DULUTH — Following a loss to Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, the 2023-23 Minnesota Duluth women's hockey season officially begins.
The Bulldogs finished fourth in the WCHA during the regular season, advanced to the WCHA Finals Faceoff semifinals, and tied with the No. 8 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament after a dramatic two-overtime victory in the first round. , the Buckeyes lost for the sixth time. There are 6 meetings this season.
Here's a look back at the 2023-24 Bulldogs women's hockey season by the numbers, and a little ahead.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth News Tribune
Number of consecutive games played by Manon McMahon over five seasons at UMD. It's a school record. This is also a school record for total games played at UMD.
McMahon's 14 goals, 17 assists, and 31 points were all second on the team. Her 14 goals and 31 points were both career highs. Her final goal as a Bulldog was a double-overtime win at Ohio State against UW in the NCAA regional semifinals.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
UMD has scored an average of 2.3 goals per game this season. That's almost one goal less than a year ago, when the Bulldogs averaged 3.2 goals per game and 125 total goals.
The departure was expected after UMD lost eight players who combined for 81 of its 125 goals last year to graduation or transfer. So far, only four players with a combined 36 goals have moved this offseason.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth News Tribune
Number of points scored this season by UMD's leading scorer Reece Hunt. Hunt, a fifth-year senior transfer from Bemidji State University, scored two hat tricks against the Beavers on Jan. 13 and scored four goals against St. Thomas on Feb. 9, scoring a team-high 18 goals. He scored a goal.
Hunt set career highs in goals, assists (16) and points as a Bulldog this year, and was able to experience some firsts he never had as a Beaver — winning a WCHA playoff series; Play in the WCHA Final Faceoff, qualify for the NCAA Tournament, and win an NCAA Tournament game.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
That's the number of points the Bulldogs' returning top scorers, senior forwards Clara Van Wieren and Olivia Wallin, will return to the team in 2024-25. Van Wieren has scored 13 goals this season, becoming the top scorer in his return. Wallin, a transfer from Penn State with one more season of eligibility remaining, led the Bulldogs with 18 assists.
Wallin and Van Wieren will join senior defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith as fifth-year students next year. The Bulldogs are currently expected to bring back 15 players from the 2023-24 team after losing four graduates and two sophomores to the transfer portal.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
UMD's wins this season as the team finished 21-14-4 overall and 15-11-2 in the WCHA. Since the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season (UMD played only 19 games despite reaching the NCAA Frozen Four), the Bulldogs have won three consecutive seasons of 20 or more games.
The 74 wins over the past three seasons are the most in three consecutive seasons since the program won a combined 74 games in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. The 31 wins came during the 2009-10 season. When the Bulldogs won the WCHA regular and postseason titles, as well as the NCAA title.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
This is the most shutouts combined by UMD goaltenders Haley McLeod and Yves Gascón in 2023-24, tied for the most in the NCAA. Gascón had seven shutouts in 13 games, a UMD freshman record and tied for third with Rietta Shovlin (2004-05) in a single season at UMD. .
Gascon's seventh shutout came in a 1-0 double OT win against UW in the NCAA Tournament, where he made 33 saves. Gascón is the first Bulldog player since Jenny Haas to start an NCAA Tournament game as a freshman and joins Emma Soderberg and Kim Martin as the third UMD goaltender to record a shutout in an NCAA Tournament game. One of them.
Gascon, who started 21 of 39 games, and McLeod, who started 18 and played in 19 games, posted a combined save percentage of .947 and GAA of 1.53 in 2023-24. McLeod (.948) was his fourth in the NCAA in save percentage and Gascón (.946) was his fifth. Only Gascon returns, with MacLeod entering the transfer portal.
Dyron Field / UMD Athletics
The Bulldogs' consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament date back to the 2020-21 season.
UMD is 4-0 in opening games in 2021, starting with a quarterfinal victory over Colgate in Erie, Pennsylvania. Since the tournament expanded from eight to 11 teams in the 2021-22 season, UMD is 3-0 with wins over Harvard University, Clarkson University and UW in the first round.
