The 2026-27 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team started its season Friday night concluding a game the way it had 600 other times over the course of the program's history – with a win. The Bulldogs shutout Mercyhurst University 2-0 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. in their season opener, a nod to their past while starting their current season on the right track.
"Great first win for us," said UMD head coach Laura Schuler, who has been at UMD for 230 of the program's wins. "I was really impressed with our ability to play physical and our heads up hockey. ?I thought we hit a little bit of adversity in the second period, but then we quickly reminded ourselves that we're blue collared, hardworking, Bulldogs. And that's always who we have been. ?And I think we kind of got back to that again in the third period and, you know, I thought our third period was better."
UMD started the game with three freshmen in the starting lineup and perhaps the youngest player in program history to start a game in Renee Lapointe. The young Bulldogs pushed the Lakers offensively, pummeling Mercyhurst with 13 shots on goal to the Lakers' three, but after the first 20 minutes of play, the game was still knotted up at 0-0.
Earlier in the week, UMD head coach Laura Schuler openly spoke about how she expected a lot of good hockey from Caitlin Kraemer this season, and at 6:27 of the second period, the junior center delivered. Kraemer took a pass from Rae Mayer just inside the Bulldog defensive zone and carried it the rest of the ice, finishing the play with a sneaky five-hole that was just enough to beat Laker goaltender Magdalena Luggin for the 1-0 lead.
UMD shelled Mercyhurst over the entire game, outshooting the Lakers 45-26 overall.. Yet the Bulldogs insurance goal didn't come until late in the final frame after UMD killed off a penalty late in third. Mayer scooped up the puck at the redline and netted her first of the year on the empty net at 19:13 to seal the program's 600th win. Mayer's goal was assisted by Laini Gnetz – the first point of her career and senior blueliner Ida Karlsson.
Senior goaltender Eve Gascon picked up her 22nd career shutout – just one shy of UMD's all-time career record currently held by Emma Soderberg (who had 23 clean sheets over her All-American career in Duluth). Gascon made 26 saves for the Bulldogs, while Luggin, who was a thorn in UMD's side all night, made 43 for the Lakers. UMD dominated the faceoff dot 35-24 but neither team scored on the power play – Mercyhurst went 0-of-4 and UMD 0-of-3.
The Bulldogs (1-0-0) – who have now opened their last seven seasons with a win – will drop the puck again against the Lakers (2-1-0) Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at AMSOIL.
