The No. 10 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will make it six-straight NCAA Tournaments in row Thursday when the Bulldogs face No. 8 Yale University at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio. The puck is set to drop at 5:00 p.m. CST, and the winner will advance to the NCAA Regional Final on Saturday to play top-seeded Ohio State University.


UMD IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: UMD is in its sixth-straight NCAA Tournament and owns the third-longest active streak in the NCAA. It also doubles as the second longest NCAA postseason run in program history, trailing only the seven straight appearances UMD had between 2005-2011.

All-time, the Bulldogs are 22-11 in the NCAA postseason, and 10-7 in Regional Final/Quarterfinal games. UMD owns the third most NCAA tourney wins in all of the NCAA at 22.

In just the fifth season of the expanded NCAA field (where UMD has made the tourney every time), the NCAA now hosts a regional instead of a single quarterfinal that the top-3 seeded teams host. The NCAA didn't adopt a quarterfinal game until the 2004-05 season, and prior to that, UMD had played in and won the first three NCAA titles in 2001, 2002 and 2003, going a perfect 6-0 in the NCAA postseason.

UMD has now made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances, the third most in NCAA history. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Frozen Four nine times as a program, including twice in the last five seasons. With seven NCAA Championship game appearances, including the 2022 title tilt, UMD owns the third most NCAA titles in the NCAA with five (2010, 2008, 2003, 2002, 2011), and the only NCAA title three-peat in NCAA Division I history.

UMD IN THE NCAA REGIONAL FINALS/QUARTERFINALS: All-time, UMD is 10-7 in the NCAA Regional Final or Quarterfinals. Since the NCAA went to a Regional Semifinal game in 2022, the Bulldogs are a perfect 4-0. Here is UMD's all-time results in NCAA Regional Semifinals/Quarterfinal games:

March 13, 2025 (ns) Sacred Heart 6-1

March 14, 2024 (ns) Conneticut 1-0 W OT 

March 9, 2023 (ns) Clarkson 2-0 Win (neut)

March 10, 2022 (ns) Harvard 4-0 Win

March 15, 2021 (ns) Colgate 1-0 OT Win 

March 11, 2017  Minnesota 0-1 Loss

March 12, 2011 at Wisconsin 1-2 Loss

March 13, 2010  New Hampshire 2-1Win

March 14, 2009 at New Hampshire 4-1 Win

March 15, 2008  Mercyhurst 5-4 Win

March   9, 2007 at Mercyhurst 3-2 OT Win

March 11, 2006 at St. Lawrence 0-1 Loss

March 18, 2005  St. Lawrence 2-3 OT Loss

SCHU'S NO STRANGER TO THE UMD POSTSEASON: Thursday will mark head coach Laura Schuler's second NCAA Tournment at the helm of the Bulldogs, but this is actually Schuler's seventh NCAA Tournament as a member of UMD's coaching staff. Schuler has been a part of the last four NCAA Tournament appearances (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), as well as in 2010 and 2011. Schuler has also been a part of three NCAA Frozen Fours at UMD (2022, 2010, 2009), which includes two NCAA title tilts (2022 and 2010). 

UMD has won one NCAA title with Schuler as an assistant coach in 2010.

BULLDOGS AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT FIELD: UMD may not have skated against Yale this season, but it has played 13 games against the 2026 NCAA Tournament field with a record of 2-10-1 prior to the game on Thursday

Caitlin Kraemer had a team-high six points on four goals and two assists in those 13 games. Rookie Rae Mayer had five points (3g, 2a), and while three other players had four points, Thea Johansson had four points  (1g, 3a) in just nine games after missing four games while at the Olympics

Eve Gascon backstopped 12-of-the-15 games UMD skated against Tournament teams, and posted a .921 saves percentage. The junior netminder also averaged 34 saves a game in those 12 games.

12-of-13 games came against WCHA opponents, and four of the games were decided either way by just a single point, with three overtime skate where the Bulldogs were unbeaten (2-0-1). UMD scored just three power play goals but 12 of the 18 goals scored against them came on power plays. UMD averaged just 1.38 goals a game while allowing 3.31.

The Bulldogs averaged 26.9 shots a game against NCAA teams -- below the 33.8 it averaged all season. Those opposing teams averaged 39.1 shots on goal -- far more than the 31.1 it allowed per game over the entire season overall.

Notably, UMD averaged 10.46 minutes -- more than the Bulldogs 7.49 against their entire schedule -- of penalty minutes, while their opponents averaged 9.00.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: This marks the fifth NCAA Tournament appearances for graduate forward Mary Kate O'Brien, who becomes just the third-ever UMD player to have skated in five NCAA Tournaments. Two other players will skate in their fourth-straight NCAA postseason – senior defenseman Tova Henderson and Danielle Burgen. As a program, UMD now has 28 total players in program history who have skated in four – or more – consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

TOURNAMENT TOUCH: Last NCAA postseason, UMD had two currently rostered players record two points Danielle Burgen (2g) and Caitlin Kraemer (2a).

Eve Gascon joined an exclusive club as well -- she became the seventh UMD goaltender to have ever won two or more games in the NCAA Tournament. 

Gascon is also one of just three UMD goaltenders to have recorded a shutout in an NCAA Tournament game. Kim Martin did it in the 2008 NCAA title game (4-0 over Wisconsin, while Emma Soderberg owns a program-record three NCAA postseason shutouts.

THE SERIES: UMD will face Yale for the first time in program history on Thursday, but the Bulldogs did play two ECAC members while in Belfast, Northern Ireland in early January this season and lost both games (Quinnipiac and Harvard). 

Overall, the Bulldog program has played 77 games against the ECAC, (known as the Eastern College Athletic Conference until 2004 and the ECAC Hockey League until 2007, it is now just referred to as the ECAC), and owns an overall record of 44-24-6 all-time. 

Since UMD met Colgate in the 2021 NCAA Regional Final, the Bulldogs have faced five ECAC opponents in the NCAA Tournament, and have gone 3-1 in those outings.

LAST TIME OUT: UMD fell in its best-of-three series against Minnesota State University, Mankato in the WCHA Quarterfinals back on Feb. 27, 28 and March 1. The Bulldogs won the opening contest 2-0 before suffering a 2-1 double overtime setback Saturday, Feb. 28 and losing 2-1 on Sunday, March 1.

In the series opener, UMD got a goal from freshman forward Madi Burr at 7:11 of the second period before rookie Molly Cole added a second goal at 7:50 of the third frame. The Bulldogs outshot the Mavericks 45-23, and Eve Gascon earned her 10th shutout of the season on 23 saves.

In game two, the Bulldogs never led after MSU struck just 3:05 into the first period. Thea Johansson scored her first goal since tying a tournament high of four at the Olympics at 4:35 of the second, but two overtimes later, the Mavericks Whitney Tuttle scored her second  of the game to tie up the series at 1-1. UMD again outshot the Mavericks, this time 58-29. Gascon had 27 saves for the Bulldogs, who were held scoreless in four power play attempts.

Sunday MSU again struck first 3:41 into the first period. Johansson netted her second of the seris with 39 seconds left in the same frame, but the Mavericks retook the 2-1 lead 8:28 into the second. Despite outshooting MSU 42-29, UMD was dealt an upset, missing the WCHA Frozen Faceoff for the first time since and marking just the third time in program history the Bulldogs didn't make it out of the round.

NOTES FROM THE MINNESOTA STATE SERIES: UMD is now 96-11-12 all-time against the Mavericks, who broke a 18-game winless streak against UMD on Saturday. The Bulldogs are also now 6-3 all-time against MSU in the WCHA First Round.

--The Bulldogs are 39-12 all-time in the WCHA quarterfinals and missed the semifinals for the first time since 2018. UMD not advanced out of the first round just three times in program history, having advanced 17-out-of-20 times.

 

GASCON NAMED HCA NATIONAL WOMEN'S GOALIE OF THE YEAR FINALIST FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT SEASON: For a second-consecutive season, junior goaltender Ève Gascon has been named a Hockey Commissioners Association Women's Hockey Goalie of the Year Finalist. 

Gascon, who was named the 2025-26 WCHA Goaltender of the Year last Wednesday -- an award she has now held for the past two seasons, was last week named to the All-WCHA First Team. Currently the HCA Goaltender of the Month for February, she was a two-time WCHA Goaltender of the Month and was six-times named the WCHA's Goaltender of the Week this season. The Mascouche, Quebec native was the 2025-26 WCHA Statistical Goaltending Champion after posting a league-high .943 saves percentage in league games and led the conference with 10 shutouts – the second most in all of the NCAA – and seven in WCHA play.  Gascon – named the WCHA's Goaltender of the Month for February last week after having a monster month, owned a 1.79 goals against average over all her 34 games started, and she played the most minutes in the league (2,013:44) and posted the second most saves (957). Gascon also averaged 29.7 saves per game this season.

While Gascon is now a two-time finalist and Emma Soderberg was finalist in 2023, UMD has never had an HCA Goalie of the Year winner. The award was first awarded in 2021.

600 CLUB: The Bulldogs won't just be looking to move on from the NCAA Regional Semifinls Thursday -- UMD as a program is now just one win shy of reaching the 600 win club.

The Bulldogs enter the weekend with an all-time program record of 599-296-83.

JOHANSSON'S SUCCESSFUL OLYMPIC DEBUT: Thea Johansson joined an elite crew of former Bulldog Olympians in February -- the senior forward scored four goals the Olympics, tying her for the tournament lead. Johansson's four goals make her the sixth Bulldog Olympian to score four or more goals in a game. She joins U.S. legend Jenny Potter, (6 in 2010) and Swedish legends Maria Rooth (5 in 2006) and Pernilla Winberg (5 in 2006), Caroline Ouellette (5 in 2006) and Lara Stalder (5 in 2022).

With three assists, Johansson also averaged 1.00 points per game and finished seventh overall with seven points.

Junior defenseman Ida Karlsson also returns for her Olympic debut where she skated in all seven games, recorded an assist and had a +3 plus/minus rating.

FANTASTIC FEBRUARY: Its not just Eve Gascon who has put up incredible numbers in February (0.81 GAA, 227 saves, .970 saves percentage, three shutouts). The Bulldogs, who went 7-1-1 in the month, averaged 3.17 goals a game while holding their opponents to 0.83 -- despite barely outshooting foes 31.7 to 30.3.

NOT SO FRESH ANYMORE:   All told, the freshman have scored 29 of the Bulldogs' 93 goals this season, including four game-winners. Rae Mayer leads the young pack with 12 goals.

The Bulldogs have had freshman log at least a goal in 24 of their 37 games so far this season, including six games with two or more goals.

SLOW STARTERS: UMD has scored just 21 of its 93 goals in the first period so far this season, but allowed 22 against. 

By comparison, UMD has scored 38 goals in the third period while allowing just 23.

Despite their slow starts, the Bulldogs are a dominate 17-0-1 when they have the lead after two periods of play, but just 2-12-0 when they trail or 1-2-2 when they are tied.

HOME ON THE ROAD: UMD has been impressive on the road this season and owns a 13-4-1 record away from AMSOIL. 

More than half of UMD's goals have come on the road -- 56 of 93.

On the contrary, UMD ended up 7-8-2 in its home rink. Only twice before in UMD program history previously 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).

GASCON'S SEASON OF SAVES: Eve Gascon has 957 saves so far this season -- the fifth-most ever by a UMD goaltende, and just seven shy of the fourth slot.

Gascon already owns the eighth most saves in a season, set over the 2024-25 season with 896.

With 10 shutouts, Gascon is tied for the second-most clean sheets in Bulldog program history.

The junior goaltender also currently owns the seventh best single-season saves percentage (.942). Gascon already has the fourth best saves percentage .946 in 2023-24 and 10th best, a .941 in 2024-25.

GOALS ARE HER CUP OF THEA: Thea Johansson has 17 goals this season, and just three players have put more goals up in a season over the past five seasons than Johansson. Only Olivia Mobley (19, 2024-25), Caitlin Kraemer (18, 2024-25), Reece Hunt (18, 2023-24) have scored more than 17 goals since 2021-22.