The fire alarm that went off as the second intermission began at AMSOIL Arena Friday night was incredible foreshadowing for the Bulldog offense that ignited in the third period.

The No. 4/5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team scored four unanswered goals after the alarms went off to trounce Minnesota State University, Mankato 5-0 in the Bulldogs home opener.

Four players logged two or more points, including Caitlin Kraemer, who led all scorers with two goals and an assist for three points.

"Super proud of our players, that was super fun and what a way to open our first home series, " said UMD head coach Laura Schuler, who is 2-0 in home season openers at the helm of the Bulldogs. "We talked about making sure that at home we came out playing the Bulldog way with relentless energy, and I thought we did that. It was a close game up until the third period, but I thought we controlled a lot of the game. A lot of good things for us to continue to roll forward with tomorrow."

Kraemer owned the lone score of the first 40 minutes of play with a one-time rebound off a Maverick skate on the delayed penalty at 3:33 of the second period to give UMD the only lead it would end up needing. 

That score held through through the frame, and after the intermission was slightly delayed due to a fire alarm that went off in the building, the Bulldogs returned to set actual fire to the ice, beginning just 1:46 into the final period. Sophomore defenseman Kate Kosobud buried a rebound for her first collegiate goal to double UMD's goal count. 

The Bulldogs then unloaded with three goals in less than three minutes, starting with Mary Kate O'Brien's first goal of the season, a follow up rebound off a Rae Mayer drive to the net at 11:24. Mayer followed that assist up 45 seconds later with a power play goal of her own, and finally, at the 14:51 mark, Kraemer struck again, burying the backhand pass from Ava MacLeod.

When the smoke finally settled, UMD had a 5-0 lead and a third shutout of the season served up for junior goaltender Eve Gascon, who moved into sole possession of the fifth most career shutouts in UMD history with 14. Gascon had 24 saves in the game for the Bulldogs, who outshot the Mavericks 46-24. 

UMD went 1-of-2 on its power play while holding MSU (5-2-0, 1-2-0) scoreless in three attempts.

The Bulldogs (5-2-0, 1-2-0) will drop the puck again with the Mavericks at 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon at AMSOIL Arena.

BULLDOG NOTES: UMD has won its first home game of the season for four-straight seasons now, dating back to 2022-23 … Eve Gascon is now just the fifth UMD goaltender in program history to earn 14 or more career shutouts … Gascon is two shutouts away from legendary All-American Kim Martin, who finished her career with 16 … three players had multiple point evenings, including Caitlin Kraemer (2g, 1a), Rae Mayer (1g, 1a) Mary Kate O'Brien (1g, 1a) and Ashley Messier (2a) …Kraemer is averaging 1.00 goal a game and has logged a tally in six of her first seven games so far this season … Kraemer leads UMD with 10 points in seven games for 1.42 points per game average and has now three times recorded two or more points in a game this season … Friday also marked the third time Kraemer has logged three or more points in a game … Ava MacLeod's assist on Kraemer's second goal was the first point of her collegiate career.