Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs | |
---|---|
Current season | |
University | University of Minnesota, Duluth |
Conference | WCHA |
Head coach | Maura Crowell Second season, 40–28–6 |
Arena |
AMSOIL Arena Capacity: 6,800 |
Location | Duluth, Minnesota |
Colors | Maroon and Gold |
NCAA Tournament championships | |
2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010 | |
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four | |
2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017 | |
Conference Tournament championships | |
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010 | |
Conference regular season championships | |
2000, 2003, 2008, 2010 |
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.
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.