. 20-21, 2021
--UMD scored the most goals in a series against a MSU team since it put up nine back on Jan. 28-29, 2022, a 4-2 and 5-3 wins for the Bulldogs at AMSOIL Arena.
