For a team that defensively ranks as one of the stingiest in the nation, the No. 7 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team stayed true to form Saturday afternoon, settling for a 0-0 tie with Minnesota State University, Mankato at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn., before defeating the Mavericks 1-0 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association shootout.

The Bulldogs have now posted a whopping 10 shutouts this season for the first time since the 2014-15 season, and eight of them solely belong to graduate student goaltender Emma Soderberg, who set her own single-season best of eight with Saturday's clean sheet. Soderberg is now just one of two goaltenders at UMD ever to post eight or more shutouts in a season, and the Jarved, Sweden native has moved with one career shutout of the all-time record of 20, currently held by Kayla Black.

"I think their physical play was frustrating all weekend long," said UMD head coach Maura Crowell. "They certainly came in with a game plan to put a body on us whenever they could, and slow us down, and they played really well, positionally. We lost Taylor Anderson somewhere in the first period, and we're down Kylie Hanley, so we jumbled up the lines a little bit trying to get a spark. We even moved Ashton Bell up to the front for the third period, but you know, credit Mankato, for shutting us down, for you know. 60 min. 65 min."

In 65 minutes of action, UMD outshot MSU 32-20, but it was the Mavericks that held a slight edge in the overtime (5-4). MSU thought that it had upended up the Bulldogs with just 34 seconds left in extra time, but the UMD coaching staff challenged the goal on the premise of goaltender interference on Soderberg, who was spun out at the top of the crease prior to the goal being scored. That successful challenge returned both sides to the ice, with neither offensively successful, and ensured the league mandated shootout followed.

 "Lu (associate head coach Laura Bellamy) is mic'd up with Bobby (Feaster) up in the box, and she was calling for goalie interference right away," said Crowell, when asked about the decision to challenge the goal. "Bobby looked at it, and they both agreed. Definitely a good challenge and the player from Mankato had spun Emma (Soderberg) around right around the crease area so she wasn't able to get into position for the shot that went on the net. She actually made a really good attempt at it, almost got it, but obviously it came back that we were right."

The shootout ensued, and graduate student defenseman Maggie Flaherty gave the Bulldogs the only goal it needed with Sodberg in net on the other end. The Bulldogs 1-0 win for the extra WCHA point, combined with St. Cloud State University's loss in Madison, Wisc. also secured WCHA first round playoff ice at AMSOIL Arena Feb. 25-26, and if needed, 27.

With this beauty of a backhand, Maggie Flaherty picks up the extra WCHA point for @UMDWHockey! pic.twitter.com/Yl1EDt4chf

— WCHA Hockey (@WCHA_WHockey) February 4, 2023

UMD will return to AMSOIL next weekend when it hosts the Huskies in the Bulldogs final regular season series of the season. The Friday-Saturday series will get underway at 6:00 p.m. Friday night before concluding, with Senior Day, Saturday at 3:00 p.m.