The No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will continue its ranked road grind this weekend in Madison, Wis. when it faces the top-ranked University of Wisconsin in LaBahn Arena. The Bulldogs and Badgers will start the series on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and wraps up Sunday with a another 2:00 p.m. puck drop.


UMD WILL FACE THIRD-STRAIGHT TOP-10 OPPONENT THIS WEEKEND: The Bulldogs will continue the hardest opening season schedule in the nation when they travel to Madison, Wis. this weekend. Not only has UMD had four games against top-7 squads, this weekend will make the third and fourth skate by UMD against a No.1.

ROAD WARRIORS: Four weeks into the season, UMD has yet to play a game in its home rink of AMSOIL Arena. 

While it's impressive the Bulldogs are 3-1 against top-7 teams, that record has come exclusively on the road. The Bulldogs were orginally scheduled to play Syracuse University on Sept. 28-29 in AMSOIL Arena as its opening home series of the season, but the series was rescheduled to the first week of January after the Orange had their travel plans changed due in part to Hurricane Helene 

Overall, UMD was 9-8-2 last season away from AMSOIL.

NO REST FOR THE (VAN) WIEREN: Graduate forward Clara Van WIeren, currently taking up residency on the wing of UMD's top-line, has registered a point in each of the Bulldogs four games so far, and currently has a three-game scoring streak in hand heading into Madison.

It marks the fourth time in Van Wieren's UMD career she has had a scoring streak of four or more games, and it ties her longest goal scoring streak of three games, set back between Oct. 23 through Nov. 19, 2021.

MULTIPLE POINTS TAKEN: UMD has had a player register two or more points in each of its four games (all against top-7 teams) so far this season.

Two players posted multiple point games over the Colgate series -- Olivia Wallin (1g, 1a Saturday) and Mary Kate O'Brien, who had a goal and an assist in the series opener Friday night.

Rookie center Caitlin Kramer picked up two goals and assist against Ohio State University on Sept. 22 and sophomore defenseman Ida Karlsson turned in a game-winning goal and assist against the Buckeyes in the season opener on Sept. 21.

CHASING THE CENTURY MARK: Both graduate forwards Clara Van Wieren and Oliva Wallin are chasing the 100 career point plateau. Wallin, who skated for three seasons with Penn State, is sitting at 92 career points currently (45g, 47a in 124 games), while Van Wieren is at 89 (41g, 48a in139 games).

The pair are chasing Olivia Mobley, who currently has 113 career points (43g, 70a in 136 games).

UMD's last trio of 100 career point players? Ashton Bell, Naomi Rogge and Gabbie Hughes in 2022-23. The season before that (2021-22), Hughes joined Elizabeth Giguere and Anna Klein, another trio of Bulldogs in the club.. In all, UMD has had three or more players on a team with 100 or more points nine times prior to start of this season.

UMD has had 25 players wear the sweater that have had 100 or more points over their career, including 24 that reached that mark or more only in a Bulldog sweater.

UMD and Wisconsin have met 112 times over their rich histories -- which includes three NCAA Frozen Four showdowns and two NCAA title tilts (2007 and 2008). The all-time series record of 37-62-15 favors the Badgers, but the Bulldogs have had success against UW over the past few seasons, and hadn't been swept in a series at home until last January since 2019.

UMD is 5-5 in its last 10 games against the Badgers and 4-2 in its last six games (over the past three seasons) in Madison.

UMD vs. Wisconsin - 37-62-15 All-Time

(Last 10 games)

Jan. 27, 2024 4-5 Loss Home

Jan. 26, 2024 1-2 Loss Home

Dec. 2, 2023 3-2 Win Away

Dec. 1, 2023 0-3 Loss Away

Jan. 8, 2023 1-0 Win Away

Jan. 7, 2023 3-1 Win Away

Oct. 29, 2022 3-4 Loss Home

Oct. 28, 2022 2-1 Win OT Home

Feb. 5, 2022 1-5 Loss Away

Feb. 4, 2022 3-0 Win Away

In their last head-to-head action last January, the Bulldogs were swept by then No. 2 Wisconsin at AMSOIL by scores of 2-1 and 5-4. It marked the first sweep UMD had surrendered against the Badgers since Oct. 15 & 16, 2021 and the first at AMSOIL since Feb. 15-16, 2019.

In game one, the Bulldogs never led but equalized 1-1 in the second period with a goal from Danielle Burgen. The Badgers used a power play in the first minute of the third period to net the eventual game-winner. Sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod had 32 saves in the game.

Saturday, the Bulldogs exploded offensively in the second period after a 1-0 lead after a goal from Reece Hunt midway through the first stanza.

Three Bulldogs scored in the second  period -- Nina Jobst-Smith, Burgen, and Clara Van Wieren on the power play. But the Badgers scored four unanswered goals in the third period -- including three over a 2:27 span to come from behind and defeat the Bulldogs. Ève Gascon had 41 saves in the loss.

--Saturday was the fifth time under head coach Maura Crowell that UMD has put up four or more goals against Wisconsin. UMD is 2-2-1 in those games, and all five have come at AMSOIL Arena.

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs split with Colgate last weekend in Hamilton, N. Y. by scores of a 3-2 win Friday and 3-2 loss Saturday.

On Friday, despite having outshelled the Raiders 16-6 in the opening period, UMD's first goal of the game came at the 5:58 mark of the second period on Colgate's power play. Redshirt junior forward Mary Kate O'Brien jumped on a Raider miscommunication at their own blueline and the result was O'Brien skating in from the Bulldogs blueline before going to her backhand to beat Colgate goaltender Hannah Murphy five-hole for the 1-0 lead.

But the Raiders didn't stay rattled for long, connecting for their own power play goal just 52 seconds later, and after 40 minutes of play, UMD trailed the Raiders with one frame left.

After an early Colgate penalty put the Bulldogs on the power play in the third, junior defenseman Tova Henderson hammered home a rebound from O'Brien on the back post to knot the game at 2-2. Then at 12:43 of the stanza, graduate forward Clara Van Wieren shoveled in a blocked shot from Nina Jobst-Smith to break the game 3-2 in favor of the Bulldogs – the eventual game-winner and Van Wieren's second tally of the season.

On Friday night, the Bulldogs held Colgate scoreless in 5-of-6 of their extra skater attempts, and sophomore goaltender Eve Gascon had 25 saves, including eight in the third period to earn her third win of the season. UMD outshot Colgate 32-27 in the skate – the first time it has outshot an opponent so far this season.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs got on the board first, behind Van Wieren's second tally in as many games. an early 1-0 lead at 9:13 of the first period,

 Colgate equalized on the power play at 13:10, and a second power play goal by Colgate at 18:02 of the second period gave the Raiders the same lead it had Friday night heading into the third period of play. 

It put the UMD into a familiar spot over this young season – the Bulldogs found themselves trailing by a goal after the first 40 minutes of play for a third-straight game. But for the first time in three games, UMD couldn't mount a complete comeback. Wallin made it a one-goal contest 5:55 into the period on a power play snipe tally, but the Bulldogs would come no closer, forced to leave Hamilton with the series split.

Gascon made 33 saves for UMD, but the Raiders were lethal on their power play, successful in two-of-four attempts and five-of-nine on the weekend. The Bulldogs again outshot Colgate 44-36.

NOTES ON THE COLGATE SERIES: 

UMD is now 5-1-1 all-time against the Raiders. 

--Overall, the Bulldogs program has played 74 games against the ECAC (known as the Eastern College Athletic Conference until 2004 and the ECAC Hockey League until 2007, it is now just referred to as the ECAC), and owns an overall record of 44-21-6 all-time.

GASCON AND KRAEMER NAMED WCHA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER: The Western Collegiate Hockey Association crowned University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey sophomore goaltender Ève Gascon WCHA Goaltender of the Month and freshman center Caitlin Kraemer WCHA Rookie of the Month, confirming their performances against then top-ranked Ohio State University and the subsequent sweep a week ago as the most impressive of the past two weeks. 

Gascon faced 79 shots on the weekend and responded with 75 saves including 39 Saturday in a game UMD was outshot 40-14. In addition to making the most saves in a series in her career, the Mascouche, Quebec native added an assist on Kraemer's game-tying goal on Sunday for her first collegiate assist. With a series average of 37.5 saves a game, the two triumphs were the first for Gascon against a top-3 team, and the first series sweep of her career.

Kraemer scored two goals in third period in game two against the top-ranked Buckeyes to equalize and give UMD the 4-3 lead to help secure the series sweep. Kraemer's end to end goals included one unassisted effort on the game-winner with less than five minutes left in regulation. A product of Waterloo, Ontario, Kraemer also added an assist on UMD's first goal of the game -- that helper doubled as her first collegiate point. It also marked the first goal of her career and first multiple point game.

This is the first monthly league honor for either player -- both we named WCHA Players of the Week two weeks ago.

NEW BUT NOT NOVICES: Caitlin Kraemer, who became the first rookie center to debut on a first line in her first game since current assistant coach Ashleigh Brykaliuk did it against UConn on Oct. 4, 2013, was not the only freshman center to debut Saturday. In fact, the Bulldogs had three rookie centers in the line-up in the season opener (and the enitre series) -- Reese Logan and Zoey Krock were the other two. It's the most freshman centers in the lineup UMD has had in an opening game in its NCAA era history (2000-01 until now).

THE SCHULER ERA BEGINS WITH A BANG: Laura Schuler started off her Bulldog head coaching career with a series sweep over No. 1/2 Ohio State on the road. Schuler joined UMD's previous two coaches with a career opening win -- both her predecessors also won in their opening contest, and all three UMD head coaches in program history swept their first series at the helm.

Schuler spent a total of 10 seasons, including the past three, as an assistant, and then associate head coach last season, to former head coach Maura Crowell.

A part of six NCAA Tournament teams at UMD in all, including three NCAA Frozen Fours and an NCAA championship title in 2010, Schuler helped those 10 UMD teams to a record of 187-105-29, and not only coached all 13 of the Bulldog's PWHL draft picks over the past two drafts during her time with the UMD program, but has also coached 25 of UMD's 41 Olympians.

As the third head coach in program history, Schuler notably has the distinction of having served as an assistant coach for multiple seasons under both of the previous head coaches at UMD – most recently Maura Crowell (2015-2023) and Shannon Miller (1999-2015).

GAME(S) ON: One thing has been certain among UMD players over the past few seasons -- the program has had some ironwomen. 

Graduate forward Clara Van Wieren and fifth-year defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith are following in the footsteps of former teammate Mannon McMahon, and have run up 139 straight games in a Bulldog jersey over their careers -- the fifth-longest consecutive games played streak in program history. While the duo needs nine more games to crack the top-10 all-time games played list, they still trail McMahon, who skated in a whopping 173 consecutive games over her five-year career.