The No. 9 University of Minnesot Duluth women's hockey team will head to Mankato, Minn. this weekend to take on No. 13 Minnesota State University, Mankato in a critical Western Collegiate Hockey Association series showdown. The series, set to be played in the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, will get underway at 6:02 p.m. Friday night before concluding Saturday at 2:02 p.m.
UMD WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE -- Head Coach Laura Schuler and Junior Forward Grace Sadura
THE SERIES: UMD owns a 94-9-11 all-time record against MSU after sweeping the Mavericks at AMSOIL Arena on Oct. 17-18.
The Bulldogs own a 15-game unbeaten streak against MSU that dates back to Feb. 27, 2022.
In their last series in mid October, the Bulldogs defeated MSU 5-0 to open the weekend before turning in a 3-1 game two.
Caitlin Kraemer led all scorers in game one with two goals and an assist. Including Kraemer,four players had multiple point nights -- Rae Mayer (1g, 1a) Mary Kate O'Brien (1g, 1a) and Ashley Messier (2a). Eve Gascon, who moved into sole possession of the fifth most career shutouts in UMD history with 15, made 24 saves in the game for the Bulldogs, who outshot the Mavericks 46-24.
In game two, the Bulldogs stormed back from a 1-0 deficit to score three unanswered goals just over three minutes apart late in the third period to defeat the Mavericks 3-1. Thea Johansson had the second and third goals for UMD, while Grace Sadura had the first.
Gascon had 17 stops on goal for the Bulldogs, who struggled to score in four attempts on the power play but won 29 of 51 faceoffs. The Mavericks, outshot 42-18 in the game – including 16-4 in the third period, got 39 stops from Hanson.
UMD vs St. Cloud State, last 10 games (9-0-1)
Oct. 18, 2025 3-1 Win Home
Oct. 17, 2025 5-0 Win Home
Nov. 1, 2025 3-2 Win Away
Oct. 31, 2025 5-3 Win Away
Mar. 1, 2025 2-1 Win Home*
Feb. 28, 2025 3-2 Win Home*
Jan. 11, 2025 3-0 Win Home
Jan. 10, 2025 3-0 Win Home
Dec. 7, 2024 3-1 Win Away
Dec. 6, 2024 1-1Tie, SW Win Away
*WCHA Quarterfinals
Top-3 Returning Scorers vs St. Cloud St.
Caitlin Kraemer GP=8 G=4 A=4 P=9
Tova Henderson GP=20 G=1 A=8 P=9
Mary Kate O'Brien GP=20 G=4 A=4 P=8
Eve Gascon -- 9-0-2, 5 SO
LAST TIME OUT: UMD earned just a single point last weekend against St. Cloud St. with a 2-2 overtime Friday night before suffering a 5-2 loss Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies scored two goals over 1:19 of
time late in the third period to force Friday's game into over time. Rae Mayer had both goals for the Bulldogs. UMD outshot SCSU 41-25.
Saturday, the Huskies responded to a Caitlin Kraemer goal just 2:35 into the first period with four unanswered goals, and scored a power play goal, as well as two empty net goals to defeat UMD for the first time in 14 games.
NOTES FROM THE ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES: -- UMD is 90-16-12 all-time against the Huskies and ends the regular season 2-1-1 against SCSU.
--The Bulldogs loss Saturday was the first against the Huskies at home since Feb. 9, 2019, a 2-3 loss.
--The Bulldogs have skated into overtime in three of their last six games, and posted a record of 0-1-2 over that span. In overtime games this season, UMD is 1-1-2.
CURSE OF THE IRISH: The Bulldogs are winless so far in 2026 -- since falling in two games in Belfast, Northern Ireland to jump start January, UMD is 0-4-2.
KARLSSON AND JOHANSSON MAKE SWEDISH OLYMPIC TEAM: Two current and two former women's hockey players were named to Sweden's 2026 Winter Olympic roster officially last Monday -- junior defenseman Ida Karlsson, senior forward Thea Johansson, and former goaltenders Tindra former and All-American Emma Soderberg.
The group has been called up to national duty for all of 2025, but the Olympic nod will be a first for Karlsson, Johansson and Holm. The trio will run UMD's all-time Olympians to 44.
Karlsson, a native of Avesta, Sweden, has blossomed at UMD. Currently in her third season, she leads all UMD defenseman with eight points and has tied her career-best for goals in a season with three so far. Karlsson has a one game-winning goal, a power play goal and a shorthanded goal to pair with 31 blocks through 24 games. Karlsson is nearing 30 career points as a Bulldog at 28 (7g, 21a).
Johansson ranks second in scoring for the Bulldogs with 20 on a team-high 14 goals. The Ljungby, Sweden product has a +7, which leads the Bulldogs and has over 114 career points over her collegiate career so far, with 65 of her points goals.
Holm has played her way on the Olympic team after joining the Bulldogs last season, while forner All-American Soderberg returns as Sweden's starter after an outstanding 2022 Olympic debut.
UMD head coach Laura Schuler expects Karlsson and Johansson to miss most of February with the Swedish Olympic Team.
The four current and former Bulldogs on the Swedish Olympic Team ties a program record of UMD players on a single Swedish Olympic Team roster. The Bulldog program has long had ties to the Swedish Olympic Team -- a program-high 14 UMD players has suited up for Sweden in the Olympics, including multiple players who have skated multiple times.
KRAEMER REACHES 50 POINT MILESTONE: Sophomore center Caitlin Kraemer became just the second UMD sophomore in the past decade and fifth player in the past 15 years to reach 50 career points as a sophomore.
Kraemer is the first Bulldog since Gabbie Hughes -- who needed just 42 games to hit 50 points -- to reach it so quickly. The Waterloo, Ontario native hit 50 points in 55 career games.
She joins Hughes as the only players this decade. Former All-American Lara Stalder and current UMD associate head coach Ashleigh Brykaliuk reached the mark as sophomores in 2014-15, while Jenna McParland got to the mark in 2012-13.
All-time, UMD as a program has had 22 players surpass 50 points -- or more -- in their second seasons of college eligibility with the Bulldogs. (Of note, that does exclude players that transferred -- Jenny Potter, Elizabeth Giguere, and current forward Thea Johansson all reached the mark with either a freshman season somewhere else (Potter at Minnesota), or their first two seasons in another program (Giguere at Clarkson, Johansson at Mercyhurst).
OFFENDED YOUTH: Thea Johansson may lead UMD with 14 goals, but the Bulldog underclassmen are making their scoring mark this season.
Underclassmen scored 3-of-4 goals last weekend against St. Cloud State, and the week previously, against Wisconsin, UMD's only goals against the Badgers were freshmen (Maddi Burr and Rae Mayer).
Since being shutout by Minnesota on Oct. 24, underclassmen have scored 17-of-34 goals. Johansson and Mayer have both posted seven over that span.
NOT SO SWEET HOME: UMD had a travel heavy first half to the season, with just eight games out of a possible 22 in Duluth. But AMSOIL hasn't been entirely friendly to the Bulldogs -- UMD has been just 2-6-2 so far in its home rink.
Notably, every home game the Bulldogs have played has been against nationally ranked teams, and six of the eight games has come against top-3 teams.
Only twice in UMD program history has a team finished the season with a losing record at home -- over the 2012-13 season (7-8-3) and again in 2015-16 (5-10-1).
CALLING IT A CAREER: Multiple UMD players own marks that make them among the top-10 in the NCAA among all active players. Thea Johansson currently sits in ninth with 65 career goals -- just three from the eighth spot with 68. Johansson also sits eighth for career shorthanded goals with three.
Eve Gascon is in sixth with a .941 saves percentage, and seventh with 15 career shutouts.
