Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey

The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth at the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. The team is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Division I tier. The Bulldogs have won five NCAA Championships, third most among all programs for women's ice hockey.

History On September 10, 1997, University of Minnesota Duluth Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin and Athletic Director Bob Corran announced that women's Division I hockey would be making its debut at UMD for the 1999–2000 season. On April 20, 1998, Shannon Miller, head coach of Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics, was hired as the head coach.

On October 1, 1999, the Bulldogs played their first exhibition game in Salt Lake City, Utah, against the Olympic Oval Team from Calgary, Alberta. This game opened the new hockey facility for the 2002 Olympic Games.

The Bulldogs played the Wisconsin Badgers on October 8, 1999, in the first women's WCHA conference game at the Kohl Center in Madison, WI. It was the highest attended game of the season (3,892) and resulted in an 8–0 defeat of the Badgers. Forward Maria Rooth (Ängelholm, Sweden) was selected as Player of the Week in the WCHA on November 22, 1999, the first for UMD.

The Bulldogs season-starting winning streak of 12 games was snapped by Princeton University with a 2–2 tie in Princeton, NJ on December 10, 1999. UMD won the Lake Placid Tournament hosted by St. Lawrence University on January 22, 2000. Freshman goalie Tuula Puputti, freshman forward Hanne Sikio and junior defenseman Brittny Ralph were named to the All-Tournament Team. Sikio was also selected as the Tournament Most Valuable Player. The Minnesota Gophers hand the Bulldogs their first conference loss 4–3 in a sold-out game at Pioneer Hall (Duluth, MN) on February 11, 2000.

The Bulldogs clinched the women's WCHA regular season championship on February 26, 2000, with a sweep of Minnesota State-Mankato and earned the number one seed for the 2000 WCHA playoffs.

UMD took the inaugural NCAA Division I national championship on March 25, 2001, by defeating St. Lawrence University by a score of 4–2. This marked the first NCAA team championship for the Bulldogs. Maria Rooth was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament while her teammates Tuula Puputti and Brittny Ralph were named to the All-Tournament team. On June 25, 2001, the Bulldogs were honored at the White House by President George W. Bush, the first women's hockey team to be invited to the White House.

Five Bulldogs traveled to Salt Lake City to compete with their national teams at the 2002 Winter Olympics. From the 2001–2002 roster, forwards Maria Rooth and Erika Holst played for bronze medal winner Sweden while forward Hanne Sikio and goaltender Tuula Puputti skated for fourth-place Finland. Kristina Petrovskaia finished fifth with Team Russia. UMD also had two players in the Olympic final game, 2001–2002 newcomer and Olympic gold medalist Caroline Ouellette (Canada) and returning Bulldog and 2002 Olympic silver medalist Jenny Potter (USA).

The Bulldogs, 2002 NCAA national women's hockey champions, were recognized by the Minnesota Twins baseball team at the H.H.H. Metrodome in Minneapolis on May 6, 2002. Jenny Potter set an NCAA record (since tied) for most goals in one game with 6. This was accomplished on December 18, 2002, versus St. Cloud State. Ouellette set an NCAA record for most shorthanded goals in one game with 2. This was accomplished on November 14, 2003, versus North Dakota.

On March 22, 2010, Duluth Mayor Don Ness presented Shannon Miller with a proclamation declaring Friday, March 26, 2010, as "Shannon Miller Day."

On January 21, 2011, The top-ranked Badgers defeated the Bulldogs on the opening night of AMSOIL arena in front of 1,639 fans. The Badgers defeated the Bulldogs 4–1, extending their 11 game-winning streak, best in the NCAA. The Bulldogs still lead the all-time series 26–21–9. A ceremonial puck drop featured Bulldog legends Jenny Potter, Caroline Ouellette and Maria Rooth. In both games, the Bulldogs wore special edition black jerseys. The following day (January 22), for only the second time this season, the Bulldogs found themselves in a two-goal deficit after the first period of play. Despite trailing the No. 1 University of Wisconsin by two goals in each of the three periods, the Bulldogs scored three goals in the final 11 minutes of regulation to earn a 4–4 draw with the top-ranked Badgers in AMSOIL Arena.

Rivalries Minnesota–Duluth, a traditional rival to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in men's hockey, would start its own rivalry in the women's game. The school gave a three-year, $210,000 contract to Shannon Miller, who coached Canada to the 1998 Olympic final in Nagano. Miller recruited players from Canada, Finland and Sweden, including four Olympians. The rivalry grew as Miller recruited a pair of players away from Minnesota: star forward Jenny Schmidgall, (whose 93 points in 1999–2000 would lead the nation), and defenseman Brittny Ralph, who would serve as the Bulldogs' first ever captain. In the first season, Duluth would lose just once to the Gophers in their first five meetings, which included a 2–0 Bulldogs victory in the final of the WCHA tournament.

Attendance When the program still played at the DECC, despite the team's success, UMD women's hockey rarely drew a large crowd to its home ice. According to the website US College Hockey Online, the women's hockey team averaged 610 people out of an official 5233 seats, an 11.6% capacity. Even while winning five national titles, more than any other program at that time, the Bulldogs averaged sixth in attendance in women's Division I hockey. The men's team, however, averaged an attendance of 4253 per game having won one national title, an 86.2% capacity rating. They moved in with the men's team in 2010 to the new AMSOIL Arena.

Season-by-season results Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Won championshipLost championshipConference championsLeague leader Year Coach W L T Conference Conf. W Conf. L Conf. T Finish Conference Tournament NCAA Tournament 1999–2000 Shannon Miller 25 5 3 WCHA 21 1 2 1st WCHA Won Semifinals vs. Ohio State Won Championship vs. Minnesota Lost First Round vs. Minnesota 2000–01 Shannon Miller 28 5 4 WCHA 15 5 4 2nd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota State Won Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Won Championship vs. Ohio State Won Frozen Four vs. Harvard Won Championship vs. St. Lawrence 2001–02 Shannon Miller 24 6 4 WCHA 16 5 3 2nd WCHA Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Won Frozen Four vs. Niagara Won Championship vs. Brown 2002–03 Shannon Miller 31 3 2 WCHA 21 2 1 1st WCHA Won Semifinals vs. Ohio State Won Championship vs. Minnesota Won Frozen Four vs. Dartmouth Won Championship vs. Harvard 2003–04 Shannon Miller 20 12 2 WCHA 15 8 1 3rd WCHA Won Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Lost Championship vs. Minnesota Did not qualify 2004–05 Shannon Miller 26 6 2 WCHA 22 4 2 2nd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. North Dakota Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Lost First Round vs. St. Lawrence 2005–06 Shannon Miller 22 9 3 WCHA 18 7 3 3rd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Lost Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota Lost First Round vs. St. Lawrence 2006–07 Shannon Miller 24 11 4 WCHA 19 6 3 2nd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. St. Cloud State Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota Won First Round vs. Mercyhurst Won Frozen Four vs. Boston College Lost Championship vs. Wisconsin 2007–08 Shannon Miller 34 4 1 WCHA 24 4 0 1st WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Won Semifinals vs. St. Cloud State Won Championship vs. Wisconsin Won First Round vs. Mercyhurst Won Frozen Four vs. New Hampshire Won Championship vs. Wisconsin 2008–09 Shannon Miller 26 9 4 WCHA 18 6 4 3rd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. North Dakota Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Won Quarterfinals vs. New Hampshire Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin 2009–10 Shannon Miller 31 8 2 WCHA 20 6 2 1st WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. North Dakota Won Semifinals vs. Bemidji State Won Championship vs. Minnesota Won Quarterfinals vs. New Hampshire Won Semifinals vs. Minnesota Won Championship vs. Cornell 2010–11 Shannon Miller 22 9 3 WCHA 18 7 3 3rd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota State Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota Lost Quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin 2011–12 Shannon Miller 21 14 1 WCHA 15 12 1 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Ohio State Won Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Lost Championship vs. Minnesota Did not qualify 2012–13 Shannon Miller 14 16 4 WCHA 13 13 2 4th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Ohio State Did not qualify 2013–14 Shannon Miller 15 15 6 WCHA 11 11 6 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Ohio State Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota Did not qualify 2014–15 Shannon Miller 20 12 5 WCHA 14 10 4 4th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Did not qualify 2015–16 Maura Crowell 15 21 1 WCHA 10 17 1 6th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin Did not qualify 2016–17 Maura Crowell 25 7 5 WCHA 19 5 4 3rd WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. St. Cloud State Won Semifinals vs. Minnesota Lost Championship vs. Wisconsin Lost Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota 2017–18 Maura Crowell 15 16 4 WCHA 10 11 3 4th WCHA Lost Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Did not qualify 2018–19 Maura Crowell 15 16 4 WCHA 9 11 4 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota Did not qualify 2019–20 Maura Crowell 18 12 6 WCHA 11 8 5 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Bemidji State Lost Semifinals vs. Wisconsin () Did not qualify 2020–21 Maura Crowell 12 7 0 WCHA 11 5 0 2nd WCHA Lost Semifinals vs. Ohio State Won Quarterfinals vs. Colgate Lost Semifinals vs Northeastern 2021–22 Maura Crowell 27 12 1 WCHA 19 18 1 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota State Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota Won First Round vs. Harvard Won Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota Won Semifinals vs. Northeastern Lost Championship vs. Ohio State 2022–23 Maura Crowell 26 10 3 WCHA 17 8 3 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. St. Cloud State Lost Semifinals vs. Ohio State Won First Round vs. Clarkson Lost Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota 2023–24 Maura Crowell 21 14 4 WCHA 15 11 2 4th WCHA Won Quarterfinals vs. St. Cloud State Lost Semifinals vs. Ohio State Won First Round vs. Connecticut Lost Quarterfinals vs. Ohio State 2024–25 Laura Schuler WCHA TBD TBD

Olympians The UMD Bulldogs program has had more Winter Olympians than any other program in the history of NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey; 33 current or former Bulldogs have competed in the Olympic Women's ice hockey tournament.

Jenny Schmidgall-Potter, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 (A), United States Caroline Ouellette, 2002, 2006 and 2010 (A), Canada Tuula Puputti, 2002, Finland Hanne Sikiö, 2002, Finland Kristina Petrovskaia, 2002, 2006 and 2010, Russia Erika Holst, 2002, 2006 and 2010, Sweden Maria Rooth, 2002, 2006 and 2010, Sweden Satu Kiipeli, 2006, Finland Nora Tallus, 2006, Finland Jennifer Harß, 2006, Germany Iya Gavrilova, 2006, 2010 and 2014, Russia Haley Irwin, 2010, 2014 and 2018, Canada Heidi Pelttari, 2010, Finland Mariia Posa, 2010, Finland Saara Tuominen, 2010, Finland Jenni Asserholt, 2006 & 2010, Sweden Elin Holmlöv, 2010, Sweden Pernilla Winberg, 2010 and 2018, Sweden Kim Martin, 2010, Sweden Jocelyne Larocque, 2014 and 2018, Canada Eveliina Suonpää, 2014 and 2018, Finland Tea Villilä, 2014, Finland Maria Lindh, 2014 and 2018, Sweden Lara Stalder, 2014 and 2018, Switzerland Brigette Lacquette, 2018, Canada Sidney Morin, 2018, United States Maddie Rooney, 2018, United States

There are only two Bulldogs players who have won gold in the midst of their college eligibility: Haley Irwin with Team Canada in 2014 and Maddie Rooney with Team USA in 2018.

Postseason history Won the first three NCAA Division I women's ice hockey national championships in 2001, 2002, and 2003. On March 18, 2007, the Bulldogs lost in the NCAA Frozen Four championship game to Wisconsin 4–1.