The No. 10 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team returns home to AMSOIL Arena this weekend for just its 11th and 12th games in Duluth, Minn. this season to battle Bemidji State University. The matinee series will get underway at 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon before dropping the puck at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Tickets for Friday's and Saturday's games are discounted for the 6-7 sale -- click the following link for more details -- https://am.ticketmaster.com/umd/buy


Saturday is the 2026 YAF Appreciation Day at AMSOIL Arena, and all kids ages 14 & under are invited to participate in a FREE one-of-a-kind kids' race around the concourse. The kids' Races Start at 12:30 p.m. and will precede the UMD women's hockey team game. Each participant will receive FREE admission to the game, and adults can purchase $5.00 discounted tickets.

UMD Women's Hockey Weekly Press Conference, February 5, 2026 -- Head coach Laura Schuler, captain Mary Kate O'Brien



KARLSSON AND JOHANSSON WITH SWEDISH OLYMPIC TEAM: Ida Karlsson and Thea Johansson began their absence from the UMD team last weekend as two current and two former women's hockey players who were named to Sweden's 2026 Winter Olympic roster. Johansson and Karlsson joined former goaltenders Tindra Holm former and All-American Emma Soderberg -- Soderberg is a repeat Olympian after also leaving midseason in 2022 to represent her country.

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 34 blocks through 26 games. Karlsson is nearing 30 career points as a Bulldog at 28 (7g, 21a).

Johansson is tied for the team lead in scoring for the Bulldogs with 21 on a team-high 15 goals. The Ljungby, Sweden product has a +8, which leads the Bulldogs and has over 115 career points over her collegiate career so far, with 66 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.

In all, UMD has eight current or former players suiting up in the Olympics this week, and four former players who as now coaches. No program in the history of women's Division I NCAA hockey has had more Winter Olympians than UMD.  The Bulldogs as a program have sent 44 current or former players to skate on women's hockey biggest stage, including four who will make their debut this weekend --  current players junior defenseman Ida Karlsson and senior forward Thea Johansson, and former Bulldog goaltender Tindra Holm, all with Sweden, as well as defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith with Germany. 

In fact, a total of eight current and former players will suit up for four different teams, including Emma Soderberg (Sweden), Lara Stalder (Switzerland) and Katerina Mrázová (Czechia) -- and that doesn't even include former players on coaching staffs, like four-time gold medalist Caroline Ouellette (assistant coach, Canada), Saara Kivenmäki (formerly Tuominen)(assistant coach, Finland), Jennifer Harss (strength coach, Germany), and Satu Kiipeli (team leader, Finland).

As a program, UMD has never had fewer than eight current or former players skating in the Olympics since the 2002 Olympics.  The Bulldogs had a program-high of 16 in 2006 and a whopping 15 in 2010.  The 2026 Winter Olympics have once again followed that UMD script, with eight current and former players currently on the ground in Milano Cortina, set to compete for their respective countries.

KRAEMER FACES OFF: No player in the WCHA and just one in all of the NCAA (who has also played in four more games) has more faceoffs wins so far this season than top-line center Caitlin Kramer. The sophomore leads the WCHA with 393 wins and an overall record of 393-310 for a total of 701 draws. 

Kraemer has been dominate over the past seven games for UMD, outdrawing opponents 137-83 over that span -- all nationallt ranked teams. Against Ohio State lase weekend, Kraemer went 25-17 in game one -- 25 faceoff wins is a season-high for the sophomore.

Last season Kraemer ranked third in the WCHA after winning 455 faceoffs out of 833 for a .546 win percentage. UMD has had impactful faceoff winners before, including Mannon McMahon, who led the WCHA with 522 wins out of 922 in 2023-24 and Gabbie Hughes, who had the second most wins for two seasons in row (2022-23 and 2021-22).

UMD'S RANKED JANUARY : January was a grueling month for the Bulldogs, who started it off in another country and played nine of their 10 games against teams ranked in the top-15 nationally, and five skates against top-10 squads, going 1-6-3 with two shootout wins in the process.

The Bulldogs are coming off a stretch where they have skated in nine-straight games against ranked opponents -- UMD's last foe not ranked nationally was Harvard back on Jan. 2. 

In face, in addition to Harvard, the only other team UMD has played that isn't ranked in the top-15 or the highest team receiving votes dating back to the entire month of October? Bemidji State.

GASCON NOW TIED THIRD ALL-TIME IN CAREER SHUTOUTS AT UMD: Ève Gascon -- the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's reigning Goaltender of the Week -- posted a double-shutout weekend in Mankato, Minn. move her into a tie for third all-time with former All-American Riitta Schaublin with 17 career shutouts. Schaublin reached the mark in 84 career games -- Gascon picked up 17 in 74.

Gascon has now reached six or more shutouts in a season two out of her three seasons at UMD -- just the second UMD goaltender in program history that has put up six or more shutouts in multiple seasons. (The other? Emma Soderberg, who owns the all-time shutout record of 23).

Gascon is in a tie for the most shutouts in the WCHA so far this season (6) and tied for third in the NCAA.

POWER PLAGUE: UMD's power play scored once on 13 attempts last weekend against OSU, and has been successful just once in the last 14 games. The Bulldog goal last weekend broke up a 12-game scoreless streak on the extra skater advantage.

NOT SO SWEET HOME: UMD had a travel heavy first half to the season, and has played just 10 games out of a possible 28 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 while it has been 11-4-1 on the road.

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).

THE SERIES: UMD is 98-22-1 all-time against the Beavers, and currently owns dominant 19-game winning streak against the Beavers that dates back to Jan. 23, 2021, which includes 12 shutouts. Seven of UMD's last 10 games against BSU have been shutouts, including their last game on Dec. 6 (4-0). 

In the Bulldogs last 10 games against the Beavers, they have outscored BSU 35-3. The Bulldogs shutout the Beavers in three of their four meetings last season and outscored the Beavers 18-1.

No UMD player currently rostered has ever lost to BSU over their collegiate career.

UMD swept Bemidji State on the road on Dec. 5-6. The Bulldogs defeated the Beavers 4-1 in game one, and shutout BSU 4-0 in game two, their last game of 2025.

Senior Thea Johansson and freshman Rae Mayer each had a goal in each game for two goals in the series. UMD outshot BSU 32-20 in the second game, but was actually outshot by the Beavers 31-27 in their 4-1 win in game one.

Caitlin Kraemer, Johansson and Dani Burgen all had a series-high three points on the weekend (Kraemer 3a), (Johansson 1g, 2a,) (Burgen 1g, 2a)

UMD vs BSU - Last 10 games (10-0-0)

Dec. 6, 2025 4-0 Win Away

Dec. 5, 2025 4-1 Win Away

Feb. 8, 2025 6-0 Win Away

Feb. 7, 2025 2-0 Win Away

Nov. 23, 2024 2-0 Win Home

Nov. 22, 2024 8-1 Win Home

Jan. 13, 2024 7-0 Win Home

Jan. 12, 2024 2-0 Win Home

Oct. 29, 2023 6-0 Win Away

Oct. 28, 2023 2-1 Win Away

Notable scorers against the Beavers --

Mary Kate O'Brien, GP=16 G-3 A-8 P=11

Caitlin Kraemer, GP=6 G-3 A-3 P=9

Eve Gascon career against BSU - Three shutouts in four games

LAST TIME OUT: UMD was swept by Ohio State in Columbus last weekend by scores of 6-2 and 3-1. 

The Bulldogs were hampered with early penalties Friday night, allowing the Buckeyes to score two power play goals in the opening eight minutes, and eventually four in the first period to overwhelm UMD. Both teams put 34 shots on net -- Eve Gascon played the first period, while Sophia Villanueva played the final 40, and made 17 stops. UMD went just 1-of-9 on its power play while OSU was 2-of-4.

In game two, UMD battled evenly, but again gave OSU power plays down the stretch -- two in the final four minutes of play -- that helped the Buckeyes seal their win with a power play goal at the 17:51 mark. Molly Cole had UMD's lone goal, while Gascon had 34 saves for the Bulldogs, who were outshot 37-33.

NOTES FROM THE OHIO STATE SERIES: UMD is now 73-36-9 all-time against the Buckeyes, and goes winless against OSU over the regular season for just the second time since the 2013-14 season.

--UMD is 10-13-2 in Columbus since November of 2013, and 24-27-4 over the same time span.