Bulldogs Make it Six-Straight NCAA Tournament Appearances, will Face Yale Thursday
For a sixth-straight season, the University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team is going to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs officially punched the program's 17th ticket to the big dance Sunday morning after the NCAA's selection show revealed UMD will travel to Columbus, Ohio. to play Yale University in the NCAA Regional Semifinal Thursday with a 5:00 p.m. CDT puck drop at OSU Ice Rink.
UMD will face a non-Western Collegiate Hockey Association opponent in the NCAA tournament opening round for a sixth-consecutive season. Overall, the Bulldogs own a 20-14-3 record and have gone 2-10-1 against teams in the NCAA tournament. The winner of the all Bulldog showdown Thursday will face No. 1 seeded Ohio State University on Saturday in the NCAA Regional Final.
"Exciting, exciting, you know, again, I think just so proud of our girls in terms of what we did all season long," said Bulldog head coach Laura Schuler, who will now be a apart of eight total UMD NCAA Tournament runs, including two as the Bulldog head coach. "We have the fourth hardest schedule in the country and our 20 wins really carried some weight for us. ?We were watching the NPI really, really closely, and a lot of exciting games here over the weekend, and I couldn't be happier for a group."
This will mark the fifth-ever NCAA Regional Semifinal game for UMD in the NCAA Tournament, which expanded to 11 teams five seasons ago. All-time, UMD is 22-11 in the NCAA postseason, including 10-5 in NCAA First Round/Quarterfinals/Regional Semifinals and marks the 17th time UMD has been invited to the NCAA Tournament in program history – the second most in NCAA Division I women's hockey history.
The run of six NCAA Tournaments consecutively is the second longest streak in Bulldogs history, having started in 2021. The longest was a seven-season string from 2005-2011. It's also currently the third-longest active streak in all of the NCAA.
"That's huge in it, it speaks to our student athletes and the competitors that they are and just their level of excellence that they bring to the rink each and every day," said Schuler when asked about UMD having the third-longest active NCAA Tournament streak in the NCAA at six games. "I think it goes back to our alumni and the culture that they created here, and that has carried forward. We have tremendous leaders on this team that I'm so proud of, and they are just paving the way for the younger players right now showing them what it looks like to come to work and be the best that you can be each and every day. ?I couldn't be prouder of them."
This also marks the fifth NCAA Tournament appearances for senior captain Mary Kate O'Brien, who become 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.
