Last year was quite the wild ride for Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs struggled early, picked it up around the holidays before going on a skid to end the season 0-3-2. That late skid dropped them to seventh in the league, but as soon as they hit the playoffs, they found the fire. First they swept Colorado … Read more
Denver is the runaway favorite to win the WCHA this season according to both the league’s coaches and media. The Pioneers took eight of the 10 first-place votes in the Grand Forks Herald coaches poll, while 23 of the 25 voters in the madison.com media poll put Denver first. North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and St. … Read more
Three-time Olympians Jenny Potter and Angela Ruggiero were announced Monday as part of the 23-player United States Women’s National Team roster. PICTORIAL: The U.S. Women’s National Team The team, based in the Minneapolis area, will take part in a 10-game, nine-city national tour ahead of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Twenty-one players will make … Read more
A pair of former men’s college stars are among those set to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Tony Amonte, who put up 126 points in two seasons at Boston University, and former Vermont standout John LeClair were among four individuals announced Monday as part of the Class of 2009. The 1998 … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him behind the Bulldogs’ bench through the 2011-12 season. The move comes after Sandelin led the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament with an unprecedented run through the WCHA playoffs. UMD swept at Colorado College in the first round, then became the first … Read more
Minnesota Duluth’s incredible 5-4 overtime win Friday against Princeton defies easy categorization. For each team, the game’s script had elements both of the familiar and the fantastic. Winning games they weren’t supposed to was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who did that three times last weekend in the WCHA Final Five. UMD, the seventh-seeded team … Read more
Miami’s coaching staff apparently made the right choice in goaltenders. It was no foregone conclusion that Cody Reichard was going to be in net to earn all-regional honors and help the RedHawks claim their first trip to the Frozen Four this weekend at Mariucci Arena. In fact, after a week of competition in practice between … Read more
It’s easy to look at the box score and flush out that Minnesota-Duluth’s power play made the difference in its 5-4 overtime victory Friday over Princeton in the West Regional. The Bulldogs scored one of their two final-minute goals with the man advantage (actually a two-man advantage because goaltender Alex Stalock was on the bench) … Read more
Two heroes, one award. That was the conundrum at the WCHA Final Five, where UMD goaltender Alex Stalock and his teammate MacGregor Sharp both put in starring performances. Todd D. Milewski reports.
For much of the season, the penalty kill had been a weakness for Minnesota Duluth. At the WCHA Final Five that has changed, helping carry the Bulldogs to the title game. Scott Brown reports.
Minnesota Duluth is moving on to the WCHA semifinals, in large part thanks to Alex Stalock. Theresa Spisak reports.
There’s a first time for everything, but that doesn’t mean that there will be a next time. Scott Brown examines the future of the fledgling State of Minnesota Hockey Showcase.
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs struggled last year, in part because of their offense. Coach Scott Sandelin knew he wouldn’t have that one go-to-guy to score, so he hoped for a sort of “offense by committee.” While scoring for the Bulldogs was extremely spread out — ten players had double-digit point totals — the issue was … Read more
There is one women’s hockey award that year after year goes to the most outstanding player in the clutch. Its honorees have included Olympians, schools’ all-time leader scorers, and all-star goaltenders who have delighted fans one March after another. Does this description refer to the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award? Actually, this is the Women’s Frozen … Read more
Erika Lawler has experienced a lot of things in NCAA play in her three seasons at Wisconsin. Until this season, heading to the locker room with her team behind on the scoreboard in the national tourney wasn’t one of them. Now she has found herself in that situation in consecutive games in this season’s tournament, … Read more
Heading into Minnesota Duluth’s NCAA semifinal versus New Hampshire, Saara Touminen’s chances of playing with a knee injury were listed as fifty-fifty. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the wrong half of that probability came up on game day. “We just asked everyone to step up and do the best you could,†coach Shannon Miller said. To … Read more
Compared to most teams, the Bulldogs are old, with about an even number of upper- and underclassmen. However, the main question for Scott Sandelin’s crew will be offense. “We might not have that one big line or that one dynamic player,” he said, emphasizing that the team will have to hope for production from everyone … Read more
Fresh off a stirring though ultimately unsuccessful effort in the WCHA playoffs, Minnesota-Duluth’s prospects for 2007-08 took a substantial hit Friday with the announcement that Matt Niskanen and Mason Raymond have departed for the pros. Both were sophomores and each was named to the All-WCHA first team Thursday. Niskanen, a 6-1, 195-pound defenseman, signed with … Read more
Just weeks after a torn meniscus seemed likely to end her college career, Jessica Koizumi’s game-tying and game-winning goals carry UMD to its first Women’s Frozen Four since 2003.
Every year there is a team that surprises in the WCHA. This year’s top candidate to fill that role is Minnesota-Duluth. Sure, the Bulldogs finished a dismal ninth a year ago, but it was a rebuilding season and one that should springboard UMD into a successful 2006-07 campaign. Head coach Scott Sandelin will look to … Read more