There were a number of headlines Thursday night coming out of the 2023 IIHF World Championship quarterfinals, and most of them involved Bulldogs.

Five current and former University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey players advanced to the semifinal round that will be played Saturday, but perhaps the biggest story was UMD graduate senior goaltender Emma Soderberg, who helped take Sweden into overtime against Canada. Despite losing in overtime, Sweden became the only team besides the U.S. to have taken Canada into extra time, and all because Soderberg made 51 saves on 54 shots.

"I found a nice flow in the game, I had a lot of shots, which helped get me comfortable," said Soderberg. "I felt confident in our team in the third. We had already put up a good fight for two periods,  knew they wouldn't be happy but we just needed one shot. We put up a good fight against them before but that was also a long time ago and I knew I had to be ready. Their passing is dangerous. They're sneaking up on the back door a lot trying to get the puck through, so I have to keep turning my head to see where the players are coming."

Lara Stalder's performance against Japan was another incredible outing for the former Bulldog All-American. The Swiss forward figured in all five goals for the winning team, posting a goal and four assists to help lead Switzerland past Japan 5-1. With the effort, Stalder now ranks fourth among all scorers in the tournament with 10 points (3g, 7a), and is tied for first for the most assists.

Another former UMD player also figured in both her team's goals Thursday – Katerina Mrazova had a goal and an assist in the Czech Republic's 2-1 win over Finland. In net was current Bulldog graduate senior goaltender Blanka Skodova, who posted a whopping 41 saves on 42 shots and currently owns the second-most saves in the entire tournament – 130.

Skodova and Mrazova will face current UMD center Gabbie Hughes and the U.S. Saturday in the first game of the semifinals (9:00 a.m.), while Stalder will drop the puck in the second game  against Canada and former UMD All-American defenseman Jocelyne Larocque in the second game scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Soderberg and Sweden will play Japan, while junior defenseman Nina Jobst-Smithand Germany will face Finland in the consolation rounds Friday night.  All games will be played at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario.