It was an afternoon of career accomplishments for senior Olivia Wallin, who netted her first hat trick as a Bulldog on the very goal that marked her 100th collegiate career point to help lead the No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team past Bemidji State University 8-1 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn.

Wallin's outstanding day was the highlight of an offensive day for UMD that saw six players besides Wallin notch two points, including junior defenseman Tova Henderson, who scored twice and both Mary Kate O'Brien and Olivia Mobley, who each added a goal and an assist. The eight goal outburst was the most by the Bulldogs since they rung up the Beavers on Jan. 13, 2023, a 8-0 win for UMD.

"I thought it was a step in the right direction in terms of creating offense, I thought our puck support off the puck was exceptional tonight and it was one thing all week long that we have been focusing on and trying to improve," said head coach Laura Schuler. "Getting the puck to the middle to be able to use the width and depth of the ice and just getting the puck inside the prime scoring area more, and I thought we did a really good job of that tonight."

UMD wasted no time getting on the board, and it took just 27 ticks into the first period for Wallin to bury a rebound off Clara Van Wieren's shot to grab the 1-0 lead. After a dominant 13-4 shots on goal advantage in the frame, the Bulldogs bookended the effort with a snipe from the left point from blueliner Tova Henderson. Henderson's goal –  her third of the season – at 19:34 pushed UMD ahead 2-0 at the first intermission.

The Beavers pulled within a single goal at 5:25 of the second period, but the Bulldogs responded less than three minutes later with two goals just over a minute apart  Danielle Burgen tracked down the rebound off Devyn Millwater's shot from the right point and backhanded it past BSU netminder Kaitlin Groess at the 8:21 mark. Wallin then tracked down a puck behind the beaver net and popped it inside the post for her second tally of the game and 4-1 extension on the Beavers.

The third period floodgates opened for UMD from there, and it began with O'Brien smooth handling goal a mere 1:01 into the frame. 45 seconds later, Mobley cleaned up a Brenna Fuhrman shot for her sixth goal of the season and 6-1 Bulldog lead – a goal that Wallin had the secondary assist on, the 99th point of her collegiate career.

Wallin's piece of history came in a big way at the 15:20 mark, and it came from a pass to Wallin hard charging into the slot from Jenna Lawry. Lawry found a hard charging Wallin in the slot, and Wallin did the rest, sneaking the puck through on her forehand to net the biggest goal so far of her career – and give UMD a 7-1 lead in the process. 

Henderson put a cap on the four-goal period for the Bulldogs at 19:14 for the 8-1 final, the first two-goal game of the blueliner's career.

UMD outshot the Beavers 45-21 in the skate, and Eve Gascon got the win in between the pipes with 20 saves. Two Beavers goaltenders split time – Groess had 26 saves and six goals against in 41:46 of time, while Eva Filippova had 11 stops and two goals against in 18:14 of action. BSU (3-11-1, 2-9-0) was scoreless in two power play attempts – UMD didn't have a power play awarded on the afternoon.

The Bulldogs (7-5-1, 6-4-1) will face-off against the Beavers at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at AMSOIL to finish up the series.

BULLDOG NOTES: Olivia Wallin is now the 28th UMD player ever rostered to have 100 or more career points … it was the second hat trick of Wallin's collegiate career -- she previously had one while at Penn State against Long Island University ... Wallin is the first player to notch a hat trick for the Bulldogs since Reece Hunt recorded one last season against St. Thomas on Feb. 9, 2024 … Wallin is also the first player since Ashton Bell to hit the 100 point mark … Bell hit it on Nov. 18, 2022 … Wallin now has 49 goals and 51 assists for her college career … Wallin's also the first Bulldog to score four points in a game since Hunt had four against St. Cloud State on March 1, 2024 (1g, 3a) … UMD graduate forward Clara Van Wieren is now sitting at 99 career points after a three assist effort Friday … Van Wieren has 43 goals and 56 assists … 12 UMD players logged at least a point against BSU.