Graduate Clara Van Wieren celebrates after securing her hat-trick on Friday, Feb. 15. Photo by Grant Jones.

The UMD Women's hockey team defeated the Minnesota State Mavericks in back to back games. The teams faced off at Amsoil Arena on Friday, Feb 14 and again on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Friday

A combined 11 point performance from Olivia Wallin and Clara Van Wieren helped lift the Bulldogs to victory on Friday night.

The Bulldogs showed their dominance from the jump by getting the first goal of the game just five minutes into the first period. The shot was deflected by Caitlin Kraemer after being sent in by Van Wieren.

Two minutes later, Van Wieren picked up her second point of the night on a goal with a pass from Wallin. The Mavericks were able to answer back before the bleeding got too bad as they snuck one past Ève Gascon to make the game a one score contest.

Van Wieren wasn’t done in the period as she tallied another goal on a beautiful one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle at the 13:20 mark. The puck beat Minnesota State Mankato’s goalie up high, going bar down into the back of the net. Van Wieren continues to be a huge piece for this Bulldog roster as this goal marked a team high 30th point of the season.

“We were going tonight. It feels good when the power play is on and our power play was on tonight so it was a lot of fun,” said Van Wieren.

The rest of the period settled down in terms of goals but UMD’s Grace Saudra ended the period in the penalty box for checking. Duluth killed it at the end of the period but Minnesota State would have 1:18 on the skater advantage to start the second period.

The Mavericks ended up grabbing the opportunity to start the period a player ahead and scored at just the 1:15 mark. This pushed the game back to one score. Minnesota State also changed their goalie to start the second period.

Duluth didn't let this fight from MSU affect them as they went on to score three unanswered goals to end the rest of the period.

The first came from Kraemer about 30 seconds into a power play on a penalty from Minnesota State for hooking, making it her second goal of the night. This goal was the second chance on the power play that Duluth cashed in on.

The Mavericks made yet another goalie change for their third of the game but that didn't stop Wallin and Mary Kate O’Brien from following behind for the next two goals to push their lead to 6-2.

The Mavericks best chances came late in the period as they were able to get the puck to the net more than they had previously. Good news for the Bulldogs is that Gascon was up for the challenge, saving four shots on goal in the last 1:30.

After the eight combined goals in the first and second, the players seemed to find a groove defensively. Duluth only had two shots on goal 10 minutes into the period while Minnesota State only had four at the same point.

Fifth year Olivia Mobley attempts to get past a Maverick defender on Friday, Feb. 15. Photo by Grant Jones.

With about six minutes left, UMD's Jenna Lawry and MSU’s Lauren Goldsworthy got into a scuffle in front of the net. This led to Goldsworthy making contact to Lawry's head and receiving a five-minute game misconduct. Lawry got a minor penalty for roughing. This would give Duluth another chance at a power play goal after Lawry's penalty.

They did just that and this time it was Van Wieren again, completing the hat-trick. This marked the 2nd hat-trick of Wieren’s accomplished Bulldog career. The pass came from Wallin, marking her sixth point of the game.

Whatever groove MSU found earlier in the period defensively, they couldn't get it back after the major penalty as Duluth added another goal to end the period, giving them the win 8-2

“Ève did a good job keeping the pucks out for us. I thought our power play really did a fantastic job tonight to put us up,” said head coach Laura Schuler. .

Duluth would have a chance at the sweep the next day as they hosted Minnesota State with puck drop at 1:00 p.m.

Saturday

Last regular season game at home for the Bulldogs means senior night and senior goaltender Tindra Holm got the start for the Bulldogs in net. Although this is UMD’s last regular season game, they have locked in home-ice advantage for the WCHA playoffs first round with their win on Friday.

The second game started out pretty similarly to the night before, with UMD outsourcing the Mavericks 3-1 in the first period. Duluth jumped ahead quickly again this game, scoring two goals in the first six minutes.

The first goal came shorthanded for the Bulldogs. Olivia Mobley didn't seem to care about being a skater short as she took the puck the length of the ice and scored a shorthanded goal. Zoey Krock got the second one on a loose puck in front of the net.

Then, like Friday's game, Minnesota State did a good job of not letting the lead get too out of hand thanks to a tip-in goal from Ava Guillimette. This pushed the game back to a one score contest.

The Bulldogs responded yet again when Mobley picked up her second goal of the game on a beautiful move that beat the goaltender's glove side and went down just about halfway through the period.

Minnesota State made another goalie change for the second consecutive game after the third goal. The period stayed scoreless the rest of the way, with UMD having a chance on the power play but unfortunately they weren't able to convert,

The second period started slower than the first as no players from either team lit the lamp in the first seven minutes. UMD got another chance at the powerplay at the 7:12 mark when a Minnesota State skater went to the penalty box for slashing.

Unfortunately, Duluth couldn't convert yet again on their second power play opportunity of the game. This is something that drew concern from Head Coach Schuler and said it needed to be improved.

Both teams stayed pretty quiet for the rest of the period until UMD’s Ida Karlsson went to the penalty box for interference with just 44 seconds left in the second … another trend that was followed from Friday’s game.

Fifth year Olivia Wallin skates toward the net as she looks to make a play on Friday, Feb. 15. Photo by Grant Jones.

Duluth killed it off to end the period but would have to still kill off 1:16 to start the third period of play. Both teams ended the period with 18 shots, as Minnesota State out shot UMD in the period 7-8.

A slower second period for the Bulldogs didn't affect them as they started the third, killing off the rest of the penalty by Karlsson. Duluth couldn't get a shot on goal until five minutes into the period, but they were doing a good job limiting shots for the Mavericks.

Just under seven minutes into the period, both Duluth’s Kraemer and Minnesota State’s Alexis Paddignton got roughing penalties after a scuffle on the ice. No goals resulted from the two minutes of four on four hockey.

10 minutes in, Duluth had only one shot on goal but still continued to keep the pressure of Holm in net. Mobley had a decent look at the hat-trick but couldn't quite get it by the Minnesota State goalie, holding them to only six shots on goal in the period, which was her lowest.

MSU’s Paddignton got a second penalty in the third period, giving UMD a prime opportunity to close this game out. Duluth couldnt convert on the power play, which made them 0-3 on the afternoon but after it expired, there was only just over two minutes left in regulation.

Duluth closed out the game, getting an empty net goal and improving their weekend goal total to 12. This marked Duluth’s eighth weekend series sweep of the year.

The Bulldogs will travel to Minneapolis next weekend where they will play Minnesota in a weekend series. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

A 12-goal Weekend against the Mavericks Solidifies The Bulldogs Women's Hockey Team Home Ice Advantage for WCHA Playoffs