The first University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey player to have her jersey retired, Swedish sensation Maria Rooth is the next starting forward for UMD Women's Hockey 25th Anniversary Team.

 

A native of Angelholm, Sweden, Rooth is one of only two UMD players ever to be named a three-time All-American (2001, 2002 and 2003). The program's second all-time leading scorer with 232 points in 124 games, Rooth still owns the Bulldog record for career goals (119) and ranks fifth in assists (113). The program's only four-time Patty Kazmaier Top-10 finalist (2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003), Rooth was also a three-time All-WCHA selection, earning first team nods in 2001 and 2002 and a second team selection in 2003. Rooth was named the WCHA's Rookie of the Year for the 1999-00 season after she put up 68 points (36 goals) in 24 games as a freshman – the second most by a rookie in program history – and after scoring four goals in two games over the 2001 WCHA semifinals and championship, earned the 2001 WCHA's All-Tournament Team's Most Outstanding Player.

 

Rooth's staggering career numbers helped the Bulldogs win three-consecutive NCAA championships (2001, 2002 and 2003), a feat to this day that has not been repeated in NCAA Division I women's hockey. One of just two UMD players to score a hat trick in the NCAA Tournament, Rooth did just that against Harvard in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals on March 23, 2001, a 6-3 Bulldog victory (en route to the program's first NCAA title). For her efforts in the 2001 NCAA Frozen Four, Rooth was named the Frozen Four's Most Outstanding Player after also being named to the Frozen Four's All-Tournament Team. UMD also earned two WCHA regular season titles over Rooth's tenure (2000, 2003), and three WCHA Tournament titles (2000, 2001, and 2003). Rooth also captained UMD during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. Rooth also owns the Bulldog program for hat tricks over a career with 12.

 

Rooth played in four-straight Olympics with Sweden and earned both a silver (2006) and bronze medal (2002), and was inducted into the IIHF's 2015 Hall of Fame class. The first Swedish player to log 100 career goals, Rooth was instrumental in Sweden's upset against the U.S. in the semi-final game of the 2006 Olympics after she scored two goals in regulation time to tie the game and scored the clinching goal in the ensuing shootout. Rooth spent one season with the Bulldogs as an assistant coach in 2010-11 before returning home to Sweden and was inducted into UMD's Hall of Fame in 2013.

About the 25th Anniversary Team

The 25th Anniversary Team was selected by longtime local media members and local hockey historians. Each member of the selection committee privately selected a total of 25 players, which included a starting six players that will represent the six best players so far in Bulldog history. The only requirements for the other 19 players selected by committee members was that at least three of them were positionally defenseman and at least two goaltenders. 

 

A list of greatness, the 25th Anniversary Team will span the more than two decades of players that have skated for one of the most successful NCAA Division I women's hockey programs in all of women's college hockey. UMD women's hockey will unveil one player every Thursday in no particular order over the regular season, and then the last week of the regular season, will announce its 25th Anniversary starting lineup.


The 25th Anniversary Team to Date:

Jenny Potter (1999-2000, 2002-2004) Starting Forward
A native of Eagan, Minn., Potter played three seasons for the Bulldogs, including the inaugural season in 1999-2000. That season, Potter's second of college hockey eligibility, the high scoring forward set scoring records for UMD that still stand over 32 games, including points (93), goals (41) and put up the second-most assists in a season of 52) (she later broke her own record).

Potter remains UMD's all-time scoring leader, and rolled up 256 points in just 102 games during her three-year career. A top-3 finalist for the 2003 and 2004 Patty Kazmaier Award, as well as a top-10 finalist in 2000, Potter received WCHA Player of the Year honors in both 1999-00 and 2003-04, and All-WCHA First Team recognition all three of her seasons at UMD (1999-00, 2002-03 and 2003-04). Ranked first in the nation in scoring as a sophomore, third as a junior and second as a senior, Potter still holds Bulldog single-season records for points (93), goals (41) and assists (57) and single-game marks for points (nine), goals (six, which she accomplished twice) and assists (six). Potter was also the WCHA's scoring champion all three of the seasons she was a Bulldog (2000, 2003, and 2004).

A three-time All-American (2000, 2003, 2004) and twice named a WCHA All-Tournament Team member in both 2000 and 2004, Potter was a key member of the 2003 NCAA title team that defeated Harvard in double overtime 4-3 at the DECC in Duluth, Minn. on March 23, 2003. Potter recorded three assists in the 2003 NCAA Frozen Four over two games after having led UMD in scoring that season with 88 points (31g, 57a) in 36 games.

Potter was named a WCHA Top-10 Player of the First 10 Years, as well as to the WCHA's 20th Anniversary Team. This past October, Potter was also named to the WCHA's 25th Anniversary Top-25 Team. Potter was inducted into UMD's Hall of Fame in 2017.


Inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020, Potter made an indelible mark on the international ice scene and remains one of the most highly-decorated players in women's hockey history after earning six gold, nine silver and one bronze medal with Team USA in a 14-year international playing career that included four Winter Olympics, 10 World Championships and two Four Nations Cups. Potter earned an Olympic gold medal in 1998, silvers in 2002 and 2010 and a bronze in 2006. In 19 Olympic games, Potter notched 30 points on 11 goals and 19 assists.

Bridgette Lacquette (2011-2015)
A native of Mallard, Manitoba, Lacquette was raised on a reservation in Saskatchewan called the Cote First Nation. After transferring from the University of Manitoba after her freshman season there, the defenseman was named to the 2012 All-WCHA Rookie Team and was also named to the 2012 WCHA All-Tournament Team. Lacquette was named All-WCHA Second Team in both her junior and senior seasons in 2012-13 and 2014-15, and was named to the 2013 All-USCHO Third Team.

 

Lacquette still ranks as the 10th highest career scoring defenseman in program history, despite playing just three seasons and only in 105 games – the third fewest of any other blueliner on the top-10 list. Lacquette finished with 69 points on 20 goals and 49 assists, and still sits fourth all-time in career goals by a defenseman and eighth in assists.

 

One of four UMD players to centralize with Team Canada in the midst of their collegiate careers, Lacquette centralized with the Canadian Olympic Team for five months after a late call up by Team Canada in the spring of 2013. Lacquette took what amounted to over a year's absence from the UMD program to accommodate the centralization, and extended her eligibility into the 2014-15 season. While Lacquette was one of the last players cut by Canada at the end of 2013, she did earn a spot on Canada roster for three IIHF World Championships (2015, 2016 and 2019).

 

Four years after her first centralization, Lacquette was named to Canada's Olympic hockey team in 2018 at Pyeongchang Winter Games, and helped Canada capture a silver medal following a heartbreaking loss to the United States in the gold medal game. 

 

Lacquette, who has achieved historic milestones repeatedly over her hockey career, was hired by the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the 2021-22 season to their scouting staff, making her the first indigenous woman to scout for an NHL team. Lacquette is in her third year as a pro scout with the Blackhawks.

Jennifer Harss (2009-2012)
A native of Rieden, Germany, Harss arrived at UMD in 2009-10 and arguably had one the most impactful first seasons of any goaltender in program history. Tasked with filling the loss of All-American goaltender Kim Martin, who was centralized with Sweden ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Harss carved out her own legacy as a Bulldog. In her first season alone, Harss set the single season record for saves (1,138) -- which still stands as a WCHA record -- and minutes played (2,386:51), while turning in the second most wins with a record of 29-8-2. After earning a 2009-10 All-WCHA Third-Team selection after backstopping UMD to a share of the 2009-10 WCHA Regular Season title, Harss then earned a spot on the WCHA's All-Tournament Team after helping the Bulldogs to a WCHA Tournament title over the University of Minnesota with 20 saves on March 7, 2010.

 

Harss' debut season with UMD was far from over, and the goaltender then earned what is still the fourth most NCAA Tournament wins in program history, reeling off three-straight after defeating the University of New Hampshire in the NCAA Quarterfinals and Minnesota again, in Ridder Arena, in the semifinals for the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four. But Harss cemented her Bulldog legacy on March 21, 2010 inside Ridder in Minneapolis, Minn. when the first-year netminder made 49 saves (still the second most ever in a NCAA championship game) against Cornell University in triple overtime to help secure the program's fifth NCAA championship. 

 

Harss split time with Martin in her second season (.931 saves percentage), and then, as an assistant captain in her final season in 2011-12, turned the fifth most saves in a single season (897), as well as the sixth most wins (20-14-1) and goaltender minutes (1994:46).

 

In just three seasons at UMD (the allotment granted to her by the NCAA at the time), Harss' career numbers over 89 games are an impressive 2,386 saves (fifth most in program history), a .931 saves percentage (fifth highest in program history) and a 2.04 goals against average (seventh most at UMD). Harss still has the fourth most wins as a Bulldog with a career record of 57-25-6 in 89 games, and had 11 shutouts, still the sixth most over a UMD career. All-time, Harss finished with the fifth most minutes (5,22:51 minutes).

 

Harss was a two-time Olympian for Germany in both 2006 and 2014, and represented Germany in eight different IIHF World Championships between 2006-2021.

Ashleigh Brykaliuk (2013-2017)
A native of Brandon, Manitoba, Brykaliuk was a two-time All-WCHA Second Team honoree, earning the award in both 2016-17 and 2015-16.  Brykaliuk had back-to-back 40-plus point seasons as a junior and a senior, and finished her career as the 12th highest scorer in UMD history – she currently sits 13th. Over 146 career games, Brykaliuk scored 62 goals and added 83 assists for a whopping 145 points -- an almost 1.00 point per game average.  As a senior, Brykaliuk not only registered 45 points (17g, 28a) in 37 skates, but helped UMD return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, and as NCAA Regional hosts for the first time since 2010. In the 2017 WCHA playoffs, Brykaliuk recorded six points (1g, 5a) in just four games.

 

A two-time team captain, Brykaliuk recorded the second-longest scoring streak in UMD history -- a 19-game, 26 point run that lasted from Oct. 29, 2016 through Feb. 11, 2017.  Brykaliuk also earned the 2016-17 UMD Maroon and Gold Team Award, and was also a two-time WCHA All-Academic Team selection in both 2016-17 and 2015-16.

 

After a season in 2017-18 with the CWHL's Vanke Rays in China, Brykaliuk returned to the program as Bulldog assistant coach for three seasons from 2018-2021, a stint that included UMD returning to its first NCAA Frozen Four in more than a decade in 2021. Brykaliuk is part of an elite group of four former Bulldogs who returned to their alma mater to coach. 

Jessica Koizumi (2003-2007)
A product of Simi Valley, Calif. who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Koizumi remains the program's 11th all-time career scorer, having compiled 156 points in 132 games as a Bulldog. Koizumi also still sits seventh all-time with 86 career goals (and four career hat tricks) to pair with her 71 assists. A 2006-07 All-WCHA Third Team selection, Koizumi was a two-time WCHA Scholar Athlete (2006, 2007) and a three-time WCHA All-Academic Team member (2005, 2006, 2007).

 

An alternate captain as a senior, Koizumi skated in four NCAA Tournament games over her career, two of which she scored overtime game-winners in to help UMD advance to the 2007 NCAA National championship game. On March 9, 2007, the Bulldogs knocked out Mercyhurst in Erie, Penn. in the NCAA Quarterfinal game, and Koizumi was a big reason why. The senior forward scored the equalizing goal with just 1:44 remaining in the third period, and then netted the game-winner 11:16 into the overtime to push the Bulldogs into the 2007 NCAA Frozen Four in Lake Placid, NY.

 

Koizumi then figured in three of UMD's four goals in the Frozen Four semifinal game, with a two goal, one assist performance. After dishing the primary assist on the Bulldogs first goal midway through the first period, Koizumi scored 52 seconds into the second period to draw UMD even. But arguably the biggest goal of Koizumi's career came 14:19 into double overtime, a game-winning tally that lifted the Bulldogs into the national title tilt for the first time in four seasons. While an exhausted UMD side eventually lost in the championship game, Koizumi was subsequently named to the 2007 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team for her three-point effort. All told, Koizumi recorded four goals and an assist over the 2007 NCAA Tournament, and over four NCAA postseason games, registered four goals and two assists for six points.

 

Koizumi helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2008 IIHF Women's World Championships, and also represented the U.S. country at the 2007 Four Nations Cup. From 2009 through 2015, she spent time in the Canadian Women's Hockey League with the Montreal Stars and Boston Blades, captaining the Blades for a season and helping them to Clarkson Cup wins in 2013 and 2015. Koizumi was also a member of the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which was founded in 2015. From 2010-2023, Koizumi joined the college coaching rankings, most recently as an associate head coach at the University of Vermont from 2017-23.

Riitta Schäublin (2003-2007)
A native of Basel, Switzerland, Schäublin still ranks in the top-5 in a multitude of career categories for the Bulldogs, including second in wins with a record of 65-27-6, third in shutouts (17), third in saves (2,494) third in games and minutes played (104 games for 6,015:41 minutes) and fourth in career saves percentage (.933). As a junior, Schäublin posted 838 saves and a record of 20-9-3 to became one of the first Western Collegiate Hockey Association goaltenders ever to be named a Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalist.

That 2005-06 season landed Schäublin First Team All-American honors, as well as a second straight All-WCHA First Team selection (2004-05, 2005-06). Impressively, Schäublin was also a two-time WCHA Student Athlete of the Year as both a junior (2005-06) and senior (2006-07).

Schäublin played in four NCAA Tournament games over her career – three of which went into overtime –  but it was her back-to-back overtime efforts during the 2007 NCAA Tournament run  that bookended her career as a winner. Schäublin made 44 saves – including eight in overtime – at Mercyhurst on March 9, 2007 to help UMD reach its fourth-ever NCAA Frozen Four. Schäublin then withstood double overtime against Boston College in Lake Placid, N.Y. six days later on March 16, 2007, and recorded 29 stops, including 11 in the two overtime periods to help the Bulldogs secure their fourth NCAA title game appearance in program history.

Schäublin played for the Switzerland National Team from 2001 through 2004, and backstopped the Swiss in the 2004 IIHF World Championship. Notably, prior to Schäublin coming to Duluth in 2003, at the age of 19, she played at EHC Zunzgen-Sissach in the Swiss 1st Men's League as a regular goalkeeper and became the first woman to play a game in the first division in 2001.

Julianne "Montana" Vasichek (2001-2005)
A native of Great Falls, Mont., Vasichek is tied sixth all-time for career points from the blueline with 77 on 11 goals and 66 assists in 124 games. The defenseman still ranks third for career assists (66) and is in a five-way tie for the 10th most points by a blueliner in a single season with 30 in 2004-05. Vasichek also still owns the third most helpers from a defenseman – 27 – in 2004-05 and recorded the 10th most penalty minutes in a single season in 2004-05 (27 penalties for 62 minutes.

 

A part of two NCAA title teams in 2001-02 and 2002-03, Vasichek was also part of both of UMD's 2002-03 WCHA regular season and WCHA Playoff titles. The defenseman was a Second Team All-American in both 2003-04 and 2004-05, as well as twice earned spots on All WCHA Teams. An All-WCHA First Team selection in 2003-04, Vasichek was also a All-WCHA Second Team member in 2004-05. 

 

A part of the 2003-04 U.S. National Team, Vasichek actually earned three NCAA championship rings as a Bulldog. Over the 2009-10 title run, Vasichek served as UMD's Strength and Conditioning coach, helping the program to its fifth NCAA title in 10 seasons. 

 

Vasichek currently serves as the head coach at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn., a role she has been in for the past three seasons.
 

Krista McArthur (2002-2006)
A native of Alliston, Ontario, McArthur burst onto the Bulldog hockey scene in 2002-03 with one of the most offensive rookie seasons UMD has ever had. The defenseman joined a program with two-straight NCAA titles in hand and was critical to its third NCAA trophy by registering 39 points in 34 games on 15 goals and 24 assists. That single season number for points (39) and goals(15) by a defenseman remains a program record to this day, and she stands as the 11th highest-scoring rookie of any position to this day.

 

Over her career, McArthur compiled 91 points on 24 goals and 67 assists, making her the second all-time leading scorer from the blueliner. McArthur is also still tied for the second-most career goals by a defenseman, and ranks fourth for career assists. Named a All-WCHA First Team selection and to the All-WCHA Rookie Team in 2002-03, McArthur was named a 2005-06 All-WCHA Third Team honoree. The defenseman also earned a spot on the 2004 WCHA All-Tournament Team.

 

McArthur was a 2003 NCAA national champion with a UMD squad that held its opponents to just 65 goals over the 36 game season. A 2003 WCHA Playoff and WCHA Regular Season Champion, McArthur was a member of NCAA Tournament teams three of the four years she skated for the Bulldogs (2003, 2005, 2006).


A captain for the 2005-06 UMD season, McArthur was a part of Canada's Under-22 Team over the 2002-03 season.

Jessica Wong (2009-2013)
A native of Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Wong capped a solid rookie season (15g, 19a for 31 points) with a legendary NCAA postseason in 2010. It was Wong's game-winning goal in triple overtime of the NCAA championship on March 21, 2010 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. that secured UMD's fifth NCAA title with a 3-2 win over Cornell University. Wong's postseason play – complete with two goals in three NCAA tournament games – earned her a spot on the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team. 

 

After accomplishing in just 41 games what most players give their entire careers for, Wong's next three seasons as a Bulldog watched her rise to the program's 17th all-time scorer – from the blueline. Wong moved to defense her sophomore season, and the result was 77 career points from the backline for a total of 122 (48g, 74a) over her 143 game career. Wong's 29 career goals as a defenseman still stands as the program's career record, and she sits 10th all-time among blueliners with 48 career assists from the position. One of only three defenseman to have ever recorded 100 points in a UMD career, Wong also owns the second-most points by a defenseman in a season set in 2010-11 (38), which also tied Wong for the most goals in a single-season by a blueliner (15).

 

A captain her senior season, Wong was a three-time All-Western Collegiate Hockey selection, including two All-WCHA Second Team nods in both 2010-11 and 2012-13. A 2011-12 All-WCHA Third Team member, Wong notched 30 or more points three of the four seasons she wore the Bulldog, including a career-high 38 in 2010-11.

 

On the international level, Wong was a member of the 2022 Chinese Olympic Team in the Beijing, China Winter Olympics. Wong also won a silver medal with Canada's U-18 side in 2009, and two gold medals with Canada's National Development Team at the MLP Nations Cup in 2010 and 2011.

Gabbie Hughes (2018-2023)
The Lino Lakes, Minn. product left the Bulldog program last spring as its fifth-highest career scorer after she recorded 214 points in 165 games. Hughes also left with the third most career assists (133), and eighth most goals (81), as well the two of the top-11 single season marks for assists (37 in 2021-22 and 36 in 2022-23). A Patty Kazmaier Top-3 finalist in 2022, Hughes was also named a 2021-22 AHCA First Team All-American as well as a 2021-22 All-WCHA First Team selection. In fact, Hughes earned WCHA honors every season of her five-year career, including two All-WCHA Second Team nods in 2022-23 and 2019-20, and both a All-WCHA Third Team honor, as well as a All-WCHA Rookie Team spot in 2018-19.


Hughes also helped lead the Bulldogs back into NCAA Tournament relevance with three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2020, 2021, 2022) and two-consecutive NCAA Frozen Fours, which included an NCAA national title game appearance in 2022. Perhaps the most notable of all Hughes' lengthy UMD accomplishments was her game-winning goal against the University of Minnesota in the NCAA Regional Final on March 12, 2022 at Ridder Arena. Prior to that game, Hughes became one of just two UMD players to notch a hat trick in an NCAA Tournament game on March 10, 2022 against Harvard, and owns the only natural NCAA postseason hat trick in program history.


Despite one of the greatest on ice Bulldog careers at UMD, Hughes still may be best known for becoming the 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award winner. The first-ever UMD women's or men's player to win the award, and HH finalist in 2022, Hughes made an impact statewide in Minnesota as an integral part of the Sophie's Squad organization, a non-profit that she helped co-found, to combat mental health. 


In September, Hughes was drafted 20th overall in the the fourth round of the PWHL draft to the team in Ottawa. A IIHF gold medalist with Team USA in April, Hughes has been rostered


Navada Russell (1999-2003)
A product of Calgary, Alberta, Russell collegiate career spanned the first four critical seasons of Bulldog intercollegiate competition, and the first three seasons of NCAA sanctioned women's ice hockey. A leader of championship caliber, Russell is one of only two players to wear a letter on her sweater for all four years of her career. After 25 seasons, Russell still owns the third-most points by a defenseman over a career with 90 points (18g, 72a) in 135 games. Those 72 assists also still stands as the second most career helpers by a blueliner, and Russell posted 23 or more points in a season three-times. In fact, Russel turned in a 30 points, 25 assist season in 1999-00, which ranks as the 10th most points and fourth most assists by a defenseman in a single season in program history.

 

Russell, named to the 2001 All-WCHA Tournament Team after recording two assists, including on the game-winner against Wisconsin in the WCHA semifinal on March 9, 2001, also dished out two assists in the 2001 NCAA title game. Those assists helped the Bulldogs defeat St. Lawrence University 4-2 in the first-ever NCAA sanctioned national championship for Division I women's hockey, and the first of three NCAA titles Russell would help the UMD collar in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Over Russell's tenure, UMD also won four WCHA Tournament titles (1999. 2000, 2003) and two WCHA regular season titles in 1999 and 2003.



Erika Holst (1999-2003)
A native of Varberg, Sweden, Holst's collegiate career spanned the first four critical seasons of Bulldog intercollegiate competition, and the first three seasons of NCAA sanctioned women's ice hockey. Over her four-year tenure, Holst was a goal scoring and point registering machine, compiling 204 points in just 127 games, for a 1.60 points per game career average. Holst's 204 points still ranks as the seventh most in program history, and in the 21 seasons that have gone on since the forward graduated, only two players who Holst did not play with have surpassed her point total. With 100 career goals and 104 assists, Holst is one of just four players in program history to have more than 100 goals and assists, and is one of just seven players who reached the 200 point mark. Holst's goal total is still tied for the third most ever by a Bulldog, while her assist ranks seventh all-time.

 

A three-time NCAA champion (2001, 2002, 2003), Holst averaged 1.00 points per game over her six-game NCAA Frozen Four career. In fact, Holst owned the primary assist on the game-winning goal in front of the sold-out Duluth Entertainment Convention Center in the 2003 double-overtime thriller over Harvard, helping push UMD to its third-straight NCAA title with a 4-3 win. Holst was also a part of three WCHA Playoff championship squads – in 2000, 2001 and 2003, and was named to two WCHA All-Tournament Teams in 2001 and 2003.

A two-time All-WCHA Second Team selection in both 2001-02 and 2002-03, as well as an WCHA All-Academic Team member in 2001-02 and 2002-03, Holst recorded three seasons with 50 or more points, including a career-best 63 in 2002-03, which doubled as a team-high. Holst netted 25 or more goals three times and delivered 34 goals – the fifth-most in a single season in program history – in 2002-03.

 

A stalwart of the Swedish National Team, Holst helped lead Sweden to an Olympic silver medal in 2006, four years after helping Sweden to a bronze medal in 2002 with a team-high five points. In all, Holst was a four-time Olympian for Sweden – 1999 (fifth place finish), 2002, 2006 and 2010 (fourth place finish). Holst was also a part of two Swedish bronze medal World Championship teams in 2005 and 2007.



Emmanuelle Blais (2006-2010)
A product of Lasalle, Quebec, Blais recorded 145 career points – still the 13th most in Bulldog history – on 73 goals and 72 assists in 145 games. Those 73 career goals also amount to the 11th most in program history, and include a statline like no other – Blais is the only player at UMD ever to score a goal in three separate NCAA championship games (2010, 2008, 2007).


In fact, Blais was a timely NCAA postseason player, and racked up a total of five goals and six assists for 11 points in 10 NCAA Tournament/NCAA Frozen Four appearances – a 1.10 NCAA postseason average over her career. Blais, who helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2010 NCAA title with five points in three games, including three goals and an assist in the NCAA Frozen Four, secured a 2010 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player nod in addition to a spot on the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team. Blais also helped UMD earn a home NCAA title in 2008 at the DECC and a NCAA runner-up finish in 2006.


Blais definitely saved her best hockey for last when the dynamic winger averaged 1.59 points per game over her sizzling senior campaign in 2009-10. That marked the fifth highest total in the country, all while netting an NCAA-high 32 goals and a personal season best of 65 points. A Top-10 Patty Kazamier Award Finalist, Blais also was named to the All-WCHA First Team and the 2010 WCHA Final Face-off tournament MVP after she recorded seven points in two games – three goals and four assists – in two games over the WCHA postseason tournament and helped lead the Bulldogs to the WCHA postseason title that spring.


A 2008 WCHA Scholar Athlete and three-time WCHA All-Academic Team member (2010, 2009, 2008), Blais had such a standout senior season and 2010 postseason that she was listed by Sports Illustrated as one of its "Faces In The Crowd" in its April 19, 2010 issue. 


Blais played in three MLP Nations Cup with Canada, helping Canada to two gold medal finishes in 2010 and 2008 and a silver medal in 2009. Most recently, Blais served as Canada's Strength and Conditioning Coach for the National Women's Program Summer Showcase this past summer.
 

Emma Söderberg (2018-2023)
The Jarved, Sweden native not only was one of the best goaltenders in the NCAA over the previous three seasons, but emerged as arguably the best netminder in the world. As UMD's backstopper last season, the goaltender had a season for the Bulldog record books, setting both a UMD career record for shutouts (23) and a single-season record (12). A 2022-23 All-USCHO First Team All-American, and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Goaltender of the Year, WCHA Finalist for Player of the Year and a top-3 finalist for National Goalie of the Year, Soderberg was a also named the WCHA's Student-Athlete of the Year and was a All-WCHA First Team selection. 

 
In all, Soderberg was also a AHCA Second Team All-American in 2021, as well as the 2020-21 WCHA Goaltender of the Year, the WCHA Goaltending Champion and a All-WCHA First Team honoree. Soderberg – who missed 11 games due to Swedish Olympic duties over the 2021-22 season, effectively holding her out of awards that year – ended her career with the fifth-most NCAA Tournament career wins in program history (five). In 2022, she set the NCAA Tournament record for saves (146) while helping the Bulldogs earn NCAA runner-up status, and ended her career perfect in NCAA Tournament opening games with a 3-0, 0.00 GAA after not allowing a single goal in those skates. In fact, in five career NCAA Regional/Quarterfinal games, Soderberg allowed just four goals. 
 
Soderberg's mark on the UMD record book stretches past career and single-season shutouts, however, and the current PWHL Boston netminder left the Bulldogs with the third-highest save percentage in history (.934), fifth-lowest GAA (1.68), sixth most wins (54-26-2) and ended her final season (2022-23) with a 1.39 goals against average -- the third lowest in program history.

A 2022 Olympian with Team Sweden who had a brilliant Olympic debut, Soderberg was exceptional In the quarterfinals of the 2023 IIIHF Women's World Championship, stopping 51 of 54 shots to help Sweden push Canada to overtime for the first time ever in a head-to-head showdown. In all, Soderberg had a save percentage of .935 and posted 157 stops, and was named to the All-Star Team for her efforts.
 

Lara Stalder (2013-2017)
The native of Luzern, Switzerland, and arguably one of the best players ever to come out of the country, Stalder's offensive stock rose every year she skated for the Bulldogs. Named to the 2013-14 All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association Rookie Team, as well as an All-WCHA Third Team selection as a freshman defenseman, Stalder missed eight games with the Bulldogs in the winter of 2014 helping Switzerland to an Olympic bronze medal. 

 
Stalder crowned her career as a senior in 2016-17 with one of the best seasons in all of the NCAA, and was named the WCHA's Player of the Year and WCHA's Student-Athlete of the Year. The 2016-17 accolade list is long for Stalder, who along with also being selected to the All-WCHA First Team, earned First Team All-American honors to pair with her Patty Kazmaier Top-3 designation. Remarkably, Stalder ranked second in the NCAA in points per game her senior season, (1.66), fourth in assists and was tied for first with six-game winning goals. Stalder put up 56 points as a senior on an even 23 goals and 23 assists, and to this day remains No.12 all-time on UMD's career points list with 148 points with 54 career goals and 94 assists – which also still stands as the ninth most assists in program history.
 
A now three-time Olympian with Switzerland who has logged 17 points (9g, 8a) over 18 Olympic skates, Stalder helped lead the Bulldogs back into the NCAA Tournament in 2017 for the first time in six seasons. Stalder and Co. not only put the UMD back into the NCAA postseason – they brought an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game to AMSOIL Arena for the first time in program history on March 11, 2017.
 

Elin Holmlöv (2006-2009, 2010-11)
A forward from Knivsta, Sweden who had her collegiate career interrupted by Swedish Olympic duty in 2010, Holmlöv remains the program's eighth all-time leading scorer after recording 67 goals and 103 assists for 170 points in just 127 games – a 1.33 points per game average over her career. Holmlöv – who still sits eighth all-time for assists (103) – was a two-time All-WCHA Team selection as a Second Team honoree in 2008-09, and garnered a Third Team nod in 2010-11. Named the 2008 WCHA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading UMD to the WCHA Tournament title with three goal, one assist effort for four points in two games, Holmlöv played in nine NCAA postseason games over her career in four different NCAA Tournaments, including five NCAA Frozen Four contests. A key member of the 2008 NCAA title team, Holmlöv was part of three-straight NCAA Frozen Four squads, including two NCAA title game appearances (2007, 2008). 

After centralizing with the Swedish Olympic Team over the 2009-10 NCAA title run of the Bulldogs, Holmlöv helped guide Sweden to a fourth place finish in the 2010 Olympics. Holmlöv recorded four seasons with 40 or more points at UMD (2008, 2009, 2011), and back-to-back seasons where the forward turned in more than 50 points – 51 points in 2009 and 52 in 2011.
 

Holmlöv played for the Swedish national team from 2006-15, and earned two bronze medals on the international stage in World Championship play – in 2006 and 2007.   


Noémie Marin (2003-07)
Noémie Marin, a forward from Acton Vale, Quebec still ranks ninth in career scoring at UMD with a 168 points in just 126 games and sits sixth all-time with 91 goals -- the same place she ranked when she graduated in 2007. Twice named a Top-10 Patty Kazmaier Finalist in both 2006-07 and 2005-06, Marin was also a USCHO Third Team All-American in 2007. Marin was a three-time All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association selection, including twice an All-WCHA Second Team honoree (2005-06, 2004-05) and earned a All-WCHA First Team nod in 2006-07. Named a WCHA Scholar Athlete in the first two seasons of the award (2005-06 and 2006-07, Marin was a three-time WCHA All-Academic member (2006-07, 2005-06, 2004-05). 

A two-time captain that recorded four hat-tricks over her playing career, including three over the 2004-05 season, Marin had a career NCAA Tournament scoring total of six points -- two goals and four assists in just five NCAA postseason appearances. In fact, Marin was was pivotal during the Bulldogs 2007 NCAA National Runner-Up finish, which started with Marin dishing the game-winning assist against Mercyhurst in the NCAA quarterfinal clash in Erie, Penn., an assist 11:16 in overtime that pushed UMD past the Lakers 3-2. Two days later, Marin was a part of an instant classic NCAA Frozen Four semifinal, a double overtime 4-3 thriller of a Bulldog win in which Marin had the secondary assist on the game-winning tally against Boston College in Lake Placid, NY. Marin was a critical part of UMD's return to the NCAA Frozen Four and national dominance -- while the 2007 NCAA Frozen Four was the only appearance the former captain was a part of, it paved the way for four-straight NCAA Frozen Four appearances for the program (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) -- which included two of the Bulldogs NCAA title runs.
 

Sidney Morin (2013-17)
Sidney Morin, a product of Minnetonka, Minn., finished her senior campaign in 2016-17 ranked seventh among all defensemen in the NCAA and second in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 24 points on eight goals and 16 assists in 37 games.  Named the WCHA's 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year, Morin also garnered Second Team All-WCHA honors after registering a career-high in points and power play goals, with a league-leading four from the backline.  In four seasons with UMD, Morin finished her career ranked the 7th highest scoring blueliner in history with 70 points, and owned nine goals -- the fifth-most by a defenseman -- and 51 assists that ranked her sixth all-time.  When she graduated in 2017, Morin had the UMD record for consecutive games played (147), and sat sixth in total games played over a career (147).

Morin was also named to the 2017 WCHA All-Tournament Team, and was part of the 2016-17 squad that brought a triumphant return for the Bulldogs into the NCAA Tournament, as well as an NCAA Regional host for the first time since 2009-10. An alternate captain, Morin was named a USCHO Third Team All-American in 2017. Morin was also a 2016-17 WCHA Scholar Athlete, as well as a 2016-17 WCHA All-Academic Team member.

Months after graduating from UMD, Morin became a member of the 2018 Olympic hockey team that won gold in dramatic fashion in  Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Haley Irwin (2007-09, 2010-12)
A native of nearby Thunder Bay, Ontario, Haley Irwin burst on to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center ice as a freshman, compiling 60 points (23g, 37a) – the fourth most by a rookie in program history – en route to helping the Bulldogs win the 2008 NCAA title on home ice. Over her career, Irwin amassed 206 career points in just 134 games, including 79 goals and 125 – marks that still stand in the UMD record books today. Irwin graduated as the fifth all-time scorer in program history, and still ranks the sixth, and left with the third most assists and fourth most goals. With five hat tricks over her career, including three in nine games over the 2010-11 season, Irwin was a four-time All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association Team selection, the 2007-08 WCHA Scoring Champion, and was named the 2007-08 WCHA Rookie of the Year. Irwin earned an All-WCHA First Team honor in 2007-08, a All-WCHA Second Team member in 2010-11, and twice an All-WCHA Third Team selection in both 2008-09 and 2011-12. Irwin was also named to the 2008 WCHA All-Tournament Team after scoring three goals and adding two assists in two games – including the overtime game-winner against the University of Wisconsin in the WCHA to clinch the 2008 WCHA Tournament title.

 
A 2011 Patty Kazamier Top-10 finalist, Irwin spent a year centralized with the Canadian Olympic Team in the middle of her college career, and earned an Olympic gold medal with Canada where the then junior at UMD scored four goals and added an assist for five points in five games. In all, Irwin was a three-time Olympian with Canada, earning back-to-back gold medals in 2010 and 2014 and a silver medal in 2018. In addition to her three Olympic medals, Irwin earned five IIHF World Championship medals, including a gold in 2012 and four silvers (2009. 2011, 2013, 2017).

Hanne Sikiö (1999-2003)
Sikiö was a Bulldog from 1999-2003, and was an integral part of the program's historic NCAA title run of three-straight championships in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The Lempäälä, Finland native had eight points, including five goals in six NCAA Frozen Four games -- two of which came in UMD's 2003 title tilt thriller against Harvard in the sold out Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. The two championship game tallies undoubtedly helped secure a 2003 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament selection for Sikiö.

With 220 career points in 123 games, Sikiö still ranks as the program's fourth all-time scorer. Sikiö also ranks third all-time for goals (100), and fifth for assists (120), while her 34 goal season in 2000-01 ranks as the fifth most goals in a single season in program history. An Olympian who helped Finland to a fourth place finish in 2002, Sikiö was a two-time All-WCHA Second Team selection in 1999-00 and 2000-01, as well as a 2001 WCHA All-Academic Team member.

Sikiö also played in three IIHF Women's World Championship tournaments, helping Finland capture bronze in both 1999 and 2003.