The UMD women’s hockey team suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss Thursday to NCAA No. 1 seed Northeastern.

Northeastern dominated all aspects of the box score in a game that had a surprisingly tight outcome. In a 3-2 game that saw almost a full extra period, the Huskies outshot the Bulldogs 47-28.

UMD’s gritty defense held the Huskies to only four shots in the first period while the Bulldogs put up 13. The defensive pressure by Duluth held Northeastern to attacking plays on Söderberg’s strong side, resulting in no first period goals for the Huskies.

Northeastern head coach Dave Flint said during the first intermission that their play tactics would change during the second period to focus more on the weak side.

The second period started off slow, until the 11th minute when a shot from UMD’s Clara Van Wieren was blocked by the skate of a Husky, which pulled Northeastern players away from the goal. Kailee Skinner was able to recover the puck and missed a shot wide. Mannon McMahon took in the rebound off the wall and netted the puck, giving Duluth the game’s first lead.

Shortly following, Duluth forward McKenzie Hewett was sentenced to two minutes for a minor hooking penalty, but UMD’s penalty kill yielded no success for Northeastern.

With the Bulldogs back at full strength, a deflected shot off the pad of Northeastern’s goaltender opened the weak side of the net for Taylor Anderson to net a wrister and give Duluth a 2-0 lead over Northeastern.

This was the first time Northeastern had trailed by two or more goals across their entire season.

An Anneke Linser minor tripping penalty quickly followed by a Gabbie Hughes interference call gave Northeastern an opportune five-on-three player advantage. 

The advantage carried through the second intermission, and Northeastern was sure to capitalize.

The Huskies’ Maureen Murphy scored a goal just a few feet out from the net during the five-on-three advantage, bringing the score to 2-1 but allowing the Bulldogs to return to full strength.

With 14:30 left in the third, the Huskies put on a powerful attack leading to a crucial game-tying goal. Northeastern’s Katy Knoll took her own rebound off Söderberg’s pad and netted the puck to bring the score to 2-2.

Time ticked quickly in the third after Northeastern tied the game. No penalties and plenty of attacking opportunities for both sides led to expedited play.

A strong attack in the last minute of regulation saw a powerful slap shot from McMahon, but Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel made an impressive, high-reaching save to prevent a game-winning goal.

As the third period closed, the game was heading to overtime. NCAA overtime rules call for 20-minute, sudden death periods until a winner is determined.

UMD’s tough defense played strong against Northeastern’s NCAA-best offense, and both teams had plenty of scoring opportunities, launching strong slaps and creative wristers.

The game ended suddenly in the final 30 seconds of the first overtime period. Northeastern’s Skylar Fontaine scored an unassisted wrister goal flipping the puck over Söderberg’s head to end the game in sudden death fashion.

Northeastern will move on to play in the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Championship this weekend against the winner of Ohio State and Wisconsin, where they will attempt to continue their 18-game win streak.

UMD takes a notch on the wrong side of their record, finishing out their season with a 12-7 record. This is UMD’s second time losing in the history of Frozen Four semifinal games and their first overtime loss of the season.