UMD Athletics

December 10, 1930. Duluth State Teacher’s College announces that intercollegiate ice hockey will be added to the institution’s varsity sports program.

January 13, 1931. DSTC bows to Duluth Central High School 3-0 at the Duluth Amphitheater in the club’s first varsity hockey game. Subsequently, the fledgling team drops all three of its contests in its inaugural campaign. Head Coach Frank Kovach, who also helped start both the Bulldog intercollegiate football and men’s basketball programs that same year, awards 15 varsity letters.

February 27, 1932. DSTC wins its first intercollegiate hockey game with a 3-2 decision over Two Harbors High School at the Duluth Amphitheater.

June 10, 1946. Following a 14-year absence, ice hockey is reinstated as a varsity sport by administrative officials at DSTC.

February 24, 1949. Goaltender Norm Thompson and the Bulldogs shut out Carleton College 3-0 in Duluth to close out the year with a 7-0-0 overall record for their only unbeaten, untied season in history.

June 27, 1949. After two seasons playing as an independent, UMD is accepted into the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

December 13, 1957. UMD dumps visiting Michigan Tech University 5-3 for its first triumph over an NCAA Division I institution.

February 18, 1959. Junior center Orest Wojcichowsky nets 10 points (four goals and six assists) against Concordia College in what would stand as a UMD (pre-NCAA Division I) single-game record. The Bulldogs win the MIAC confrontation 16-0 at the Duluth Curling Club.

February 15, 1961. In its final game as members of the MIAC, UMD blanks Augsburg College 19-0 at the Duluth Curling Club. The victory was the Bulldogs’ 56th straight in league play and assured UMD of its sixth consecutive MIAC title.

August 10, 1961. UMD abandons the MIAC in hopes of establishing itself as a legitimate big-time college hockey school. The University officially elects to compete as a Division I independent and releases a 1961-62 schedule which features engagements against Western Collegiate Hockey Association powers such as the University of Minnesota, Michigan Tech, Michigan State University, and the University of Denver.

December 19, 1964. In what was then an NCAA Division I single-game record, senior goaltender Bill Halbrehder makes 77 saves in the Bulldogs’ 6-5 overtime loss to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

March 20, 1965. The 1966 NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Tournament and the accompanying American Hockey Coaches Association Convention is awarded to the city of Duluth and its new $6.1 million Arena-Auditorium Complex. But due to construction delays with the facility (it wouldn’t officially open until July 1966), the national event is later switched to Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The Duluth Arena, however, would eventually host the NCAA Championships in both 1968 and 1981.

April 3, 1965. UMD Provost Raymond Darland announces that the Bulldogs will officially become the eighth team in the prestigious WCHA beginning with the 1965-66 season. The Bulldogs join Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado College, Denver, Michigan Tech, Michigan State and Michigan in the newly-expanded circuit.

February 11, 1966. The Bulldogs end their 14-game winless WCHA streak by clipping North Dakota 3-2 in overtime in Grand Forks, N.D., for the school’s first league victory.

February 18, 1966. The Bulldogs take to the Duluth Curling Club ice sheet for a final time, falling 8-3 to the University of Michigan. A gathering of just over 2,000 spectators witness the finale.

March 13, 1966. Senior defenseman Bob Hill is among six players selected to 1965-66 AHCA All-American first team -- the first Bulldog to ever earn such a distinction.

November 19, 1966. In the inaugural game at the newly-constructed Duluth Arena, All-American senior center Keith “Huffer” Christiansen, who later that year would be named the WCHA’s Most Valuable Player, collects a school-record six assists to help propel the Bulldogs past Minnesota 8-1 before a sellout crowd of 5,700.

April 4, 1970. Following his debut collegiate season, center Murray Keogan is named an NCAA I All-American (the only UMD newcomer to ever be so honored) and also lands All-WCHA first team and WCHA Rookie of the Year recognition.

March 12, 1971. Center Pat Boutette rams in a rebound for his second goal of the game seven minutes into overtime to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 triumph over Michigan State in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs in Denver, Colo. The victory is UMD’s first-ever in WCHA post-season play.

December 17, 1971. Over a dozen school-single game records fall by the wayside as the Bulldogs paste Minnesota 15-3 in Minneapolis. A pair of All-American centers -- Walt Ledingham and Pat Boutette -- each record hat tricks to lead the scoring onslaught for UMD which struck for nine goals in the second period (including eight in a six-minute span) in the WCHA contest.

November 17, 1972. Buoyed by the five-goal performance of senior Steve “Pokey” Trachsel, UMD opens play at the Christmas City of the North Tournament in Duluth with an 11-4 rout of Lake Superior State University. Trachsel, who had been deployed at defense during his first three collegiate seasons before moving up to wing in 1972-73, sets a club mark (one that still stands) with the five scores and equals another team record by adding one assist for a six-point evening. Despite the record-breaking outing, Trachsel was overlooked by the selection committee for a spot on the All-Tournament first team.

January 13, 1973. In what arguably ranks as the greatest UMD comeback of all time, the Bulldogs rally from a 6-2 deficit with just 5:21 remaining in regulation to edge Michigan Tech 7-6 in overtime at the Duluth Arena. Bulldog

junior center Pat Boutette scores three straight goals (a natural hat trick) in a span of 2:37 during the comeback effort before rookie right winger Tom Milani notches the game-winner 3:02 (on an assist from Boutette) into the extra session.

February 23, 1974. UMD sets a single-game attendance record at the Duluth Arena as 6,158 spectators watch Michigan Tech shade the Bulldogs 5-3.

March 16, 1974. The host Bulldogs upend the University of Vermont 7-4 to capture the short-lived (it lasted just one year) National Invitational Hockey Tournament, a four-team event patterned after college basketball’s NIT, for clubs which didn’t qualify for NCAA post-season play.

October 24, 1975. In his first collegiate game with the Bulldogs, freshman right winger John “Bah” Harrington raps in a centering pass from Ernie Powell past goaltender Blane Comstock 4:04 into overtime to give host UMD a 4-3 win over the United States Olympic Team.

December 16, 1977. Just 13 days after equaling a UMD record for points in one game (six), junior All-American defenseman Curt Giles ties a club single-game mark for assists when he sets up six goals to spark the Bulldogs to a 7-6 victory at Colorado College.

December 29, 1977. Wearing Eveleth High School Golden Bear uniforms because their new home jerseys had yet to arrive, the Bulldogs upend Brown University 4-1. Four different UMD skaters score in the victory, including junior center and Eveleth native Mark Pavelich.

November 3, 1978. Down 4-0 with just over 7:30 to play in regulation, the Bulldogs stage, what the Duluth News-Tribune describes as a “Miracle Rally” by defeating visiting North Dakota 5-4 in overtime. Junior center and future All-American Mark Pavelich scores two of the Bulldogs’ four third period goals, including the equalizer with 0:02 on the clock and Dan Lempe’s goal at the 5:43 mark of overtime caps the comeback win.

January 29, 1979. Two days following a 10-6 thumping of Wisconsin at the DECC and extending its unbeaten streak to 13 games (11-0-2), UMD emerges as the No. 1 team in the WMPL-Radio Coaches Poll. It marks the first time in team history that UMD is tabbed as nation’s top dog in any poll.

March 7, 1979. Despite losing 4-2 (in overtime) to Denver, the Bulldogs still managed to win their two-game, total-goal WCHA quarterfinal playoff series with the Pioneers 7-6 at the Duluth Arena to advance to the second round of the league’s post-season tournament for the first time. UMD, which sported a pair of All-Americans in Curt Giles and Mark Pavelich, placed third in the final WCHA standings -- its inaugural finish in the league’s upper division.

March 8, 1980. In his 146th, and final, outing in a Bulldog sweater -- a 7-6 WCHA playoff setback at Colorado College -- senior center Dan Lempe tallies once to finish as UMD’s all-time scoring leader with 222 points on 79 goals and 143 assists.

March 19, 1983. After bowing to Providence College 7-3 the previous night, UMD succumbs 3-2 to the host Friars in its first showing in an NCAA playoff series. It turns out to be the final collegiate outing for sophomore puckstopping sensation Bob Mason, the WCHA Most Valuable Player Award recipient who would go on to tend goal for the U.S. at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

February 17, 1984. Sparked by senior left winger Bob Lakso’s hat trick, UMD upends Wisconsin 4-2 at the Duluth Arena to secure its first WCHA title.The Bulldogs had dedicated the season to athletic director Ralph Romano, who died of a heart attack while watching a UMD-Denver game at the Duluth Arena three months earlier.

March 10, 1984. Forced to host a “home” series at Williams (Mariucci) Arena in Minneapolis due to a scheduling conflict with the Duluth Arena, the Bulldogs blitz North Dakota 8-1 before a near-capacity crowd of 7,297 in the first of a two-game WCHA playoff championship series. UMD goes on to defeat the Fighting Sioux, 12-6, in the total-goal set, becoming just the second team ever to claim league regular season and playoff titles in the same season.

March 22, 1984. One week after derailing visiting Clarkson for their first NCAA playoff series win ever, the Bulldogs beat North Dakota in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. The thrilling 2-1 overtime victory is sealed when sophomore All-American right winger Bill Watson scores off a Bob Lakso feed in front of the net at the 3:09 mark of the first extra session.

March 23, 1984. Senior defenseman Tom Kurvers, who was chosen the WCHA’s Most Valuable Player earlier in the month, becomes the first Bulldog to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which recognizes the most outstanding player in college hockey.

March 24, 1984. Making its inaugural appearance in the finals of the NCAA Championships, UMD falls 5-4 in four overtimes to Bowling Green in Lake Placid, NY. The 97-minute, 11-second game was, at the time, the longest in NCAA post-season history. Bulldog freshman goaltender Rick Kosti rejects a tournament-record 55 shots in the setback.

December 22, 1984. UMD concludes its six-day tour of the Soviet Union, thus becoming the first American collegiate ice hockey team to ever visit that country. The Bulldogs split a two-game exhibition series with the Junior Red Army in Leningrad and in Moscow during their historic voyage.

February 16, 1985. The Bulldogs, behind a pair of goals from junior right winger Bill Watson, claim their second straight WCHA regular season crown by skating past Michigan Tech 4-3 at the Duluth Arena.

March 25, 1985. Third-year Head Coach Mike Sertich is selected the WCHA’s Coach of the Year for an unprecedented third season in a row.

March 29, 1985. One day before he was to record his 109th point of the season (which, at the time, was an NCAA Division I record), junior right winger Bill Watson is bestowed with the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Watson, who had earlier been named the WCHA’s Most Valuable Player after leading that circuit in scoring for a second straight season, becomes the second Bulldog in as many years to receive the award.

March 30, 1985. After losing a heartbreaking 5-4 triple-overtime decision the previous evening to eventual NCAA champion RPI., UMD rebounds with a 6-5 triumph in one overtime against Boston College to capture third place at the NCAA National Championships at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI.

March 1, 1986. In his final collegiate home appearance, sophomore right winger Brett Hull beats Northern Michigan netminder Dennis Jiannaris at the 15:38 mark of the third period in the Bulldogs’ WCHA quarterfinal playoff

series with the Wildcats at the Duluth Arena for his 50th goal of the year (and fourth of the night). That eclipsed the previous Bulldog single-season record of 49 set three years earlier by Bill Watson. The All-WCHA right wing would go on to finish the year with 52 goals.

January 30, 1988. In a special in pre-game ceremony at the DECC (Duluth Arena), the UMD Department of Intercollegiate Athletics officially retires Keith “Huffer” Christiansen’s familiar No. 9 jersey, marking the first time the school has bestowed any of its athletes with that honor.

February 25, 1989. Junior Dale Jago scores one goal and assists on another in a 6-3 WCHA playoff loss to Northern Michigan in Marquette. In the process, Jago finishes first among his teammates in scoring and thus becomes the first full-time Bulldog defenseman to ever do so.

November 4, 1989. The Bulldogs equal their best start ever (8-0-0) by pounding Alaska Anchorage 7-1 at the DECC en route to receiving the No. 1 ranking in the WMPL-Radio national college hockey poll.

March 3, 1991. All-American junior goaltender Chad Erickson establishes a then-team record when he makes his 64th consecutive start in the Bulldogs’ WCHA playoff series finale at Wisconsin. The 5-2 UMD setback marks his final outing with the Bulldogs as he later that month signed on with the National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils..

February 27, 1993. The Bulldogs skate off with their third WCHA title by blanking visiting St. Cloud State 4-0 for their first shutout in 283 games. Junior left wing Chris Marinucci contributes two goals in the triumph while rookie netminder Taras Lendzyk turns aside all 18 Husky shots in recording his initial collegiate whitewash.

March 13, 1993. With a 4-0 victory and another Taras Lendzyk shutout, UMD sweeps Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the WCHA playoffs at the DECC and concludes the year with a 17-1-0 home record for a .944 winning percentage -- the best single-season mark in school history.

March 19, 1993. The Bulldogs steal the show at the annual WCHA Awards Banquet as senior center Derek Plante lands the league’s Player of the Year honor and fellow All-WCHA first team pick Brett Hauer, a senior defenseman, is named the Student-Athlete of the Year (a Bulldog first). Mike Sertich also becomes only the second individual to ever be chosen the WCHA’s Coach of the Year on four occasions.

April 1, 1994. WCHA Player of the Year Chris Marinucci, who scored more points than any other collegian during the past two seasons, closes his UMD puck career by claiming the 1994 Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

February 23, 1996. In what is believed to be a college hockey first, rookie wing Forrest “Woody” Glines scores his only collegiate goal on a penalty shot in a 5-1 home victory over Northern Michigan.

March 15, 1998. Basically left for dead and down 4-0 with less than 14 minutes remaining in regulation, the Bulldogs rally to defeat the University of Minnesota 5-4 in the third and deciding game of their best-of-three WCHA playoff series at the DECC. Five different Bulldogs score in the victory, including senior Mike Peluso whose goal 10:49 into the extra session caps the comeback and gives UMD its first-ever overtime win over the Gophers.

March 19, 1998. After injuring his ankle in the previous day’s practice, sophomore workhorse Brant Nicklin is scratched from the lineup for the WCHA Final Five opener with St. Cloud State and thus ends a string of 76 straight starts in goal (a streak unmatched until the 2008-09 season by any NCAA netminder).

April 18, 2000. One month after receiving the WCHA’s Student-Athlete of the Year Award, senior center Jeff Scissons is named a GTE Academic All-American (first team) -- the first UMD athlete to ever be so honored. Scissons, who never missed a game (153 outings, which at the time was an NCAA record) during his four years at UMD, went on to graduate later that spring with a 3.91 cumulative grade point average while majoring in finance.

March 22, 2003. UMD gets goals from six different players in a 6-4 victory over Minnesota State University-Mankato to capture third place at the WCHA Final Five tournament at St. Paul’s Excel Energy Center. Although he’s held pointless that afternoon, center Tim Stapleton still finishes first among Bulldogs in scoring, becoming only the third freshman (NCAA I era) ever, and first in 26 years, to do so. UMD concludes the year as one of college hockey’s hottest clubs, going unbeaten in 12 of its last 16 outings.

February 21, 2004. Junior left winger Marco Peluso scores three times (all on the power play, matching a UMD single-game mark) for his first collegiate hat trick, and, in the process, sparks the Bulldogs to a 5-3 WCHA triumph over host Colorado College. The victory extends UMD’s unbeaten streak to a school-record 14 games.

March 18, 2004. UMD’s prodigious regular season does not go unnoticed as two of the WCHA’s major honors are bestowed on Bulldogs at the league’s Awards Banquet. Senior wing Junior Lessard is chosen the WCHA’s Player of the Year -- the seventh Bulldog to be so recognized -- after topping that circuit in both scoring and goals while Scott Sandelin lands the WCHA Coach of the Year Award after he directed UMD to its highest league finish (second place) in 11 years. Sandelin would go on to also lay claim to the Spencer Penrose Award as the NCAA I Coach of the Year, joining Mike Sertich (1983-84) as the only two Bulldog bosses to win that particular piece of hardware.

March 28, 2004. In the first NCAA playoff meeting ever between the two archrivals, the Bulldogs ambush two-time defending national champion Minnesota 3-1 to seize the NCAA Midwest Regional title in Grand Rapids, Mich. Forwards Evan Schwabe, Luke Stauffacher and Jesse Unklesbay each collect a goal  in the victory -- UMD’s fifth in six tries against the Gophers that winter -- and junior goaltender Isaac Reichmuth turns aside 22 of 23 shots en route to being tabbed the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

April 8, 2004. For the first time in over a year, UMD fails to hold on to a lead heading into the third period and drops a heartbreaking 5-3 decision to the University of Denver in the semifinal round of the Frozen Four in Boston, Mass. In his collegiate swan song, senior Junior Lessard scores twice for the Bulldogs, who possessed a 3-1 advantage at the second intermission before surrendering four answered goals in the final 18 minutes of play. UMD came into the tourney boasting a 25-0-1 record in games in which it led after two periods that winter.

April 9, 2004. Junior Lessard puts the exclamation point on a marvelous senior season by being presented with the Hobey Baker Memorial Award -- the fourth Bulldog to win college hockey’s most coveted individual prize. The first Quebec native to ever lace up a pair of skates at UMD, Lessard paced the country in scoring (63 points), goals (32) and power play tallies (14) from his right wing post and was selected to the NCAA All-American first team as well as the national Player of the Year by both insidecollegehockey.com and USCHO.com.

Oct. 25, 2004. UMD finds itself occupying the No. 1 spot in a national men’s hockey poll --a place it hadn’t been since November 1989 -- as both the folks from uscho.com/CSTV and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine tab the 5-0-1 Bulldogs as their top dog. Three weeks earlier, UMD was voted as the WCHA favorite by league coaches in the 34th annual Grand Forks Herald preseason poll -- a first for the Bulldog program.

February 3, 2006. Nearly two decades after he last dazzled college hockey fans with his goal-scoring wizardry, Brett Hull returns to his old hockey stomping grounds -- the DECC -- to have his jersey number (29) retired during the Bulldogs’ WCHA clash with Wisconsin. Hull, who still owns a number of UMD scoring records, hung up his National Hockey League skates earlier that year as its third all-time leading goal producer behind icons Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe. He joins fellow puckster Keith “Huffer” Christiansen as the only two UMD male athletes to ever be so honored.

March 21, 2009. UMD becomes the first play-in game participant to capture the WCHA Final Five title in the 17-year history of that event by blanking the University of Denver 4-0. The WCHA playoff crown is the Bulldogs’ third ever, but first since 1984-85. Junior goaltender Alex Stalock is named the Final Five’s Most Valuable Player after stopping 90 of 91 shots in the three games and posting back to back shut outs -- a UMD program first.

March 27, 2009. In what became known as the “Miracle at Mariucci” the Bulldogs score twice in the final 40 seconds of regulation and go on to nip Princeton University 5-4 in overtime in the NCAA West Region semifinals. Trailing 4-2, goals by UMD rookie center Jack Connolly and sophomore defenseman Evan Oberg (with just .8 seconds to play) send the game into overtime before freshman left winger Mike Connolly puts an end to the evening by scoring on the power play at 13:39 of sudden death. A partisan UMD crowd of 7,187 at  Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena are on hand to witness perhaps the most astonishing comeback in Bulldog history.

March 28, 2009. The longest post-season winning streak in UMD’s 65-year history comes to an end (six games) as the Bulldogs fall 2-1 to the Miami University in the NCAA West Region championship. The Bulldogs, who defeated five straight Top 15 clubs during that stretch in Colorado College (twice), the University of Minnesota, the University of North Dakota, the University of Denver and Princeton University, conclude the year ranked eighth in both major national polls. The loss is the collegiate finale for All-American junior goaltender Alex Stalock, who set UMD single-season marks for both goals against average (2.13) and saves percentage (.924) and became just the second Bulldog ever -- and first since Rick Kosti in 1984-85 -- to hold the title as the WCHA’s goals against average leader.

April 13, 2009. Groundbreaking begins on UMD’s new $80 million, 6,764-seat hockey home, which is scheduled for completion in 20 months. The state-of-the-art facility, located just a few hundred feet from the DECC will employ over 300 workers during its construction.  

December 4, 2010. After 45 seasons and 862 regular season/playoff games, UMD (adorned in its classic 1966-era throwback jerseys) bids farewell to the DECC  -- and does so in style --  by turning back the University of Denver 2-1.  The introduction of the 20-member All-DECC Team is among the highlights of the historic night, which is capped off with an emotional post-game ceremony featuring some 100-plus past and present Bulldogs. UMD finished its four-plus decade stay at the DECC with a 459-352-51 record (for a .561 winning percentage).

December 30, 2010. A capacity crowd of 6,764 -- the largest gathering to ever to take in a UMD home game at the time -- watches North Dakota blank the Bulldogs 5-0 and spoil AMSOIL Arena’s long-anticipated  grand opening party. The Sioux, who blew the game open by scoring three times in a span of 74 seconds late in the second period, become the first team to hold UMD scoreless in Duluth since March 21, 2008.

March 26, 2011. In a battle of Bulldogs, UMD outlasts No. 1 ranked Yale University 5-3 in the NCAA East Regional final to punch its ticket to the program’s fourth Frozen Four. UMD gets four goals from its specialty teams in the victory, which is played in Yale’s backyard at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. UMD junior goaltender Kenny Reiter, who posted his sixth career shutout in a 2-0 triumph over high-scoring Union College the previous evening, stops 62 of 65 shots during the weekend en route to being named the East Regional’s Most Valuable Player.

April 7, 2011. Four different Bulldogs score goals and rookie defenseman Justin Faulk and senior right winger Justin Fontaine each add three assists to propel UMD past the University of Notre Dame 4-3 in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals. The Bulldogs, playing before a somewhat hometown crowd of 19,139 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, go 3-for-6 on the power play and stymie the Fighting Irish on all five of their man advantage opportunities.

April 8, 2011. Junior center Jack Connolly, who earlier in the spring was chosen a Top 10 Finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, is named to the All-American first team while his linemate, junior right winger Mike Connolly, attains second team aclaim. Jack Connolly becomes just the sixth Bulldog ever -- and first in 25 years --  to receive  All-American honors on more than one occasion.

April 9, 2011. One day after being bestowed with the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award, Kyle Schmidt is anything but unsung in the NCAA Frozen Four championship. The senior left winger scores 3:22 into overtime, propelling UMD to a 3-2 victory over the University of Michigan, and, after a 67-year wait, give the Bulldogs their first national title. Junior defenseman Brady Lamb assists on three of the four UMD goals, including Schmidt’s game-winner, and junior center Travis Oleksuk turns in a two-point night for the Bulldogs, who were appearing in their second title game ever (the other coming 27 years ago). Rookie right winger J.T. Brown is chosen the Frozen Four’s Most Valuable Player and joins Schmidt and freshman defenseman Justin Faulk on the All-Tournament Team.

Oct. 21, 2011. The Bulldogs get a pair of goals from senior center Travis Oleksuk and turn back Providence College 5-2 at AMSOIL Arena. It marks the start of a school-record 17-game unbeaten streak (14-0-3), which runs nearly three months until a 5-2 setback at the University of Nebraska Omaha on Jan. 14.  From Dec. 5 to Jan. 30 -- a program best seven weeks, UMD also resides atop both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls past seven weeks.  a Bulldog club has ever have occupied the No. 1 spot in any national poll (they enjoyed three-week runs as the nation’s top dog in 2010-11 and in 1985-86)

Jan. 20, 2012. For the seventh straight week, UMD finds itself residing atop both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. It’s the longest strech a Bulldog club has ever have occupied the No. 1 spot in any national rankings (they enjoyed three-week runs as the country’s top dog in 2010-11 and in 1985-86).

April 6, 2012. Jack Connolly is named the recipient of the 2011-12  Hobey Baker Memorial Award, capping off the most decorated career ever turned in by a UMD puckster. The three-time All-American center from Duluth, who never missed a game in his four years at UMD. Connolly’s portfolio for 2011-12 also included selections as the Lowe Senior CLASS Award (a UMD first), the USA Hockey College Player of the Year Award,t he Premier Player of College Hockey Award, the WCHA Player of the Year Award, and the USCHO.com Player of the Year Award.

March 9, 2013. In UMD's farewell regular WCHA regular season appearance, senior goaltender Aaron Crandall turns aside all 32 shots the University of Nebraska-Omaha sends his way and junior right winger Joe Basaraba scores twice in a 6-0 triumph over the Mavericks at AMSOIL Arena. After a 43-year run in the WCHA, the Bulldogs will join the upstart National Collegiate Hockey Conference beginning with the 2013-14 season.

Oct. 24, 2014.  Bill Watson becomes the third Bulldog to have his jersey retired (No. 14), joining former teammate Brett Hull and Keith "Huffer" Christiansen in that exclusive club. Watson, who owns the distinction of being the only individual to play and coach in a NCAA Frozen Four championship game with the Bulldogs, won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award in his third, and final season at UMD in 1984-85.

Oct. 31, 2014.  Rookie UMD goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo makes a save for the ages -- a behind-the-back glove stop that robbed Miami's Cody Murphy of a goal at AMSOIL Arena. It is an instant hit on youtube, attracting over 650,000 hits (bit.ly/1rFB9nG).

Oct. 17, 2015.  The largest crowd in AMSOIL Arena history (7,569) watch the Bulldogs complete a home-and-home sweep of arch-rival Minnesota with a 3-0 victory as netminder Kasimir Kaskisuo turns aside all 21 shots the No. 15 Gophers send his way. With the triumph, UMD runs its winning streak over Minnesota to a program-best six games.

Oct. 30, 2015.  The No. 1 jersey of Glenn "Chico" Resch, a charter member of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame and 13-year NHL veteran, is retired in a pre-game ceremony at AMSOIL Arena. Resch was the first ex-Bulldog to appear in an NHL All-Star Game, doing so in 1976, 1977 and 1983 and patrolled the crease for 1979-80 Stanley Cup champion N.Y. Islanders.

Jan. 6, 2017. Team USA posts a 5-4 shootout-round victory over Canada in the title game of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships at Montreal's Bell Centre. That makes freshman Joey Anderson the first Bulldog to claim a gold medal at that event (he is the 14th UMD product to compete in the IIHF world juniors).

Feb. 13, 2017.  UMD checks in at No. 1 in the USCHO.com Poll for a final time in 2016-17. It's the program-best 11th No. 1 ranking the Bulldogs received during the season.

March 18, 2017.  Rookie right winger Joey Anderson's 5-on-3 power play goal with with 51 seconds remaining in regulation lifts UMD  to a wild 4-3 victory over North Dakota in the title game of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. In the process of capturing its first NCHC playoff championship, the Bulldogs place four  players on the six-member All-Tournament Team, including Dominic Toninato, Neal Poink, Hunter Miska and Alex Iafallo, who is named the event's Most Valuable Player.

March 25, 2017. After falling in the regional title game in each of the past two seasons, UMD finally got over the proverbial hump by taking down Boston University 3-2 in overtime in the West Regional final in Fargo, N.D. Sophomore center Adam Johnson scored on the power play just 1:57 into the extra session to seal the deal as he and the Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Frozen Four for the fifth time in program history -- and the first time since they won it all back in 2010-11. Freshmen goaltender Hunter Miska, who made a career-high 40 stops in  one night earlier while backstopping the Bulldogs to a 3-2 overtime triumph over Ohio State in the semifinals, lands West Region Most Valuable Player honors. He is  joined on the six-member All-Tournament Team by Joey Anderson as well as Willie Raskob, and Alex Iafallo.

March 25, 2017. UMD's bid for a second national title comes up just short at Chicago's United Center where Denver holds on for a 3-2 victory in the NCAA Frozen Four championship. The Bulldogs outshoot their NCHC rivals 17-3 in the final period of play after going into the second intermission down 3-1. The loss was just the Bulldogs' second in their last 21 games (16-2-3) and put the clamps on their eight-game winning streak. UMD also came into the night having won seven straight postseason contests, a program record. Alex Iafallo, one of seven UMD seniors who were playing in their final game, is selected to the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team along with Neal Pionk. Earlier that week, Iafallo became the Bulldogs' 26th All-American and first in four years.

Nov. 11, 2017. UMD officially retires Curt Giles’ No. 4 jersey during a pre-game ceremony at AMSOIL Arena, making the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame charter member the fifth Bulldog male in any sport to be so recognized.  A two-time NCAA I All-American and All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association first team honoree (1977-78 and 1978-79), Giles averaged 1.20 points per game during his collegiate playing days (the best mark ever turned in by a Bulldog defenseman). He went on to enjoy a 14-year  National Hockey League career before launching a rewarding tenure as the head boys hockey coach at Edina (Minn.) High School.

March 24, 2018. he Bulldogs punch their ticket to the 2018 Frozen Four by taking down the U.S. Air Force Academy 2-1 in the NCAA West Regional title game in Sioux Falls, S.D. That comes one night after the No. 3 seeded Bulldogs ousted No. 2 seed Minnesota State University-Mankato 3-2 in overtime.

April 7, 2018. Getting into the NCAA Tournament as final at-large qualifier, the Bulldogs go on a 4-0 run and capture their second national championship by taking down Notre Dame 2-1 at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center (the same venue of UMD’s first national title conquest seven years earlier). The NCAA Tournament berth is the Bulldogs’ 12th ever and marked the first time UMD had ever qualified for that event four years in a row.  All-American, defenseman Scott Perunovich delivers a collegiate debut season for the ages as he is bestowed with College Hockey Commissioner’s Tim Taylor Award as the most outstanding NCAA I rookie  The Hibbing, Minn., product also becomes just the second Bulldog rookie to ever attain All-National Collegiate Hockey Conference/Western Collegiate Hockey Association first team honors (center Murray Keogan was the other -- in 1969-70 when the Bulldogs were aligned with the WCHA) as well as the second defenseman to ever lead UMD in scoring with 36 points. Senior team captain Karson Kuhlman, who skated in all 166 games over the past four seasons (equaling a program ironman record) is named the NCAA Frozen Four Most Valuable Player after receiving that same honor two  weeks earlier at the NCAA West Regional. Kuhlman joins Perunovich, senior Jared Thomas (who had both of UMD’s game-winning goals) and sophomore goaltender Hunter Shepard on the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.

Sept.  24, 2018. For the first time in program history, UMD checks in at No. 1 in the USCHO.com Preseason Poll.  The previous highs were a No. 2 ranking in 2015 and a No. 5 slotting 10 years earlier.

Feb. 16, 2019. Karson Kuhlman, who captained UMD to the 2018 NCAA championship, makes his National Hockey League debut with the Boston Bruins and becomes the program-record 12th ex-Bulldog to do time in the NHL during the 2018-19. Prior to that, the most UMD alums ever to skate in the NHL during one season was 11 back in 1994-95. One month later (March 22), Kuhlman's former teammate, Adam Johnson makes it 13 former Bulldogs when he struts his stuff for the first time in the NHL as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

March 23, 2019.  UMD captures its second NCHC Frozen Faceoff crown in three years as sophomore left winger Nick Swaney backhands in a shot 4:51 into the second overtime in a 3-2 takedown of No. 1 St. Cloud State University at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Swaney's nation-leading third overtime score of the season along with a season-high 37-save performance from junior goaltender Hunter Shepard (the Frozen Faceoff's Most Valuable Player) help the Bulldogs put the skids on the Huskies' 13-game winning streak.

March 31, 2019.  One night after toppling Bowling Green 2-1 in overtime, the No 1 seeded Bulldogs reign as NCAA Midwest Regional champions thanks to a 3-1 triumph over first-time opponent Quinnipiac University in Allentown, Pa. Senior center Peter Krieiger's second-period goal and sophomore left winger Kobe Roth's tally in the third was all the offensive support junior netminder Hunter Shepard would need as UMD nails down its program-record third straight trip to the NCAA Frozen Four. Senior team captain Parker Mackay, who scored twice in the Midwest Regional semifinals, ices the win with an empty net goal with 57 seconds to go in regulation. He's voted the Midwest Regionals' Most Outstanding Player and is joined by Shepard, sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich,  freshman left winger Cole Koepke on the six-member All-Tournament Team.

April 13, 2019.  The Bulldogs, appearing in third consecutive national title game bout, deliver an encore performance and become the second team in 14 years to repeat as NCAA champions  -- and they do so in convincing style by shutting down the University of Massachusetts 3-0 in Buffalo, N.Y.  Sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson has a hand in all three goals and junior goaltender Hunter Shepard posts his seventh shutout of the season -- and school-record 15th as a Bulldog.  Senior team captain Parker Mackay also scores once and assists on another goal for UMD and collars the NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player honor. Shepard, who two days earlier was named a first-team All-American,  allows just three goals in four NCAA Tournament appearances and is part of a Frozen Four All-Tournament Team that includes Mackay, Mikey Anderson, senior right winger Billy Exell and sophomore center Justin Richards. The Bulldogs finish the year with a 29-11-2 overall record (those 29 victories are the second-most in program history) and riding a eight-game winning streak. They also improve to 27-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament play for a .692 winning percentage -- the best mark of any school in the country. Scott Sandelin becomes just the ninth NCAA I head coach to claim three national titles and his career .778 winning percentage in the NCAA Tourament (off a 21-6 record) moves him to third all-time among NCAA I bench bosses.

January 28, 2020.  Senior All-American Hunter Shepard makes his NCAA-record 105th consecutive start, breaking the previous mark which was set by Cornell's Ben Scrivens (2007-10), in a 3-2 home setback to North Dakota at AMSOIL Arena. Shepard would go on to hike that ironman record to 115 starts before the 2019-20 season was abruptly brought to a halt after the NCAA and NCHC canceled their playoff tournaments two months later.

April 11, 2020.  Junior defenseman Scott Perunovich becomes the most recent addition to UMD's Hobey Baker Memorial Award club when he is announced as the 2019-20 recipient college hockey's most prestigious honor. The Hibbing, Minn., product  is the nation-leading sixth Bulldog hoist the Hobey in the award's 40 years of existence, joining Jack Connolly (2011-12),  Junior Lessard (2003-04), Chris Marinucci (1993-94), Bill Watson (1984-85) and fellow defenseman Tom Kurvers (1983-84).  Perunovich was chosen the 2019-20 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Player of the Year after pacing that circuit in scoring -- the first defenseman to ever do that.  He also became the first, three-time all-NCHC first team pick in league history and joined Jack Connolly (2010-12 with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association) as the only two Bulldogs to land all-conference first team honors in three different seasons. Perunovich concluded his junior year occupying the No. 2 spot on the NCAA defensemen scoring charts with a UMD-leading (and career-best) 40 points. His 22 power play points and 34 assists also ranked first and second, respectively, among all NCAA skaters. That same evening, the American Hockey Coaches Association All-Americans were announced and Perunovich landed on the first team. In the process, he became just the third Bulldogs (Jack Connolly in 2019-12 and defenseman Norrh Maciver in 1983-86) to attaint All-American status three times. Three other Bulldogs were also cited as 2019-20 All-Americans (second team picks) -- goaltender Hunter Shepard (for the second year in a row) and forwards Noah Cates and Cole Koepke.