Frozen Four bound: UMD women best Colgate in NCAA tournament

UMD goalie Emma Söderberg only let one puck into the net Monday night, and it was called a no-goal because a Colgate player hit it in with their hand. Photo by Hunter Dunteman

After three scoreless periods, UMD found their stride in the overtime period, ending Colgate University’s season in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

UMD and Colgate put forth very even performances throughout the entirety of the contest. The No. 5 seeded Bulldogs engaged in a high-octane defensive matchup with the No. 4 seeded Raiders. 

UMD’s goalie Emma Söderberg worked in harmony with an effective team defense to get UMD through a challenging first period. Colgate peppered UMD in the first, outshooting them 12-6.

After the first period ended scoreless, UMD jumped out of the gates in the second; however, play paused in the second period less than a minute and a half in due to residual water on the ice from the Zamboni process. The squeegeeing efforts to remove all water from the ice lasted several minutes before play resumed.

The game saw more stagnation five minutes into the second period to review an eventual no-goal. The remainder of the second period consisted of very evenly-matched play in which UMD pushed the tempo early and often, outshooting Colgate 10-7 in the period.

Despite an adequate number of promising opportunities for both teams, the second period ended scoreless as well. 

The third period presented an intense, methodical game on both sides. Both teams showed deliberate puck movement all throughout opposing zones in an effort to pick apart the other team’s defense. Time continued to tick away in the contest, as neither team could get the edge on the other.

The game remained scoreless into its final seconds of regulation. UMD got a few good looks in the last minute as they tried to prevent an overtime berth, but to no avail. The buzzer sounded, and UMD and Colgate were headed to overtime with a score of 0-0. The Bulldogs and Raiders were dead even in the third in shots on goal. 

The overtime period started out even, but Duluth eventually took control. Finally, 6:39 into the overtime period, senior defender Ashton Bell netted the unassisted game-winning goal for the only score of the night, sending the Raiders home for the season.

With the eight-team bracket this year, this victory propels the Bulldogs into the NCAA semifinals. UMD moves on to play No. 1 seeded Northeastern, who are coming off an emphatic 5-1 win against Robert Morris.